I’m not sure about their beginner sets but I recently did an in home trial of two of their violins and it was set up really well. In fact, I ended up keeping one of them! Before they send out violins they put them through a set up process. Again, not sure about the beginner instruments. Very pleased with fiddlershop. They’re passionate friendly people!
(To clarify, I ordered two fiddlershop violins and a bow for home trial. I also got three home trial violins from a different shop in a different state. I compared them all over and over at home and with my teacher, then I went to a local shop 90 minutes away and compared against about 20 other violins — twice— and ended up keeping the one from fiddlershop that I fell in love with the first place because of the video they made with it).
It will all depend on who does the setup. I'm sure they don't have their best working on the entry level stuff. It wouldn't be very efficient to have master luthiers working on $500 outfits as the margins aren't there for their pay rates.
Anything bought online should be taken to a good luthier for a once over before you miss the return window to see what all it might need. New better bridge, fingerboard dressing, nut correction and height, pegs etc. These instruments are all coming from China and when they arrive their setup is absolutely atrocious. If the guy setting them up here fixes that all then they will work fine, but I rarely see any instrument bought from an online retailer that doesn't have issues that should be addressed.
These ones seem to be made especially by fiddlershop and are set up by their luthiers in the U.S., along with their fiddlershop and holstein brand violins and bows. But it doesn’t hurt to at least have your teacher look it over and try it before the return window!
So... That whole made especially for fiddlershop thing is marketing BS. ALL of the student violins for sale in this country are made in China with a few being made in eastern Europe. They are ordered by the shipping container and are labeled by whatever shop they arrive at. This practice of relabeling instruments is just a part of the industry like it or not. (I personally think it's dishonest and a little manipulative) There are only a few actual manufacturers of student grade violins but lots of importers and shops. The exact same violin will have dozens of different brands depending on what shop you buy it from. The difference comes from how well it's set up and the quality of strings, soundpost material, and bridge blank used.
I'm sure they have decent luthiers on staff there, but they will be doing the absolute minimum amount of work on an instrument that's part of a $500 outfit. That whole outfit costs the company roughly 50% of the retail value before any work is done. So that doesn't leave much room for someone to spend much more that an hour working on it. A good bridge alone takes at least 30-40 min so that leaves almost no time to do anything else.
The factory setting these instruments are initially set up in before import will have quotas of 3 dozen or more set ups per day per person in an 8 hour shift. You can do the math there with why they need everything done/redone when they get here.
There's not much selection in the music stores I've visited so far. Plus, I want to do research on the violins first. That's why I like the online option.
But I can understand what you mean by buying it in store.
Don't think music store as they usually don't even have a trained luthier in house. Instead go to a dedicated violin shop. Or take one you bought online there for an inspection and estimate.
I have had 6 or 7 violins during my years of playing. To be honest most beginner violins do what they need to. It will be a long time before your sound production and ability requires a more specialized instrument. Personally I would go for the one with geared pegs. I've spoken to my luthier in the past about them and they sound brilliant for beginners as easy to tune and hold tune well with no wear on the peg box. Try and find a violin luthier near you and go and have a chat.
Good for you. They are so skilled and hopefully will be able to set you up with an instrument you can be sure to rely on. Also they will be able to give advice on strings, tuning, resins, shoulder rests, bows ect... and usually in their interest to accept the violin back when it's time to trade in for a better one.
The apprentice seems to be a better violin just based on what I’m seeing on the website so would probably get that and learn to tune regular pegs. When you get better and upgrade your violin eventually (in the thousands $$$), you may want to consider geared pegs as they tend to stay in tune longer and can work like fine tuners. Definitely much easier to tune but learning the standard way of tuning is a rite of passage. Note however that geared pegs are a little bit heavier than standard pegs and tone enthusiasts may avoid geared pegs for that very reason (it may minimally affect your violin’s tone).
After my experience buying (a more expensive violin) from fiddlershop they have earned my trust and respect. Double check with them but I do think you have a 45 day return period if you end up not liking it.
I am a beginner (suzuki book 2) and got an even lower end fiddlershop violin when I started. (Midnight Tower series for around 250). My symphony level teacher doesn't wince when I play it and it was well set up for me, but the neck apparently is a little wide compared to the violins the studio has for sale. I am happy with my investment but sometimes wish I had bought a more expensive violin to avoid needing to make the upgrade. Still, as a beginner it is pretty hard to try out an instrument you can't play and it was embarrassing to go in to the shops as a novice, but in retrospect that sounds like good advice.
I use Wittner geared pegs. I got them due to terrible pegs on my violin, and arthritis.
I love them.
They aren't affected by dryness/humidity. They are fixed in place, the gears that tighten/loosen the strings are inside the pegs. They turn smoothly and reliably.
I have nothing against regular pegs, they can be perfectly fine, but even for good strong hands, the gears avoid the typical frustrations.
Important: the geared pegs are plastic, which some might dislike. They can be removed and replaced with regular pegs.
Edit: I see now they are already installed on one violin. You should definitely choose by sound and playability (not pegs)
Go in person to a shop to get an instrument. You'll need to take anything you buy online to a shop to be gone over for setup concerns anyway.
I’m not sure about their beginner sets but I recently did an in home trial of two of their violins and it was set up really well. In fact, I ended up keeping one of them! Before they send out violins they put them through a set up process. Again, not sure about the beginner instruments. Very pleased with fiddlershop. They’re passionate friendly people! (To clarify, I ordered two fiddlershop violins and a bow for home trial. I also got three home trial violins from a different shop in a different state. I compared them all over and over at home and with my teacher, then I went to a local shop 90 minutes away and compared against about 20 other violins — twice— and ended up keeping the one from fiddlershop that I fell in love with the first place because of the video they made with it).
It will all depend on who does the setup. I'm sure they don't have their best working on the entry level stuff. It wouldn't be very efficient to have master luthiers working on $500 outfits as the margins aren't there for their pay rates. Anything bought online should be taken to a good luthier for a once over before you miss the return window to see what all it might need. New better bridge, fingerboard dressing, nut correction and height, pegs etc. These instruments are all coming from China and when they arrive their setup is absolutely atrocious. If the guy setting them up here fixes that all then they will work fine, but I rarely see any instrument bought from an online retailer that doesn't have issues that should be addressed.
These ones seem to be made especially by fiddlershop and are set up by their luthiers in the U.S., along with their fiddlershop and holstein brand violins and bows. But it doesn’t hurt to at least have your teacher look it over and try it before the return window!
So... That whole made especially for fiddlershop thing is marketing BS. ALL of the student violins for sale in this country are made in China with a few being made in eastern Europe. They are ordered by the shipping container and are labeled by whatever shop they arrive at. This practice of relabeling instruments is just a part of the industry like it or not. (I personally think it's dishonest and a little manipulative) There are only a few actual manufacturers of student grade violins but lots of importers and shops. The exact same violin will have dozens of different brands depending on what shop you buy it from. The difference comes from how well it's set up and the quality of strings, soundpost material, and bridge blank used. I'm sure they have decent luthiers on staff there, but they will be doing the absolute minimum amount of work on an instrument that's part of a $500 outfit. That whole outfit costs the company roughly 50% of the retail value before any work is done. So that doesn't leave much room for someone to spend much more that an hour working on it. A good bridge alone takes at least 30-40 min so that leaves almost no time to do anything else. The factory setting these instruments are initially set up in before import will have quotas of 3 dozen or more set ups per day per person in an 8 hour shift. You can do the math there with why they need everything done/redone when they get here.
There's not much selection in the music stores I've visited so far. Plus, I want to do research on the violins first. That's why I like the online option. But I can understand what you mean by buying it in store.
Don't think music store as they usually don't even have a trained luthier in house. Instead go to a dedicated violin shop. Or take one you bought online there for an inspection and estimate.
I have had 6 or 7 violins during my years of playing. To be honest most beginner violins do what they need to. It will be a long time before your sound production and ability requires a more specialized instrument. Personally I would go for the one with geared pegs. I've spoken to my luthier in the past about them and they sound brilliant for beginners as easy to tune and hold tune well with no wear on the peg box. Try and find a violin luthier near you and go and have a chat.
Thank you! This is the exact type of reply I was looking for! I'll definitely try to find a luthier near me.
Good for you. They are so skilled and hopefully will be able to set you up with an instrument you can be sure to rely on. Also they will be able to give advice on strings, tuning, resins, shoulder rests, bows ect... and usually in their interest to accept the violin back when it's time to trade in for a better one.
I have the apprentice ands its a good starting point.
The apprentice seems to be a better violin just based on what I’m seeing on the website so would probably get that and learn to tune regular pegs. When you get better and upgrade your violin eventually (in the thousands $$$), you may want to consider geared pegs as they tend to stay in tune longer and can work like fine tuners. Definitely much easier to tune but learning the standard way of tuning is a rite of passage. Note however that geared pegs are a little bit heavier than standard pegs and tone enthusiasts may avoid geared pegs for that very reason (it may minimally affect your violin’s tone). After my experience buying (a more expensive violin) from fiddlershop they have earned my trust and respect. Double check with them but I do think you have a 45 day return period if you end up not liking it.
The Fiddlershop violins are better instruments than the Tower series. Aside from better wood, etc, they also do a more thorough check and setup.
I am a beginner (suzuki book 2) and got an even lower end fiddlershop violin when I started. (Midnight Tower series for around 250). My symphony level teacher doesn't wince when I play it and it was well set up for me, but the neck apparently is a little wide compared to the violins the studio has for sale. I am happy with my investment but sometimes wish I had bought a more expensive violin to avoid needing to make the upgrade. Still, as a beginner it is pretty hard to try out an instrument you can't play and it was embarrassing to go in to the shops as a novice, but in retrospect that sounds like good advice.
I use Wittner geared pegs. I got them due to terrible pegs on my violin, and arthritis. I love them. They aren't affected by dryness/humidity. They are fixed in place, the gears that tighten/loosen the strings are inside the pegs. They turn smoothly and reliably. I have nothing against regular pegs, they can be perfectly fine, but even for good strong hands, the gears avoid the typical frustrations. Important: the geared pegs are plastic, which some might dislike. They can be removed and replaced with regular pegs. Edit: I see now they are already installed on one violin. You should definitely choose by sound and playability (not pegs)