An odd request: Violins

[Skylinerider]

Anyone know anything about violins? My wife loves music and plays the violin like nobody's business, the only problem is her violin is about 90 years old and needs to be retired, in fact she won't play it because she doesn't want to damage it.

I would like to suprise her with something new, but have no idea where to start. I know we have pretty knowledgeable folks here, can ayone point me in the right direction? I'm in Cedar, so stopping in at an SLC store is out of the question, and I'd like to do some research first so I don't get talked into some crap.

 

[Tacoma]

I was going to suggest the violin-making school on... 3rd south? There are actually a couple knowledgeable places in SLC.... also, 90yrs old isn't that old for a violin... See: Stradivarius.

 

[Skylinerider]

I was going to suggest the violin-making school on... 3rd south? There are actually a couple knowledgeable places in SLC.... also, 90yrs old isn't that old for a violin... See: Stradivarius.

If I had a stradivarius in my closet do you think I'd be talking to this rabble?:greg:

 

[sixstringsteve]

Yeah, 90 years is young. I love the sound of an old violin. The wood/tone opens up through the years. Same with guitars. It's tough to find a guitar that sounds as good as the old ones.

Is she retiring it because it's too valuable to be playing all the time, or because it doesn't play very well anymore?

One thing with violins, as I'm sure you know, you get what you pay for.

 

[SAMI]

To add to the great advice from Steve, here's some advice from a friend who just finished up a music major at USU with her violin...

Hey Jason,
First off, your buddy is a good man. A few thoughts regarding this situation. If she is a serious violinist, a surprise may not be the best idea. A violin becomes a part of you and it is nice to be able to choose for yourself what is the best fit. Violins are very different and specific people like specific qualities in a violin. However, If she is not that serious/advanced, a surprise may be nice. I don't know the situation, but there you go anyway.

Here are a few shops in the SL area.
Summerhays Music-fairly inexpensive, not the greatest quality.
Day Murray Music-about the same as Summerhays. Usually students go to these places to rent or buy for their kids, but they do have bigger violins too.

Peter Prier Violins-this is known as "the" violin shop in Utah. It is the only violin-making school in UT, which is why they can charge so much...beware, they overcharge! They have a wide variety of very nice instruments.
Charles Liu- similar to Priers, also over priced, but wide selection.

I don't know what it is about the violin making industry, but they like to rip people off.

Those are some places to tell your friend, you can just google them to find their info. If you can't find it just let me know. Good luck and if you have any questions don't hesitate to ask

 

[Skylinerider]

Thanks for all the info guys. She hasn't gotten it out since we've had kids because she's worried it'll get dinged/broken/etc. It's been in her family since new, and it holds more sentimental value than anything I think, although I've done some research and it seems it's fairly valuable as well. Jason, The more I think about it, your friend maybe be spot on. My wife was quite the serious violinist, and I'd hate to buy her something that didn't feel right in her hands. Looks like a trip north is in order.