Rudoulf Doetsch VL701

[ViolinQuestion2018]

What is your opinion on this line of violins?

[duane88]

Decent student violin if set-up properly. Imported and sold by Eastman Strings. 

[ViolinQuestion2018]

I have one.  What price range should I look at if I want to upgrade?

[The Violin Beautiful]

I agree that they’re not bad as student violins, although they’re nowhere near as good as the original ones from before the Doetsch name was sold to Eastman. If you can find an old one it’ll be worth considering. 

[ViolinQuestion2018]

How do the Eastman ones compare to other violins at the price?

Edited December 31, 2018 by ViolinQuestion2018

[deans]

Yes the early Weaver shop ones from the 1980s/90s were something of a revolution in student violins in that time and area. They really knew how to tweak those German boxes. I still have one that gets a lot of use.  I cant say Ive seen an Eastman version, reports are they dont sound as good.

[duane88]

2 hours ago, deans said:

Yes the early Weaver shop ones from the 1980s/90s were something of a revolution in student violins in that time and area. They really knew how to tweak those German boxes. I still have one that gets a lot of use.  I cant say Ive seen an Eastman version, reports are they dont sound as good.

Agreed. The Eastman incarnations don't sound as good without taking the top off.

[Jeff White]

8 hours ago, deans said:

Yes the early Weaver shop ones from the 1980s/90s were something of a revolution in student violins in that time and area. They really knew how to tweak those German boxes. I still have one that gets a lot of use.  I cant say Ive seen an Eastman version, reports are they dont sound as good.

I  have a Weaver shop one (Viola), it sounds great.  

[ViolinQuestion2018]

Are the Eastman ones good for the price?  $2k violins are all student violins, but some are very good.  My eastman has a very loud sound with Titanium Solo Strings.

[duane88]

16 hours ago, ViolinQuestion2018 said:

Are the Eastman ones good for the price?  $2k violins are all student violins, but some are very good.  My eastman has a very loud sound with Titanium Solo Strings.

Titanium Solos will make a shoebox sound loud.

What about the quality of the sound.

[deans]

Just took a look at the Eastman web page, 17 different levels of student violins. Sometimes too much choice is a bad thing.

[Tom Fid]

There's a lot of variation from instrument to instrument within a line, especially once you add differences in setup. Best bet is to take along someone with a good ear to listen while you play (and vice versa), or get several different instruments on trial.