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Amazon Fiddle
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Fiddlin Andy

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May 17, 2012 - 10:24 pm
Member Since: May 17, 2012
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I recently decided I wanted to start playing the fiddle and purchased a $60 fiddle from Amazon.com.

I know I will take heat for this, but I want to learn something well and then buy a nicer fiddle from the local music shop as a reward to myself for working hard. Has anyone here had any experience with these fiddles?

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DanielB
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May 17, 2012 - 10:40 pm
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Well, Fiddlin Andy.. I don't know what make or model you got.

But I bought my violin off Amazon for only a little more ($70 something).  Even "worse" to some folks, it is an electric one. 

I can tell you that I needed to trim the bridge a little to get the strings down low enough to play comfortably.  I ended up replacing the strings with something inexpensive, but better.  And I eventually bought a student grade bow at a music shop where I could actually pick the bows up and see how they felt in my hand. 

But none of that has been expensive, really.  I'm still at only a little over 100$ total.  Most importantly, I like how is plays and have had fun learning to play on it even before those things.  Other than the bridge.  I had to find out how to trim that down because the one they sent with mine was way tall.  But you may have better luck on that.

I would say that my experiences with an inexpensive violin/fiddle from Amazon have been mostly good.  So pull up a chair and dig in.  This is a good website and a forum full of very good people (some who can play amazingly well, and some who are just starting out, like myself).  Welcome aboard.

violin-student

"This young wine may have a lot of tannins now, but in 5 or 10 years it is going to be spectacular, despite the fact that right now it tastes like crude oil. You know this is how it is supposed to taste at this stage of development." ~ Itzhak Perlman

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springer

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May 17, 2012 - 10:50 pm
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Welcome Andy, U have a good plan there now just run with it.dancingbanana

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NoirVelours
Quebec

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May 17, 2012 - 10:57 pm
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Welcome Andy, don't worry about your fiddle I did the same, bought a beginner violin and will upgrade when the right time comes! I hope you'll enjoy playing violin and this forum cheerleader

"It can sing like a bird, it can cry like a human being, it can be very angry, it can be all that humans are" Maxim Vengerov

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Mad_Wed
Russia, Tatarstan rep. Kazan city
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May 18, 2012 - 3:23 pm
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I play more than a year on a cheep chineese violin. I bought it for about $100 in our local store, but saw it on amazon is sold for $30 =). Cheap instrument - is a usual start, and not a bad one. If the sound of this violin is ok for You - then there's nothing to worry about =) 

Welcome to the forum! birthday_balloon=)

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ftufc
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May 18, 2012 - 3:47 pm
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Welcome Andy!!!  Sounds like have everything you need to jump right in.  This site is a GREAT resource, there's a ton of great guidance/advice/tools/videos/etc. to help you out!  Best of Luck!

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Fiddlerman
Fort Lauderdale
May 18, 2012 - 10:32 pm
Member Since: September 26, 2010
Forum Posts: 16429

Welcome Andy.
The good thing about buying a cheap fiddle is that you can justify buying a great one down the line if you stick to it.

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

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Joe

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May 19, 2012 - 2:58 am
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Hi Andy...I cant add much to the fine ideas and gestures already put forth, but I will add as a personal note that some of us are in the same orchestra - so to speak- and are doing exactly what you are doing.

 

I have one of the least expensive fiddles around, but it has the capacity to sound better than I can play.

 

You will know when you are ready to upgrade, and you will upgrade for the right reasons.

 Welcome aboard...you are one of us.

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DanielB
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May 19, 2012 - 4:36 am
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I will say that I personally feel that an inexpensive instrument is better than no instrument.  Some people might disagree, but over the years I've known people who ran out and bought a cheap guitar or keyboard and started right in, and those who felt they would wait until they could afford a "quality instrument" before starting. 

You can guess which group ends up still playing years later (though usually on better instruments) and which ones rarely even get started in the first place.

So I think you did the right thing.

Besides, after you've played a while, you'll know better how to tell if an instrument is really good, and you'll have a much better idea of what you want.

"This young wine may have a lot of tannins now, but in 5 or 10 years it is going to be spectacular, despite the fact that right now it tastes like crude oil. You know this is how it is supposed to taste at this stage of development." ~ Itzhak Perlman

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Fiddlestix
Michigan, USA

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May 19, 2012 - 7:24 am
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I have to agree with DanielB.

Several year's ago I was wanting to learn to play Bagpipes. When you begin, you don't go out and just buy the pipes, you buy a practice flute in order to get correct fingering. After the flute, then come's the bagpipes, so buying a cheap violin is probably the best way to go. If you spend a ton of money on a good violin and then decide it's not the instrument for you, then what ?

dunno  Most likely if  you start with a cheap instrument, you'll have that same instrument forever, long after you buy a good one.banana

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