I am in the market for a new violin after an unfortunate mishap with my 12 year old $126 pawn shop violin. There are no music stores close to me that have violins in stock so I do not have the option of playing before purchasing. My violin had a very nice open and loud sound to it and with some dominant strings it was also a semi rich sound. It was a strad copy that I suspect was made in the 50’s or 60’s. It was not pretty to look at (pretty banged up and old) but it got the job done. I have looked at several online retailers but my head is about to spin with the amount of options. I want something that will be as good as or better than my previous violin but not break my bank. I need something $500 or less. I play mostly bluegrass and country styles but I am also classically trained and will play when needed. Right now I am looking at a 5 string Bellafina ( I also play viola) from musiciansfriend.com or a regular violin made by silver creek. Does anyone know anything about these brands: Bellafina, Florea, Silvercreek – other than they are low priced violins. I would love to be able to purchase a thousand dollar instrument but I am not able to at this time. It is more important that I feed my children lol. Any suggestions on a brand of instrument to purchase or any opinions of the brands I have listed would be greatly appreciated . Thanks!
Here is the 5 string I am looking to purchase:
http://band-orchestra.musiciansfriend.com/product/Bellafina-Violina-Outfit?sku=464634
Or the Silver Creek:
http://band-orchestra.musiciansfriend.com/product/Silver-Creek-Model-2-Violin-44-Outfit?sku=470312
taking into account the acoustics of a violin/viola, i would highly not recommend playing a viola with five strings, it most certainly throws the instrument out of balance because there is tension on the instrument where there shouldn’t be, the violin was perfected through hundreds of years of experimentation and the final form was the four string form we see today, this has a to do with the interior design of the violin and its corresponding strings and their tensions (bass bar and sound post need certain tensions to make the instrument sound its best) if it were electric then there would not be a problem. you have to learn to adjust to the differences of a five stringed instrument, and im sure the acoustics of your instrument will be faulty. do what you want, but consequences are consequences.
Also brands do not really tell the quality of a certain instrument, only the reputation of its maker to make quality instruments and its "value" should one look at labels. it does not say anything about the instrument itself, that is why one must play it however it seems you cannot. the second link has a suspicious looking violin, it having a spirit finish means only one thing, the person is either inexperienced(not a bad thing) or did not care about the instrument (wanted the violin to be done quickly as opposed to traditionally as spirit finishes dry faster than normal)
An excellent resource for your violin lessons need.