I began violin lessons 2 weeks ago and bought a made-in-China student violin for US$100. Needless to say, I am looking for a better-sounding one now. How much should a beginning student spend on his first violin and what quality of violin is reasonable? How many violins do violinist generally go through in a lifetime? Does one buy a good one and generally use it throughout his life? Or does one upgrade according to skill levels?

Has anyone used Andreas Eastman VL305 before and is it as good as it`s reviewed? What about Prima Violmaster violins?

You`re far too early to be thinking about upgrading yet: it takes months to get a decent tone from a violin and it will be you that is the limiting factor for some time to come.

I know violmaster P80 P100 P200 and P300 very well since they are known in the UK as the Primavera student range, which we sell a lot of. The P200 and P300 might be a little better than what you have now but it won`t be significant.

If you must upgrade at this stage, my advice would be to go for a Gliga. But in all honesty I wouldn`t even consider it yet if I were you.

Liz

Hi Liz

I`ve also heard another opinion that a bad-sounding instrument may mislead one into thinking that one is producing the bad tones instead, making it harder for one to play better.

What do you think?

Shandy

If you want to spend the money then spend it. Personally I can`t see the point but if you can then why not?

At two weeks you ARE going to be sounding bad, no question of that

Liz

hahahaha

thank u for the brutal truth

:-)
shandy

Hi Shandy,

I have two violins I use regularly, a cheap Stentor 1 and a Gliga Gama 2 that I bought from Liz. The Stentor I have upgraded the strings to Dominants, and it has a new tailpiece (I happened to have one spare) but is otherwise unaltered.

The Gama does have a much richer tone than the Stentor, but I`m certainly not chucking out the Stentor - I keep it at work and play it at lunchtimes. I played for six years as a boy, and recently re-started aged 36.

If I were you I would keep the current instrument for at least a couple of years, changing the strings after about six months for something better, Dominants are usually a safe option - chinese strings are generally poor. Then get something new in the $500-$800 range, an mid-range Gama like mine would be nice though there are several nice makers out there. After a couple of years you will be getting a much better sound and have a better idea what you would like to have. Before then, try out instruments whenever you can, even just playing scales, to get a feel for what you want.

I have a friend in Montreal who has been playing for 3 years. She is ready to buy something better then her student model, but is not rushing into it - she`s checking the market because she has a good idea what tone she wants to hear, and will eventually find it. In the meantime she`s happy to stick with the cheap fiddle, saving up for something really nice.

Her plan is that her next instrument will last a lifetime.

Hi Martin,

Thank you so much for the invaluable advice. I was having the same thoughts and reaching this conclusion just as I was logging onto the forum. Thank you so much for putting my thoughts into words.

I visited a violin shop today and the shop owner was more than happy to show me a range of violins in terms of prices. I especially love the sound of Andreas Eastman VL605 (about US$1200). It`s warm and projects well. I thought that`s the type of violin I want until I heard the German violin (US$3400). The sound is more "kept-in" as the shopowner described, and `more restrained` as my friend described. And I realised I love it too. So I should hang on to my violin for now, practise real hard, Hi Martin,

Thank you so much for the invaluable advice. I was having the same thoughts and reaching this conclusion just as I was logging onto the forum. Thank you so much for putting my thoughts into words.

I visited a violin shop today and the shop owner was more than happy to show me a range of violins in terms of prices. I especially love the sound of Andreas Eastman VL605 (about US$1200). It`s warm and projects well. I thought that`s the type of violin I want until I heard the German violin (US$3400). The sound is more "kept-in" as the shopowner described, and `more restrained` as my friend described. And I realised I love it too. So I should hang on to my violin for a while, practise real hard and I will get a better idea of what I really like when I start producing better sound. Yes, I want my violin to last me a last time too.

Well Martin, you certainly get full marks for effort: practising at work eh? I went through a stage where I practiced in the classroom before registration on lesson day but that was because I hadn`t done any practice all week ......

The nicest violin I ever tried was 250 years old. I have no idea who made it. Even if I could afford it I couldn`t possibly justify the expense

Liz

Hi Liz

Does older mean better?

Shandy

Well, sort of: a violin improves with age. But that doesn`t mean that all old violins are better than all new ones.

Liz

-add on to liz

As you play a violin over years, the wood develops and matures, giving you a better song. Therefor, generally speaking, an old violin that has been PLAYED will sound better then a new one. However, this isnt always true. Almost all decently made hand made violins sound better then a old machine made violin.

If your trying a violin, try to use your ears. Find a tone that you like, regardless of the age. Recently, I went to look at violins, and a new, 2400 CAN violins in my opponion sounded better then an 100 year old 2000 CAN violin. Just my opponion. Some people might have said otherwise.

Thanks Liz and Andrew.

I recently heard the Andreas Eastman VL605 violin and an old--few hundred years old I think--German priced at US$3400. The former sounds so much more resonant while the latter sounds more restrained.

But is it true that the European models appreciate with age but not the Chinese-made models such as the Andreas Eastman VL605?

Do you mean appreciate in cost? Too early to tell. I wouldn`t even think about buying a violin with any thought of appreciation: you are talking about years before it will appreciate.

Liz

yes, appreciating in value. the shopowner mentioned and i am curious as to whether it`s a fact or just his opinion.

I honestly don`t think there`s any point in even considering it. It`s too early to know as far as Chinese instruments are concerned, and European ones, well yes, if they`re good and if you`re in for the long haul ....

Liz