Lately, I have been a little curious about this particular instrument. I know the Stradivarius produces one of the most finest violin sounds in the world, and therefore it is the most expensive and valuable type of violin today. Made by master craftsman Antonio Stradivari in the 16th century, only a handful of these violins exist today.

So, I decided to do some comparison, a Stradivarius versus a normal violin, and from what I experienced, the Stradivarius feels somewhat different. It has a richer and more golden tone, a type of sound that anyone can become accustomed to. Other than that, I can't really tell.

Anyone here who can give me a better insight on the Stradivarius? What makes the Stradivarius a thousand times better than a normal violin? What exactly do violinist hear/feel in the Stradivarius that deems it a million dollar instrument?

- The Stradivarius -


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s7W3qbng4t0

I only heard a Stradivarius instrument once. It was at a concert featuring Yo-Yo Ma. I think one of the big appeals of any really high-end instrument is the instrument's flexibility. For example, Yo-Yo Ma's cello was able to get an incredibly rich tone even in the extreme high end of its range. You just can't do that on my cello no matter how good you are. He was also able to play quite softly in the high register without it sounding shrill.

On most string instruments you have to make a compromise whether you want the low register to sound sweet and mellow, or if you want the upper register to sound full. If you have a mellow tone in the low register, you're exciting less harmonics. But if you get to the upper register, you're going to have a shrill and more sinusoidal tone. Likewise, if you arrange the sound post and other features of the instrument to allow you to have a rich sound in the upper register, you'll have a harsher tone done below. But the super expensive instruments tend to have a much better balance, and the ability to go either way depending on how you bow it.

Another thing that makes Stradivari so valuable is that they're old. The more a violin or cello is played, the more the instrument "settles in," and it just has a better timbre to it. There's a few theories as to why this is. Some people think the vibrations loosen up the cell walls in the wood and allow it to resonate better, but nobody really knows for sure. All we know is that they do sound better.

Lastly, a really expensive instrument tends to be easier to play. My cello cost me about $4,300. It's nice and pretty flexible. But once I played this piece (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=383i93LiT-o&feature=related) on a $24,000 and it was SO much easier to play. I couldn't even believe it. The shifts weren't a strain at all, and it was just so much easier to make the thing sound good.

Anyway, I hope this has been helpful.

Even extremely accomplished violinists have had trouble telling them apart from other world-class instruments (according to Wiki, at least :huh:). But yes, they generally have a "sweeter" and more consistant tone.

The instruments may be overrated at times (MAY be...), but Stradivari himself is underrated. Not only did he produce the most celebrated string instruments in history, but he made substantial improvements to the design of the violin and flat-out invented the modern cello in 1707. Up until then cellos were large, too large for players to even approach the technical capacities of the violin, but Stradivari managed to substantially reduce the size of the cello without sacrificing tone quality. Amazing.

If you're REALLY interested in this type of stuff, check out a copy of Measure for Measure by Thomas Levenson, and read the chapter called "The Exactitude of Their Proportions."

Ah, very informative. Thanks guys.

I heard the wood used in Stradivarius' just happened to be of a unique density due to the climate.

I wouldn't say they sound "better", any more than a Steinway D better than any other piano. That bright sound just happens to be a popular choice for the kind of music they're played on (concert classical).