It seemed pretty obvious to me which instrument was new and which was the Strad.

The modern violin had a much more cut through sound that was seemed to project directly from the instrument and while it was louder, wasn't as nearly as inviting to me.

The Strad had a much more focused sound that sounded warmer and for lack of a better explanation more inviting.

I do agree that there are a lot of Strads out there that have essentially been played out.

John

There is a theory that the Strads have been worked on by the best luthiers,and that any "good" violin given that much attention would sound good
There was a guy in the 1700 hundreds that would hypnotize people with beautiful gypsy tunes and then sell them cheap fiddles.Of course it was the tune that got them,they thought it was the fiddle.I sold a cheap fiddle to a violin dealer they way,It works LOL.It was a piece of crap,so I played a beautiful gypsy tune,and he had to have that violin.I felt bad and told him the truth,but he still demanded the fiddle
I hypnotize people on you tube all the time

The original Strad’s and other Baroque period violins were built different from today’s instruments. The neck construction is the most obvious; it is lower and in general designed to produce as mellower sound.

If you want a complete details just goggle up the baroque instrument websites. You will probably find more than you ever wanted to know.

Many of the original baroque period instruments, including the Strad’s, have been re-necked. Suffice it to say that at that level of instrumentation, old or new made, the nuances are lost on most of us.

The original Strads and other violins of the period had shorter scales.
The neck angle was lower as was the bridge
Most have had grafted necks and the bass bars replaced.

IIRC only one unmodified Strad has been found.