Post by julesd68 on Apr 24, 2015 16:08:59 GMT
Much is made about the cost of soloist or orchestral standard instruments but at the moment I'm looking at the other end of the market ... 
My son announced to me a while ago that he really wants to learn the violin, in addition to piano which he's been playing for years. I automatically assumed that I'd be looking at hundreds for something half-decent to get him started on. There's no point in buying too cheaply as the instruments will be more difficult to learn on, go out of tune more often and can sound horrendous .... Anyway, his new teacher advised me to get a violin made by Stentor and amazingly enough you can buy a starter outfit for about 130 quid brand new. I actually paid a bit less than this for a 3/4 sized one second-hand, in lovely condition, with some extra bits and pieces and upgraded strings. I have to say it's staggering that Stentor can turn these out for the money they do. It's a very nice looking instrument and more importantly it makes a nice sound, at least it will do once my son gets to grips with it ... When I learnt the violin back in the 70's there was certainly nothing like this available at that kind of price and there was always a sharp intake of breath when talking about having to buy a new instrument in our family! Whilst the cost of lessons is never cheap, at these kind of prices it certainly opens up the possibility of learning an instrument to a wider market.
My son announced to me a while ago that he really wants to learn the violin, in addition to piano which he's been playing for years. I automatically assumed that I'd be looking at hundreds for something half-decent to get him started on. There's no point in buying too cheaply as the instruments will be more difficult to learn on, go out of tune more often and can sound horrendous .... Anyway, his new teacher advised me to get a violin made by Stentor and amazingly enough you can buy a starter outfit for about 130 quid brand new. I actually paid a bit less than this for a 3/4 sized one second-hand, in lovely condition, with some extra bits and pieces and upgraded strings. I have to say it's staggering that Stentor can turn these out for the money they do. It's a very nice looking instrument and more importantly it makes a nice sound, at least it will do once my son gets to grips with it ... When I learnt the violin back in the 70's there was certainly nothing like this available at that kind of price and there was always a sharp intake of breath when talking about having to buy a new instrument in our family! Whilst the cost of lessons is never cheap, at these kind of prices it certainly opens up the possibility of learning an instrument to a wider market.
