valium Posted May 25, 2003 Report Share Posted May 25, 2003 Could anyone comment on these Chinese instruments in terms of their quality and price? color> color> Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guarneri del Gesu Posted May 25, 2003 Report Share Posted May 25, 2003 Typical Chinese.... Guarneri del Gesu Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nemesis Posted May 25, 2003 Report Share Posted May 25, 2003 meaning? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guarneri del Gesu Posted May 25, 2003 Report Share Posted May 25, 2003 Generally cheap; Always good looking; Sounds fine when your first got it, after years of playing, they doesn't sound any good at all. Some of them are too expensive for semi-factory made violins from China. Don't be blinded by their appearances. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guarneri del Gesu Posted May 25, 2003 Report Share Posted May 25, 2003 Mostly spirite vanish. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nicolo Posted May 25, 2003 Report Share Posted May 25, 2003 Those are interesting observations. I agree that the eye appeal of Chinese violins can be deceptive, but had not heard much about how they hold up as over time. I have bought and sold four Chinese violins in the past year, reworking each one to a greater or lesser extent, depending on what they needed. At a minimum, they all needed to be set up properly. They turned out quite well, but one in particular had an extremely beautiful and expressive voice, way beyond expectations. It was 100 percent consistent on all strings and had great depth, character, and carrying power. It would be interesting to hear it again after a few years, but it’s gone now. Sold it to a lady who was visiting from Japan. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Darnton Posted May 25, 2003 Report Share Posted May 25, 2003 I doubt there's any long-term degradation problem with Chinese violins as a class that's special to them *and* unable to be fixed. They do, however, vary a lot, depending on the source, and there's a pig-in-a-poke aspect to buying them. The first three I bought were undifferentiated by the person who sold them to me, yet very different in quality, both internally and externally, and ones from different shops are as different as from any other different shops are. Perhaps the biggest problem I've heard of came to me under the name of using fresh, wet wood, but I've since then I've discovered that the choice of wood varies among shops, and is often dried just fine, but that the shops are located in the US equivalent of the Everglades, in a very hot, damp area, so it's almost inevitable that they react and change when coming to drier climates. That's not a deadly problem, though--we have the same one bringing old cellos from England. :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nicolo Posted May 26, 2003 Report Share Posted May 26, 2003 The "unable to be fixed" part is probably hitting the nail on the head. After a few years of settling in, any new violin might be due for a readjustment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elidatrading Posted May 26, 2003 Report Share Posted May 26, 2003 I've just realised who they are. The P100 P200 and P300 are sold wholesale in the UK by http://www.thesoundpost.co.uk as the Primavera, Prima 200 and Prima 300. I don't think that can be a trade secret since these days they all come with the violmaster label still on! We sell them so I know them very well. In brief: better than most cheap student violins (including Stentor) but not a patch on .... um ... sorry that is a trade secret!! Liz Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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