Ash Telecaster said
Hello, 

I am a long time guitar/bassist. I decided to expand my horizons and buy a Viola. I like the tonal range and felt it would pair well with acoustic guitar compositions.

I bought a Fiddlerman Concert. It was expertly set up and came with a great accessory package. I consider it to be a decent instrument and an exceptional value. 

Thank you so much for your purchase and kind words.

I have found learning to play it is waaaaay harder than I anticipated. It's been a few months, I can play Bach Minuet 1 and 2, and a few others, and can jam pretty freely in first position in the keys of C, G, and D, and their reletive minors and am working on E, which is pretty hard. Haven't broken the vibrato barrier yet. 

I love the instrument and decided I am in it for the long haul. I am determined to get good at it. 

I finally broke down and got a remote instructor, Aubrey Fineout. She's brilliant and super talented. She has a few killer videos on YouTube.

She has been a lot of help but I am still having some issues. She plays one note and it sounds killer. I can't seem to get that kind of tone. I know that a lot of that is technique but I'm thinking about the instrument and contemplating upgrading.

I'm wondering a couple things.

What do I have to spend to get a solid instrument for recording, that I can grow into, and where is the point of diminishing returns?

One million dollars.
Just kidding, you'll find a fine instrument in all price groups but a great part of your sound and sound production will come from improving your technique.

I was looking at the Fiddlerman Master and wondering if it is likely to meet the need?

I see a couple Scott Cao Violas on Fiddlershop in my price comfort range. They don't appear to have all the accessories. They also come in 17" where the Fiddlerman Master Max's out at 16.5". I wonder if that extra half inch Will make a big difference in tone. They seem to be a well respected brand.

Perhaps, and I'm not doing myself any favors here, wait to make that decision. Sleep on it. When you are ready, we'll happily help you decide between any instruments that you may be considering. We can make approval and comparison videos for you. Not all Master's are exactly alike just as not all Scott Cao's are alike.

Why do more expensive Violas only have 1 micro tuner instead of 4?

The highest string has the most tension and is more affected by lesser movements. Especially with steel core strings.

The geared tuning pegs seem like a pretty good idea. Seems like a no brainer. I'm surprised they aren't standard. Is there something I'm missing?

It's a bit traditional, plus it's way faster to tune an instrument with traditional conical pegs. I can tune all strings in seconds. Of course it's different for beginners or non advanced players. Also, conical pegs can last forever theoretically. Not sure about the geared pegs.

I see bows costing $500 and more. I have to admit that seems crazy. Like spending $50 for a guitar pick. But I want to give myself the best chance to get great results. How much do I have to spend to get a good bow?

You may feel and hear subtle differences but don't expect too much. action, playability, feel and tone are some of the things different bows will bring into the equation. But as I said, subtle changes.

Strings seem to be an important consideration. Any suggestions for strings?

This will be a life long endeavor. I'll leave that to everyone else to make suggestions. What I will say is that the most popular combinations involve mixing different C, G and D, A strings. It's common to use Helicore, Spirocore and Larson. Usually Larson or Helicore on the top two and Spirocore and perhaps Dominant on the lower two. Evah Pirazzi is also popular for the lower three strings.

Any thing else I should consider?

How much fun do you want to have??? Life is just getting started now. 😉 Enjoy your new journey. We look forward to your posts.

Thank you in advance for sharing your thoughts! 

Anytime and welcome to the forum.