Hmmm, sorry about that.  I'm on an iPad and they play, I'll get on my pc and upload to YouTube later tonight . 

1stimestar said
I didn't name my violin but occasionally I will say "you bitc*" to it so I guess it is a female.  

Oh dear, definitely a female.  

I've been looking throught the case and found this

I honestly have no clue what it is or where it goes.  Any ideas?  

The tail piece is also a bit loose, it might just be because the strings aren't tightened, I'm not sure.

Woohoo!  new violin!  

i haven't had a proper chance to look at it/do anything to it since it arrive, my family have eaten all my time.  So this morning I finally opened the cases t get a good look.  I have a broken old violin that I have salvaged some parts from just so I can get th be playable and try it out.  I replaced the tail piece and the chin rest.  The bridge will need to be replaced, the nicks for the d & a strings are really far apart which is odd.  I also plan on getting new strings asap. 

I had to put the original bridge in for now so I tuned it up and remarkably didn't break any strings.  I've only had a little play on it but man is it loud.  I'm so used to my quiet electric, this will definitely take some getting used to, and of course my neighbor is going to hate me.  I'M going to do some practice after lunch so I'll try to get a video or two;  I'm actually a bit terrified by how lid it is, maybe it's not so loud to everyone else but yikes, it's right next to my ear!  

Edit: 

a photo of the back

And I forgot to mention that by the label I so it's a Suzuki violin I believe, it has the 3 s Suzuki logo.

Bill said

mischa91 said
......  I'm actually a bit terrified by how lid it is, maybe it's not so loud to everyone else but yikes, it's right next to my ear!  

Congrats on your new instrument !!!!  Yee haaa - yup - they can be a BIT LOUD IN THE LEFT EAR COMPARED TO THE EV ( sorry, what were you saying, Bill?   LOL )

  Heyyy - enjoy the acoustic !    I had a "transition period" ( oh it lasted a week or so ) from when I had been playing only EV for a few months ( sometimes silent, sometimes amped ) - but when I started with the FM Concert under my ear - the volume was incredible and close to deafening - and of course - because I was so used to "digging in" to the EV in "silent mode" I was playing effectively super-forte.    I had to "calm down a bit" and it soon sorted itself out...

  Enjoy your new instrument !  It always "takes a while" to get to know it.....

  Bill

Thanks!

I feel like it's yelling at me.  I'm also quite used to really giving my EV hell and bowing big and such, i feel like with the acoustic the tiniest touch and its screaming at me to stop.  

I think it'll take a bit getting used to, same with everything really.  I thought the electric was fairly loud when i first got it.

Bill said
@mischa91 - all cool - and hey thanks for the posts - I caught a smile or two there - don't be nervous - I know it can be a bit off-putting to start with, but you're doing great!  All good !

  Yup, the tiniest touch.on the acoustic...  it's such a different machine - the dynamic range is immense compared to the EV- but heck I love them BOTH - for entirely different reasons.... take your time with it.  

  I have a little exercise I do from time to time to extend/improve my "expression" ( in terms of loudness ) - and that is the "30 second test" - try to bow, open string or stopped - it doesn't matter - or even play scales if that comes naturally - but draw a full bow ( and I start from the tip, on an up-bow ) - and make the bow-stoke last 30 seconds, all the time drawing a constant volume, no screeching, scratching, pauses, etc from the instrument.  

  It is not easy, and, because I have a "damaged" right hand pinkie I don't have the same grip as is normally used - and as I get nearer to the frog in the last 10 seconds or so, adjusting the bow pressure to keep it sounding right is "quite interesting" - to say the least.....   I know, it's just an exercise, but it's a fun thing to do and on the acoustic, it will give you an idea of what can be accomplished in terms of bowing speed, weight, pressure - and indeed just how QUIET and subtle it can actually be.  (And ok, yes, the "30 seconds" can be compromised by the type of strings, the bow itself and the rosin type and amount when bowing SUPER soft and SUPER slow - so it's not a "hard and fast" goal -just a "target" - see how close you can get) - 

Anyway - I found doing that really useful when I transitioned from EV to acoustic, and helped "bring the acoustic home to me" ( it was a law unto itself to start with! ) LOL

Hope that helps !

Thanks for the words of encouragement.  I had to watch the videos to see where I smiled and I'm sure my cats were sitting by the music stand which made me smile, at least they indulge my playing.  It'll get easier to video and make less mistakes I think if I do it more often... Hopefully.  

That at exercise sounds like a really goody deal, something to do at the weekend when I can be as loud as I want.  I'll definitely give it a go.  

rockinglr33 said
@mischa91   You are doing good!! I know how it feels to go from one violin that is very quiet to suddenly a full blown acoustic. The difference is quite astounding but the ranges you can play in are just awesome once you get used to it. I found that at first playing with a mute on did help but it also hurts with intonation i thought. I began by playing short tunes to get used to the loudness. Lately i invested in the ear plugs that Fiddlerman has in his shop so that when my ears start hurting(my violin sounds super loud cause i live in a stone house) i can pop those babies in and they really help, and i don't have to dampen my violin with a mute (a little payback to party happy neighbors!! hehehe) 

You could tell in the acoustic video's that you were way nervous with the different sound. you looked like you were trying to hold yourself back and play really lightly so as not to make so much noise. So long as your neighbor's won't kill you let her rip! playing an acoustic really brings out mistakes, which really sucks but really helps with development and finding little things to fix that could hurt you in the long run if you decide you want to stay with acoustic (and i mean it really is a blast with all the different genre's out there) I know videoing myself i always make mistakes (and i play in pjs all the time...you can see it in some of my videos haha) 
I hope you have fun with playing with the new acoustic. violins weather electric or acoustic are such a blast! 

Thanks!  I'm going to do a few exercises and practice scales and easier stuff to get used to the new sound.  

There's an empty condo on one side of mine and the other neighbour plays the drums & still has guilt over hitting my car so I'm not entirely sure what at I'm worried about.

well, if everyone seems comforable with pjs videos there could be some of those at some point.