there's no true luthier in malaysia.

Calvin can at least repair some work like neck trimming (i've had a good violin but the neck is too wide, need to trim down a little) and he did a good job on that, though the varnishing is not bad too. of course, fitting new bridge and soundpost is not much of a problem. not too sure how deep his knowledge is, so far i don't dare to take my primary violin for anyone in malaysia to do major fixing. while i got my violin trimmed bridge and fitted a new soundpost (by 2 different person), both of damaged my violin's varnish in different way. zzzzz...


Scott Cao is very famous brand that offer good quality for reasonable money. if i'm you i'd rather go for the better one. however, each instrument still need to be tested before buying.

calvin might be able to do it, i'm not sure as i never have any experience with him personally or from other people. but the guy at carismen dolce (damansara shopping center) can do a good job on it, but be sure that you really communicate with him very clearly first, and can be expensive to do so...

however, my guess is fitting new pegs need to trim the pegs to fit the hole (given that the holes are properly drilled). you wouldn't want to make the holes bigger as it'll wear out after years of usage, by then it need to be bushed.

lastly, if your pegs are fully functional and problem free, i'd suggest you not to change anything. if it ain't broken, don't fix it. if i'm you, i'd just leave it as it is. beautiful pegs can be pretty on the violin but to me pegs are more important as a tuner and strings holder, and there's no guarantee that you'll like the outcome of the peg fitting works.

PS: even guai lou can do crappy works, i'm not saying all the luthiers in malaysia sux, but given that they don't care about the varnish, i don't see they qualified as a lutheir in my book. but at the moment, looking for them seems to be the best bet.

it depends on your daughter's physical measurement, usually by 8 years old it's time to use 1/2 size violin, but 1/4 size might be needed if she's got a smaller size hand/shorter arm.

talking about brand, i recommend Euro Strings from Euro Music shop mentioned above. they seems to offer better fittings and better setup overall compared to many other brands. FYI yamaha don't have own brand of violin, they normally sell violins they get from external sources.

euro strings cost from lowest RM295 to 4 figures. better = better/clearer sound (which help to play in tune), better material, easier to play (which help learning progress faster).

it's all about the individual teacher. you might find crappy teacher in yamaha, excellent teacher in crappy music center. yamaha fees are higher due to their environment, which is superior than many other music center own by private individual.

i recommend my teacher, or myself. pm me for more informations.

wipe the rosin on the cello/bow means wipe off the rosin, that's how i interprete it. why on earth you want to wipe off the rosin on your bow? cause you'll need rosin again next time you play. but you need to wipe off rosin on the strings/cello as it's acidic and can melt on your instrument, it'll be very hard to clean.

or you mean rub your bow hair on the rosin...

oh, "that" kind of pegs...

then good luck finding a luthier doing that. nobody can give you guarantee. the guy at carismen dolce seems to be able to do a good job, but i've heard from my friends who have experience with them, they don't seems to care much if anything happen to your instrument e.g. glue failed, varnish damaged, not satisfied workmanship, etc...

talk to them, ask them properly first. best if you can have things written in black and white with signature. if they can't promise anything, then forget it.

also take note that, once the outcome failed, you can't even put back your old pegs...

to be fair for your teacher, following metronome is IMHO essential for anyone want to learn any instruments.

following metronome can be PITA, but the problem lies in you, not the metronome. you'll find fantastic musicians who can play with lots of soul and rhythmic pulse, they can follow metronome without any problem. i've seen far too many musicians play without proper "pulse" or rhythmic feel in their playing, at time, pretty random, and they share a common thoughts - they hate metronome, or never play with metronome before.

however, to be fair for you, too, your teacher can use anything other than metronome. i never learn with metronome in my entire life, not even once, but i can play with metronome without any single problem. thanks to the modern technology, with a very simple keyboard you can have lots of drum beats, with accompaniment, or simply playback midi files. i was a yamaha student for 12 years, and i play with electone's drum beat very often especially during the younger time. great alternative to metronome which can be annoying after long while of listening to it.

in the end, i guess your problem is more like a preference issue with your teacher. communicate is the key, tell your teacher about your thoughts.

once again, there're nothing wrong with metronome, try to make friends with it, not trying to fight with it. you'll be very very grateful that you did, when you're trying to play in a band or minus one in the future, even if you're just playing for fun - how can you feel any fun at all if you can't even play well?

you never see me play violin how can judge me keng? empire bluff one lah he always see MPO violinist play but still say me keng...i'm no where near.

i am teaching violin, right in the area you're looking for...

pm'ed with more details.

This post has been edited by little ice: Aug 14 2009, 10:28 PM

i normally use "white spirit", alternatively you can use denatured alcohol. both are available on the shelf of "ace hardware", or other hardware store that carry international stuffs.

alternatively you can get better alcohol at artist supply shops, they're usually more expensive because they want to ensure the ingredient are as pure as possible without much residue. but since this is for fingerboard, those from hardware shop will do.

but you must be very x100000 careful, a drop on the violin, there goes the varnish. don't use, if the fingerboard looks ugly but still can play like normal. even if i use some on my violin, i don't use on fingerboard, i wipe the rosin off each time i finish playing, although the edge of the finger does have some rosin melted, but it doesn't really matter.

eh i also read from other websites, all my knowledges acquired from these 3 websites:

http://www.violinist.com
http://www.maestronet.com/forum
http://www.fiddleforum.com/fiddleforum

and other website but since those 3 are forums you can always ask questions there. more readings can gain lots of knowledges.

althought late reply, yup, it's pretty good shop, but don't expect mr. wong to be around often, he's super busy one.


hi


i use regular dominant set, sounds great. choosing strings for any violin is always a challenge. some might works for someone might not work for you. if you find Zyex soung good on your violin then just stick with it. you can phone Early Music Venture, i remember they carry the Zyex, not sure about the price.

no idea with the age of your violin, but klotz is a big family, and their name is commonly used in mass produced violins (means there are real klotz and lots of fake klotz). i don't know much about klotz, but just to let you know that even under certain "names", they can be just trade names (or brand) - even if a violin is real klotz, it might be just built by appractice or even mass produced and labeled klotz. without expert knowledge, it's difficult to tell.

don't care about the varnish, if it sound good to you then just leave it alone. varnish will have effects on the sound so it's possible to ruin (or enhance, if you're lucky) the violin. whatever it is, original vanish will always have more value than having new varnish, and old varnish add a lot of charms and characters. unless you really don't mind damaging the value or taking the risk of completely change the sound character of your violin, then just go for it. even if you want to have it revarnish, i'm not sure if there's anyone can do a professional job in malaysia.

yup. if you want more information just PM me.

the smaller "paganini" brand in rectangle shape red plastic case (made in germany) is good, RM9.90. suitable for all range of student violins/bows. if you have better instrument consider something else like "Jade", "dominant" (that goes well with dominant strings), and some of those pirastro lines. they vary from RM30~RM40 that will last you for loooooooong time (as much as 10 years and above).

euro music @ jalan imbi got sell. practically cheapest rosin in the acceptable range. looks exactly like this:
http://www.synwin.com.sg/scripts/prodView.asp?idproduct=526

but above was labeled as synwin instead of paganini (the rest of the pictures are all same), i think it's the same rosin just different branding.


welcome back.

yup, all violin rosins, cause i'm no cello player.

i use pirastro goldflex and eudoxa, bought them over the years just to try something different. goldflex give good bite and brighter sound but lots of rosin dusts.

eudoxa give smoother and less edgy sound but doesn't seems to bite as aggresively as goldflex, though less rosin dusts. i can see why, because if too much bite will make eudoxa (wound gut strings) squeak like crazy.

dominant rosin is similar to eudoxa but somewhat brighter sound and more bite, quite little rosin dusts.

KL got a few shops carry, but i like to shop at euro music. i think except for hill dark/light, they have all jade/dominant/various pirastro rosins.


use a used handkerchief or old cloth to wipe the rosin, something which the texture feels like those bath towel, it's very good on picking up the rosins. use only that cloth to wipe rosin and excessive rosin dust under the bridge, but use another one (soft and smoother) to wipe the whole violin body cause you don't want to spread rosins all over the violin.

although i don't recommend, but you can always fold a tissue paper (more than 4 folds), pour a drop or 2 denature alcohol (or other light alcohol like white spirit), and wipe on the strings. remember to let the alcohol to be fully absorbed into the tissue before you start to wipe, a single drop of alcohol on your violin, there goes the varnish. remember to allow ventilation as alcohols can be very hazardous.

uh...

basically, use tissue paper, fold until it become thick layers, put a drop or two of alcohol (denature alcohol), and wipe the melted rosin on the strings, that's all. open some windows, cause alcohol can release poison gas...

there's nothing much you can do, but you can always try your luck to buy some "violin polish". i used to buy one at bentley music loooong time ago, small bottle with white liquid inside with some mixture of oil. it's mild and i used to clean my violin with that. however you have to try it at a small area, and see if the polish going to melt the paints. if no problem, then proceed. but no guarantee to remove them 100%.

viola bows are usually same length as violin bow, or slightly longer. but the average of viola bows are in the 70g range, as opposed to violin bows at 60g. of course, weight of either catagory can be 5g+- typical with rare exception (super light or super heavy).

due to the heavier stick, viola bows normally have a thicker bow shaft. then, typically violin bows have cornered (square) frog, though not always; while viola bows normally have rounded corner at the butt area.

i don't play viola so i don't know.

but i don't think violin bow is suited for viola, even for a 15inch viola, maybe with rare exception. there're (obvious) reasons why there are viola bows and violin bows. unless you just want to make the strings moving and nothing else.

if you're in the subang area, and don't mind playing a little more, PM me.


nope, don't know any teachers over there as i'm KL based. but it can be real difficult to find a teacher there...