Maybe
It's alright the only problems were...
the fittings weren't as described, but aren't bad quality
the pegs - OMG! definately need replacing. untuneable, 2 dont move and the other 2 dont stay! they're all wonky and... the D string didn't even have a hole all the way through it...
the bow is, surprise surprise, pretty rubbish
the bridge is ridiculously high

other than that, i think considering the price, it's very good.

The rosin did make me laugh though the most pathetic block of rosin i've ever seen - about the size of a small rubber or something!

But in general the viola sounds pretty good! I'm impressed. Need to get it to stay in tune for more than 5 seconds now though

You may find some peg paste will sort out the slipping/sticking pegs OK. A new bridge should take care of that problem too, so maybe it won't be too bad. It's disappointing to not find it playable though, but, as you said, you get what you pay for.

You'll need the pegs and bridge replaced - no question. It's like I told you before, though - even with the extra expense - you've still got an excellent bargain.

Once set up - it will easily be good enough for ensemble work at a professional level if it's one of their T20 models.

ARGHHHHHH the postman is late........

POOR LOTTIE ! You must be beside yourself!

Well, Agapanthus has finally arrived

It's a cheap beginners outfit so it's no stradivari but for the price (£65 for the whole outfit) I'm really quite impressed! However when I opened the case a handful of sawdust fell out!!!! Oh and a screw... and I don't know where that came from... So I need to hoover the case

The pegs are awful, they stick out a mile and don't hold very well.. it took me AGES to tune it so that it would stay. They barely reach the other side of the pegbox.

The bridge is terrible cheap rubbish, far too high, spongy and just icky. As soon as I finish typing this I'm ordering a new one.

My viola (15" version) did come with the pale coloured fittings and they're cheap, but hey that's okay for now although there are no fine adjusters. It certainly isn't a T20 but it's okay.

As for the instrument: the scroll is really rough on the underside of the curls so I'm going to sand that myself, the nut is shockingly rough and the fingerboard is just painted black with the paint roughly put on and even spills onto the neck....

... but the colour is good, a deep orangy spicy brown, the spruce is evenly and tightly grained and the body-varnish is sound...it's very plain but you don't expect 'flash' at this level.

..but most importantly IT SOUNDS LIKE A VIOLA! The strings are tinny but there's a lovely deep resonance to the sound and it can pack some volume when pushed too. Higher positions are clear and even without sounding pinched. But I love the C string... what a glorious sound with a rich echo which goes on for ages.

So I'm impressed, really impressed for the money! I could play this in an orchestra

My first problem though is that I can barely reach F# on the C string and my fourth finger is really struggling. After only 5 minutes my thumb and hand were really, really sore But it's a huge stretch for me. I'm seriously tempted to take a sander to the sides of the fingerboard/neck and narrow it down for myself. I will be tidying up the nut too and touching it up with black paint if I have to.

p.s. the bow is passable I suppose but the case is rubbish - so bad that the lid for the accessory box doesn't fit, the bow holders are lethal and it STINKS of glue

I would imagine that since thsi si their bottom of the line instrument that their better ones (19 and 20 series) woudl be much nicer. By that, I simply mean that the finger board, etc. are probably real ebony as opposed to painted wood.

Can anybody confirm this?

Glad your viola arrived Lottie and glad you're pleased with it!

Oh how i wish i went for the 15 inch and got the pale fittings
I agree with everything that you said that the pegs and bridge etc. are rubbish but despite all that it sounds nice The C string is indeed nice isnt it I keep repeatedly playing scales up and down the C and G string cause it sounds so nice.

It's really hard to play though, for me anyway, cause the bridge is sooo high. Also, it just seems massive - i don't think the size is too big cause i can play my 4th finger without having to stretch atal or anything but it just seems very hard to play (i'm an extremely small person ). After playing viola, going back to violin is SOO nice! I feel like i have such control over it and it feels like i can move my hand wherever and nothing is a stretch Not that it is a stretch on viola, but, you know what i mean

I know! I tried my violin straight after the viola and it felt like a tiddler

I don't know how much viola playing I will be doing if it hurts this much... but I'll take it to my violin lesson next week because my teacher plays viola too and she can really try it out.

Would it be a bad thing to take a sander to the neck?

Don't be such a wimp. Take a chainsaw to it!

Sorry for the hype - I thought you guys had gone for the T19 or M19 models!

Still, not bad for the price it appears...

If bidding on ebay it's worth waiting for Bank Holidays - I was surprised to get a Birds Eye M19 for under £100 'cos not many people were bidding!

What's Bank Holidays?

But there's no bank holidays til Easter

Public holidays, like Christmas Day, Easter Monday and so on. Where everyone used to get the day off and the banks were closed. Now many shops open, but still most people get the day off. What do you call them across the Pond?


Funny, I have the opposite thing when I get chance for a quite play on a violin. I think, "Is this light or what? And how close together is everything??"

ok so now is the first time i've got chance to play George properly and he's actually really nice which confuses me as it only cost £65... the fittings are all wonky and rubbish etc. but when you actually play it, it sounds nice
i need some viola music... it's going to take me ages to be able to read alto clef properly... atm i'm just playing it as though it's a violin!!


Seeing as there are many people interested in the quality of it, maybe i could do a recording of me playing some stuff on it so you can hear how it sounds? You'll have to forgive my bad playing though

Another ploy was bidding in dollars, especially for strings, which would end up being a lot cheaper! Sadly not an option now - but as the Americans have more Bank/Public Holidays it might be worth looking into that as well!

ffliwt - glad to hear your comments on the viola! All this talk made me get the M19 out for a play today (haven't picked it up for over 6 months now). To my surprise, it sounds better than I remember!

It made me recall a conversation I had with a violin shop owner, who said that with instruments from abroad, you need to allow time for them to settle due to differences in temperature and humidity between countries. Even if you feel that the set-up needs changing, it's worth waiting at least six months before taking it in for assessment.

Sounds like a motorway

It does, doesn't it?!

It did have a name - but I've forgotten it! The thread's somewhere on the Forums.....

Or I could call it Messier 19, in homage to a globular cluster in the constellation Ophiuchus

I would love to hear a recording!

Also, we call our holidays simply, "holidays," or "public holidays."
Interesting terminology in the mother land!

Are you using a shoulder rest?

I found it very painful to sit Agapanthus on my collar bone so had to make a pad with a towel. *off to check ebay for a bargain shoulder rest*

I think it does sound good for the money too!

I got my old kun violin shoulder rest, made it as big as possible and it fits. But... it's not that comfortable and cause i made it way bigger than it was supposed to be, a lot of it is just plastic which has left me with a big red rash across my collarbone!! When i can afford one i'll buy a proper viola one. I'm tempted to devise something using a sponge and some elastic bands for now...

Firstly, i'm going to buy some strings (either Zyex or Pro Arte i'm thinking...) and a bridge. Where can i get a bridge from mind? I looked on thestringzone but they only have an unfitted one, can i get one with the grooves already in? I knowww bridges have to be fitted properly but i totally can't afford that. Just cost me £80 to get my violin one done!


And horax - i'll try make a recording later or tomorrow you really will have to excuse my playing though!!

No excuses are necessary...the main thing is that you're playing!!!

did you ever find out if the purfling was painted on?

Stringmail do fitted viola bridges http://www.stringmail.co.uk/bridges.htm

It says professional fitting is recommended but a thin piece of very fine sandpaper across the belly to rub the feet to the correct shape helps a lot, and keeping the grooves marked with a pencil it's possible to bring the height down a bit too (if you mark the shape of the curve).

obviously I'm not an expert but I have no chance of a luthier looking at it so I have to improvise.

I'm also about to buy some fine adjusters immediately I'd love a rosewood tailpiece too (it's only £8.95) and a rosewood chinrest but then I like pretty things

I can't afford a new set of strings yet .

This seems like a good deal but I don't think I can wait for something to come all the way from the USA http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Viola-shoulder-rest-...p3286.m63.l1177 I've tried everything now; towel, duster, sponge (from the bathroom ) and I can't get comfy at all.

I'm going to have to narrow the neck too - I hardly think it will make any difference to the sound although it probably won't look good.

D'you'know, I just played it really hard for a while and it really doesn't sound bad at all. In fact I'd say amazing for the price... I'd really love to try one of their T20 violins if they're as good as people say they are

p.s. no I'm pretty sure the purfling is genuine!

I fitted on of these to "Deborah". http://www.thestringzone.co.uk/categories/...viola-tailpiece
Much nicer than separate fine tuners.

Ok, somebody has to explain the difference to me of fine tuners and tailpieces and how the work together, etc.

I've noticed that on the piece you just posted, there are four knobs (that I thought were fine tuners), but you say they work better than individual fine tuners???

Explain to the unlearned!!!

They ARE 4 fine individual tuners built into the tailpiece but the whole thing is just nicer to use than wobbly screw on tuners that you attach to your existing tailpiece.

Mine came with a tailpiece exactly like that one
I know at first i said the fittings were plastic but that was just after i opened the case and hadn't looked properly - they're actually metal

George is coming to school tomorrow, my friends want to meet him hahaaa
Dear me at the case though - it's blatently for atleast a 16" viola and mine is wayy too small for the case and moves around everywhere.

Is metal preferred over other material?

Well my violin (which is consiiiiiderably more expensive than my viola!!) has an ebony tailpiece.
So i'm not really sure tbh. Aslong as it's not plastic?


As for bridges, which do you guys reckon is the best option... a semi-fitted bridge which i attempt to fit myself to my viola, or one of those self adjusting bridges? (the 'bridges with the walking feet' as my luthier calls them - he hates them)

Yes, Agapanthus is 15" and I've stuffed his duster down the side to stop him pogo'ing. And, poooo, the stinky glue.

Good idea i'll stuff a duster or something in there too


And i knowww at the smell, it smells like varnish (duhhh ) but i mean like it smells like when you've just decorated something in your house. The viola i'm on about aswell... not the case! (though that probably smells too)

As for the bow, once i tightened it (to the normal tightness) it wont loosen again. Infact the screw won't move atal Is yours the same? I figured it wont matter about leaving it tight anyway cause the bow is of absolutely no value and i'll be buying a new one



And btw Lottie, since your post saying about you being far away up in the middle of Scotland, every time i read one of your posts... i read it to myself with a Scottish accent.

My bow will tighten up but it's so tight it hurts my fingers... and again, that case - everytime I put the bow away it catches the hairs unless I'm extremely careful. I was wondering about trying to put some graphite or something on the threads for the bow screw. I wouldn't be surprised if it sticks!

Are your pegs holding now? I finally managed to tune it accurately but it's not easy so I can't wait for my fine adjusters to arrive. (I don't feel so bad about experimenting with bridges and things on a £65 instrument but I would never do it to my violin! ) I'm still really impressed with the sound though.

How do you tighten a bow? How can you tighten a bow until it hurts your fingers? You mean, it hurts your fingers whiel trying to tighten the bow?



How bad are the bows that come with the violas?
How much do the fine tuners cost? In the picture, it looks like it has a fine tuner on the highest string, why didn't they put on on the others?

hx

There's a nut thing at the frog end of it, (where you normally hold it). It's the bit that's the last quarter inch of the bow and will normally be visibly different from the rest of the bow shaft. You loosen and tighten it by turning that 'nut'.

They shouldn't be so stiff that they either can't be moved or hurt to move, but cheap ones sometimes are. My first one couldn't be moved either and seems to be have been on a level with the instruments that the girls here have bought, (makes mental note to avoid that level if ever need new viola - which I might whilst in Taiwan for 6 months!)



Often violins and violas only have fine tuners on the highest string and many of the higher level instruments are like that as well. If you look at some photos of good quality violins/as, you'll see what I mean. I'm jolly glad mine has 4 fine tuners though!!!

Honestly, don't mess with bridges yourself - it's just not worth it. You'll spend money and the chances are it won't make any difference at all to the sound.

It's a fine art fitting a bridge correctly - and may even require you to readjust the soundpost too.

I'd put the money aside you were going to spend on the bridge, make do with the one that's on there (as even if you changed it yourself, the likelihood of making a difference is very small) and save bit by bit until you can have a luthier do it for you.

As you've both said, the bridge is playable as it is, so save up and have it fitted properly later.

Spend your time having fun for now!

Hi ffliwt and lottie,
It seems like these basic Yita instruments need quite a lot of work to make them fully playable, and that the bow is pretty useless. If we assume that they need about £50 of setup work, and that a replacement bow would be a similar sort of price, then we're looking at a "real" price of around £165, about the same price as a Stentor II. Are these violas potentially a lot better than a Stentor, for example?

Genuine question, not being a smarty-pants.

I used to have a stentor II violin and i'm much more impressed by the sound of this viola.

There is literally 0% chance that i will ever be able to get a bridge fitted by a luthier. I'm saving for new violin strings, a new violin, then a new violin bow, viola strings, viola bow, etc. - by the time i could afford to have a bridge fitted i'll probably be wanting a better viola instead This viola is purely just for fun for me to play at home, i don't see the point in spending lots of money on it

In that case, leave the Bridge well alone and just enjoy it for what it is, then!

I was just gonna buy a lower one

After all i put this one on myself anyway so it's already not in the right place but it's sooo high that it's not possible to press the notes down properly. So i thought i'd just buy a lower one and put it on just so it's easier to play

Why don't you just reduce the height of the existing bridge? (or get someone to do it for you)

How would i do that?
I did think about sanding it down but didn't wanna end up with the wrong curvature.
I really think it'll be easier just to buy a new one and pop that on instead. A cheap one will only be like £7, right?

A new one would also be too high.
You should be able to get the height reduced at a violin shop (doesn't need to be a fancy luthier) for next to nothing. Its a 10 minute job. Very easy to do, but quite difficult to explain.

Not as far as I know but I haven't seen or heard any tests.

Similar "fine tuner" tailpieces are available in plastic or wood.

wooden ones are pretty expensive though. Metal is perfectly fine for student-type instruments.

I hasten to say I have never messed with a bridge but I would be tempted to sand down the existing one very slowly, having marked a line at the right height following the existing curve. Or a quick google gives this page http://www.musictrader.com/string4m.html showing all the work that goes between the blank you buy and putting it on the instrument ready to play!

I've been thinking this most of the way through this thread whenever trips to the luthier were discussed. All this sort of work is done at my local instrument shop where I got my viola from, so I don't expect anyone would have real problems in finding someone to help them.

I know around a 100mile radius here there is really only my teacher who can do this kind of thing and she is so busy that she really doesn't like doing 'small repairs' because it eats into her personal time. However she did show me how to fit a bridge myself and knows I'm pretty good with my hands so we don't have a problem with me playing around with a student instrument. I would never touch the bridge on my father's violin however!

The really infuriating thing is that I ordered a viola bridge (and some fine adjusters) and they arrived today... but they've sent a violin bridge by mistake so I have to wait until next week to sort this horrendous bridge out. .. grrr

And really, you'd have to see the one that came with it - it's like a white piece of compressed cardboard.. a good quality bridge isn't expensive so I don't see why they don't use one.

A GOOD thing though.. over night my viola has stayed in tune! (hoooray) and sounds nice again today.. but like ffliwt says; the strings are so high it hurts quite a bit to press them down.

What are the strings like? Useable or rubbish?

Well I fiddled with Agapanthus yesterday

I played through some Scottish tunes which was fun and I think he sounds much better than he did when he first arrived... he's very resonant!

But I just can't get the hang of the Alto clef!! My brain is just rubbish. I suppose it's only been three days but it's so frustrating that it's not sticking in my grey matter (which is now pink and white because it's turned into a packet of marshmallows)

For anyone interested in Yitamusic instruments I'm about to post some pics of him on the 'Photos of your instrument thread. I've changed the tailpiece and chinrest .. it's a violin chinrest I had spare because I can't afford a new one but it's already soooo much more comfortable - the chinrest that came with it had a great big lump which hurt my jaw. I also put some pegpaste on which has helped the strings stay in tune. And I replaced the tailpiece with one with fine tuners so finally the tuning is accurate (and doesn't hurt my ears any more!).

I managed to fit an old shoulder-rest too which helped but I need to order a viola one

Oh , he was also a bit rattly so I shook him upside down and a teaspoonful of sawdust fell out!

( I think I'm starting to really like the viola )

I have to get something back on this one: I heard the Mozart Sinfonia Concertante violin/viola last night and must say that, on the D and G strings, violin is rather nice!!

Oh Claudia, you should have come, it was lovely!