Welcome to our forum. A Message To Our New and Prospective Members . Check out our Forum Rules. Lets keep this forum an enjoyable place to visit.

Check out our 2023 Group Christmas Project HERE

AAA
Avatar
Please consider registering
guest
sp_LogInOut Log Insp_Registration Register
Register | Lost password?
Advanced Search
Forum Scope




Match



Forum Options



Minimum search word length is 3 characters - maximum search word length is 84 characters
sp_Feed Topic RSSsp_TopicIcon
Best Violin brands
We should know the best violin brands reviews
Topic Rating: 0 Topic Rating: 0 Topic Rating: 0 Topic Rating: 0 Topic Rating: 0 Topic Rating: 0 (0 votes) 
Avatar
Reviewexpress
Guest
Guests
July 14, 2017 - 2:28 pm

Which brands is the link removed

what is the highest price the link removed

Which brands is the best for beginners or students?

Avatar
BillyG
Brora, North-east Scotland
July 14, 2017 - 2:42 pm
Member Since: March 22, 2014
Forum Posts: 3744
sp_UserOfflineSmall Offline

Possible blatant advertising ?

Just MHO...

I seriously recommend not copying my mistakes. D'oh - guntohead.JPG

Please make your own, different mistakes, and help us all learn :-)

Avatar
Schaick
Members

Regulars
July 16, 2017 - 7:50 am
Member Since: December 25, 2013
Forum Posts: 878
sp_UserOfflineSmall Offline

I would like to know which of the violins Fiddlerman sells is the best?  I am thinking about buying a second fiddle.  I love Berty, he has brought me along so far, but a second fiddle would be great.

Violinist start date -  May 2013  

Fiddler start date - May 2014

FIDDLE- Gift from a dear friend. A 1930-40 german copy, of a french copy of a Stradivarius.  BOW - $50 carbon fiber. Strings - Dominants with E Pirastro Gold string.

Avatar
RockingLR33
Members

Regulars
July 16, 2017 - 4:07 pm
Member Since: September 21, 2013
Forum Posts: 492
sp_UserOfflineSmall Offline

@Schaick  I think that depends on your budget. How much can/are you willing to pay for a violin. That would determine which violin in your price range would be best. Though I don't think you could go wrong.

Also do you prefer more "darker/mellow or "bright/brilliant" violins. That tends to play into the type you prefer as well, even though each violin will sound different to each person :D  I will say though contact fiddlershop and tell them what your looking for. They were amazing in helping me out each time i've bought a violin from them! And they seem to be spot on in picking the right ones i was looking for. 

Lead me, Follow me, or get out of my way!

             ~General George S. Patton

Avatar
Schaick
Members

Regulars
July 17, 2017 - 9:05 pm
Member Since: December 25, 2013
Forum Posts: 878
sp_UserOfflineSmall Offline

I am curious no matter the budget.  Not that I would by it, but I see there is a $25,000 Scott Cao - is the price the result of the way it sounds, the maker, the materials, etc.

Violinist start date -  May 2013  

Fiddler start date - May 2014

FIDDLE- Gift from a dear friend. A 1930-40 german copy, of a french copy of a Stradivarius.  BOW - $50 carbon fiber. Strings - Dominants with E Pirastro Gold string.

Avatar
damfino
my own little world
Members

Regulars
July 17, 2017 - 9:33 pm
Member Since: July 23, 2015
Forum Posts: 2113
sp_UserOfflineSmall Offline

I think that Scott Cao is a combo of all you mentioned.

Not counting that Scott Cao bench fiddle, my guess is any of the Holstein bench made fiddles are at the top (I'm curious how they compare to that one). I'd love one of those someday if my budget ever allows it :)  

☆•*¨*•¸¸¸.•*¨*•☆•*¨*•¸¸¸.•*¨*•☆•*¨*•.¸¸¸.•*¨*•☆
World's Okayest Fiddler
☆•*¨*•.¸¸¸.•*¨* •☆•*¨*¨*•¸¸¸.•*¨*•☆

Avatar
Schaick
Members

Regulars
July 18, 2017 - 8:07 am
Member Since: December 25, 2013
Forum Posts: 878
sp_UserOfflineSmall Offline

damfino said
I think that Scott Cao is a combo of all you mentioned.

Not counting that Scott Cao bench fiddle, my guess is any of the Holstein bench made fiddles are at the top (I'm curious how they compare to that one). I'd love one of those someday if my budget ever allows it :)    

Have you noticed the wish list on the fiddlerman violin shop?  I have the following on my list so far.  

Scott Cao 1500 Violin STV-1500 In Stock
$3,600.00
 
Holstein Panette 1737 Violin Holstein Panette 1737 Violin HGPV In Stock
$4,500.00
 
Holstein Workshop Lord Wilton Holstein Workshop Lord Wilton HLWV In Stock
$3,100.00
 
Hiroshi Kono Violin Hiroshi Kono Violin HKV In Stock
$2,500.00

I am going to go through all of the violins reading reviews, listening to videos, etc.

Violinist start date -  May 2013  

Fiddler start date - May 2014

FIDDLE- Gift from a dear friend. A 1930-40 german copy, of a french copy of a Stradivarius.  BOW - $50 carbon fiber. Strings - Dominants with E Pirastro Gold string.

Avatar
damfino
my own little world
Members

Regulars
July 18, 2017 - 8:39 am
Member Since: July 23, 2015
Forum Posts: 2113
sp_UserOfflineSmall Offline

I don't think I've noticed that. I think I need to add some things there to make shopping easier :D  

☆•*¨*•¸¸¸.•*¨*•☆•*¨*•¸¸¸.•*¨*•☆•*¨*•.¸¸¸.•*¨*•☆
World's Okayest Fiddler
☆•*¨*•.¸¸¸.•*¨* •☆•*¨*¨*•¸¸¸.•*¨*•☆

Avatar
Fiddlerman
Fort Lauderdale
July 18, 2017 - 1:04 pm
Member Since: September 26, 2010
Forum Posts: 16429

I totally agree on "budget"
I will do my best to help you get the best from your budget. Obviously, we are able to invest more money to get better instruments, the higher the price.

I think, overall, if the Ming Jiang Zhu is within your budget, you not only get a dependable instrument but an extremely well built instrument as well.
We offer the best price of any non Chinese retailer on the MJZ violins since we get them directly from the maker, plus we spend a lot of personal time improving the sound.

Holstein Violins are great in that we have our own workshops in China only making instruments for us and regular contact with them about issues. We guide them in so many respects.
All our own instruments are structurally guaranteed for life, free life time adjustments and we give you a 30 money back warranty as well.

"The richest person is not the one who has the most,
but the one who needs the least."

Avatar
BillyG
Brora, North-east Scotland
July 19, 2017 - 10:15 am
Member Since: March 22, 2014
Forum Posts: 3744
sp_UserOfflineSmall Offline

Hahahahahahaha - I LOVE this - the original post on this thread was spam (well, with links to marketing of violins, lessons, and so on - so I removed the links.... (haha) - 

Anyway it is GREAT to seethe original post "hijacked" ( in a NICE way of course ) to benefitboth FiddlerShop and the FiddlerMan community !  

AWESOME......fireworks_gif

EDIT : Yes - as a very recent owner of an MJZ 905 - it is a great instrument, well set-up by FiddlerShop, very responsive, great body resonance, all the way up the neck.... I love it already... and I know it is going to "open-up" the more it is played...    Right now, I couldn't ask for more... maybe I will in 5 or 10 years time if I ever reach the stage of "wanting more from the instrument"....

I seriously recommend not copying my mistakes. D'oh - guntohead.JPG

Please make your own, different mistakes, and help us all learn :-)

Avatar
Schaick
Members

Regulars
July 20, 2017 - 10:14 am
Member Since: December 25, 2013
Forum Posts: 878
sp_UserOfflineSmall Offline
11sp_Permalink sp_Print
0

hehe @BillyG I am the master!!

@Fiddlerman I have noticed in your catalog the type and aging of the wood is not listed on the Ming Jiang Zhu 909

There is a mention for the Ming Jiang Zhu 925 - You have the finest spruce from Italy and Maple from Bosnia. These woods are so hard to come by, only about one a month is made. The cost of the wood is about 10x the cost of the wood they use for the Ming Jiang Zhu 909.

How important do you feel the type of wood and aging is?  

I notice that I like the sound of the Lord Wilson.   I heard it compared in one of your videos and from your catalog read -

Holstein violins - replica of the original Guarneri Del Gesu and Panette 1737 - Aged Chinese Spruce and Select Chinese Maple sourced from high altitude forests, dried +20 years
Holstein - Guarneri Lord Wilton - Aged European Spruce and 2-piece Maple, dried for over 15 years

I have read a teeny bit about the make/style of fiddles old-time and bluegrass fiddlers use - at least a couple use German Guarneri 

I always thought that a bluegrass fiddle should be bright and twangy?  LOL sort of like the singers.  BUT I love the deep, richer, mellow tones.

Call me old fashioned but I also like the ebony fittings over the cherry!

  

Violinist start date -  May 2013  

Fiddler start date - May 2014

FIDDLE- Gift from a dear friend. A 1930-40 german copy, of a french copy of a Stradivarius.  BOW - $50 carbon fiber. Strings - Dominants with E Pirastro Gold string.

Avatar
damfino
my own little world
Members

Regulars
July 20, 2017 - 10:26 am
Member Since: July 23, 2015
Forum Posts: 2113
sp_UserOfflineSmall Offline
12sp_Permalink sp_Print
0

Schaick said

I always thought that a bluegrass fiddle should be bright and twangy?  LOL sort of like the singers.  BUT I love the deep, richer, mellow tones.

Oh, I love the dark rich tones :D  

I love fiddle shopping, and reading about other people fiddle shopping (living vicariously! lol). I think I want my next fiddle to be something old. Not super expensive, but old, pretty (love the dark colors some of those old fiddles have... even though sound is most important, I would love one that looks like that, lol) ..... I'm torn between getting a nice bow, or another fiddle.... 

☆•*¨*•¸¸¸.•*¨*•☆•*¨*•¸¸¸.•*¨*•☆•*¨*•.¸¸¸.•*¨*•☆
World's Okayest Fiddler
☆•*¨*•.¸¸¸.•*¨* •☆•*¨*¨*•¸¸¸.•*¨*•☆

Avatar
Uzi
Georgia

Honorary tenured advisor
Members

Regulars
July 21, 2017 - 1:19 am
Member Since: January 19, 2014
Forum Posts: 973
sp_UserOfflineSmall Offline

BillyG said
Hahahahahahaha - I LOVE this - the original post on this thread was spam (well, with links to marketing of violins, lessons, and so on - so I removed the links.... (haha) - 

Anyway it is GREAT to seethe original post "hijacked" ( in a NICE way of course ) to benefitboth FiddlerShop and the FiddlerMan community !  

You're right.  Nobody ever answered the original guy's post.  I've heard that the two best brands are Guarneri and Stradivarius.  Personally, I'm partial the the Guarneri brand, but I think both companies are out of business now. 

A positive attitude may not solve all your problems, but it will annoy enough people to make it worth the effort. ~Herm Albright

Avatar
BillyG
Brora, North-east Scotland
July 21, 2017 - 7:00 am
Member Since: March 22, 2014
Forum Posts: 3744
sp_UserOfflineSmall Offline
14sp_Permalink sp_Print
0

LOL :)  @Uzi

I seriously recommend not copying my mistakes. D'oh - guntohead.JPG

Please make your own, different mistakes, and help us all learn :-)

Avatar
Schaick
Members

Regulars
July 21, 2017 - 10:24 am
Member Since: December 25, 2013
Forum Posts: 878
sp_UserOfflineSmall Offline

damfino said

Oh, I love the dark rich tones :D  

I love fiddle shopping, and reading about other people fiddle shopping (living vicariously! lol). I think I want my next fiddle to be something old. Not super expensive, but old, pretty (love the dark colors some of those old fiddles have... even though sound is most important, I would love one that looks like that, lol) ..... I'm torn between getting a nice bow, or another fiddle....   

I have the old fiddle cost - free from my friend!!! Fiddle shop said it is worth $600.  I for sure need a new bow - mine is 4 years old. 

Which bow are you looking at?

Torn is my middle name lol literally now with the torn meniscus - BUT anyway it takes me a long time to decide things - 5 years to quit my job, 8 months going carless to choose a new vehicle, etc.

Violinist start date -  May 2013  

Fiddler start date - May 2014

FIDDLE- Gift from a dear friend. A 1930-40 german copy, of a french copy of a Stradivarius.  BOW - $50 carbon fiber. Strings - Dominants with E Pirastro Gold string.

Avatar
damfino
my own little world
Members

Regulars
July 21, 2017 - 11:12 am
Member Since: July 23, 2015
Forum Posts: 2113
sp_UserOfflineSmall Offline
16sp_Permalink sp_Print
0

I have an older fiddle, 1930s-ish German fiddle I got for a couple hundred to use as an outdoor fiddle. It's good for what I use it for, but I'd like something a little better quality. 

I'm undecided in my bow shopping. I have to figure out my budget for it. I got a bonus at work so I can pay down the washing machine I just had to buy so that helps, haha. I might still end up pushing that off farther down the road.

☆•*¨*•¸¸¸.•*¨*•☆•*¨*•¸¸¸.•*¨*•☆•*¨*•.¸¸¸.•*¨*•☆
World's Okayest Fiddler
☆•*¨*•.¸¸¸.•*¨* •☆•*¨*¨*•¸¸¸.•*¨*•☆

Avatar
Fiddlerman
Fort Lauderdale
July 22, 2017 - 4:22 pm
Member Since: September 26, 2010
Forum Posts: 16429
17sp_Permalink sp_Print
0

BillyG said
Possible blatant advertising ?

Just MHO...  

Definitely but it turned into a good discussion. :)

"The richest person is not the one who has the most,
but the one who needs the least."

Avatar
damfino
my own little world
Members

Regulars
July 22, 2017 - 4:28 pm
Member Since: July 23, 2015
Forum Posts: 2113
sp_UserOfflineSmall Offline
18sp_Permalink sp_Print
0

They posted another thread like this earlier today. I guess they didn't like that we turned their spam thread into a good discussion, haha 

tease.gifc200.gif

sp_PlupAttachments Attachments

☆•*¨*•¸¸¸.•*¨*•☆•*¨*•¸¸¸.•*¨*•☆•*¨*•.¸¸¸.•*¨*•☆
World's Okayest Fiddler
☆•*¨*•.¸¸¸.•*¨* •☆•*¨*¨*•¸¸¸.•*¨*•☆

Avatar
Fiddlerman
Fort Lauderdale
July 25, 2017 - 12:45 pm
Member Since: September 26, 2010
Forum Posts: 16429
19sp_Permalink sp_Print
0

I saw that. It was kind of funny. I deleted the user but please let me know if they are back in any other kind of way. I couldn't get their IP for some strange reason, but next time I'll work harder to find it. :)

"The richest person is not the one who has the most,
but the one who needs the least."

Avatar
damfino
my own little world
Members

Regulars
July 25, 2017 - 1:01 pm
Member Since: July 23, 2015
Forum Posts: 2113
sp_UserOfflineSmall Offline
20sp_Permalink sp_Print
0

Haha, I had just been about to post Monty Python's "Spam" song on that thread when you had deleted it and I couldn't ;)  

☆•*¨*•¸¸¸.•*¨*•☆•*¨*•¸¸¸.•*¨*•☆•*¨*•.¸¸¸.•*¨*•☆
World's Okayest Fiddler
☆•*¨*•.¸¸¸.•*¨* •☆•*¨*¨*•¸¸¸.•*¨*•☆

Forum Timezone: America/New_York
Most Users Ever Online: 696
Currently Online: Mouse
Guest(s) 141
Currently Browsing this Page:
1 Guest(s)
Members Birthdays
sp_BirthdayIcon
Today None
Upcoming Sofia Leo, TKDennis, FiddleDetroit, CookiesViolin, JPferrman, Designer 88, LyleA, Stephen, Dorque, Trisha, Elaisa, wonderputz, Gordon Shumway, dougga, Russionleo, JohnG
Top Posters:
ELCBK: 7761
ABitRusty: 3915
Mad_Wed: 2849
Barry: 2690
Fiddlestix: 2647
Oliver: 2439
Gordon Shumway: 2425
DanielB: 2379
Mark: 2149
damfino: 2113
Member Stats:
Guest Posters: 3
Members: 31663
Moderators: 0
Admins: 7
Forum Stats:
Groups: 16
Forums: 81
Topics: 10590
Posts: 134224
Newest Members:
Adityaail, SoCal335, Jan Howard, edwardcheng, Oscar Stern, bryanhanson, bittruster, fiddlecastro, jackdaniel, romanmills08
Administrators: Fiddlerman: 16429, KindaScratchy: 1760, coolpinkone: 4180, BillyG: 3744, MrsFiddlerman: 2, Jimmie Bjorling: 0, Mouse: 5309