Buyer's guide for mid-range violins? (1 Viewer)

I'm thinking of getting another string instrument. I played 'cello back when I was in college but never got that good at it, in part because of a broken ring finger on my left hand that set a bit crooked, in part because I have very small hands. And of course in part due to laziness.....

But I miss the feeling of pulling tone out of a string. I'm thinking of getting a violin, as that instrument is probably a better fit for my hands.

Does anyone have a book or website reference that they believe gives good advice on selecting a middling-price (about $1,000) quality student instrument? I'm lucky in that Scott Cao's main workshop is only about 3 miles from my home, and I have read that he makes one of the better middling-price violin (see www.scottcaoviolins.com ).

But Zen I'd like an independent set of reviews. Obviously the stores will tell you they sell the best stuff! :p)

I was going to ask if you could get them for an employee's discount....



It looks like www.fqms.com/violins.htm has the Cao line as cheap as anyplace.

I find Knilling to have good student instruments, usually from the $500-$1100 range. They will definately get you by unless you wanted to do a lot of professional gigs.

So far what looks to be a good deal is the Stringworks "Virtuoso" violin with pernambuco bow and case for $855 www.stringworks.com/mall/violinvirtuoso.asp . This is pretty cheap for a fiddle. Cao won't quote direct prices and sends you off to various local shops.

Here's a matrix but no comments:

http://www.stringsmagazine.com/issue...olinchart.html

Zen,

Here's a couple I'm looking at on ebay.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...ory=38108&rd=1

This is a good deal on a Scott Cao model 750 outfit.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...ory=38108&rd=1

Here's a no-reserve Stringworks "Artist" set for a cheap price.

Any comments?

Can anyone tell me how much an old violin that is damaged can cost? I went to one music shop around my home and they didn't have anyone that was into violins at all so couldn't give me a price.

When I was cleaning out the 3rd floor of my home a few years ago, I found a violin in a crawl space that was made in 1812 in Germany. It's in pretty bad shape, but I remember the label on the inside said it was made by someone famous. I'm not home at the moment, so I can't go into details. I always just guessed it was a replica and never gave it much thought.

Zen,

Thanks for asking anyway. Most musicians cough up the money for better instruments as soon as possible so I'm not surprized your friend bought a Bartok.

Greg,

Labels don't mean much on violins. Almost every cheap violin coming out of Europe in the last 200 years has had a "Stradavarius" label stuck in it. As Antonio Stradavari maybe lived long enough to build about 1,000 violins, more than 99% are fakes. How exactly do you know it was made in Germany in 1812?

Nowadays the better luthiers are proud of their work. The Scott Cao copy of the "Lord Wilton" Guarnari de Gesu linked above will have a Cao label in it.

What exactly do you mean by "in pretty bad shape"? Discolored varnish, cracks in the wood, or something else?

As for me, I want to learn to play to enhance my sex appeal:

It does have an Antonio Stradavarius label on it. And it says Anno Facebat 1812 on the label as well. So highschool latin came in handy for once. The weird part was the entire label is in Latin, except the last line that says "Made in Germany." That odd line alone discredits it's actual worth in my mind. Why would Germans write something in English in 1812 when everything else is in Latin?

I really don't know anything about instruments at all, but as far as condition, I don't remember any cracks, but it just looked the way a 190 yr old violin would if it wasn't maintained properly... the wood looks worn away. And the bow's chord is all stretched out as well. I believe it also had "conservatory" or something like that carved into it on the back top part where you tune the strings. My house is about 125 yrs old, so who knows when it was put there. My guess was the last owners did it as a joke to mess with my mind and make me think I found something valuable.

I don't expect it to be worth anything, otherwise I would've gone to a PBS antique road show. I just saw this violin thread and it reminded me of this thing I found. I really have nothing to suggest in the way of mid-priced violins, sorry for the hi-jacking.

Greg,

Here's an example of a really really fake Strad being foisted off as something valuable. Notice the seller has made the auction "private" - the single bid is probably his own as a shill.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...category=38108

This thing is crudely made and I think the purfling is painted on. This isn't worth $50 much less $3000.

I'm amazed this thread hasn't gotten anymore traffic - I would have thought there were dozens of fiddlers here at HTF.

Dennis,

I'm not a string player (I'm a clarinetist), but my husband's a bass player, and he just bought a new bass this summer. He bought a Chinese-made instrument made by Samuel Shen. I don't know anything about their violins, but their basses are pretty well-regarded. My husband plays at a semipro level (good amateur groups and some gigs), and he's thrilled with his instrument (as is everyone else who's heard it). It cost a pretty penny, but relative to what good string instruments can cost, it was a steal. We were amazed to get something so nice for less than five figures.

As I said, I have nothing to go on for violins, but I have heard that some of the Chinese-made string instruments have improved by leaps and bounds, and some (like the Shen basses) have become competitive with instruments from American and European makers. It would be worth checking into, at least.

Also, my mother-in-law is a Suzuki violin teacher. I'll ask her what she knows.

Good luck!

Aha, I've found what I was looking for:

http://www.stringsmagazine.com/issue...overstory.html

There's also a useful forum at their site.