Garth E. Posted August 12, 2020 Report Share Posted August 12, 2020 Just wondering what the general opinion of Yita music Liu Xi workshop is. Are these decent student violins, fairly well made? I purchased a T19 10 years ago and thought it looked decent, however that was a student opinion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shelbow Posted August 12, 2020 Report Share Posted August 12, 2020 I have a Liu Xi T20 baroque violin I bought to test out baroque bows. It seems OK but the finishing is not the tidiest and the pegs could have been fitted better. I guess it depends which level of instrument you purchase. I have a Melody Woods violin that is think is finished better and has a nicer varnish but that also has imperfections. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rue Posted August 12, 2020 Report Share Posted August 12, 2020 I have a T20...minor finishing issues. Plays well for the price. (Bought a violin and a viola to see what they were all about...happy with both. Great for beginners or as a spare). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shelbow Posted August 12, 2020 Report Share Posted August 12, 2020 I was definitely tempted to get a Viola as some of them seem decent. I haven't had the chance yet though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeorgeH Posted August 12, 2020 Report Share Posted August 12, 2020 My son played one through 9th grade. It needed a new bridge, and he had geared pegs installed, but it was a good and attractive instrument for him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shelbow Posted August 12, 2020 Report Share Posted August 12, 2020 My T20, it was cheap like $250 shipped or something similar so I can't complain too much. It's quite bright in colour though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
baroquecello Posted August 12, 2020 Report Share Posted August 12, 2020 Good price/quality ratio. T20 is much better than T19, especially sound wise. The instruments do need a better setup than they come with. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Garth E. Posted August 12, 2020 Author Report Share Posted August 12, 2020 7 minutes ago, baroquecello said: T20 is much better than T19 I'm sure the T20 is a better quality instrument. My T19 just had a small varnish blemish which didn't bother me at all. Still a very nice violin. Also came with a decent beginner bow and case. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dpappas Posted August 12, 2020 Report Share Posted August 12, 2020 I bought one (A T20 "1715" strad model). I got it for 100 bucks plus shipping. It's ok. For $180, I can't imagine getting anything better. However, it does not compare to a good violin. I am defining good as a new, well set up workshop instrument that you might get for 1500-2500 USD. Even with a decent setup, it sound a little muted. But for a student instrument, it's very good for the money. I bought it as an experiment, and now I keep it around when my daughter wants to play. It's decent for what I spent, but it's a cheap instrument (the wood feels "green" to me). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shelbow Posted August 12, 2020 Report Share Posted August 12, 2020 Looks OK to me, I don't think any of them come perfectly finished or setup, but they are definitely usable with a bit of fiddling. They are better instruments than I could make. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rue Posted August 12, 2020 Report Share Posted August 12, 2020 They really are not that bad - speaking for the T20s, at any rate. Good value for the money. Much better than my 1960s/1970s "Made in Czechoslovakia" childhood instrument - which in turn, was better than the battered school pool instrument I started with... I'm always a bit surprised at how ready 'we' are to put all Chinese violins down as automatically inferior. They don't need as much tweaking as posts/opinions seem to indicate. Both the violin bow and the viola bow play well too. Is this a hold over from 'every Chinese instrument must be cr*p by default'? Stop comparing them to Strads...or Zygmuntowiczs or Burgesses...and they'll hold their own. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shelbow Posted August 12, 2020 Report Share Posted August 12, 2020 18 minutes ago, Rue said: They really are not that bad - speaking for the T20s, at any rate. Good value for the money. Much better than my 1960s/1970s "Made in Czechoslovakia" childhood instrument - which in turn, was better than the battered school pool instrument I started with... I'm always a bit surprised at how ready 'we' are to put all Chinese violins down as automatically inferior. They don't need as much tweaking as posts/opinions seem to indicate. Both the violin bow and the viola bow play well too. Is this a hold over from 'every Chinese instrument must be cr*p by default'? Stop comparing them to Strads...or Zygmuntowiczs or Burgesses...and they'll hold their own. I think that a lot of Chinese instruments are decent but then I am not a professional musician so perhaps I have a different view. Some of the violins made by Master Chinese makers are absolutely stunning. I am probably the only person in the world with this opinion, but I think that Master Chinese Violins could be a sleeper purchase. I think that they could well become quite valuable in the future both in China and abroad. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhilipKT Posted August 12, 2020 Report Share Posted August 12, 2020 I have two students with Yiya cellos. Each is very attractive. One sounds pretty amazing for the $800 price. The other(600$)sounds pretty meh, but ok for the money. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dpappas Posted August 12, 2020 Report Share Posted August 12, 2020 I am comparing the Liu Xi instrument I have to another Chinese workshop instrument, albeit of much higher quality, as our local shop orders many and sends back what they deem inferior. I'm open minded about what I play. One day I'd love to own a Burgess, or a Darnton, a Curtain, etc. A new instrument by a maker in the US (where I live) is a long-term dream but as a hobbyist player, I can't justify the high end purchase until all my kids are out of college and even then its a lot of money for someone who does not earn a living with the instrument. But to get back to my point, the Liu Xi is a decent instrument for what I paid. It's just my other Chinese instrument blows it out of the water, sound wise (and actually gets a lot of compliments from others who play it). Here are a few pics of my other instrument for comparison Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shelbow Posted August 12, 2020 Report Share Posted August 12, 2020 @dpappas who is the other maker? Could you pm me if you don't want to share publicly? Just wondering if it's something like Xue Ping Hu? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jul Posted August 12, 2020 Report Share Posted August 12, 2020 dpappas, my 2 cents. the chinrest and tailpiece seem not to belong to the instrument. The color match seems a bit weird. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dpappas Posted August 12, 2020 Report Share Posted August 12, 2020 59 minutes ago, Jul said: dpappas, my 2 cents. the chinrest and tailpiece seem not to belong to the instrument. The color match seems a bit weird. It is weird. I replaced the tailpiece with Castel boxwood and a boxwood chinrest. The pegs are wittner finetune. Hence the black color. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dpappas Posted August 13, 2020 Report Share Posted August 13, 2020 4 hours ago, Shelbow said: @dpappas who is the other maker? Could you pm me if you don't want to share publicly? Just wondering if it's something like Xue Ping Hu? It’s from the Amber Strings Workshop, Zhong Long Shen. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jo Stephens Posted August 13, 2020 Report Share Posted August 13, 2020 I used to own a T19, purchased as a returning adult student. This was an auction win that set me back only slightly more than a good set of strings. I did then spring for new strings so the cost doubled! But still a very good value student instrument and much nicer than Chinese violins I remember from my childhood. It was easy to play, correct string height etc but the sound was not as clear as my better violins, there was some bow hiss under the ear and lacked clarity in higher positions. So a good choice for a beginner but an intermediate player would need something better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Strad O Various Jr. Posted August 13, 2020 Report Share Posted August 13, 2020 Have you ever heard of the instruments of Sum Long Dong, I hear he's pretty good, much better that that Markneukirchen trade crxp!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hintergarden402 Posted August 13, 2020 Report Share Posted August 13, 2020 Looks & plays great for its price ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Garth E. Posted August 14, 2020 Author Report Share Posted August 14, 2020 Aren't you a pocket full of firecrackers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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