I beseech you in your help in comparing decent student violins! Mods, if this is better suited to IMHO, I apologize.
Christmas is on the horizon, and my better half has long desired to learn the violin. She’s not one to give up once she starts something, and has learned other instruments and languages before, so I would like to invest in an instrument that will last beyond the first year or two. However, I was once a flautist and she a pianist…so our discretion in selecting a violin is none too well honed.
Having established that she feels comfortable holding a full-size violin, the selection responsibility has been passed to me. Rather than rely on the local music stores, I would love your advice on the Cremona SV series to which my googling has led me!
I understand that the Perlon strings should go, and be replaced with something like Dominants. It also seems wise to take any new violin to a luthier for adjustment.
That being said, could anyone enlighten a novice to stringed instruments on the differences between these three instruments? How significant is the choice between these three for a beginning violinist who would hope to stay with this instrument for several years? No plans to join an ensemble - simply to take violin lessons for her own enjoyment.
Many thanks in advance for your thoughts! I would also love to hear of other good starter violins between $600 and $1200…
I could never just buy a violin without trying it first. Honestly, the descriptions of these three instruments don’t tell me anything useful. I’m not a professional violinists, but I did get paid to play in a symphony back before I decided to become a chemist.
In my experience, you can often get more instrument for your money if you go used. Even then, the difference between a good instrument and a crap one is not going to be evident until she’s been playing for a while. I’d go with cheap for now, and upgrade when she’s able to take advantage of a better instrument.
First thing you need to know is that violins, unlike most other instruments, tend to get* better* with use. I mean, obviously, you can beat one to near-death if you abuse it, but treated well, they’ll last many lifetimes and sound at least as good the whole time.
So used violins are not a cheapskate I-can’t-afford-new option, but a real way to get a good instrument. Top violinists would never dream of buying a new instrument (though there’s probably some snobbery going on here as well). My guess is for $900 you could get a used violin that sounds just as good as the new ones you’re looking at, or one perfectly good for a beginner for less money. Remember, too, that since they don’t degrade you can re-sell your bought-used violin without taking too much of a hit.
The other thing is that unlike guitars, violins are pretty standardized, so you shouldn’t need to try a bunch to get one that feels right.
If I was buying a beginner’s violin, I’d go to a reputable classical instrument store and try to get a used violin. You don’t want the nastiest unplayable crap, but I wouldn’t spend too much until they’ve spent enough time playing to know they want something better. And at that point, you can re-sell the beginners one. If you knew someone who did play, you could bring them along to weed out crappy ones, but I’d probably trust the salesperson at a decent store.