I want to learn to play violin...what kind of violin should I get?

Question

I did not want to spend any more than $150-$200. What is a good violin for a beginner in that price range (or lower)?

Answer 1

Go to a good violin shop and try out a bunch of different violins in your price range to see which ones feel best in your hands and sound best to you.  Brand names are really secondary as at that price range you're basically looking at imported mass-produced factory instruments anyway.  Some individual examples will be better than others and the only way to find the good ones is to try them out.

Don't forget that in addition to the $150-200 that you're looking to spend for the violin, you will also need a decent bow.   Add another $100 or $150 for that.

You may be able to find a complete violin outfit for $200 (violin, bow and case) but at that price level, you're not going to get much in the way of quality.  The bows that come with those really inexpensive outfits generally aren't very good and will have to be replaced if you're serious about wanting to learn to play.  The quality and playability of the bow is actually more important than the fiddle for a beginning violinist.  A good bow is responsive and well balanced and does what you want, easily.  A bad bow is poorly balanced, too heavy or too light, and feels clumsy, like you have to fight with it to get it to do what you want.

So even if you find a complete violin outfit for $200, you'll need to spend another $100 or so and get a better bow. Carbon fiber bows (Coda brand) or fiberglass bows (Glasser) are much better than comparably priced wood bows, just be sure that whatever bow you get has real horsehair, not the synthetic hair.

Answer 2

I'm sorry to tell you the things you won't want to here but, you could probably only get a good bow for that price. A violin decently, will cost you about 400-1000 bucks, and all the "accessories" will make you cough up more cash. You will need:

rosin

bow ( I really really prefer wood bows unlike the person in front of me, you will have to loosen in when you put it away so it doesn't SNAP though!)

chromatic tuner

metronome (This is like a portable piano, it helps you keep your beat.)

cleaning cloth

case (usually comes with the violin but you never know!)

Shoulder rest

some women get a special chin rest, as their chin is not in the right place on a regular chin rest

But, if you want to try, I would talk to some older people you know and ask if either they, or anyone they know, might have a decent violin for sale. Hope I helped!

Answer 3

A lot of people like these GEWAs:

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

Answer 4

i have2 violins both were no more than 180 dollars. they are great. they are not the best quality but they are great for beginners and work fine.. be careful though.  super cheap violins  may not be good qualities check these out

http://www.amazon.com/Cecilio-CVN-200-Ro...

http://www.amazon.com/Cecilio-CVN-500-An...

these are the two i own they are great