Selecting a violin for 8 year beginner (ebay listings)

[ChickenBeeMan]

Howdy,

My 8-year-old daughter is beginning violin lessons. I am looking for a decent 1/2 size violin for her to play until she is the appropriate size to play the violin my wife inherited from her great-grandfather. Until I know playing the violin is something my daughter will stick with long term, my budget for getting her a violin is $200. I have been looking at used violins on eBay and was hoping I could get some advice or suggestions. I am including some eBay listings I found that fit my price range but am open to just about anything. I would get any violin I purchase restringed. I am located in a major metro area in Texas, so also have access to several high-quality music stores.

Lewis and Son 1/2 size violin (made in Germany)

ER Pfretzschner Violin 1/2 with Bow and Case

Doreli 1/2 Violin Model 79 Outfit Carved Spruce Top w/ Bow Case Student Beginner

Becker 1/2 Size Violin with Hard Case Made in Romania NEEDS STRINGS Kaman 8183

Vintage 1966 Nagoya Suzuki 101RR Stradivarious Copy Violin 1/2 & Case As Is!

I appreciate your responses.

[GeorgeH]

Welcome to MN @ChickenBeeMan!

Check your local Craigslist and Facebook listings. Try to buy from somebody whose child stepped-up to a ¾ and was taking private lessons. That way, you have a better chance of getting a violin that is set-up properly and was used under the guidance of a teacher. Plus you don't have to pay shipping. Don't be afraid to bargain. Fractional violins are hard to sell (supply and demand).

Since you live in metro area, you could also check out local luthiers for rentals (not a music store). You might end up spending less than purchasing one new, and a luthier would more likely have it set-up well. Set-up is really important! Plus, you don't have to sell it later, and she will likely outgrow a ½ in less than 2 years.

What kind of violin did your wife inherit? Post some pictures.

 

[stringcheese]

Fleabay is the last place I'd get one. You are likely to buy somebody else's problems. If there is a knowledgeable violin dealer in your area start there. You may spend a little more, but you will get something your daughter can actually learn on. The advice above is actually pretty good.

[Woodland]

I think renting a quality instrument from a reputable string shop is a much wiser and more practical option than purchasing any of those brands. Most of those brands you listed are things I advise people to stay away from. I've seen customer after customer over the years who made an uninformed purchase that turned out to be a bad decision and a poor investment. A string shop that offers a good rental (i.e. Eastman). is more likely to have a better quality set-up with good strings and components, maintenance and repairs are typically covered with the rental fees and size exchanges are fast and convenient. If you live in a major metropolitan area try and find a local string shop.

[khunsakee]

If you're in the Houston area, Lisle Violin has several shops that rent outfits, at reasonable rates. They replace broken strings, bows, for free and, will know good teachers. This will give your daughter and yourself time to be sure that the instrument is right, for her. Also, (unless they've changed policy) rent goes towards purchase. They'll also allow trade-ins and upgrades. After a couple of years, both you and your daughter will be better prepared to make the decision to purchase.

Texas has a fantastic middle and high school orchestra programs, in which, each of my kids spent seven years. My youngest of them stuck with music and, now, teaches guitar, violin, viola and piano. He got to play at  Chicago Symphony Hall; his brother, at Carnegie Hall.

[violinnewb]

Honestly, if the fractional sized violin can produce sound, any violin will do for now.  

Look on Craigslist or other public market forums as suggested above.  $200 is the standard price from my experience.  The good news is, you can always resell to another person in your position because grade school kids getting into public school orchestra programs are not hard to find.

As it pertains to renting, I hope I do not offend any dealers here, but renting a fractional sized violin for a beginner seems somewhat wasteful to me.  I don't know what the going rate is, but let's say its $20 a month.  A beginner will likely use the violin at least a few months before deciding violin is not for him/her/they/it/other.  In that sense, yes, for about $100, you can rent a violin for 5 months.  But what if the student sticks with it?  You can buy a used cheap and playable fractional violin for anywhere between $100 and $200.  I know this because I tell the parents of my beginner students this advice and they get violins in this price range.  When they give up or need to upgrade, they turn around and sell those violins for almost the same price they bought them for.

When I started out, my teacher did not require an actual violin for the first month.  Instead, I used an empty cereal box with a ruler taped to it to simulate the neck and body of a real violin.  

You don't need a Strad or Guarneri to learn Hot Cross Buns.

[ChickenBeeMan]

Thanks for all the great responses so far!

As requested, here are some photos of the violin my wife inherited. 
 

Inherited violin

[GeorgeH]

18 hours ago, violinnewb said:

Honestly, if the fractional sized violin can produce sound, any violin will do for now.  

This is not quite true because some do sound much better than others, and it isn't related to price.

But even more than tone, set-up is really important for small hands, particularly the string action and bridge shape. Pegs that stay in place are also important.

[Spelman]

100% in agreement with the rental option being the best. You are not setting your daughter up for the highest possibility of success if you try to save a couple of bucks on her fiddle. If all the instrument can do is sound like a hoarse rooster, even in the best hands, how is that going to make her want to continue working at something that doesn't can't reward her work?

If you rent from a good shop, the violins will be decent, set up well, have a bow that works, strings that work, and be replaceable if a problem arises. Would you know how to judge those things before purchase?

The cost isn't all that much, you can probably get a lowest-level rental for $15 or less per month. That'll get you more than a year's worth of playing for $200, at which point you'll probably be onto the next size. Rental credits usually accrue for an eventual purchase, even though you have a full size fiddle for her, it might get you a bow or a backup bow or a nice case, etc.

Think how much lessons cost and what a tiny fraction of that cost you're saving with a cheap violin over the long term. You would not be spending your money wisely if the lessons' fees have a higher chance of being wasted on a child not wanting to continue.

As a teacher, I always encourage my students to get the best instrument in their hands as they can. A wonderful teacher I trained under always told her families to "Spend as much as you can, then a little more." The reward will be worth it.

[ChickenBeeMan]

Does anyone have an opinion on the Klaus Mueller Etude from Southwest Strings? What about the Franz Hoffman Amadeus from Shar Music?

[violinsRus]

14 hours ago, ChickenBeeMan said:

What about the Franz Hoffman Amadeus from Shar Music?

The Franz Hoffman instruments I've seen from Shar are just fine for beginners.  

[Theghostis]

On the subject of Shar violins, they have a clearance section with trade in instruments and sometimes they offer additional coupons. I've only tried their Carlo Lamberti line which is a bit more expensive than the Franz Hoffman, but it seemed like a decent beginner instrument.

 

@ChickenBeeMan Taking a look at the violin you inherited pictured above, it looks like it had a large top crack repaired in a bit of an amateur way and the pegbox looks a bit chewed at one of the peg holes. As someone who played a violin with very bad pegs that I could not learn to tune as a youth, I would highly urge you to make sure that the violin is in full working order before your child plays this instrument.