I wonder why Jacqueline Du Pré would use a Stradivarius cello, and with what varnish would that wood be treated ...
Stradivarius - Wikipedia
See Comparisons in sound quality
Stradivarius - Wikipedia
See Comparisons in sound quality
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First of all, I'm very far from disregarding an ancient and valuable Stradivarius.
But, as others said yet before, no one can tell these days how a Stradivarius sounded when it was a new instrument. A little off topic maybe, I see some parallels with old guitar amplifiers, where no one knows their original brand-new sound anymore. I dare to claim that their actual sound is due to degenerated components, especially electrolytics and carbon composition resistors. Hence it's an acquired taste, imho.
As to treating speaker cones, predictable results are more than doubtful, unless the manufacturer did it (see JBL's Aquaplas).
Best regards!
But, as others said yet before, no one can tell these days how a Stradivarius sounded when it was a new instrument. A little off topic maybe, I see some parallels with old guitar amplifiers, where no one knows their original brand-new sound anymore. I dare to claim that their actual sound is due to degenerated components, especially electrolytics and carbon composition resistors. Hence it's an acquired taste, imho.
As to treating speaker cones, predictable results are more than doubtful, unless the manufacturer did it (see JBL's Aquaplas).
Best regards!
One violin in the test cost 10 millions 
CHEAP vs EXPENSIVE violins - Can you hear the difference? - YouTube
CHEAP vs EXPENSIVE violins - Can you hear the difference? - YouTube
I think new Stradivarius was like this in~10K $ price range,
a just very good quality hand made violin.
Then many talented musicians buy them for professional use in Symphonic Orchestras.
Wood fibers vibrate with sound and change a bit , so probably tone are getting fuller and deeper
after + century of everyday playing by great artists virtuoso's....
mystery still remains undiscovered
a just very good quality hand made violin.
Then many talented musicians buy them for professional use in Symphonic Orchestras.
Wood fibers vibrate with sound and change a bit , so probably tone are getting fuller and deeper
after + century of everyday playing by great artists virtuoso's....
mystery still remains undiscovered
I've been trained in playing the violin for six years in my youth. That's some long time ago and my ears severely have degraded over the decades .
My 1st impression on this video was that #2 indeed sounded dull and uninterestingly. Anyway, I should have listened to the sound through something better than just the laptop speakers, as I frankly thought that #4, the USD 10,000,000 Stradivari, sounded tinny.
My personal preference would have been #5.
Best regards!
.My 1st impression on this video was that #2 indeed sounded dull and uninterestingly. Anyway, I should have listened to the sound through something better than just the laptop speakers, as I frankly thought that #4, the USD 10,000,000 Stradivari, sounded tinny
.My personal preference would have been #5.
Best regards!
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I can't play any kind of instrument but if I could play a violin and if I was able to borrow a Stradivarius I would absolutely love to do so. I can image the pleasure of playing such an instrument. Playing music is an emotional thing, having reverence for an instrument and being able to use it must be a very special experience. I would be curious about the instrument and all these science studies, but at the end of the day it is simply the emotional experience of playing an instrument revered across the world and across time that would be so special. And so, I've very glad that we have these revered instruments whether they sound better or worse in blind tests is completely irrelevant! And by extrapolation I can see the attraction of using certain NOS components in our hi-fi equipment, it matters not whether they are technically worse than a modern component, it is the knowledge that a revered component is in the chain which adds to the pleasure of ownership and use. I think some people forget this.
Hmm. I have never come across an instrument that is "played out". It is pretty universally recognised that brand new violins need playing in to reach their potential. Some makers even use vibrating devices to attach to the bridge left on for a long time to mimic the act of playing. Also violins that are not played for a long time sound worse.
Although Strads etc were made when concert pitches were lower and gut strings were the norm, all violins were altered in design in the 19th century, with longer necks, which increased the tension one the strings to make more sound (to over simplify). The bass bar under the bridge and the sound post were made larger to support the increased pressure on the belly. Almost all violins made before then were altered to the new design. It is a very simple way to see if a decent violin was made before then. Look carefully at the peg box. If it was made before then it will have been grafted on (with the scroll{curly bit on the end}) to the new neck.
Stradivarius - Wikipedia
It changes, everything changes with the passage of time.
Our ears and the sound of the Stradivarius.
There is no escape !
Theories and reproduction attempts
" Some maintain that the very best Stradivari have unique superiorities.[47] Various attempts at explaining these supposed qualities have been undertaken, most results being unsuccessful or inconclusive. Over the centuries, numerous theories have been presented – and debunked[1] – including an assertion that the wood was salvaged from old cathedrals.[48]
A more modern theory attributes tree growth during a time of global low temperatures during the Little Ice Age associated with unusually low solar activity of the Maunder Minimum, circa 1645 to 1750, during which cooler temperatures throughout Europe are believed to have caused stunted and slowed tree growth, resulting in unusually dense wood.[49][1] Further evidence for this "Little Ice Age theory" comes from a simple examination of the dense growth rings in the wood used in Stradivari's instruments.[50] Two researchers – University of Tennessee tree-ring scientist Henri Grissino-Mayer and Lloyd Burckle, a Columbia University climatologist – published their conclusions supporting the theory on increased wood density in the journal Dendrochronologia.[51]
In 2008, researchers from the Leiden University Medical Center in the Netherlands, announced further evidence that wood density caused the claimed high quality of these instruments. After examining the violins with X-rays, the researchers found that these violins all have extremely consistent density, with relatively low variation in the apparent growth patterns of the trees that produced this wood.[12]
Yet another possible explanation is that the wood was sourced from the forests of northern Croatia.[52] This maple wood is known for its extreme density resulting from the slow growth caused by harsh Croatian winters. Croatian wood was traded by Venetian merchants of the era, and is still used today by local luthiers and craftsfolk for musical instruments.
Some research points to wood preservatives used in that day as contributing to the resonant qualities. Joseph Nagyvary[53][54] reveals that he has always held the belief that there are a wide range of chemicals that will improve the violin's sound. In a 2009 study co-authored with Renald Guillemette and Clifford Spiegelman, Nagyvary obtained shavings from a Stradivarius violin and examined them, and analysis indicated they contained "borax, fluorides, chromium and iron salts."[55] He also found that the wood had decayed a little, to the extent that the filter plates in the pores between the wood's component tracheids had rotted away, perhaps while the wood was stored in or under water in the Venice lagoon before Stradivarius used it.
Steven Sirr, a radiologist, worked with researchers to perform a CT scan of a Stradivari known as the "Betts". Data regarding the differing densities of woods used were then used to create a reproduction instrument.[56] "
It changes, everything changes with the passage of time.
Our ears and the sound of the Stradivarius.
There is no escape !
Theories and reproduction attempts
" Some maintain that the very best Stradivari have unique superiorities.[47] Various attempts at explaining these supposed qualities have been undertaken, most results being unsuccessful or inconclusive. Over the centuries, numerous theories have been presented – and debunked[1] – including an assertion that the wood was salvaged from old cathedrals.[48]
A more modern theory attributes tree growth during a time of global low temperatures during the Little Ice Age associated with unusually low solar activity of the Maunder Minimum, circa 1645 to 1750, during which cooler temperatures throughout Europe are believed to have caused stunted and slowed tree growth, resulting in unusually dense wood.[49][1] Further evidence for this "Little Ice Age theory" comes from a simple examination of the dense growth rings in the wood used in Stradivari's instruments.[50] Two researchers – University of Tennessee tree-ring scientist Henri Grissino-Mayer and Lloyd Burckle, a Columbia University climatologist – published their conclusions supporting the theory on increased wood density in the journal Dendrochronologia.[51]
In 2008, researchers from the Leiden University Medical Center in the Netherlands, announced further evidence that wood density caused the claimed high quality of these instruments. After examining the violins with X-rays, the researchers found that these violins all have extremely consistent density, with relatively low variation in the apparent growth patterns of the trees that produced this wood.[12]
Yet another possible explanation is that the wood was sourced from the forests of northern Croatia.[52] This maple wood is known for its extreme density resulting from the slow growth caused by harsh Croatian winters. Croatian wood was traded by Venetian merchants of the era, and is still used today by local luthiers and craftsfolk for musical instruments.
Some research points to wood preservatives used in that day as contributing to the resonant qualities. Joseph Nagyvary[53][54] reveals that he has always held the belief that there are a wide range of chemicals that will improve the violin's sound. In a 2009 study co-authored with Renald Guillemette and Clifford Spiegelman, Nagyvary obtained shavings from a Stradivarius violin and examined them, and analysis indicated they contained "borax, fluorides, chromium and iron salts."[55] He also found that the wood had decayed a little, to the extent that the filter plates in the pores between the wood's component tracheids had rotted away, perhaps while the wood was stored in or under water in the Venice lagoon before Stradivarius used it.
Steven Sirr, a radiologist, worked with researchers to perform a CT scan of a Stradivari known as the "Betts". Data regarding the differing densities of woods used were then used to create a reproduction instrument.[56] "
There's no way they could have accurately predicted how the wood will change over time. Just too many variables.
On another note, logging in Northern Ontario 100 + years ago here in Canada has netted an untold stash of Curly Maple sitting at the bottom of Lake Superior along the transport route at the northern shoreline. Salvage outfits licensed to dive for them earn up to $100 grand for a single log. They are used almost exclusively for instrument making.
On another note, logging in Northern Ontario 100 + years ago here in Canada has netted an untold stash of Curly Maple sitting at the bottom of Lake Superior along the transport route at the northern shoreline. Salvage outfits licensed to dive for them earn up to $100 grand for a single log. They are used almost exclusively for instrument making.
