Welcome to Violinist.com! Log in, or join the community!
Violinist.com
Facebook Twitter Pinterest YouTube
Violinist.com - Violin Discussion - Instruments

Need advice to buy a new violin

Instruments: I'm an advanced violin student and have been playing for six years. I seek help in deciding how much to spend on the instrument that's most suited to my situation and budget!

From Ashkan Monaro
Posted June 2, 2012 at 04:49 AM

I am a violin student playing for 6 years and am in high school. I'd like to continue playing for years to come, but not as part of a career of any sort.
I'm currently looking to purchase a better instrument, which I'd like to be hand made, european and preferably with a bit of age. I'm am looking to spend upwards of £7000 on, but am wondering if:
Will my playing benefit from spending this amount on a violin?
How much I should spend on a bow relative to a violin of this sort?
Am I able to find a violin which fits my criteria at a lower price?
And if there are any luthiers or brands that I might try in this range?
I understand the value ranges significantly, but I'd appreciate all responses relative to my situation.

Thank You for you help!

From Carlo Ballara
Posted on June 2, 2012 at 10:15 AM
Is see from your profile that you are based in Australia. Any advice that anyone gives from the Northern Hemisphere will not be much help regarding dealers or makers to go to. I understand Sean Bishop deals in Australia also. You could get in touch with him via his website.

As a rule factor in a bow budget of a least 25% of the value of the violin. Personally if I had to choose I would rather have a great bow on a good violin rather than the other way around.

Good luck with you search

Cheers Carlo

From Ashkan Monaro
Posted on June 2, 2012 at 12:50 PM
I forgot to add that I wish to buy in Europe.
From Jennifer Mascaro
Posted on June 2, 2012 at 07:44 PM
Are there any violin shops near you? Why don't you go try several violins out and if the luthier will let you, take a couple of your favorites home on a trial basis. You never know, you might even like the sound of a $2,000 violin when really you feel you should spend double that amount, or way more. In that case, it wouldn't be necessary to spend as much as you think you need to.
From Smiley Hsu
Posted on June 2, 2012 at 09:41 PM
I think your price is right on the edge of being able to get something really nice. If you can spend £8000-£10,000, then you can look at some really nice contemporary fiddles. But if you are limited at £7000, then you might as well consider Chinese or perhaps old German violins that are below £5000. As Jennifer pointed out, you might even find something really good for £2000-3000.
From Brian Lee
Posted on June 2, 2012 at 10:14 PM
A friend of mine used a modern Cremonese violin that cost him about $7,000... after several years of struggling to make it sound good, he purchased a Chinese violin for $1,600 that easily beats a lot of more expensive instruments we've compared it to.
From Lyndon Taylor
Posted on June 2, 2012 at 11:12 PM
if youd read what the poster says, he said he wanted an older violin, i guess thats a bit hard for you newbies to comprehend, but not everyone prefers new violins......
From Vitalis Im
Posted on June 2, 2012 at 11:42 PM
He said that he preferred a violin "with a bit of age." The pot calling the kettle black.
From Simon Streuff
Posted on June 2, 2012 at 11:56 PM
with 7000 pounds you can get decent stuff. Violin and bow!
My advice is: Find private sellers. You will more likely find a good and reasonable priced violin there, than in a violin shop, who makes a living and a fancy car with violin trading.
But go to shops to check what you like and what is around your price range. Try to find something you like also out of your price range, then look further after those qualities until you really find a good deal. Dont rush anything. Finding a violin should take some time and sometimes include intensed travelling and testing.

My recent discovery about bows is, that you can get a more than decen bow for 100 Euros. A student of mine just bought that kind of a bow from Dörfler factory/bow makers, wich for that price played amazing! I am actually in pain, that i spent 4000 € on my bow, wich is still a great bow, with some qualities cheaper bows dont have.
My conclusion is, that its a fault to overlook the lower price range and the good deals, like chinese violins or other lower priced objects. good luck!

Edit: And no, your playing will not benefit from the amount of money you put into your violin, but from the quality you actually buy. Unfortunately there is much shi t in all price ranges of violins and one has to be very careful not to invest in the wrong things... wich is for us musicians: big names, antique value, resell value (not the worst thingto have though). The only thing wich matters if you are planning to buy yourself a violin for playing is the sound and how you feel on the instrument. Good/fitting instruments can indeed give you much more pleasure when playing them than bad violins. Keep in mind, that the setup is important too... soundwise and in terms of playability. Height of bridge etc.

Frank Almond

Interview: Frank Almond

Violinist Frank Almond tells the life story of the 1715 Lipinski Strad in his new recording, "A Violin's Life."