Buying a New Violin

June 21, 2008 at 05:16 PM · >I live around the Los Angeles/San Francisco/San Jose area

That's one big area to live in. : )

In San Francisco, Roland Feller is world-class and has wonderful inventory. In San Jose, there is Kamimoto Strings and Stevens Music Shop (higher end products here and very personalized service, but prices seem higher as well). In Berkeley, there is Ifshin Violins. Best to set up appointments for all places (Stevens Music Shop is appointment-only).

Sorry I can't help you with Southern CA tips!

June 21, 2008 at 06:10 PM · I second all the recommendations above, especially Stevens Violin Shop. Sorry for the shameless plug. ;). In L.A. check out Robert Cauer, and Hans Weisshaur. Also, if you don't mind the drive up to Santa Rosa, Loveland violin shop is good.

June 21, 2008 at 07:02 PM · Joe, I'm absolutely loving the bow I purchased at your shop. I just gave you guys a good plug on the "Violin Shops" section of this website - a well-deserved plug.

June 21, 2008 at 08:27 PM · Hmmmm,

San Fransico/San Jose/ LA is a very large area ;>)

In LA, I'd *highly* recommend the Thomas Metzler Violin Shop- down in Glendale. I've worked with Tom personally-he's honest, has a great shop, and gets some very good instruments. If you drop by, tell him I say "Hi"

June 21, 2008 at 09:57 PM · In North Hollywood, just over the hills from LA is Studio City Music.

In Berkeley, Joan Balter does lutherie and sells instruments/bows from a "garage-shop."

In Santa Rosa, an hour north of San Francisco is Loveland Violins.

In Campbell, a little north of San Jose is Scott Cao, who has violins of his own, from his workshop and from his factories.

I think your price range is an interesting one because in my opinion it is usually well below that in which violins have grown to their value, and below those of professional current makers who have won top prizes at the national and international level. But it is in and above the range of violins by little-known makers and current mass-makers.

I think you might hope to find satisfactory violins to your taste in about 1/5 of those you try. So set a course to try 20-40 violins in a number of shops, with your own violin in hand. As soon as you find a new violin you can live with, take it on trial for your visit to the rest of the shops within your range.

The last time I looked for a violin (for someone else, in a somewhat lower price range) I visited 5 shops,tried 33 violins and found 3 that met my criteria for satisfaction. In other words, 30 of 33 were violins I could not accept.

Have fun and take your time.

Andy

June 23, 2008 at 11:42 AM · Thank you everyone for your very helpful responses. I'll be sure to take all of your opinions in my mind when I go to purchase a new violin.

However, if I may, can I ask a question? Mr. Andrew, you said that my price range was interesting. Thank you so much for your comment, however, could you be as so kind as to tell me which price range would be good for a violinist who is NOT professional, but is good enough at least to be in a Youth Philharmonic?

Thanks everyone, and any more comments would be much welcome.

June 23, 2008 at 02:01 PM · Andrew Victor:

" I think you might hope to find satisfactory violins to your taste in about 1/5 of those you try. SO set a course to try 20-40 violins in a number of shops, with your own violin in hand. As soon as you find a new violin you can life with, take it on trial for your visit to the rest of the shops within your range.

The last time I looked for a violin (for someone else, in a somewhat lower price range) I visited 5 shops,tried 33 violins and found 3 that met my criteria for satisfaction. In other words, 30 of 33 were violins I could not accept.

Have fun and take your time."

I think he's saying that, from his experience, it is possible to find a very nice violin in this price range but that you will probably find many more that are not as nice.

June 24, 2008 at 07:04 PM · If you happen to be in the bay area looking for instruments in your price range, there is also a shop by Patrick Heaney in Mountain View (you can look it up on the internet). We got a cello for my daughter there, after comparing a few of the local shops. BTW, don't forget to reserve money for a good bow. It can make a lot of difference. THe process can be very time-consuming.

September 11, 2009 at 02:19 PM ·

Subjectivity of trying out violins....

Trying out 40 violins in the $5,000 dollar price range might be a good idea, but it could throw you off. Listening to violins is subjective. There are a lot of factors that might influence your decision. It might be best to concentrate on a core group of instruments and make many inquires. I suppose that might be the 3 out of 33 that the other poster was talking about, but even still - it should be more like 5 or 10 that you are inquiring about. Read on to find out why.

First of all, when you play a violin, the way it sounds next to your ear and the way it sounds 10 feet away are two different things. If you can bring along another violinist, then do so.

Secondly, I played on a violin worth about $1,000 today that I would happily use instead of my more expensive instrument. Price isn't everything, so don't assume that cheaper always means worse (though it often does).

Thirdly, there are a ton of violin strings out there. A shop might try to trick you into buying a $5,000 dollar instrument over their $2,500 dollar instrument by stringing the more expensive one in a more correct manner. That $1,000 dollar violin that I played today sounded great because it had some Vision Solo Titaniums - a really bright and fun string to play on. Each violin requires care in the selection of strings, and the shop owners know this very very well. They know the average price brackets that students use when buying instruments. They cater to those brackets. Remember, selling violins is a business, not a charity.

Vision Titaniums are a fine string, but I'll bet the $5,000 dollar instruments at that violin shop have Pirastro Obligatos or maybe Evah Pirazzi (those sound very nice on many good instruments).

Strings can and will influence your decision - don't let them. Learn about the characteristics of strings and inquire about what strings are on the instruments you are trying. Certain strings can "tame" a violin, and increase the sound quality dramatically.

There are priceless Strads out there that are strung with a poor string selection, and so they don't sound so hot.

There are other factors besides the strings which contribute to the sound. The bridge and soundpost, etc. A lot of simple adjustments can bring life back to a violin. These factors will also influence the brightness or darkness of the sound.

Analysis:

When buying an instrument, remember the subjectiveness that I have explained above. Don't assume that a $5,000 dollar instrument is always better than a $2,000 dollar instrument just because some guy said so.

Valuing an instrument is not really an exact science (though, some people think it is). The luthiers at string shops that I know of try to make fine instruments, but they don't always succeed. That alone tells me that something is off with their complete understanding of the functionality of great sound. I'm not putting down luthiers, just pointing out the flaws in evaluating violins in ranges of $2,500, $5,000, etc. If it were an exact science, then the luthiers that I know of would always be able to produce $10,000 instruments.

I can easily underastand how one instrument can be worth over $10,000, while another is worth $1,000; however, the difference between $1,000 and $2,000 shouldn't be as clear. So, don't let the price influence you!

Good luck to all of you in your search for a great violin.

September 11, 2009 at 04:07 PM ·

I recommend Ifshin Violins in El Cerritos www.ifshinviolins.com

September 11, 2009 at 04:08 PM ·

You have set your "ceiling"...now, just go and explore and try many...read "Smiley's" quest in previous threads...he did it right; took his time & tried many

OOPS...did not realize this is a one year old entry...hopefully, you have found one

March 3, 2011 at 06:47 AM ·

I realize this thread is old but people actually do read them for advice.  I fell in love with a $5500 violin strung with Evah Pirazzi, then found similar discussions that said those strings have just the qualities that made me fall in love with the violin.  Hmmm.  Now I'm trying a $2200 violin and am wondering which strings might make IT sound like that $5500 violin.  Maybe the Evahs, but not if they fall apart as quickly as some people say.