JUDGING VIOLIN

“In order to assess tone properly, a player usually must have a keen musical instinct developed from long years of experience in playing a stringed instrument and also hearing many instruments played by others. Tone tastes vary. Some prefer soprano brilliance while others favor darker alto tonal shades. The basic requirements for tone are an easy and responsive speaking voice, carrying quality, equal sound volume on all four strings, and agreeable tone color. This formula is the essence of normal judgment in the selection and valuation of an instrument regardless of its age or original derivation.”
By and large, players develop a keen musical instinct through years of experience because it usually takes time to come to a clear sense of what to look for when listening to and judging instruments. The reason it takes time is three fold. One: We are usually not taught how to evaluate instruments so we rely on our preferences. That is, we either like it or we don’t like it. Two: We have no guides or specific things to be aware of when we are actively evaluating an instrument. Or the criteria and standards we have with which to evaluate an instrument are either inadequate or deficient. Three: We hold views or notions about instruments, which are false, only because everyone else is holding those views. This prejudices us and makes truly judging musical instruments extremely difficult.
What follows are my own criteria for judging bowed stringed instruments, although they apply as well to harpsichords, clavichords, and fortepianos. These criteria come from direct observation of the sound of great antique violins, pianos, harpsichords, and organs. I am proposing to take each criterion and discuss its exact opposite...what you don't hear on great instruments but what you definitely do hear on those that might otherwise be mistaken as being good instruments but which are in reality mediocre
I will also, where possible, discuss the specific causes for the good qualities that we hear and the causes for the bad traits, but without belaboring the discussion with technical jargon.
Below is the my list of qualities, traits, properties and characteristics of great instruments. My discussion of each of these you can find at the end of the list.
1. Carrying Power - to completely fill a very large hall
2. Projection of tone - the sound goes out to the listener
3. Great Volume - to play concertos with a large ensemble
4. Ease of Response - ready to sound at the will of the player
5. Balance of sound across the strings
6. Directness of sound - to create the feeling of immediacy in the sound
7. Evenness of sound up and down the fingerboard
8. Depth of tone - to create the effect of Paradox
9. Intense Resonance - to fully support the softest sound produced
10. Clarity of tone - to be easily heard in a complex texture
11. Penetration of tone over large distances without loss of quality
12. Breadth of tone - to surround the ears of each listener
13. Flexibility of response -reflects the bow's slightest motion
14. Subtlety of tone - mirrors the soul of the player
15. Brilliance - to excite or stir the listener
16. Color - conveys every timbre and affect intended by the player
17. Tonal Reserve - a sound that keeps on giving, never caving in
18. Strong Sensation of Pitch - makes playing in-tune easy
19. Ringing tone - gives the effect that the instrument is singing
20. Intensity of tone - creates a feeling that the instrument is alive
21. Sweetness of tone - to gratify the player as well as the listener
22. Focused or Centered tone - creates a solid core to the sound
23. Buoyancy of tone - a lightness of effect...the sound floats
24. Velvetiness - the effect that the sound is integrated and smoothly blended
25. Resiliency of tone - sound appears to bounce, when needed
26. Stability of tone - the tonepitch holds steady on long slow bow strokes
27. Personality - the voice of the instrument feels human
28. Fullness of tone - the ears and mind are filled with the sound
29. Strength of timbre - the sound color is clear and powerful
30. Ease of producing harmonics