hi i have been wanting to learn violin for about two years i have in the last two months picked up a second hand one from a charity shop minus bridge bow shoulder rest etc etc oh and two strings having bought the replacement pieces i think that a 3/4 size is too small for me i am 5 foot five with normal length arms . next month i am going to calcutta when violins are made on front of you in a lovely street full of music shops ( its heaven to see all the instruments ) my husband has offered to buy me a violin for xmas it will be alot cheaper in calcutta and i can choose how it will look an hopefully sound being the complete novice i am what should i ask for?

i am aiming to buy a full size one this time

as an adult, however small you are, you need a 4/4 violin - 3/4 and smaller are only for children. the exception is 7/8, which is slightly smaller than 4/4; some people with particularly short arms use those.

personally i wouldn't want to buy a fiddle in a foreign country like that; i'd want to spend some time in a shop (or preferably a few shops) trying out various instruments, then take one or two on approval and see how they work out, and only then spend money on them. i'd also want to buy from someone local in case there was any kind of after-sales support needed...

Sounds like a crazy idea to me.

What if it falls to pieces 6months after you get back to the UK?

How are you going to get it back to the UK, plus you may have to pay tax/customs etc on it when it comes back as an import?

I think it makes a lot more sense to go to a shop based in the UK where you will avoid these issues! Plus if you are a beginner you probably won't need more than a £200ish violin to start with, and you can easily get starter instruments in the UK.

If it was a world famous violin maker in Italy and you were looking at a super violin it would be different...

thanks for the postings took the advice given and bought a 4/4 this weekend in england i had spoken to a few friends whom have bought instruments back from indian some have been lucky not charged others charged through the nose

having just started i am delighted with my violin and can lose an hour just by walking in to the spare room/ music room and picking it up for a quick practice