Purchasing a Viola

January 18, 2016 at 02:19 PM · It has been recommended for violins and also applies to violas: if you can make it to Cleveland for the VSA competition in November, there will be probably close to 100 violas to try out, although most of them will likely be a bit larger than you want. I am currently working on a 15.75" viola to enter, although I'm afraid my present pricing is outside of your target range (perhaps if I win an award, I can raise my price into your $10 - $15k range).

January 18, 2016 at 02:58 PM · I played a beautiful viola made by Wojciech Topa, his instruments might be priced toward the top end of your range, it was a wonderful sounding instrument. I was curious to hear it because Topa made my violin (which I love), and I have played two other Topa violins and find that his instruments are consistently good. The viola I played was 16" however, maybe even 16.25.

Every time I think about viola sizes, I imagine a measuring device that would resemble the thing they use at the shoe store to measure your feet.

January 18, 2016 at 03:28 PM · Hello Daisy: Are you also Alexi Alexiou? By strange coincidence, you and Alexi joined this website on the same day and checked it last on the same day. The odds are fairly remote that two violists would query the same website with virtually the same question. If you are the same person, please pick only one identity. One might suspect your activity as being trolling. Thanks.

January 18, 2016 at 03:34 PM · I just googled "daisy smith viola" and the only hits I got were for obituaries of women named daisy smith whose middle name was viola. Odd for someone who calls herself "semi-professional" and wanting a superior instrument to advance her career, to be completely invisible on the internet.

January 18, 2016 at 03:57 PM · Hey now, I would not jump to conclusions like that. On my feed, Daisy created her account January 11 and Alexi on January 3. The two questions are somewhat similar, but hardly fits the definition of trolling in any sense. Regardless, my first reaction would not be to blame her for not having an internet presence unless advice was asked about it. For all you know, she may be using an online alias. That's no way to treat a potential new member!

Whether you are real or not Daisy, to answer your question I would look into the violas at William Harris Lee. I personally find Bronek Cison violas to be top notch and are around your price. Else, I would call Roberton and Sons in ABQ, New Mexico. They are good at fitting your preferences and are patient with sending out trials.

January 18, 2016 at 04:06 PM · ... or come to Toronto, Ontario. Send me a personal message and I will respond with luthier names and contact info.

January 18, 2016 at 04:12 PM · There is no blame here. It's actually easy to identify technically, by tracing and matching the IP addresses on both posters. If they are sourced the same, the odds are pretty good... The moderator should be able to look it up in the account logs and block all postings from that source. If it's a vendor posting the query so that they can respond with their inventories, they would be blocked.

January 18, 2016 at 04:14 PM · "For all you know, she may be using an online alias. That's no way to treat a potential new member!"

Aliases are not allowed here except by permission of the Editor. We're meant to use our real names.

January 18, 2016 at 04:31 PM · I would like to state I am a different person as Daisy but the fact that she asked nearly the same question, joined nearly the same time as me, and last logged in at nearly the same time as me is crazyy

January 18, 2016 at 04:45 PM · Alexi is a different person. It is just a coincidence that we joined around similar times. Is it that hard to believe that there are two violists on here? ;-)

Anyway, I appreciate the viola suggestions. I am hoping I'll get to try one made by Topa since I've heard lots of good things about his instruments.

January 18, 2016 at 06:56 PM · Daisy, try JR Music Supply for Topa instruments. I think they source a number of Polish makers directly.

January 18, 2016 at 08:35 PM · As a violist, I think it will be especially challenging to find an instrument at 15.5 or 15.75" that has a pro level sound, without resorting to instruments that are older and quite expensive. At least I have not seen them. The smallest I could find that met these requirements for me was 16-3/8", so I bought it. But I agree that you should check out the VSA competition in November to see what turns up - looks like Don Noon will have something to show, and it's below your stated price range! Yes, Robertson & Sons, and David Brewer, both in Albuquerque, have excellent inventories of instruments to try, and both have a low pressure sales environment.

January 18, 2016 at 09:23 PM · One of the maxims of violinists is that you can get more bang for your buck upgrading your bow rather than your instrument. I have no idea of whether this applies to violists, but it may be something worth considering.

January 19, 2016 at 10:56 PM · I agree that it might be worth upgrading your bow. I'm thinking about doing that myself. I've come to realize that my cheap carbon fiber bow is too stiff. I've tried using my pernambuco violin bow on my viola; it feels nicely supple, but is too light to bring out a proper sound. Once we catch up with our year-end bills I'm going shopping for a better viola bow (and getting my violin bow re-haired - after 4 years on its original hair it's getting hard to get a good sound out of the Hair on a G String).

January 20, 2016 at 02:03 AM · Eh. Lots of people don't live on the Internet, so to speak, or don't keep public profiles. In most cities, freelance scenes are going to be word-of-mouth contacts, not contractors looking up random people on the Internet (other than, I suppose, consumers looking up wedding quartets). Lack of visibility for a pro or semi-pro is not unusual.