mom2jjka Posted February 9, 2011 Share Posted February 9, 2011 (edited) We are looking for a better violin for my daughter. (This is her second year playing) Currently she has a cheap Chinese violin that we bought off of Craigslist. It has served it's purpose to get her started, but now we would like to get her something a bit better. I know that handmade instruments from a luthier are preferred, but unfortunately we just dont' have a very big budget. A local music store has Yamaha 'premium' student model violins for under $400. How much of a step-up would they be from what she has now? Should she just stick with her current one for now and keep saving? Dh doesn't want to rent, and it could be another year - or more before we could afford a better model. Does anyone know if Yamaha violins are any good? Edited February 9, 2011 by mom2jjka Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cdrumm4448 Posted February 9, 2011 Share Posted February 9, 2011 I have never heard a Yahama. Our violin instructor prefers Euros, although ds has a StringWorks (make in the US!) that has a wonderful tone. You really need your teacher to assist in the selection. Stay away from anything made in China. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zaichiki Posted February 9, 2011 Share Posted February 9, 2011 (edited) Stay away from anything made in China. This is not universally true when it comes to stringed instruments. Ds has a Jay Haide cello right now, which despite the name, is made in China. He's gotten good comments about the cello from a number of professional cellists. I have heard that there are companies that will use German wood, but put the instrument together in China. I've been told (by parents of very serious hiogh school musicians) that some of these can be better quality than some German-made instruments. Many of the Chinese labels are supervised, nowadays, by Eurpean makers. Snow violins are a fairly good choice in the "Chinese-made" category. We rent (with the first year's rental equity going 100% to a purchase or 200% if we buy during their yearly "graduation" sale) for buy from a luthier. We have had Eastman cellos and violas which are excellent student quality and are made in China but put together by luthiers in the US. We have also had fractional Japanese-made Suzuki instruments which are okay considering their size. I would consider renting. especially if you can find a place that gives you equity towards a purchase. I recommend www.sharmusic.com and http://www.johnsonstring.com/. I hope you find something great! Edited February 9, 2011 by zaichiki Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KristinaBreece Posted February 9, 2011 Share Posted February 9, 2011 We have a violin shop in Columbus that will let you buy an instrument, then trade it back in with a substantial amount of the original purchase price (as much as 100% depending on the condition of the instrument) to the step-up instrument. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Donna Posted February 9, 2011 Share Posted February 9, 2011 The luthier I use allows the full purchase price of a previous instrument to go toward a new instrument minus new strings and bow rehair (about $50 and $90) for the old instrument. I have heard of people getting nice, relatively inexpensive instruments from sharmusic.com I would suggest having your child try out a number of instrument prior to purchase. We have found that the most expensive instrument is not always the easiest for dd to play due to slight differences in instrument size and shape. Good luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lovin Learnin Posted February 10, 2011 Share Posted February 10, 2011 I just bought a Gliga Genial Student violin (made in Romania) for dd from Violinlovers.com. I bought it blind online since this is dd's first year playing and I had no desire to pay rental fees that came close to or exceeded the cost of purchase, especially since I can sell it when she outgrows it. Her teacher is very impressed with the quality, sound and the price and had us e-mail her the information so she could recommend the brand to other prospective buyers. When dd needs to go up a size I will likely purchase another Gliga but may go to the next model up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StephanieZ Posted February 10, 2011 Share Posted February 10, 2011 These Lamberti violins from Shar are a great find IME: http://www.sharmusic.com/Shop-Shar/Instruments/Violin/?fq=ATR_Brand%3aCarlo+Lamberti Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mommymilkies Posted February 10, 2011 Share Posted February 10, 2011 I third the vote for Shar. That's where my 6 yo's violin (1/16) came from. It's beautiful and holds the tuning and is great. They also have used ones through them for a discount. This is the only place (besides vintage violins) that I would buy from. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cellocoffee Posted February 10, 2011 Share Posted February 10, 2011 Ds has a Jay Haide cello right now, which despite the name, is made in China. He's gotten good comments about the cello from a number of professional cellists. I have heard that there are companies that will use German wood, but put the instrument together in China. I've been told (by parents of very serious hiogh school musicians) that some of these can be better quality than some German-made instruments. Many of the Chinese labels are supervised, nowadays, by Eurpean makers. Snow violins are a fairly good choice in the "Chinese-made" category. I would consider renting. especially if you can find a place that gives you equity towards a purchase. I recommend www.sharmusic.com and http://www.johnsonstring.com/. I hope you find something great! Hi everyone, I am new to the forum but I am old in teaching the cello (or 20 years, 8 years in Taiwan and 12 in the US, got a useless Dr. degree in it). I am a Chinese from Taiwan(democratic) but I have never been to China(so relatively not biased). IMHO, string instruments made in China has gone a long way since I started teaching cello 20 years ago. The main reason is that over these 2 decades, more and more instrument luthiers go to China to be on-site supervising their products. And possibly another reason is because tons of Chinese went to Italy or the US to study violin making and won awards every year. Although the quality of Chinese-made instrument still varies drastically, some of them which teamed up with US luthiers for specific quality control have become more and more desirable price v.s. quality to US or Euro-made. One of them is the Jay Haide brand. The name came from, Jay-the American partner from Ifshin San Francisco, and Haide-Chinese partner. It is one of my students' favorite brand. It really depends on what size your daughter is using. If she is using 4/4 and won't need to upgrade then buying one will save some money. If not, renting one seems more reasonable. The two on-line cos mentioned, Shar and Young Musician both have good reputation with their service and quality. One of my students bought a 1/2 cello bow from Shar. It broke in a month and they still let her switch a good bow. Shar offers in-home trial. http://www.sharmusic.com/Pages/Services/In-Home-Trials/ On the other hand, I have heard two musicians found their antique cellos from pawn shops. Too bad I don't have that kind of luck. Sometimes it takes me months to help a student find her "love" cello. But most of all, get some advice from her teacher. I hope she will find a good one perfect for her. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mktkcb Posted February 10, 2011 Share Posted February 10, 2011 second the gliga. When my dd started lessons I did my homework for over a month online, and we ended up getting a gliga gems 2. We live in S. CA, though, so we actually went down to pasadena to the shop and picked it up. *very* nice violin, her teacher is very happy with it, and it will take her quite a ways. Under $300. No regrets. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mom2jjka Posted February 10, 2011 Author Share Posted February 10, 2011 Thanks everyone! I will look into the Gliga and also the others at Shar. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.