Double blind test on Strads

We dont know enough about the test, the listeners or qualifications to consider this a open shut case, may be true and if so it wont change 99.99999999% of peoples lives anyway. ;)

Likely all the violins in the dark room test are china-made fakes. The real deal Strads have been stolen and smuggled to some rich guy in China.

I was curios about the new smell, but in this link it says they put perfume on the chinrest. [http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/notrocketscience/2012/01/02/violinists-can%E2%80%99t-tell-the-difference-between-stradivarius-violins-and-new-ones/]

Like all tests where the tester has a preconceived bias or a vested interest or just wants to debunk tradition, both the way the data is collected and the results need to be put in context. Rarely are any tests, which apparently "disprove" accepted theory, are done where they are completely and utterly on a level playing field. I tend to avoid this sort of thing - it does seem to be a modern trend.

As with most "tests" of this kind, some very important factors are conveniently overlooked. What makes some instruments (not just violins) great are characteristics that are not uncovered by a minutes-long playing session. Ironically, sometimes a great vintage instrument feels more difficult to play when a player unfamiliar with it first plays it than a "more responsive" modern instrument. These old instruments can have such strong sonic personalities (a good thing) that the player needs to live with it for some time in order to learn how to coax the very complex, beautiful, and potentially superior sound that it is capable of. Not to mention that how an instrument feels/sounds in a small room is a completely different thing than how will project in a concert hall.