http://www.music123.com/Florea-Persoana-Violin-Outfit-i143713.music

I just ordered this violin for my wife. She studied violin for about 3 years in Jr. High School. We are both 40 years old now and she has been playing scales and simple songs on her old violin which is falling apart. She`s having fun relearning the instrument but she needs a violin that isn`t falling apart.

I have played fingersytle jazz guitar for more than 25 years. I have 7 Martin acoustics and a bevy of electric guitars but I know nothing about the violin.

My wife looked at many mail order beginner violin sets and for some reason, she likes this one. I was pleases that this model has a real nitro finish. (CF Martin uses nitrocellular finish on $2000.00+ guitars therefore I assumed that this was a good sign.)

They also name the brand of the tuners on the violin (this is a good sign when guitar shopping).

What she wants to do is have a half glass of wine and try to play through some od lesson books at night. This is a relaxation thing for her.

Please comment on this violin if you can. We still are not sure about what we bought.

Thanks,

John

A little late to be asking now, isn`t it? You`ll find out soon enough, won`t you? You are of course aware that Internet shopping is inherently risky, I hope. Did you first visit local music stores?

We keep horses just outside of the middle of nowhere. Local shopping is not that easy (unless if you are looking for a screwdriver at a small hardware store).

I have purchased studio recording gear like condenser michrophones and phantom power mic preamps from Music123 and I`ve purchased 4 Martin Guitars from www.elderly.com and I`ve had very positive experiances. Many online retailerss are just as good as brick and mortar retailers. My luthier does only luthery. He does not sell actual guitars. Buying a Martin online and having him drop in a bone nut has never bothered me.

We looked at several internet Violin forums before making our purchase. The problem was that we found posts in equal numbers that stating that any Violin priced under $2000.00 was trash or posts from parents saying that they bought a $90.00 Violin on Amazon.com to avoid rental fees at school and they thought that the $90.00 violin was just terrific.

In the end we chose what we choose. I was hoping to get some educated feedback on this particular model.

Thanks for the courteous and enlightening feedback.

Warm Regards,
John Goldbach

Re: "Thanks for the courteous and enlightening feedback."

I assume you mean this ironically. I`m not in a position to evaluate the violin in question, and simply recorded honestly, for what it may be worth, my natural reaction. I think in general, however, that people tend to expect more of the Internet than it can reasonably provide given the inherent nature of the medium.

Probably it`s perfectly OK and a good buy at that price - though nitro varnish and wittner adjusters don`t mean a thing: even the cheapest violins are nitro varnished and there are not many adjusters other than Wittner, except ones made in China which would not generally be used on romanian violins.

John,
Don`t put too much stock in the comments posted on this site, keep in mind you are soliciting the opinions of high schoolers and jr high schoolers. I know that there are some professionals and adults that read this forum, but they don`t seem to post often.

I`m 39. The way I see it, if your purchase makes your wife happy, then its a good deal at any price. Plus, you purchased from a company that easily accepts returns, you can`t loose.

First, I truely appreciate the input. I don`t think that my wife is aspiring to play first chair in the Milwaukee Orchestra. This is just a great evening relaxatiopn thing for her (for now). Who knows, maybe she`ll want a real Violin in a year, perhaps these are baby steps.

Second, I didn`t realize that I was an old fart (compared to most everyone else here). Now that I understand my status here, I just want to add "You kids behave or I will pull thae car over, I mean it (beginning to cry), I REALLY mean it!"


Thanks and have a great day,

John

That`s funny.

Re: "I didn`t realize that I was an old fart (compared to most everyone else here). Now that I understand my status here, I just want to add `You kids behave or I will pull thae car over, I mean it (beginning to cry), I REALLY mean it!`"

The Internet in general is fairly infested with teenagers, and I don`t know why. For the record (again), I`m not one. Sorry I don`t know anything about your (soon to be violin). Having involved myself this far, however, I`m hoping you`ll report back when it arrives. Good luck.

Florea Persona Violin - Week three with the Florea; full report!!

My wife likes the violin; as a matter of fact she plays simple classical songs for about an hour every evening. I`m proud of her for putting forth the effort after a 20 year break in her playing.

I admiited up front that I`m 42 and I`ve played guitar for over 30 years. I know nothing about violins. If this were a Martin guitar I could describe the bracing by model by year of manufacture but this is a violin.

Here`s what I know.....

A. It is very easy for her to keep it in tune. The tuners don`t slip and the the fine tuners at the bridge are very easy for her to use.
B. She says that it is much easier to finger and play than her nameless childhood violin from the Czech Republic (her dad bought it in a small music shop on a family trip; it could be from china for all we know).
C. It has a round and pretty tone (yes this is subjective)
D. The fit and finish on the sides and top are very nice. I cannot see any funky flaws in the finish or the assembly.
E. The rental violins at two of our local music stores are purchase priced at about $300-$350; my wife like the Romanian Florea violin better than the "for sale" rentals at the local stores
F. The case is nice
G. My daughter wants her own violin now. A good thing!

There you have the humble opinions of a man who really knows nothing about violins. It`s a treat for me to hear someone else practice in the evening.

Perhaps we`ll spend "up" in a year. Time will tell. I`m really happy that we bought this violin.

That`s the scoop.

John

Glad to hear it worked out for you and your wife! And hopefully your daughter! If you guys do look into getting another one in a few years, check out www.stringworks.com - they`ll send you a violin for a 2 week trial period to see if you like it. Their prices are reasonable, and I love my violin I got from them. By then, your wife will know what she`s looking for in a violin. Good luck!

Just a comment on the some of the above posts: The Florea violin is a "beginner violin" at best, and the String Works violins are pretty looking junk that is manufactured in Sri Lanka. If you want a good sounding and proper vioin, buy German, Italian or Romanian. I do not recommend the Czech violins either as they are too heavy. Try Sharon Dee Strings online, or Gliga Violins, maybe even Hora, for Romanian, and Gill German vioins are very good at an affordable price for German violins. Nitro varnish is not a good thing on a violin, maybe on a guitar, but not on a violin. You want a soft oil varnish which has been hand rubbed, on a violin. I worked in a string shop for many years, and am not a luthier, but worked closely with them for over 20 years. I own a Giovanni Stefano vioiln, which is Romanian.

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One more thing regarding the Florea, I think that it may either be a trade name for a Gliga or a Mathias Thoma from EMMC. Just thought you might like to know. There are many trade names for Romanian and other countries, and most Romanian violins are made in a Hora, EMMC, or Gliga factory, with some coming from private cottage makers in the area of Reghin. There are a few other factories also, but the ones I have mentioned are the biggest. Just so everyone knows. The Chinese instruments are from a few factories also, and the best one is Scott Cao's. I would not recommend Chinese as they tune their instruments differently for sound than the European makers. You can use the best woods, but if the instrument is tuned to sound a certain way, it will not produce a good European sound, which is what most people want. The Chinese have a different opinion on how a violin should sound.