Best sounding Violin for under $200?

Question

I want to learn to play the fiddle/violin. I am planning on teaching myself, as I have with the guitar,bass,drums, and ukulele. As instruments generally go, there are some brands that are very overpriced (ie Gibson, DW) although they may be great quality, and other brands that give you way more bang for you buck (ibanez guitars).

This being said, I know nothing about Violins, except that a quality instrument is generally several thousand dollars.

Of all the mass produced violins in the $0-$300 range, Is there one brand that shines above the rest for sound quality and value?

Answer 1

In my experience, your best bet for a fiddle under $300 is to skip the mass-produced shiny new violins and look at used instruments instead.   Some new fiddles in that price range **can** be OK but many are harsh sounding, overbuilt, heavily varnished "screamers" that should be avoided like the plague -- and the thing is that there's not necessarily a lot of consistency between fiddles made by the same manufacturer.

Older, secondhand fiddles, OTOH, have had a chance to be played in and for the sound to open up and develop. And I think you get better value for your money by buying a used instrument.  And if you buy from a reputable violin shop you can be confident that the instrument has been thoroughly checked over and set up before it's put out on the sales floor.  But brand names don't matter with older fiddles, if there even IS a brand name inside the instrument.  The best way to shop for a violin is to go to a violin shop and look at and try out a bunch of different instruments to find one that speaks to you, that has the sound you love -- remember, you're going to be spending a LOT of time with this instrument underneath your left ear, so you need to find one that you love listening to!  If possible, bring a fiddle-playing friend to help you evaluate the instruments.  Pick out 2 or 3 or 4 instruments that feel comfortable in your hands, and have your fiddler friend, or a sales person, play each one while you listen with your back turned.  The one that sounds best to you is the one you should buy.

One more thing about your budget -- don't forget that when you buy a fiddle, you also have to buy a bow!  The fiddle doesn't automatically come with one, unless you buy a complete "violin outfit" (fiddle, bow, case) as a package deal -- and in the less expensive price range that you're looking at, the bows that come with a new violin outfit are generally c**p and should be replaced ASAP (but we've already discussed NOT buying a new fiddle in that price range! :-)) .  You can spend as much or more on a bow as you do on a fiddle. A bad bow will be maybe not perfectly straight; too heavy or too light; badly balanced -- and trying to play with a bad bow is enormously frustrating because you feel like you have to fight with it to get it to do anything. For a newbie fiddler, learning to control the bow is difficult enough, doing it with a bad bow just makes things that much harder!  A good bow, OTOH, is properly balanced and a comfortable weight (comfortable for YOU).  It feels like an extension of your hand, and playing with it is effortless (relatively speaking!) So, for beginners, a good bow is more important than a good fiddle.  If you only have limited funds to spend, you're better off starting out with a good bow and a cheap fiddle rather than a good fiddle and a cheap bow.

I would recommend you look at fiberglass or carbon fibre bows -- in the price range you're looking at, carbon fibre and fibreglass bows are much better than wood bows of comparable price.  Some brands to look for would be Glasser (bow stick is fibreglass) or Coda (carbon fibre stick) - -the Glasser I think goes for about $100, and the cheapest Coda bow, the Aspire model, sells for around $250 or so.  I play with a Coda Aspire bow, and love it.

Bottom line is, if you're spending $200-300 on a fiddle -- and I wouldn't spend much less than that to get something decent -- you'll need to add at least another $100 for a bow, and don't forget you'll need a case as well.

Answer 2

I've been playing violin for 40 years, and have yet to see a predominant "brand" of violin.  It's not like Yamaha trumpets or Steinway pianos.  Violins each have a personality, and to classify a group of them into a particular brand or model number doesn't really work.

Your best bet, at that price range, is to buy a used violin.  Musical instruments don't depreciate with age, like a car or a television.  In fact, stringed instruments generally get better, the more they are played.  The fibers in the wood somehow synchronize together and make the instrument sound better.

Because the violin is difficult to play, a lot of people give it up.  So, parents have violins in their closet that they paid several hundreds for, but just want to get rid of.  

First, try your local consignment store, or pawn shop.  Look on Craigs List (www.craigslist.com).  Then check with some local music stores to see what they have.

Whatever you do, stay away from the cheap foreign-made junk they sell on eBay.  Buy a good used violin, and it will maintain it's value for when you want to upgrade.

____________________

Rachael S. came into the discussion right after me, trying to snag the 10 points, and took 3 times as many words to give the same answer. Thanks Rachael.

_____________________

Cab wrote "it is very difficult to find a good used violin unless you already know about how to determine quality."

Cab, the man has the same problem trying to determine quality in a new violin.  Have you actually tried playing that junk they sell at WalMart?  It doesn't take a rocket scientist to spot a piece of junk.  It says "Made In China" on it.  He'll never find a new German violin for $200 bucks, period.

Here are three options for you.  Paste these URLs into your browser.

http://sfbay.craigslist.org/eby/msg/8085...

http://sfbay.craigslist.org/eby/msg/8079...

http://sfbay.craigslist.org/sfc/msg/8062...

Answer 3

Sorry to disagree with the others, but it is very difficult to find a good used violin unless you already know about how to determine quality.

Look on Web sites for Shar Music and Southwest strings.

I have been teaching a long time and have respect for both.

The other option is to find a violin teacher to help you locate an instrument.

Good Luck

Answer 4

A lot of people like the GEWA:

http://beststudentviolins.com/violins.ht...

Answer 5

Remember a violin and a fiddle are the same instrument, so don't go looking for violins and fiddles! :)

I agree with previous answers that a used violin might be your best bet when it comes to price.  If you're going to teach yourself, you don't want a cheap instrument because you may find yourself fighting against the instrument if it is poorly made.  Local music stores usually have some better resources on how to find used instruments so look there first!

Remember:  CHEAP INSTRUMENTS AREN'T GOOD, AND GOOD INSTRUMENTS AREN'T CHEAP!!

Good luck with your search!

Answer 6

I DON'T NO!!!!

GOOG LUCK =(