Happy Jack Posted August 10, 2017 Share Posted August 10, 2017 https://www.bbc.co.uk/music/articles/ab4167a2-e90f-48c1-8168-80aeb1692dc7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bassbiscuits Posted August 10, 2017 Share Posted August 10, 2017 Blimey - that's astonishing. Makes even the oldest, most valuable electric guitars and basses seem like newcomers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Burns-bass Posted August 10, 2017 Share Posted August 10, 2017 [quote] [color=#292931][font=Arial, Helvetica, freesans, sans-serif][size=4]The Gariel Strad of 1717, which was worth £6.3m in 2012 and will only increase in value[/size][/font][/color] [/quote] It's this sort of thinking that causes problems. There is a massive amount of fraud and manipulation in the world of classical instruments. This is a good read: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/crime/9616021/The-great-Stradivarius-swindle.html There's a great book out there somewhere about this (it's on my shelf and I can't remember the name). What I think is great is that the instruments are, for the most part, still played. Can't say that about vintage Fenders - including some of my own (sadly) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ambient Posted August 10, 2017 Share Posted August 10, 2017 My friend is a cellist. She was my composition tutor at uni, and bought her cello in to a lecture the one day. She played it and I can't tell you the sound it produced, it was so beautiful. It dates back to 18 oh something. I remember her saying it has survived Napoleon and two world wars. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scrumpymike Posted August 10, 2017 Share Posted August 10, 2017 I've heard their lead guitarist plays a Fender Strad Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stu-khag Posted August 10, 2017 Share Posted August 10, 2017 I've been lucky enough to be in the same room as some of those instruments and artists and hear them play through work. Fascinating to take part in auditions for BBC young musician and hear judges say great things about the entrant but then telling them their 2 grand instrument isn't good enough! I've played a few Steinway model D's and its amazing the difference between them. Watching Lang Lang playing in the living room of a renowned piano competition organiser almost blew my ear drums. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ped Posted August 10, 2017 Share Posted August 10, 2017 Very interesting, thanks. In other news, a pre CBS Fender Jaguar guitar was estimated at being with £300 on Bargain Hunt yesterday. In the auction it went for £1000... I must have missed something, maybe it was a bitsa? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bassace Posted August 10, 2017 Share Posted August 10, 2017 It's all ply. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Burns-bass Posted August 10, 2017 Share Posted August 10, 2017 [quote name='Stu-khag' timestamp='1502363721' post='3350927'] Watching Lang Lang playing in the living room of a renowned piano competition organiser almost blew my ear drums. [/quote] He's a bombastic player, isn't he? I don't know a great deal of the classical repertoire, but I've alway enjoyed his technically perfect interpretations. I know some people claim he's a little automatic, but perhaps that's snobbery. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neilp Posted August 10, 2017 Share Posted August 10, 2017 There is some fraud and naughtiness in the string instrument world, but it's mostly fueled by people wanting something for nothing and taking no account of provenance and not doing their research. My double bass is probably - almost certainly - around 1830, built in one of countless workshops in the Mittenwald of Germany. No label, no name so it's almost worthless to a collector. To a player? Sounds fabulous, focussed, rich, loud and even. Easy to play and generally great. If it had a label and a good makers name on the label I could probably ask £30k for it. Would the label make it intrinsically a better bass? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TrevorR Posted August 11, 2017 Share Posted August 11, 2017 £6.3m on loan from the Bank of America, £7.8m on loan from a wealthy individual benefactor, £4.8m on loan from Evil Megacorp Inc... And folks here are too paranoid to take their 2 grand Sadowsky out of the house to a gig in case it gets a tiny scratch on it... imagine how Nicola Benedetti feels as she climbs up the rickety, semi-dark stage stairs in a ball gown and impractical shoes...! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Burns-bass Posted August 11, 2017 Share Posted August 11, 2017 I guess these are tools of the trade. While we fetishise originality (down to the solder joint in some cases) these instruments will all have been changed and improved. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The59Sound Posted August 14, 2017 Share Posted August 14, 2017 Wine snobs and instrument collectors have a lot in common. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PawelG Posted August 14, 2017 Share Posted August 14, 2017 [quote name='Meddle' timestamp='1502749411' post='3353321'] A lot more effort and skill goes into making a classical instrument. Even the most prized pre-CBS Fenders are production line instruments built to a design intended wholly to cut corners and get them out the door quickly. [/quote] I agree totally. Its a different league of craftsmanship. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scalpy Posted August 15, 2017 Share Posted August 15, 2017 A friend of mine at Uni went to her first viola lesson on the course. As a person of short stature she had a 7/8 instrument, and the infamously officious teacher asked to have a look, loudly declaring it was unlikely to be sufficient for the challenging repertoire my friend was about to tackle on the syllabus. One glance through the f hole and the instrument was handed back. My friend was asked if it was genuine, to which the answer was yes. No mention of her choice of instrument was made again during her time doing her degree. My friend's dad was rather high up in the oil business and had bought her £32000 worth of Stradivarius. To be fair the thing was immense. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Happy Jack Posted August 15, 2017 Author Share Posted August 15, 2017 I thought it was 7/8? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigRedX Posted August 15, 2017 Share Posted August 15, 2017 [quote name='Happy Jack' timestamp='1502782448' post='3353411'] I thought it was 7/8? [/quote] I think that's lost on the post-decimals Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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