Never played violin a day in my life but looking to start now, and I surprisingly went 5/5! The older ones seemed to have a more pronounced bass response, a more complex tonal palette, and clearer note definition.
I play violin, I got 5 out of 5. The way to tell is the newer instruments have a little more texture, a little brighter, in some cases a little more grain & grit in the sound (1-B a particularly good example). And that is not a bad thing at all -- a little gravel in a singing voice can be a tremendous asset, and it's true for violins as well. By contrast, the older instruments were consistently a little more mellow, more like a soft focus picture. But this doesn't answer at all which would be the better instrument. That is specific to the player. Some people (say if you like to play solo or chamber music) want more edge and more projection, while other people like to blend in (say if you're an amateur section player in an orchestra). And I wouldn't say older instruments are necessarily more mellow. It could be the way these were set up -- maybe some are strung with Evahs and others with Eudoxas -- that would influence the sound tremendously. As can subtle changes in soundpost adjustment, and afterlength hardware -- you can usually brighten a mellow violin and soften a bright one. There's just no right and wrong. All 10 of these violins sound really good -- they're clear in all registers. And of course the biggest ingredient in the sound isn't even the violin, it's the person playing the violin! I'd love to see SHAR do another one of these comparing $20 to 40k violins with $2,000 to $4,000 violins. People would be surprised that the lower priced instruments hold their own very well as long as they are set up properly with good strings. A good violin has never been as affordable as it is now -- thanks to excellent workshops in China and eastern Europe and a plethora of really talented young violinmakers in the United States.
Guitarist here, got 5/5. The age of the wood clearly affects the tone. Generally the older ones had fuller middle and low ends and a softer and less shrill upper end.
5/5 I recognized the old violins immediately when I heard them. They just have a vintage sound with more nuance that the new violins don't have, and to me they're definitely better.
I had mixed results - 3 right and 2 wrong. Just goes to show its less about when it was made and more about who made it. Each time I went with what I felt was the more beautiful tone. Many have said this is a new golden age for violin making. There are many talented makers all over the world, the United States included. My current violin (Snow PV900) is 17 years old and I just adore it - I’ve had many compliments on its tone from teachers and string professionals as well.
Three of the fiddles I liked best were old, and two, new. I chose A, B, A, B, A. But I'm not convinced that age had anything to do with my preferences.
I asked myself, which sounds better of the two played.¨ Except for the third group, the old ones sounded better. In the third group, I strongly suspected, that it is not the old one, that sounded better to me. And that was the case. Not all old ones are better, just because they are old. You proved that to be right.
I've been playing since the mid 80's. I only got the 3rd one incorrect. I had a tough time with that one. The rest I was spot on. :-) Thank you for doing this video. JH
I was never trained with music but I made 4 correct answers out of 5. So the difference is pretty obvious. IMHO an old violins could have richer overtones over time, just like well-aged wine.
The older instruments just had a much nicer, fuller, warmer, richer sound. They’ve probably just had more time to open up and mature than the newer instruments. From my experience, even beginner instruments have to open up a bit in order to really reach their full tonal range (as limited as it can be).
OMG. Guess I learned something after all those years in school. I can tell the old from the new... a certain je nais se quoi that goes with the old... and a lifetime of ear training or sheer luck?
The quality of the instrument is the most important factor in the sound- not the age or provience. A poorly made instument is never going going to sound nice, not in 500 years! But with time an already very good instrument is likely to become be truly great.
Never played violin a day in my life but looking to start now, and I surprisingly went 5/5! The older ones seemed to have a more pronounced bass response, a more complex tonal palette, and clearer note definition.
OMG, I got 100% correct! Thanks for sharing!
I play violin, I got 5 out of 5. The way to tell is the newer instruments have a little more texture, a little brighter, in some cases a little more grain & grit in the sound (1-B a particularly good example). And that is not a bad thing at all -- a little gravel in a singing voice can be a tremendous asset, and it's true for violins as well. By contrast, the older instruments were consistently a little more mellow, more like a soft focus picture.
But this doesn't answer at all which would be the better instrument. That is specific to the player. Some people (say if you like to play solo or chamber music) want more edge and more projection, while other people like to blend in (say if you're an amateur section player in an orchestra).
And I wouldn't say older instruments are necessarily more mellow. It could be the way these were set up -- maybe some are strung with Evahs and others with Eudoxas -- that would influence the sound tremendously. As can subtle changes in soundpost adjustment, and afterlength hardware -- you can usually brighten a mellow violin and soften a bright one.
There's just no right and wrong. All 10 of these violins sound really good -- they're clear in all registers. And of course the biggest ingredient in the sound isn't even the violin, it's the person playing the violin!
I'd love to see SHAR do another one of these comparing $20 to 40k violins with $2,000 to $4,000 violins. People would be surprised that the lower priced instruments hold their own very well as long as they are set up properly with good strings.
A good violin has never been as affordable as it is now -- thanks to excellent workshops in China and eastern Europe and a plethora of really talented young violinmakers in the United States.
Guitarist here, got 5/5. The age of the wood clearly affects the tone. Generally the older ones had fuller middle and low ends and a softer and less shrill upper end.
I seem to skew more towards the newer instruments
5/5 I recognized the old violins immediately when I heard them. They just have a vintage sound with more nuance that the new violins don't have, and to me they're definitely better.
I had mixed results - 3 right and 2 wrong. Just goes to show its less about when it was made and more about who made it. Each time I went with what I felt was the more beautiful tone. Many have said this is a new golden age for violin making. There are many talented makers all over the world, the United States included. My current violin (Snow PV900) is 17 years old and I just adore it - I’ve had many compliments on its tone from teachers and string professionals as well.
I got them all right. I went off of which ones sounded like they were more open and with more color.
5/5 There is a very minor difference that only a trained violinist can pick up. It is more noticeable when lower notes are played.
Survivor bias: Old violins are old because they sound good.
I only got one right. The second one.
Three of the fiddles I liked best were old, and two, new. I chose A, B, A, B, A. But I'm not convinced that age had anything to do with my preferences.
5/5. I only played violin in middle school. :( trying to get back into it though!
It's never a bad time to get back on the saddle!
That was easy. First one already said everything. :)
I asked myself, which sounds better of the two played.¨
Except for the third group, the old ones sounded better.
In the third group, I strongly suspected, that it is not the old one, that sounded better to me.
And that was the case.
Not all old ones are better, just because they are old.
You proved that to be right.
I was five for five and thought the difference was quite clear. The old violins *all* sounded significantly better and warmer to me.
I've been playing since the mid 80's. I only got the 3rd one incorrect. I had a tough time with that one. The rest I was spot on. :-) Thank you for doing this video. JH
I got 5 out of 5 listening for which ones were clearer and had the better tone.
I was never trained with music but I made 4 correct answers out of 5. So the difference is pretty obvious. IMHO an old violins could have richer overtones over time, just like well-aged wine.
B
A
B
A
A
Are the violins in the pair I thought had a better sound signature
The older instruments just had a much nicer, fuller, warmer, richer sound. They’ve probably just had more time to open up and mature than the newer instruments. From my experience, even beginner instruments have to open up a bit in order to really reach their full tonal range (as limited as it can be).
OMG. Guess I learned something after all those years in school. I can tell the old from the new... a certain je nais se quoi that goes with the old... and a lifetime of ear training or sheer luck?
Super interesting & fun. I didn’t score very well. 2/5
😮I cant believe I got a perfect score
Got 5 out of 5
I got 5 out of 5.....in the opposite direction. I must not be very sophisticated in terms of sound.
There was no difference, to my ear. My violin is 3 years old, I love it.
I got pair 3 wrong. That's all. Even then, I put a question mark next to it.
5/5. The older ones were clearer for sure
The quality of the instrument is the most important factor in the sound- not the age or provience. A poorly made instument is never going going to sound nice, not in 500 years! But with time an already very good instrument is likely to become be truly great.
I got 4 out of 5 correct, sounds better to me lol and I'm not even play an instrument yet
Funny, I got them completely opposite....
I got 0/5, haha
Omg I got every one of those right I don't know why