Buy Right First Time
If you are new to the violin, you might be tempted to buy one of the low-priced violins advertised all over the Internet – after all, its just to get started. Don’t do it!
Having a cheap violin will make an already-tough skill even more difficult to learn and will cause persistent frustration in your practice. Your violin will refuse to stay in tune, the angle and placement of the strings will be off, the tone of the instrument will be squeaky and unappealing, and the tuning pegs will likely bend and break.
Research but don’t be mislead
The Internet is flooded with cheap, factory-made violins from China, priced impossibly low. This low price point makes a £200-£400 violin seem like a bad deal, but this is actually a reasonable price for a better student violin made from good-quality wood with a fitted bridge, fitted pegs and a good bow.
Questions to ask yourself
How can you tell the difference between a quality violin and a substandard “violin-shaped object,” or “VSO”?
One fairly reliable indicator is the fingerboard. Is it made from ebony? A VSO typically has a fingerboard made from a light wood that has been painted black, and if you turn the instrument at an angle, you can check for brown patches on the underside of the fingerboard, which is one indication that the fingerboard has been painted, and that it is not ebony.
- When the fingerboard has been made from cheaper wood that isn’t ebony, it is more susceptible to warping, which causes the fingerboard either to be curved upward, or to have a counter-curve, making it more difficult to play. It can also cause rattling and buzzing if the string vibrates against the fingerboard.
- The cheap VSOs also generally come with one-size-fits-all bridges that are rather thick and squarish. A quality violin has a bridge with feet that are individually fitted to stand properly on that specific violin. If you look at the feet of the VSO bridge and there are chunky feet with gaps underneath, the bridge probably was not fitted to the fiddle. This can cause instability, making the bridge fall down more easily and also making it lean instead of stand upright, leading to poor tone.
- In addition, the top of the bridge should be arched and sloped down to the E-string, to create the proper angle for the bow to touch each string. In a VSO, this often is not the case, the strings may be on a simple, non-sloping arch making it very difficult to play on one string without hitting another. This angle of the bridge is more important than you might think; you feel it constantly when you play. If the angles are well-adjusted, you will feel an ease in crossing strings; if not, there will be persistent frustration.
- If the bridge is cut too high, it raises the strings too high. When you are pressing your fingers down on the strings, high strings can feel very uncomfortable and also hinder the speed of your fingers. If the strings are too low, they can vibrate against the fingerboard, causing undesirable squeaking and buzzing – both features of a poorly set up Violin or one not set up at all.
Another sound issue can involve the soundpost, which is rather hidden from view. The sound post sits underneath the right side of the bridge, inside the violin, and is critical in transferring the sound from the vibrating strings into the violin body. It is important that it fits just right and that it stays standing. Unfortunately, in a VSO, they are usually imperfectly placed, fall over easily and don’t transfer the sound properly.
The finer details to look for when buying online
Another question to ask: Is the purfling simply painted onto the violin? The ‘purfling’ is that little double line of ebony that traces the shape of the violin. It’s supposed to be a thin layer of inlaid wood, which protects the body of the violin. If a maker has “cut corners” here, it’s likely that other details have been short-changed.
Let’s talk about pegs, which hold the strings in place and are turned when tuning the violin. In a good violin, pegs are made from boxwood or ebony, but in a VSO, they are often made of soft brown wood and often they will break off in your hands. The pegs also fit into holes in the peg box, and if the holes are not exactly the right size, the pegs will either slip, or they will stick.
The strings too, that come with a VSO tend to be the first thing people notice that is bothersome. They tend to be steel and tinny sounding. Be prepared to spend between £25 and £50 simply to replace them – adding to the cost.
Though most VSOs are Chinese, not all Chinese instruments are poor – and some of the better brands of student instruments include Jay Haide, Stohr, Hidersine, Primavera and Stentor, mostly come from the East.
To summarise ‘Buy Right First Time’
- Buying a violin online from Amazon or ebay or a sells-all ‘box shifter’ without testing it, is a risky way to go. If you take a chance on a cheap violin, you may well have to spend an additional £100 upgrading the strings, getting a better bridge, replacing broken pegs and other parts, getting an appropriate sound post – and then you still may not have a violin that sounds or feels good!
- I’ve heard the argument that “I’m just experimenting” or “My child may not like it, so I don’t want to make a big investment” to justify buying a VSO.
- This is a false economy, and I will tell you why: if you are stuck with one of these grossly substandard instruments, you (or your child) will not want to play it.
- You may not even be conscious of the reasons why you find yourself not liking the violin, but it will be a combination of being displeased with the tone, being unable to tune it, having parts break off, and the feel of a cheap violin that doesn’t really fit in the hand, the visual ugliness of something cheaply made, and the overall bad feeling of having an object that was not made with care.
Conversely, if you buy or rent a well-made violin, you will enjoy its pleasant tone, you will enjoy the way its construction supports your efforts, the way it fits in the hand and the craftsmanship behind it. For all of these reasons, I would urge you to consider renting or buying a violin and not a Violin-Shaped-Object.
(Image: Well set up Stohr Novara Violin outfit with ebony fittings)
