60-day returns • free shipping on USA orders $129+
Help Buying Violin and Flute for Beginners?
- This topic has 11 replies, 8 voices, and was last updated 11 years, 3 months ago by
.
Viewing 12 posts - 1 through 12 (of 12 total)
- Posts
My kids have decided to expand their horizons and take up violin and flute, but I have no idea how to find a decent instrument at a good price! Can anyone recommend good brands for beginners, or an online retailer that is trustworthy? New or used is fine, as long as the instrument is in good shape. Thanks!
We have always bought from a local store…. and had a thing on the purchase agreement that it was dependant on the approval of the teacher. We have generally gotten very good results. There have been a couple of times when we have returned the violin – once because the violin was large for its size… (ie, we needed a 1/16th violin, and it was a 1/16th violin – but larger than most 1/16th violins…) – and one other time because she would have prefered a slightly better quality (although it was within what she would accept… she just said to ask…) – and both times there was no problem. There have been times the teacher was very surprised about how good a violin we got for what we paid.
It is risky buying from places like eBay. There are some good online retailers – but I’d have to find out who. A cheap – no-good violin isn’t worth the price….
Our violin teachers recommend this model with the fiberglass bow upgrade and Kyoto case.
http://www.swstrings.com/product/instruments/violin/GP-110
We’ve had several of them now with two boys in violin. When my now 10yo reached Book 4 in Suzuki we invested in a fine instrument but the tone on the Klaus Mueller Étude is very nice with good resonance. Make sure you get a good instrument. The frustration level can be intense with an inferior one! 🙂
We rent ours for about $12 a month. Eventually we’ll buy but this has provided a better quality instrument for now.
Do you rent from a local shop or online, my3boys? I am thinking of renting the flute, at least, since my least musical child is taking that up!
This place is very reputable: http://www.knappmusic.com/. We had great service w/my son’s violin. It’s $18/mo. If you decide to buy a violin from them they’ll apply your first years rental fees to your purchase. Great place!
For my son’s drum set (we’ve stepped up the volume in our home:), we just purchased on Craigslist. I got advice from a drummer so I knew what to look for. It was a way better deal than renting locally. And if he doesn’t like it down the road we can always resell for what we paid for it, I bet. Blessings, Gina
Your kids have picked my two favourite instruments! I play both. Well, I play flute, and am trying to teach myself voilin. I’m not sure if I can claim to play it yet. LOL
If you have a teacher, often they will be able to recommend a good local music shop. That makes choosing an instrument, and then returns, servicing, upgrading, etc. a bit easier.
On the other hand, our first violin (1/10 size) was from a local store and we didn’t have a great experience. I didn’t actually purchase it, as it was given as a gift from my father to my daughter. It was a very beginner violin, but we were told it was a good quality. Then, within a few months, we had two issues with it. One of the tuning pegs was cut wrong and so didn’t stay in place well, and one of the fine tuners was stripped, so didn’t hold at all. I went back to the place Dad bought it and they were quite condescending. It was going to cost more to repair than we originally paid, and the repairman basically shrugged his shoulders and muttered ‘You get what you pay for’. When I asked why his shop would sell something of such poor quality, he was a bit embarrassed and said “Because people want cheap.” We would have paid more if we had known this one was ‘cheap’.
We limped along with that instrument for about a year, until my daughter outgrew it. Fortunately the string that wouldn’t tune is one that isn’t used in the first several songs in the Suzuki repertoire!
Then, we purchased 3 violins here: http://www.fiddleheads.ca/ It is a shop in a relatively small town in British Columbia, Canada. The owner is fantastic at answering questions and making certain that each musician is matched with a suitable instrument. She and I emailed back and forth several times before I made the decision. We purchased two of these: http://www.fiddleheads.ca/shop/outfits/primo/fiddlestix.htm (1/8 size and 1/16 size) and one of these: http://www.fiddleheads.ca/shop/outfits/sun/vn-100.htm (7/8 size for me) I have been impressed with all of them. I was a bit unsure about the less expensive violins, because of my previous experience, but decided to try them out. I wasn’t ready to invest too much in instruments that will be outgrown. You can take the violins on a trial by giving a deposit, so that your teacher can see them. Of course, you’d pay shipping to return them if you need to, but it is a nice option. She also said that most people find that they can resell them locally for about as much as they originally paid.
For flutes, I don’t have a shop to recommend, since I haven’t purchased one in 25 years, but I have always played Armstrong brand and been happy with them. If I was going to buy again, I might look at Yamahas as well, but they are almost always more expensive (new anyway) for a similar quality instrument. I have been less impressed with Gemeinhardt flutes. I had friends with them, and the tone was just different. It might be a personal preference thing, but I’d personally stay away from them. There are a bunch of new brands, but I can’t help you with any of them.
If buying a used flute, I’d recommend having it checked by someone who services flutes, as things like worn pads (the underside of the keys) can cost a LOT to replace.
Enjoy the music!
Joanne
Yes, we rent from a local music store. When it needs to be repaired, or traded in for a larger size, they take care of that. They also offer the same as what Gina mentioned about applying first year’s rent (or more, not sure) toward the purchase in the future. But, with all of these other ideas coming in, I may check those out in the future, we’ll see.
Yes – renting is probably the best option for a single child while growing! LOL!… Around here it is $10 a month for a violin from the Suzuki group (if a member – and they have limited numbers) and about $15 a month for the local stores….
Owning made more sense for my family, as we have 4 kids that will do violin… Right now we have….
Full Size – Moms!
1/2 – Delta just grew into it (as in, we just got it…)
1/4 – Echo just grew into it (as in, she was waiting for Delta’s new one…)
1/8 – currently not in use… – Echo was using it just a couple of days ago…
1/10 – currently not in use…. will be foxtrot’s soon
1/16 – Foxtrot – will probably grow out of it soon… Golf is a bit small for it, but I don’t see us buying a 1/32!
Boxilin (cardboard violin) – Golf
We will be able to sell them back for a percentage to the store we bought them from (I think 75% if in good condition still?) or try to sell them ourselves… But we aren’t in a position to sell any back yet!
My husband is a professional musician, plays flute, sax and clarinet. He also buys and sells on Ebay and repairs/repads these instruments. Also offers lessons if you are in the Memphis area. If you are interested in an Armstrong 104 – this is a student model flute, and Armstrong is considered one of the best in this category – he has one that he has repadded and will sell for $150. It typically would sell used for $200, and a new one can cost around $600. PM me if you are interested.
I want to second jmac’s recommendation of Fiddleheads – the owner is fabulous in her knowledge and customer service.
Shar Music also has in-home trials and some decent student instruments if you are in the US. They also offer full value trade-in on a better instrument (minus a small fee). Rentals also.
One more thing: Shar Music has a Dutch Auction every so often where instruments are very inexpensive. You need to be on their mailing list to get the heads up. Their Carlo Lamberti Sonata violin is pretty good for the price.
Viewing 12 posts - 1 through 12 (of 12 total)
- The topic ‘Help Buying Violin and Flute for Beginners?’ is closed to new replies.