$69 vs $10,000,000 Stradivarius Violin - Ray Chen
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- čas přidán 25. 06. 2020
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Time to learn what the difference of $9,999,931 dollars sounds like.
🔔 Subscribe to the channel for the latest vids: www.youtube.com/@RayChenVioli...
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List of pieces (in order of appearance):
Beginner: Twinkle Twinkle Little Star
Intermediate: Bach Violin Concerto in A minor
Intermediate: Bach Violin Concerto for Two Violins (Violin 2)
Intermediate-Advanced: Massenet "Meditation de Thais"
Advanced: Lalo Symphonie Espagnole (1st mvt)
Advanced: Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto (3rd mvt)
Super-Advanced: Tartini-Kreisler Devil's Trill (Cadenza)
Super-Advanced: Milstein "Paganiniana"
Closing track: "Story Time" by 11 Acorn Lane
• 11 Acorn Lane - Story ...
#AtHome #WithMe #Stradivarius #Violin
Thumbnail art: / punchyleaf - Hudba
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here you go 🍦 🍦 🍦
Ray you don't need ice cream you're too cool already
ice cream all day, everyday
hEaLtHY
Ice creammm
Greetings from Singapore. Its 10 at night and im watching RayChen yoohoo
He really doesn't make the 69 dollar violin sound all that cheap.
Sounds about 10,000,000 times better than me
I can do the opposite to the Strad 👹
Wear good headphones, you can easily hear the difference. The Stradi is much richer, while the 69 lmao violin sounds flat and thin.
Nice
@@rykehuss3435 Not $9999931 worth of difference.
Thanks for the comparison. Been trying to decide between these two violins for a while. It was close but I'm gonna go with the $10,000,000 one.
Same, tho I’m concerned the price of Strads will go up now the cat is out of the bag and everything
@@imabugnow 🤣👍
Can you afford it? That's the question.
@@user-qu6xp3jq4c that's exactly what the joke is about
😂😂😂😂
As a non-violinist, the $69 one seemed to “ring” or produce a slight overtone that made the notes sound….thin. Thin is the word that comes to mind. The Strat sounds full, rich and warm. No competing overtones from string to string.
I think "thin" is a good description, for some reason that's the word that comes to mind for me too. I'm not a violinist either, although I learned for a few years as a child/teenager. (Sadly gave it up as a confused teenager with undiagnosed ADHD).
To me, the Strad is the one that sounds thin. The $69 Violin sounded much heavier and cloudier than the Strad. Personally, I liked the $69 violin better.
the 69$ one didnt sing as ell
Mmm yes, the fullness and warming sound of money
@@Kateyangyuqing you're probably thinking about timbre. The less expensive violin sounds reedy - or has less of 'body,' sounds shrill in comparison to the more expensive one.
Stunning how you were able to make the 69 dollar violin sound so good. Amazing player.
Moral Lesson: You don't need a 10m-dollar violin, you need a 10m-dollar talent.
IT'S CALLED PRACTICE
@@simyou1219 ling-Ling approved! 40 hrs everyday now go practice!
The one you call “talent” most of the time is practice and passion
@@White.cat_ Without talent that translates in mediocrity.
You don't need either. Any one can make beautiful music using cheapest violin with some practice.
The cheap violin in it's wildest dreams never thought it would be touched and played like that. It's going to have a Napoleon complex for the rest of its life.
yeah 😂
"Touched and played like that"
That violin probably had a cigarette after they were done
There;s no such thing as a Napoleon Complex. Please stop using this phrase. It's ignorant and offensive.
@@proksenospapias9327 I am not ignorant to the history of Napoleon. What I find interesting is your offense to a comment intended to be an off handed complement. Being offended when no offense was meant is a tough way to live, especially in CZcams.
Dude you ARE worth $10,000,000! You made them both sounded great!!
It's crazy to me that we, the general public, get to hear such a beautiful and historic instrument being played so expertly by such an amazing artist in such a casual setting, with commentary from the artist. Thank you Ray, for helping make the arts more accessible to us.
I would be scared to even be in the same room with a 10.000.000$ instrument
These are all covered by insurance of the loaning organization... Which means if it's completely destroyed, they get $10,000,000 in cash
@@asianamericancasestudies6434 Yeah, but it's not about the price... It is a limited unique instrument you can't buy with money if it's destroyed, because Stradivarius is dead :(
Yes but if your child was freezing to death and it was all you had for fire wood ...would ya?
@@abrakadaniel5908 There were thousands of violin makers and millions of violins produced, all unique. So what's unique about this other than people's minds of it from media?
@@asianamericancasestudies6434 WHAT
THE
HECK A STRAD SOUNDS BETTER
Conclusion: You don't need a better instrument, you need a better violinist.
Brett and eddy mentioned its like 80% player for a violin
@@emilyscloset2648 wise words!
It is amazing how even the poor instrument sounds with him
…which is undoubtedly why I could make a $10,000,000 Strad sound just like a $69 Glarry.
That's for so many instruments.
"only bad musicians blame their instruments."
All the violins I've ever heard always sound almost exactly like the $69 one. The $10,000,000 Stradivarius violin truly sounds amazing, and the warmth, power, and stability, especially in the lower register, is unrivaled.
How so? what makes it sound "warm"er? If youre using purely sound words?
This really shows that a really cheap violin is all you need if you are a beginner or casual player. There are people who think they need to have an expensive instrument but in all likelihood will never play the complex melodies that really bring out the difference in quality between a cheap mass-produced and an expensive hand-crafted violin.
And above all this shows that the player is always more important than the instrument. A good violinist is going to sound good even on a cheap violin.
Exactly
I love how when he's playing one violin, the other one patiently waits on the couch...
Idk why but I laughed hard at this comment
@@soggywafflez3024 maybe it is bcuz of his profile pic and name ..lol😂😂😂
not gonna lie, it scared me seeing a Strad sitting on a couch balanced without a case or protection. My normal practice violin is only $1500 but it never sits outside like that for more than 1 min.
Though the Strad's resonance is nothing but grand n your hands the cheeep one is tolerable, decent and should have no shame. It's just that the ear Will long for the sumptuous nourishment of the greater resonances. Thank you. This was fun.
Hahahahaha..You need help😂😂😂😂😂
Antonio Stradivari seeing this:
"Wait, but I sold this instrument for just $69... 300 years ago?"
@@willieboy8798 consider learning what a joke is, some people....
@@willieboy8798 okay, I don't think he was trying to make you mad, but your first comment kinda took the fun out of the original comment. Also, a 69 dollar bill still doesn't exist. You do know there were other forms of currency which can be translated into the equivalence of dollars.
@@willieboy8798 🤨😐🙂😋
Oh ok lol
@@willieboy8798 dont be a douche
This is ridiculous, he's trolling
The strad just makes me want to cry! It has such a beautiful tone, it does all the frequencies so well.
Goodness, whether $10M or $69, it's just a pleasure to hear you riff.
Ray: strad has better quality, and warmth and better sound
Me with my 2$ headphones from Japan:
Yes
The sound exactly the same from my phone speaker lmao. Maybe it's just my ears...
@@pdorism nop, its just ur cheap speakers
in person their would be a much bigger sound difference than you can hear through even really good headphones.
Supersonic Typist I know. Obviously the pros don’t play on *$69* violins
You can very much hear a difference. The Strad even has better dynamics.
I have anxiety looking at the $10 Million dollar violin sitting on that couch. What if someone sits on it.
Coffin Dance :)
Boxmining Really depends if Ray lives by himself. I’m pretty sure Ray has enough experience as a violinist to know to check the sofa when he sits down...
Imagine it with Glarry violin strings.
Or a dog or cat lie down on it 😅
same
In my 40s and out of curiosity I took a few violin lessons. Given my experience as a violinist, I was absolutely blown away by your play and interpretation of “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star.” Well done sir.
Mr Chen may be a world class soloist but his congenial candor is unique. The fact that he gives a genuine critique of both instruments *and* that he does not totally trash the $69 one in summation demonstrates he's also an outstanding gentleman.
Bravissimo!
"If you still can't hear the difference, that's because I'm worth $10mil." - I mean... he's not wrong.... I'm sure he can make any instrument sing.
It is about how last the wood is, 69 dollar will dead soon, but strad is forever.
Swap out the strings with higher quality ones as well as the bridge and adjust the sound post on the $69.00 violin and perform a blind sound test, and I'm sure many professional violinists would struggle to tell the difference.
@@deanjones2525 Pretty sure somebody did that and came to roughly the same conclusion you did--it was a strad vs a modern violin, and most people (both the players and the listeners, since the test was a double-blind) couldn't tell the difference.
@@astracrits4633 No actual instrument should be $69. It would have made more sense to compare a $400.00 violin to the strad, because at that price range the quality should be more than enough.
@@GarGlingT That’s partly because it’s worth the effort and expense to maintain them. Any violin is delicate; what’s important is how much effort is spent in maintaining it.
What’s weird is I couldn’t tell you exactly what the difference is between them…the cheap one is perfectly acceptable, but when he plays the strad it’s just like a breath of fresh air
I'm not a musician and while I could tell them apart, it was hard to say what exactly the difference was. I tried listening with my eyes closed and the feeling I got was that first violin was nicely played and it sounded alright but the second was how I think classical music is supposed to sound. It made me think of films about Mozart, classical concerts, powdered wigs, and minuets. Rich and full-bodied, whereas the first violin sounded flat, un-reverberating and a bit nasal, even.
Tone was richer, it had more depth and more character while the cheap violin sounded plastic, shallow, harsh, and hollow. I don’t really know how to explain it so apologies if this didn’t make sense 😅
Strad has more bass and treble almost like a scooped mid sound makes it sound like a broader range of sound resonating across more frequencies whereas the other one is very tightly focused on the midrange without much bass at all. Is it worth 10,000,000? Clearly.
The difference would be way more obvious in person. I went from a cello rental to buying a nice cello a bit over 4 months back and you might not be able to tell the difference very well over a recording. However, the nicer cello is way more resonant, meaning that it sounds more clear and far louder. But the main difference is how much easier it is to play. Its crazy how big of a leap you can make in playing ability just by getting an instrument that doesn't feel like its constantly fighting you. Hell, it feels crazy to me just thinking about how much my playing has improved in those 4-5 short months I've had it.
I could explain everything in detail but sometimes I just don´t want to think about music. The strad just gives me gossebumps when it is played. Kind of magic
No matter the violin, Ray Chen always sounds good.
I'm not a violinist, but have been playing guitar for over fifty years. Not qualified to give an opinion on violins, but I do know that certain acoustic guitars that are at least 60 or 70 years old have a resonance and beauty of sound which you cannot get from any new handmade instrument. Such as a 1920s D-28 Martin acoustic. That being said, I really did enjoy the performance during the comparison. Absolutely brilliant! Gifted musician!
Me who is a pianist, but knows all the pieces Ray played: Twoset had taught me well
Me, an amateur violinist who still doesn't know most of them: *sounds of shame*
Yeah I learned a lot from twoset! I didn’t know the name of the super-advanced piece, the one before the paganiniana...
@@MarcelloACG Hello It’s Brett’s Tchaikovsky 😂 3rd movement
🤝
proove it
There certainly is a huge difference. But he still makes the cheap violin sound good.
It just doesn't sound good though. It sounds like a Walmart violin. Not trying to be rude but it is quite tinny, no depth, and just bad. Would have been much better to compare a modern 2-5k violin because even then there would have been a notable difference just much less.
As someone who does not play, I can hear no difference. Wild
True
@obzen while the Stradivarius does sound more resonant with a deeper tone/more body in the low-mids, it's not a $10,000,000 tone... You don't understand. Once the violin is Strad, it is very expensive, even if it sounds bad or if damaged / unplayable. Ray's Strad sounds reasonably good, but it is not anything on the level of the best Strads from golden period. His strad is 1735 whed Stradivari was old and on decline. Golden period was 1700-1725.
But even 1735 Strad is far more expensive then - let's say very good Guadagnini (Julia Fisher plays Guadagnini for example) and average Guadagnini is much more expensive then outstanding Vuillaume (Hilary Hahn plays Vuillaume for example) which has nothing to do with the quality of the sound of these instruments.
I suppose Hilary's Vuillaume can eat any Stradivarius violin for a dinner except few super good ones.
Frankly, you need to learn a lot about violins. It is not as simple as it looks and more expensive instrument doesn't mean better sound quality, handling, response etc.
Sometimes the corelation exists. The best violin in the world is probably Paganini's Canone, which is the most expensive violin without any doubts. But it is not a Strad. It is Guarneri. The price tag is infinity, money can't buy it.
The second best violin in the world is probably Spivakov's Carlo Giuseppe Testore violin made in 1708. Just my opinion. The third is probably another Guarneri, the David 1749, ex Heifetz.
I don't know how many Strad's are in top ten, but at least three or four. All of those instrument are far much better then Ray's Strad and as for as Carlo Giuseppe Testore, he sells for $100.000 or so.
Facts. I am no connoisseur but yes the differences so Apparent from the beginning oh, but I definitely cheap violin good until everything started to get more difficult
I honestly can’t believe how good you make the cheap violin sound. Amazing.
The biggest difference is felt by the musician or someone who is a professional listener. For the average listener, there is not much difference. The result is that you are really a skilled musician. Well done, it's really admirable.
Hank should be the one showing off his violin
Yes, yes and yesssssssssss!!!!!
Hank should be playing the 69
Yeah, let Hank out of the basement! Even if he spits a little when he talks
Just wanted it to be a fair test... Hank isn't very good at the violin. Maybe next time I can transfer some of my violin powers to him.
Ray Chen Hank should try to play a strad
Crazy how a violin looks perfect after 300 years, yet an electric guitar after 40 years looks like it went through a war
Strads have been taken apart and reassembled/tweaked for over 300 years. Same with most old violins. You can break open a violin, clean it up and glue it back together, and put some varnish and other things without damaging the instrument.
That's because we treat them differently. How many of us keep our guitars in cases after playing?
All those gigs for common-folk takes its toll
@@sagnikpaul233 oof size LARGE (I'm a guitarist and I feel attacked)
As Indiana Jones says, “it’s not the years, it’s the mileage.” Lol
I’m amazed at how good a 69 dollar violin sounds. We bought by daughter a cheap one to play with, the strings won’t stay in tune. I’m grabbing her one of these.
Use rosin in the tubing pegs.
@@PatrickMitchellMusic78 great idea, thank you. New to this, I never played but my daughter is interested.
The strad isn't worth millions for nothing, it's like it's singing on its own, it has a spirit of its own and the human playing becomes the instrument 😮
Strad is worth millions because rich people want it. It's like fine art, a status symbol. But as practical instrument for average folks though, it's just another violin, not a hell of lot better than bottom tier Glarry.
There’s a reason that people can’t build a strad today.
@@coldspring22true
Yup, definitely, spirit...has a life of its own...
The 10,000,000 strad sitting on coach behind. Off screen: 12 body guards.
there is literally only 500 of the strad violins left on this planet so you might as well
@@awasteoftime4329 that's more than half considering he made over 900
The difference between the two violins is obviously night and day, but this also really demonstrates that the way a violin sounds is about 90% the player and 10% the instrument.
I heard an 8th grade clarinet student at a competition who was assumed by a judge to be playing on a wooden clarinet because their tone was so good. It was a beginner plastic one but the student had grown into (and could afford) high quality reeds.
Agreed! 👍
I can't believe how good the 69 dollar violin sounds in all honesty
@@TheNthomas1999 Yes, to be honest, Stradivarius doesn't sound that good for 10 million dollar instrument. Violin is fiendishly difficult instrument to play at high level and it's 99% player and 1% instrument
@@TheNthomas1999 I couldn't believe that a $69 violin even exists!
Stradivari used wood from Fiemme Spruce trees which grow in *Fiemme* *Valley* *Italy.*
The wood absorbs less moisture than other woods used to make strings instruments. This results in a harder wood that also maintains it's flexibility to resonate. The end result is the sound is more brilliant or crisp on the high end while having very smooth harmonics across the entire range of the instrument's sound.
The wood from those trees are sought by luthiers around the world.
The Fiemme Valley Spruce takes decades to reach maturity where the tree is 10-15 feet. But they're allowed to grow much longer before they're harvested for instruments.
Some of those trees there are literally 100s of years old.
That was fun! Thank you for the excellent comparison!
I'd say hearing the 69 $ violin being played then hearing the strad was like seeing the world around and thinking "it looks nice ", then an eye doctor tell you you need glasses to see clearly, you put them on, expecting nothing because you don't think you're missing out on something, and suddenly there are sparkles in your eyes and a lump in your throat because now there are leaves on the trees and so many more details and colors and it all looks amazing.
Exactly
Very well said. The $69was alright, sufficient, but the strad is divine
Relatable
@@lordsiomai Comparing the two, yes the strad was better in this case. But there are videos out there that like NPR did a blind test between a normal expensive violin that someone in a first-chair orchestra would have vs. a strad and there isn't too much of a difference.
Imagine having a $10 Million strad and playing twinkle twinkle little star
And here I thought he was playing ABC.
@@davidl6558 😂😂😂😂😂😂
That’s what those spoiled rich kids would do
David L it’s the same tune tho?
@@davidl6558 I feel like ABC and twinkle twinjlw little star are the same melodies
your playing is amazing. Thank you :)
I see you really enjoying that once in a lifetime opportunity to play a stradivarius🥰 great to watch that
The Stradivarius sounds like two violins playing simultaneously in perfect unison compared with the basic violin. Still, I was surprised by how good the basic one sounded. Great artist.
Yeah, I thought that instruments at that price point couldn't hold a candle whatsoever to an actual professional instrument, was pleasantly surprised with this video that didn't sound absolutely horrible (and yes, I know its partly due to the fact that its being played by a professional violinist. But still, pretty impressive)
Wow, that was a good description of the sound of the Stradivarius. Well said.
don't worry I can play the 10,000,000 dollar violin and make it sound like a 69 dollar violin. that's my talent guys
A violist is especially good at that because they can never play in tune
I can bet I can beat you at making a Strad sound like a 69$!
Nope, I'm not proud of it.😭
I can make the Strad sound like playing a viola.
omg same, we should collab sometimes
ARB 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂
You played both of them very well, but the Stradivari is on point. Most of the people wouldn’t hear any different between these instruments if you play the cheaper one live on stage and don’t say anything. Great talent by the way. I like the Stradivari.
Nah, the cheaper one would have a much harder time projecting over an orchestra.
once again at AWE at how SKILLED this man is, OMG. you GO, Ray!!!
Shut up everyone , cheap violins was a miracle in my life , I couldn't afford expensive ones when I was growing up , it helped me to learn violin and now I am professional , I'm happy that there are cheap violins
Im so happy for you! Im glad you were able to work yourself up, despite not being able to afford an expensive violin. I myself am very interested in playing the violin, and I always have been, but neither my family nor I are able to spend large amounts on things that are 'optional' to have. Im glad to see that you dont have to be excessively rich to learn a new skill.
@@ireallydontcare443backoff5 exactly
prove that you are pro
That was Ray's whole point at the end - cheap violins are fine for learning the basics on, but as you get better you really need to upgrade your instrument.
Any way to learn the violin online ? I am considering buying a violin ( cheap one too ) and would like to learn how to play it. Thanks
Chen: It definitely has this richness to it.....
$10 000 000 violin: Yeah. I wonder why.....
😂😂😂
You are incredible on both
We need a video: Pretending to be a beginner in online lessons...but with a 10,000,000 violin. Who will notice?
Another idea: $1 bow + $10,000,000 violin, vs $10,000,000 bow vs $1 violin!
Kudos to the $70 violin even being playable at those difficulties though! I play a 1450 AUD violin, and it has good sound for the price. I am working on some Advanced level pieces though, so I am thinking of an upgrade soon.
Have to say, you made that $69 violin sound beautiful
Well you made $69 violin sound amazing ^_^
69th like
Nice
ray playing that $69 one just made the price shoot up to 200.
That's a "Ray Chen" Glarry GV300.
*$4444*
SIX PISTOLS
The moment he touched it it just boosted
gay comment
That's a really great video.
amazing the different between the two..
You are a very good player.
You have a lovely personality and a really great smile. Of course your playing is bravo bravo!!
All instruments have that a-ha moment. I still remember when I got my professional model oboe. It was like “what have I been playing all these years?” The difference in warmth and clarity was night and day.
Yes, i agree. In my own life. i heard the differences instantly, the first time I played my Martin D-28 guitar fmv 2k+ USD vs. my no brand starter Aria adult instrument (MIK)fmv 170 USD which i had bought 13 years earlier . The bottom line was the Martin guitar was " warmer" and more resonant. I have had it for 17 years now and it has gotten better with age.
@@daviddemar8749 Generally, that's true, David. However, back in 2000 I bought a $750 Carvin acoustic guitar (MIK) with Rosewood back & sides/Sitka spruce top and it is so well made that I have put it up against $3000-4000 Martins and Gibsons and it holds its own very well.
It has all of the richness, warmth, and lusciousness of the other two. I don't know, maybe I just happened to get a really exceptionally well made guitar.
@@beatlesrgear
Im happy for you. Apparently you lucked out. 😊 Imho anything that is a motivator that can get any guitar player to practice/play more is just fine- assuming it's not something that undercuts a person's family or professional or financial responsibilities. Ultimately whether you are a hobbyist guitarist like me or a professional like Eric Clapton it's what you do with your fingers and hands when you're playing and how you live your life when you're not playing that matters.
Whilst the Strad obviously has a richer and warmer sound, I was really impressed by the $69 violin. It was only at the super advanced level did its shortcomings become really obvious. No doubt that has something to do with the extraordinary skill and technique of Ray Chen.
Ditto on that one,
Yeah good point that a cheap instrument can’t handle complex technical pieces because of how shoddy it is made to be but to be honest those who buy those kinds of instruments are not going to be using it to ply taxing stuff that a strad player is going to anyaay
I've been wanting to learn violin and the prices involved scared me off. Listening to Ray throw mountains of complexity at the cheap violin and it still keeping up moderately well convinced me to add it to my Amazon wishlist.
Ray is cheating, this is NOT $69 violin out of the box.
Decent new blank violin bridge is wort $6 and more. Setup the bridge correctly is worth $25 at least. Adjusting soundpost is another $25. I'm not sure about the strings, they seems to be cheap steel core, but not the cheapest ones. I think they are worth $10 a set or more.
So it is $69 violin with $66 upgrade so the price was doubled just -just to be able to cross the strings and play in higher positions and produce very bad sound, even in Ray's hands :)
Indeed... not bad at all, really
Thanks for showing us this. The resonance in the Strad is superior. The sound holds for longer and with less distortion.
So interesting. The inexpensive one sounds like a bunch of frequencies are filtered out. It’s so much quieter, too.
I would love to hear a comparison video where you move up the scale of cost until you get a sound that’s close to the antique. Like, where is the point in the curve where it flattens out?
I want to see a comparison video of two-three or so violins except he never tells you which one is the expensive one.
Filter out the biases
@@Nazuiko there are several videos demonstrating that. You just have to search.
that strad is older than twinkle twinkle little star
This comment just blew my mind 😮
and uptown funk
As well as most of the pieces in this video.
probably just the variation, not the original tune? But mind-blowing still
Wikipedia says the tune dates from 1740. So yeah, the Strad has it beat by a few years. :)
Me listening to the $69 one: wow that sounds amazing
The $10m one comes in: ~OOoOhH~
I LITERALLY MADE THAT NOISE TOO 😂😂😂
@@Justine4Treasurer For me, asmr has nothing on that sound.
To be honest, I was impressed that the $69 violin didn't just fall apart while he was playing it. Equipment at that quality level for any hobby or activity really isn't meant to function properly and only serves to fool beginners due to a passing resemblance to higher quality equipment. I ride horses and all the gear I've seen at that price point that comes in kits like this will either fall apart, get you killed or both, so colour me impressed that it actually sounded decent and didn't crumble.
@@ArtGirl82 I saw a saddle on wish for 69$ and I was like wait what. My saddle cost me an arm and a leg xD no way that a saddle for 69$ will be in any way usable 🤣
@@codexone2194 Agreed
Excellent comparison. Your performance of the various skill levels was great. Amazing playing too.
Thank you for an excellent comparison between these two instruments!
The Stradivari seems to really come to it's right the more complicated and advanced the melodies are. To my ears as an intermediate pianist, not violinist, the Strad has a deeper, warmer sound, and just a tad rebellious dissonance to it. The resonance is definitely softer and it definitely has to do with the wood and its construction.
The cheaper violin seems to be good at the basics, it's intended to. You learn the technique and hear the shrill and clear tones, but the more advanced the player and music, it just can't keep up. It's like it's made of lego and not wood.
I'll be honest - that $70 violin seems to work very well for the money. For a first violin, I'd pick that right up. That fact that it actually works for that price is amazing. This is great ad for Glary.
aw man
I hate to disappoint you, but the reason it seems to work well is entirely because of the guy who is playing it. Cheap instruments are way harder to learn on.
@@Lily-wd7dz so the strad would sound good in the hands of a bad musician?
I agree that it's easier to learn on a better instrument, I'm still going to give Glary props for producing a usable beginner instrument for $70.
@@JSchroederee actually, kinda. Obviously there's a limit to how good a bad musician can sound, but better instruments tend to be easier to get a good sound out of.
Setting up a cheap violin requires expert knowledge though. My Amazon violin…didn’t come with a bridge in a usable state. No notches for strings, shape wasn’t quite right, etc. CZcams tutorials and lots of time wasted to try to sand away bits of the bridge. And trying to tune. However, give me a Strad and I’ll still sound terrible, lol.
Ray Chen: "The strad has richness."
The 128 kbps CZcams audio: *sweats*
i'm not a violinist, though i've followed twoset since 2020 so i've seen a good bit of violin stuff, so up until the advanced section they didn't sound too far apart to me. and then advanced/super-advanced parts... and holy guacamole, the strad SHONE. gorgeously rich, warm sound
I really enjoyed that. I'm surprised the sound difference seemed so small to my ear. Of course the play-ability difference has to be enormous.
If this is anything like RaySMR...
I'll take this as a petition for more RAYSMR
Ray Chen plz no
@@RayChenViolinist All in for more RAYSMR
@@RayChenViolinist plz no
@@RayChenViolinist yes, please! 🍦🍧🍨
Bruh does anyone here having an anxiety looking at 10 mil violin being laid there on the couch like a bag of potato
It Looks pretty comfortable to me
Also in the beginning while he had it balancing on his lap, swinging his arms all over
Violins are pretty tough. A sofa is perfectly safe.
Violins are pretty tough. A sofa is perfectly safe.
rfdzn yes but that is a strativarius violin.....
Absolutely cosmic sound of the Strad. Сlear, deeper, richer and more stable sound, the instrument is more responsible.. Pure pleasure. Thank you a lot for playing and video!
Well done - a very fair presentation!
So basically on one side
“it’s you not me”-musician
and on the other side
“it’s you not me” -the strad
wood: 40$
strings: 15$
sound clarity: 9 999 931 $
bow: 14$
Someone who is good at finance please help me budget this.
maybe cut a bit from sound clarity?
He didn't tell us the approximate value/cost of the violin bow that he used... It wasn't the one from the $69 kit...
Strings are kinda expensive actually, good wood too
@@Martinullis ANTIQUE wood
Ah, well I would probably go with something around 75-150€ for strings 😂 Good strings are reaaaally expensive
And well, the bow is probably a few hundred more as well
Great demonstration Ray. Now, I'm absolutely not a musician or a scientist; I just enjoy good music. To me the Strad seemed to maintain previous notes into the following notes, thereby creating a flow rather than a start-stop series of notes. That leads me to believe the Strad is capable of sustaining multiple resonances simultaneously.
Thank you Ray, an excellent violin sound comparison. For me the budget violin sound hurts my ears a little, while the Strad sound smoother and less acute. However in a blind test I think I am not sure if I will discover which is which since I am not a musician but a music lover.😊
It was fascinating to hear how well Ray made a $69 violin sound - albeit with more effort. What might be more interesting is comparing the Strad with a modern violin by a first class luthier- something in the $50K price range. Then the question would be: does an excellent modern violin compare with an excellent Strad..
nice
Sadly, it's been pretty much proven by double blind tests that modern quality instruments are virtually indistinguishable with Strads and Guarnieris. I was hoping the Strad would be better. Maybe the musician just rises to the majesty of a 300 year old historical artifact.
This begs the question what is the difference of the strings being played and the impact of a quality bow. Great video. Thanks.
Does, but, IMO not as "complex". And I swear there's something about the wood or the way they were treating the wood back then but it's like the older strings seem to have more resonance, and, I think, character is the term.
I cant remember what it's called, but Two-Set have a video in which they do more or less that (though not with modern instruments - one was an 18th. century Lupot, I remember). It's very interesting.
*plays $10mil violin*
Ray: Yeah, it definitely has this _richness_ to it.
6:50
LOL
I literally read this comment as he said it. It felt so satisfying
I should bloody well hope so for that price tag! Lol
Thank you for this video. It's the best comparison I have ever seen😊
the times when the violin was tilted more toward the mic was when I could hear an extra resonance from the f-holes of the strad. and then when you want to advanced and super-advanced, the difference got really stark
The Stradivarius is beyond magnificent! It responds so well to the player's dynamics, attacks of the notes it is "alive" and rich. Notice how in the hands of this master violinist the $69 violin sounds great -- until you hear the Strad. It is true that a master musician can make a junker sound great. But then listen to the Strad. WOW!!
nice
Give him a modern high end violin and compare it with the strad. You'll be hard pressed to identify which is which without being told.
You are getting too amped. Strad costs $10 million simply because it's in demand from rich people as investment. Stradivarious is status symbol to own like gucci bags or some fine art piece for the rich, even if they don't play violin or even enjoy violin music.
WOW INDEED!!
@@nobodyspecial4702 As I said/implied in my previous comments, a lesser instrument in the hands of a master will sound wonderful. To your point, this would be even more so with a modern high end instrument.
You could definitely hear the difference. But what surprised me most was that for only $69, you can get a violin that sounds pretty decent. I would have thought that a beginner’s violin would run in the hundreds.
I was surprised that you could even GET a violin for $69 too! When I was a kid, my beginner's violin cost like $500 I think!
@@Kateyangyuqing thats why when I was into guitars I hated the tonewood debate. Its not about the wood its about the quality of the electronics and the player. Same with violins. Its about the strings and player. A strad is a status symbol like air Jordan's.
@@violinfanatickamraz1403 mate you do not know what you are on about. The strings are important but the wooden body is responsible of most of the overtones and projection.
@@loiman4179 so youre saying my EMG pick up and other high end hardware isn't gunna wake the devil in a particleboard body? shattered😢
Thank you, Ray.🙏
It is amazing the difference in sound and presence. What beautiful playing. I like these kind of videos. Good job
This cheap violin is a GREAT for beginners on a budget. You dont need anything more than that on the first stage of learning.
In the hands of a master either can sound great, but the cheap one is much more difficult to play.
A beginner starting with an extremely cheap instrument may become discouraged because their beginner skill can't get inspiring sounds out of it. A well chosen $300 violin from a good production line seems wiser to start with than a $69 violin from the most rushed process and bottom of the barrel wood.
Better yet, rent an instrument until you are sure you want to play. That way you know the place you are getting it from has set it up properly and its a decent instrument. You will have spent less money if you end up not following through, and many places let you put money spent on your rental towards buying a new instrument down the line.
The love on Ray's face when he plays the Strad is kind of beautiful.
the talent of the violinist means that you can play a "basic" violin magnificently... and the price difference is not as great a distance as the sound produced, by the excellence of your playing... well done for this video...!!
You're playing is absolutely beautiful
A good way to demonstrate how huge the difference actually is, would probably be in a concert hall, recording from row 12... The strad can fill the whole hall, the cheap violin would be barely heard from more than a couple of rows away. A small room camouflages that a bit.
the saddest part is an instrument is more expensive than our house
All our houses... like, combined.
@@ongoingawakening4257 yeah you god buy a lot of houses for that lol
SAME here lol! its soo sad when i look at it in this perspective :(
Ha! Speak for yourself... I have no house
which instrument?
Great stuff, Ray!!!
I think that something that many people listening to comparisons like this doesn't take into account, is the quality of the recording microphone and the speaker or headphones they are listening through. I have to admit that I usually have a hard time hearing that big of a difference, and I think it would be a whole different story if I had been sitting in the same room when Ray played.
Ray Chen: -holding a strad on his knee-
Me: -fear-
I want to be the strad
@@summernights2661 what
Nobody:
Ray: There was a problem on the G string for the $69 violin
It almost sounded like it was intentional
Apparently somebody hit it's G spot and blew the g string...
I thought he was talking about "Air" (on the G string), the sublime Bach piece. I wish he had played that on both violins. I wonder what grade it would be given. It's probably intermediate level in terms of technical difficulty (or maybe similar to "Meditation de Thais" which was intermediate-advanced), but extremely difficult to really make the violin sing it the way you know it's supposed to sound...
Even on laptop speakers, I can hear a marked difference. On the $69, every note is trying as hard as it can to come through. On the Strad, every note is chomping at the bit to make the best sound it can make. Even the quiet parts.
Thanks! Beautiful!
This is what i feel
$69 Violin is like a Man who tell a story without emotion, so plan and flat
$10.000.000 is like Morgan Freeman tell a story. so Rich and Warm straight to my soul
I don't feel they are that much different. Just one sounds brighter and one sounds darker. New wood and old wood. It makes bigger difference if you comparing playing on the street and the concert hall. The 69 bucks sounds better in the concert hall than the Strad on the street.
Mika Zidar it sounds like that because he’s in a room in front of a mic. Try listening in a concert hall and the difference is worth the 10 mil
@@queenieloveladygaga1 I feel the strad which about 300 years old has many story to tell... And it is wiser
@@Phitaq1987 What if you forget about that's a Strad and just use your ears to listen? 😉
Mika Zidar there’s a huge difference! If you can’t tell that much from this video, then you’re just the type of person that buys a car to just get from point A to point B.
Not even Ray's eyebrow can make the $69 violin stay in tunes...
What is this pureness that springs forth when he plays the strad
That was great! Thanks!
*What did it cost??*
"10,000,000 Dollars."
*Oh*
everything
Thank you
Ray you make anything sound good!!