The Steel Guitar Forum

I have been fortunate also to have played a real Strat and didn't like it's tone at all. It was too harsh and raspy to me but the people in the room at the time said it sounded better to them than the other two I played. The others were both medium line German violins.
As Reese said, there is no way of identifying brand name instruments just from their sound. Do they sound different, yes, but then again, even the same makes of the same guitars sound different.
I've heard Buddy Emmons live many times and as I stated in an older thread, I liked the tone of his black MCI. Better than Anything he played, even the Blade.

I missed that one, thought the first was the Strat.

Johnny Gimble never played expensive fiddles, but always got exceptional tone. I've seen Randy Elmore play a cheap student fiddle, and made it sound like a million bucks.

Jimmy Day told me, years ago, it's in the hands.Two pickers can play the same geetar and it will sound different. I covered the name on my geetar on UTube, and some thought I a pickin an Emmons.? I did it on Cold, Cold Heart and Mansion on the Hill.

Here is an interesting article on blindfold tests with Strads and other rare violins. Seems in a blind fold test fine violinists could not identify the strads.

http://tinyurl.com/7t9fk35