Violins

Anything you need to know about violins.

How can you tell a good quality violin from a cheap one?

on October 27, 2009


How it sounds is the most obvious answer – but not the only one. Because a good violin that has been sitting for a while without being played will sound flat and the tone will be dull.

If you find a fiddle with good wood and carpentry, precision in the placing of the sound peg (inside) if the fingerboard looks good – find out if it has been played a lot and recently. If the answer is no, some sellers will be willing to let you return it after six months if the tone does not come alive – or you can takea chance and try bargaining down the price.

Obviously, the final factor is the sound – but how it sounds when you first play it may not tell the whole story.

And by the way – cheap violins can sometimes be very good, and expensive violins can be very bad. Price does not always tell the story either.


3 Responses to “How can you tell a good quality violin from a cheap one?”

  1. UTech says:

    Well, obviously, by the sound. If it sounds like an oboe, or an electronic instrument (which many do) its probably a low quality one. However, if the sound is rich and it sounds like there are actual, vibrating sound waves and acoustics, its a good one.
    References :

  2. Uncle John says:

    How it sounds is the most obvious answer – but not the only one. Because a good violin that has been sitting for a while without being played will sound flat and the tone will be dull.

    If you find a fiddle with good wood and carpentry, precision in the placing of the sound peg (inside) if the fingerboard looks good – find out if it has been played a lot and recently. If the answer is no, some sellers will be willing to let you return it after six months if the tone does not come alive – or you can takea chance and try bargaining down the price.

    Obviously, the final factor is the sound – but how it sounds when you first play it may not tell the whole story.

    And by the way – cheap violins can sometimes be very good, and expensive violins can be very bad. Price does not always tell the story either.
    References :

  3. Parks says:

    just pick it up, spin it around, giving it a good look feel the wood and try the tuners, if it feels cheap, it generally is. price can also help determine quality
    References :

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