<!doctype html public "-//w3c//dtd html 4.0 transitional//en"> <html> This was my original query.  Very interesting comparison you made. I have a friend who plays fiddle in a party band. This band has been together for about 40 years. Great reputation in our city and surrounding area. At this time, much of their work is in Casinos.  A coup;le of performances ago, I was at a concert and enjoying it a lot  The  fiddle player , who is also the front man, doing the MC - ing, was playing a fiddle that sounded great. I know he has two fiddles on stage , plugged in and ready to go. He broke an E string one time, and walked straight over to the back and picked up this other fiddle. I think he missed, maybe, an eighth note during this process.(?) , but I didn't like the new sound, as it was quite bassy. Next day I asked him about that, and he said that nobody ever asked about that , even the guys in the band. Well because there was such a huge difference in sound, I imagined that there might be that difference with a Strad. Not having heard one, or at least not aware of it, it's always been on my mind.  Is the difference  only percieved by people who do what we do, and musicians, or is the difference big enough to be noticed by people not involved as we are. Mechanics hear things in cars that most people who drive them, don't.  You mention that this Strad. was much louder. I'm curious as to whether there are other differences , also.  Pianists often require voicing to be done to hammers because they are producing too bright a sound for their liking. Is this necessary for the audience, or is this just for the pianist ???? I know that if an instrument sounds and feels good, it can make playing easier and sometimes better. A clean car seems to run better. Hope this isn't considered off topic. Carl / Winnipeg                     Tvak@aol.com wrote: <blockquote TYPE=CITE>  In a message dated 12/14/03 10:53:48 PM, koko99@shaw.ca writes:     <blockquote CITE STYLE="BORDER-LEFT: #0000ff 2px solid; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px" TYPE="CITE">Wondering if anyone out there has been fortunate enough to have heard a Strad. live, and close-up, and could describe the differences in sound quality.</blockquote> In the orchestra pit at the local theater where I used to conduct, one of the violinists who subbed on the show had a Strad.  I was not aware that it was a Strad and commented to him on the HUGE sound this violin put out.  Being a small pit orchestra, 6 musicians total, it was easy to hear this vast difference.  I couldn't comment on the tone itself.  He was an excellent violinist, with good intonation and expressiveness.  I'm sure that part of the sound generated by the instrument was due to his playing.  Yet, the size of the sound, whether playing piano or fortissimo, was so different than any other violin I ever heard.  (The regular violinist in the pit played an Amati.) Tom Sivak</blockquote> </html>