Hello
I am new at this forum and hoping to start violin lessons in october.

I am having problems choosing which violin to buy. I am a late starter to music being age 22...
So I didn't want to a violin that is intended for a child's use.

I have a budget of about £350, can anyone recommend a good one for this price?

Also would it be wise to get a cheap one now and wait for janaury sales to get a good expensive one?

Thanks for reading!

I rather doubt if violins are the sort of thing that come down much in price during the sales?

Liz

For this budget and as a beginner I don't think you could go wrong by getting one of the Gliga violins as I am sure many more people will suggest after me. It will last you well up until you are at a high standard. If you buy a cheaper violin and are serious about playing, chances are you will be wanting to upgrade in a year or so and it could be more expensive in the long run. If you can get a teacher or another violin player to recommend some makes or even go with you to try them out then this would be advisable.

Personally, I'd recommend renting for a quarter so that you can be sure that you've taken to the instrument. It would be a shame to spend a lot, then find it's not for you after all. That's what I did (with my viola) and it worked very well for me.

thank you for the help!

I have looked at Foote's rental/purshase programe where u need to pay 20% of the price of the instrument first for renting... Is there anywhere you would recommend renting in london?

Also for the Gliga violins, do you know any good shops in london which stocks them, becuase at the moment I only see them on the internet. As a beginner, I think it is safest to buy and get it setup in a shop...

I have consider buying online then taking it in the shop to get it setup....

I have also been looking at the : Otto Klier 2E and Karl Hofner H5 on the Foote's website, what does everyone think about those.

Also, a lot of forum online talks about how antique violins are better sounding for the same price as a new one.

last january foote's was selling a Klier violin in the sale which was down from about £1000 to £700, so yes, you can find violins in the january sales. They also had lower end violins in their sale so you wouldn't have to spend £700, as a beginner you are probably better buying something on the lower end of the spectrum as when you become more experienced you will develop your own 'taste' in violins and then you can buy something which is truly good for you.

Don't be put off Gliga instruments because you can't try it out in the shop they are fantastic and come set up.
We got a little gliga viola from Liz this summer for my son and its great. His teacher was very pleased with the quality, set up and most importantly the sound. The only thing better for the size would have cost us 10x as much.
I'm sure if you contacted Liz she'd send you out an instrument to try with no commitment to buy if it wasn't suitable.

I stand corrected!

That seems high, I would have thought you could do better - but if that's the going rate then you could buy a perfectly adequate beginner's one for the cost of the rental!


Beare and sons wholesale them, so you might find them available in some retail shop. However, the best known people in the UK for Gliga (and the ones who originally imported them) sell them retail for less than Beare and Sons wholesale price, so it's probable that many shops consider themselves unable to compete on that brand and therefore choose not to stock them. However you could try asking the wholesaler if they know of anyone. Their contact form is

here



Absolutely no need, if you're talking about a Gliga.



We had a 2E in once, it's fine if you want a German instrument. Piranito strings are horrible though (in my humble opinion). Also in my opinion, German violins no longer represent the best value - East Europe and China have far lower labour costs. I've not seen the Hofner as far as I recall


Not strictly accurate. A violin sounds better once it has matured, but that does not mean that any old violin is better than any new violin!

Liz

I'd have to say I love my Gliga violin. It arrived safe and sound to me in London, a quick tune and then ready to play. My tutor and lots of my friends have made many envious comments about it - especially when I tell them how much I paid for it! It was a good choice and is equally happy playing classical music as it is Irish trad.

If you are in London, you may decide to start learning with the East London Late Starters Orchestra -ELLSO They run sessions on a Saturday morning - complete beginners can start in the Autumn Term. They rent instruments at a very reasonable cost to members.

Good luck with the adventure of learning to play.

Lis

Not many shops stock Gliga violins, the best thing to do is contact Liz from this website. Many people on these forums have purchased from here before (including myself) and I haven't heard a bad word about them yet nore the Gliga violins which in my honest opinion can not be beaten for value and quality. I absolutely love mine more and more each time I play it and everyone I show it to loves it equally. The best thing is it will come set up with a deacent set of strings. The 2 I received on approval were still perfectly in tune even after coming through the post which I was very surprised at!

Thanks for everyone's help!

I just got a second hand gliga violin on ebay today and I am very excited and can't wait til arrives!

Hope the violin is ok and all, the seller mentioned that he got it from Liz!

Hope to start my violins lessons in a few weeks time! can't wait!

Thanks again for everyone's help!

I am so excited for you, please do join the beginner's thread (on this forum) and let us know how you are getting on with lessons and how nice your 'new' violin is!

Good, that looks like a very nice buy for you. Though I confess when I hear that someone has got a used Gliga that came from us I always find myself very curious to know who it was that gave up! It's a rather interesting package of music though - Tune a Day book 1 and Kreutzer studies are hardly likely to be played by the same player at the same time

Liz

I sure would! Pls look forward to seeing me at the beginner's thead!

The seller said that violin probably wasn't for him...

The package of music had a fair bit of beginner books, so I thought it may be useful.

Perhaps someone selling a Gems was moving on to a Gama??

Congrats! In my experience it's hard to beat Gliga for value-for-money, so I'm sure you'll have fun with it