These are notes from a toastmasters’ meeting. thee are comments about a member of TM who makes violins.

I would like to point out that they are all in black — formal attire. One of the reasons that they are dressed that way is to showcase all of their instruments. Also, all of the stringed instruments are in the front, violins, cellos, and base. This is because they would get overpowered if in the back behind the brass. All of the instruments create a rich sound.
You could take a violin and add an electronic pickup to it, but it wouldn’t be nearly as pleasing to the ear.
They are not sitting in straight lines. Why is that so? They need to be very visible to the conductor. They also need to be visible to the first chair, also known as the first violinist. That person is paid more than anybody else in the orchestra. They have more responsibility than anybody else. Everybody tunes their instrument according to the first violinist.
I am just going to talk about the violin. Devon holds up a violin in a case.
This violin happens to be very special to me. It is an exact copy of my grandfather’s violin. It’s just a box that vibrates and creates a sound. It only creates a sound, but the bow creates the music. The bow, when drawn across there gives the sound expression. It’s this little thing right here that makes everything happen. Without a good bow, really not much happens.
All of the bows for the different instruments are all the same length, but they have different thicknesses. This bow that has been consigned to me is about $1250. It is an average cost of a bow. Professionals often pay 10 times as much for the bow. If a stranger were to ask for a violin he would probably show a concealed weapon, but if a virtuoso asked to see the bow …