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Extra-curricular activities

Find advice on the best extra curricular activities in secondary schools and primary schools here.

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Original poster

Buyin 1/8 violin

18 replies

take3 · 03/04/2015 15:08

Help! I need to buy an 1/8 violin for our son who is 6. He has been playing the violin for 5 months (currently playing an 1/16) and it turns out he loves it and is doing quite well (he has complete Fiddle Time Joggers and is on the last 3 pieces of the Suzuki 1 book). We would like to buy him a decent violin, but not spend a huge amount of money (under £200).... and I am totally confused and do not know what is good. I have found a second hand Suzuki Nagoya 220 for £90 - anyone know that make?

OP posts:

ragged · 03/04/2015 15:11

Ebay? Phone around indie music shops, we got DD's at one of them (2nd hand). She was able to try it first.

DrankSangriaInThePark · 03/04/2015 15:14

Dd has 2 violins, both bought second hand from a reputable music shop. Paid about £70 for one and £85 for the other. Her violin teacher was very impressed and said when she started her own second hand one wasn't nearly as nice.

Just checked, and the one I have here is a Stentor, made in Reigate. That's the one which cost about £70 a couple of years ago.

I was surprised how reasonable it was tbh.

Original poster

take3 · 03/04/2015 15:21

Thanks, it is very confusing as the violin teacher says Stentor are not very good.... but there does not seem to be much else out there!

OP posts:

ragged · 03/04/2015 16:40

imho, Given how quickly they grow onto the next size, Stentor is reasonable quality, especially for a child. Save your pennies for better quality when they need full size.

Or ask your teacher to help you find something better quality still in your budget.

downandoutindulwich · 03/04/2015 19:47

Dd, also 6, has a primavera and a stentor. Both good enough quality although her preference is the primavera I think that is because it is shinier.

ReallyTired · 03/04/2015 20:11

It is daft the spend a lot on a 1/8 violin however good your child is. Your child will outgrow the violin within a year. I suggest you hire a violin. At the moment dd is hiring a 1/10th size stentor 2 for £7.50 a month. It would be £125 to but brand new.

morethanpotatoprints · 03/04/2015 20:17

We bought dds first one from a music shop that did part exchange on another instrument when they grew.
We only really bought that first one and the full size one she has now.
It's not worth buying each time as if you get a major growth spurt they may only get a couple of months out of the instrument.
This happened with dd between 1/2 and 3/4 and then 3/4 to full size, within 18 months.

Original poster

take3 · 03/04/2015 21:47

Thanks, that is helpful. It sounds like Stentor and Primavera are fine for this level. I do think that it can be better to buy than rent though, £7.50 per month adds up and it seems possible to buy a second hand violin for £75, and then sell it on after. We even made a profit on my daughter's first cello.

OP posts:

claraschu · 03/04/2015 21:55

If you live anywhere near us I might have one you could borrow, You could PM me if you don't want to write what area you live in.

halfwayupthehill · 03/04/2015 22:04

If you near london Google malcolm those, brilliant violin specialist. Sold us a secondhand one for 60 quid which we can part exchange when we need to

halfwayupthehill · 03/04/2015 22:05

Sorry, auto correct. Malcolm Tysoe

53Dragon · 03/04/2015 22:08

ds2 had a Stentor which was recommended for up to grade 5 so I would think your ds would have long outgrown it before he reached that standard.

ReallyTired · 03/04/2015 22:37

I think that renting is advantageous when children are tiny And growing rapidly. It is expensive to get a decent 1/10th size and most children outgrow within 6 months. There is less of a market for 1/10th or 1/8th size violins as it's more common to start the violin when a little older. You have do your maths. Dd has had her 1/10 for 3 months and I can't see her using it in the autumn. Dd violin retails at £125 which is a lot of months of rental.

JulieMichelleRobinson · 07/04/2015 12:40

Violin teacher here...

The Stentor Conservatoire is much better than their student models, and they do make them in small sizes - Caswell's had a 1/8 a while back.

Oh, and even the Stentor II is considerably better quality than the Stentor I. Weirdly, since they don't cost that much more. I love Hidersine fiddles for the price, but I've not found them below 1/4 size. Primavera models are also playable, but again avoid the very cheapest.

Bear in mind that any 1/8 violin, even an older one, is not going to have a fantastic tone even when played by a professional. You can improve this considerably by using better strings (don't fork out for the absolute best, it won't be worth it, but a set of £40 strings is much better than a set of £16 strings). Your child is doing well (very well for age and length of time learning) but is still, relatively speaking, a beginner, and tone control also takes time to develop.

KaputKiss · 12/04/2015 09:15

My Ds (7) played on a stentor when he started violin. He completed grade 2 and suzuki book 3 on it with no problems.He then had a nice Chinese violin that we bought from another violin family for £30. He has a beautiful 1/2 size violin now that cost us £300 and sounds stunning.

JulieMichelleRobinson · 12/04/2015 14:33

I think I took grade 8 on a £300 violin, he's very lucky! There are some very nice 1/2 size instruments around, if you can find them. But 1/16 and 1/8 are just so small they don't project.

KaputKiss · 12/04/2015 15:46

He is very lucky! It was his teacher's violin, is gorgeous and be loves it - couldn't resist! Younger dd will also be able to use it after him, so money well spent I think!

Pippidoeswhatshewants · 12/04/2015 15:58

The specialist string shop we buy dds violins from sell excellent second hand violins and will always part exchange for the bigger model.

Her first 1/4 was £90, the next 1/2 was £60 and we ended up with a really sweet sounding one. Original price was £200.

Renting would have been much more expensive. Does your music school not have a buy/sell board?

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