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A Modest Proposal - Concertina Fund


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It could also be that as a professional musician, he put more value on owning a superb antique instrument than on owning a house.

 

I dont' question existence of crazy people with uncontrollable desires.

I question their motivations.

One first tier viola player in San Francisco Philharmony plays modern Viola of assymmetrical shape. Didn't prevent him from anything. I doubt having an antique will get you anywhere on it's own, or even assist.

 

Perhaps I should have left out the word "professional" in my original comment. The point I was trying to make was that as a musician perhaps he just wanted to own a superb instrument. As a professional he could justify requiring a high-quality one - whether this actually makes a difference to his playing is another matter. The point is that he put more value on owning this instrument than he did on owning a house.

 

There is a difference between cheap and more expensive instruments. I once owned a cheap £20 Japanese guitar. It seemed fine, I couldn't see why someone would pay ten times the price for a better instrument. Then I went travelling for a couple of months - everywhere I went, people were lending me Gibsons, Guilds, or Martins to play. When I got back, I picked up my guitar and literally couldn't play it. Soon after I went and bought a Guild at more than 10 times the price of the cheap one, and I still have it 30 years later.

 

The difference in quality is even more pronounced with concertinas.

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Some people have to have a new performance car and are prepared to undergo significant sacrifice to get them..

 

 

On the other hand, some prefer vintage Morgan three-wheelers, preferably with a V-twin Jap engine sticking out at the front and are prepared to undergo significant sacrifice to get one! ;)

 

Chris

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Some people have to have a new performance car and are prepared to undergo significant sacrifice to get them..

 

 

On the other hand, some prefer vintage Morgan three-wheelers, preferably with a V-twin Jap engine sticking out at the front and are prepared to undergo significant sacrifice to get one! ;)

 

Chris

 

Well they seem completely reasonable to me. Even with a Ford engine...

 

I suppose my point is that the man who 'needs' to have a fancy new car would not understand the 'tatty shopping car and a vintage Morgan' type; and neither of them would understand why anyone would want to spend so much on a Jeffries, and that commenting on other people's prioritising a fine violin over owning a house is useless and perhaps even a bit cheeky; it's the violinist's life, his money (or debt), and his decision. The actual numbers involved don't have much to do with how these things go, I think.

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Some people have to have a new performance car and are prepared to undergo significant sacrifice to get them..

 

 

On the other hand, some prefer vintage Morgan three-wheelers, preferably with a V-twin Jap engine sticking out at the front and are prepared to undergo significant sacrifice to get one! ;)

 

Chris

 

Well they seem completely reasonable to me. Even with a Ford engine...

 

I suppose my point is that the man who 'needs' to have a fancy new car would not understand the 'tatty shopping car and a vintage Morgan' type; and neither of them would understand why anyone would want to spend so much on a Jeffries, and that commenting on other people's prioritising a fine violin over owning a house is useless and perhaps even a bit cheeky; it's the violinist's life, his money (or debt), and his decision. The actual numbers involved don't have much to do with how these things go, I think.

 

 

The easiest tactic is to fog everything up to the point, where objects lose their shapes, then claim that Shape doesn't exist.

If the point of aquiring expencive instrument is to get a "good" instrument, then selling houses is an overshoot. If the purpose is to hope to re-sell it later and buy 10 houses, it's another subject. If the point is that old instrument is obviously better than new - Superstition. Considering that antique instruments are so expencive, Market is driven by Superstition. Perhaps this tradition goes back in time, where thngs were rare, expencive and expected to have long life to serve generations. It considered all things made: instruments, chairs, clothes.

The point is not "liking" old cars or violins. The point is believing they're better than new.

Of course, yet another matter is difference of opinion of what's better, an expencive thing, made to last, or inexpencive, meant to be replaced. (an exageration)

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I don't believe my Morgan is better than a new car, just that it suits my taste and purposes better than any new car ever could., which is different, isn't it? Unless the new violin sounds exactly like the Strad, couldn't the fiddler say the same?

 

The fact that a Morgan is cheaper than a Ferrari is neither here nor there. If you gave me a ferrari I would immediately sell it and bank the residue left after I'd bought a few more Maccans and a sports model vintage Morgan. (Go on, try me.)

 

The selling the house bit, is, I think, rather a red herring. How people raise money for their passions is a secondary and different matter.

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Unless the new violin sounds exactly like the Strad, couldn't the fiddler say the same?

Above is interesting.

As I understand, the production methods in the Past didn't guarantee any standards. It was hit and miss and there is no such thing as "sounds exactly like the Strad". Which Strad do you mean, they all sound differently I heard.

The thing with modern top instruments, especially made of plastic molds is the predictability.

 

The selling the house bit, is, I think, rather a red herring. How people raise money for their passions is a secondary and different mattet

 

I agree with that. I just disagree that it's sane, to leave your family without a house and use the money for show-off. Unless we are talking about so called "Young professional", a Yappie, who lives now.

Not been a violin player, I don't know what circumstances surround a professional.

Speaking from abstract far-away, I don't see any musical gain, only financial "investment", but it reminds me of people who drive Rolls-Royces by themselves.

What about practice instrument? Will you trash precious one in everyday practice and take it to every gig? Is it reliable?

I'd sell my car, my furniture, my stock, myself into slavery to get that instrument of my desire. But the house is a bit too much.

Anyways...mm..., I think that Morgan of yours is...mm...Oh, it only has three wheels! How good can it be? Throw it away, man, get a life.

Just tell me where it's thrown.

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