Study finds musicians cannot tell from sound alone whether they are playing an old classic instrument or one made last week.

"They are deemed to be among the most exquisite musical instruments ever made, and collectors have parted with millions just to have one to call one their own. But it appears that concert violinists cannot tell from the sound alone whether they are playing a 300-year-old Stradivarius or an instrument made last week. And, for playing quality alone, the virtuoso will opt for the modern one when asked which fiddle they would like to take home. These discordant findings emerge from experiments by Claudia Fritz, a researcher at the University of Paris, at an international violin competition in Indianapolis in 2010."
By Ian Sample / guardian.co.uk / more