Bunnings recently launched a marketplace and I wondered if they sold violins. What the!!! they now sell bunnings violins, albeit it as a third party vendor. They look lovely, are good value for the price…just don’t expect them to really perform.
So while you can’t pickup a violin from Bunnings when you next buying some potted plants and a tin of paint…but you can oprder them on line. So what is a Bunnings violin like? well in essence they are no different to those violins sold on ebay, or amazon so have a look at my reviews ( Ebay Violin review , Amazon Violin reviews ). In any case here is what they are like on the inside. Essentially plywood with a veneer and a high gloss finish on the cheaper ones that i have seen – very hardware store 😉
This is not to be cionfused with a very fine European violin i recently restored, that have been painted ‘Bunnings Brown’ with a think layer of hardware varnish on it )see Violin Varnish restoration )
Amazon is here to stay and now they even sell violins. So whats an Amazon violin like, well look you absolutely get what you pay for . Here is my review of violins on Amazon.
Amazon is here to stay and now they even sell violins. So whats an Amazon violin like, well look you absolutely get what you pay for .
See inside a $99 violin review to see what you are getting. Esentially Amazon is a marketplace like ebay – where I also looked for violins often you see the same instruments advertised in both places. My suggestion buy one from a bricks and mortar store, otherwise by the time you bring your instrument to me you wil find out just how much work it needs to be playable. The great thing about Amazon is the returns policy so if you have already bought one you can return it and then come see someone or evenme for a violin. Heres my little video where I go through a few Amazon instruments.
Hey if your thinking of buying an ebay violin I thought you might like to hear my opinion…….don’t. I run a violin shop and repair shop in brisbane and get these instruments coming to my shop
Sadly parents think buying a violin on ebay is a bargin…and it is, what you get for the money is amazing,…its just not a violin worth playing.
Buying a second hand instrument is a different matter, there are some good ones there if you know what you are looking for. My advice , if your set on buying something on ebay, check out my expose on $99 violins . For something secondchand google the brand of the instrument, if reputable music shops sell it then it might be OK
Yes I can get ebay violins to kind of work, by the time and replacement parts are added up you are better buying a proper violin (see my beginner violins here) .
Heres my ebay violn review and walk through of buying a violin off ebay.
So from time to time Aldi sell violins….yes thats right violins!. The brands (and colours) vary this time they are selling the Huxley brand violin (rather than the blue abomination they were selling a few years back) . So what do i think? heres my aldi violin review!
TL;DNR Don’t buy these and expect your violin teacher or ears to be happy, if the budget is tight I usually have secondhand violins for just a bit more that will serve you much better.
. At $99 bucks its amazing value…and while playable its something a violin teacher will likely wince at. Why? well firstly its not a wooden violin but a plywood violin (thats is thin sheets of timber glued together) this enables them to be pressed into shape rather than carved – so cheap to make, but all of the cross grain layers and the glue make it too stiff and adsorbant to produce great tone. The fittings themselves aren’t ebony, so will wear quickly (pegs and fingerboard) and the pegs eventually will split and be difficult to tune. The bridge itself has to be fitted…by you so the string heights will likely not be right so might be hard to play. But hey you won’t notice ..until you do. So a good violin to have a quick dabble on perhaps …but unlikely to be on your learning journey for long.
If you want to see what they look like on the inside see my article on “inside a cheap $99 violin” which I take apart one of these violins . But to get the full unboxing experience see Shannons video below.
Violins intrinsically hold their value, however to do so they must be kept in good condition through regular servicing and replacement of some components. As a repair and often refurbish old instruments for new families I often have to manage the expectations of people looking to sell or trade in an instrument and wondering how much their violin is worth
Student violins
If you are wondering how much you student violin is worth, you can look for how much it costs to buy currently, and then look at around 50% of that if its in good condition. This is what you might be able to sell it on facebook for. While you may think it’s worth more keep in mind the buyer is buying something without warranty and facebook marketplace shoppers are generally looking for a bargain. depending on the time of year (start of the school year) it might sell quickly or take quite a while to sell at other times
If you hope to sell it to a music store (I’m always looking) keep in mind most stores buy wholesale and so what you are hoping to sell-it on facebook is likely close to their buy price for something that is brand new, albeit this doesn’t include setup costs.
Things that devalue a violins sale price include the condition of the case, the bow (how much hair is on it), how long have the strings been on the instrument (quality strings lose their timbre after about a year). Are the pegs sticking (they need to be serviced) and what is the condition of the bridge – many student violins have bent or warped bridges. When I take a trade in instrument or a secondhand instrument I find these things when replaced are close to the value of the instrument.
Grandmas violin (old violins)
A lot of people have a family violin that has been handed down and sat in a cupboard for many years. There is a notion that because it’s old it must be valuable, esp. if it bears the label Stradavarius (or other spelling variant ) and a date from the 1700, 1800’s. Many of these violins were made in factories in the date, the label often being a way to inflate its value or at best is telling the customer that this is the style of instrument it was made in.
Older instruments generally need quite a bit of restoration work to get them playable usually include peg replacement , nut replacement, new bridge, new sound post, new tail piece and of course strings. A bow is a certainty and usually a case replacement (despite the fact the old case could be beautiful it usually requires los of work…and isn’t very protective). Then there is attention to any open seams, cracks and often a neck reset is needed. oft time the cost of repair approaches the value of a new good quality student instrument.
There are telltale signs of quality instruments , but often it’s only after it’s strung up and played that you can really know. Labels by makers can give a good indication (thought there are plenty of fake labels available for the unscrupulous). The carving of the scroll gives a clue to the attention to detail by the make, the grade of the timbers used and the methods of construction are another clue as well as the condition it presents in.
The Axiom violin is only $99 and is seriously impressive for the price BUT!!!
Actually you get a lot of violin for you money with the Axiom violin, the violin looks beautiful, the case is on par with student violins BUT….
So here is my axiom violin review….
You get a lovely looking instrument, with seemingly all the hall marks of quality with a spruce top and flamed maple back, a nice case, the bow is serviceable if a little soft…so when you see it for sale for $99 its amazing value money! If your looking for an instrument to play and learn on though it’s not without its challenges.
First up the setup – the Axiom violins I have seen come with bridges too high (NOTE: this may be because its been out in the wild a while and with Qld humidity you get movement) . Though the owner of Axiom assures me all instruments are setup (see violin setups) . The running gear isn’t ebony (the pegs might be but the fingerboard isn’t) – fair enough ebony is expensive and your only laying out $99. Finetuner are serviceable , strings are OK (the usual beginner steel strings)
Secondly, the bow, which makes half the sound is a rosewood bow and they are generally too soft to play on. Ok for a few months but you really want a Brazil wood or better bow.
Critically though how does it sound?. The Axioms sound Ok up to a point ….. the reason is the timbers. You can’t carve a violin top and bottom plate for $99 there is just too much about in it. Instead the Axiom uses very thing plywood, with lovely spruce and maple veneers and presses them into shape. I get it its quick, so reduces the labour and skilled labour costs so you can do it all for $99. the problem with ply woods (this looks to be 5 ply) is the cross grains of each layer and the glues in between…yes they give it great strength but impede its ability to vibrate so the tone is sacrificed. (See inside a plywood violin here)
In fairness to the Axiom its targeting the lower end of the market and its good value for money for what it is (some people would call them a VSO) , recently they have brought out some higher end instruments but I haven’t come across these.
My verdict, if you can get the instrument setup properly its probably OK for the money for the first few months of learning. The challenge is the cost of getting the instrument setup is approaching the cost of the violin…and if you put all that money towards a better instrument you would most likely be better off.
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!
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…….
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.
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.
One of the instruments I see a lot of are the Arioso violins, so here is a review. Its a popular instrument in Brisbane and I suspect what a lot of string teachers recommend. For $400 you get a lot of instrument (tonally and quality), of course add on spare strings and a shoulder pad and its closer to $500 though.
Mostly I see them as 3/4, as they are a step up from the entry level instrument you get your child when they are on a 1/2 size and not sure they are going to continue. Then by the time they are on a full size instrument they are ready for something quite a bit better (product placement see my new and preloved fullsize ). Having said all that they are great for a complete beginner regardless of size.
The Arioso violin (Simply for Strings instrument) is a nice looking instrument that comes in a variety of finishes from that classic Amber colour through to a darker stained antique look sold more recently. It fitted with quality ebony running gear, wittner style self adjusters and D’addario Prelude strings. These strings are a good match if you are just starting, but a bit underpowered otherwise. They are steel strings, so an upgrade of these to a synthetic core as your playing develops helps the violin keep pace with you (Thomastik Alphayu are what I refit them with usually, or perhaps Tonicas). I have seen Evah Pirazzi strings fitted to these violins, at $180 a set I think thats like Ferrari tires on a Hyundai though. Matching the strings to the instrument and player saves money and/or gets the most from the instrument and player (See my Violin String Selection Guide)
Nothing really goes wrong with these instruments, apart from misadventure at the hands of your 10yr old 😉 I see a few with some weakness around the end pin, so if you are in the market for one second hand check for a small split on the side timbers near the end pin (its not uncommon in young wood used in student instruments that is not all that seasoned) or an end pin pushed in too hard when made or dropped on. A small split here is cosmetic, but hiding behind that might be an issue with the internal end block, a tell tale sign is the angle of the end pin has been pulled up ( as there is a lot of tension from the strings pulling upwards).
A look inside an Arioso (see the inside $400 violin) shows why his might be so. To make a violin that sounds this good at this price some compromises need to be made, and usually thats where you can’t see it, there might be cleats to help the fit of the back, the end block’s been drilled out a bit quick and split, internal pieces might not quite fit together. The bass bar is carved, rather than fitted as seperate, which can be a strength and tone issue. But hey if you want all this, then you are paying for a master maker and need to spend quite a bit more.
Usually when an Arioso comes my way it needs some love, a string change, minor bridge work (or replacement), peg service, lubing the fine tuners, removing a few years of rosin and attending to any cosmetic chips and scratches. Pride and care in an instrument comes from playing one that looks good, your youngun needs something that looks nice and takes pride in it. The bow where needed is serviced or replaced too.
I tend to sell serviced Arioso from $150 up to around $250 mostly in 3/4 size depending on condition and new parts added. One of the nice things about an older secondhand instrument is the tone woods have had time to season a few more years and be played in a bit more – they actually sound better than new! (have a listen to a new and secondhand Montanari instrument sound comparison )
DISCLAIMER: I have no financial relationship with SFS
