i purchased a violin last week, i can get a very loud sound, its just its not very nice, if you`ve ever heard canon by pachelbel, i cant get noises like that, can you give me a few tips?
ben

How are your strings? Metal strings sound like metal (literally). Dominant strings sound like Perlman. Chromcor sounds like MacMaster. Eudoxa might sound like baroque. Chorda is baroque (so 415Hz!). Obligato sounds like most other people.

thanx that very useful!

Ben, you don`t say how long you`ve been playing. It takes time .... though I do agree metal strings are vile. What sort of violin have you got?

Liz

its a palatino, i started playin last week, but i only wanted some tips on how to get a good sound

Ben, honestly, it will take you some time to get a good sound, however good the violin and whatever strings you put on it.

Now I don`t know palatinos but I do know plenty of other Chinese student brands, and if you want an immediately better sound, I`d say get some dominant strings on it. Chinese factory strings are generally pretty ghastly. You can pick up a set of Dominant strings on ebay for £20 or so and they are not difficult to fit, except that many Chinese violins have only a very small hole in the tuning peg and you may well find yourself having to enlarge these. it takes a while but it isn`t difficult to do. I use a large paper clip and just keep working away at the hole!

Ebony pegs will be much harder but then they are more likely to have a decent size hole in the first place.

Liz

It doesn`t necessarily have to take time to get a good sound. I had one within a couple days of playing the violin.
First of all, make sure your bow hair is not too loose. Then when you are playing, put firm, but not too hard, pressure on the strings and make sure your bow is sitting flat against the string.
Make sure you have plenty of rosin on your bow, too.

Not too much or you`ll shorten the life of the bow hair.