[stephenT]

Originally Posted by Wade Hampton

There have been numerous double blind tests, and the Strads generally do pretty well but have never won every time. This study mentioned in the article was proceeding from the assumption that Strads ARE the best and that nobody questions that assumption. Well, I do question that assumption, and so do many others, especially people who make their living playing violin.

Again, I'm not denigrating the quality of Stradivarius violins, but the status they've achieved in our culture has gone way past anything that can be definitely proven in terms of their functionality. They're the ultimate status symbol among musical instruments. My point is that this mystique has built more upon previous attitudes towards these violins than it has on the violins themselves.

So I stand by what I wrote earlier in this thread: the scientific study proceeded from a flawed assumption, which is an unquestioned belief that these violins are the best that have ever been made, and probably the best that ever will be.

I disagree with that assumption, as do many others.


Wade Hampton Miller

Yes, that's the long version of what I wrote, wasn't disagreeing w/ you.