best budget recording violin

[_brian_]

hello, i bought a stentor student 1 and have been practicing on it quite a lot, it's rotten for recording though so i was looking at upgrading. i only have a few hundred pounds though (and am a guitarist at heart so am not well versed in violins) can any of you advis me of any contenders within this price range?

cheers

[32-20-Blues]

Shoot DavidK a PM. He's a pretty serious symphony player, and he knows his stuff.

I have a Stentor Student One also - never tried to record it, though. What's causing you problems?

[Anfontan]

Originally Posted by _brian_

hello, i bought a stentor student 1 and have been practicing on it quite a lot, it's rotten for recording though so i was looking at upgrading. i only have a few hundred pounds though (and am a guitarist at heart so am not well versed in violins) can any of you advise me of any contenders within this price range?

cheers

What are you using in the recording chain-such as microphone, preamp...
last time I was in a studio with a violin player they used a condenser
mic very closely micing the violin.
The student models most likely don't have the top of the violin tapered for best tone though...

[rayc]

The best you can afford & THEN you'll have to deal with inconsistency in playing, movement whilst playing, the room, the mics, the mic position, the preamps, the EQ the inherent problems with the recording format and droobs like me.
But try David K - he is INTO IT in a big way.

[_brian_]

Originally Posted by 32-20-Blues

Shoot DavidK a PM. He's a pretty serious symphony player, and he knows his stuff.

I have a Stentor Student One also - never tried to record it, though. What's causing you problems?

it's very screechy, no real low tone. my bowing is fine, i've tried condensor & dynamic mics in various positions. i've tried different strings & rosin as well.

[mshilarious]

Look for eastern european brands; they are a much better value than anything coming out of China. I have four Gligas for my daughters; in the $400 range my teacher stated they were comparable or better than $600 range models from other brands. The quality of the woods is much better than anything I've seen in a student Chinese violin. I know Gliga is distributed in the UK, but I don't know specifics. The only caveat I've heard is not to go beyond their top student range, as their professional models don't follow the same price-quality curve. So I buy their top student range . . .

Generally, I find their violins to be mellow; they don't project massively and aren't bright. Those are probably desirable aspects for recording.

I'd post a clip, but you'd only hear them as played by a 9yo student--or worse, me

[_brian_]

Originally Posted by mshilarious

Look for eastern european brands; they are a much better value than anything coming out of China. I have four Gligas for my daughters; in the $400 range my teacher stated they were comparable or better than $600 range models from other brands. The quality of the woods is much better than anything I've seen in a student Chinese violin. I know Gliga is distributed in the UK, but I don't know specifics. The only caveat I've heard is not to go beyond their top student range, as their professional models don't follow the same price-quality curve. So I buy their top student range . . .

Generally, I find their violins to be mellow; they don't project massively and aren't bright. Those are probably desirable aspects for recording.

I'd post a clip, but you'd only hear them as played by a 9yo student--or worse, me

Gliga looks good, i have looked into them before as i've heard quite a few people rave about them. i bought the student 1 just to see if i had the ability to play the instrument. so basically it's done it's job & for £50 i cant complain!!

what about an electric violin? would this be a good alternative? i have no idea how they sound & would never record guitar direct (which may be comparible) but thought i'd ask anyway.

[_brian_]

mshilarious, this is the range available to the uk;

http://www.elidatrading.co.uk/gliga.htm

are we looking at the gem or gama range of instruments?

i was quite surprised when i saw the gama 2 violin, is that only one fine tuner (e-string)?

[mshilarious]

Originally Posted by _brian_

mshilarious, this is the range available to the uk;

http://www.elidatrading.co.uk/gliga.htm

are we looking at the gem or gama range of instruments?

i was quite surprised when i saw the gama 2 violin, is that only one fine tuner (e-string)?

I have two of the Gems 1 range, with one-piece back and an upgrade to four fine tuners. Better strings would be a further improvement, but since mine are just for student use I stick with Super-Sensitive Red Label.

[Armistice]

Let's start agitating for a Violin Forum...

Guitars are soooo last year..

[Roguetitan]

Originally Posted by _brian_

hello, i bought a stentor student 1 and have been practicing on it quite a lot, it's rotten for recording though so i was looking at upgrading. i only have a few hundred pounds though (and am a guitarist at heart so am not well versed in violins) can any of you advis me of any contenders within this price range?

cheers

you may want to check these out
Wood Violins

[drossfile]

Originally Posted by Roguetitan

you may want to check these out
Wood Violins

i've looked at these violins before, as they're among the ones used by the group stratospheerius, and i just have to point out...

Originally Posted by brian

hello, i bought a stentor student 1 and have been practicing on it quite a lot, it's rotten for recording though so i was looking at upgrading. i only have a few hundred pounds though (and am a guitarist at heart so am not well versed in violins) can any of you advis me of any contenders within this price range?

[Roguetitan]

Originally Posted by drossfile

i've looked at these violins before, as they're among the ones used by the group stratospheerius, and i just have to point out...

OK OK I Heard you that time
have you tried a Peizo pickup this may give you a little better result opposed to miking the instrument. they are usually not that expensive.
this one in particular is only $15.00 plus shipping and is one of the best I have found inany price range ( also Fantastic Cymbal and snare drum triggers) but I see you are in the UK so you will have to find a source there to buy from on that side of the pond


now if you are looking to upgrade you cannot beat the Bellafina SSE electric violin, without a doubt the Best Bang for the buck fiddle!

which is a very good violin for recording in fact it was designed particularly for studio use but does not exclude stage performance they are also great fiddles for practice if you need to keep it quiet. probably would be my second choice other than Mark Wood violins especially if I had a tight budget.
Musicians friend has them from $300.00 for 4 string to $450.00 USD for the 5 string they are pretty popular violins so you should be able to find one over there.

[_brian_]

Originally Posted by drossfile

i've looked at these violins before, as they're among the ones used by the group stratospheerius, and i just have to point out...

i hope the enlarged font version isn't assummed by others to be my original post

Roguetitan

thanks for the advice, the Bellafina SSE in all it's sexyness looks perfect, but unavailable in >GREAT< britain ) i think i'll start swimming to the US!! the pick up is a nice idea, i was really wanting to upgrade the violin though as i think i'm at the stage of looking at having a more responsive instrument.

[DavidK]

Originally Posted by Roguetitan

you may want to check these out
Wood Violins

I have one of these.

it's very screechy, no real low tone. my bowing is fine, i've tried condensor & dynamic mics in various positions. i've tried different strings & rosin as well.

Here's the truth:

They are all screechy with no real low tone until you put in about 3000 hours practicing. Ask any parent who has a kid playing. BTW, the screechy sound is caused by the bow, not the fiddle. Try more rosin and a better rosin.
http://www.sharmusic.com/itemdy00.asp?T1=PR12&Cat=

Electric and acoustic are way different birds. I would stick with an acoustic at first. Electrics dont make any sound, and they sound absolutely awful without a Pod or some effect unit. Direct recording of one won't work without effects.

As for an acoustic, If I had a small budget I would head for a pawn shop. Look for something that looks well made and pretty, seriously. Look for cracks or seams open, and avoid that. You could try getting a bow rehair, or a better bow. The bow is what produces the sound. "Screechy" means that the bow is not being controlled and is slipping on the string. A combination of even pressure, control, good hair and good rosin will fix that.

Try "Dominant" strings, they are good. Anything below them (Names like "Super-Sensitive, D'Addario, Red Label") are made for fiddling and are going to sound lousy. Strings are pretty expensive, find a mail order to save money.

Violin= screechy. It's not like other instruments, the bow is the problem.

[_brian_]

Originally Posted by DavidK

I have one of these.



Here's the truth:

They are all screechy with no real low tone until you put in about 3000 hours practicing. Ask any parent who has a kid playing. BTW, the screechy sound is caused by the bow, not the fiddle. Try more rosin and a better rosin.
http://www.sharmusic.com/itemdy00.asp?T1=PR12&Cat=

Electric and acoustic are way different birds. I would stick with an acoustic at first. Electrics dont make any sound, and they sound absolutely awful without a Pod or some effect unit. Direct recording of one won't work without effects.

As for an acoustic, If I had a small budget I would head for a pawn shop. Look for something that looks well made and pretty, seriously. Look for cracks or seams open, and avoid that. You could try getting a bow rehair, or a better bow. The bow is what produces the sound. "Screechy" means that the bow is not being controlled and is slipping on the string. A combination of even pressure, control, good hair and good rosin will fix that.

Try "Dominant" strings, they are good. Anything below them (Names like "Super-Sensitive, D'Addario, Red Label") are made for fiddling and are going to sound lousy. Strings are pretty expensive, find a mail order to save money.

Violin= screechy. It's not like other instruments, the bow is the problem.

well i certainly haven't put that amount of time into my practice, i am able to pick instruments up very easily and already play a few, guitar is my main instrument. you might disagree, but i know what i'm doing and am very honest about my abilities & inabilities (thats how i am able to see my faults & work on them and become pretty descent on any instument i've tried). if i was unable to judge what i am and am not doing correctly i would be unable to play the instruments at such a high standard as i do. anyway a piano music teacher friend agrees about the tembre of the instrument & my bowing not being the problem. perhaps screaching was not the best discriptor as i wasn't talking about bow screaching i was talking about instrument tembre being thin, with very undesirable resonant tones. i use hills rosin and have already changed to obligato strings. i tried my sister's violin & have found a noticeable difference, her violin was very dark though, too much so, i don't know if it's a gypsy violin or not. it probably would only be good for solo performance, i'm looking for a brighter instrument so that i can multitrack a string section, and overdub for a fuller sound-just a good allround violin that does most things ok.