Blog - Page 7 of 9 - Fiddler Dan Violins & Workshop, Brisbane

Enrico Violin Review student model

Enrico’s, Enrico’s boy I see a lot of these violins. At around $300 for most of their violin range these are the entry level violin for most parents, solid reliable at a great price point and available everywhere!

Purists tend to turn up their nose at them of course but I recon they are a solid performer for someone just getting started, and streets ahead of an ALDI Blue ;). Yes the tone is a little on the tinny side (especially on the smaller instruments) , but they are well setup and reliable performers and really robust. I pair the smaller ones with a good multicore steel string (I can put better strings on of course but they add to the price and people buying these ones are very price sensitive). For a full size Enrico Thomastic alphas on the better models, or an equivalent string that is a bit cheaper. yes Enrico’s like the Enrico student extra, Enrico Custom can come with much nice tone woods even with modest flame on the back at around $500 – they don’t tend to be sold so much – I suspect its a brand problem you can’t really be a budget brand and a higher end brand at the same time.

What to look for

If you are buying one new the thing to watch is the setup, as they are supplied from the wholesaler not setup – so the bridge heights and fingerboard nut are often too high. So make sure the store you get it from has had someone do a setup! The strings at the top of the fingerboard (at the nut) should have just enough space under them to fit a business card – otherwise they are too high and will be too hard to play, down at the oher end of the finger board if you can just fit your pinky tip under the G string and can’t see daylight between the bridge feet and the violin its been setup OK! Some reviews on Product Review make note of this as well.

By the time I see an Enrico it might be 10 years old…yes they keep going forever, though the cases often need a bit of work and it often gets a bow replacement too. Its tough replacing parts because secondhand around $150 is the right price and a new bow is $50 so often there are all the margins gone for putting my time into servicing the instrument.

In any case if your here and your wanting to know if they are a good starter first instrument (especially for the clumsy)…yes go for it, save your $$$ for the next size up!

Violin bits wanted….National Recycling Week 8-14 November , 2021

Its National Recycling Week Started by Planet Ark, Australia in 1996 its about changing our take, make and dispose culture and making sure anything we have is used for as long as possible to reduce waste. Its a higher goal that just recycling, a mindset change in our approach to stuff!

So this is a shout out to anyone that has an old violin not doing anything, even if it’s in bits I’m interested. I’ll either get it going for the next family to love or use the parts to get another one up to speed.

Recently I put together a student violin that had been sat on, the front cracked open in multiple placs (and the bar bar on the inside) and the back split open as well. Whats most interesting, is that whilst I was in there I managed to clean up a lot of the work done during manufacture (it’s a mass manufactured, albeit better quality $400 student violin) and once it was all back together, with a good new sound post it sounds better than one I have that wasn’t damaged. Of course though it doesn’t quite look as pretty any more….I guess we all get we all get cracks…err wrinkles with age though right 😉 Its a few hrs of life I’ll never get back and doesn’t make sense financially, but its one less bit of forest relegated to landfill though!

I’d love to give this one away but my teacher has set his apprentice (me) the task of carving an entirely new bass bar for it, the only catch though is he says I gotta make the clamps, and the planes to do it though…….

Dan

A coffee with Grant

I caught up with near neighbour Grant recently, someone who’s been hanging his music shingle out for a bit longer than me ..like 20 years. Grant is an accomplished piano player and teacher…with a pretty full book of students. His real passion I think is composing for which he has quite the setup down his Grub Mountain Music Studio. Grants compositions appear in the current AMEB piano syllabus as well…which is seriously impressive!! He also has a violin tucked away in the corner…talk about multi talented.

I was privileged to be able to hear a little of the Sonata he has been composing for the last little while. Sonatas are classical in form, but you can hear his other influences coming through. We didn’t quite get around to the coffee…sometimes music is more sustaining I think?

Anyway its finally finished and lovely to listen to.

I can’t imagine the journey towards and the process of undertaking such . Here are Grants reflections on the creation process of the Sonata

Aubert Violin

Hey if your here chances are you have come across an Aubert Violin for sale and want to do your due diligence on wether its suitable for you and a good quality violin. The good news is Aubert is a trusted name in the violin world, the not so good news is they only make bridges not violins, so you are almost back to square one…but not quite.

Hey if your here chances are you have come across an Aubert Violin for sale and want to do your due diligence on wether its suitable for you and a good quality violin. The good news is Aubert is a trusted name in the violin world, the not so god news news is they only make bridges not violins, so you are almost back to square one.

Often on facebook or gumtree you will see an Aubert violin advertised. This is because if you don’t really know violins and are looking for a brand the most likely one you will see is the brand of the maker of the bridge, stamped on their bridge. Aubert bridges are made in France, they have several grades of bridges . Those marked Aubert, Aubert Made in France , Aubert a Mirecourt, Aubert a Mirecourt Deluxe represent the grades of bridge of increasing quality. There are knockoffs of Aubert bridges too…the grain kind gives it a way though if you know what you’re looking for. Bridges and bridge quality really matter for tone production…but we are talking about violins.

So what about the maker of said Aubert Violin? Rarely do makers put their name on beautifully polished timber, though sometimes you will see a stamp on the back of the body where the new joins it. To find out the maker you have to take a peak inside the f hole near the lower strings (the left hand of the violin if you are facing it). Inside here is usually a glued parchment with the maker of the violin, place its made, date (often prefixed with ‘anno’) and perhaps a model / serial number.

violin label- not an aubert violin — Not an Aubert violin…but a Gliga violin

Also you will often see Stradivari, copy of Stradivari or similar written. But don’t get to excited by that, violins are made often on the template of older famous violins, so its unlikely its actually a Strad, just in the shape of one (you might also see Guarneri, Amati and others famous shapes). Mentioning Strad also has a bit of brand recognition… for the young maker or factory pumping out violins out of a workshop in Europe or Shenzen for that matter

Anyways the fact that it is a name brand bridge of some quality (even if it only costs about $10 for a student Aubert bridge), and that probably means it’s on a credible violin…but do play it, check the inside label to find out the actual brand to make sure! See my tips on Buying a violin on facebook or gumtree? Some tips… or come checkout my range

Gliga Violin Review

Something I see from time to time are Gliga Violins, actually I’d like to see more as they always sell reasonably quickly, I suspect because of brand reputation. So here is my Gliga Violin review. Value for money and great sound people usually go with my Hidersine Violins.

There is no doubt about it there is something lovely about a European instrument, made from European timbers (and the much vaunted Carpathian mountains where Stradivari is rumoured to source his timbers…great marketing!) and Gliga violins really fit the bill in that regard. They are a solid instrument tending towards a mellow tone, so sound good (well not squeaky) too. if you hunt on discussion forums they are discussed quite a bit The Gliga range starts with a III, II, I, Vasile and then some higher models as well. Recently the Gliga Romanie has been added as well , I suspect to reach into the lower end of the market. (same violins but with a durable finish thats quicker and cheaper to apply than the trad finish)

With each step up through the Gliga models you are getting progressively finer timbers and accompanying workmanship.

Of course the founder of Gliga violins Vasile Gliga can’t possibly make them all ( a maker can only make a few a year generally) so how does he do it? As best i can determine after he found success as a maker, he began acquiring and building up violin workshops with his methods and under his supervision…genius I recon and a wonderful cottage industry is born. Gliga violins are based in Romania, this is formerly an Eastern block country, where wages are lower, at around 1/3-1/4 of those in Western Europe today according to google. Violin making is labour intensive so this is how he can make his violins for the price. Some people think they look a bit chunky on the corners and a bit mellow (some say woody).

The mellow sound can be brightened by a new bridge (See Whats in a Violin bridge? and getting more from a Gliga) or sound post, but thats a fair bit of work for the average punter. The easiest way by far is to pair it with brighter strings like Evah Pirazzi’s or Thomastic Visions ( see my Violin String Selection Guide )

You can see Gliga’s today in most music stores right across the planet…that is manufacturing on a serious scale so I don’t recon he can supervise all of them. As a result there is a fair bit of variability across the range so a Gliga III might sound better than a Gliga II and so on, its just going to depend on the instrument and what you as a buyer are looking for. In a music store its often all about the Brand, so being European and at a great price point they fit the bill well! To further keep the price down you often see the Gliga’s paired with a much cheaper bow than you might expect, this is ok if you are just a few years in, but you’ll want to step that up to get the most from the instrument. After all a bow is 1/2 the sound production and there is quite a bit to the bow. A rough guide is 1/3 the price of your violin should be spent on the bow (see bow science)

Price wise, for the sound you are paying a premium for both the brand and the European place of manufacture and they have good resale value (actually all quality violins do) ). You can get better sound for your $$$ I recon (hear my comparison here with the violins I sell), but of course they are’t made in Europe and don’t look as beautiful.

My son currently plays a Gliga I with a one piece back, I think for him its mostly about the brand, though of course it sounds nice too. I have Tonica’s on his violin which suit where he is at . At the time of writing this he’s been playing about 4 years now, so will step up the strings when he is ready to get more from his violin.

Developing young players…..It really takes a village

Morning Service at BRUC (photo from live stream)

We have striven to have a household full of music and the opportunity to play music since our boys were young. We didn’t push them to start music lessons…but hoped they would. When my oldest son finally decided he wanted to learn the violin, he had already missed the opportunity to start at school. However they were kind enough to lend us one for the school holidays. We only agreed to the loan if my son agreed to have a daily lesson from me for the 2 weeks, at the end of the holidays we took it back and he played them a little something and they were offered to take him as a late entry to the programme. I went out and bought him a facebook violin (it was a violin strung as a viola and needed a bit of love) – importantly he decided he wanted to learn himself!

I had hopes of us playing duets into the night and helping him along with at home lessons….all hopes dashed when he realised I’m not cool enough c’est la vie.

He was getting close to high school and to help his transition (as we went to an out of area primary school) we stumbled across Mansfield Musicworx. It was a great way to get him used to going to Mansfield High School as the lessons are on site. We soon discovered the music teachers have a connection to the high school (duh!) and so in addition to his regular school group lessons, he had one on one lessons that were complimentary to it, with the odd bit of communication between the teachers to keep him developing forward. Musicworx also have solo performance opportunities, which I recon are important to help a musician develop because it’s a near term goal and a bit of pressure too.

Dial forward a few years, with both sons playing the violin, we have discovered Broadwater Road Uniting Church. Worship is something can can really be enhanced by music, and with both contemporary and more traditional services its a nice environment within which to play as well. It’s a bit of pressure with new songs each time, often in challenging keys for young (and old) fingers alike. One of the things that is most serendipitous is seeing the generations mix and in a sense ministering and appreciating each other.

At bit further down the road is the Mt. Gravatt Mens Shed who have a regular jam group going, they seem happy enough to have the boys along on the holidays too. Its good for young boys to see music as a mans pass-time too I reckon! (See them playing with the shedders at Bagpipes and a violin…what could go wrong? )

Bagpipes and a violin…what could go wrong?

Best buddies Angus and Matthew…also know as MATGUS, wanted to do a duet together, surprisingly there are somewhat limited opportunities for bagpipers and a violinist to play together.

Both being lovers of celtic music and with the likes of the Barefoot Bagpiper and Fiddler Dan working in the background (Its great when your parents are players of the instruments as well ) the Highland Cathedral was settled on. It’s a haunting light air on the violin and a stirring tattoo favourite for the bagpipers. Its available in lots of keys but they both said the Key of D was about right, its seems violins and bagpipes both have a healthy distain for anything with flats in it!

With a bit of luck the Carina Senior Citizens Association had a concert coming up and were in need of something to rock the zimmer frames and get the wheelchairs rollin’, so they both set about learning it in earnest.

After they both reckoned they knew the piece the first practice together was set. One afternoon in between swims, a Fortnite seesh or two and pizza (no anchovies thanks mum) they started playing together….but only in the most optimistic sense, something didn’t sound quite right. It was put down to the chanter sans pipes not quite sounding right. The chanter is the mouth piece and recorder like bit with the holes in it ( but without the bag and pipes)

A week of so later, after the parents had recovered, they got together with everything in place (and at a decent hour so as to not wake sleeping neighbours) but the sound was even worse. After a bit of detective work it was found that the bagpipes are in fact a B Flat instrument, meaning they are a semitone higher when playing the same written note as the violin. Now we all love a minor second as much as the next person, it brings a bit of tension into a song, but sadly a whole song of minor seconds doesn’t quite work.

Matthew and Angus had three rounds of paper, scissors, rock to see who would have to play in D Flat or E flat at the next practice – which went a whole lot better.

Dial forward to performance day and they were both able to done full regalia including sporran and kilt. They were both pretty interested in wearing the sgian dubh dagger in their socks too…but the parents felt that a violin and a set of bagpipes were quite deadly enough weapons in their hands.

Anyway here is their performance, thanks to Brian’s missus for the recording

Rumour has it they are working towards a special interest badge at Victor Scouts for their efforts

Goldilocks and the three student violins

Do you know the story of Goldilocks? It is a little known fact that she was also a violin player…no really its true 😉

What violin did she play, the curious amongst you might ask? Well all I can say is it was not too cheap, but not too expensive….it was just right. Just right for her that is.

Image credit NZ string quartet

As a beginning player, her mum couldn’t bear the thought of a cheap tinny instrument being played around the house, nor did she have the money for an expensive European instrument when she wasn’t sure if Goldilocks was going to keep learning.

On her violin were not the cheapest of strings – which can hurt the ears, but neither were they the expensive solosists strings …that would amplify every falw in her beginners technique.

Her bow was neither too soft so she could get decent tone out of the instrument, nor to capriccios as an expensive pernambucco bow would be skittering around as she was just learning how to handle a bow.…its was somewhere in the middle

The case itself also was just right…tough enough to handle the every day rigours of heading off to her friends grandma’s place for lessons. Her friend wore a red riding hood…you might know her. But also the case was not so expensive as to cost more than the violin as well.

So when you are next in the market for a violin, keep in mind your ideal Goldilocks violin. Watch out for stores that will frame their products ranging from expensive to very expensive and try to find something that will suit you. Remember a quality well cared for violin will hold its value into the future, just change your violin according to your needs as you grow.

Arco Violin Review

The Arco violin is the entry level instrument for Animato violins on Brisbane’s Northside and mail order superstars. Its their house brand and has changed a bit over the years. I’ve even seen an Arco II that would put a Gliga to shame with the timbers on it. The Arco violin is a solid little performer, the wood are a dark stained attractive appearance and the running gear is quality.

While the woods don’t look all that flash, the proof is in the sound and for a starter instrument the tone on it has really surprised me. Dietrich, Animato Strings owner takes pride in his instruments and I think the selection of this instrument is a testament to ensuring that even if you only have a little bit of money to spend on a violin it’ll still sound OK.

I see quite a few Arco violins of all sizes, but mostly in the smaller sizes, as its priced for a first instrument. Most beginners are young and thus on the smaller sizes when they start. Nothing goes wrong with these guys except for misadventure. I think I’ve only had one needing a fingerboard reglue…which was more a reflection of the product testing my son gave his Arco violin instruments in the early years, than the violin itself 😉

Love of my Life

One of the silver linings from COVID is it can bring people together. Here is a wonderful blog from Lara, just on the other side of the Pacific. Her inspirational prose caught my eye on facebook and she was kind enough to followup with her story …thankyou Lara you’re a treasure.

You can’t fix people, But you can fix violins, And the people can play the violins And that can fix them! So… SAME THING!
Lara J. 2021

Love of my Life

by Lara J

I’m a late bloomer, or just plain late, I’m not sure which. There have been a few great loves in my life, but the best ones seemed to be reserved for me to enjoy after I could make a passel of youthful mistakes and bad decisions, trial runs at things that seemed like good decisions at the time, and other sundry follies of youth. Better late than never, they say, and maybe I was supposed to mature enough to truly appreciate the gifts that were coming my way.

The biggest love of my life is my daughter, who didn’t come into my life until my 30’s. The second is my wonderful partner Mark, who I met at 50! The third great love of my life is violins. I have to use the plural form of the word, because I can’t imagine just having one violin. I didn’t know this happy addiction was approaching me. It sneaked up from behind on me, to be honest. I didn’t get bitten by the violin bug until my mid 50’s, and it’s hard to believe it’s only been a year plus a couple of months since that happened.

It was smack in the middle of 2020, which needs no explanation, as a year to remember. In a moment of desperation to get my mind off of politics and the pandemic, I scrolled through YouTube and happened upon the videos of Ask Olaf the Violin Maker. I watched one, and was intrigued. I watched another, and was entranced. I watched another, and another, and another, until I had binge watched them all. Suddenly I wanted to fix violins. I wanted to play violins. I had to have a violin. I would like to blame (and thank) Olaf, but I think it might have been in the back of my mind for a long time, and just needed the right catalyst. I still blame him, and thank him.

Since then I have bought or been given well over a dozen violins in various states of disrepair, and learned how to repair them. I taught myself by watching as many different luthier-made videos as I could find on YouTube, reading articles on the internet, scrolling through the violin forums, and just doing it. I prayed a lot when working on my first violin. I was so nervous, I was shaking. It ended up being a success, and that hooked me. I wouldn’t say it’s easy, and I definitely learned where the phrase “fiddle with it” came from, because it seemed I could keep tweaking things forever on each violin I worked on. Good sound was the most important thing to me, but I am also a visual artist, so it had to look nice.

Like Oprah with her cars, I found so much happiness with violins I wanted others to have them. You get a violin! You get a violin! You too! I parted with the ones I could part with, giving some to family members, some to a school, and one to an animal shelter auction. I haven’t sold any yet, but I may. I still have more violins than I probably should. They each have a different voice, and I love them all like they are my children. If I don’t play one of them in a reasonable amount of time, I miss it, and feel that joy of reaching for it again when I do.

I know I’m still a beginner. I’m a hobbyist, not a luthier. I still have a lot to learn about violin repair. I’m practicing my playing every day, too, and improving constantly, but I’m no Hilary Hahn. I’m aiming for it, though! But the point is that I love it tremendously, and I get so much joy out of it, that I thank God every day I get to wake up and play.

My facebook friends know what has happened to me. They tag me in violin videos and photos. I love them for it. One of my friends recently tagged me in a photo of beautiful old violins that needed repair, and I commented how I wanted to fix them! Then I told him it made me think of an advertisement for a violin shop. It would go like this:

You can’t fix people,

But you can fix violins,

And the people can play the violins

And that can fix them!

So…

SAME THING!