Advice on finding my forever violin. When to stop searching for one?
Hi everyone,I am searching for my “forever” dream violin and wanted to get others’ feedback and advice. Violin was my 1st instrument at age 5, and at age 6 I started piano which became my major instrument. I also picked up viola in high school. I majored in piano and conducting so that became my focus and string playing fell off the wayside. Aside from occasional chamber music readings with friends, I didn’t touch violin/viola much in my adult years.
About a year and half ago, I had an epiphany that I shouldn’t ignore my string playing abilities, however mediocre they may be. I loved playing in orchestra when I was younger and realized I should utilize my skills to help me understand bowing, phrasing and sound production as related to orchestral string playing. I thought it would be beneficial to play through the parts of pieces I was studying and to practice audition excerpts so that I could better understand the intricacies of playing them, not just listening to or conducting them.
Ever since I was young, I dreamed of owning a nice violin. I’m from a middle class family but my parents couldn’t afford to spend serious money on violin/viola since they were my minor instruments. I had a full size German workshop violin since 8th grade which I never really liked playing or how it sounded. I don’t even remember how I ended up selecting it. Seeing others playing on really nice instruments at violin shops made me wish I could own a violin that I really loved playing. Now that I'm getting back into playing, I figured I should look for my dream violin.
My budget is $15000 USD and I’m looking for a luthier made (modern or antique) instrument, not a factory or workshop instrument. Primary considerations for me are the sound and comfort of playing, followed by condition. Provenance and investment potential are nice but secondary to me. I had a basic idea about violin makers and luthiers but I really learned a lot about the complex world of string instruments since last February when I started my search. Since then, I gained much more in-depth knowledge of violins and got a decent bow as well. I have tried over 125 violins from various local and out of town shops and out of those, I really liked 7 or 8 of them. Within those 7 or 8, there may be 3 or 4 that fit all my criteria and would consider purchasing. I haven’t done any in home trials yet because I want to narrow my choices down and spend time with the final candidates all at once.
I want to find the best possible instrument within my budget so the question is, do I keep searching further or do I make a final selection with the choices I have? I have a good ear and I have been keeping notes but It’s hard to compare different violins from different times and acoustic settings. There are so many variables when it comes to buying a violin and I have heard stories of people spending years searching the world over for their dream violin which paid off in the end. I realize at my price point, there is no perfect violin and I need to be realistic and practical in terms of devoting time and money to travel. I’m currently playing on a cheap German workshop violin I purchased last April and while it does the job, I would like to find my dream violin sooner rather than later.
What would you do in my situation? How many violins should I trial at home as final candidates? Did any of you go through a similar process and would you be willing to share stories of how you found your forever violin? I would LOVE to hear them as it would be very inspiring and help me decide one way or another. Thanks in advance.
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Replies (25)
It sounds like you already have a good idea of what you are looking for in a violin, please do not forget about matching a suitable bow to your prospective new instrument.
At the level you are looking at the quality of your bow and how it responds to your violin will make as much of a difference to your playing, progress and enjoyment as the violin.
Don’t be afraid of the violin-and-bow finding journey taking time . The last time I upgraded my instrument it took two years before the violin I play now ‘chose me’ . And, yes, I then ended up upgrading what I thought was my bow-for-life because although it was a perfect match for my previous violin , the new violin needed something very different.
FWIW" I still play a late 1800's German factory instrument that came from my wife's family. I've been playing it for over 40 years and I only recently managed to get the tone/sound quality that the professionals could produce.
The quality of sound is partly from the instrument. The rest comes from you. So, hold a session with friends, try a bunch of instruments and pick the one that has the best overall sound of the group.
Then the work begins where you work on producing that special sound that only you and your instrument can make.
FWIW: I've also been married to my wife for over 50 years so I have an appreciation of developing long term relationships. That is what it's really all about. developing the sound regardless of how long it takes.
Zosia, you make absolute good sense. Shopping for a forever violin and bow is fun, and one should not hurry.
Yoon Jae,
Did any of these four violins speak to your heart? That could be your other criteria.
There are less expensive markets, mostly in Eastern Europe. And once a maker has died, market prices will find their own level, which may end up being lower.
Just to repeat from above, your tastes will change as your skills improve. I have a few contemporary violins, and my favorite often shifts around depending on my practice level and which bow I am using. With bows also-- the best stick for a job isn't always the very best one you have. Matching the hardware can produce its own magic, and a lot also depends on how you are able to use the equipment.
I have one bow in particular that always disappointed me until I tried a whole raft of 19c bows. Somehow, the technique I developed to cope to get the best from those serves me very well with this one. Had I not moved beyond Sartory clones, I might never have learned how to get the best from it.
One reason that people care about provence, is that it is relevent to selling the violin. One day you may wish to sell the instrument. In such an instance it literally pays to have been concerned about it.
There is no such thing as a forever violin.
Did you start of with an idea of how your dream violoncello was suüppsed to sound, play and maybe also look?
Do these four violins come close to that idea?
You will never be able to try all violins available in the world. You may however probably be able to either save the same sum again or later sell your violin to buy a new one. So, this one need not be your absolute dream violin.
Also, 125 is a lot, pissibly you did not remember every single instrument. I would not go on looking for the needle in the haystack again but first play these four and ask yourself: Is there one I don't want to give back? Is there one which would make me happy for a long time? If yes, buy that one. If no, go on searching or re-play some of the instruments you already tested.
Also, there probably rarely is a perfect instrument. Maybe a nearly perfect instrument will suffice, one that you will get to know in time and make truly YOUR instrument?
Yes, I know, this is a lot of money but: If you spent that money on an e-bike or car, what would you aim for? The 100% perfect car or just a car you are happy with for that sum? You can view the violin in a similar way. Yes, that is a lot of money for a violin as a second instrument or hobby instrument, but as with everything else: Perfection rarely exists and we get to know and love the tings we buy, most of all violins that we truly first need to get to know before we can unlock their (and our) full potential.
"Did you start of with an idea of how your dream violoncello was suüppsed to sound, play and maybe also look?"
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With undue respect ma'am, I thought the OP was asking questions about violins.
Fredrica Potter also wrote:
"Also, 125 is a lot,
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125 what? Dollars? Chickens? Sheep? Camels? Sessions with a prostitute? 125 Kilos of Nestle chocolate chips?
If the latter, would that be the dark chocolate, the semi-sweet, or the "milk chocolate"?
However, I would also caution you against over-worrying your search. Do not let the perfect be the enemy of the very good. Otherwise, you will be searching forever and eternally frustrated.
https://www.violinist.com/discussion/thread.cfm?page=7207
Do you want volume/projection or a more mellow sound? Do you want clarity/brightness or more dark overtones? A lot of amateur players kind of want to blend into an orchestra section so they don't want projection or clarity. Do you play mostly chamber music, in which case you might want a fiddle that is optimized for that.
If you just want a good all-round fiddle to support your technical growth, you don't need to spend anywhere near $15k, you can get really nice workshop instruments, chinese or eastern european sometimes with finishing and setup in the US, in the $2-3k range.
Workshop instruments have never been as good as they are today (light-years better than German factory fiddles of 40 or 50 years ago) and if you select carefully you can get something that absolutely holds its own in professional settings. You won't have the "satisfaction" of having spent $15k but you'll have a fiddle that rewards you sound-wise every time you pick it up.
If you've narrowed 125 down to a doubtful 3 or 4, then none of them is a dream.
Forever is simply you've fixed your budget and want the best you can get for it. You have to choose one of the three or four and stop feeling insecure. My Breton was the best of 7 that I tried at the price point from one luthier. It'll either last me the rest of my life or I'll win the lotto. I have no regrets. But mine cost 3k. With big money comes big responsibility.
$5,000 for the violin
$5,000 fr the bow
$5,000 for lessons
If it makes you happy at the moment and you can afford it, it doesn't have to be "the one" or "forever". If you feel you want something different ten or twenty or forty years down the line and want to experiment again, why decide now you can't do that?
I agree with Thomas - if you are only just getting back into playing regularly and still improving, get something that makes you excited to play now, and something that is not that much of an expense that it has to be your one and only purchase. And then see where the road takes you.
After trawling most of the dealers in and around London I reluctantly came to the conclusion that to get something significantly better I'd need to increase my ballpark budget by a factor of two so I put that idea on the back burner. Then while on a short conference trip to Florence a local colleague introduced me to his neighbour, Paulo Vettori, whose shop I visited with the vague notion I might just discover something I could afford. Thus transpired my kerpow! moment and I came back with "the one" in my luggage.
Fast forward another 20 years and I'd become a bit bored with "the one" and went in search of another one. I still haven't found her but actually I don't mind because now having accepted that I'll never get any better as a player I've become an enthusiast who follows the violin auctions and has acquired a stable of neglected, aged, battered and/or bruised instruments that happen to have caught my eye, my historical interest or my ear. I love to try them all out in various contexts and those that fail to gain my affection I'll put back up for sale, occasionally for a profit but mostly for a shruggable loss. It's been a lot of fun and I'm not yearning to find a last "one".
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As your skills improve, so does your ability to discern the differences between violins. The variables that are important to you will shape your search for an instrument that accomplishes all those things effectively. While a number of the basic variables can be improved simply by getting a more expensive instrument, you'll eventually hit the point of diminishing returns and the lack of money.
I play a handmade instrument from a friend who is a luthier. It's an exceptional instrument that spoke to me immediately from the first time I drew the bow on it a few months ago. I've play-tested dozens of his instruments for nearly twenty years now, but never actually owned one until I played this one the day after he finished it when I was visiting his workshop on a trip back to California from the east coast.
My previous instrument was excellent and served me faithfully for nearly twenty years, but upon trying this new violin, I knew it was going to be it. It is more of the sound that I hear in my head when I imagine playing the instrument. That the maker did things with the design that are attributes that I very much like doesn't hurt! Even now, I am still finding more sounds that the instrument is capable of producing that were not in my palette before, and it is a thrilling journey of discovery.