Re: violin buying question to you trusted cafe goers (NMC)
Originally Posted by
DougC
So I'd say yea, get the Eastman VL305 along with a Coda Bow and know you've got a decent starting point. Anything else is like buying a used car.
I do research, then buy quality used cars, drive them not only around the city but on long-distance trips. After many years of service from a car, when maintenance costs get too expensive (usually when the car is about 20 years old), I let it go. To me, buying a new car that loses value as soon as I sign the contract is a mug's game. Clearly, others don't feel the same way. My used-car of a fiddle is running fine after about 150 years of playing, interrupted by long periods of neglect, but kept up by occasional maintenance. There are dozens of reasons why comparing the purchase of a fiddle to that of a car doesn't work, not the least of which is that cars have engines that rust and wear out, while violins are made of wood and, except for the cheapest, are designed to last.
Robert Johnson's mother, describing blues musicians:
"I never did have no trouble with him until he got big enough to be round with bigger boys and off from home. Then he used to follow all these harp blowers, mandoleen (sic) and guitar players."
Lomax, Alan, The Land where The Blues Began, NY: Pantheon, 1993, p.14.
Bookmarks