Violin for Spouse Help?

[sixx]

I have a birthday and anniversary coming up in June for 'she who must be obeyed', and the missus mentioned how much she misses playing the violin (it's been about 10 years since she's played) so I'd like to surprise her with one.

I know zero about violins. Are there name brands or certain types/woods I should be looking for? US made, german made, etc? My max budget is about a grand - does that seem feasible to get her a nice one?

thanks much

[D-utim]

Take a look at Snow.

[lfoo6952]

Like guitars, anything in that price range is not going to be great. And like chinese made guitars, a Chinese made violin will give you a good bang for the buck. In addition the bow plays a major role in producing good sound.

My recommendation is to look at Scott Cao violins. Be prepared to spend at least $300 to $400 on a decent pernambuco bow. Carbon fiber bows are not bad but purists prefer the sound from natural wood bows.

If you can, go to a shop that specializes in violins and ask for their advice, rather than buying online.

[HHP]

Here you go. $70 up to $12,000. Don't forget you may need to also budget for a bow.

https://www.elderly.com/instruments/...w_used=413&p=1

[Wyllys]

Please don't just give her an instrument. Take her shopping and let her choose, then pay for it.

All instruments are personal, violins and bows the most so. And after a layoff it becomes even more crucial. You'll likely be able to get a serviceable fiddle for a couple grand, but be ready to spend that much or more for the bow. With your limited budget letting her make the decision is even more crucial.

[posternutbag]

I am by no means a fiddler, but I can play a bit, and more importantly, I think I can be of some assistance. Most of what I am going to write, I have said before in various threads related to stringed instruments.

My usual advice is to rent for a year. There are a variety of reasons why renting is a good deal for the beginning string player, but since this will be a gift, none of that matters.

Probably the single most important point about buying a stringed instrument is the shop you buy from. By this, I mean a real string shop, not a store that rents middle school band instruments and not a guitar store with one lonely fiddle hanging on the wall. If you walk in and all you see are violins, violas, cellos and bows, you are in the right place. If you tell me where you live, I can probably find one near you. But if there is no string shop near you, the next best thing is to buy from a stringed instrument shop online. I have been using JR Judd in Williamsport Pa for several years and I have never set foot in the shop despite renting a violin, buying a violin and buying an upright bass. NFI, but they have always treated me well: https://www.jrjuddviolins.com/

OK, why is this important? Well, violins need a setup, and the setup on a violin is WAY more complicated than the setup on a guitar. In the sub $1k range, you will be looking at either Chinese made violins or very old trade violins from Eastern Europe. Either way, the violin will need a setup. This involves changing strings (the strings that come with Chinese violins are useless), carving and fitting the tuning pegs, carving the final shape of the bridge and setting the bridge feet (violin bridges come as blanks), setting the soundpost and perhaps planing the fingerboard. A good string shop will do all of this, even on an inexpensive violin.

The world of entry level violins are dominated by Chinese shops. I mentioned before that old trade violins from Eastern Europe are available in your price range, but they can be hit or miss, from pretty good to unplayable. In the $1k market, I would look at an Eastman 305 or a Shen 300. The Shen is a little less, but it is a good beginner violin. The Shen lists at $1020 and comes with decent hardware (tailpiece with fine tuners, chin rest etc). The Eastman 305 lists at about $1200, but it is a good quality instrument for the beginner/intermediate.

Remember when you price everything out, you need a case, a bow, probably a shoulder rest, and rosin. Bows are expensive. If you think a $35 Blue Chip is expensive, try a $10,000 pernambuco bow. You can get an Eastman Cadenza carbon fibre for about $120.

If I were putting together a violin package, I would probably go with:
Shen 300 violin $1020
Eastman Cadenza bow $120
Bobelock shaped case $120
Kun Solo shoulder rest $25
If you buy all that, they will throw in rosin

That would be a good beginner fiddle package, but it lists out at $1285, a good deal, but slightly above your price range (or maybe not, they might do the whole package for $1k, much of the string shop business is renting to kids, and lots of parents are returning rentals at the end of the school year).

Hope that helps.

[wkbryan]

Www.sharmusic.com. they have package deals for nearly any budget, and they guarantee the trade-in value if you ever want to upgrade. We've done business with them several times for our daughters violins and they've always been very easy to work with and very helpful.

[posternutbag]

Originally Posted by wkbryan

Www.sharmusic.com. they have package deals for nearly any budget, and they guarantee the trade-in value if you ever want to upgrade. We've done business with them several times for our daughters violins and they've always been very easy to work with and very helpful.

Shar has a good national reputation.

[iim7V7IM7]

Give Bruce Sexauer a call...

http://www.sexauerluthier.com/Violins.html

[Bruce Sexauer]

Bob alerted me to this thread. I have 30 or so violins, many of which I made, mine don't fit your budget. I do have a couple of inexpensive violins on hand which I think are decent, in particular this one:




This violin is solid high end wood w/one piece back, hand made, set up by me, maple spruce and ebony with boxwood pegs, and has Thomastic Dominant strings on it. It is set up as a violin, but could be set up as a fiddle for another hundred bucks by changing the strings and the tailpiece and fooling with the sound post a little. This instrument sounds good to me and has vitality as well as balance. To do better you'd have to double your budget. If you decide to, I can help you with that as well.

You will also need a bow and a case and a chunk of decent rosin. I can sell you all of these items for your budget, and consider that very generous as the violin alone is about a thousand dollar value, and I've sold many at that price. Do not shy away from a well made carbon bow, you have to spend quite a bit to do better with a wood bow. Dropping a wood bow one time can ruin it, so it's not ideal for a person whose moves are rusty.

[sixx]

I didn't realize violins were this complicated. Thanks very much for the education. I live in Tempe, AZ which is the Phoenix area, so I'm sure there are lots of shops that specialize in violins.

The renting first thing makes sense as well. I'll have to do some leg work and find a good, reputable shop with a decent supply in stock then take her there.

What a great resource this forum is. Thanks so much to everyone who responded...your help is definitely very much appreciated. thank you

[sixx]

"Bob alerted me to this thread. I have 30 or so violins, many of which I made, mine don't fit your budget. I do have a couple of inexpensive violins on hand which I think are decent, in particular this one:"

That looks like a real beauty. I wish I knew what I was looking at so I'd better get educated on violins. Thank you for reaching out. I believe I'll go the rental route right now, and let the wife direct which way she wants to go after getting back into playing.

I just took a look at your website. You certainly make beautiful looking and I can only imagine wonderful sounding instruments.

[posternutbag]

I tend to think renting, at least for a while, is a good idea. One thing to be sure to pay attention to, many string shops will allow you to put a portion of what you spend renting an outfit towards the purchase of a more expensive instrument. When you factor that in, renting is an even better deal.

[Ergoetal]

Originally Posted by Wyllys

Please don't just give her an instrument. Take her shopping and let her choose, then pay for it.

All instruments are personal, violins and bows the most so. And after a layoff it becomes even more crucial. You'll likely be able to get a serviceable fiddle for a couple grand, but be ready to spend that much or more for the bow. With your limited budget letting her make the decision is even more crucial.

I second this opinion. Fiddle is my first instrument - guitar second - and for a thousand dollars you should be able to find a pretty nice fiddle and bow - and the bow is at least as important as the fiddle. I suggest taking her to shops that sell older fiddles and will let her take an instrument/bow home to try. Maybe take one fiddle and a few bows home.

You can find some nice European instruments - typically German factory fiddles from the 1920s or so - for under $1K. And yes, the bow is pretty important, so if it were me, I wouldn't be afraid to spend $600 on the fiddle and $400 on the bow, or even vice versa.

Good for you for thinking of this. It will be a lovely gift.

[M Hayden]

Bruce - your reply noted a difference in setup between a fiddle and a violin. Assuming that's not a wry in-joke that i don't get, can you detail the differences in setup?