More than you may have ever wanted to know about violins can be found
here.
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Originally Posted by Colin Gough
In practice it is extremely difficult to distinguish between a particularly fine Stradivarius instrument and an indifferent modern copy on the basis of the measured response alone. The ear is a supreme detection device and the brain is a far more sophisticated analyser of complex sounds than any system yet developed to assess musical quality.
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Quality in the hearing?
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Top players regularly return their instruments to violin makers, who move the sound post and adjust the bridge in an effort to optimize the sound. This means that there is no unique set of vibrational characteristics for any particular instrument - not even a Stradivarius!
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So even a Strad needs to be tuned/maintained, and in my hands, would sound like fingernails across a chalkboard.
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Science has not provided any convincing evidence for the existence or otherwise of any measurable property that would set the Cremonese instruments apart from the finest violins made by skilled craftsman today. Indeed, some leading soloists do occasionally play on modern instruments. However, the really top soloists - and, not surprisingly, violin dealers, who have a vested interest in maintaining the Cremonese legend of intrinsic superiority - remain utterly unconvinced.
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Though I didn't see the results of their double blind test (if anyone even performed one), sounds like they are making my point regarding subjectivity.
Not saying that I'm right or know what I'm talking about, but I remain a skeptic and cynic regarding this and most other things.
