How good is a COPY of Antonius Stradivarius violin?

Question

I brought one on ebay two days ago for about 130$. I know real Strads are amazing to play/listen to, but how does a COPY compare? If you get it fixed up very well and such could it be better (sound wise) than most violins?

Answer 1

A copy of a Strad is simply any violin built using the same general dimensions and specifications as an original Strad.  But that says nothing about the quality of the materials used, or the level of craftsmanship, and that's really what makes one violin better than another.

Tens of thousands of inexpensive student grade violins have been manufactured over the years and labeled as "Strads" or "Strad copies" .  Having such a label says nothing about the relative quality of the violin compared to other student grade instruments.

An exact copy of a specific Stradivarius violin, handmade from the highest quality materials by a master craftsman, can indeed play and sound amazing -- and cost tens of thousands of dollars, new.  You paid $130.00 for an entry level student grade violin mass produced in a factory.  If you get it fixed up properly it will probably serve you well to learn on but it won't be "better (soundwise) than most violins".

Answer 2

Most of the zillions of strad copies are cheap and more or less worthless, but at the same time, there are fine violins, designed on the strad model that can be wonderful instruments which costs many thousands of dollars.  So, just saying it's a strad model doesn't offer any information at all.

Answer 3

Copy of Antonius Stradivarius, means that the shape and style is similar.

Copy of Antonius Stradivarius is the most abused term for violins.

A Copy of Antonius Stradivarius could be junk. It could be a fine violin, but since you spent $130 and Strads sell for over a million, you should be able to figure it out.