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Hey Fiddlerman, what a great site you have here, I have been eager to get my hands on a new hobby since my tenor sax is far too loud to play in my apartment building. I was looking at the cecilio electric violin and I've heard wonderful and sometimes smug \"get yourself a yamaha\" replies all over the internet regarding quality.
Now I recently stumbled accross someone who makes EVs on ebay known as 'song-maker'
Here is a link to the violin I was interested in - New 4 string electric.....
and a link to his store- Song-maker violins
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So obviously without playing these you cant tell the quality, but if you have any information regarding the hardware- or better, if you have tested any of these I'd be greatful to hear your opinion. They dont look any better or worse than the cecilio brand violins, maybe this particular model looks a little heavy, but I find it reassuring to hear the seller can modify the EV to your specification, which means he's close to the manufacturing process.
So any advice is greatly appreciated
thanks!
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Hey rtodde, and welcome to the site.
The link is not working. You got me curious in any case.
"The richest person is not the one who has the most,
but the one who needs the least."
Honorary tenured advisor
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Fiddlerman said
Hey rtodde, and welcome to the site.The link is not working. You got me curious in any case.
I dug one of the links out of the HTML.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/New-4-.....e314%5C%22
H/C
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Thanks head-cheese you got it.
Here is a link to his store's violin section. Some of those look identical to the cecilio solidwood electrics, I wouldn't be surprised if they are coming from the same factory, knowing chinese products off ebay, this is usually the case.
here is the plain link since I messed up embedding it.
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I think I'd find someone with more honest pricing, in my opinion. The pleasantly low prices listed in that Ebay store are more than offset with the high shipping charges. (Most, if not all, of the instruments command $45 shipping)
Also, despite the assurances to the contrary, returning items back to mainland China in the event of a problem can be an expensive and unrewarding experience. Just ask my wife ...
Your experience may be different, of course, but I'd find a seller in your own home country to simplify the purchasing process.
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Hey Raymond, WELCOME!!
This looks like a knock off of the Fender FV3 at 1/3 the price. I can't imagine the electronics are the same quality as the Fender, but it looks great!
I've been spending a lot of time researching electrics these past 3 weeks; can't wait to get one! Good luck
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Hey and thank you for the warm welcome.
I am against purchasing from china knowing the shipping costs if I by any chance recieve a lemon of a violin, with a bent neck or something. Its one thing to spend 120 with free shipping and quite another to go with $250 or $350 violin of questionable quality.
I have placed a bid for a Yamaha sv-120 for $280 (reserve) it ends in 24 hours so heres to hoping nobody out bids me.
That is a little out of my budget, but it looks like I am either going to buy a really cheap possibly crappy violin from china in which case I am going to probably just get the cecilio featured on this site ($129.00 outfit) or a known brand like yamaha for a bit above my budget from an american seller.
What do you guys think should be the maximum bid for this item? I am aslo keeping in mind I have to put money aside for a bow, neck rest, a case, and possibly a mute (depending on how horrid I sound at first haha) . My maximum bid is $300 but I think $350 is more than reasonable for a yamaha silent violin (even if it is an older model)
Is this a wise path? Can I get similar quality out of the cecilio for half the price?
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I tried a similar violin many years back and was not happy. I believe that it is not solid and my experience with these violins is that they get a strange amplified acoustic sound. Seems like this seller also has some solid body instruments as well. If you get an acoustic-electric violin, try to find one with a reasonable acoustic box such as the Barcus-Berry. Solid body violins can have more or less any shape and the sound will depend more on the electronics and your equipment than the shape.
I've only heard good things about the Yamaha silent electric violins though when I was in the market for an electric violin about 10 years back, I chose my Zeta over the Yamaha and the reasons back then were obvious to me after testing the two side by side. Unfortunately you can't get a new Zeta since they went out of business. My Jazz fusion model cost around $4,000 back then.
"The richest person is not the one who has the most,
but the one who needs the least."
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I am actually trying to avoid the acoustic-electrics, since making noise will most likely impeded my ability to practice freely and make the necessary mistakes and exploration of the violin.
It looks like I am going to just bite the bullet and go with a yamaha silent, whether it be my camera hobby, sax or guitar I've never been able to settle for the cheap counterparts, and have always been happy with that decision. I'm sure I will be more than satisfied with the yamaha silent, the built in reverb and decent electronics has me sold.
Now to see how high the bidding gets... what do you think the max one should pay for a good condition sv-120 lower end yamaha silent electric?
Hi, Rtodde! Welcome to the forum!
I need a new EV too. I thought about this one ->
http://fiddlershop.com/instrum.....evn-2-html
But 1/4 line out of this one made me reconsider (and the 5th string as well =))
http://fiddlershop.com/instrum.....tring-html
Hopefully it will be my late-autumn purchase 
I thought about e-bay too. But if there is something wrong with the violin, even if they have a 100% guarantee of money back, shipping will kill me to get it an send it back again 
... Lucky you, Americans =) 
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Hey mad wed and everyone I just made my purchase. picked up a yamaha sv-120 for just under $400! I probably could have got it for $350 if I held out a couple weeks and hunted down other ebay auctions but what can I say, I work hard and I'm itching to make music again!
i generally love ebay and have never had a bad ebay experience, often sellers go out of their way to change or alter things ive bid for so i hope the trend continues. Im very excited and am just exploring how well I remember reading music and transfering my knowledge of the sax over to this new devil of an instrument. I expect much screetching!
now to find a good teacher in the toronto area to get me started, any advice on seeking an adequate tutor?
oh and I will be sure to share my experience when it arrives with pics.
Now it does not come with a bow, what to look for in a new bow, budget is slim maybe $60 max
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Congratulations on your purchase! 
Waiting for it to arrive is the hardest. Cant wait to see the pics...... FM sells a great carbon fiber bow for $58 
I am saving to get one myself.
"The dictionary is the only place where success comes before work." - Mark Twain
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Congrats Raymond, that's a pretty decent price if the instrument is in good shape!
Yeah, you've gotta take a look at FM's carbon fiber bow. EVERYONE raves about it (I'm going to get one in a few weeks) and you can't go wrong with a Fiddlershop purchase!
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I'll be the third vote in favor of the Fiddlerman Carbon Fiber Bow. We have two in the house - one for my Viola and one for my younger son's Violin. I don't even touch my wooden bows, anymore - unless I need a reminder of how much better these bows are.
http://fiddlershop.com/accesso.....iolin.html
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Hey guys, so I've done a little reading on carbon bows in general, and as wonderful as they sound I'm not quite convinced they are suited for an electric violin. My fear is it will only heighten the 'cold' tone of an electric. I'm not experienced with the violin so I value the opinion of anyone who has used both bows on their electric or acoustic.
That said, the general concensus seems to be that a carbon bow will outperform a wooden bow of the same price.
The cabpn fiber bow doesn't effect the sound of the electric but because the weight balance, and the strength of the bow at such a light weight makes it easier to play with. I find no difference in sound but a difference in the ease to produce a good sound.
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I agree with Kevin. I can't tell the difference. In fact I am using my Fiddlerman Carbon Fiber bow for everything now a days. <---- of course he would say that right?
"The richest person is not the one who has the most,
but the one who needs the least."
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so you guys are really selling this one to me, and I understand why. I'm going to do some more research before I decide but I think its a winner.
thanks for your unbiased oppinion fiddler man lol
LOL, Rtodde!
We just say as it is. I'm the other owner of CF bow from fiddlershop =) And one i ordered for another student of my teacher... Everybody is happy... You might join or You might not... Your choice
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got my violin! I will post up more details soon,Im too tired to post photos, 12 hour shift today itching to get home and 'inspect' my ebay purchase.
SO it was marked used, but besides some tape residue on on the bridge, it is in MINT condition, no scratches, scuffs, bends, its great.
I dont have a bow yet but i checked the reverb and pickup by hand on an amp and headphones it sounds very clear, no hissing or 'noise'. all 3 settings work.
Came with batteries
The one con- It said it came with strings... well it did come with strings, 3 or them instead of 4. its ok but I dont know whether to buy a set and replace the one string, or put on a whole set so they all stretch into place together. besides its a nice excuse to find strings that suit the music I enjoy most. ( I do enjoy a deeper tone, if any one has a suggestion, something that works well on a silent violin.)
anyways Im going to crash I will put up some good photos tomorrow. 
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