11 Tips For Buying A Violin | Upgrading Your Violin

11 tips and guides to look for when upgrading or buying a violin.
***OPEN ME FOR LINKS/INFO***

This list is by no mean exhaustive, but it based on my personal experience as a professional musician and teacher.
This guide mainly applies for those with some experience who want to upgrade, rather than for the beginner as you wont have learnt enough about the instrument for these tips to apply.

1. (1:09) Take your current violin with you.
2. (1:51) Take music you can comfortably play.
3. (2:39) Take another violin player with you if possible.
4. (3:19) Bear in the mind the new violin will need to 'warm up'.
5. (4:35) ALWAYS ALWAYS A.L.W.A.Y.S. TRY BEFORE YOU BUY
6. (5:53) Don't be swayed by the look of the violin.
7. (7:04) Play as many different violins as you can.
8. (7:53) Don't ask where or who made it - you want to remain unbiased and totally subjective.
9. (8:48) Try to go somewhere where they can alter/fix the violin right there and then on the premises - if possible.
10. (10:03) Worry about a bow another day...
11. (11:55) Only YOU will know what you want or don't want so make up your own mind as its going to be YOU who has to play this violin!!!

You may disagree with some of my points, but as I said - they are based on my years of experience and hopefully you will find or all useful.

Here are the string videos:

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Mendini MV Range - Really good cheap starter violins:-

Cecilio CVN range - for beginners:-

For the Intermediate player:-

For the advanced player:-
Cecilio CVN 800 - This one is excellent top of the line, but i cant find a link.

Stentor Violin:

MY VIOLIN REVIEWs are all here:

[sarcocytsi]

It has been 3 years and still I consider you my FIRST violin teacher 😊 Thank you and wish you all the success!

[atleyschannel]

Your right varnish or looks don’t matter. The sound only matters.

[mostafa.e]

Hey Allison.. Remember me??? I'm the Egyptian guy who asked your advice about my violin and with this video you helped me in fixing that problem(which was that the bridge was too flat) cheers!

[Krisstofers]

Absolutely! I am not even a classically trained violinist, and I can tell you that the wood of the violin does warm up, especially when you are placing the wood right against your body. The heat from your body, especially when you are at a performance, and your body heats up (either from the stage lights or your own body chemistry from the adrenaline pumping), that heat will transfer into the wood of the violin. Even in addition to the friction of drawing the bow across the strings will heat that wood right up!!!

[duckie]

I haven't noticed the difference between violins and bows until I forgot to bring mine to school one day. I was pretty worried my teacher was going to scold me about it so I secretly borrowed someone else's violin and bow that were in the lockers. The bow wouldn't play without rosin so I could only assume no one owned it. So as I rosined and began to play, the sound was richer, there weren't any squeaks, and I had total control of the bow! The next day I confessed to my teacher about it and we went through bows after bows with nothing working, however I never really considered it may have been the violin as well. After watching this video, I can safely say that I'll check in with him and see if anyone owns it. Thank you for your advice!

[ladyeclectic]

A very timely video for me, I'm in the market for a new violin, thanks again!!

[sgtcrab]

Good video. A friend and I were at a good shop in the Boston area, W were given full access to violins in the &800 to %3500 range (about 20 years ago) We both played lots of them and in the end preferred the cheapest one there. We asked the shop owner why it was priced where it was. Turns out it was Czech made. (1900 or so) He agreed it was a quality piece but snob appeal was geared to German, French and Italian instruments, So I agree totally where it was made is not so important. I bought it and my son has been playing it ever since. Nice tone, bright and really balanced over the strings.

[charlesd]

"And Bob's your uncle." I LOVE YOU SO MUCH!

[florencec]

Yes, it doesn’t matter where it’s made, when it’s made or what colour it is. The most important thing is that you like the sound of it. Get the staff to select the ones within your budget range and from there cover up the price and just try them out so you won’t be affected by the price on what you are hearing. Go to different shops or arrange an appointment to go to private makers if you know of any, once I even got to take two home from the maker for a day or two to hear them out properly, so see what they can do for you. Once you get the violin repeat the same thing for the bow, they don’t have to be from the same shop obviously. People generally like light bows but a heavier one will give you a bit more control, but obviously not too heavy either. Again as long as you are happy about the way it feels and sounds in your playing, that’s the one for you.

[banjiddle]

What a superb video! Alison, you are a wealth of information about buying the first violin. I appreciate your honesty with recommendations. I am learning so much from you! Thank you kindly!

[walterkarczewski]

Alison, I am 70 years old and want to learn to play the violin. I got on line and viewed you violin lessons for beginners and then watched your recommendation for purchasing a violin. You recommended the Stentor 2 as a decent violin for a beginner. Is this still your recommendation?

[pdoll]

I just subscribed. I've watched a few of your videos and I feel they've all taught me something valuable. I'm brand new with the violin. I rented for a couple of months to make sure it was something I really wanted to get into and I fell in love (or addiction lol) so I decided I wanted to purchase one. I was actually going to go ahead and get one online but so many teachers and seasoned players were speaking against that so I found a local luthiers shop that had many rave reviews and visited them. Long story short, I was biting my nails a bit about what instrument I was going to spend pretty much the price you quoted on, and I watched this video. I went back to the shop to hear the violin I was leaning toward getting (not only did it sound dark and lovely but the look of it was as well--dark, beautiful varnish). I asked them if they had shown me everything in my range and the woman there that day found one I had not seen and played it. Wow. It was warm, mellow, open and sounded just heavenly to me. With your words in mind, I turned my back and asked her to play both of them and Ended up choosing the new discovery. When I played it myself, it even felt more natural and easy for me to hold so I got it and I'm just in love with it. I actually almost feel guilty playing it and am motivated to get better so that i can do justice to the sound that comes from it 😊
Thank you again for sharing your wisdom and knowledge and giving great advice.

[juliezwyer]

This was very helpful being that I am still using the same violin from 5th grade, that my Mom and Dad bought for $200.

[charlottehibbert]

What I did is I went to a local store and tried out the violins THEN I ordered it....really helped!

[cearuilinjayne]

I haveca so called student model and it sound and plays beautifully. Years ago I had an intermediate violin flamed wood etc…. every violin teacher i came across offered me $$$ for it on the spot and unfortunately I did sell it….Now nothing sounds the same but my current one is nice too

[jeeze]

I have about 5 of them now. Expensive to cheap. Nearly deaf. I feel the vibration more than hear the sound. My go to is my first. It was cheap, I'm just as happy with my couple hundred dollar violin as a several thousand violin. I'm happy that I can play..

[umbrieliya]

One problem:

My family is kinda trifty so they always ask them to look for the cheapest of the cheapest one. So the store in our place only had that one violin. (except the other 3 which was too expensive) so yeah. I had no choice, but it plays kind of well i guess.

About the peg, one recital my peg suddenly clicked and it got out of tune and the parents and other performers were laughing at me. I got really embarrased and they call me the player who always fail.

[channelterminatedbyuser]

Very tough exam, when I tested Anna Maria my new OPERA 3/4 in October: Anna, my first 3/4 violin and 79€ STAGG—well practiced for half a year—with Dominant synthetic strings beat all the violins. The luthier constantly begged me to be fair. Finally Anna Maria OPERA won with her character sound and full, deep G-string (very important to me). I was able to trust and imagine, that she would grow and improve, but I couldn't trust all the other violins. Maybe I'm too critical, but after all I got Anna Maria, I can trust. Last week I took out Anna STAGG and couldn't stand her sound, so everything hunky-dory. I think Anna Maria OPERA is the violin of my life.

[pdoll]

I'm going out to look for a violin today and this was super helpful. Ty!

[trrblv]

I've been playing the violin for 7 years now, and I have a terrible violin, it's only worth like $200. Literally my harmonics don't line up next to each other. The E harmonic is a half step lower on the finger board than the rest of them. Also my strings are awkwardly spaced apart, they're farther apart than on most violins. I feel like it's time to up grade because I think I'm a decent player, I'm 5th chair in my high school orchestra, but I'm kind of afraid to. I don't know any well experienced violinists to bring with me, and I'm also worried that I'll show up to the store to buy a violin and I'll look stupid, and like I have no idea what's going on. Also I'm worried if I'm good enough to upgrade. Idk