wat size r u after .... my son 3/4 is ready for dispose..... mayb cost below RM800... used less than 2yrs.

will upgrade to a full size... he is gettin taller...

.............. lookin forward for a Luis Clark if he is willin to commit .... and tis will makes "ollec" happi bashing ppl wit it.    

It is never to be late, me 25, learning cello(1month)...

hi guys, can u guys help me with choosing violin...i plan to change my violin to a better one..price range ard 1k plus...
my teacher recommended me a 3k plus...but is over my budget.
thanks

Hmm I`m wondering when u all choosing violin, do u guys play melody to listen to the sound? or just simply bow? It might be embarrassing if i go to choose violin without practice lol

So is everyone staring at u when u playing ?

regarding choosing a violin according to grade...

let me just make a comparison by using learning to drive a car.

RM300 violin or the likes, is like driving a 30 years old car, not those vintage collector's item, those that average people can afford when they're new. very rare you'll see 30 years old car with good condition, most are pretty much junks. so when choosing RM300 range violin, if doesn't choose carefully, you'll end up problematic violin like fingerboard/bridge/soundpost or major construction problem like neck angle etc. how do you expect to learn a lot by playing a problematic violin?

then, when moved to RM1000~RM2000, it's more like a 5 years old low end cars. maybe a little problematic, but they're generally OK to drive around and you can learn the proper way of driving like proper gear shifting without choking the engine etc (the 30 years old car with bad maintenance is like no matter how good you drive you'll choke the engine).

RM2000~RM4000 range violin, it is more like a brand new but local cars. they're generally problem free, but the performance is so much you can get, at least better than old cars.

RM4000~RM10,000 violin, it's like you get imported new cars from vios to camry. needless to say, they offer much better control and driving experiences.

RM10,000~RM40,000 violins are like BMW etc, or sports car like lancer evolution or even higher performance.

RM40k~RM???k violins - you get all sorts of high performance sports car like porche ferrari or even F1 (stradivarius)...
so...do you still want to hop into a 30 years old car and continue to learn how to drive?

that's why your dad/mom only let you drive a 5~10 years old wira when you still learning to drive or just got your license.
well, like cars, when you have limited budget doesn't mean you cannot get a good condition car. some car owner take care their cars like their baby, so 5 years old car might just drive like a good new car. same with the cheapest violin, sometimes you can find a fantastic RM300 violin for the price, but the chance is very low. just like finding a 30 years old car with very good driving condition.

on the other hand, spending more doesn't mean they're 100% problem free, new car can sometimes break down like in 2 months!

if you like your violin, that's the most important.
PS: although i'm not pointing my finger at you cassie, it always puzzle me why people would think RM2000 for a violin is very expensive. think again, cheapest decent piano cost about RM4000 and nobody complain. some even choose the RM8,000 *entry* level brand new yamaha and yet they think spending RM2k~3k for violin is expensive. RM1500 violin for beginner is practically minimum, at least in my opinion...
bow is highly personal, more so than violins.

as a beginner/intermediate, you want a bow that's smooth and stable when you draw it across the strings. in low end price range, i always recommend carbon fiber bows. i love the one selling at euro music KL, RM230 but play as good as a RM800+ wooden bow. just that, carbon fiber doesn't produce "organic" sound as wooden bow does. so when it comes to professional bows, most people would prefer high quality wooden bow.
yes, the more you try, the more you learn. you'll learn what you can do with better violin that you cannot do on lesser ones.

it's interesting that, when you try up to certain price range, you won't be able to tell the difference. say, you cannot understand why people would spend RM10k for a violin while RM4k violin play so well already. it's simply because you haven't learn until the standard where you can appreciate the difference.

during the entire learning journey, you'll want a better violin (and bow) from time to time.

I'll probably be starting soon, in the next few months i think. sigh
i'll probably be the oldest beginner in the world.
might anybody by any chance know where's a good place to buy a very cheap cello for beginners?

p/s: i'm fully aware of the thing about buying cheap instruments, the sound quality and supceptibility to string breaks and da da da cos i've been a musician for nearly 20 years, so I know what happens when you buy cheap instruments.
So i'm not looking for advise like "Why don't you spend a little bit more on a better one which will sound better and last you longer if you're really serious about learning..."

So yes, the objective of this post is to find out how cheap a cello can really go and from where
if i need an upgrade, i'll probably think about that later

Thanks so much guys and cheers!!