# Buying a violin.



## Jaws

If you were buying a violin what would you look for in terms of where it was made, what is was made out of and who made it?


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## Lunasong

Make your own out of carbon fiber; check this out if for nothing else but the very nice design drawings:
_It's quite simple and basically shows how the shape comes around using the golden rules where each radius is 1x 2x 4x _

This gentleman made this violin using all products purchased from my company (no selling link to my company on this blog post)


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## GraemeG

I wouldn't look for anything.
I'd play it and listen for sound.
GG


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## MaestroViolinist

Depends whether you want a good one or an OK one. I would look for something with a name I know, like Dolling, he was good. Also, old ones of course are the best, because they had the best wood. Nothing that's made in a Chinese factory is worth mentioning.

Edit: Also, as said above, I'd listen to the sound and the feel of it.

Edit2: But it might have something to the strings too... If it has bad strings on it, it might affect the sound.


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## ComposerOfAvantGarde

Guarneri, yeahhhhh...............


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## MaestroViolinist

ComposerOfAvantGarde said:


> Guarneri, yeahhhhh...............


I think I prefer a Stradivarius violin. It has a much sweeter tone, Guarnerius is a very rich deep tone. Another good one is Amati, though I don't know how it sounds.


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## ComposerOfAvantGarde

MaestroViolinist said:


> I think I prefer a Stradivarius violin. It has a much sweeter tone, Guarnerius is a very rich deep tone. Another good one is Amati, though I don't know how it sounds.


That's exactly why I prefer Guarnerius


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## MaestroViolinist

ComposerOfAvantGarde said:


> That's exactly why I prefer Guarnerius


Of course!  But I was also thinking in terms of playing, I played a violin that was a copy of a Guarnerius and it's big and kind of hard to handle.


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## Jaws

MaestroViolinist said:


> Depends whether you want a good one or an OK one. I would look for something with a name I know, like Dolling, he was good. Also, old ones of course are the best, because they had the best wood. Nothing that's made in a Chinese factory is worth mentioning.
> 
> Edit: Also, as said above, I'd listen to the sound and the feel of it.
> 
> Edit2: But it might have something to the strings too... If it has bad strings on it, it might affect the sound.


You might want to be a bit careful about the old ones, because some of them are worn out.

Chinese factory I agree, good Chinese makers make excellent violins.


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## MaestroViolinist

Jaws said:


> You might want to be a bit careful about the old ones, because some of them are worn out.


Not really, well, I guess some of them are, but you'd be able to tell. It's the old ones that are good. The wood they use for new ones these days is crap. ('Scuse my language) But it's true, the wood bends under the pressure because it hasn't sat for long enough to dry out.



Jaws said:


> Chinese factory I agree, good Chinese makers make excellent violins.


Yes, Chinese makers/menders are good.


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## Jaws

MaestroViolinist said:


> Not really, well, I guess some of them are, but you'd be able to tell. It's the old ones that are good. The wood they use for new ones these days is crap. ('Scuse my language) But it's true, the wood bends under the pressure because it hasn't sat for long enough to dry out.


Someone did some research using tree rings. They discovered that some of the wood Stradivarius used in his violins was cut down as a tree only two years before it was used in a violin. I don't think we actually know how long wood was seasoned by the violin making masters. We also don't know how the wood in modern violins will perform, in 200 years time.


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## MaestroViolinist

Jaws said:


> Someone did some research using tree rings. They discovered that some of the wood Stradivarius used in his violins was cut down as a tree only two years before it was used in a violin. I don't think we actually know how long wood was seasoned by the violin making masters. We also don't know how the wood in modern violins will perform, in 200 years time.


I have never heard that before, about the wood only being 2 years.

But that's still longer than modern wood is dried, and that was naturally too, this is done in an oven thingy. Now I shall tell you this story about a cello (I know I know, it's a cello, but violins are supposed to be under even more pressure, so...). A student bought a *$30 000* cello and was playing it, not long after they discovered that the wood was actually bending under the bridge. Now if that's happening to a cello, and a violin is under more pressure, well... And that was *$30 000* so it wasn't actually cheap junk. It was also from someone who was actually supposed to be a very good maker.


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## ComposerOfAvantGarde

MaestroViolinist said:


> I have never heard that before, about the wood only being 2 years.
> 
> But that's still longer than modern wood is dried, and that was naturally too, this is done in an oven thingy. Now I shall tell you this story about a cello (I know I know, it's a cello, but violins are supposed to be under even more pressure, so...). A student bought a *$30 000* cello and was playing it, not long after they discovered that the wood was actually bending under the bridge. Now if that's happening to a cello, and a violin is under more pressure, well... And that was *$30 000* so it wasn't actually cheap junk. It was also from someone who was actually supposed to be a very good maker.


*Gee whiz*, thirty thousand bucks would buy you an absolutely BRILLIANT hand made Greg Smallman guitar here!


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## MaestroViolinist

ComposerOfAvantGarde said:


> *Gee whiz*, thirty thousand bucks would buy you an absolutely BRILLIANT hand made Greg Smallman guitar here!


I've never heard of Greg Smallman, but he must be good by the sounds of it?


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## ComposerOfAvantGarde

MaestroViolinist said:


> I've never heard of Greg Smallman, but he must be good by the sounds of it?


Best of the best. :tiphat:


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## MaestroViolinist

ComposerOfAvantGarde said:


> Best of the best. :tiphat:


And I take it he is a small man?  Sorry, I couldn't help it!


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## ComposerOfAvantGarde

MaestroViolinist said:


> And I take it he is a small man?  Sorry, I couldn't help it!


Your pun is killing me.


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## MaestroViolinist

ComposerOfAvantGarde said:


> Your pun is killing me.


No worries!


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## Jaws

MaestroViolinist said:


> I have never heard that before, about the wood only being 2 years.
> 
> But that's still longer than modern wood is dried, and that was naturally too, this is done in an oven thingy. Now I shall tell you this story about a cello (I know I know, it's a cello, but violins are supposed to be under even more pressure, so...). A student bought a *$30 000* cello and was playing it, not long after they discovered that the wood was actually bending under the bridge. Now if that's happening to a cello, and a violin is under more pressure, well... And that was *$30 000* so it wasn't actually cheap junk. It was also from someone who was actually supposed to be a very good maker.


Paying $30 000 for a cello sounds like someone had a distinct lack of imagination. Couldn't they get a cheaper one?


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## MaestroViolinist

Jaws said:


> Paying $30 000 for a cello sounds like someone had a distinct lack of imagination. Couldn't they get a cheaper one?


No, obviously they wanted a good one!


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## Jaws

MaestroViolinist said:


> No, obviously they wanted a good one!


There are good cellos that are cheaper. You just have to play enough to find them.


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## Jaws

Not all expensive instruments are good in terms of sound. Some instruments made by factories 100 years ago sound better than some made by one person. It all depends.


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## Toddlertoddy

$30000 is a ridiculous amount. If someone is looking for an instrument, they should get their music teacher (which obviously not everyone has) to go with them to a location and listen to the sound. Or bring some other musically experienced person.


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## mamascarlatti

Toddlertoddy said:


> $30000 is a ridiculous amount. If someone is looking for an instrument, they should get their music teacher (which obviously not everyone has) to go with them to a location and listen to the sound. Or bring some other musically experienced person.


In NZ they usually let you take the instrument home on appro, so that you can decide how it sounds and feels over a week at home, and play it to your teacher if you are still studying. There is no way you can decide on the spot if you like an instrument enough to live with it for the foreseeable future.


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## Krisena

The first thing you should check that the instrument is in a proper condition. I know a few people who have bought instruments where the glue has loosened it's grip so it would make the instrument cave in a few years into the future. It's a sad to give up a violin with a great sound, but if it's only going to last for a limited time, you will have to buy a new one soon and spend lots of money. You could take it to a violin maker and see if he could fix it for you though.

You should also think about what you're going to use the instrument for. Do you often play solo? In that case you would probably need a violin with a powerful and brilliant tone. Chamber music? Less volume so you don't drown out the other musicians in the group. My violin has a really viola-esque full and powerful sound on the G and D strings. My quartet always wow when I have 2nd violin solos where I really can squeeze all the tone out of it that I want. 

When you try instruments, you should play a piece or some scales that test the properties of the instruments. Are there any really bad wolf tones? Does it creak high on the G string? Is the sound a bit muddled on the high E string and could this be mended by using a different type of string? Use your intelligence and time to check for things like this, so you don't get dissapointed when you come home and can play freely, only to discover that your instrument is inferior.

Hope this helps!

Bonus picture of my violin, since I love it so. It's a Nagy Bela 2008 from Romania. I love it so. <3


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## Nariette

I would ask for advice from my teacher, and then go to a good place with her or someone who has knowledge. I'm a beginner, so I wouldn't know a lot about it, and buying such an expensive instrument seems like an investment where you should take your time for. 
For the piano, taking a secondhand is actually better than people think. The sound of a piano changes over the years, and you can't predict how a new one is going to sound like. By buying a secondhand you know the sound and it won't change a lot anymore. I don't know if it's like that when you get a violin though.


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