4/4 Violin hunting

[Kutik73]

We've started hunting for a 4/4 violin for DS. We have visited two luthiers so far and each let us take one home. We can keep one for a week and another for two weeks.

DS likes one in particular and it costs £5500 for the violin alone. I know the price is not always mirrored to the quality of the sounds. It only makes difficult to judge as I don't play any instrument. So I did a bit of research and accidentally found the same violin being sold back in October for £1200-1800. It's auctioned so the exact selling price was not displayed. Looking at the photo, it has the same marks and scars so it's definitely the same violin we have here.

I can see the bridge, chin rest, and tuners has been replaced. But the selling notes stated the condition as excellent so I assume major work wasn't required by the luthier. But I don't know.

Surely luthiers have to make money so I understand it's common practice for them to buy something cheaper and add some work and sell at a higher price. But more than doubling the bought price sound quite a lot, especially it seemed to be in great conditions already.

Should I be careful or can I trust the luthier? I hope he is not pricing unnecessarily high... Any input/advice/sharing experiences would be greatly appreciated!

I haven't really any idea Kutik! Just something that will keep the bloody thing safe on the way to and from school.

I imagine most modern cases would be reasonable at cushioning the violin? Are there brands one should avoid, do you know?

And seriously, do we really need a hygrometer? What would you do if it's too humid? Migrate?

I always thought I would get a hard case for a full size for some reason. But you are right, most of modern cases should be fine. I see more soft cases at nco and more hard cases at jd. So it really is personal choice. One negative thing of our hard case for me is it doesn't have outer pockets which are quite useful for slipping little things or even music.

I was considering BAM or Gewa. But I read quite a few negative reviews for BAM, not soft cases but hard cases. They are of course good cases but some people seem to think it doesn't live up to the high price. Gewa is slightly cheaper, I think.

Another thing I cared about was the colour. I didn't want to have anything dark. In fact I only wanted white due to the reflective power of the sunlight. I'm quite nerdy when it comes to choosing items... But I really think it will make a difference on a sunny day. Obviously you won't leave the case in direct sunlight. But DS would walk to a bus stop or school carrying it on his bag... You can even buy a outer coat for winter.

Honestly, you don't need a Rolls-Royce violin case unless you are constantly travelling, and possess an Old Master instrument. For most normal purposes something humbler will be enough. It can be difficult to squash a shoulder rest into a shaped case, depending on the brand and whether the feet fold in. Sometimes the rest needs to go into an outside pocket. An oblong case is far roomier. You could get a perfectly adequate case for around £100.

I thought about getting hygrometer just because it seemed to be recommended. But in the end I concluded no point. I've got one at home though. I just keep it next to where we keep the violin. Sometimes it shows too dry but never too wet. I may put a glass of water if I'm concerned but I don't think we live in an extreme weather condition anyway!

We saw a really nice oblong case under £100. I saw it at Old Violin Shop and also at Matthew Coltman. I have the rain cover from the same maker so I'll check the name later. So yes, don't need to spend £££ for daily use. We travel a lot. For instance we are outside of uk for the whole summer usually. We really needed something more than daily school use.

I've been looking at cases too as we will be going shopping for a full size soon.Ds has a Tom and Will one for his 3/4 which is perfect except it has zips all the way round which he hates for some reason. He wants latches/clips. I've looked online at the Gewa air which ds loves but it's so expensive. I like the look of the Gewa Bio too but the colours are a bit odd and not sure how easy it is to clean. Does anyone have experience of these?
Kutik how is Minikutik getting on with his new violin and case?

Cleaning!

That has never occurred to me...

As for colour, my DC have LOTS of opinion about colour. Mainly that it should be black...

Lol Neverever. In ds's head,the only colour to have is blue which will be a bit problematic as the Gewa Bio don't do a blue one!!

disorganised, we are very happy with the case. We also like the locking system. No one can open other us! It gives us peace of mind as it will be left on a rack in a corridor at school where anyone can access. I think Prada bought Gewa Bio for her DD. You may ask her for her review on the case? As long as I can remember, her DD was super happy with it.

Oblong cases were out of choice for travelling reason (flight).

I didn't think of cleaning neither, BUT I did think of sticking stickers and that's another reason why it HAD TO be a hard case.

NeverEver, black is cool. Black would be totally fine if I wasn't obsessed with sunlight issues. If I had let DS choose it would have been gold or silver... He loves bling bling. He shouldn't be a musician if he wants to own lots of bling bling...

If you're looking at cases with latches just check that there are no sharp bits that project into the other part of the lock. The violin will be passing these every time it is used, or the lid may fall just as you are taking the instrument out. This has happened to me! Zippers are more varnish friendly, and I find they can last longer than catches. Rucksack straps are a great idea, but a comfortable handle is still important. If you are concerned about a violin drying up in central heating etc, you could use a Dampit. We never use the radiator in the room with the instruments, but of course it is affected by the rest of the house being heated. It goes without saying that we never leave a violin or cello near a radiator, or in a very hot or very cold car for more than the time it takes us to load up and drive off.

Guys, do you keep your violin in a case at home??

We usually leave it on the piano, covered with a little cloth to avoid any dust goes in through the f holes. Is it a no-no?? Should it be in a case always, even at home??

Yes, absolutely. Cellos are out, leaning in corners. I think they are actually safer like that as moving them in and out of cases in a restricted space puts them in danger of getting bumped. A violin out of its case is quite vulnerable. I suppose you could hang it up by the scroll like the violin shops but it is much better put away.

Is there a cloth under the violin?

We have a cello stand. Ds2 wants a violin stand. Is that a bad idea?

We even have a flute stand.

I think you would only need a violin stand if you were playing and needed to swap quickly between instruments. Surely it's not for storage; there's the risk of damage, dust, sunlight (heat and fading). Really a violin should be in a case all the time it is not being played. Any changes of temperarure, humidity, etc will slower if the violin is safely tucked up. It only takes a moment to remove, tighten the bow and get started.

Thanks Granny.

This is a great thread.

We used to hang it. We still have the hook so can use it again. But I felt a bit uneasy of it floating so started just placing it on the piano. We have cloth under scroll so it won't scratch the piano (or scroll). The body doesn't touch the piano because of the shoulder rest left attached to it. We only remove the shoulder rest when we need pack it in a case. We cover the top with another clean cloth to protect from dust attack! I didn't think of keeping it in a case all the time. But while I was researching I realised that' what many others do....

I know it's great, isn't it? It's becoming a strings Q&A thread rather than just hunting. Thanks to people who ask questions and who kindly answer. Really appreciated.

Dd has a Bam case- incredibly hard wearing, and violin fits in like a glove (doe st move about at all- which it would do in cheaper cases). However downside is that it is very heavy, especially with music in it as well.
Think she will have a lightweight case for full size - she’s still in 3/4

I don't know, I'm uneasy with instruments of any sort left out. Our cellos are, but they are leaning towards the wall, so no dust is entering. Have you ever seen a "mouse", a ball of dust that forms inside violins? Quite funny, you notice them rolling past the f hole when you tilt the violin. They can be hard to remove as they get bigger than the f hole itself and quite solid.

One of my daughters (against my advice) leaves her oboe out on the piano. It's not in danger of falling, but dust is landing on it 24 hours a day, so it must inevitably be finding its way into the keys and rods. And I often close the piano lid for the same reason. Anything that compromises the instrument's working must make playing it harder and less reliable.

Paul, I think BAM has a lightweight range. They are very popular at DS's jd.

Granny, OK, you completely freaked me out.... Do you think a clean cloth covering the f holes is not good enough to protect the violin from the scary mouses???

Yes, I'm sure it is. You don't need a trap for the mouse, just a pair of tweezers.