Someone close to me has decided that she wants to make a life long dream come true and start taking violin lessons next year when she finishes her Bachelor’s program. I want to surprise her by buying her a violin for Christmas. I know nothing about violins and would like to get her a good but inexpensive student/beginner violin. These have caught my eye because of favorable reviews on other websites:
Anyone familiar with these products? Anyone familiar with violins and stringed instruments in general? What should I be looking for when buying one? Anything to stay away from? I am trying to stay under $150 since it is just a beginner’s violin after all. Any help is appreciated. Thanks guys.
Don’t buy mail-order. No violin should be shipped fully set up (at the very least, the bridge should be removed). If at all possible, go to a specialist violin shop, or if that’s not possible then a general music shop. I’ve no experience of the models you’ve linked to, but specialists will have, and so can guide you in the right direction - the ones I know are all keen on Chinese instruments. And I certainly would expect it to be at least as cheap in the shop as Amazon’s offerings.
With ‘entry level’ instruments like these, the way they are set up is crucial. Out of the factory, they normally need a little attention to get them to a decent state - the bridge normally needs some work, mostly getting the profile of the curved top correct. The pegs also tend to be crudely fitted, but are easily sorted out. Beyond that, many people opt for a new better-quality bridge and better strings than those provided, which will add perhaps £50 to the price and greatly improves the sound of the instrument.
Good advice from GorillaMan, as usual. Lemme add a few Eurocents.
When comparing prices, always check that it includes the bow. The ones you linked to do include a bow, but that isn’t always the case, in particular not when buying second-handed (and/or more expensive) violins. Same goes for a violin case. I’m amazed by the prices in the links, though, as these seem to be all-inclusive.
Frankly I wouldn’t bother about the quality of the strings. It is true that better strings give better quality, but a beginner will not be able to get that out of the instrument. Furthermore, good strings will easily cost as much as your total budget. If she progresses, she can buy new and better strings as she goes along.
Quality of the bridge is important, and that is something she won’t be able to fix herself.
I would indeed always prefer to buy such stuff from a music shop. But then, there are several violin builders in my city. You will get decent quality, but the price may be higher. A violin is still mostly hand-crafted, and I wouldn’t dare to judge an instrument without holding it in my hands and fiddling with it. But an expert may have a general idea about certain types. Still, to get a violin into shape you have to fine-tune it after the mail (check the tuning, placement of the bridge). If you leave it in a wrong state for a while, the violin will spoil.
It depends a bit on what you want to give. I started out with a basic chinese violin years ago, and at first didn’t mind. Only after I progressed, and played a few better instruments, I started to notice the limitations of it. After that I got a better violin, and a better bow.
A good instrument will be above the budget you set. However, for a beginner there is no harm in starting with a basic instrument. You should consider, though, that she will abandon the instrument in a few years time, either because she stopped with the violin, or because she has progressed beyond the limits of the instrument. If you don’t mind that, the type you linked to might do. Still I would prefer to have it checked on arrival by a violinist.
