Can anybody tell me about this viola?

I got it from my grandfather who took it out of his store.



It's a model no 2 Suzuki Viola made in 1989.

Also can anybody tell me where I can take viola classes in PJ? Pretty psyche on owning this viola.

This post has been edited by ariffdude: Dec 23 2012, 01:54 AM

Orite fixed everything, bridge is up, restrung and completely waxed. Looks brand new now.

Next step is learning how to play it. Can anyone recommend a place near Ara Damansara? How much does it normally cost a month for classes?

Still cannot find much information about this viola. Is anyone familiar with the Suzuki Nagoya Musical Instruments? This one is a model no. 2.

I know it's not a German made viola, but I got it from my uncle who last time used it to perform in several orchestras along with some big shot artists in the 90's.

Just feel that I should know more about my instrument, whether it's considered a good one for me to start off with. I will start taking classes in July and really plan to advance further using this instrument.

Also got another question. Where can I rehair my viola bow? Preferably a good one.

I'm going to paris next month for holiday where my family and I will drive from paris to zurich. It involves passing through Mirecourt, which is of course the Cremona equivalent for France. Was thinking of buying an old french violin just for the hell of it, anyone knows how much it normally is?

holy crap i was expecting EUR1000 for an old enough french violin, I looked up in ebay and see those 1900-1920 violin selling for less than that.

I just like antique stuff, always have been. But since it might not be good for my price range, might as well get something that is decent. Maybe a Gliga or Gotz.

Damn violins are real luxury items. Comparing high end guitars to high end violins is like Mercedes to 1930's Rolls Royce.

So I guess those Strads and del Gesus are like entry level luxury items? haha. Damn how much many can a person have.

I find that my viola sounds overly bright even after changing my strings to a warm synthetic core set (D'addario Zyex). Could it be because of it's 15.5" size, or the fact that it's a student viola, or maybe it's in need of a setup? I know I'm a beginner, but still I'm a bit fussy about the tone. Kinda sounds a bit like a violin to me.

Ok seems fair. But why are bowed strings set so expensive? Thomastik Dominant for violin is like RM150, for viola RM300, and for cello RM550. For me this is like one of the biggest obstacle in switching from a guitar since guitar string set is only RM25.

Although I do take comfort that it doesn't need to be change very frequently like guitar strings, which is every month. But still, having to come out with that cash every time seems more painful.

Hey guys I wanna share some photos I took from my trip in France. Most from the Musee de la Musique, I'm not sure if it has been posted before, so sorry if it was. I'm new to this thread since I've only recently found passion to the bowed instruments.

I did visit Mirecourt but it was a rather disappointing one. It was late and I only managed to visit the Musee de Lutherie. A rather disappointing museum, however they do have a section where we get to try classical guitar, violin, mandoline, viola, etc which was made in Mirecourt. The viola there was awesome, so much nicer than mine. The fingerboard was wider, ribs are thicker, nicer length. I suspect I will need to upgrade pretty soon.

Anyways not much photos from this museum. Just this big ass Cello.



I didn't get to see many luthiers. The town was really small, smaller than Kuala Pilah.

The nice museum is the Musee de la Musique situated in the La Villette region of Paris.



Some baroque instruments.



Primitive guitars. So much smaller than current size. No they are not lutes.



Guitar made by Antonio de Torres aka the Stradivari of Guitars.



Strads!!! My knees went weak when I saw this.



Left most is an Amati viola, then Amati violin, then Strad, then Del Gesu. Does anybody know how thick is the glass encasing?



French violin by the likes of Nicolas Lupot.



Saxophones by the inventor of saxophones, Adolphe Hitler. Ooops... I meant Adolphe Sax.



J.B. Vuillaume, the great copier.

The octobasse, made by J.B. Vuillaume. This thing is so big it uses capo like clamps which are operated by foot pedals. It's about 3 meters tall.

I also saw this group of students from Paris Conservatoire busking at the Chatelet Metro Station. Quite awesome sound.



I also did visit Rue de Rome in Paris which is the famous luthier street, but most of the shops are closed in summer. There was one shop which was open, I did try out a few violas, but were a bit too expensive for me. If wanna get a cheap one, China made ones are better I guess. I'll just wait till I improve even more, and also collect more money.

Yeah man i was standing in front of it for a good 20 minutes. Can't believe it was right in front of my eyes. Even if i sell my soul, i won't be able to afford it.

I feel that I should report this. Went to MPO yesterday to cath the Old & New World Symphony by Mendelssohn and Dvorak. They only played the Symphony No 4 "Italian" by Mendelssohn. After the intermission, a guy went up on stage and announced that the Symphony No 9 "New World" by Dvorak cannot be played since the soloist is on an emergency.

I know sh*t happens and it can't really be blamed, but I am quite disappointed nevertheless. Just wanna ask the ones in the orchestra, do you guys normally have reserves/backup/underlings that can substitute you in case of something like this happens?

I think a good enough violin string for student is Daddario Prelude, which is about RM60. Rehair bow is about RM120.

NVD!!! I got me a Synwin violin just now. It has a very warm, rich tone. Also upgraded the bow to an octagonal one.



Beautiful flamed maple back.



Together with it's big brother, Suzuki Viola model No 2.



With its retarded brother, Stagg EVN 4/4.



Family photo.



This post has been edited by ariffdude: Oct 2 2014, 10:11 PM

Well i'm the opposite. Improvising is all I do, but I can't really read notes properly.

Hi is anyone here familiar with the suzuki book? I've just started actually after self learn for 1 1/2 years, and after 4 classes I'm at book 4. Is that considered fast?

Is Pernambuco bows bad for Malaysian weather? Or would you recommend a carbon fiber instead? I've tried the Codabow Diamond NX (RM1780) and a pernambuco bow which I can't remember the brand(RM1980) and I somehow liked the Codabow instead.

I know there are viola lessons in Bentley Mutiara Damansara, Amadeus Violin Shop, and AMPAC Ara Damansara. Congrats on learning the viola. Not many people are interested in becoming violists.

This post has been edited by ariffdude: Jan 15 2015, 12:17 PM