miles

LOL So it might be a Chinese violin with a "real" Italian label. :-)

https://www.ebay.com/itm/263559798953?_trksid=p2471758.m4704 This violin was labeled as Italian, but it somehow looks like one of my Chinese-made violins. Am I mistaken?

Thank you all very much, Violadamore, Blank Face, Martin and lwl, in particular, for invaluable insights and advice. It clears up my confusions greatly. Rue, Recently, my daughter was selected from her YO to play in their chamber music. Since her ensemble is of full symphony orchestra, most of the string players are in high school (in fact, my daughter is the youngest, a 3rd grader) playing full size violins. She plays the first violin in the chamber music with a larger 1/4 violin, and has to work hard to be heard clearly. So we upgraded her to a 1/2 violin. Since she seems to be quite aspired to be a CM (who often has to play solo parts in their pieces), I thought I might as well start looking now and raking up, at least, some back up violins in the process. palousian Sorry for the failure to mention it was for a 3/4 violin as I posted another thread asking for advice about 3/4 violins. In my head, when I posted this thread, I was skeptical about the seller's claim the titled violin was a soloist or concert material. My apologize. I did not mean to trick you or play "cute"; I was simply confused and quite in disbelief of the seller's claim. Maybe if there is a demo video, I would be in a better position to judge as sospiri suggested. As always, thank you very much for your expert feedback. This forum never fails to help and educate me.

Josh, Martin and sospiri touched upon the topic. Martin's answer is exactly what I was looking for when I posed this question.

Hi palousian, I actually did not miss the size, which is I was looking for. Conceptually, I can understand your statement, "I am pretty certain that there isn't a 3/4-sized instrument on the planet that could do a decent job as a soloist instrument." On the other hand, I am wondering what size of violins those prodigies were playing when they played with world-class orchestras. That is, there must be some darn good fractional violins out there that can be used to perform with symphony orchestras. Yes, I know the chances to find such instruments on eBay are as good as winning a lottery.

It is an auction, and the market determines the price. No? I remember years back some people thought Jess's violins were expensive although they were auctioned on eBay (I think the statement was meant to be complimentary). Rue, I am looking for a good fractional violin, but the term, mass production, confuses me. I don't know whether the meaning of "mass production" back in the old days is the same as "mass production" today. Is mass production is the same in the old days the same as workshop or factory. I have not followed the violin world for a while, and in dire need of educational information.

Thank you all very much. I saw this listing on eBay: https://www.ebay.com/itm/Fine-Old-French-Labeled-Violin-Vuillaume-A-Paris-3-4-Size-in-Case-NR/263537974584?hash=item3d5c165d38:g:ctIAAOSwSz1aoLgk It looks so pretty and I tempted to get it. What stopped me from doing so is it was mass produced. Your expert comments just save me a few bucks! Thank you!

I understand that violins labeled Vuillaume a Paris Rue Croix Des Petits Champs 46 were mass produced. Can a mass-produced violin be good enough to be used as a soloist instrument? Thanks.

Done!

I, too, really appreciate your photos, and am not under any impression of being "commercialized" while reading your posts.

Nice! My kittens might be interested in visiting it.

Thank you, puckfandan and Jacob. After I submitted the post, I did and just finished reading a wonderful article by R. Ward. Again, thank you so much for the education!

Thank you very much, Jacob. Sorry, I was sure how the new rule worked and have been putting different photos up. I just upload the original ones. By the Markneukirchen cottage industry, do you mean factory or workshop? How about the wood used in the first violin (the first three photos)? Thanks again, miles

I am in search of a good 3/4 violin. These two look good to me. Can you help me ID them? Many thanks in advance. Miles

Thank you very much, monian!

Hi all, It's been a long time since I frequent this board. Recently, I acquired a small 3/4 or a large 1/2 violins, which needs new strings. I put 1/2 strings on (as it was sold as 1/2), but the pegs would not stay tight. So, I used compound to add some friction, but it did not help. Then I tried 1/2 - 3/4 violin string (Evah Pirazzi) on one peg, which stayed tight. The problem is that I prefer Vision, which only goes by 1/2 or 3/4, and they don't seem to have in between sizes. In this case, if I use 3/4 strings, will they be too large? I have problems putting a 4/4 strings on a small 4/4 violin--The pegs simply would not stay tight when I tried to tune the violin. Many thanks in advance.

My daughter and I are both taught by either Russian violinist or studied violin playing in Russia. Not only such image never happened in our lessons, but I can also say it with confidence that Russian violin teachers truly rock! I was thrilled to find a Russian violinist in our little town to teach my daughter. Although never a harsh word has been heard in the studio, my daughter daughter's bow hold and tone production amaze me. The best method book (for children anyway) I've seen is in Russian.

Thank you all soooo much for answering my posts. I started learning to play the violin as an adult learner. Because I am very petite (at that time wearing size 00, and now size 0 after having one child) and almost 5 feet tall, my teacher started me with a 3/4 violin and a 1/2 bow. I don't recall I had any problem bowing, such as bouncing or maintaining the "plane", but I do now. The reason that I switched to a 4/4 bow because my second teacher told me that longer bow is better for making music. She suggested that I left out parts of the bow if I could not reach the tip (or the frog for that matter). For some reason, after I used 4/4 bow, I started to have time maintaining the "plane" and bow often bounced as well. Just the other day, I rosined my soon-be-five-year-old daughter's brand new bow (1/8) and tried it on my violin as I rosined it, and I found it so much easier to handle my bow hand/arm--the bow did not bounce and I had no problem maintaining the "plane" with minimum effort. As a consequence, the 3/4 violin and 1/2 bow combo led me to thinking that maybe a short bow is right for me. Right now, I am using Berber chinrest (with Bonmusica shoulder rest). Berber is center mount, but the cup is still a bit more left positioned. I will try a Flesch cup and see how it goes. Again, thank you all very much, and Happy Holidays! miles

Happy Holidays! I think my 4/4 bow is way too long for me, and wonder how I can determine what size bow I should use. Many thanks in advance!

Howdy Oded! Thank you for the clarification! I will give it a shot with special care; I once broke my prescription glasses while I was cleaning them with clothes....

Hello skiiingfidder, Nice to hear from you! Thank you very much for the suggestion. I had a few things in mind in regard to the chin rest: (1) soft adjustable chin rest, which I saw on eBay (could not find it anywhere else?) and looks appealing from the photo: http://www.ebay.com/itm/ADJUSTABLE-VIOLIN-CHIN-REST-1-8-1-4-1-2-SOFT-NEW-/140356340550?pt=String_Instrument_Parts_Accessories&hash=item20ade3cb46 or (2) regular ebony guar. style chinrest one of these will be covered with chinrest pad or gel I am not sure whether it will work, but I really like the idea to cover the whole chinrest because mine hurts chin and neck. Many thanks also to Robertdo and Rue. Rue's violin is very beautiful, and the sponge looks like dust pad for make-up? I will actually try it on my violin, too.

Hello to all again! My daughter is four and shall start to take violin lessons soon. I am looking for shoulder rest for her, but cannot decide on which one to get: bon musica or play on air junior I have Bon Musica for myself and like it, but am afraid that it might be too "rigid" for the violin movement on her shoulder sine she just starts. Can you recommend a shoulder rest for a young beginner? Many thanks in advance! miles

Hello to all, I vaguely remember that years ago there were discussions about Wittner violin peg winder. The peg winder is recommended to be used for putting new strings. My question is the reverse: Does one need the winder to remove strings from Wittner pegs? I want to remove Wittner pegs current on a violin with all four strings and use them on another. Is it easy for me (quite a clumsy person I must say) to do myself without the winder? With the winder? Or should I just leave it to a luthier? My family and I moved from Chicago to a small town in Florida where violin shops are less than handful. Many thanks in advance! miles

Hi Fellow, Are you used to be yuan? Your posts remind me of him.