1. Would you go for old or new violins?
2. Would you go for a good looking violin? (ie, nice external workmanship)
Reason why i asked this is because, i recently bought an european violin made in the 1920s for $4000 which has got excellent sound quality (solid sound, powerful, deep and sonorous). However, my violin teacher commented that though the sound is good and has got professional qualities, the violin looks very ugly because it doesn`t have nice flamed back. It looks like a cheap china made junk violin. Also, after months of playing, i begin to feel that the violin is not that sweet and responsive,ie, the vibrato doesn`t come out that easily. I`m a bit disappointed with it. Is it really that hard to find a violin that i would like within that price range? Or is it just me that is so used to the sound of this violin that i begin to take it for granted and to find it not good enough?

i got a violin around that age too. i think maybe a string change can help you out. but i also noticed my skills were lacking so i can`t entirely blame it on my violin. if you keep practicing, maybe it`ll ge better. if not, choose another brand of strings instead of dominants. my violin was unresponsive last week but that was because the strings didn`t set in. now its vibrant and crisp, but its all up to me to bring the best out of it really.

I`d go for the best new violin I could find for the money, which in practice would probably mean a lot of research not just on violin brands but on dealers and markups. For example I know for a fact, and have proved several times, that we have many items that we sell for a third of the price they go for in a posh violin shop. And we won`t be the only ones I am sure. Now it is very probably true that the posh violin shop would do some set up work but you can do an awful lot of set up work for that money!

Liz

First off, don`t worry about the appearance of a violin cause that`s not what is important. I`m not sure what kind of violin market you live around, but I would call around and ask different dealers if you can take home a few violins for a week or two and try them out. I have found this to be most helpful. I don`t think there is too much difference in buying a new or an old violin. Just remember that as a violin gets older, sometimes the sound changes and violins that are still on the market are still there for reason. Good luck with your violin hunting! Tootles!

I wouldent look at the price tags... I would play tons of them and narrow it down to just one wether it be the most expensive or the cheapest.

and it shouldent matter what it looks like... you violin teacher has to think more about the sound and not about the looks

Well, my violin teacher goes for both looks and sound. He feels that since you`re spending so much money on a violin, you should get one that looks good as well as sounds good, so that you`ll feel good playing on it.