$69 vs $10,000,000 Stradivarius Violin - Ray Chen

hey everyone how's it going I'm violence rate Chen and welcome back to another YouTube video where today I'm gonna be comparing two instruments of very contrasting value one is a $69 violin and the other is a 10 million dollar instrument was it a crazy but as soon as something is more expensive it becomes like a fancier word sorry it's not a violent it's an instrument so who are the contenders well on one side we have a violin made by Antonio Stradivari in 1735 which makes it almost 300 years old and it is known as the San Jose San Jose San Jose Oh Sam Isaiah Sam Isaiah actually I never studied French so I'm so sorry if I'm butchering it Stradivarius instruments are known to fetch super high prices at auction oftentimes way over 10 million dollars in fact back in 2011 the Nippon Music Foundation which happens to own this instrument sold one of their instruments called the lady blunt for almost 16 million dollars to help raise funds before the earthquake disaster I mean that is crazy everything is crazy in fact they're so crazily priced that this like myself can't afford instruments anymore on the other side we have a very affordable instrument it's a $69 probably factory main instrument made by glarey violins which also happens to sell other cheap instruments and accessories in fact $69 not only covers just the instrument itself but also a bow a shoulder rest a fine tuner a violin case and a spare set of string if we were to add up the total value and divide it amongst all the different accessories that would mean that the violin would be worth far less than $69 in any case are you ready to hear the difference of nine hundred ninety nine thousand nine hundred thirty one dollars is because I am let's do it now in my previous video we tested the sound on different difficulty levels so we'll be doing that again except this time we'll be comparing both violins and there was a problem with the g string on the $69 violence so I've since changed that out to a fresh one and I'll also be using the same boat keep things as even as possible so we'll be starting with the easy stuff and then slowly updating the level of difficulty and in fact you know what makes me think if you can't hear the difference it's probably because I'm worth ten million dollars [Music] [Music] yeah even on the open strings you can immediately tell difference that the Strad just has this resonance and clarity and also kind of like warmth to it and it's just very full [Music] yeah this is room it just has a lot more complexity to it and that's what usually ends up having to listener to Lucy [Music] [Applause] [Music] you know sometimes the sound on this violin is just a little bit thin or it's a little bit basic and I'm trying to get more I am really trying oh but it's just not giving it to me [Music] [Music] it's really weird because I'm trying to play in tune but it's almost like the violin is fighting me a little bit in terms of intonation not to mention the sound as well [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] yeah it definitely has this richness to it it's like I'm trying very hard to maintain a good sound quality but it just takes so much more effort to even come to I guess a passable sound quality [Music] it's a little not clear [Music] [Applause] [Music] you know what it is is I think that it's like a just a clarity thing and the response like I mentioned this in the previous video which was that this violin was just not made for the really advanced level stuff so it just takes way too long before I've already played the next note and it's still trying to you know make a sound on the previous note so I think that's really what's happening here which makes it so much more difficult to play it's it's got something to do with like the resonance off the instrument is just not a very resonant instrument [Music] [Music] so there you have it guys I hope you enjoyed this video you know the purpose of this video wasn't to say hey one violin is better than the other or wasn't the flex on the $69 violin from the strategy it was actually just to show you that hey there's different things achievable from different price instruments and if your purpose is at me let's say beginner intermediate level then I think the $69 violin would be more than enough however if you think you expanding and going into a higher tier then yeah you might have to upgrade regimen so it really depends on what you're using it for and what purpose you know the first time I played on a Stradivarius I remember feeling just absolutely in awe it was just this incredible feeling and yeah it was I don't know if it was a placebo effect if you gave me another violin and told me was a Strad I think I would also suddenly perk up and play better I think that is really important to consider so you know how much of it is the instrument versus how much of it is you this can be a pretty large gray area so the more confidence you have the better you're gonna sound anyway that's it for today hope you enjoyed this video if you did please give it a like it really helps me in the end and gives me capabilities to buy ice cream which during these times of quarantine are very very important anyway see you in the next video bye yeah hmm I like this feeling do you think that's why they call us players [Music]

Channel: Ray Chen

Views: 1,243,331

Keywords: million, expensive, instrument, Ray Chen, twoset, twoset violin, violin, viola, cello, music, classical music, opera, education, learn, orchestra, piano, singing, public, funny, jazz, guitar, bass

Id: Bd40IQaLAzE

Length: 11min 24sec (684 seconds)

Published: Fri Jun 26 2020

Reddit Comments

[u/DioBento]

That's cool and he makes the 69$ one sound very good, but I'd rather see a comparison between a ~500$ Violin and a ~2000$ Violin.
Everywhere I go they pick the cheapest violin they can find and compare it to one that is at least 10 000$.
I just believe more people are interested in beginner violin (~500$) vs intermediate violin (~2000$+), and I think it makes more sense.

[u/KingKPS]

“Maybe I’m worth 10 million dollars.”

[u/french_violist]

I like Ray, he sounds like a cool guy. Some cool showcase pieces he choose, I just could name a few. Is it me or he has a very long pinky? Must be handy 😁 Also, that third finger coming to the help of a pinky vibrato, I’ll try that.

[u/lizziepoo000]

"Elite violinist" is the only correct way to describe Ray Chen.

[u/ContinuingResolution]

I wish someone would do a construction comparison where they look at the differences in wood quality, sound post quality and location, string difference.

[u/pinguepongue]

At an audition for an orchestra, one of my friends played with a cheap violin. Conductor told her: "you made a great sound with that piece of wood".