<p>I don't know where else to post this. </p>
<p>This would be the first viola I purchase. Ive been borrowing my school's ever since elementary.</p>
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<p>As a first viola (with no experience), it would be fine. But, you have been playing for a while and should step up. Count on spending at least $1,000, and that one will have to be replaced if you become really serious.</p>
<p>You really need to go to a local string shop and hear the difference in what you pay for. Yes, you will be paying list (unless it is on sale), but you won’t be scammed.</p>
<p>Note: “Hand Made” can mean assembled from marginal wood pieces pre-cut from China. It can also be assembled by an apprentice. At that List Price (let alone sale price), the viola is not being Hand Crafted by anyone with experience.</p>
<p>Please be wary of any purchase over the internet. </p>
<p>Having said that, there are many reputable music shops that will allow you to purchase an instrument, and play it a week, maybe two, and return it if unacceptable.</p>
<p>Johnson Strings and Shar Instruments are two highly reputable companies that do business over the internet, offer a wide range of instruments of decent quality and pricing, and offer the trial periods. Google for the web addresses.</p>
<p>Locally, you may be able to find a music shop that will match or even beat the internet price.</p>
<p>Please compare apples to apples. You may be able to find a decent, used instrument through a shop or craigslist. </p>
<p>$1000 is a ballpark figure for a fair student instrument. You may find a gem, but you could also be buying kindling. </p>
<p>You need to try a couple, for feel, playability, tone, and response. A decent bow is critical, and you will need to consider that as well. </p>
<p>Look into local youth symphonies, community orchestras, local colleges, as many of these will have “for sale” boards where you can often find a great instrument at a great price.</p>
<p>Do a bit of googling. There are many articles on line that will advise how to buy a stringed instrument, and what to look for. If you have an instructor, I would seek their advice.</p>
<p>Good luck.</p>
<p>What do you expect to do with such an instrument? As OperaDad says, it may be suitable for a year or two for a rank beginner, but most students beyond that stage would be held back by the limitations imposed by the instrument. Any stringed instrument package that costs $400 for not only the instrument but also the bow, the case, two sets of strings, an extra bridge, rosin and a tuner is going to leave something to be desired. Before buying something like that, make sure that you can return it within a couple of weeks for a full refund.</p>
<p>Do you have a private teacher or a string teacher at your school? Perhaps they can help with selection of an instrument. Do you play in a youth symphony or a school orchestra? Perhaps you could purchase a better used instrument from someone who is upgrading.</p>
<p>(Crossposted with violadad)</p>
<p>Vincent-
I fully agree what others have said, buying stuff over the internet is really problematic. Places like Shar Music and Johnson string instruments allow you to try the instrument, and if you don’t like it, return it. A lot of these places selling ‘hot bargains’ are selling cheap factory made instrument sets that could very well sound like crap. As others pointed out, don’t let the ‘handmade’ label fool you, there are no standards for that claim. Visions of a craftsman carefully prepping a violin a la stradiverius or the guy in “the red violin” come to mind, but that label can mean something as simple as varnishing a ‘white violin’ made in a factory in china, putting new pegs/chin rest,bridge on and setting it up, or as others have said, assembling parts made in a chinese factory, kind of like comparing a fine modeller building a ship from scratch to someone assembling a testors kit.</p>
<p>The key with string instruments (wind instruments are a bit different, based on my experience with clarinets, when you buy a buffet clarinet for example the difference in sound between two of the same model is negligible, which is not true of violins) is to try them out, with string instruments price does not necessarily foretell how well it will play. One of my son’s instruments was a violin made in Romania, that cost around 500 bucks, that had great sound and lasted him a while, until his playing outgrew it…a good violin shop will hear your budget (and I would agree, that generally a good student instrument would be in the 1000 dollar range or so, price again is not an indicator of sound necessarily) and will give you violins up to that price, and let you play them and decide which sounds better to you. Many times over the years my son ended up picking up a gem that actually was less then many of the other ones he didn’t like…and his current instrument was literally a gem found in the bowl of cereal, it was an old french violin that has incredible sound of violins that usually cost many times more then what we paid for it…</p>
<p>If you want to try a student instrument of the net, go with Shar or Johnson or any other place that allows you to return it…but I think your best bet is to find a local string stores (always better to try multiple ones, since you never know what they have) and try out instruments. Most music stores allow you to take instruments out on trial, and if you have found ‘the best’ at different shops in your price range, you can take them out on trial and compare them at home. </p>
<p>The other thing you may want to look at is bows. The bows that come with most ‘kits’ are pretty basic bows, and chances are if you are looking to move up with your violin you may want to look at bows beyond the basic bows that come in the kit (most such kits bows are 25 dollar specials…). If buying a new instrument you also might want to go to a slightly higher level bow, it can make a difference. A good bow is as important as a good instrument.</p>
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<p>When my daughter bought her 3rd violin, the bow itself was $1,000</p>
<p>musicprnt:</p>
<p>Although I’d love to agree with you, I have to beg to differ in that there are GROSS differences in Buffet clarinets. One day my D tried 10 R-13s at WWBW and they varied from horrid to good and that was both by ear and on a tuner. She then tried 3 Prestiges and they varied from good to excellent. Unfortunately, the original mission was for a new R-13, but the eventual purchase was the Prestige which hurt the wallet…</p>
<p>Bottom line is that there probably isn’t a single instrumenet on the planet that you can buy without trying out unless you’re incredibly lucky. Kind of like the Harry Potter line, “The wand picks the wizard.”</p>
<p>Imperial-</p>
<p>Don’t apologize, you have real experience with the instruments. I would agree it is always better to try the instruments out, not just because of variations in the instruments (When I was buying a new clarinet years ago,I tried several different Buffets of the same model, and found them the same…but then again,I wasn’t exactly a great player, either;) but because a different model might fit better. I suspect the odds of getting a good wind instrument blindly is probably better then with a violin, though, there is so much on the string instrument that goes into having a good sound…but your point is valid.</p>
<p>A thread for reference, and some points of what to look for:</p>
<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/660118-necessary-have-expensive-instrument.html?highlight=instrument[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/660118-necessary-have-expensive-instrument.html?highlight=instrument</a></p>
<p>Agree with BassDad, I would never buy an expensive instrument without the hands-on (or “mouth-on”!) (sorry) advice of a professional. D has a good, student clarinet which we bought after her teacher went to the shop, set aside 3 that she thought were excellent, then we picked the one that sounded the best with D. Every hand-made instrument will be different (and subject to human error). Everybody’s anatomy is different. D is ready to move up and we will ask the teacher to do the same in the next go-around, even more so now as they do get way more expensive. We of course paid the teacher to do this but it was worth it.</p>