The best sounding violins

[JohnCockburn]

What's the difference between pro (orchestra) and pro (performing)? Have orchestras started just playing in private?

[zhiyi_zhang617]

4 hours ago, David Burgess said:

Your photo may be a little frightening,  if that is your impression of a desirable violin. I'll leave it at that, and will not go further.

Thank you.

 

 

[Rue]

Or...you could take some better photos...Better photos would really help!!! Er...what is that violin? Make? Age? Inquiring minds...

Also - are you clear as to what you "really" want?

1.  'Just' a good sound? Have your current violins played by a professional who puts them through their paces - then you can evaluate the sound for yourself. Maybe you already have what you really want.

2. An investment? Then sound might be irrelevant.

3. A more expensive violin so you feel like more a part of your "in" crowd? Also valid. I would have more confidence in my performance abilities (as an amateur) if I felt I was playing on an instrument that met whatever criteria everyone else was subscribing to.

 

[Violadamore]

On 11/3/2019 at 12:13 PM, Marty Kasprzyk said:

I don't believe anything except blind testing done by players. 

Attached is a study done with 10 instruments of different prices, ages, and country of origin.  It was done to see if there was any correlation between admittance measurements and player preferences (none). I plotted their player preference vs the violin price ($2,000 to $250,000) and found there is also no correlation in that price range spread. 

Dealers often work on a percent commission on sales price so they naturally don't want to sell inexpensive violins.

 

nantes2012_saitis.pdf 946.05 kB · 18 downloads

"The most-preferred violin D is a German instrument of the late 18th century. The second most-preferred violin G is a student level instrument from China." 

Well, I've got those two bases covered. 

 

 

[zhiyi_zhang617]

1 hour ago, Rue said:

Or...you could take some better photos...Better photos would really help!!! Er...what is that violin? Make? Age? Inquiring minds...

Also - are you clear as to what you "really" want?

1.  'Just' a good sound? Have your current violins played by a professional who puts them through their paces - then you can evaluate the sound for yourself. Maybe you already have what you really want.

2. An investment? Then sound might be irrelevant.

3. A more expensive violin so you feel like more a part of your "in" crowd? Also valid. I would have more confidence in my performance abilities (as an amateur) if I felt I was playing on an instrument that met whatever criteria everyone else was subscribing to.

 

Thank you, Rue.

While has an very old and worn Italian label, the violin in the picture believed to be a Füssen, ca. 1800 (or slightly earlier), based on the opinion of an expert.

I have a couple of nicer instruments (probably more valuable too). My skill level would not do a justice of them as my play would not be able to bring out their tonal potential.

You first point reminds me and is alarming. Once a professional played a couple of passages of Bruch g-minor on a violin I acquired in Prague years ago, a 1920s Bohemian DG copy from a known maker. Her only comment, after she played: "the violin has a very pure tone and you do not need to look for anything else."

Have not really thought of investment. What I have are not considered to be truly investment grade anyway. It would be great if they would hold their value overtime.

Not thinking of the more expensive, but still the better sounding (and of course good-looking). Maybe, my intention of the topic is to initiate the conversation with the experts at MN, thus to share our views on something we are probably all interested: tone vs. value. 

[Rue]

Thanks for letting us know what the violin is. That helps! 

BTW...please don't ever sell yourself short. I really feel that skill level has NOTHING to do with wanting (for any reason) a "better" violin. FWIW - use violin collectors as an example. Many can't play at all  - yet they are hoarding stockpiles of expensive instruments. 

If you can only play Twinkle, but you LOVE playing Twinkle on your Strad, and you look forward to your practice time, recitals, etc, then it's a beautiful relationship.

My violin is 'better' than me. I love it. I'll never outgrow it. I actually have gained confidence from that - I now know that if I don't sound good - it's on me and not the fault of my equipment.

Buy, play whatever instrument you really want. You will always have the goal, pleasure, of growing into it.

[morgana]

On ‎11‎/‎3‎/‎2019 at 8:53 PM, ilikewhey said:

jay haide and snow or scott cao is a hit or miss, i played 5 jay haide including european wood, only 1 of them was decent, the others did not project and felt heavy. maybe they are ok if you are on suzuki 3 where you can't really push the violin. 

i lucked out finding my recent purchase when looking for a back up fiddle, this luthier make his own but he travels to china often and took back a white body to finish, the completed violin was in my opinion better than most violin i tried sub 8k range, all the while being fraction of the price. 

Snow violins which where sold on eBay years ago I bought two, first one sounded good and played almost perfectly but was very graduated, thinly, had a paper layer of coloured spray type varnish and the maker died I was told. I sold them for £250, both. They are great as long as you realise that this maker, is dead. Long gone. V. Sad. Mean it, I am not being sarcastic at all. He was the raised grain, making teaching master. They had everything apart from the weight, depth and fullness of tone.

[Three13]

On 11/3/2019 at 11:44 PM, Blank face said:

And there's nothing I can find at them (based on the Cozio archive photos) excluding that they were made from Schönbach white boxes, too.

On Monday, I had a very nice Ignaz Anton Lutz in hand. It was unquestionably built on an inside mold, the varnish was spectacular, and it sounded truly fantastic. If he'd settled in Italy and changed his name to Luzzo, I think people would be paying an arm and a leg for his stuff. 

[Blank face]

1 hour ago, Three13 said:

On Monday, I had a very nice Ignaz Anton Lutz in hand. It was unquestionably built on an inside mold, the varnish was spectacular, and it sounded truly fantastic. If he'd settled in Italy and changed his name to Luzzo, I think people would be paying an arm and a leg for his stuff. 

Maybe he changed at some point to Mittenwald boxes?

Don't misunderstand me, there was nothing wrong during this period to start from bought in parts or white boxes. Many makers did alike, usually all of the German "Großstadtgeigen" were made from this (though many makers stated nonetheless "selfmade in all parts") and hearsay knows that this was done in Italy, too.

Actually I have such a Big City violin on my bench, made in Lausanne/Switzerland 1910 with a fantastic oil varnish, spectacular woods and I expect it to sound dreamlike once set up neatly. The pinched rib corners clearly identify it as made from a Schönbach box, and though the maker was born in Breslau he probably changed his name later to Alfredo di Formica. Looks like this

http://galerie.geigenbauer.ch/index.php?id=808

[deans]

1 hour ago, Three13 said:

Ignaz Anton Lutz

Yes, the ones I've seen were really good. But not cheap, more than many contemporary Italians.

[lwl]

For a player, I think you do not want to buy an instrument of a higher quality than you are able to grow into -- i.e. it doesn't need to be ideal for your current playing level, but if it's beyond you now, you should be able to get from where you are now to the point where the instrument sounds excellent in your hands within a reasonable amount of time (probably weeks to a few months for someone whose playing level is fairly stable, but years for a student who is making significant progress).

The strengths and weaknesses and quirks of your personal technique, especially with regard to sound production, is going to be a major influence on how a particular violin sounds in your hands. What it would sound like in someone else's hands is largely irrelevant.