Hi guys...
I just really need some help. I need to buy a viola, but in my country the best ones I've found are Gligas. I went to the store to check them, and I realized none of them have the tuners!!!

I suppose that's NOT NORMAL... i'm just a beginner, but i've wasted around 3 months with an old viola that has a bridge problem. I really need a better one, and the Gliga one is the best around here.

Besides the gliga, they just offer cheapy and i guess, not so good, brands (genova, cremona, greko), haven't found any info or feedback about them on the web... and I tried the genova and sounds like a toy (my mom even noticed it)

So, you guys, what would you suggest?: a Gliga Genial without tuners, or a cheapy and childish genova/cremona/greko? ... I really prefer the Gliga ... Please help me! I need to upgrade very soon, immediatly (my lessons will continue next week)

Thank u!

If by "tuners", you mean fine tuners, you can easily buy them separately and put them on a viola that didn't come with them--they're very inexpensive. What country is "[your] country"?

Hi Scotch!

Yes, you're right, what i mean is the fine tuners. I wonder why the gligas i saw don't come with them ... Hmmm, i guess i'll have to buy them separately (if im willing to buy the gliga), but i will have to look for the tuners in various stores... i'm afraid i won't find them in any store, it is a possibility (here there's a poor offer of instument accesories and parts)
By the way, I live in Colombia.
So, assuming that I'm lucky and I get the fine tuners, Is it easy to install them? Can I do it, or it requires some kind of specialized procedure?

Don't know what to do... I really need advice!

Thanks!

So, assuming that I'm lucky and I get the fine tuners, Is it easy to install them?

I haven't put any on myself, but I'm told they're easy to attach. (Quite a few professional players seem to disdain them for some reason that I don't really grasp, and that might explain why some of the better instruments don't come with them.)

i was borrowing this guy's viola once, and i was like to my orchestra teacher: his viola doesn't have fine tuners! and she said its ok though, it doesn't NEED it.

so.. i told her to tune it, and she just tuned it with the pegs, just, going back and forth, and fining the RIGHTTT spot.. x)

so its not necessary , but if u think its easier or u want it, then u can get it.

have a look on ebay, i now that my local internet auction house sells tuners and other violin stuff, and you can pick it up quite cheap. there is also the option of buying a violin from outside your country and importing it. but that depends on how serious you are. i would get the gliga and hunt out some fine tuners, if your just beginning

Luckily I was wrong, I found a store offering the fine tuners (in the past I have had trouble finding some accessories and products)... I'm willing to buy the viola within a couple of months, and I'll try to attach fine tuners... Wish me luck

Good luck, but you might want to regard the fine tuners as a back-up. Buy them, but don't attach them until you've determined for sure that you need them.

I've traveled to Colombia a few times and know what it's like there. I can understand the difficulty finding an instrument as I've never found a store (in Bogota) that sold instruments. I have a Gliga Viola myself and I am starting to learn and I like it.
What part of Colombia do you live? and where did you go to find an instrument?

Hi Viola29, It is really strange you say "I've never found a store (in Bogota) that sold instruments" as in Bogota there are lots of music stores, as there are in some other cities too. You only check the yellow pages and that's it.

What it is true (sadly) is that stores maybe don't offer many brands and models of instruments and accessories, so when you want something sophisticated or you need some specifications, then you've got a mission and a headache... (for example, I would LOVE a 15.75" viola, not a 16", and when asking in 1000 stores all the sellers thought I was dumb or crazy, they acted as I was an alien hahaha... It would be nice if they were better trained...the viola I actually have is a 15.75", and I can't imagine myself with something bigger or smaller. But anyway, the situtation forces me to choose between a 15" or 16", and teachers told me people dont consider a 15" viola player...

Shoulder rests for viola, as it is quite unpopular, are inexistent... at least in the 1000 stores i called. So, I have to use one that says violin/viola one (I don't believe in the "violin/viola" thing)

Conc: I'll have to go for the 16" one, as in this country 15.5" violas are from Mars too

Maybe the next time I'm in Colombia, I'll try looking some of them up. In the US, I have a hard time trying to find an instructor. So, in the meantime, I am learning to play myself with an instruction book and a tone reader (So I know I'm on the right note) and So far, I've been doing well enough considering I haven't practiced much lately. Sometimes, I'll pick it up and just play random notes just for fun or for a warm up then I'll do the structured part afterwards.

I hope your future searches go well.
Buena Suerte!

you don't need fine tuners on your instrument. sophisticated instruments come with occassionaly one on the a but sometimes on none. I have a 'snow' viola and got eudoxa strings for it recently. I had to remove the fine tuners for the c and g string. Its annoying at first to tune but you get used to it.

Espero que tu resuelves tu problema.

Thank you guys for your good wishes!

Guess what? In the worst moments of frustration and impotence, wishing to throw away the viola I have, I was determined to do something radical about this. Order a decent viola from internet or fixing if possible the one I have (or quiting viola) , but I had to move on.

Of course second option was the one chosen because I still don't have all the money. Well, yesterday I happened to do a big research in the net about viola problems and specifications, specially about the bridge issue...my bridge turned to be a skycraper, not a 15.75" viola bridge

This was amazing news. I picked a model of a Stradivari viola bridge from a Sheila Nelson's book, and I went straight to do my work. I performed simple calculations, and yes, I resized and reshaped my bridge!! It took me 3 hours yesterday, and today 1h for adjustments. I don't know how, but I had the feeling of being sure of every step I was doing.

The feeling of my viola now is AMAZING!!! strings were killer,playing in 3rd position was pretty messy and difficult, and playing in higuer positions was virtually impossible before. But now... stings are much more tender, lower, and positions are really welcomed. But the most important, without sacrificing sound, at least that I can notice.

I can't believe this yet, but I am very very happy and I feel I solved the viola problem once and for all until the moment for upgrading comes.

Greetings!