| Q: Do you have a Brick & Mortar? | A:
Not yet. My business, and my wife's, are outgrowing the
space we have at the house. However, we are not in a headlong
rush to go out and rent a space. Retail space in Plano is very
expensive, and we have to be able to justify that expense with a
corresponding increase in income in a reasonably short time. We would
consider
moving to a cheaper area, but all the grandkids live close by, and my
wife is
not willing to leave this part of the country. Update: My wife got a really good deal on a small office space for her business, but unfortunately, it isn't big enough for both of us, and the location is not really suitable for a music store in addition to her business. So, it is likely to be a while before I have my brick & mortar store. |
| Q:
Where are your violins from? Do they have a label, a
serial number, and a certificate of authenicity? |
A:
I see you have been reading my competitor's listings, and
have seen the questions they want you to ask. Well, that's good -- but
the real question boils down to, "Is your violin worth the price?" Let me explain a bit about the value of violins. The price of an investment-quality violin is generally based on 1) The pedigree (usually that means the maker, but the value also increases tremendously if the violin has been owned by a famous player), 2) The condition, and 3) The actual tone and playability. In that order. As a professional violinist, I always felt that order was exactly backwards, but I don't make the market. There are genuine Strads out there selling for $200,000 that are basically so bad they are unplayable, and there are truly world-class (but not famous-name) instruments selling for $7,000-$12,000 that are better than all but the very best of the Strads. My own personal instrument (a Czech Drozen, according to the label) cost me $1200, and I got a real steal -- it's worth at least $3,000. Suffice it to say that I have been very happy with no-name instruments that just happened to be of exceptionally high quality. When I started dealing in violins, I made a deliberate decision not to deal with the bottom-feeders, but to start at a higher level. The violins that I am buying from China (the answer to the first question) are not the pressed-plywood cookie-cutter fiddles (which you see on ebay at prices under $75), but are a couple of 'tiers' up. The materials are all the proper types; genuine ebony fingerboards & pegs, solid maple back, spruce top, etc. The ebony has some light streaks, and the maple is not highly flamed (which would greatly increase cost), but the workmanship is remarkably high. I do the final setup myself, and spend about 15 minutes playing on it to thoroughly check it out. You can tell that a lot of the work was done by high-tech machines, but that is going to be true of any new violin in this price range. These violins are a remarkably good deal for a beginning student. They have a full, well-projecting tone that is unusually good for this price range. I was especially impressed with the quality of the 1/2 and 3/4 sizes, which usually get short shrift. They are far superior to the hand-made German violin that I started on back when I was a child -- and they are better than the hand-made Wm Lewis & Sons violin that my father bought as a step up after 2 years. That second violin cost $200, in 1964. It came with a beautiful "Certificate of Authenticity", and a WL&S label, all of which made no difference in the quality of the instrument, but it got my dad to pay more than it was worth! I have performed in public on a few of the instruments I am currently selling, and they compare very favorably to instruments that I have seen at local music shops for over $500. Is there a serial number? No. My Drozen does not have a serial number (and I had never heard of Drozen before I bought this violin), nor has any other violin I have ever personally owned (except for the 2nd one, the Wm Lewis & Sons, which came with a pretty certificate, too -- as I mentioned, my father paid too much for that violin). Is there a label? Some of the violins I have in stock have a lable, some don't. The labels are essentially meaningless in a violin in the under-$5000 price range. If you wish, I could assign a serial number to the violin, and put a label in it, and print up a pretty certificate, but that would not prove anything, nor would it affect the value of the violin in any way. I have to laugh when I look at the pictures of poorly-fitted pegs and other obvious workmanship problems of ebay sellers who brag about labels and serial numbers in an instrument selling for less than $100. If you are looking for a violin that costs more than $5,000, a label from a recognized maker is definitely something to look for. In an instrument that costs less than $500, a label is going to add to the price, but will do nothing at all for the quality. |
| Q: Do they have a trade-in value if I outgrow this one? | A: I will give you 80% of the
base price that you paid for any instrument that you buy from me if you
trade up to another of my instruments. That is a lifetime trade-in (my
lifetime, not yours, but I hope to be around for a good many years)
offer, as long as the instrument itself is in good repair. I have no
idea what some
other merchant might offer for trade-in, but there are people in this
business that make used-car peddlers look like saints. It is
very likely that you will outgrow this instrument, probably in
3 to 4
years if you are a serious student. After that time, you may be able to
sell your violin to another beginning student for more than the 80% I
will give you as a trade-in. |
| Q: What kind of bow is included? Does it have real horse hair? | The bows are serviceable, but not
great. They are all reasonably straight, and have real horse
hair. Unfortunately, putting a better bow in these outfits would
mean that I would have to nearly double the price. I knew that the bows might not be consistent, so I ordered extras -- and I'm glad I decided to do that from the start, because I have had to throw some of them out. A serious student will probably want to upgrade the bow fairly quickly. I now have some carbon-fiber bows in the $100-$200 range, which I plan to include with my higher-end fiddles, and sell separately. These bows are really good, and compare favorably with bows I have seen at local retail shops for over $700. I have retired my own $250 pernambuco bow in favor of one of these fabulous carbon-fiber bows. I am going to try an experiment with the violins, and offer an upgraded student outfit with a better bow and sturdier case for $295, just to see if there is sufficient interest. I'm guessing that a lot of first-time violin buyers are not really going to realize how much difference a really good bow will make, but I'm going to try anyway. |
| Q: Do your violins have a one-piece or two-piece back? Which is better? | A: Most of my current stock of violins
have one-piece backs, but a few have two-piece. A two-piece back is
generally considered prettier, but
there is no tonal reason to prefer one over the other, although I have
heard opinions going both ways. A two-piece back takes a little more
time (and skill) to make, but can make use of smaller pieces of wood.
Unless the maple is 'flamed' (these are only very slightly 'flamed', if
at all), the two-piece back is not
very impressive -- you have to look closely to even see that there is a
joint. My personal instrument (a $3000 Drozen) has a
two-piece back, but I selected it by the way it played, not for the
back. If you have a particular preference, I will accomodate it
if I can. |
| Q: I
think I would like to have 4 fine tuners, what is the downside? |
The violin sounds and responds better
without the extra mass on the tailpiece (some luthiers say it isn't the
mass, but the resonance of the string behind the bridge -- it may be
both). However, this is more of a consideration with much more
expensive instruments, and a beginner might not even notice the
difference. If you want fine tuners on all strings, just specify that
when you make your payment. It will add some time for the shipping,
because I will have to schedule the installation (adds only about 5
minutes if done during setup, about half an hour if you do it to one
that is already set up, so I set
special orders up separately). Personally, I have found it easier
to use the pegs for tuning (if they are properly fitted, that is),
except for the E-string, but that's a matter of what you're used to.
(BTW, I now
always put the "Don't Fret" on unless asked not to) If you watch any professional orchestra tune, you won't see any violinists using fine-tuners, except for the E-strings. |
| Q:
Do you offer a two-year warranty? |
A:
I offer a 14-day return if you are not satisfied with the instrument
for any reason. I ask only that you return it in its original
condition, packaging, and with all of the accessories, and pay for the
return shipping and insurance (about $15). Everything else will
be refunded, including the original shipping to you. Please note that I
mark
each instrument to prevent the fraudulent practice of returning a
different
instrument. If the instrument is broken by the shipper when you get it, I require you to notify me immediately (within 3 days) so that I can arrange for insurance settlement and an immediate replacement. During your 14-day approval period, you should take the instrument to your teacher(s) or anyone else you want to evaluate it. Guess what? Violins are a highly personal item, and I have indeed had some returns, and I have honored my return policy in every case, even when the buyer simply found another instrument he/she liked better. I am not offended or insulted by returns. After all, when I went looking for the instrument I now own, I personally tested more than 100 instruments and took over 6 months before I found and bought my Drozen. As for a long-term warranty, a violin is a very fragile instrument, and a long-term warranty is basically a gimmick offered because sellers know that nobody will ever 'qualify' for a warranty settlement. If you take good care of the instrument, it will last indefinitely, but if you drop it, sit on it, scratch it, get it wet, let rosin cake on the top, or leave it in a hot car, you can destroy it in short order. |
| Q:
Are you always going to be selling these in future? |
A: Always is a long time, but
I plan to continue with about this quality of violin as my main
staple for my beginning students, and for my other sales and
rentals for the foreseeable future. This level of violin gives
the student a decent-sounding instrument to learn on without
bankrupting the family. I should mention here that if you have the financial resources, it is actually cheaper in the long run to buy the very best instrument you can. A $1500 instrument will cost about the same to maintain as a $150 instrument, but will sound better, and be easier to play. Plus (and this is a BIG plus) it will keep its value better, and the price of the better violin is likely to outpace inflation, whereas the $150 instrument probably will not. However, the thought of a young child taking a $1500 violin to school may cause parents some heartburn. As I build my business, I do plan to add more expensive instruments. I occasionally deal with instruments in the $600-$800 range, and I plan to add some in the $1000-$1500 range this Fall. |
| Q: How does the phone demo work? Isn't the phone too low-fidelity? | A: Well, yes, the telephone has a
limited bandwidth, so it doesn't really do justice to the tone of a
violin, but it does accomplish two important things. You
can get a general idea of how the instrument sounds, even if you can't
hear all the "overtones". It also demonstrates that the violin
is properly set up and playable, and not one of the pieces of junk
routinely shipped by bulk sellers who don't know anything at all about
the instrument. If you are interested in hearing one of my instruments, send me an email. I will reply with a list of available appointment times (I have a very busy teaching and work schedule, so I must arrange this by appointment) and a number for you to call. Any long-distance charges will be your responsibility, but the demo will only take a few minutes. I will play a short piece and a two-octave scale on the instrument that you are interested in. So far, I have done two phone demos. One caller decided immediately that he definitely wanted the instrument, and the other decided he wanted to continue shopping. Please note that because of the size of my hands, the smallest violin that I can actually play anything recognizable on is the 1/2. On a 1/4, I am limited to just playing a few notes, and the tone of a violin smaller than 1/2 is pretty severely limited by the laws of physics anyway. |
| Q: How do you determine whether an instrument is 4/4, 3/4, or whatever? | Violins are measured by the
length of the body. A 4/4 violin has a 14-inch body, a 3/4 violin
has a 13-inch body, a 1/2 violin has a 12-inch body, and a 1/4 violin
has
an 11-inch body. These sizes are approximate, and there is no actual
standard
for violins smaller than 3/4, so the body length may vary by a quarter
of an inch
or so. There is also
a fairly rare (and non-standard) size referred to as 7/8, which has a
body of
approximately 13.5 inches. I do not carry a 7/8 size, and I do
not currently have any violins
smaller than 1/4. As for how big an instrument your child needs, I generally measure the child's arm against the actual instrument(s), and see if the child can reach past the middle of the scroll with the end of his/her thumb, or alternatively, if the child can see most of the tip of the middle finger sticking up over the end of the scroll. That is generally the largest instrument that the child will be able to comfortably handle. Once the size is chosen, I stick with that size until the child can reach all the way into the pegbox with the middle finger. I also usually wait until just after a major recital, to give the student plenty of time to adjust. My method will sometimes result in skipping a size. Some teachers prefer to go one size smaller than I would, but children in that age group grow quite rapidly, and I like to reduce the number of size changes along the way. If you don't have access to an instrument to measure that way, you can come reasonably close by using the following method: Measure the distance from the side of the neck to the end of the thumb of the left hand with the left arm stretched out straight to the side. The following sizes should be close, but there might be some adjustment if the fingers are unusually long (or short). 20.5 inches -- 1/2 22 inches -- 3/4 23.5 inches or more -- 4/4 |