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ive been browsing the interwebs looking at violins for sale and some have been titled "Student violin" Is there any difference between Student violins and other violins?
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I think "student" implies that it's not the best quality. Fine instruments cost a lot more and you wouldn't want to spend thousands of dollars on a violin for a student who might not want to stick with it. That's my take on it. I have a student instrument and it's perfectly good for my needs. I'm just learning and my goal is to join the community orchestra. You don't have to be real good to play for them. It's just for fun.
I've learned so much from my mistakes that I've decided to make some more.
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Disclaimer: I am about to do a lot of guessing
I think on a cello it meant cheap wood which warps quite quickly and thus is impossible to tune. Supposedly, the student outgrows the instrument anyways before mother nature renders it useless. On the violin, I believe its more complicated but that quality control in manufacturing processes is less than optimal in addition to subpar materials.
The materials are not really sub par. Tiger maple is extremely expensive and adds nothing to the sound. A good back neck and sides can be made from regular maple and still be very strong. The top can be made from spruce but not spruce from Europe that is 100s of years old and still have a good sound and be strong. The biggest difference is in the manufacturing. Since all wood is different, on an expensive violin the top and bottom plates are hand carved and each adjusted for best sound production. On less expensive violins the plate are carved out by machine and each one is exactly the same. This is not a bad thing but it does keep the price down and gives a violin a good sound. Where money is saved is in things like the strings, tailpiece, pegs fingerboard, bridge. The fingerboard can be ebonized which is using a hardwood like maple and dying it black. The bridge is the same for all instruments and not custom fit. The soundpost is not custom fit. The thin to remember is with most student violins the body and neck are well made. As a student progresses and is making better sound tings like the soundpost, bridge, tailpiece, strings and pegs can be changed making the violin a much better violin. These are some of the things to remember about Cecilio violins. They do use ebony, maybe not the best but it is ebony and you can take that violin which if you subtract the price of a case a cheap bow and the other things they put in, the violin cost you about $75.00 to $150.00. Now after you learn to play it you can make these improvements less than $100.00 and have a violin worth many times more than you paid for it and it will sound as such.
Kevin M. said
The materials are not really sub par. Tiger maple is extremely expensive and adds nothing to the sound. A good back neck and sides can be made from regular maple and still be very strong. The top can be made from spruce but not spruce from Europe that is 100s of years old and still have a good sound and be strong. The biggest difference is in the manufacturing. Since all wood is different, on an expensive violin the top and bottom plates are hand carved and each adjusted for best sound production. On less expensive violins the plate are carved out by machine and each one is exactly the same. This is not a bad thing but it does keep the price down and gives a violin a good sound. Where money is saved is in things like the strings, tailpiece, pegs fingerboard, bridge. The fingerboard can be ebonized which is using a hardwood like maple and dying it black. The bridge is the same for all instruments and not custom fit. The soundpost is not custom fit. The thin to remember is with most student violins the body and neck are well made. As a student progresses and is making better sound tings like the soundpost, bridge, tailpiece, strings and pegs can be changed making the violin a much better violin. These are some of the things to remember about Cecilio violins. They do use ebony, maybe not the best but it is ebony and you can take that violin which if you subtract the price of a case a cheap bow and the other things they put in, the violin cost you about $75.00 to $150.00. Now after you learn to play it you can make these improvements less than $100.00 and have a violin worth many times more than you paid for it and it will sound as such.-----------------------------------
Thanks for clearing that up for me
I too have wondered why a violin is classified "student," so Kevin helped out a lot on that. I have a student violin, and for 3 years now, it has held up very well (bridge fine, soundpost fine, pegs work well, etc.), and is serving me well for my present needs. 
I know it doesn't have the grandest sound, but it's fine by me for now. When I was a real beginner and had an instructor, he liked it, though he didn't say why.
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Thanks Kevin for letting us know that just having work done on thoes things mentioned can make a big diff. in our student violins.
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I would just like to point out that a student violin can be as good as any professional violin. Usually it has to do with the price more than anything else.
"The richest person is not the one who has the most,
but the one who needs the least."
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Kevin makes great points and seems to cover it very well.
The main idea is that the maker just does not put as much care into building and setting up a student violin. If someone has the tools and time and expertise and desire, they can do a lot to improve an $80 violin.
I will just add one point. A lot of student violins just have a heavier construction than better violins. A good violin would typically weigh not more than 400 grams when it is set up without the chinrest. http://www.dalemfg.com/violin_010.htm A student violin usually has thick sound plates and may have thick ribbing.
And one of the design goals for a student violin is that it be able to survive a tumble down a flight of stairs. Or so I am informed.
One definition of student is, one who learns, or a learner, so I guess it doesn't really matter what the price of the violin is, whether it be $50.00 or $5K. I'd say that 99% of the people here in this forum are playing "student" violins, regardless of the cost.
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Fiddlestix said
One definition of student is, one who learns, or a learner, so I guess it doesn't really matter what the price of the violin is, whether it be $50.00 or $5K. I'd say that 99% of the people here in this forum are playing "student" violins, regardless of the cost.
I agree, a student then plays his/her student violin. As for myself, a Strad would sound the same as a $50.00 violin.
But could you please drop the price down a bit, instead of $50.00, LOL. I do have a $30.00 one, which include a case (I'm in the hunt for a $20.00).
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