If this is your first visit, be sure to check out the FAQ by clicking the link above. You may have to register before you can post: click the register link above to proceed. To start viewing messages, select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below. |
|
|
|
Thread Tools | Display Modes |
#1
|
|||
|
|||
buying violin
I've been thinking it is probably time to buy my daughter a violin instead of
continuing to rent (as the rent very quickly adds up to more than the violin would cost, and she is pretty sure to use it for a while yet, plus a decent violin will hold value). Just now the place we are renting from has a $150 discount, plus we've already rented it for more than nine months, so nine months' rent would go towards the purchase. The question is whether the violin itself is good enough. It sounds pretty darned good to me, better than some of the others she tried, but I am no string player, and not that much of a musician. She's taking school lessons, not private ones, so I can't just ask the teacher (well, I can, but he's not specifically a string teacher and I don't think it's his major area, plus he is incredibly busy). This particular violin was made at the place that rents it, and they have a very good reputation, but of course this is not one of their top-flight models. We could swap for any other that they have, but in the midst of a sale they probably have less selection than usual of the student-level violins. I need to ask them if they would be willing to buy it back (assuming good condition of course) in a couple of years, and what that value might be. Any advice, other things I should be thinking about? (It is a full size, by the way.) --Helen |
#2
|
|||
|
|||
H Schinske wrote:
I've been thinking it is probably time to buy my daughter a violin instead of continuing to rent snip Any advice, other things I should be thinking about? (It is a full size, by the way.) I know precisely squat about violins, but have been around the block a few times buying instruments. If your daughter seems pretty committed to violin and you think odds are she'll be playing for several years, I would target a model that is probably a bit better than what you started with. I think the ideal scenario with instruments if you end up with someone who continues to play seriously through college is: - one starter instrument (for a flute, that would be a $200-400 instrument) - one intermediate instrument (by jr. high, which would be about a $1000-$1500 flute) - one professional or near-professional instrument by late high school/early college, which would be a flute in the $3000+ range) You've got the starter instrument, and starter instruments typically don't last more than 2-3 years max with someone who's putting significant effort into it. So, she's probably put in about half of its effective lifespan. If you buy this violin and she stops playing before, say, jr. high, you win. If you buy this violin and she really puts a lot of effort into it, you could be looking at a new violin in as little as a year. I'm assuming what you've got is, in fact, a starter instrument. Ultimately, it's always a judgement call based on how much effort the child is putting into it, what you can afford, and how long you think the child will continue playing. You win some, you lose some ;-) Speaking of instruments, though, mine needs an adjustment badly...better find a tech nearby... Best wishes, Ericka |
#3
|
|||
|
|||
Ditto on what Erica said. In general, I don't recommend buying a starter
instrument after the student has been playing a year or more, because they'll need an intermediate level one within the next year or two anyway. It makes a major difference as to sound quality and intonation. In addition (and this is as an experienced musician and music teacher), musical instruments are one area where buying used is often better than buying new. Like cars, depreciation is highest in the first year, and any major manufacturing flaws appear during the inital break in period. In addition, strings go out of tune very quickly during the first months, and pegs can slip. For winds, leaks in pads and lubrication problems are typical during the first months. Since most students don't play a beginning or intermediate instrument for more than a few years anyway, there is a continual supply of used ones which are very good instruments at several hundred dollars less. Be aware that while your daughter's rental violin was almost certainly used when she got it, on a rent to own deal you will be charged new price, so a used instrment of the same make, model, and age may end up costing less. If you upgrade through the music store, find out what it costs to buy outright, then ask about applying your rental. Musical instrument purchases, especially used ones, are one place where haggling, either in actual cost or in accessories, is reasonable and expected, particularly past the beginning level. If you decide to buy used, especially privately, do the same thing you'd do with a car-have someone knowledgeable check out the instrument as to mechanical condition. I'd also suggest asking on a music teacher's board (www.teachers.net) has one, as to the make/model of any instrument you're considering, as SOMEONE there will be not only a teacher of almost any instrument known to man, but actually someone who is a specialist in that instrument, and therefore has probably had experience with many different types of the same instrument. -- Donna DeVore Metler Orff Music Specialist/Band/Choir Mother to Angel Brian Anthony 1/1/2002, 22 weeks, severe PE/HELLP And Allison Joy, 11/26/04 (35 weeks, PIH, Pre-term labor) "Ericka Kammerer" wrote in message ... H Schinske wrote: I've been thinking it is probably time to buy my daughter a violin instead of continuing to rent snip Any advice, other things I should be thinking about? (It is a full size, by the way.) I know precisely squat about violins, but have been around the block a few times buying instruments. If your daughter seems pretty committed to violin and you think odds are she'll be playing for several years, I would target a model that is probably a bit better than what you started with. I think the ideal scenario with instruments if you end up with someone who continues to play seriously through college is: - one starter instrument (for a flute, that would be a $200-400 instrument) - one intermediate instrument (by jr. high, which would be about a $1000-$1500 flute) - one professional or near-professional instrument by late high school/early college, which would be a flute in the $3000+ range) You've got the starter instrument, and starter instruments typically don't last more than 2-3 years max with someone who's putting significant effort into it. So, she's probably put in about half of its effective lifespan. If you buy this violin and she stops playing before, say, jr. high, you win. If you buy this violin and she really puts a lot of effort into it, you could be looking at a new violin in as little as a year. I'm assuming what you've got is, in fact, a starter instrument. Ultimately, it's always a judgement call based on how much effort the child is putting into it, what you can afford, and how long you think the child will continue playing. You win some, you lose some ;-) Speaking of instruments, though, mine needs an adjustment badly...better find a tech nearby... Best wishes, Ericka |
#4
|
|||
|
|||
"H Schinske" wrote in message ... I've been thinking it is probably time to buy my daughter a violin instead of continuing to rent (as the rent very quickly adds up to more than the violin would cost, and she is pretty sure to use it for a while yet, plus a decent violin will hold value). Just now the place we are renting from has a $150 discount, plus we've already rented it for more than nine months, so nine months' rent would go towards the purchase. The question is whether the violin itself is good enough. It sounds pretty darned good to me, better than some of the others she tried, but I am no string player, and not that much of a musician. She's taking school lessons, not private ones, so I can't just ask the teacher (well, I can, but he's not specifically a string teacher and I don't think it's his major area, plus he is incredibly busy). I was going to suggest you ask the violin teacher... but since you have only the school one that is out. So, perhaps it might be useful to seek out a violin teacher --- .... or ... see if other students in the school have parents or friends who are violin players who can help you decide? Even without trying we have run into several violin players who have an opinion. There is one parent who helps with the strings at my daughter's school just because she can. Then last summer during the district's summer music program one mom whose son was in my daughter's string class was a professional violin player who had played in the same orchestra as my daughter's private teacher! (this is really just a medium sized West Coast town!). We were lucky. When it came time to get a 4/4 violin, we had my mother-in-law's first full size. She got it when she was 16 in a small town in Canada just before WWII. There is no label, but my daughter's private teacher says it is a very nice instrument with a good sound. When we got it there were no strings and also the bridge and tail-piece were missing. We got these repaired at a family owned violin shop (where we had rented her little violins), and it works well (we had bridge tuners installed on all 4 strings so she did not have to muck with the scroll pegs). It also had a policy where that you could use 9 months rent to buy a new instrument. Unfortunately that did not apply to either the repair nor a new case. This particular violin was made at the place that rents it, and they have a very good reputation, but of course this is not one of their top-flight models. We could swap for any other that they have, but in the midst of a sale they probably have less selection than usual of the student-level violins. I need to ask them if they would be willing to buy it back (assuming good condition of course) in a couple of years, and what that value might be. Any advice, other things I should be thinking about? (It is a full size, by the way.) I wish I had better advice (our son's rental saxophone was evaluated by his teacher as decent/good, but since she was well known in local alternative jazz circles I dropped her name at the store, which helped: THEN she had to go move to New York to try the big time!! erg .. from big fish in little berg to krill in the Big Apple). But I can hope that what happened to at least one other family does not happen to you: They bought their daughter the violin, and then she decided to completely quit playing within a year. Of course, I just hope her reason for quitting was NOT the middle school orchestra! That will be the same one my daughter will be in next year. (though we are very fortunate to have a wonderfully wacky private violin teacher who knows how to deal with our daughter, even when she threatens to quit) --Helen |
#5
|
|||
|
|||
"H Schinske" wrote in message ... I've been thinking it is probably time to buy my daughter a violin instead of continuing to rent (as the rent very quickly adds up to more than the violin would cost, and she is pretty sure to use it for a while yet, plus a decent violin will hold value). Just now the place we are renting from has a $150 discount, plus we've already rented it for more than nine months, so nine months' rent would go towards the purchase. The question is whether the violin itself is good enough. It sounds pretty darned good to me, better than some of the others she tried, but I am no string player, and not that much of a musician. She's taking school lessons, not private ones, so I can't just ask the teacher (well, I can, but he's not specifically a string teacher and I don't think it's his major area, plus he is incredibly busy). I was going to suggest you ask the violin teacher... but since you have only the school one that is out. So, perhaps it might be useful to seek out a violin teacher --- .... or ... see if other students in the school have parents or friends who are violin players who can help you decide? Even without trying we have run into several violin players who have an opinion. There is one parent who helps with the strings at my daughter's school just because she can. Then last summer during the district's summer music program one mom whose son was in my daughter's string class was a professional violin player who had played in the same orchestra as my daughter's private teacher! (this is really just a medium sized West Coast town!). We were lucky. When it came time to get a 4/4 violin, we had my mother-in-law's first full size. She got it when she was 16 in a small town in Canada just before WWII. There is no label, but my daughter's private teacher says it is a very nice instrument with a good sound. When we got it there were no strings and also the bridge and tail-piece were missing. We got these repaired at a family owned violin shop (where we had rented her little violins), and it works well (we had bridge tuners installed on all 4 strings so she did not have to muck with the scroll pegs). It also had a policy where that you could use 9 months rent to buy a new instrument. Unfortunately that did not apply to either the repair nor a new case. This particular violin was made at the place that rents it, and they have a very good reputation, but of course this is not one of their top-flight models. We could swap for any other that they have, but in the midst of a sale they probably have less selection than usual of the student-level violins. I need to ask them if they would be willing to buy it back (assuming good condition of course) in a couple of years, and what that value might be. Any advice, other things I should be thinking about? (It is a full size, by the way.) I wish I had better advice (our son's rental saxophone was evaluated by his teacher as decent/good, but since she was well known in local alternative jazz circles I dropped her name at the store, which helped: THEN she had to go move to New York to try the big time!! erg .. from big fish in little berg to krill in the Big Apple). But I can hope that what happened to at least one other family does not happen to you: They bought their daughter the violin, and then she decided to completely quit playing within a year. Of course, I just hope her reason for quitting was NOT the middle school orchestra! That will be the same one my daughter will be in next year. (though we are very fortunate to have a wonderfully wacky private violin teacher who knows how to deal with our daughter, even when she threatens to quit) --Helen |
#6
|
|||
|
|||
,, musician. She's taking school lessons, not private ones, so I can't just ask the teacher (well, I can, but he's not specifically a string teacher and I don't think it's his major area, plus he is incredibly busy). .... Sorry for the double post... new ISP usenet system (it may happen again) --- but I saw a comment of yours in another post (rhythm in children) --- During the time when we were spending lots of bucks on one child's speech therapy, the cost of private music lessons was reasonable in comparison (during that time the 5 of us took driving vacations stuffed into a tiny sedan, we only bought a van when he "graduated" from speech therapy). So each kid started private music lessons when they were 5 years old (though the oldest was released after just a short while when he demonstrated a profound "anti-practicitis" condition -- absolute refusal to touch the keyboard between lessons). I knew the $$$$$$ we spent on music lessons was worthwhile when child #2 declared he hated Brittany Spears! And then to top it off... the youngest told me to switch the radio from Radio Disney to the local classical radio station. Woo hoo!!! (note: I do not play an instrument, I spent my childhood being dragged around from place to place as an Army brat, it is hard to establish lessons when you move every year or two... but I did marry into a musical family, so I go along with it all) |
#7
|
|||
|
|||
"H Schinske" wrote in message ... I've been thinking it is probably time to buy my daughter a violin instead of continuing to rent (as the rent very quickly adds up to more than the violin would cost, and she is pretty sure to use it for a while yet, plus a decent violin will hold value). Just now the place we are renting from has a $150 discount, plus we've already rented it for more than nine months, so nine months' rent would go towards the purchase. The question is whether the violin itself is good enough. It sounds pretty darned good to me, better than some of the others she tried, but I am no string player, and not that much of a musician. She's taking school lessons, not private ones, so I can't just ask the teacher (well, I can, but he's not specifically a string teacher and I don't think it's his major area, plus he is incredibly busy). This particular violin was made at the place that rents it, and they have a very good reputation, but of course this is not one of their top-flight models. We could swap for any other that they have, but in the midst of a sale they probably have less selection than usual of the student-level violins. I need to ask them if they would be willing to buy it back (assuming good condition of course) in a couple of years, and what that value might be. Any advice, other things I should be thinking about? (It is a full size, by the way.) I learnt the violin as a child and one thing my violin was brilliant at was staying in tune. I mean I can get it out now, having hardly played it in 10 years and it's just out of tune. It only needed gentle tuning each week. My brother's on the other hand would be out of tune by the end of an half hour lesson! Check the bow is well haired-the hairs shouldn't come out too often either. Are the strings in good order (I expect if you buy it you may be able to ask for replacement strings as an extra) Look along the strings and check they're not going to go shortly. Check the bridge is in position and doesn't slip, or is bent. Unless the floor falls out of the violin market ;-P it's probably relavent to ask them what proportion of the value of the violin they pay when buying back. Unless your daughter does anything drastic (like a somersault on top of it as I remember happening to a cello) I don't imagine the value will change drastically. Oh and it wants a hard case-occasionally places use soft ones. Debbie |
#8
|
|||
|
|||
H Schinske wrote:
I've been thinking it is probably time to buy my daughter a violin instead of continuing to rent (as the rent very quickly adds up to more than the violin would cost, and she is pretty sure to use it for a while yet, plus a decent violin will hold value). Just now the place we are renting from has a $150 discount, plus we've already rented it for more than nine months, so nine months' rent would go towards the purchase. The question is whether the violin itself is good enough. It sounds pretty darned good to me, better than some of the others she tried, but I am no string player, and not that much of a musician. She's taking school lessons, not private ones, so I can't just ask the teacher (well, I can, but he's not specifically a string teacher and I don't think it's his major area, plus he is incredibly busy). This particular violin was made at the place that rents it, and they have a very good reputation, but of course this is not one of their top-flight models. We could swap for any other that they have, but in the midst of a sale they probably have less selection than usual of the student-level violins. I need to ask them if they would be willing to buy it back (assuming good condition of course) in a couple of years, and what that value might be. Any advice, other things I should be thinking about? (It is a full size, by the way.) --Helen We'll most likely be buying a 4/4 sometime this spring. DD has about outgrown the 3/4, which we own. Neither DH or I play either, so we're fairly clueless too. DD is taking lessons, so her teacher has given some input. These two online retailers come recommended, both by the teacher and other parents http://www.stringworks.com/ www.sharmusic.com Both will apparently allow you to try out violins to determine which tone you/DD prefer. Our teacher requests we get a wood bow, not composite. Lesley |
#9
|
|||
|
|||
HCN wrote:
But I can hope that what happened to at least one other family does not happen to you: They bought their daughter the violin, and then she decided to completely quit playing within a year. We are going to make a major deal before we buy one that the purchase commits her to at least finishing out middle school orchestra (two more years.) So far, she adores it but I want that promise regardless. :-) Lesley |
#10
|
|||
|
|||
Ericka's post isn't coming up on my server yet, so I had to get it off Google
Groups: "- one starter instrument (for a flute, that would be a $200-400 instrument) - one intermediate instrument (by jr. high, which would be about a $1000-$1500 flute) - one professional or near-professional instrument by late high school/early college, which would be a flute in the $3000+ range) You've got the starter instrument, and starter instruments typically don't last more than 2-3 years max with someone who's putting significant effort into it. So, she's probably put in about half of its effective lifespan. If you buy this violin and she stops playing before, say, jr. high, you win. If you buy this violin and she really puts a lot of effort into it, you could be looking at a new violin in as little as a year. I'm assuming what you've got is, in fact, a starter instrument." Well, that's the thing, I'm not at all sure it is really a "starter" instrument, given the price and the maker's reputation (unless they're vastly overcharging me for what I understand is known to the profession as a "violin-shaped object" ;-) ). I would have thought a violin that costs (nominally) $800 would not be one to lose its value in a few years. --Helen |
|
Thread Tools | |
Display Modes | |
|
|
Similar Threads | ||||
Thread | Thread Starter | Forum | Replies | Last Post |
Buying Babies on Amazon | santaclaws | Pregnancy | 0 | August 22nd 04 02:31 AM |
Endlessly buying clothes | Joanne23 | General | 28 | May 8th 04 04:24 AM |
Freaking out about buying stuff.. | Cam & Shane | Pregnancy | 16 | March 14th 04 10:23 PM |
Father Jailed for Buying Airline Ticket | [email protected] | Child Support | 43 | February 22nd 04 07:02 AM |
Buying a battery charger? | wrestleantares | General | 0 | January 21st 04 06:27 PM |