The number one question when shopping violins for sale is: Shall I buy new or used? New is bright and shiny and has presentation. However the number one thing that important when you buy a violin is that it has a quality sound. You can have a banged up and dirty old violin that you buy from a flea market and it will sound better than a bright and shiny violin that is 10 times the price. You can find a violin mechanic and body man. His garage is called a Luthiery.
If you buy an old violin and fix it up you have the best bargain. Take someone with you and shop for a violin with good sound. Good sound is a result of the violin being made of the proper wood and being built with good violin making techniques and skills. Make sure that it is made with good quality and aged maple and spruce. If it has cracks make sure that they are fixable and know how much it will cost to have the cracks fixed. Even if it has certain cracks it is playable while you save up money to get it fixed.
It is bonus if the hardware on the violin is made of wood. The finger board and the pins should be made of ebony or a similar hardwood. If they are not know that you will be paying your Luthiery to replace these parts. This will improve the playability of your violin and you will appreciate that as your playing skills improve.
You can fix it up all at once after you have bought it or you can take your time and do it a bit at a time. Some of the work can cost hundreds of dollars and major work can be thousands. You can weigh out how much to spend on whether it increases the marketable value of the violin. You may not want to spend $1500 fixing up a violin that will resell for only $2000. However if you save a year or two of renting a violin you end up with a nice violin for what you would have paid for violin rental.
If you buy a new violin it is a used violin after you have played it for even a year. The value usually goes down. When you buy an old violin and fix it up you end up with a nice violin that has a nice sound. It will be worth more than you paid for it. In the mean time you have learned about how a violin is made and what makes a violin sound good. And you come out with a violin that is worth more than you paid for it.
If you buy an old violin and fix it up you have the best bargain. Take someone with you and shop for a violin with good sound. Good sound is a result of the violin being made of the proper wood and being built with good violin making techniques and skills. Make sure that it is made with good quality and aged maple and spruce. If it has cracks make sure that they are fixable and know how much it will cost to have the cracks fixed. Even if it has certain cracks it is playable while you save up money to get it fixed.
It is bonus if the hardware on the violin is made of wood. The finger board and the pins should be made of ebony or a similar hardwood. If they are not know that you will be paying your Luthiery to replace these parts. This will improve the playability of your violin and you will appreciate that as your playing skills improve.
You can fix it up all at once after you have bought it or you can take your time and do it a bit at a time. Some of the work can cost hundreds of dollars and major work can be thousands. You can weigh out how much to spend on whether it increases the marketable value of the violin. You may not want to spend $1500 fixing up a violin that will resell for only $2000. However if you save a year or two of renting a violin you end up with a nice violin for what you would have paid for violin rental.
If you buy a new violin it is a used violin after you have played it for even a year. The value usually goes down. When you buy an old violin and fix it up you end up with a nice violin that has a nice sound. It will be worth more than you paid for it. In the mean time you have learned about how a violin is made and what makes a violin sound good. And you come out with a violin that is worth more than you paid for it.
About the Author:
Tony Messina is a collector of old violins. He has bought and sold violins for several decades. Only recently has he started writing to share his expertise.
