The Birkins of the violin world

[mamaracha]

Fascinating study on violins - Strads vs. new instruments. I think similar experiments were done with wine, and majority of people could not tell the difference between expensive and cheap wine. It's all about the brand....

Comments

[asyatka]

Did you Wine for the Confused movie? It proves your point !

[mamaracha]

No, I didn't, but I heard about these types of experiments, and they all say that even professional wine tasters can't tell the difference, let alone regular people.

[asyatka]

Короче, одни понты :) У нас есть знакомый, который очень любит вино и неплохо в них разбирается. Он все время утверждает, что не имеет смысла покупать бутылку дороже 15 долларов, когда есть столько вкусных вин, которые стоят дешевле.

[mamaracha]

Yup, that's what we do - we buy Trader Joe's wines for 8 to 10 bucks. We buy more expensive wine only when we're going somewhere, need to bring alcohol, and didn't have a chance to buy the wine earlier.

[fiona_grady]

Disagree on both counts, i.e. wine and violins. The sound of a fine old instrument is immediately apparent as is the way the instrument projects the sound in the hall. However, it is difficult to actually play a Strad: one need to work hard to coax the sound out; that is why, perhaps, it was the least selected instrument in the study.

As to wines, this is how it goes: virtually no difference between $7 and, say, $ 18 bottles. Should be a noticeable difference at the $20 mark, and then - almost no difference up to $ 50 if you know your vintners and your vintages. A $ 100 bottle should and usually would taste much much different from a $ 20 bottle.

However, once you have tasted the vintage Petrus, or Haut Brion, the cheaper wines will seem somewhat grapejuicy to you. Honestly!

[mamaracha]

That's interesting - we should have you participate in the double blind study or something to see if you could tell the difference in the sound :). In any case, participating violinists played Strads on a regular basis, and it's interesting how they were totally sure that they will be able to tell a Strad from a new instrument, and, apparently, could not. That part is fascinating.

[fiona_grady]

I am privy to the details of the Paris experiment, and know some of the participants well. As you can imagine, then, it was a subject of prolonged discussions at several dinner parties for a while. Without boring you with details, the basic line is this: yes, it was easier to choose a lesser instrument when playing. But not when listening in the concert hall. It is especially true about the Strad, not so much about Guarneri (woefully misspelled in the National Geographic online article).
However, even after having said all that, I want to add: no matter what instrument one plays, the sound is the projection of the sound that the instrumentalist wants to create. There are some violinists playing outstanding instruments, yet the sound they produce resembles cat's mewling. :)

[mamaracha]

Oh, I can imagine. The outcome is definitely controversial, and many people are still talking about it, and not just at dinner parties :).
I think it would be interesting to test listeners with a discerning ear now... see if they can tell :).