i think they also carry some cellos but i really doubt they carry good ones though (very rarely local dealers carry high range cellos).

anyway you can pay a visit just to look at what they're selling.

that's a Zeta violin, and here's the model:
http://www.zetamusic.com/products/display.asp?id=52

and check out ian cooper, australian violinist also play all kinds of music (he IS very good).

http://www.iancooper.com

just to inspire you, this is actually done on electric violin but not guitar.
http://www.iancooper.com/sounds/IanCooperNo.mp3

yeah it's a small shop, at least they carry a bit of nice violins there. have you tried them? last time i tried an italian by marcello villa, smallish violin yet produce nice and big volume. but the price is also RM60k...er no thanks, absolutely beyond my reach...i still have a lot of gears to invest...

budget wise you can always try yamaha electric violin. i don't like them though, they're around RM4k i think. you can also try the piezo pickup route, around RM1000 for the pickup (fishman is very good and no modification needed on your violin) + fishman preamp for piezo pickups. although not quite the sound of solid body electric violin but at least you have a clean sound to start with. you can directly jack up to the PA system directly since there's already a preamp, so you save a lot of money unless there's no PA system.

fyi, electric violins also use piezo pickup. it's just the design that's different (like Zeta Jazz series pickup there's 2 pickup for each strings, total of 8 pickups).

as for amps, there'll be endless purchase man. AER is really good for acoustic piezo pickup sound (not sure if solid body electric violin works). for others, well you're better off with multi-fx pedal or software ampsims.

he's brilliant. seldom i heard electric violinist can do such a guitar lead sound on violin. when i first heard the soundclip i thought it was electric guitar for a looooong time and i never believe it's a violin, until i got myself a good soundcard and speaker (for music production purpose), definitely it's a violin.

i used to teach a bit but no longer teaching now. i do play violin as my 2nd instrument (not profesionally though), my primary job is music production thing.

thanks anyway!

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Added on May 28, 2008, 1:57 amlooking at computer screen and let computer to tell you if you're out of tune isn't a very good idea and same goes to tuners, imho. it'll distract your brain cause you're trying to hear and see at the same time. actually it's best to shoot a video of your performance, THEN you'll learn from there (heifetz is one of the first person who make use of audio and video recording, as told by my teacher). what seems to be in tune of when you heard under your ears sounds very different when you hear the playback of the video.

actually, i prefer violinist play slightly out of tune on some notes, it actually give the music some "colour" and personal character of the violinist him/her self. of course, not out of tune all the way la...

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Added on May 28, 2008, 2:14 amBTW Cello, mind telling which italian maker made your (i assumed) violin? i've play one made by marcello villa (he's pretty famous), priced at RM60k at chamber music but it was quite some time ago. it's actually quite nice and feel quite different from other violins, smallish, yet big dynamics (very rare you can actually PRESS the strings, which will give you all back, press more, sound bigger).

however i don't quite trust the sound under ear. playing a violin in a big hall WITH other instruments (accompaniment such as piano/small ensemble) and it still stand out, then it really has a very good projection. ease of control/dynamic range/tone is also important though, but it's hard to find one that actually project.

This post has been edited by little ice: May 28 2008, 02:14 AM

onelove - not sure if you're talking about staccato or spiccato. staccato is played with a short stroke of the bow, fast and short, without lifting off your bow. if playing spiccato, you should use lower bow, much easier to control.

aha, i wouldn't lay my hands on double bass, i don't like big instruments, not to mention it's the biggest in the orchestra (well you can challenge it with piano or even pipe organ, but you cannot bring it around ).

another place worth a visit is euromusic at hartamas. different from the KL branch, the shop carry much higher end violins including some italians priced at RM40k~RM50k++. however they're not comparable with marcello villa imho. the marcello villa violin i tried is really special. not sure how it'll perform in real concert situation though, which is the REAL test if want to listen the subtleties of quality difference.

thanks for the information. i haven't come across the name of the maker but i definitely check it out.

glad it helps.

afaik virtually nobody will use magnetic pickup for electric violins, it's too sensitve as we're using a bow to play instead of pick/fingers.

as for the weight of the yamaha electric violin, i think it's also the same for any electric violin. solid wood body is even heavier or at least the similar weight. also the sound coming out from yamaha electric violin sounds hollow and not focused.

there're actually many other cheaper choice for Zeta violin. you can opt for the non-fancy body one, can be as cheap as RM4k~RM5k. price shown on website is just only retail price, i'm sure there're dealers offering lower price - not in malaysia, unfortunately. at least better than spending close to RM4k for the yamaha.

i have a violin that has weird behaviour on the projection - the louder the background music/accompaniment, the more the violin will project. also it seems to retain the loudness in any range you stand from the violin. it seems that even with the grand piano lid fully open at full blast from the pianist, my violin sound still cannot be covered. however, when playing in quartet setting, it seems to have its volume blend with other instruments. strange eh? the violin cost me around RM20k (the mmmaaaaaxxxx i can afford, i broke all the way after buying it ).

however, the problem with it is it's not setup in a very good way, the strings are obviously too high. and the respond of the violin seems weird - it could be the bow i use which need to rehair, though.

PS: sorry for the personal conversations but i think it'll contribute the thread with a bit of knowledge.

if you clamp the shoulder rest too hard/tight on the violin, it will some how affect the sound a little..

em, not sure how to describe, but it's inside Hartamas Shopping Center to be exact. maybe you can ask around for the exact direction from where you stay.

i assumed, it's like acoustic guitar vs electric guitar. so if one want so to play electric violin he/she has to deal with the weight. there're many other electric violin manufacturer/maker out there, and I remember seeing a violin that looks like a hugh chocolate bar - from tail -> bridge -> fingerboard. no pegbox.

yes, at least you can have a look at ebay for reference, or around the net. there's no dealer here in malaysia afaik, you can try your luck at singapore though.

ha, i also don't know what happened to my violin. since it can be easily heard so i'm satisfied.

This post has been edited by little ice: Jun 14 2008, 11:14 PM

Check out an exhibition held in MPO recently, until next Friday.

The content is about Italian violins - those old master (multi million US dollars) like Stradivarius and Guarnerius, and also the modern Italians. There's also a concert consist of all these wonder instruments, played in a chamber setting.

Don't miss it, wonder how a piece of wood that can buy you the whole shopping mall looks like? Don't miss it!

http://www.nst.com.my/Current_News/NST/Fri...cle/indexF_html

it's strongly recommended not to learn with sticker, you'll grow into the habit of looking at the sticker all the time. but that's just my opinion anyway.

if you really want, you can learn with stickers on maybe a few months, to learn the right hand bowing first and less concentration on the left hand. then then when you start to concentrate on your left hand, you can do this: close your eyes, feel the finger position, and listen to the pitch instead, then open your eyes once every while to check if you're landing on the correct spot. however it's best to completely remove the stickers, and check with open string often to see if you're out of tune, or play with piano accompaniment often, you'll improve your intonation.

well i was exagrerating lol, 10 million ringgit certainly can't buy a whole shopping mall i'm supposed (well maybe small one), but 10 million ringgit, to buy a violin...

i'm going there tomorrow or wednesday, it's once in a life time opportunity unless you want to travel to europe/italy.

This post has been edited by little ice: Jun 16 2008, 07:08 PM

hey there, do you play the violin?

seems like you're touhou fans, i love ZUN's playing (he indeed a violin player, beside composing all the soundtracks, he also record violin tracks for touhou games).

unless one go oversea to buy the instruments, you cannot try the instrument if buying off internet.

and paying the air ticket, i think buying locally is better...

was him dennis lau??

he has guts...

This post has been edited by little ice: Aug 15 2008, 12:29 AM

if you live in Kl/Selangor area, pay a visit to Yamaha HQ, Kelana Jaya (along LDP, heading puchong direction).

definitely not, there're tons of selections of yamaha products, as well as lots of classrooms and a big concert hall.

don't get the SV series, you should get the EV series, sound much better. you can connect to PA system directly as claimed by yamaha website, but i think a better preamp will give better sound.

the "bond" sounds good on the SV because their albums has been through lots of high end gear processing, mixing and mastering. and their live shows are backed by good sound engineers too with good gears.

i've played with one, the sound is awful. there's no much sound quality to speak maybe due to the cheaper made body, as well as less quality pickup (in fact i think there's only 1 pickup under the bridge). the EV series has 1 pickup on each string, and has solid body too. in comparison, zeta violin used by vannesa mae has 2 pickups on each string, equal of 8 pickups on the violin.

like what empire said, you probably going to stick with a sound that you're less happy with, or invest a lot on gears.

This post has been edited by little ice: Sep 4 2008, 12:21 AM

sorry typed wrong "bond" become "bong"...

about the budget, i think so gua. perhaps you just try the SV la, maybe you'll like it.

This post has been edited by little ice: Sep 4 2008, 12:22 AM

a fine violin will have a soothing sound, and some also have mellow (darker) sound. once you heard a fine violin, you'll fall in love.

but that's just my assumption, i've come across many people took up viola because they think violin has sound that's too bright.

also take note that, viola need greater bow pressure (and generally much effort to play than violin) and viola is of course much heavier than violin.

you have your own personal preference so don't get affected by my comments above, it's all up to you to decide.


1) empire might have some orchestra player's contact numbers under his sleeve.
2) for viola, better get from orchestra players or your teacher. most shops don't carry better student violas, many are pretty cheap (you know, you get what you pay for). but you can sometimes find some gems from orchestra players where they have older viola selling for cheap but sounds good.
3) generally, yes. but when you're looking 5 figures and above, not necessary.
4) there's no fixed full size for viola. smallest full size viola is 15", up to 17" which is for giants.

according to my buddy who worked in the HQ, the courses there offered are only around RM10~RM20 difference compared to other places. in fact there're centers charging even more expensive than yamaha. and even it's the HQ with better facilities (although not too much better but you know, it's HQ) and a great advantage of a big concert hall.

the point here is, yamaha is more famed for their children courses, which is extremely helpful for kids to develop their music fundamentals. not sure they offer violin individual lessons though, skeat89 you can always ask them and it worth a visit even if you gonna leave with empty hands.

although not asking me...

a few shops have fine violins as well as old violins:

1. chamber music at sungei wang 3rd floor.

2. euro music at hartamas shopping center, has much higher range violins.

3. carismen dolce, also at hartamas shopping center.

not sure about anywhere else...