spolaconda Posted January 20, 2016 Report Posted January 20, 2016 Hello everyone, I am currently in the market for a new violin. Hoping for a step up from my $1000 infinite strings master build violin. I saw infinite strings' new private stock violins and wanted to know how they compare to the Jay Haide (special and non-special edition violins), and the Scott Cao STV-1500. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.
MaestronetLurker Posted January 20, 2016 Report Posted January 20, 2016 No substitute for going in to the shop in person and trying instruments. Wouldn't hurt to try a couple shops. Haide violins can be decent student instruments when well set up, but at the level that you're shopping the quality of setup is pretty important. I haven't tried the other brands that you mentioned.
Dwight Brown Posted January 20, 2016 Report Posted January 20, 2016 If you had , lets say, 5 violins of the same make and model all set up well you would probably find that no two are exactly the same. Try as many as you can. Depending on your instrument you might be amazed how much a set of new 1st class strings would improve it. A good bow helps a lot too. DLB
MaestronetLurker Posted January 20, 2016 Report Posted January 20, 2016 I agree with Dwight. I deliberately adjust in-house instruments to have wide variability in tone. It's a useful exercise in tonal adjustment, but also gives more choice for customers. I've had teachers make comments such as "I love how different they are!" When trying similar models of factory instruments with different adjustments.
deans Posted January 20, 2016 Report Posted January 20, 2016 I dont know much about infinite violins. I always thought the Jay Haides were among the better Chinese, and the higher grade Caos are good too. But I dont think going from one Chinese violin to a slightly better one makes a lot of sense. I might suggest waiting until you have enough money to look at things significantly better, and that will be a variety of things.
mmmm Posted January 20, 2016 Report Posted January 20, 2016 Yes, I didn't buy one, but I've played about ten different Jay Haides all at once and you'd be amazed how one or two will be significantly better than the others...set up? Who knows. And that includes the special edition vs. non special edition...it's best to go somewhere and try as many as possible. If you find a great one, it can be a terrific value. But to be honest, most don't rise to that very high standard. Snow violins can also be very good... But I agree, you may want the next level up...and in the meantime try investing in experimenting with the set-up of your current fiddle...
Dwight Brown Posted January 20, 2016 Report Posted January 20, 2016 The other thought that may not go down all that well here is: Don't get too caught up in the hardware thing. I find that it takes quite a long time to learn an instrument and really be able to commune with the thing. I should also point out that I do not take my own advice........ At present I have two violins that I cannot keep my hands off of and I find switching a bit odd. Does not seem to stop me though. I am mostly in love with my new Joshua Beyer copy of the Chanot-Chardon Stradivari. It is wonderfully easy to play and like almost every instrument it is far better than I deserve! DLB
joerobson Posted January 20, 2016 Report Posted January 20, 2016 Hello everyone, I am currently in the market for a new violin. Hoping for a step up from my $1000 infinite strings master build violin. I saw infinite strings' new private stock violins and wanted to know how they compare to the Jay Haide (special and non-special edition violins), and the Scott Cao STV-1500. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you. There are other better choices in that price range. PM or email me and we can talk about it. Joe
Marty Kasprzyk Posted January 20, 2016 Report Posted January 20, 2016 You might consider going to a VSA competition or something similar and look at a few hundred violins. Some of them might be very reasonably priced. At one time I would have sold one of mine for enough money to get out of the hotel's parking ramp.
Jeffrey Holmes Posted January 20, 2016 Report Posted January 20, 2016 Hello everyone, I am currently in the market for a new violin. Hoping for a step up from my $1000 infinite strings master build violin. I saw infinite strings' new private stock violins and wanted to know how they compare to the Jay Haide (special and non-special edition violins), and the Scott Cao STV-1500. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you. I'm not sure what Joe has in mind, or if you can wait until the next VSA competition, but there are certainly a large number of imports available in the general range you are asking about. My personal viewpoint is that (as MaestronetLurker mentioned) within certain parameters, in this range, it's the attention to the setup (thinning the board and reshaping, properly shaping the nut, bridge, post, an appropriately sized tailpiece, peg installation and when appropriate, the release and re-gluing of the bouts to relieve the tension due to humidity differences between the country of manufacture and your own environment) that will separate instruments that are OK from ones that perform well... I don't know where you're located, but you may want to poke around and select a shop with a good reputation for setup and try this range of instrument there. In addition, I know that a few members here produce some nice fiddles that aren't too much more expensive than the Haide "special"... but finding and trying them might take a bit more effort (no centralized sourcing).
Violadamore Posted January 21, 2016 Report Posted January 21, 2016 You could always buy some nice "rubbish" and learn luthiery.
joerobson Posted January 21, 2016 Report Posted January 21, 2016 I'm not sure what Joe has in mind, or if you can wait until the next VSA competition, but there are certainly a large number of imports available in the general range you are asking about. My personal viewpoint is that (as MaestronetLurker mentioned) within certain parameters, in this range, it's the attention to the setup (thinning the board and reshaping, properly shaping the nut, bridge, post, an appropriately sized tailpiece, peg installation and when appropriate, the release and re-gluing of the bouts to relieve the tension due to humidity differences between the country of manufacture and your own environment) that will separate instruments that are OK from ones that perform well... I don't know where you're located, but you may want to poke around and select a shop with a good reputation for setup and try this range of instrument there. In addition, I know that a few members here produce some nice fiddles that aren't too much more expensive than the Haide "special"... but finding and trying them might take a bit more effort (no centralized sourcing). Jeffery, I'm just being circumspect. Joe
Jeffrey Holmes Posted January 21, 2016 Report Posted January 21, 2016 Jeffery, I'm just being circumspect. Joe I was hoping you knew about some fiddles I didn't! I have limited experience with what's new in this range... but past a certain point, I just think the setup is the critical factor.
l33tplaya Posted January 21, 2016 Report Posted January 21, 2016 Mmmmmmmm Leica.......... DLB Like. Champagne tastes, beer budget.
finger Posted February 4, 2017 Report Posted February 4, 2017 When did you buy the master build for $1000 ? I only see $1600 price?
Jeff Jetson Posted February 4, 2017 Report Posted February 4, 2017 Jeffrey mentioned above as a possible adjustment the release and regluing of bouts because of humidity changes between where the instrument was made and where it will end up. I have not heard of this adjustment before and would like to know if it is commonly done and how much it costs. I take it a knife is carefully inserted in these areas and then glued again.
Berl Mendenhall Posted February 4, 2017 Report Posted February 4, 2017 I believe Kono's have a good reputation for sound. They are a Japanese import. I have no idea where you can get one to try, I've just heard some good things about their sound. Not even sure what they retail for, but I think somewhere around $3000.
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