Ok, need to buy a violin again

She should be changing within the next few months. Probably best to change the size before doing her grade 7 so she has time to get used to it. I have tracked down the luthier who sourced her half size and he is willing to do a part ex on a similar instrument so I will see how much that is going to cost. Will probably spend a few hours there...fun day trip her violin teacher has also suggested trying a few different bows. He is very keen it 'feels and sounds right' so hopefully she will be able to find something suitable in our budget. He loves her current violin so is adamant we get something at least as good.
If I decide not to part-ex then I will have to sell the half privately to help cover costs of the new one, but if the part ex equals what I paid for it, then I will go for it.
PM me if you and your DD are interested in having a look at it. It may be that you guys live too far away!

Schmedz need to think about this one - we are in the exchange programme at the moment and would prefer if we could use that to our advantage.

When do you think your dd would be moving up?

Lucky boy! Enjoy the music making ??

Meant to add that I have also been very impressed with Elidatrading. They know their stuff and are not anywhere as expensive as other retailers.

Curious - yes, looking for a 3/4. DD using a lovely bargain 1/2 size we found on ebay and has been the most FANTASTIC violin ever. It is a Cantabile set up by Soundpost in Guildford. Paid £200 and it sounds incredible. She is just about ready for a 3/4 but to upgrade size and quality is proving tricky for anywhere near that budget. I would love to find a good secondhand Gliga Gama (or maestro) because she is grade 7 at the moment so is going to need something to last her to diploma level...she just doesn't seem to grow!! Love the Paesold 807 model too, but can only find a full size secondhand one at the moment and it is WAY over our budget.

Maggie the cat - I can't recommend my DDs half size highly enough! Maybe we could set up some sort on online mumsnet violin trading....

Inclined to agree with Cingolimama -
My DD has used two Gliga violins now (1/4 and 1/2 sizes) and her extremely critical teacher was astonished at the richness of the tone and quality of the sound and was forced to eat humble pie regarding internet violin purchases in this instance. We went via Elida trading as well and both violins came fully set up by their Luthier with no problems. DD also has a Max Jorge Artist's ( Chinese violin made exclusively for Newtons, Merstham - about £300 for the violin only) which , if you're inclined to go down the physical shop route, I recommend as well . It's projection packs quite a punch - the Gliga beats it hands down on all fronts though .........

Swap to trumpet - much more straight forward.

Agree Clara!
The shoe analogy is the one our violin shop uses, it's not perfect, but what they are basically saying is TRY THE VIOLINS OUT!

When we bought ds1 and ds2's current violins we borrowed a few on approval, so they could try them out over time. And when dd bought her cello, she didn't like the bow, so we tested about 40 of them, and she found the one she loved.

What cities are you close to? Maybe we can help with recommendations of violin shops.

Violins are not at all like shoes; they are all different from each other, so if you try several Stentor Messinas, one of them might be much better than another. (Presumably 2 pairs of size 6 Adidas in the same model will be identical.)

A good violin shop will set the instrument up well and make sure it has decent strings. Bows make a big difference too.

If your child is so advanced, having a good instrument will make an enormous difference.

Similarly bows!

cingolimama, it's not a perfect analogy(!), but I do think it is well worth trying violins out, to find the one that fits your technique and style.

I only spent £60 on DD's violin but second the suggestion to try out first.
Perhaps local buy on Ebay, but go and view/try it before bidding.

Dd has been on a quarter size for 2 years ( very petite and teacher reluctant to change size). Grade 5 standard but when she changes violin (hopefully soon) can anyone suggest a good half size since she will probably do grades 6-7 and possibly even 8 on it.

Mistle could you kindly PM me the violin repairer's contact details (if you'd be happy to)? Thinking of future violins...

I found a lovely 1/2 for under £200 (old German) and have just got a 3/4 for a similar amount - again, a nice old violin that has a very sweet tone, particularly compared to anything new. DS has just moved up to it - he is 8. If you look in the right instrument shop you might be lucky - clearly you won't be looking in the posh ones. However, the one I've got ours from has a lovely violin repairer who regularly goes to auctions and buys up violins to do up and sell for around that amount - if he knew you were looking he would specifically look out for you and ring you if he got something in that looked hopeful.

Um, Lily... people buy shoes online all the time! It's one of the fastest growing e-commerce areas.

Yes, sometimes reputable violin shop can sort you out. I bought my daughter's first violin (a nice used German 1/4) at a London shop and was very happy with it. But too often stores simply don't have the stock (particularly in less than full sizes) unless you want a bog standard Stentor. Also, their prices must reflect high overhead costs.

Best thing to do is to go to a reputable violin shop and try loads out - different violins suit different people, so what one person likes will not be great for another.

As our violin shop says "you wouldn't buy a pair of shoes without trying them on!".

HI, could I urge you to consider a Gliga? I heard about them from an ABSRM forum and got one for my daughter. They are hand-made in Romania, look and sound stupendous, and are phenomenal value (I think a 3/4 is around £300) Believe me, they blow the Stentors and Yamahas out of the water. Available online:
www.elidatrading.co.uk

ps: and grade 8 is ALWAYS IMPRESSIVE.

yeah, I think DD's might have only been for 12 months, she hires so I can't be sure. I would check on that, anyway. Roughly end of y5 to start of y7.

Curious.

In 2-3 years he will be playing on a full size one though, I believe.
I know it depends on arm length and of course their growth spurt but my dd 10 only had her 3/4 size for about 6 months and is on full size now and about the same standard as your ds.
Her teacher said it was by no means unusual for dc of latter primary/early secondary to not get much use out of a particular size.

But are you sure he won't grow again, before then? DD only used size 3/4 for about 18 months.