This week, a violin made by famed Italian luthier Antonio Stradivari could become the most expensive musical instrument ever sold at auction.

Sotheby’s is estimating that a Stradivarius made in 1714 could fetch $12 million to $18 million on Friday. The upper end of that range could beat the previous record of $15.9 million, set by another Stradivarius in 2011.

There’s plenty of hype around these instruments, and plenty of people who downplay it.

But for many violin players and restorers, Strads are incomparable to even the best modern violins.

“It’s not just what the audience hears on a sort of ‘taste test,’” between an old and modern instrument, says violinist Joshua Bell, speaking to NPR before a concert. “It’s what it does to the player. A Stradivari is like being a painter and having access to thousands of colors to paint from rather than dozens of colors.”

Bell says the 300-year-old violins offer subtle “sound colors” not found elsewhere.

“I can’t explain it, but it’s kind of the overtones and the way once you get to know the instrument, you can find these tonal varieties that are very difficult to find in a modern instrument,” he says. “It’s not just for the name. It’s something very, very special that it does to the player.”

Bell has owned a 1713 Stradivarius for over two decades. (Hear it in his 2016 Tiny Desk concert with Jeremy Denk.)

Christopher Reuning, an expert on violins and owner of Reuning & Son Violins in Brookline, Mass., puts it bluntly: “Stradivari was the best violin maker who ever lived. I think that’s really beyond debate.”

Stradivari made instruments between 1666 and 1734 in Cremona, Italy, with his sons assisting him for part of that time. Reuning says about 600 violins remain today. In addition to violins, Stradivari made cellos, violas, guitars, mandolins, harps and other instruments.

“Normally the best Strad is going to outperform a modern instrument in subtle ways,” Reuning says. Violinists will notice “the complexity of the sound, the shimmering beauty of the sound, the comfort of the musician to play that instrument and feel the feedback that he or she is getting to help them give their best performance.”

Stradivari’s prized “Golden Period”

Violinist Joshua Bell plays his Stradivarius violin from 1713 in Oakville, Calif., in 2010. Bell tells NPR there’s something special about a Strad.

Eric Risberg/AP

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The violin up for auction was made during Stradivari’s “Golden Period” between 1707 and 1717, which experts consider the time period when he produced his finest work.

Sotheby’s is calling the violin the Joachim-Ma Stradivarius. It was owned and played for decades by Joseph Joachim, one of the most famous violinists of the 19th century. Violinist Si-Hon Ma acquired it in 1967 and performed on it until his death in 2009.

Joachim’s tenure with the instrument is what makes it particularly attractive to collectors, Bell says.

Bell is one of the few musicians who owns his Stradivarius. The instruments are often owned by wealthy collectors who lend them out to musicians to perform on.

Three types of people would typically want to buy a Stradivarius, Bell says. First, there are the players, though “most of us can’t afford” one, he says. Second, there are collectors who have a genuine appreciation for the instruments and “really appreciate their beauty and are intoxicated with the idea of a Strad.”

And third, some people might buy a Stradivarius simply as an investment, “the same way you would buy Bitcoin. But we try to keep the violins away from that crowd whenever possible,” he adds, laughing.

Si-Hon Ma’s estate donated the Joachim-Ma Stradivarius to the New England Conservatory in 2016 on the condition that it eventually could be sold to fund student scholarships, according to Sotheby’s. The school says it’s now planning to use proceeds from the sale to “establish the largest named student scholarship program in the history” of the New England Conservatory.

The auction begins Friday at 11:15 a.m. ET.