Beginner Violin?
 

My wife mentioned, maybe a year ago, she wouldn't mind taking up the violin. I mostly forgot about it, until I started wracking my brain and what to get her for Christmas. Now,I do not know much at all about violins, but from the guitar world, I know to not get a cheap violin shaped object that won't stay in tune, or just doesn't have a good tone or is setup poorly and hard to play. I've been reading all the " student violin " reviews online, hoping that one or two are always on the list. Of course, that didn't happen.

Budget, probably $300.

If there are any violin teachers out there, let me know what you like.

One of the great things about violin is you can rent them. Go to a music store and try a few out. Take one home for a while. Then try another. Repeat as desired. Many music stores will let you apply the rent toward a purchase.

Eastman guitars and mandolins get a lot of praise here, with good reason. Eastman Strings has been making orchestral stringed instruments longer than they've been making guitars and mandos. Not a bad place to start.

Now, I know nothing about violins, but I always wanted to try (I played viola briefly in grade school). So I asked Santa to bring this:

https://fiddlershop.com/collections/...-violin-outfit

It's electric, has a headphone jack, output jack and even comes with ear buds. My goal is to learn to play a bit and not be killed during my sleep by my wife :D

I see it as a stepping stone to a better instrument, but not being sure if I would stick with it, I went the "Fender starter guitar" route for now as opposed to something better.

It won't get it in time for the big day, but it'll get here. :)

I was in a serious violin shop a while back and a guy wanted to buy a violin for his daughter. The counter guy asked for a budget and the guy said $500. That was the cheapest violin the store would carry. So I'd get a used one of those.

Because Christmas was approaching fast, I read a few " Best violins for students..." reviews, I ordered this kit, which comes with too much at this price to make me confident:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I know one of the music teachers in our school district and he didn't give the brand a good review at all, but the Amazon reviews were not bad at all. He suggested a used Yamaha. I'd have to get into the $350 range for one of those. I don't mind the step up in price at all, if my wife really wants to take learning a new instrument with enthusiasm.

John - I don't know anything about this brand. Does the phrase "violin-shaped-object" mean anything to you? It could be ok....

Mandobart,

That is my concern. It's MSRP is $400, but no one sells them for that. I didn't know of any of the brands listed in all the beginner/student violin reviews. Yamaha wasn't in them, because, I guess most beginners don't want to spend the $800 for a new , student model , violin.

At that price it will definitely need a setup.

Sorry, a little too late to this thread to make a difference for JohnW63, since he's already ordered a kit.

When I got the urge to try to learn the violin (viola, actually) a short ways back, I found a local music store that supplies student-grade instruments to the local high schools for their band and orchestra programs. I was able to arrange an adult month-by-month rental of a decent quality instrument for around $20 per month. I rented long enough to come to the realization that I don't have the ear for fretless instruments.:D

Long time Violin/fiddle player here,
Good sounding violins don't come cheap, one can buy an inexpensive guitar say around $400 and have a lot of fun , decent sound ,
decent sounding violins(like mandolins) are a lot more expensive .

The problem with learning violin is, to get a nice sounding tone as a beginner takes time and perseverance , you have to learn where the notes are played , there are no frets to guide you , it's an ear/finger coordination process .
Developing a bow-hand is also a process, many will say that the bow-hand is more important (if the right hand doesn't do it, the left hand don't matter).
However, if one bites through the sour apple, the payoff is big, it is hugely satisfying and so much fun to playfiddle/bluegrass tunes or any kind of music on the violin.

To get started , look here:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCjD...ture=hovercard

https://fiddlerman.com

hope this helps

I plan on asking my wife if she wants to give this violin a go or not. We can get a used Yamaha for about $350. Probably a better instrument, for the money. I can return this one to Amazon very easily.

I've watched a number of violin review videos and unless the tome difference is rather large, my studio monitors haven't produced much difference. Could be the YouTube quality or the mic quality and placement. Mostly, what I am shooting for is that is plays without extra effort and can be tuned and stays in tune and doesn't sound like a toy version of a real violin.

John:

I've played violins ranging from under $100 up to $2100. I have found that even the cheap ones can sound decent. In addition I've played bows ranging from $30 to $1700. The cheap bows can sound decent too. Therefore it is likely that what you are hearing on Youtube is accurate. The skill of the player has a lot to do with it.

As far as build materials, workmanship, tuning stability, playability, are concerned that's another story. For example, you may find that the lower priced violins may not hold tuning as well as higher priced ones, although I did play a Yamaha model once that couldn't hold tuning because the tuning pegs kept slipping.

The gift has been given and tuned up. To my untrained ears, it doesn't sound bad. Before we opened it. I told her it may not be very good and that that the 2nd option would be a better used one. We tuned it up and rosined the bow. Watched a video on how to use the bow and it sounded pretty good. I had to get used to how much to turn the tuning pegs and how firm to push them in to hold tune. The micro tuners on the tail piece were a big help. The option was to get a Yamaha V5 I saw on Reverb that would be around $400 with shipping. She said that it was fine to learn on and if she got really into it, we could sell it and upgrade.

Trying to figure out the new price was a little confusing. I see some at $900 and one at $599.

Fantastic! Nothing like the gift of music! Merry Christmas!

My fiddle was under $400. It was made in Romania. I bought it after checking with my friend, Violiz, the first chair second violins in the local symphony