Bought my kid a violin - where to get it tuned/upgraded?

  • Guest, it's time once again for the hotly contested and exciting FoH Asshat Tournament!



    Go here and fill out your bracket!
    Who's been the biggest Asshat in the last year? Once again, only you can decide!

Cad

<Bronze Donator>
24,487
45,377
Bought my kid an ebay violin because he breaks shit and I don't want to go all-in yet.

What type of shop do you take these to to get them tuned, new strings, and general upgrades? I know totally nothing about musical instruments.

I'm in North Dallas.
 

Noodleface

A Mod Real Quick
37,961
14,508
Just go to any local music shop. if they can't do the work for you they can point you to one that can

If they say they'll ship it out to "their guy" go somewhere else
 

Frenzied Wombat

Potato del Grande
14,730
31,802
Go to Guitar Center, there's one on Central Expressway. They repair "stringed instruments", so I'm assuming violins in addition to guitars..
 

lurkingdirk

AssHat Taint
<Medals Crew>
39,956
166,837
So, 3 of my kids play violin, one plays cello. A couple points:

-Learn to tune that shit yourself. Get an app on your phone, whatever. It needs to be tuned EVERY time it gets played. If you don't, there won't be consistency in where his fingers need to be to make an in tune sound. Tune it. Every time. Try the app Pano Tuner. Learn to use it so the strings are close to right every time. Did I mention every time? A little practice and it'll take less than a minute.
-Figure out how much tension need be on the bow, and relax it every time it's not in use. Every time.
-Use rosin regularly, and just as regularly clean it off the strings. Part of the reason kid violins are so scratchy and awful sounding is that the strings are covered with rosin.
-Strings don't need to be changed all that often. Perhaps 2 times a year if it's in high use. the type of strings you use matters, too. Research what's best for your violin. What size violin is it?
-Rather than buy, you can rent. Seriously, this is a good option. I use a company that allows all your rental dollars to accumulate. So as the kids grow, and you need different sizes, they swap them out and your rental dollars accumulate until you're at the point where your kid needs a full sized instrument. Then, all that money you spent renting goes toward the purchase price. Check them out:Kenneth Stein Violins - Chicago Violin Shop

I have extensive experience with this. Ask more questions if you have them.
 

iannis

Musty Nester
31,351
17,656
Lesson number one should be what the interval of a perfect fifth sounds like.

If your boy can't tune his violin he will never be able to play a tune on it. He will also become discouraged, because what he plays will sound like shit... And who aims for that except for collegiate performance artists?

They probably won't teach him that in the school orchestra. Those tend to assume outside private tutoring.
 

Cad

<Bronze Donator>
24,487
45,377
So, 3 of my kids play violin, one plays cello. A couple points:

-Learn to tune that shit yourself. Get an app on your phone, whatever. It needs to be tuned EVERY time it gets played. If you don't, there won't be consistency in where his fingers need to be to make an in tune sound. Tune it. Every time. Try the app Pano Tuner. Learn to use it so the strings are close to right every time. Did I mention every time? A little practice and it'll take less than a minute.
-Figure out how much tension need be on the bow, and relax it every time it's not in use. Every time.
-Use rosin regularly, and just as regularly clean it off the strings. Part of the reason kid violins are so scratchy and awful sounding is that the strings are covered with rosin.
-Strings don't need to be changed all that often. Perhaps 2 times a year if it's in high use. the type of strings you use matters, too. Research what's best for your violin. What size violin is it?
-Rather than buy, you can rent. Seriously, this is a good option. I use a company that allows all your rental dollars to accumulate. So as the kids grow, and you need different sizes, they swap them out and your rental dollars accumulate until you're at the point where your kid needs a full sized instrument. Then, all that money you spent renting goes toward the purchase price. Check them out:Kenneth Stein Violins - Chicago Violin Shop

I have extensive experience with this. Ask more questions if you have them.
Ok cool, will try the tuning app. I've literally never done anything musical ever so I have no clue.

It's a 4/4 violin, so that should be "full size" right?

The one we bought was similar to this:Amazon.com: Mendini 4/4 MV300 Solid Wood Satin Antique Violin with Hard Case, Shoulder Rest, Bow, Rosin and Extra Strings (Full Size): Musical Instruments

They're so insanely cheap it seems stupid to rent for $20/mo. He could toss this one in the street to get run over by a bus and it'd be cheaper than the damage deductible from Brook Mays on the rentals.

What kind of strings should I get him?
 

Foggy

Ahn'Qiraj Raider
6,218
4,789
z00caX.gif
 

Noodleface

A Mod Real Quick
37,961
14,508
I know the "this one time at band camp" joke is played out - but I seriously spend a lot of time on reddit, and the amount of stories of band chicks doing things I'd blush at is nuts.
 

Tenks

Bronze Knight of the Realm
14,163
606
Not that I am scoping out middle school girls, but I have observed that orchestra girl pussy seems just as viable as cheerleader pussy. I'm just saying.
My cousin teaches orchestra at HS and can confirm I banged one of her students (I was only 22 at the time)
 

lurkingdirk

AssHat Taint
<Medals Crew>
39,956
166,837
Ok cool, will try the tuning app. I've literally never done anything musical ever so I have no clue.

It's a 4/4 violin, so that should be "full size" right?

The one we bought was similar to this:Amazon.com: Mendini 4/4 MV300 Solid Wood Satin Antique Violin with Hard Case, Shoulder Rest, Bow, Rosin and Extra Strings (Full Size): Musical Instruments

They're so insanely cheap it seems stupid to rent for $20/mo. He could toss this one in the street to get run over by a bus and it'd be cheaper than the damage deductible from Brook Mays on the rentals.

What kind of strings should I get him?
Yup, that's full sized.

Get steel core strings, something like Larson. Steel core will stay in tune better, and with a cheap violin, they're going to give you the cleanest sound. They're less than 25$ for a set, I think.

Do some reading before you string it up. Make sure the sound post is in place, and give it about 8 days of touching up the tuning 4 or 5 times a day before you expect it to be stable. The pressure being exerted on that wood is quite something. Be patient.
 

lurkingdirk

AssHat Taint
<Medals Crew>
39,956
166,837
Also, I can confirm that music girls are crazy horny. Maybe it's something about spending hours alone with an inanimate object, practicing.
 

Cad

<Bronze Donator>
24,487
45,377
Yup, that's full sized.

Get steel core strings, something like Larson. Steel core will stay in tune better, and with a cheap violin, they're going to give you the cleanest sound. They're less than 25$ for a set, I think.

Do some reading before you string it up. Make sure the sound post is in place, and give it about 8 days of touching up the tuning 4 or 5 times a day before you expect it to be stable. The pressure being exerted on that wood is quite something. Be patient.
Ok I will look at it.

Secondly, at what skill level should I be considering buying him a "good" violin (lets ignore him breaking them for a second) and what is a "good" violin?