Does your violin have a special story? Leave a comment! Also let me know if you want me to make a tutorial on 'my heart will go on' and/or 'nearer my God to thee'. Happy practicing everyone!
I have an old 19th-century violin and it's wonderful. My teacher at the time tuned it and said "Ooohh, it's a lovely sounding violin" and I've been playing it ever since - 35 years or so and we'll carry on 'til one of us passes on. I just love German violins and instruments. They are so fussy, everything has to be exactly spot on, or it's not good enough, Deutschland!!
I play a Fine German antique 1920 Stradivarius Copy. I bought it from a violin dealership in Melbourne Australian off a website. Big leap of faith. Paid extra for a Full set-up and my first public violin performance of ODE to Joy in a few months on this violin. I hope it sounds beautiful, it looks beautiful !
I too own an old German violin once owned/played by my G-G-Grandfather. One violin specialist told me that it is a Hopf (circa) 1790. After nearly 50 years of my playing it myself and in my late 70s, it now belongs to my oldest grandson who will carry on a family tradition.
My violin doesn’t really have a special story, but it’s extremely special to me. I started learning as an adult, having wanted to since early childhood. I have a limited budget, so my first violin was only about $400, if I remember correctly. I honestly thought that I’d never be able to afford anything else. Well, a few months later, my husband was able to make arrangements with a local music shop to get me a far better one on payments. It’s still not what many would consider expensive (under $4000), but for the cost, its quality is rather exceptional. It’s really beautiful, too. I was so happy and overwhelmed that I cried on the way home with it.
I hate all this expensive/ cheap, "mass produced", nothing-special" discussion. Do we really want a world where violin playing was a hobby for wealthy people or even millionaires or where you would have to decide whether to buy a violin or a new kitchen or a car? There are a lot of good to very good violins for hobby players who only play at home or in small orchestras. It sometimes feels as if everybody who wanted a car would have to compare theirs to Lamborghinis and then be disappointed that he could not afford "a good car" or "a very good car" or hear people saying "everything below 100,000 $ is just a toy". I assume most hobby players play an instrument worth between $400 and maybe $3000 and that for most of these, their instrument is totally fine, even the perfect instrument and is kept in good condition all their life. Why would people give these players a bad feeling by constantly comparing every other violin to old master violins or master violins at all, that start from about 10,000$? I have read a lot of "Markneukirchen/ Schönbach" bashing in certain forums and then searched for videos here that demonstrate the playing of these instruments, and most, I find really pleasing to the ear and cannot find any fault with for hobby players. Also, I inherited a very "simple" violin that honestly does not sound too good, but taught me to produce the best tone possible from it, and later, when I had a better violin (Markneukirchen/ Schuster ;-)) I bought and Asian beginner instrument for fun (400 €) that I totally love. My Schuster violin is "better" and more valuable to me due to its sheer age (125 years already!), but the cheap one also sounds very good and in places better (overtones, actually!). I would hate for people to scrap together what money they could to begin playing the violin, maybe after years of wanting to, and then getting the idea that they should be ashamed of their "mediocre" instrument because it has not big name and did not cost thousands or tens of thousands $/€. Search for videos with the "bashed" brands, listen to them, you will probably find some that sound really good and that you would love having. Actually, if I had a 4000 €/ $ instrument, I would be proud and probably afraid to handle/ transport it for some time. Also, if we applied this principle of "only real and expensive is good enough" to EVERYTHING in our life, most of us would own almost nothing! I am happy for everyone who can and does treat themselves to expensive instruments, maybe even by famous makers, but we should not get the illusion that only those people can truly play well or even be proud of their instruments. Everybody can!
I have a German violin that was from 1729. It was my grandfather's and has been passed down though many generations of our family. It has such a deep tone that it can be heard over any other violin that is playing in a orchestra. So you better be on with your play or it will definitely be easily pointed out by your composer or teacher. I was offered to have it sold to my teacher for $25,000 dollars in 1995. She played in the symphony orchestra in California. She and my grandfather could play any instrument that I knew about back in the day. Very awesome people who are now passed on. I need to start playing again.
I bought a violin on the Facebook marketplace that was in pieces. I play upright bass and had done some work on mine, so I thought I'd try my hand at a violin. I played violin from the age of 7 until 14, when the orchestra instructor in high school disagreed over my personal worth as a human being. But that's a story for another time. So I purchased this unlabeled violin which had been rescued from the garbage by the previous owner's neighbor. The neighbor told me that the PO had used the violin as an outdoor Halloween prop, and it had been an especially humid and wet Halloween. So, the instrument had essentially fallen apart. In pieces, and with Halloween over, the PO threw the instrument in the garbage without much thought. When the violin arrived (this was during the initial phases of covid), I pulled it out of the box in its case and thought, "This is a rather large case." It turns out I had purchased a 16" viola. No matter, I decided to get the poor old thing back into shape if I could. All of the parts were there, fortunately, and looking in through the endpin hole, I saw that there actually was a label in it. While not giving a date, the label was for Josef Lenk. Josef Lenk as a bridge maker (stegmacher) in Schonbach bei Eger (modern day Luby). Josef came from a family of violin makers and craftsmen who worked in the local shops. Josef's son, Josef Jr., was conscripted into the regular German army (near as I can tell) in late 1941 and was killed in action during Operation Barbarossa on September 30, 1942. I thought to myself how it didn't matter to me if he was German or American or Russian. Losing a son is still losing a son. So, I named the viola Josef after the son whose life was lost to the cruelty of war. He was a brick mason prior to the war, something I discovered during subsequent searches. I also learned that Josef Jr. did not have any children but left behind a wife, Lena. I have not been able to track either of them or other members of their family. It saddened me to know that not only did a father lose a son, a young wife lost her husband. I completed the restoration of the viola, strung it with new strings, and it has a warm, full tone. It's a remarkably good instrument considering it was relegated to a trash can after falling apart. About a month ago, I found another instrument on the Facebook marketplace (this time, for sure, a violin) and brought it home. Although it's not a Lenk, I've decided to name it Lena, and Josef sits beside her in my living room, next to a great many other of my instruments, both acoustic and electric, expensive and inexpensive, all with their own stories.
My violin is German, was made in the late 19thC (est by my luthier) and has a lovely tone for such a small outlay in the late 1980's. I'll have it 'til I pass.
You are so much fun!! Haha! I lost it when the violin fell. Yes, please, do all 3 songs! I'm interested in all of them. Thanks! My violin story: I had a dream of learning to play an instrument. On my 24th birthday my husband surprised me with a violin! I was so surprised and overjoyed! Later, I found out he had ordered a lesser violin but it was going to be another 3 years before it would be available so the music store offered him a very low price on a much better violin. It's just a lower end intermediate instrument (Cicilio cvn 600 worth about $500) but it is just perfect to me. Everyone who hears is says it has such a wonderfully warm sound. It makes me very happy!
Mine is cheap and I really love it. It makes me very happy and I have had almost no trouble with it and I'm not good enough to know if it doesn't sound good but I think it sounds great. 1. I've changed the strings. 2. I've had the bridge off and successfully back on again in the right position. 3. I've changed the tailpiece when it made a loud popping noise on the wall not too long ago and was completely successful with it. 4. I have also dealt with the sticking and slipping pegs and learned about the oil drops and the stick which I prefer the stick. My violin is the cheap kind from Amazon which most people say to stay away from 😁 but it was all I could really afford or take the chance on since I didn't know if I would keep playing. 5. It completely stays in tune in between playing (not that I don't religiously check it each time). I've learned how to wrap the strings in such a way and push the peg in that it draws it tighter or I'm not sure how to explain it but I learned it on your video how to wrap the string when I'm putting on a new one. For some reason I highly doubt I would ever want to spend more on a violin. I do become attached🤔 It's cecilio
What is kind of crazy is I bought the tailpiece you recommended but I also bought an aluminum one from Walmart and they both arrived around the same time. Then yesterday I got an email from the manufacturer and they are sending me a free one. So I have two extra tail pieces to add to my clutter but hey maybe sometime I could help someone out if I ever meet anyone in person who plays violin and doesn't know what to do to change strings or tailpiece Or keep the pegs from sticking or slipping Etc
I have actually had better success with my 149 dollar violin then my 400 dollar electric violin. The electric one always goes out of tune where the cheaper I can just take it out and play for hours.
MY PASSON HAS BEEN VIOLINS ALL MY LIFE! THERE ARE 3 THINGS I WANTED TO DO BEFORE I DIED. ONE, HEAR A STRAD UP CLOSE. TWO, HANDCRAFT A VIOLIN. THREE, I WANTED TO PLAY A HYMN ON A STRAD. DONE THE FIRST TWO, WAITING ON THE 3RD. I CONTINUE TO LEARN ABOUT THIS WONDERFUL INSTRUMENT.
After falling in love with a $5,000 instrument at my local shop, which was still a little more than I could actually scrape together, I found it out needed thousands in repairs, and wasn't meant to be sold to a musician, but they'd do me a solid and put it together for only $1,000, for a $6,000 pricetag that made it feel truly unobtainable.... ... I found an old factory german violin on craigslist. I go out and the guy want's what he feels is fair for the instrument. He can play it well. It doesn't have any big cracks or anything, but the bridge is a blank put on backwards, the pegs are jammed and the fine tuners on the tailpiece are all broken. But for some reason, I liked it enough, and felt like, after repairs, it would be a truly worthwhile instrument. I took it to my local shop that said it should be of the same caliber as the instrument I was looking at, and we talked over the repair and setup options, and made some decisions I'm really happy with. It's in the shop now getting a fingerboard plaining, all new fittings, and a proper setup. Your story gives me hope that I might get a good instrument out of this.
While there were many famous German violin makers from the 17th and 18th century, such as Johann Gottfied Hamm and Ernst Heinrich Roth, there were many lesser-known members of the Masters Guild of luthiers in Markneukirchen who built incredible violins and they really tried their best to match Strads and Guarneri violins. One such luthier was Georg Adam Gutter, not the Georg Adam II or Georg Adam III, although generally the Gutter family built fabulous pieces, but I believe Georg Adam Gutter built what could be the closest match in tone, projection, stage imaging, playability and looks to that of a genuine Stradivari.
Mine is a typical student violin but I love it. During our winter lockdown I decided I would at last learn to play. Here in Berlin some shops operated a service where you could email them what you want , arrange a time and then collect in the inner courtyard It was December and very very cold standing outside trying to pay for it.... but it was worth it🙂.
I play 2 violins. A JTL Medio Fino ca. 1890, (which originally belonged to my Grandfather) and a Czech violin made by Jindrich Strumpf ca. 1923. I really enjoy your videos! Thank you!
That is a great story😊 I grew up playing the saxophone and always wanted to try a string instrument. A couple years ago my Nephew who was 7 at the time said he wanted to learn the violin so I had some extra money and bought him one. I secretly knew that it would probably end up being mine anyways. Sure enough he got bored with it because where I live music isn't really taught until 5th grade and I tried to help him with reading the notes and time signatures but it was hard especially since I had never played a stringed instrument before that's when I found your channel and continued learning after he got bored. I don't play it as much anymore because I feel kind of stuck but it always makes me happy when I bring it out.
@@violinlounge I will check it out. I am trying to learn third position. For some reason the E string is really hard for me to get the fingering down. It's funny because on the saxophone to play the higher notes you move your fingers up the instrument not down. My brain is having a hard time with that lol.
I LOOOOVE fountain pens and just subscribed to your channel! I got a Waterman from my husband last Christmas. I type a lot, but creative writing and journaling I always do with a fountain pen. I recently discovered Clairefontaine Triomphe blocknotes and this makes such a difference. Very smooth writing!
@@violinlounge I use Clairfontaine for most of my regular writing and it’s wonderful. For my practice journal, I use a Maruman Mnemosyne notebook, which is also very smooth.
Very nice fantasy with your "haunted" violin. Playing a Christian Donat Hopf-Violin from Klingenthal. The notes in the violin case only tell 17 ... . The luthier was born 1697, became journeyman 1716 and was master anno domini 1724. He died 1736. The violin has a breathtaking sound with silver overtones on all strings. Her tone speaks immediately. I feel the violin plays me, not I the violin. This instrument was made in Johann Sebastian Bachs times. It will be make music again and again, when I am dead. I am very grateful to the man who sold it to me. It is an honor to be able to play on it and a great joy. I am just an insignificant player in what will hopefully be a very long chain of future players.
My violin cost @$200. I was at a music store for an organ lesson. They had just bought out a music store and had put these violins on sale. I've always wanted to play a violin so called my niece who teaches orchestra. I asked her how to buy a violin. She said not to spend less than two hundred and make sure it wasn't made in China. Bought it and went to repair shop to find out out to rosin my bow. Also bought a tuner and a beginner book as I have a hard time hearing if I am in tune. I just began teaching myself and found out about Angela who taught violin students for $5. I also joined her orchestra. Upon her death and covid, I discovered your free classes. Thanks.
I have 3 violins. The one I like most is the oldest one and has a lable inside which reads Cremona. I bought it from my old 80plus neighbour who would play this fiddle many moons ago here in Saskatchewan, Canada. I prefer its sound to the Sandner, made in Germany, which I bought in South Africa without even seeing it first. And the 3rd violin I bought from my South African violin teacher only last December which has only one fine tuner sitting on the far right and I already broke the bridge and one string when trying to tune it one day. I got a new bridge and 4 strings but hardly play on it because I am too scared it will snap again! Why do I have 3 violins? I thought all along my playing will sound better with another violin - Wrong! I now stick with VIOLIN LOUNGE and hope for the best! 😀🎻🎻🎻
My French antique violin I think also chose me. I paid much less for it than what its real value is. When I first bought it, it was listed on Facebook market place as old violin and the seller obviously knew nothing about violins. By the look of the old case it was in it looked like it was an antique to treasure not just an old violin. By the time it reached my home some damage must have happened during shipping. The middle of the back seam had opened but no cracks to be seen anywhere. I took it to the local luthier and he said you have found a bargain. When the seam is repaired it will be worth $..... To get it repaired and a new set up will cost $...... The total cost of that and a new violin case for it cost less than half of what the violin is valued at now.
I had that experience twice. Both times, I played instruments more or less by accident and then picked one that wouldn't have been the first choice by the people around me (teacher, violin maker) but whose sound I just fell in love with. Both are rather "cheap" (800€/ 1500€). I hear, 1500 € is also "cheap", but I played some violins that were supposed to be more expensive and sounded crappy to me (too harsh, loud, shrill e-string, hoarse g-string). The violin maker confirmed, that sound-wise, more expensive does not necessarily mean "better"! The 1500€-violin did not really look attractive to me, I did not really like the color, but really loved the sound. Everytime I picked it up, I had that "wow"-feeling!
I have an 1817 Salzard it's a French Violin. My daughters boy friend at the time, Mother had a boy friend who was an alcoholic and she threw him out of her house and I new he had this violin and would be desperate for money. So as soon as I heard what was going on I rushed over and offered him what I new he paid for it. But he wanted more so I wound up paying $100 for it. And then I called a dealer in Cleveland Ohio to authenticate it and he told me that it was probably a fake but if I wanted to drive up to his shop he would look at it, because I was insistent that it was the real deal. So I had to be at his shop at 6:30 am for him to look at it. So i had to leave my house at 4:00 am to get there. But as soon as I opened the case he said it was the real deal. But that my case it came in was worth even more because it was one of the first cases that they made where the lid stays up, Plus it's covered in some type of reptile skin. But anyway that's my story of my violin.
@@violinlounge Yeah I kinda took advantage of him in a bad situation, but I new he was going to sell it to someone cheap and figured better me than someone else.
Many, many years ago, one of my teachers inspired me to read, explore, and think as well as learn. He led groups of us, with our families, on hikes into the Appalachian mountains where he shared with us his love for wild places and his faith in God. I grew older and went off to college. He married and moved away, and we lost touch. I learned, when I was about 21 years old, that he had fallen ill and died. I regret not having made an opportunity to thank him. He influenced me to become a teacher, myself. His parents lived near my family's home. One time they asked me to guard their house while they travelled to visit family on the west coast. In one corner of the bedroom set aside for my use I discovered an old, dusty violin case. I'd played violin in my school orchestra before switching to French horn, and I felt drawn to open the case, rosin the bow, tune the old gut strings, and saw out a few tunes. This violin had a much clearer, more vibrant tone and was much easier to play than the one on which I'd learned to play, and I passed many house-sitting hours limbering up my fingers, practicing scales, and working out folk tunes. When the homeowners returned and saw the violin case on a table in the kitchen, they asked if I'd been playing it. I admitted I had. They requested that I perform for them. Though reluctant to display my rudimentary skill, I did not refuse. They listened intently, glancing at one another but uttering not a word until I stopped. Then they told me the violin had been their son's, my teacher's, and they thought never to hear its music again. I began to apologize for my presumption-for touching what may have held special memories to them. To my amazement, they thanked me for making it come alive again for them and offered it to me as a gift. I mostly play another violin now, but for many years, in bluegrass and honkey tonk bands, in taverns, at barn dances, and in family jam sessions, this is the one that I used to make music (and block beer bottles flung at the stage). It's brought much joy to me, if not others, for close to fifty years. However, we've both seen too much dust and beers, too many trucks and years, I guess. We've grown old and have broken down together, neither of us worth the expense to repair. That old violin now hangs on a peg by my reading chair, where it conjures up memories of faces and places that have meant much to me across the years.
You had me going there! I thought it was a Titanic violin for a moment 😅 My violin is a modern instrument (I am the first owner) which I swapped with my local violin maker, for my old childhood violin which was French (about 80 years old). Because it sounded and played better, and I have enjoyed it ever since. I guess I got lucky at the time. No regrets!
my great great grandfather bought the violin i am playing at the moment arround 1881 (was written in his diary) he had it with him all the time. He comes from silesia and had to fight in WW I . nearly at the beginning they got captured by some russian forces and was in captivity for quit some time, he also had the violin with him there. He was pretty lucky because they were treated pretty well (for captives at least) (english is not my native language so there a some mistakes sorry
I play a German viola I bought a few years ago - Rudolph Buchner dated 1958. Not too expensive but has a very nice sound. I would love to know who played it before me, but unfortunately I have no information about its history.
Nice story. I am very proud of my XIX century french violin (Bonard), restaured by Fernando Solar, a very expert luthier from Madrid. Anybody has a Bonnard’s violín and know some data about his life?
Who is the manufacturer of it? Is it a Voigt? Edited to say i watched this because five minutes earlier,watching a different video, I said to my partner “isn’t this a beautiful violin?” I think it’s stunning - it spoke to me.
My violin is a German Maggini copy from 1890. I would love to know it's history but I don't know how to trace or find out. I got it at auction and the seller won't give me any info where it came from. It has a beautiful sound, but the strings are the cheapest Tonica has and I need to replace them. My E string has no sweetness.
Thanks they are no longer available but at least least I know the make. Yeah it's it's a Pusch model I found a similar one but I need 4 fine tuners at the moment. I find it hard to turn and push peg in at the moment in playing position.
I purchased a cheap Chinese violin, I knew nothing about violin but even this cheap instrument when I'm practicing I find I hate to put it down, I'm 58 years old and everything hurts but I love it. Even if I'm never any good at playing I have no regrets taking it up.
I just know my violin was made by a person not luthier in rampur India who supposedly doesn't know the concept of symmetry And the troubles of the student to make a sound out of that crap But iam thankful that my parents bought me that violin
The special story about my violin is that I bought it with the money I received from my scholarship, it was a 100€ violin that I bought on AliExpress. I’ve always loved the colour red and I would have like to have a kind of red varnish on my violin but as I had only a 100€ to spend on the violin and I was buying it online I couldn’t neither really see the colour of the varnish nor having the luxury to pay extra money for looks. So I bought one that I thought was correctly build. When I received it I was surprised that it didn’t quite look like what it was on the pictures but at the moment I thought it was only the colour that changed a bit, the varnish was kind of red so I was quite happy with it so I didn’t really thought of it. But some days later I looked back at the pictures from the seller and I realised that it was a completely different violin. I contacted the seller I sent them pictures and they told me that they didn’t send me the violin I ordered and that they were sorry, and I saw that the violin that I received cost actually 80€ more than the one I bought and it had a reddish varnish! Needless to say that I was quite happy with what I had. I also asked them why there were no label inside the violin and they told me it was because they were selling their instruments to big companies that sell instrument online and that theses companies are actually putting their labels the instruments, I didn’t find it fair but said nothing. Then I started my violin lessons and my teacher tried my violin and told me that I had been lucky because the violin I had was worth something like 600 to 700€, I could not believe it! Then 2years after I bought this violin a friend of mine send me a link of a piano on the website of a big European company that sells instrument online. I started to look at the violins just out of curiosity, and saw a violin with a reddish varnish that looked just like mine, I clicked on it and when I saw the back of it I immediately recognise the same flaming as my violin. I listened to the music samples of the violin and it looked quite like my violin when I record myself playing, and I recognised the kind of “hollow” G string that I know well on my violin and guess what? They were selling it 739€! I was chocked!
Does your violin have a special story? Leave a comment! Also let me know if you want me to make a tutorial on 'my heart will go on' and/or 'nearer my God to thee'. Happy practicing everyone!
Plz do a violin tutorial of 'Nearer my God to thee'.
Nearer my God to thee.
@@deadmanswife3625 were you the first today
@@scharnhorstkaisarbeethoven nope
@@deadmanswife3625 o
I have an old 19th-century violin and it's wonderful. My teacher at the time tuned it and said "Ooohh, it's a lovely sounding violin" and I've been playing it ever since - 35 years or so and we'll carry on 'til one of us passes on. I just love German violins and instruments. They are so fussy, everything has to be exactly spot on, or it's not good enough, Deutschland!!
I play a Fine German antique 1920 Stradivarius Copy. I bought it from a violin dealership in Melbourne Australian off a website. Big leap of faith. Paid extra for a Full set-up and my first public violin performance of ODE to Joy in a few months on this violin. I hope it sounds beautiful, it looks beautiful !
I too own an old German violin once owned/played by my G-G-Grandfather. One violin specialist told me that it is a Hopf (circa) 1790. After nearly 50 years of my playing it myself and in my late 70s, it now belongs to my oldest grandson who will carry on a family tradition.
What a beautiful violin. Hope i get my hands on an antique one day!
My violin doesn’t really have a special story, but it’s extremely special to me. I started learning as an adult, having wanted to since early childhood. I have a limited budget, so my first violin was only about $400, if I remember correctly. I honestly thought that I’d never be able to afford anything else. Well, a few months later, my husband was able to make arrangements with a local music shop to get me a far better one on payments. It’s still not what many would consider expensive (under $4000), but for the cost, its quality is rather exceptional. It’s really beautiful, too. I was so happy and overwhelmed that I cried on the way home with it.
Wonderful!
I hate all this expensive/ cheap, "mass produced", nothing-special" discussion.
Do we really want a world where violin playing was a hobby for wealthy people or even millionaires or where you would have to decide whether to buy a violin or a new kitchen or a car?
There are a lot of good to very good violins for hobby players who only play at home or in small orchestras.
It sometimes feels as if everybody who wanted a car would have to compare theirs to Lamborghinis and then be disappointed that he could not afford "a good car" or "a very good car" or hear people saying "everything below 100,000 $ is just a toy".
I assume most hobby players play an instrument worth between $400 and maybe $3000 and that for most of these, their instrument is totally fine, even the perfect instrument and is kept in good condition all their life.
Why would people give these players a bad feeling by constantly comparing every other violin to old master violins or master violins at all, that start from about 10,000$?
I have read a lot of "Markneukirchen/ Schönbach" bashing in certain forums and then searched for videos here that demonstrate the playing of these instruments, and most, I find really pleasing to the ear and cannot find any fault with for hobby players.
Also, I inherited a very "simple" violin that honestly does not sound too good, but taught me to produce the best tone possible from it, and later, when I had a better violin (Markneukirchen/ Schuster ;-)) I bought and Asian beginner instrument for fun (400 €) that I totally love. My Schuster violin is "better" and more valuable to me due to its sheer age (125 years already!), but the cheap one also sounds very good and in places better (overtones, actually!).
I would hate for people to scrap together what money they could to begin playing the violin, maybe after years of wanting to, and then getting the idea that they should be ashamed of their "mediocre" instrument because it has not big name and did not cost thousands or tens of thousands $/€.
Search for videos with the "bashed" brands, listen to them, you will probably find some that sound really good and that you would love having.
Actually, if I had a 4000 €/ $ instrument, I would be proud and probably afraid to handle/ transport it for some time.
Also, if we applied this principle of "only real and expensive is good enough" to EVERYTHING in our life, most of us would own almost nothing!
I am happy for everyone who can and does treat themselves to expensive instruments, maybe even by famous makers, but we should not get the illusion that only those people can truly play well or even be proud of their instruments. Everybody can!
@@Fidi987 You are absolutely right and there are great student instruments out there around $ 400 and beautiful sounding instruments around $ 1000.
I have a German violin that was from 1729. It was my grandfather's and has been passed down though many generations of our family. It has such a deep tone that it can be heard over any other violin that is playing in a orchestra. So you better be on with your play or it will definitely be easily pointed out by your composer or teacher. I was offered to have it sold to my teacher for $25,000 dollars in 1995. She played in the symphony orchestra in California. She and my grandfather could play any instrument that I knew about back in the day. Very awesome people who are now passed on. I need to start playing again.
I bought a violin on the Facebook marketplace that was in pieces. I play upright bass and had done some work on mine, so I thought I'd try my hand at a violin. I played violin from the age of 7 until 14, when the orchestra instructor in high school disagreed over my personal worth as a human being. But that's a story for another time.
So I purchased this unlabeled violin which had been rescued from the garbage by the previous owner's neighbor. The neighbor told me that the PO had used the violin as an outdoor Halloween prop, and it had been an especially humid and wet Halloween. So, the instrument had essentially fallen apart. In pieces, and with Halloween over, the PO threw the instrument in the garbage without much thought.
When the violin arrived (this was during the initial phases of covid), I pulled it out of the box in its case and thought, "This is a rather large case." It turns out I had purchased a 16" viola.
No matter, I decided to get the poor old thing back into shape if I could.
All of the parts were there, fortunately, and looking in through the endpin hole, I saw that there actually was a label in it. While not giving a date, the label was for Josef Lenk. Josef Lenk as a bridge maker (stegmacher) in Schonbach bei Eger (modern day Luby). Josef came from a family of violin makers and craftsmen who worked in the local shops.
Josef's son, Josef Jr., was conscripted into the regular German army (near as I can tell) in late 1941 and was killed in action during Operation Barbarossa on September 30, 1942.
I thought to myself how it didn't matter to me if he was German or American or Russian. Losing a son is still losing a son.
So, I named the viola Josef after the son whose life was lost to the cruelty of war. He was a brick mason prior to the war, something I discovered during subsequent searches. I also learned that Josef Jr. did not have any children but left behind a wife, Lena. I have not been able to track either of them or other members of their family. It saddened me to know that not only did a father lose a son, a young wife lost her husband.
I completed the restoration of the viola, strung it with new strings, and it has a warm, full tone. It's a remarkably good instrument considering it was relegated to a trash can after falling apart.
About a month ago, I found another instrument on the Facebook marketplace (this time, for sure, a violin) and brought it home. Although it's not a Lenk, I've decided to name it Lena, and Josef sits beside her in my living room, next to a great many other of my instruments, both acoustic and electric, expensive and inexpensive, all with their own stories.
My violin is German, was made in the late 19thC (est by my luthier) and has a lovely tone for such a small outlay in the late 1980's. I'll have it 'til I pass.
Great story
Wonderful story! You stepped out with hard work and faith, and the universe answered.
Exactly :)
You are so much fun!! Haha! I lost it when the violin fell. Yes, please, do all 3 songs! I'm interested in all of them. Thanks!
My violin story: I had a dream of learning to play an instrument. On my 24th birthday my husband surprised me with a violin! I was so surprised and overjoyed! Later, I found out he had ordered a lesser violin but it was going to be another 3 years before it would be available so the music store offered him a very low price on a much better violin. It's just a lower end intermediate instrument (Cicilio cvn 600 worth about $500) but it is just perfect to me. Everyone who hears is says it has such a wonderfully warm sound. It makes me very happy!
Wonderful to read that. What a great gift!
Mine is cheap and I really love it. It makes me very happy and I have had almost no trouble with it and I'm not good enough to know if it doesn't sound good but I think it sounds great.
1. I've changed the strings.
2. I've had the bridge off and successfully back on again in the right position.
3. I've changed the tailpiece when it made a loud popping noise on the wall not too long ago and was completely successful with it.
4. I have also dealt with the sticking and slipping pegs and learned about the oil drops and the stick which I prefer the stick.
My violin is the cheap kind from Amazon which most people say to stay away from 😁 but it was all I could really afford or take the chance on since I didn't know if I would keep playing.
5. It completely stays in tune in between playing (not that I don't religiously check it each time).
I've learned how to wrap the strings in such a way and push the peg in that it draws it tighter or I'm not sure how to explain it but I learned it on your video how to wrap the string when I'm putting on a new one.
For some reason I highly doubt I would ever want to spend more on a violin. I do become attached🤔
It's cecilio
What is kind of crazy is I bought the tailpiece you recommended but I also bought an aluminum one from Walmart and they both arrived around the same time. Then yesterday I got an email from the manufacturer and they are sending me a free one. So I have two extra tail pieces to add to my clutter but hey maybe sometime I could help someone out if I ever meet anyone in person who plays violin and doesn't know what to do to change strings or tailpiece
Or keep the pegs from sticking or slipping Etc
At least it's cecilio mine is just out of rag
@@scharnhorstkaisarbeethoven 😥
I have actually had better success with my 149 dollar violin then my 400 dollar electric violin. The electric one always goes out of tune where the cheaper I can just take it out and play for hours.
When well adjusted, as you describe, cheap violins can become quite good!
MY PASSON HAS BEEN VIOLINS ALL MY LIFE! THERE ARE 3 THINGS I WANTED TO DO BEFORE I DIED. ONE, HEAR A STRAD UP CLOSE. TWO, HANDCRAFT A VIOLIN. THREE, I WANTED TO PLAY A HYMN ON A STRAD. DONE THE FIRST TWO, WAITING ON THE 3RD. I CONTINUE TO LEARN ABOUT THIS WONDERFUL INSTRUMENT.
0:43 I can listen to that forever!
So many good memories how I watched Titanic many times as a teenager.
What a Great story Zlata! Wonderfull!
Glad you enjoyed it!
After falling in love with a $5,000 instrument at my local shop, which was still a little more than I could actually scrape together, I found it out needed thousands in repairs, and wasn't meant to be sold to a musician, but they'd do me a solid and put it together for only $1,000, for a $6,000 pricetag that made it feel truly unobtainable....
... I found an old factory german violin on craigslist. I go out and the guy want's what he feels is fair for the instrument. He can play it well. It doesn't have any big cracks or anything, but the bridge is a blank put on backwards, the pegs are jammed and the fine tuners on the tailpiece are all broken. But for some reason, I liked it enough, and felt like, after repairs, it would be a truly worthwhile instrument. I took it to my local shop that said it should be of the same caliber as the instrument I was looking at, and we talked over the repair and setup options, and made some decisions I'm really happy with. It's in the shop now getting a fingerboard plaining, all new fittings, and a proper setup. Your story gives me hope that I might get a good instrument out of this.
Wow, that’s wonderful!
While there were many famous German violin makers from the 17th and 18th century, such as Johann Gottfied Hamm and Ernst Heinrich Roth, there were many lesser-known members of the Masters Guild of luthiers in Markneukirchen who built incredible violins and they really tried their best to match Strads and Guarneri violins. One such luthier was Georg Adam Gutter, not the Georg Adam II or Georg Adam III, although generally the Gutter family built fabulous pieces, but I believe Georg Adam Gutter built what could be the closest match in tone, projection, stage imaging, playability and looks to that of a genuine Stradivari.
Mine is a typical student violin but I love it. During our winter lockdown I decided I would at last learn to play. Here in Berlin some shops operated a service where you could email them what you want , arrange a time and then collect in the inner courtyard It was December and very very cold standing outside trying to pay for it.... but it was worth it🙂.
Wonderful and welcome, Ruth!
I play 2 violins. A JTL Medio Fino ca. 1890, (which originally belonged to my Grandfather) and a Czech violin made by Jindrich Strumpf ca. 1923. I really enjoy your videos! Thank you!
Thanks for sharing!
That is a great story😊
I grew up playing the saxophone and always wanted to try a string instrument. A couple years ago my Nephew who was 7 at the time said he wanted to learn the violin so I had some extra money and bought him one. I secretly knew that it would probably end up being mine anyways. Sure enough he got bored with it because where I live music isn't really taught until 5th grade and I tried to help him with reading the notes and time signatures but it was hard especially since I had never played a stringed instrument before that's when I found your channel and continued learning after he got bored. I don't play it as much anymore because I feel kind of stuck but it always makes me happy when I bring it out.
Wonderful! If you're stuck, have you tried my beginner course? It teaches step by step. th-cam.com/play/PLVBTuGvv2_iZG13XSIXJPLGSWENu6pn3s.html
@@violinlounge I will check it out. I am trying to learn third position. For some reason the E string is really hard for me to get the fingering down. It's funny because on the saxophone to play the higher notes you move your fingers up the instrument not down. My brain is having a hard time with that lol.
I enjoyed hearing your violin story. Kismet it would seem.
Hey, I watch your channel! I not only play violin, I also collect fountain pens.
@@aprils. wow! That’s so awesome!! Zlata writes with fountain pens as well!
@@adventuredenali I didn’t know that - I suppose both of these interests overlap more often than I realized!
I LOOOOVE fountain pens and just subscribed to your channel! I got a Waterman from my husband last Christmas. I type a lot, but creative writing and journaling I always do with a fountain pen. I recently discovered Clairefontaine Triomphe blocknotes and this makes such a difference. Very smooth writing!
@@violinlounge I use Clairfontaine for most of my regular writing and it’s wonderful. For my practice journal, I use a Maruman Mnemosyne notebook, which is also very smooth.
Very nice fantasy with your "haunted" violin. Playing a Christian Donat Hopf-Violin from Klingenthal. The notes in the violin case only tell 17 ... . The luthier was born 1697, became journeyman 1716 and was master anno domini 1724. He died 1736. The violin has a breathtaking sound with silver overtones on all strings. Her tone speaks immediately. I feel the violin plays me, not I the violin. This instrument was made in Johann Sebastian Bachs times. It will be make music again and again, when I am dead. I am very grateful to the man who sold it to me. It is an honor to be able to play on it and a great joy. I am just an insignificant player in what will hopefully be a very long chain of future players.
My violin cost @$200. I was at a music store for an organ lesson. They had just bought out a music store and had put these violins on sale. I've always wanted to play a violin so called my niece who teaches orchestra. I asked her how to buy a violin. She said not to spend less than two hundred and make sure it wasn't made in China. Bought it and went to repair shop to find out out to rosin my bow. Also bought a tuner and a beginner book as I have a hard time hearing if I am in tune. I just began teaching myself and found out about Angela who taught violin students for $5. I also joined her orchestra. Upon her death and covid, I discovered your free classes. Thanks.
Wonderful, Dixie!
I have 3 violins. The one I like most is the oldest one and has a lable inside which reads Cremona. I bought it from my old 80plus neighbour who would play this fiddle many moons ago here in Saskatchewan, Canada. I prefer its sound to the Sandner, made in Germany, which I bought in South Africa without even seeing it first. And the 3rd violin I bought from my South African violin teacher only last December which has only one fine tuner sitting on the far right and I already broke the bridge and one string when trying to tune it one day. I got a new bridge and 4 strings but hardly play on it because I am too scared it will snap again! Why do I have 3 violins? I thought all along my playing will sound better with another violin - Wrong! I now stick with VIOLIN LOUNGE and hope for the best! 😀🎻🎻🎻
Ha, you have more violin than I do! I can imagine it's great to change from time to time.
My French antique violin I think also chose me. I paid much less for it than what its real value is. When I first bought it, it was listed on Facebook market place as old violin and the seller obviously knew nothing about violins. By the look of the old case it was in it looked like it was an antique to treasure not just an old violin. By the time it reached my home some damage must have happened during shipping. The middle of the back seam had opened but no cracks to be seen anywhere. I took it to the local luthier and he said you have found a bargain. When the seam is repaired it will be worth $..... To get it repaired and a new set up will cost $...... The total cost of that and a new violin case for it cost less than half of what the violin is valued at now.
And you deserve it after what happened earlier, Amanda. Wonderful to read that you have a great violin now :).
I had that experience twice. Both times, I played instruments more or less by accident and then picked one that wouldn't have been the first choice by the people around me (teacher, violin maker) but whose sound I just fell in love with. Both are rather "cheap" (800€/ 1500€). I hear, 1500 € is also "cheap", but I played some violins that were supposed to be more expensive and sounded crappy to me (too harsh, loud, shrill e-string, hoarse g-string). The violin maker confirmed, that sound-wise, more expensive does not necessarily mean "better"!
The 1500€-violin did not really look attractive to me, I did not really like the color, but really loved the sound. Everytime I picked it up, I had that "wow"-feeling!
@@Fidi987 You are absolutely right. Antique value determines the price more than actual 'play' value. It's a weird thing.
I have an 1817 Salzard it's a French Violin. My daughters boy friend at the time, Mother had a boy friend who was an alcoholic and she threw him out of her house and I new he had this violin and would be desperate for money. So as soon as I heard what was going on I rushed over and offered him what I new he paid for it. But he wanted more so I wound up paying $100 for it. And then I called a dealer in Cleveland Ohio to authenticate it and he told me that it was probably a fake but if I wanted to drive up to his shop he would look at it, because I was insistent that it was the real deal. So I had to be at his shop at 6:30 am for him to look at it. So i had to leave my house at 4:00 am to get there. But as soon as I opened the case he said it was the real deal. But that my case it came in was worth even more because it was one of the first cases that they made where the lid stays up, Plus it's covered in some type of reptile skin. But anyway that's my story of my violin.
Wow, great story!
@@violinlounge Yeah I kinda took advantage of him in a bad situation, but I new he was going to sell it to someone cheap and figured better me than someone else.
Many, many years ago, one of my teachers inspired me to read, explore, and think as well as learn. He led groups of us, with our families, on hikes into the Appalachian mountains where he shared with us his love for wild places and his faith in God. I grew older and went off to college. He married and moved away, and we lost touch. I learned, when I was about 21 years old, that he had fallen ill and died. I regret not having made an opportunity to thank him. He influenced me to become a teacher, myself. His parents lived near my family's home. One time they asked me to guard their house while they travelled to visit family on the west coast. In one corner of the bedroom set aside for my use I discovered an old, dusty violin case. I'd played violin in my school orchestra before switching to French horn, and I felt drawn to open the case, rosin the bow, tune the old gut strings, and saw out a few tunes. This violin had a much clearer, more vibrant tone and was much easier to play than the one on which I'd learned to play, and I passed many house-sitting hours limbering up my fingers, practicing scales, and working out folk tunes. When the homeowners returned and saw the violin case on a table in the kitchen, they asked if I'd been playing it. I admitted I had. They requested that I perform for them. Though reluctant to display my rudimentary skill, I did not refuse. They listened intently, glancing at one another but uttering not a word until I stopped. Then they told me the violin had been their son's, my teacher's, and they thought never to hear its music again. I began to apologize for my presumption-for touching what may have held special memories to them. To my amazement, they thanked me for making it come alive again for them and offered it to me as a gift. I mostly play another violin now, but for many years, in bluegrass and honkey tonk bands, in taverns, at barn dances, and in family jam sessions, this is the one that I used to make music (and block beer bottles flung at the stage). It's brought much joy to me, if not others, for close to fifty years. However, we've both seen too much dust and beers, too many trucks and years, I guess. We've grown old and have broken down together, neither of us worth the expense to repair. That old violin now hangs on a peg by my reading chair, where it conjures up memories of faces and places that have meant much to me across the years.
What a beautiful story, Joe, thanks so much for sharing!
Wow Joe.
👍
You had me going there! I thought it was a Titanic violin for a moment 😅
My violin is a modern instrument (I am the first owner) which I swapped with my local violin maker, for my old childhood violin which was French (about 80 years old). Because it sounded and played better, and I have enjoyed it ever since. I guess I got lucky at the time. No regrets!
Wonderful!
my great great grandfather bought the violin i am playing at the moment arround 1881 (was written in his diary)
he had it with him all the time. He comes from silesia and had to fight in WW I .
nearly at the beginning they got captured by some russian forces and was in captivity for quit some time, he also had the violin with him there. He was pretty lucky because they were treated pretty well (for captives at least)
(english is not my native language so there a some mistakes sorry
Wow, what a story!
E.R. Pfetchner
My mom bought it. It was repaired in another state. Not sure how it came from Germany to United States.
I play a German viola I bought a few years ago - Rudolph Buchner dated 1958. Not too expensive but has a very nice sound. I would love to know who played it before me, but unfortunately I have no information about its history.
Wonderful!
Play nearer my God to thee please
Nice story. I am very proud of my XIX century french violin (Bonard), restaured by Fernando Solar, a very expert luthier from Madrid. Anybody has a Bonnard’s violín and know some data about his life?
Wonderful! Hope you'll meet more Bonard owners in this way.
Who is the manufacturer of it? Is it a Voigt?
Edited to say i watched this because five minutes earlier,watching a different video, I said to my partner “isn’t this a beautiful violin?” I think it’s stunning - it spoke to me.
Thanks! The maker is unknown.
My violin is a German Maggini copy from 1890. I would love to know it's history but I don't know how to trace or find out. I got it at auction and the seller won't give me any info where it came from. It has a beautiful sound, but the strings are the cheapest Tonica has and I need to replace them. My E string has no sweetness.
that violin looks like a Grand Amati violin
Where did you learn violin?
fascinating. what about your bows? they're important and expensive too.
Definitely! Here's my main bow: violinlounge.com/product-review/testing-the-new-arcus-t-series-am-i-buying-a-new-violin-bow-violin-lounge-tv-378/
Hi Zlata what tailpiece do you use I havent seen one with fine tuners where the string goes underneath to the string holder.
This one: amzn.to/2XrkPXM
Thanks they are no longer available but at least least I know the make. Yeah it's it's a Pusch model I found a similar one but I need 4 fine tuners at the moment. I find it hard to turn and push peg in at the moment in playing position.
I purchased a cheap Chinese violin, I knew nothing about violin but even this cheap instrument when I'm practicing I find I hate to put it down, I'm 58 years old and everything hurts but I love it. Even if I'm never any good at playing I have no regrets taking it up.
I just know my violin was made by a person not luthier in rampur India who supposedly doesn't know the concept of symmetry
And the troubles of the student to make a sound out of that crap
But iam thankful that my parents bought me that violin
That's wonderful!
@@violinlounge 🤣🤣
👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾🇧🇷🎻
Who is the maker of your violin?
The maker is unknown.
Who made your violin?
The maker is unknown.
What do you think of E.R. Pfeschner?
How about Italian violins versus German violins?
I also have a Klötz violin I got from Anton Sprenger from Mittemwald Germany! 🇩🇪 it’s superb!
I have a 1920 Amidee Dieudonne violin I only leaning and $2000 for a bow
Wonderful!
Better do both songs
01:50
So you never have to try to swim to USA
Haha, luckily not, although I like to visit... by airplane or so.
How could someone say 12k is cheap 🤦♂️🤦♂️
He was used to 6 and 7 figure instruments, so 12K seemed like a steel.
@@violinlounge😫
Deutschland Deutschland Ubër alles
Kaiser quartet by Haydn ;)
@@violinlounge 😍
Mozart
The special story about my violin is that I bought it with the money I received from my scholarship, it was a 100€ violin that I bought on AliExpress. I’ve always loved the colour red and I would have like to have a kind of red varnish on my violin but as I had only a 100€ to spend on the violin and I was buying it online I couldn’t neither really see the colour of the varnish nor having the luxury to pay extra money for looks. So I bought one that I thought was correctly build. When I received it I was surprised that it didn’t quite look like what it was on the pictures but at the moment I thought it was only the colour that changed a bit, the varnish was kind of red so I was quite happy with it so I didn’t really thought of it. But some days later I looked back at the pictures from the seller and I realised that it was a completely different violin. I contacted the seller I sent them pictures and they told me that they didn’t send me the violin I ordered and that they were sorry, and I saw that the violin that I received cost actually 80€ more than the one I bought and it had a reddish varnish! Needless to say that I was quite happy with what I had. I also asked them why there were no label inside the violin and they told me it was because they were selling their instruments to big companies that sell instrument online and that theses companies are actually putting their labels the instruments, I didn’t find it fair but said nothing.
Then I started my violin lessons and my teacher tried my violin and told me that I had been lucky because the violin I had was worth something like 600 to 700€, I could not believe it! Then 2years after I bought this violin a friend of mine send me a link of a piano on the website of a big European company that sells instrument online. I started to look at the violins just out of curiosity, and saw a violin with a reddish varnish that looked just like mine, I clicked on it and when I saw the back of it I immediately recognise the same flaming as my violin. I listened to the music samples of the violin and it looked quite like my violin when I record myself playing, and I recognised the kind of “hollow” G string that I know well on my violin and guess what? They were selling it 739€! I was chocked!
Great story