The Stradvari Paradox

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Christies just sold at auction a Stradvari made in 1707 for $3,500,000.00 up from one sold in april 2005 for $2,500,000.00. A worlds record for a musical instrument.

I can't beleive the prices that are being paid for Collectables....I took a look in the current issue of Hemmings ...a Mustang like mine was advertised for $68,500.00 and it was the only one like it in the issue. Four or five years ago there were ads for 10 to 20 of them in every issue...NOW????

Antique Guns...RE...Violins....where does it stop? Many collectables have gone beyond what the average collector can afford...who can afford $13,800 for a Remington UMC 1911? I know I can't.....

Yet I paid less for the TV set that I just bought than the one I bought 16 years ago....it seems like we live in 2 worlds.

It just doesn't seem like a $$$ is worth a $$$ anymore...

[oldE]

Tabs,

Is it indeed a paradox? The 'value' of any object has always been related in some fashion to its availability. Here on the board, we make reference to no longer available parts as being made of "unobtainium".

There are probably two dozen Chinese factories cranking out TV sets into a market where most people have two, three or four. I don't recall Mr. Stradvari producing a violin recently.

I wonder what the inflation rate would be from 1707 to the present.

Les

[Tim Hancock]

Hell, I will let my "strad" homemade scratch built copy go for only 1 million if I can talk my daughter out of giving it up.

[KFC911]

Dang Tim, that's beautiful work.... might I suggest you call it a Hancokivari and see what it will fetch !

[Tim Hancock]

Originally posted by KC911
Dang Tim, that's beautiful work.... might I suggest you call it a Hancokivari and see what it will fetch !

Some old b!tch at a local violin shop told me that I could not build a violin that was better than the cheap student violins she was trying to sell me for $400. I told her that I was a hardcore DIY type with experience in building real and model wooden aircraft and boats ETC ETC. She then showed me one she had built. The next day I ordered $250 of high end spruce and maple from a luthier supply company. I spent about 250 hours building this thing which included building many of my own tools (bending iron, scrapers, purling cutter etc).

When I took the finished violin to her she was SHOCKED. I had a local custom builder builder inspect it and he stated that in his opinion, it was comparable to a $1500 european built violin. (Tabs, I will let you have it for $800k)

I guess I better keep my day job, as 250 hrs for $1500 is not gonna cut it, but it is now a family heirloom and my daughter has played it in weddings. I since have reconditioned several other violins, it is an enjoyable hobby and both daughters enjoy playing them.

[KFC911]

Originally posted by Tim Hancock
I guess I better keep my day job, as 250 hrs for $1500 is not gonna cut it...

I hear ya...I know if I worked on 911s for a living...I'd soon be in the welfare line ! Is the 'high end spruce and maple' the key to the sound? I seem to remember a documentary sometime back on the Stradvari's 'tone' (and why it was so exquisite), and that was one of the theories...the wood he used. Anyways... beautiful craftsmanship!

[Jim Richards]

Tim, if you make any more, you'll just be diluting the brand. Some day your violin might be sold at auction at Christie's.

[ZOA NOM]

Beautiful work, Tim.

Check out the movie "The Red Violin". Great story about a violin made by one of the masters and varnished with his dead wife's blood that takes you through the violin's time line.

[Tim Hancock]

Originally posted by KC911
I hear ya...I know if I worked on 911s for a living...I'd soon be in the welfare line ! Is the 'high end spruce and maple' the key to the sound? I seem to remember a documentary sometime back on the Stradvari's 'tone' (and why it was so exquisite), and that was one of the theories...the wood he used. Anyways... beautiful craftsmanship!

The sound quality on a violin cannot be based on any one component. Wood quality/aging, graduation thicknesses of the top and bottom plates, shape of the bass bar, shape of the top and bottom plates, varnish, strings, sound post placement etc etc. It truly is a black art and many have debated for years what makes the best violins. One of the common points of discussion about Strads, is the formulation of varnish used by him.

[Tim Hancock]

Originally posted by ZOANAS
Beautiful work, Tim.

Check out the movie "The Red Violin". Great story about a violin made by one of the masters and varnished with his dead wife's blood that takes you through the violin's time line.

Yep, seen it, good movie.

[stuartj]

Originally posted by Tim Hancock
[B]Hell, I will let my "strad" homemade scratch built copy go for only 1 million if I can talk my daughter out of giving it up.

Tim

Absolutely beautiful. The 250 hours is what makes it so. I love wooden instruments, there is nothing like beautiful timber coming to life, and a well made instrument will open up with age, care and use.

I wish I could do that, I dips me lid.

Stuart

[gaijindabe]

Originally posted by KC911
I seem to remember a documentary sometime back on the Stradvari's 'tone' (and why it was so exquisite), and that was one of the theories...the wood he used. Anyways... beautiful craftsmanship!

For the longest time they concentated on the varnish and the shapes he used - then someone figured out the wood was grown during a period of "global cooling". Slow growing and dense.. Interesting stuff.

[Tim Hancock]

Originally posted by gaijindabe
For the longest time they concentated on the varnish and the shapes he used - then someone figured out the wood was grown during a period of "global cooling". Slow growing and dense.. Interesting stuff.

Believe it or not, some even are contemplating about whether the sewage in the river that the logs were floated down may have conditioned the wood in some way!

Strads in reality, are now more or less collector pieces and very few are actually in use. While many indeed possesed fine tonal quality, it does not mean that every Strad will neccesarily sound any better than another old master built instrument worth only $20,000. It has been awhile since I have read up on this stuff, but I think there are about 50 "known" Strads in the world today and tens of thousands of Strad "copies". In Europe, in the 1800's, lot's of little shops turned these things out in the thousands to folks who wanted to impress their friends with their "Strads" (kind of like the Rolex watches one can buy on the street in NYC).

[KFC911]

Originally posted by gaijindabe
For the longest time they concentated on the varnish and the shapes he used - then someone figured out the wood was grown during a period of "global cooling". Slow growing and dense.. Interesting stuff.

Yes!, that's the part I didn't remember the specifics of....

[lendaddy]

Tim, you're a freak!

[Tim Hancock]

Yeah Lendaddy, no doubt, I have a few too many hobbies.

[lendaddy]

Originally posted by Tim Hancock
Yeah Lendaddy, no doubt, I have a few too many hobbies.

After seeing your plane and the one you're making, then this I am convinced you obviously have a serious meth addiction and should seek help immediately

[M.D. Holloway]

Tabs - back to your question (although Tims work is exceptionally notable - you sir are a craftsman extrodinire!)

The huge tickets mean that 1) Some money is free to play with which means the eco is as strong as ever and 2) some people or *****'n nuts - blame it on a version of mad cow.

[Mulhollanddose]

Originally posted by Tim Hancock
Some old b!tch at a local violin shop told me that I could not build a violin that was better than the cheap student violins she was trying to sell me for $400.

I bet you cannot make a a Spruce Goose better than Howard Hughes' cheap ass version.

[kach22i]

Tim, that is awesome - I'm so blown away.

My father-inlaw makes violins and guitars from scratch - even mills his own wood from tree stumps.

He has reconditioned many others.

Such talent Tim, freak'n talent up the wazoo man.