Hey everyone, I was browsing on e-bay today, and saw violins for sale in a wide range of metallic colours - blue, red, yellow, turquoise etc. They were going for only about £60, had anyone got one of these violins, are they any good? I was reading some reviews which didn't seem to give them much credit, but they looked like fun to play! Anyone got any thoughts???

They're pretty dire. The Stentor Harlequin is probably the best of the bad bunch. Of course if you were prepared to spend a little more you could have one painted like a tiger or a peacock or a dalmatian or with butterflies or and non-metallic colour you like and it would sound like a proper violin too, but I shouldn't say any more



rather girlie though

Think carefully about what you might want to use it for first. They're fine if you just want to play at home or informally with friends, do jazz gigs, or are part of a pop band, but you might get frowned on if you're thinking of taking it to orchestra rehearsals.

I used to teach a student who owned a purple violin and whilst I couldn't find fault with the build quality of the instrument, the heavy coat of paint on the body - which sealed the wood entirely on the outside - very possibly has an effect on the sound and resonance of the instrument.

Oooo that's pretty!! I was quite tempted by a lilac cello I saw in January, but when I actually played it, it was horrible...

I have half promised myself that I'll get a red white and blue viola and bow next time we do a proms concert

Liz

I got her to change the violin strings from the dreadful all steel ones to Dominant. It improved the tone a bit, but it lacked real guts and I had to put it down to the heavy paint job.

Ahhh, now, that wouldn't look too bad at all for a 'Last night of the Proms' affair

I hope the body of the instrument will be painted with the Union Flag (I won't say Union Jack, because it isn't, unless it's flying on the mast of a Royal yacht).

I was actually quite tempted you know when I bought my viola...

I've got a white violin. Its pretty ###### but I only wanted it as an ornament not as an instrument. Its hanging on the wall - good enough for that. I'll never play it, I have a really good violin so I won't need to.

Orchestras could become quite colourful if members played different coloured instruments. The last time I was looking at ebay, I saw partially coloured flutes and saxophones.

I'll be looking out for you Liz, your red, white and blue viola souldn't be too hard to spot!!

Friend of mine makes violins violas and cellos (violi and celli?? *grin*) and has all but stopped making blonde ones, ie where the wood looks almost as pale as if it had not been varnished, not because they sounded bad but because conductors objected to them that that's simple plain wood, just not the "normal" violin colour.

Maybe violæ and 'celli?

spot the would-be-Latin-scholar

well why would they have objected to the paler instruments? seems a bit silly if the sound quality was still there......

Don't know - silliness. They stood out too much in orchestras or something really nice instruments, too.

frankie82 are you talking about the new Antoni violins in red/blue/purple? The Antoni violins that are brown are very nice, I prefer the sound of them to the Stentor even with the dominant strings. Havent tried the colour ones yet but the finish is very nice only seen one.
The Harlequins look ok but sound very quiet but I suppose that is because the ones I have heard are 1/2 and 1/4.
The Intermusic purple/blue they have wood showing through their paint..... dont like the finish and the ones in the children orchestra have all had some problems with the fingerboard slipping off. Would not recommend.

Heard the Gliga colour/custom violins are very nice in finish and sound. Ask Liz from Elidatrading. I can vouch for the colour bow she stocks. My son has a gold bow with purple hair from Elidatrading at the moment. He loves it... it was his compromise for colour. He used to play a Rainbow violin with dominant strings, his was blue and it sounded good but not as good as his Gem2 now.

Didnt stop me getting my youngest a 2nd hand Rainbow Purple this term with dominants again. He loves it and the tone is good enough for me to listen to until after his grade 2. Although the larger Rainbow sounded alot better.

I think these colour instruments are good for young children as they encourage kids to play but after grade 4/5 they really need to move onto better instruments, even with the upgraded strings. They are not really designed for grade 5-8. What does everyone else think?

My kids have never had problems with their colour instruments/bows in orchestra. Lots of children have them where they go but after the 3rd orchestra they seem to become less colourful.

My violin-maker I know is not generally selling his violins to children unless they have very well-off parents. They're good violins and not cheap. I think the complaints he's had have been from people playing in "proper" (for want of a better word - probably some pro orchestras though I don't know, certainly some top amateur ones) orchestras, and condutors have been sniffy about those which didn't fit in.

Honestly, you good folk! It's violoncelli.
Reahhhly!



These conductors are such a snooty lot. Shame their jobs were taken off the buses. They don't like spinning or lighting-up bow ties either, even when playing R Strauss' music.
I attended a Mike Nyman concert where the leader, a violinist, was chewing gum throughout.

Well I don't see why they object to coloured violins.....

If its good enough for this guy.........

Nice but he appears to have dozed off.

i wonder what he'd charge for a picture taken of him playing a Gliga?

Liz

Now there's a thought!!!!

or a recording

it would be fun to have a parent of a third year Suzuki pupil call and say "are you sure this will be good enough for my little Johnny" and to say "well, on our soundfiles page you can hear Maxim playing Paganini on one"

Liz

[quote=janexxx,Sep 3 2005, 04:27 PM]
Well I don't see why they object to coloured violins.....

If its good enough for this guy.........



[/quote

Eeeeeuw! So yuckie. HOW could Maxim do this!

Hmmm, come to think of it... most probably... Stentor paid him a million bucks to do this! No wonder his eyes are shut. He can't stand it!

VN

Ahhh but wait until you hear it That's no Stentor, it sounds like Jimi Hendrix

HE is worse! Our poor Maxim looks like he is in PAIN!

VN

Are you saying that Jimi Hendrix is worse? Worse than what?

Good grief, what a truly hideous-looking instrument!!

someone in another violin class plays a coloured violin and it sounds exactly the same as her freinds stentor II (its blue) its made by rainbow

Worse than poor Maxim having to endure the pain of playing that hideous-looking violin (look closely at his face!) My mum said he's in anguish maybe because he's playing a beautifully sad and moving piece like the Chaconne!

I think he's gone to sleep. Bored probably.

The coloured violins on sale (except for electric) can be made a little better as mentioned, by upgrading strings, but these violins are really only going to be good enough for up to grade 3 standard, and would then be letting you down in an examination. If you want to have one just for a bit of fun then why not?

it is a bit...

electric violins can sound very cool though, so it probably sounds a lot better than it looks!

I think with coloured violins it depends how they're been coloured - after all, all string instruments are colours to some extent by the varnish that is put on them! So if you have a different coloured varnish, or transfer type things like that butterfly violin, it shouldn't have tooooo much effect, but if you slap a layer of paint on then obviously that's going to deaden the sound.

Maybe someone can work out a way of putting glitter in the varnish, then you could have a half-decent metallic violin!

These coloured violins are great and conservatism seems to be the brake. Give Galway a gold flute and it's 100% acceptable or that other guy his platinum one -George Berre? Why not violins? Dye the wood then varnish it as usual.

A coat of modern paint probably would deaden the sound as it's 'soft' but amber varnish would take glitter, it's used by traditionalist artists as a paint medium. Copal would maybe work. I'm not about to experiment but it's about time young solo performers got the same deal as electric guitarists who can go the trad brown sunburst route, or the real exotic.

I agree, electric violins can sound cool and do come in various shapes and >4 strings. I hate the yamaha shape but I don't like much about yamaha anyway.

I'm equally intrigued by the coloured saxes and flutes appearing. I don't know if they're metal or plastic but as the traditional orchestra fades to oblivion, these new things are eyecatching at least.

F

The ultimate fusion of modern with historical - the electric six-string viol

How about an electric lute?

Several lovely 6-string. I specially like the pearlescent cadillac pink! wish wish wish!

And some 7-string.

http://www.violectra.co.uk/violins.php

Hmmmm now not sure whether to be tempted by the Gliga viola or a 5 string electric.......

*goes off to check bank account again*

Which 5/6 strings do you get?? Extra high strings or extra low ones?

These violins look kind of weird...

People have made electro-acousic lutes - they work quite well, and as the lute's reasonably quiet it helps when playing to a larger audience

Not quite Jimi Hendrix though, eh? *grin*

I guess you *could* play a lute with your teeth

Wonder what Vivaldi would think of his concerto's played like that

I bet he'd say 'fangs' to the soloist.

and to the previous few posts... (not necessarily in that order)

what about someone with false teeth. these chompers could end up in the gallery during a fortissimo.

the audience might feel fret-tened by such abso-lute strummery.

I like the jokes. (Er, playing the lute with the teeth is a joke I presume!)

In a brief serious moment - my niece is begging for an electric. She jazzes up everything on her violin (supplied by her school - unsure what make it is but it's rather strident, designed to get on parents' nerves so they buy a better one!)

It's a Christmas present opportunity and I'm wondering what make. I'm reluctant to spend too much and she doesn't like the Yamaha shape either. It's a case of walking round the shops which means a trip to London. She's going to need a new violin soon, acoustic or electric.

So if anyone plays electric violin, I'd be pleased for tips or makes to look at. Violectra are nice but a little expensive.

Ta!

A word of advice about electric violins. If you take them along to orchestral rehearsals, gigs, practice sessions or whatever, be prepared for the owner or organiser of the event to not even let you plug the thing in.

There are very strict rules on electrical safety of amps and similar equipment and although you may know it is safe (having used it at home), the rules for use in public places mean that the equipment needs to have what is known as a PAT test. This is a special test that needs to be done by a qualified electrician and a certifying label attached to the equipment stating that it has been tested for electrical safety. The equipment then has to be re-tested and re-certified at regular intervals.

This is not me blabbing on, it's what the Legal blurb states I'm afraid.

He'll either say - "Fangs a lot " or "Yucks! No fangs!"

Quite honestly it beggars belief that anyone could think a violin for £60 could be 'any good'. Would you buy a piano for £60? A brand new computer? Why do we all happily spend hundreds on a computer yet somehow imagine a half-decent violin could be purchased for that little? Sometimes these cheap violins come with case and bow provided, meaning with a case worth £25 minimum and a bow worth £20 minimum, the violin part costs £15. And you ask if it's any good?

I rest my case.

If you want a half-decent violin at a reasonable price, try the Gliga violins. They're Romanian and excellent as well as relatively low-priced (£150 and up). This INCLUDES bow and case, so it's cheap, very cheap. They look beautiful and sound good especially once they've been played in.

They don't make them in purple, but quite honestly if a kid needs a violin to be purple before he'll go near it there's something awfully wrong.

As for electric violins - you don't need an extra violin for this as there are plenty of excellent pick-ups on the market, like Barcus Berry, Fishman, and a new much cheaper-priced wraparound thing that works very well. Then you just need an amp (which you'd need anyway) and a few effect boxes and you're away.

Oh and also, that thing Maxim's playing is probably the same kind of thing Nigel Kennedy had niched out of his car recently (worth thousands). The acoustic coloured violins are just the cheapest Stento-type things, sprayed in different colours. Decent electiric violins can cost anything up from the hundreds up to many thousands.

Violinia

[quote=Violinia,Sep 5 2005, 12:07 PM]
[quote]They were going for only about £60, had anyone got one of these violins, are they any good? [/quote]

Quite honestly it beggars belief that anyone could think a violin for £60 could be 'any good'. Would you buy a piano for £60? A brand new computer? Why do we all happily spend hundreds on a computer yet somehow imagine a half-decent violin could be purchased for that little? Sometimes these cheap violins come with case and bow provided, meaning with a case worth £25 minimum and a bow worth £20 minimum, the violin part costs £15. And you ask if it's any good?

I rest my case.

I totally agree.

Tess