wow, how immiture you are. My friend who started the cello at 40 is quite a good cellist, she has been playing for like 25 years now. Im a professional. accept it, you are so immiture to keep carring this disscussion on. Are you like 8 years old? You sure act like it.

maybe try hellicore (i guess thats how you spell it) strings, I have been reeallly happy with mine. What kind of strings do you have on there now?
well... off to orchestra! were playing all kinds of good stuff, its so much fun!

-Rebecca

i find it very funny that liz and rebecca are fighting ahem. excuse me arguing about virtually nothing. It all comes down to the fact that at the beginning of the forum, liz responded with that information because she is QUITE knowledgable specifically with gliga violins which the person happened to be asking about... After all she deals with them everyday and all. I think she "might" know a little more about this specific brand of instrument than you rebecca, although I`m sure you know a lot about violins in general.

by the way liz,
I`m a pretty decent violinist... although I`m in college and am not actually in an orchestra anymore (I was 1st chair in high school for 2 years and was also in all conference orch for 2 years). I still take lessons, and I do quite a bit of accompaniment work for vocalists in a small auditorium, probably a few hundred seats... and am in need of a new violin. I was looking at the gama and the maestro. If i did get the gama, then it would definitely be with evahs... what would you recommend? I don`t really like the really bright instruments, I kind of like the mellower but powerful ones.

Also, i`ve seen stuff on ebay as well as violinslover... is there anyway to be totally safe on e-bay? can I trust it?

any insight would be helpful

Hi Ria,

The Gama often equals the maestro and has even been known to outplay it. Unless the certificate and signature mean a lot to you I would suggest going with the Gama.

Ebay is safe enough for violins as long as you check the seller`s feedback very carefully and don`t touch anyone with any remarks at all - even neutral ones - about misrepresentation. Anything that looks too good to be true almost certainly is. All labels should be taken with a pinch of salt unless the seller is actually prepared to guarantee that an item is genuine. Buying only from a seller who offers a no quibble returns policy is the safest option.

Liz

okay, so on the violinslover website I saw new levels? genova 1 and 2? they`re priced higher than the gamas... what`s your opinion on that? Also, on some of the maestros` certificates, it has a sticker bearing the name of gliga cristian, and others gliga vasile... why the difference? does it make a difference in the instrument sound and quality?

Lastly, I was looking at two instruments in the A1900 series (A1949 and A1951), made in 2004, and they have a deep red, unique varnish to it. They are quite striking... and also a great deal shinier than the others.Do you have any idea if that has an effect on the sound? Do they have any other particular characteristics than just the looks?

Thanks for your help!
Ria

O yes, I keep forgetting about those because they`re new. They are labelled Genova inside but they`re just the same as the corresponding Gems / Gama with different fittings. At one stage Cristian was using the term "Gloria" for the Gems with the boxwood coloured fittings.

The shinier finish is just a matter of varnish - it should have no effect on the sound.

I`ve never noticed any difference between the violins labelled "Vasile Gliga" and those labelled" Cristian Gliga"

Liz

Ahh, the arrogance of youth....

Any adolescent stating she is a professional musician is laughable when mommy and daddy pay for the roof over her head, food on the table, clothes on her back, an allowance, etc. It is insulting to the rest of us who WORK for a living.

An earlier post said `look into the future`...what great advice. In ten years if you reflect on your behaviour and attitude of today and you are embarrassed by what you see...that means you`ve grown up a little.