382 RSW Glarry Violin Review With Valuable Setup Tips
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 21 ส.ค. 2024
- Take a look at a couple of inexpensive yet fairly high quality violins. You just can't go wrong at these prices. I have no affiliation whatsoever with Glarry. I just promised an honest review if they sent the violins. Here is a link to the violins that I reviewed:
Basic Glarry GV201 Violin: bit.ly/2IZKxgj
Upgraded Glarry GV306 violin: bit.ly/33wgvu4
I also packed this with many set up tips that will help you improve any violin or fiddle.
Support: / rosastringworks
Website: www.rosastring...
I was told the difference between a violin and a fiddle is that you're more likely to spill beer on a fiddle!
Nah, the fiddle still smells like beer.
Funny thing is, back in the old days, those violins most likely spent plenty of time in bars, too.
A violin has strings. A fIddle 's got "strangs?"
I love it..that was great.
LMOA
At least I recognize Faded Love. A luthier friend of mine says that it takes a new instrument a while to realize that it is an instrument, and no longer a tree.
You never know...as in, NEVER; some youngster may get one of theses instruments, take pleasure in playing it, feel a special connection, learn, discover the unending joys of music making, become extremely proficient (on these, or other, "finer quality" instruments), and someday, change the world. Hey, it could happen. Glarry Instruments, and Jerry get my thanks for their gifting. Never underestimate the power of sharing music...ever...or else.
That was absolutely an education Jerry. A few relatively simple processes have produced something eminently suitable for a beginner...
I am constantly amazed at what is included in amazingly cheap instruments, these days. The accessories ALONE would cost you the price of the whole package. How do they do it? Even without the violin, you could spend $90 on the tuner, the pickup, the shoulder rest, etc, and then they throw in a violin as well. Just amazing.
It might be your personal opinion on how you tune the bridge on a violin but it's in line with all the videos I have watched on TH-cam. Most of them do go further and trim around the scallops and hole as well, to take a little more wood out of it. For a student violin, however, you're on the money. Regarding differences between the two instruments, the bridge tuning on the first did improve the sound, perhaps the volume, too. On the second instrument, the tone was so much better in the terms of crispness and brightness. The first had a bit of a woody tone to my ears but then again, my ears are 74 years old and wear hearing aids. Very nice instruments for the money though. I really enjoyed this video!!!
This is definitely the most interesting Glarry review I've seen. If Glarry were wise, they'd apply your "enhancements" to future models 👍👍
Oh they do and they will. I've been setting up Glarry guitars and mandolins for about 2 years now and they keep getting better. They used to have fret sprout, now they don't (well not nearly as bad anyway), they used need intonation, now they don't, etc...they just keep getting better. I think it's because they send guitars to youtube experts and then actually listen to what they have to say. They get advertisement and R&D all in one go.
Just a shout out to Melissa? for editing out some of the "Fluff" the videos have a nice pace now. Good Job!
What I'm doing with my bow is, once I have it set the way I like it for tightness (I actually had it too tight at one point) I turn it a specific number, 7 twists (not full turns) to loosen and then 7 twists to tighten when I want to play/practice. 😁😁
Jerry, I loved how you put your touch on these interments than donated them to a local school, just show how you are. Great job.
God bless you Jerry, as a teacher (not music) I always have a soft spot in my heart for someone who will got out of their way to pass on opportunity to students exploring this thing called life. Your gift may inspire someone to seek a future in music. Loved this video. Take care in this time of great change and danger.
Thanks Jerry for some excellent tips on setup. This helps me as a new fiddle person and bravo on donating them to a school. Many students can't afford an instrument.
I heard a bluegrass fiddler explain the difference between a violin and a fiddle. I violin has strings and a fiddle has strangs.
Excellent video sir..Back here in Newfoundland and Labrador we mostly call them Fiddles..My dad and his dad were great players on the fiddle along with the squeeze box(accordion)..The fiddle here was mostly playing "Jiggs and Reels" ..It's a Newfoundland tradition and still is popular today.
I bought the Glarry 306 because there were so many positive reviews on TH-cam. Of course all those positive reviews were from people who were sent unsolicited samples in the hopes of getting a good review. If they had sent him the violin I received, I don't think it would have been so great. Since they featured his review on their website, I figured they may have been inspired to fix the few problems pointed out. Mine had all same issues, but the nut also was chipped by the e string. The e string had rust on it. The top of the finger board near the nut was rough, and had glue stains. When I started tuning it, the tail piece chord slipped out and it scratched the top. I put it back on and melted the end of the chord a bit hoping it would hold, but the yesterday when I took it out of the case it snapped again, and I lost the retainer. I'm ordering a titanium tail gut from Fiddlershop, along with better quality strings and rosin. That is going to cost almost as much as the violin. If it holds up afterwards, I would still say it's worth it for less than 90 bucks.
I have heard that other people have not received such nice of instruments. My guess is they send the ones they want reviewed specifically and those must be a little bit nicer.
Wow so much trouble with more expnsive Glarry violin? I have the most basic Glarry GV101, and it's fantastic after following Jerry's setup. Actually, it's better than my "real" violin bought from a professional violin shop for much more money. Glarry is fantastic violin for me.
Funny you mention this as all the reviews I’ve watched where the TH-camr has been approached by Glarry, the instruments have been good quality. Where the TH-camrs have purchased the violin to review themselves the violins have been appalling quality. Seems Glarry have a bit of an agenda and it’s very deceitful. There are a lot of TH-camrs that claim to be professional musicians or teachers that are being paid by Glarry to give overly positive reviews of these violins too. As soon as the TH-camr says they were approached by Glarry I immediately switch off.
I thought it was a typo, but this Violin sells for just $79.99 from Glarry direct. It includes everything Jerry unpacked.
Glad your donating the violins as ive watched where Middle and High School music departments suffered greatly by having parent's truly strapped trying to supply the pupil with a decent instrument. I have been told that just the care in setting the bridge, adjusting the string action, and having a fair grade of bow makes a mediocre violin sound much better, and is fundamentally going to help the player gain greater skill in learning the violin. Thanks for your time and efforts.
Here, in Brazil, we call the "pernambuco" wood by "pau brasil" ... Pernambuco is one of our states of the federation, this wood grows in almost all the country ...
That was so good of you to donate those instruments to the school, I’m sure they will be appreciated by two students!
Nice that you donated them. I have a Glarry Guitar and it's great!
I thought the difference between a fiddle player and a violinist was about $50/hour.
Jerry, the new format for your channel is great! Having a helper is good for these wonderful videos. Stay healthy and keep safe. We have a long road ahead of us to get through this predicament we are all in. Thanx from Colorado
Jerry, I received my GV306 yesterday. Just an FYI, it looks like they watched your video and took some of your advice. Thwy also stuck little sticky pads under certain places to protect the violin top and back as for the chine guard et . The bridge is still thick but they have cut them down a few cm above the pencil marks you meantioned for sizing up the Bridge with a sharpened pencil. This weekend I'm going to set it up properly. Can't wait. I contacted them previously and asked when my order was coming and they told me it would take a few extra days as they were doing modifications to that model. Pretty cool that a company like that is actual listened to people like you with good advice and experience.
How is it treating you so far?
@@bcl3341 awesome fiddle for the price!! No complaints. I opened it up when I first got it and moved the sound post and bass bar to convert it to a left handed fiddle, put some good strings on it and it plays like a dream.
I really enjoyed this. I love learning about guitar and string instrument maintenance. And it is great to hear Jerry test out the fiddles with "Faded Love."
I'm 66, started playing at age 8. That's a pretty good instrument kit for a hundred dollars. Yes, it would be a lot better with a better nut, bridge and strings, but that would more than double the cost. My best violin is 100 years old Boston school, bought on Ebay from a quality seller several years ago, it shipped from Vermont to my house in Los Angeles and was in perfect tune !
Sure was nice of you to donate the violins to the school Jerry. You got a good heart. Be well, Stay well
This shows once again that Jerry is such a good guy. I love the “violin faces” you make while playing...don’t see those when you are playing mandolin or guitar. Thanks for the great video!
I haven't learned to play violin...yet. I have a couple of old handmade violins from the 50's just sitting in the case waiting for me to try and play them. This video was really inspiring and makes me want to get them out and see what I can do. Thanks so much for the tips and the inspiration! Much appreciated!👍😎🎸🎶
A young man in my church brought a Glarry 5 string bass in for an initial set-up before all this virus stuff. I was very surprised to see the attention to detail in the build! It required little if any more work than the first violin you reviewed; just standard intonation and pickup adjustment. He traded into a set of tape-wound strings, and I can hardly tell the difference between the feel of it and my bassist's Peavey (except the Glarry is probably 3 pounds lighter).
Thanks for the video, Jerry! I wondered if I should get one of these for a granddaughter who is interested in violin for the moment.
The $90 one really is a very nice violin. The cheaper one sounded fine but the appointments were not very good.
@Francine Baus Three weeks after new strings, the young man thinks his neck is 'out of whack', too. Ill let you know what we find.
Way cool. I've seen these Glarry instruments but never bought one. The guitars are heavily reviewed on TH-cam but this is the first review and upgrade of a Glarry violin that I've seen.
If you look at some of Jerry's past videos you will find a few where he does repair and even set up violins..
Jerry you are a Honorable Man and a Great showman. The Student who recieves this instrument is very lucky.... thanks for sharing..
Mr. Rosa sounds so much better after you set it up your way !
If the company follows your example they will do much better.
Love your work, Dan
If they took the time to actually tune the bridge and set the action correctly, along with fine tuning the sound post, the price would go up. It's a price point instrument.
Thank you very much for your videos, they are very well done and great to watch! And you say that you are not a violinist?
Oh Lord, you make it sound real nice.
I don;t know how Glarry makes and ships them for the prices they do and maintain as much quality as they do.
Randy Schartiger maybe because they pay their workers a buck an hour, ignore health & safety and environmental regulations on their waste and pollution
@@benleydon There's no way they pay a dollar an hour. Far less, I'm sure. They can't make a penny at a dollar an hour. Lots of machine work, no question, but really, it's impressive that they can put out quality like that for that money.
Because they are Commies the Companies are Owned By The Government they work for the Gov credits .
none of these responses are wrong...there is also the option that their money is super weak against the dollar and, like for example the people that work at a place like Intel Malaysia, the ones that build them have an okay life...but generally that is the exception and ends up causing even worse class separation in whatever region of the plant, ultimately.
Thank you. I appreciate you covering even the little details I'm brand new at this and every little bit helps thanks
Great review by a great man. Thanks Jerry! From what I got out of this review is that they are good violins for the money, with a bad set up from the factory.
I bought one of the less expensive ones but I couldn't find a violinist to play it so I gave it to my son's high school.
Its my first tike playing a violin and my mom got me a violin 🎻 and this video helped me because i was confused on the instructions that it came with thank you
Another excellent instructional lesson. Thank you. A couple of observations 1. the tuning pegs were not set deeply enough 2. it would be good to see the interior especially for the carving of the plates and the base bar, the quality of the interior bracing between the plates and ribs and the blocking in the "corners" . A set of $75 strings could make them play incredibly better. Thanks again Jerry
Tuning pegs on any cheap violin are never fitted very well and you don't need to spend $75 on strings. D'Addario hasn't jacked up their prices like Thomastik Infield and their Pro Arte strings are really good and sell for under $40.
I would love to see you give the cheaper model the same modification treatment and hear it afterwards. Update, after watching your video I purchased the better one of these two. Can't wait till it gets here!
To me, the entry level sounded better than the higher end's first try. I've been contemplating a fiddle for several years; but couldn't bring myself to spend the asking prices. Took violin in grade school some 60 years ago. Might just try again and an addition to the guitars. T HF anjs for the review and pro opinions.
i love it when someone says that are not a violin player then they bust loose with an opening phrase like that guy. Great Video, Maestro! I enjoyed it! Very informative.
And nice band saw behind you!
I wished you lived next door. I have a violin that is a step up from that Glarry but I would like to have it set up. I also have 5 violins that don't work. I kept buying $30 violins and kept watching them fail. I even tried to bring them back from the dead and was never able to get any of them to work.
Thank for this video Jerry! I've had a few cheap violins come across my bench the bridges are always like a 2x4 and need to be thinned down. The action is usually a bit high by the nut too. The only thing I would add is to lube the pegs up IF they stick. Sticking pegs can be a nightmare.
I got a tenor ukulele and an electric guitar from Glarry. The uke was quite decent, requiring only a bit of nut work to be playable, and is my current favorite. The guitar - not so much. I got the guitar to practice repair and setup, and in that regard, it needed both. Not recommending the guitar, but the uke was worth buying. Geez, that bridge was thick enough to support a floor.
Great review. Them are nice look fiddles or maybe I should have said violins they came in a case. A man told me one time you carry a violin in a case and a fiddle in a sack. But like you said it is the difference in the music that you play on it. For me it a fiddle. Thanks for the review and tips.
Feel like I went to school on Violins and what to look for in the build. Very helpful information on improving a violin.
Sounds fantastic !
Wow you can sure hear the difference after the rosa magic is applied
WOW...pretty good value for your dollar...Glarry .. I must remember that name.Thanks for sharing.Stay well my friend..
I own a Glarry acoustic/electric and its pretty decent little fiddle 🎻
I love your videos Jerry, Thank you.
Well done, Melissa!
Jerry you should know a violin has strings and a fiddle has stranges
Charlie Bryson - GOOD ONE!
Amazing instruments and really good sounding. Great from the company and really nice to donate to a school some students will enjoy playing the two violins.
Thorough video, nicely done.
I bought a Garry violin just for the hell of it and I modified the bridge put good strings on and failed the nut down and wow what a big difference.
wow the price is right, geez Louise I dont even play the violin and I want one I hope Glarry learned something this is valuable help
Thank you for great tutorial on setting up Glarry violin. The tips in this video is CRITICAL to get a Glarry violin playing well. Glarry should have link to this video in their insturction they include with every one of their violin. Some people deride these cheap violins as "VSO" (violin shaped object), but they are really full fledged violin. I have the low end model GV101, and it's fantastic. I followed your tip to improve it and it's now an amazing violin giving me tremendous joy in playing it. Curiously, my ultra low end Glarry came with fine tuners on all four strings unlike the high end model.
Nice work Rosa , even for someone like me that is tone deaf and has no timing it sounds lovely !!
Good review Jerry. Enjoyed it.
Lot better quality than the cheap one I bought for my wife for $150 + taxes back in the day at the local music store.
That wuz fun Jerry and a mighty fine fiddle fer the money !
And that bit about the nut strings too close together, yea
that can definitely keep one away from the fiddle, permanently.
Question. I collect guitars. How do I sanitize a stringed instrument? Electric guitars are usually a heavy duty finish and are easy to wipe down, but acoustic instruments are much more fragile. Suggestions? We all need to know this information now. Btw, violin review was good and fair.
@Daniel Leca Just don't set it on fire. ;-)
Daniel Leca that sounds like a bit on the harsh side. Especially when we’re talking about soft varnish or lacquer finish. In these times of viruses you might be right though
Always loved that tune from PBS "Civil War"
The song is Ashokan Farewell
Thank you. The violin needs a bridge setup as you show. It should not be played out of the box. It took me half a day, but I'm not a pro. Great deal but few mention the setup like you.
Thanks for showing these rather decent instruments which sell for a very affordable price. (Few and far between)
I am proud that you gave them to the school. Great job!
I learned a lot. Thank you. About the distance between the strings on the nut.
And
Separating the strings on the bridge.
Also the distance between the nut and the bridge. Also the height of the string due to the height of the bridge (so the action is not too difficult)
Thank you
Well done Jerry. Thanks for the faded love too.
Jerry, concert violinist Esther Abrami did a review (not technical) or the $59 violin, also concluding it was a very reasonable instrument, especially fo the price. The review is featured on their website.
Just bought the Glarry knock off of a Strat to give to my Granddaughter. After some tweaking and new strings I was very surprised at the sound of the instrument. Sure my American Strat is a better guitar but it was not $89 either. All of their instruments seem to arrive with very cheap strings and crazy high action but I have corrected all of the issues with minimal work. Extremely surprised at the quality compared to the cost.
Great review. Amazing prices for the construction and sound you get out of the box...and your playing is good to the ear!
I have been paying ~$32/mo for my daughter's violin rental for more than 2 years. I purchased the 201 in 3/4 scale for $50 and if I can't get it set up satisfactorily I'm only out less than 2 months rentals.
Kirt what is you experience now 5 months later?
@@janseendiguiseppiThomasMC Well, I'm thinking we should have bought one of the more expensive Glarrys... This one works but we needed to upgrade it a little bit and get a better bow... So at this point we are breaking even. We took it to a violin shop and they cut a new bridge for it, but at the same time they didn't trash it on the whole.
Jerry,
Maybe a tad tight on the bow. I would suggest using a regular wood pencil for a spacer between the bow and the hair. Three eights of an inch off at the center, maybe too tight? Just my two cents, But that being said, I do enjoy watching your videos.
Hi Jerry;
Isn't it nice to be surprised at the quality of a new instrument that's reasonably priced. Both instruments look beautiful. I'm surprised that the bridge was low quality material. Bridge blanks are so cheap for how much they effect the tone and quality of the instrument. Are those instruments made in the USA or abroad? Either way, they are a great deal. Thanks for the video Jerry.
China. EVERYTHING is made in China, now. I recently got a Washburn archtop in a pawn shop for $285, with a nice hardshell case. I kept going back and playing it, and was constantly surprised at just how nice it was. Decided that I'm like the old ladies who rescue cats, but I rescue guitars. It had to come home with me, and we've been very happy. But I am amazed at how nice this thing plays and sounds. You could play it behind a big band doing rhythm chucks and get away without an amp. I'm sure it's plywood, but I don't care. It's fun, and I'm an archtop addict. This is the loudest one I have.
You're going to get about a thousand orders for bridges and nuts now lol. Very nice to help the kids !!
wish this video was published a month ago, probably would've changed my mind about my recent violin purchase
Nice job on Ashokan Farewell. I prefer it on the mandolin. George in Montana
Another review from peakfiddler agrees completely with your conclusion. Note that 2023 prices are somewhat higher: $105 and $76, but still great value for the price. I had a similar experience when I bought a Glarry P-bass at $110: it nose-dived a bit, but with a little setup work, it played well and sounded pretty good.
Very good job, thank you, You can see the improvement on your facial expressions from the first time compared to after your setup.
Jerry's face goes out of tune with instrument haha.
Quick Question, I often can't take time out to watch an entire video at once, so I watch the intro, skip ahead a bit Hit the thumbs up, and leave it on my watch later list. When I get back to it a day or 2 later, and watch the whole thing, do you get full ad credit from You Tube? (BTW, I always let the ads run and go get a snack in that time)
Both sounded good
For the price of buying Glary's and having them set up correctly you could buy a student violin that IS set up by a violin family luthier before they are shipped. Buy a Franz Hoffman from a place like Shar and you'll get a violin with tonal complexity that's great out of the box. Heck they didn't even bother to fit the pegs completely.
Surprising sound quality for the price.
I enjoyed watching this thanks
Your a good man Jerry.
Very explicite démo. Sounds so nice... and with guitar accompaniment you can go to a concert.
My dog was going crazy!! Lol
Great vid 🤘🤘
Wow now ain't that a pair of real bargains going to a really good cause, I remember trying to learn the violin when i was in primary school and now 40+ years later i'm still crap compared to you that's why i now play the guitar Nice one Jerry.
A trained violinist friend of mine told me that a fiddle is just a violin that smells of beer! ;)
I have been playing viola since I was in 4th grade and through college, and they always told us never to touch the hair on the playing side of the bow. I'm sure your years of experience trump my education, but it just kills me to see you touch the bow like that.... D:
That made a Big Difference!
I purchased one of the $50 antique bright 201 models. I'm going to pop the top off and see if I can move the bass bar for a lefty conversion. Too bad they don't sell lefty violins.
This really kind of scares the hell out of me. You know these are being made, at least in part, by robots. If the robots can make this high quality of of a violin, or guitar (I have set up my fair share of Glarry guitars and mandolins...and they just keep getting better with each batch) then what's next? What "jobs" are going to pay? Obviously instrument building is being taken over as well as so many other jobs.
It's already effecting my pay, the first Glarry guitars we got would take me 20-30 minutes to get set-up well enough for us sell, but as they got better I'm spending less and less time setting them up...and I get paid by the hour. So fewer hours spent doing setups means less money for me. I'm just the repair guy, the profits from the sell don't go to me. I just walmart don't start selling them.
It's scary for sure, but mostly because it encapsulates how truly abysmal the worker's wages are in China. I'd wager that there are robots involved in the build process but it's probably limited to some CNC work and not any assembly work. Any time you see Glarry or Harley Benton instruments for impossibly low prices there is still a price to be paid, but the price is outsourced workers on extremely low wages.
Very good job on the review and set up. I hit the like button to crush a troll.
That was absolutely fascinating! What fabulous value for money those violins are!
For $90 the wood on the better instrument looked really nice.
I was wondering if you made violins Jerry and saw on your website that you do, I would love to see some clips of your own luthier made instruments!
Thank you for posting.
Jerry (me again), the Glarry website shows they design and install their bridges, with the bevel forward.
In Esther Abrami's review, she also installed it that way. I noticed, on multiple sites and videos, everyone in stalls them that way.
However, other's bridges have a longer cut, from the center of the bridge, to be a slant, rather than a bevel.
Jack Benny would probably dig that violin... :)
For the price of the Glarry you can buy a good case. I doubt they'll be able to keep this price much longer.
Yes inflation will explode, global trade will be disrupted. I doubt you can buy a Glarry violin for around $50 in few years time (or any cheap Chinese violins).
Is that Newberg Oregon??? I live near McMinnville and am going to be setting up something like this soon. Though I planned ahead and ordered viotti strings and bridge right off, as well as an ebony kit for pegs, tail, and chin rest. And a matching carbon bow that matches. The violin itself is a very cheep black model like the second one in this video. I'm actually looking forward to the learning process for the upgrade. And like you, I am not a player yet. LoL 😊
Jerry, your setup skills are indisputable, but please bring a player for listening. I can’t tell if it’s your playing or it’s the instrument that sounds off