10 Common Mistakes When Buying A Violin, Viola, Or Cello
1. Not being clear on budget
2. Spending proportionately too little on a bow
3. Not realizing the important value of good setup
4. Not realizing how much misrepresentation there is
5. Letting someone else make your buying decision
6. Shopping brands
7. Believing that old is better
8. Buying because it showed up
9. Buying from a music store instead of a bowed instrument specialist
10. If it looks like a violin, viola, or cello, it must be fine
- Spending too little will generally result in the player struggling in ways that they may not even be aware of. Or they will have to work harder to achieve the results that they are after. Spending too much means hitting a point of minimal return, and/or a point where the person or family is just not comfortable with the additional risk of a more expensive instrument outfit.
- There is a range that is comfortable but properly supports the player where they are in their development. If I think that someone would do better for themselves by increasing their budget a little bit, I will tell them, but I also tell people when they are in “overkill." Also, it is a little different when looking to purchase an outfit for a teenager, versus for an adult, even if both are at about the same level. The pleasure of playing can be enough justification for an adult player to spend a bit more.
2. Spending proportionately too little on a bow
- About a third the cost of the instrument is the rough rule of thumb for what to spend on a bow for a student. The bow is an instrument in and of itself, and it is part of the harmonic system created by the instrument, bow, and player.
- Do have in mind a budget that includes the bow. Sometimes it is better to go down a bit in price for the instrument, and up on the bow. It is the outfit overall that matters, not the individual parts. I have seen people spend much less than a third, and sometimes considerably more. It just depends on the instrument and the needs of the player.
3. Not realizing the important value of good setup
- The bridge, sound post, fingerboard, nut, pegs, and tailpiece are ideally hand-fitted. This takes training, and experience, and if there is any one thing that differentiates a good violin shop from a bad one, or from a music store, it is the setup work. Most music stores don't actually do any of this kind of work at all. They take the supplied factory parts and string up the instrument. The instrument itself can be made quite well, while the factory setup work is often substandard. A bridge that is half a millimeter too high, for example, will be harder to play. A sound post that doesn't fit will radically compromise the sound. A fingerboard that is not planed correctly will buzz and create other fingering difficulties.
4. Not realizing how much misrepresentation there is
- There are many problems with misrepresentation in the bowed instrument business. One example is a woman in Colorado who purchased a Guadagnini from a violin shop. At the time she paid over $200,000 for what she thought was a fine old Italian. One day when she tried to sell what she believed was an investment, she discovered that the violin was actually only worth about $7,500, this after being investigated and evaluated by a prominent violin shop elsewhere in the country.
5. Letting someone else make your buying decision
- The impressions of other people can be quite valuable, as part of the information-gathering process. Ultimately though, it is important to trust yourself to make your own buying decision. Also, be aware that if you are relying on the opinion of a person who gets a kickback from the retailer, they cannot be a neutral advocate for you.
6. Shopping brands
- Branding is all done by importers, not manufacturers, so model names and numbers tell you nothing about where or how the instrument was made. One can't really compare features in the way that we do for most other items that we shop for these days, and online reviews tend to not be based on a lot of wide ranging experience.
- Rather than shopping brands, often the best advice is to find a shop you can trust. Regarding country of origin, there are good and bad instruments being made in many different places. The worst and some of the best student instruments, for example, are being made in China. Finding a shop that has sleuthed out the reliable models and importers is a really good idea. Also, keep in mind that the same make and model will sound entirely different if it is not set up properly. Setup is probably the biggest wild card. An instrument set up properly will sound better than the same one poorly set up elsewhere.
7. Believing that old is better
- The notion that the old Italian instruments are the best has led some people to conclude that old is always better. This is simply not the case. Old may be better sometimes, but this is very instrument-specific and needs to be evaluated case by case. There is a lot of old stuff that was not very good when it was made, and is still, well, not very good. And there is a big difference between shopping for an antique, upper-level professional instrument, and shopping for an instrument for the average player. Do be aware that most instruments being sold in places like pawn shops and garage sales are there for a reason.
8. Buying because it showed up
- This is where a neighbor or friend offers you an instrument. Have it evaluated by a shop that you can trust, and see what else is out there.
9. Buying from a music store instead of a bowed instrument specialist
- Music stores probably mean well, but their focus is on volume, and many of their patrons are just doing instrumental music in school. There just isn't a lot of discernment there. For people who are investing time and money in private lessons, you really want to have an instrument that supports that investment. You may find that for the same money that you would spend in a music store, you can often get a better value spending that same amount in a violin shop.
10. If it looks like a violin, viola, or cello, it must be fine
- Sometimes a parent will say, “they are just a beginner,” but the beginner needs to be properly supported with decent workmanship and a fundamentally acceptable level of playability. Just because is looks like a violin, viola, or cello, doesn't mean it really plays like one.