Think we’re about to buy dd her first decent violin

[KittyMcKitty]

Dd is 13 and only grade 4 but we have decided to take the plunge and buy her a decent violin which I’ve found quite a daunting experience.

I think we’ve found the one. It has a lovely tone to it and at £875 is at the upper end of what we can afford/ justify.

My plan is not to spend £400 ish on a bow at tge moment but to get a £150 ish one for now. The £150 bow would still be significantly better then what she has at the moment (a stentor student outfit).

I am not a violinist and not massively musical so really after advice as to whether this sounds a good course of action. Most importantly dd loves tg violin (having tried many - some more expensive, some less).

Hmmmm should I have posted this in extra curricular? Can I ask to have it moved?

We've moved for you now, OP.

Thank you

I'm not a string player so can't really help - I'm sure others more knowledgeable on string instruments will come along . But to me that sounds like a good plan .
The most important thing is to find an instrument that she loves playing ( and that you can afford !!) And btw I wouldn't say " only grade 4" that sounds like she's doing great . If she's loving playing that's the main thing.
Just make sure it's insured !! So when you get the lovely phone calls home saying so this has happened to my instrument you know there's some kind of financial back up should you need it !! We've had a few of these this summer - luckily affordable fixes but things do happen to instruments, especially expensive ones in the hands of 13 year olds !!

Yes, definitely insure it, and don't forget to include the cost of the bow and case in your worth.

Buying a decent rosin for the bow will make a difference to the sound, as will having the violin set up well by a specialist string shop - they will put decent strings on, perhaps change the bridge or position it optimally etc.
DS started on a £300 beginner cello. A few grades in, we spent c£200 having it properly set up, which seemed disproportionate at the time but actually meant he could keep it longer than he would have (because it was so much easier to play, and it sounded so much better) AND the shop that set it up gave us almost the total price for it when we bought his current cello - so, he had 3 years' playing at a cost of less than £150. 😀

Do you know about the Assisted Purchase Scheme, where you don't pay the VAT on an instrument? I took advantage of this for DD's 3/4 violin, which enabled me to get a better violin for 20% less.

I am a string player and sounds like a good plan to me. Exciting! Is it from a shop or a private seller? New or old? Just being nosy :)

Have you had the chance to run it by her teacher or another violinist? As floot says it's worth checking you have decent strings and rosin (modern rosin recipes go "off" after a few years according to our violin repair place). Teacher will be able to tell you whether anything needs changing, DD's usually straightens up bridges for us too which can make a surprising difference.

Yes we upgraded around grade 5 to something similar. Violin £1000 and bow probably also £150. Now passed grade 8 and playing in a very good orchestra and still fine.

I will take a look at DSs one when I get home and tell you what it is. His teacher recommended it and I think it was about £250. I assume it works (he has become really lazy).

We bought it and it sounds wonderful- dd loves it and in a week even not particularly musical me can hear the difference in her playing

We bought the one we intended- £875 (gulp) - it’s an old one refurbished (would that be tge right word) by the violin shop. Dd loves it as does her teacher.

We looked at a variety of bows up to the £200 price bracket. Dd tried them out not knowing the price. Interestingly I could easily tell tge most expensive from tge tone. Dd however had the most expensive as her second fave and preferred one which was £125 so we went with that - she said it was nicer to hold. Add to that a decent case and I think dh is still recovering from how much we spent on a violin.

I hope it gives her joy for many years, it sounds like she enjoys her music.This will give her a great boost I'm sure. Just tell your DH she could have picked bassoon or oboe or many other instruments which don't particularly have ' starter' priced models ( eg I'm guessing about £70 for a first violin) , so this upgrade is still very reasonable!

Sounds a sensible amount to spend on the bow to me. I can't remember what we spent on my son's bow - when he was at a higher standard also. It was probably less than 10% of the value of his violin though. I've heard the suggestion that you might aim to spend 1/3 of the price of a violin on a bow, at higher levels, but we're blessed with instruments of higher value than we've had to pay for them and are definitely not going that high for our bows!!

I hope your daughter has a lovely time with her new violin!

It's so lovely to hear your dd is enjoying her new violin

This is lovely! I remember when my parents kindly upgraded my entry level instrument for a decent quality student one (woodwind not strings) and it made a phenomenal difference. So much easier to play, I really enjoyed it.

Well done for taking the plunge! Hope she has many years of happy playing ahead. I'm still playing my teenage upgrade violin (similar price bracket) 25+ years on :)