1/16 violin... which make to choose?!?!

[TicTacSir]

Hi there, DS (5) is tiny and so has measured as needing a 1/16 violin. Im a cellist but have no experience of buying a violin, let alone one so small! I'd rather not pay the earth but can anybody recommend one/un-recommend one? Any experiences welcomed! Thanks. He's just started under a fabulous Suzuki teacher.

Is his teacher not able to lend him one? I also learned Suzuki, starting at age 4, and my teacher simply lent me the appropriate size violin, until I bought my first, a 3/4 size, I think. It does seem a bit of a waste to buy given how quickly he will move through the sizes....

Thanks ox - yes he could rent one but Im not sure of cost yet so Im just weighing up all my options.

I would definitely rent or borrow one for the amount of time your ds will need it. As you probably know already as they get to quarter, half, three quarters they do seem to use them for longer. My dd has used her half size for about 14 months and by Easter will need three quarter, this I'm led to believe should last her another 18 months or so.

The Stentor Student 2 is a good starter instrument. As he will obviously not be on the 1/16 size for very long, you might be better with the Stentor Student 1 which is a bit cheaper. Consult the teacher before buying anything. IIRC Suzuki teachers like the violin to be smaller than teachers using the standard method, but 1/16 violins are a bugger to tune so properly fitted pegs and 4 adjusters are a must!

When DD started on a 1/2 size (age 6), her teacher recommended an Andreas Zeller as the cheapest she would want to have to listen to (and to avoid the really cheap Chinese makes). It was fine, and I heard 1/4 sizes played, but never 1/16!

She also had a Poller violin at 3/4 size.

Thanks all! I will talk to his teacher next lesson and ask his opinion too. He's really keen and excited so anything which is a bugger to keep in tune or sounds dreadful vile din is a no-no!

It use to cost us about £35 a year to rent. We only bought a violin after grade 2.

As for make, at this stage it doesn't really matter :)

To be honest any 1/16 will sound pretty grim. The body is just too small to have any decent resonance. My daughter started on a stentor student II but it was an 1/8. Very decent little instrument which held its value upon resale. Which is nice when you have to purchase the next size up. Her 1/4 size was a Zeller and she has been playing a half size Cantabile which is lovely but still quite cheap at £400. Not looking forward to her next upgrade which will need to be even better quality...