Talk to anyone young or old. If they have an opinion on violins, they will tell you a good violin can't be purchased for less than 500$- that you're just wasting your money on anything that costs less. Some examples can be found here.
"No to the $100 dollar violin. Seriously. Just send me the C-note and let me blow it on vodka for all the good it will do either of us. You have to spend more. Period."
Some divergent ..rebels suggested Saga Cremona, a Chinese made violin, as one of the few produced in a range of 200-400$ that were reasonable to use; but just that, only reasonable.
Through searching word variations on ebay and google products I happened upon another Chinese company called Yita Music. They made violins, violas, and cellos shipped directly from China. The violins were gorgeous and priced in a 70-300$ range with shipping oddly shifting from 50-100$ depending on which currency you paid with (pounds being the most). The seller has thousands of reviews that are glowing and thankful, and really only a handful of detractors that are bound to come with that volume of sale. A quick search revealed a lowfi website www.yitamusic.com, and some more positive chatter on violin forums. Good enough for me I started making bids on their advanced T19+ series violins and ended up with this particular 4/4 Stradivari Copy.
162 + 59 shipping = 221$ 2 weeks of shipping total in my hands.
As I had read, the pegs were somewhat cheap. The bridge shipped down and would have to be setup. The rosin had shattered into something only partially usable, and the scroll had a strange nick in it as if it had hit a belt sander right before being shipped out. Though these things were minor, and otherwise the violin 'lulu' was beautiful. But what do I know, so I took her to be looked over by Bob of Dahl Violins on a sunny afternoon in downtown Minneapolis. At his studio just blocks from orchestra hall I took notes on his thoughts, and lost said notes in the ocean that is my room.
But, I remember most of what about Bob had to say. A pleasant fellow who apprenticed under the original owner Dahl, he hummed about his business.
Here's his pros and cons.
cons
As I had read the strings are cheap Chinese strings that will never produce good sound, and as such it was hard to determine the sound of the violin with them on. He suggested a good set to replace them (lost that name..), and even that I get them online.
The tailpiece was a similar story, which he suggested be replaced with a Wittner? that has fine tuners on all the strings.
The high e string hadn't been given enough allowance to pass around the peg, and he had to dig a hole out of the scroll for it to fit.
The nut had to be lowered
He said the bridge should also be lowered whenever the new strings were purchased.
Pros
Bob was impressed with the spruce flaming of the violin, the German oil varnish job, craftsmanship in the scroll and other joined portions. The fingerboard was of good quality and well straight. Agreed as I had read that the violin was very loud, but again couldn't be sure on the sound with existing strings. He considered the bow of a reasonable 100$ quality, but did not think it was made of Brazil wood as advertised. And considering a relatively cheap case like the one it was shipped in would run another 50$, that's the cost of the violin right there. His most telling observation was that this violin was by far better than a 500$+ violin someone had brought in earlier that day.
Twenty dollars cash in Bobs hands and this fiddle hits the road.
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an addendum to this will be posted when the violin has been broken in. I have read that Yita Music is very responsive to any problems and will send replacement parts or entire instruments if there is a problem.
10 comments:
Thanks for your 'in-depth review'. It is nice to share experiences with other people who get excited over these very affordable Yita violins.
I have purchased two violins (X19 and M20) and a 'best model' violoncello (T20), and am presently awaiting a J19 violin, another M20 violin, and an M20 viola. Not that I am rich or an accomplished violin player; I am just a very modest player who happens to be seriously interested in instrument building an customization. My first love was the acoustic guitar, and guitar construction - and hence I move forward to string instruments.
I admit that the quality of the three Yita's that I already own and have inspected is beyond expectation. The choice of wood and the varnish on the M20 and T20 instruments are simply very good, the construction was done with care and, yes, we all know that customization starts at our own homes (strings, bridges, sound posts etc.).
If these instruments would cost me 1500 USD or more - which is probably closer to their western value, or even more, than I would certainly hesitate to 'fool around' with them and try out different setups, bridge and sound post positions, replacing elements etc. I would simply leave that up to the professional luthier. But because of the low price, I am happy to experiment, to try out different instruments, and learn a lot along the way.
I will probably sell a number of these instruments, until I have acquired a very good violin, viola, and cello - because that is my aim. For western prices, I would never have been able to own and play all three (good) instruments.
Communication with Yita is extremely smooth. I love them. They listen, they respond, they go to some lengths to honor any special wishes. For the latter three instruments, Yita allowed me to specify the string heights at which the bridges will be cut. Now that's what I call customer-friendliness. It makes me realize what a small world this is becoming, too.
So I hope that you are happy with your instruments and that a better set of strings gives some improvement. I have put Evah Pirazzi on the M20 violin, and Jargar on the cello. The new instruments will have special Perlon strings that Yita sells separately. I wonder how they will sound, and if I may need to change them. But if their quality matches the Chinese instruments, I will be in for a new surprise.
Cheers from Amsterdam,
Michel Couzijn
I have enjoyed reading this thread about Yitamusic eBay violins. I bought a "baroque cello" from them this year. The quotation marks are intentional.
I have heard a lot about the quality of the craftsmanship coming out of Yita and that this company was producing considerably high level workshop-instruments, even better than the others that China has produced in recent years. I had a mixed experience. I will try to be thorough and fair in my review.
PREFACE: I am a professional conductor, cellist, and teacher with 20 years of playing experience. I am NOT a luthier or any expert on fine instruments.
I was looking for a baroque cello OR a good, affordable cello to convert into a baroque instrument. This would involve changing all fittings, and resetting the instrument according to some accepted historical standards...
I purchased from Yita a "Baroque Cello" that had decorated purfled fingerboard and maple tailpiece.
Photo:
http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/818/44ownzcgr1.jpg/
I bought this on eBay via "Buy It Now" for $999. Shipping was $169.
2. SHIPPING: I tracked it via EMS. I bought it on a Monday and it arrived that FRIDAY from Shanghai! I was amazed!
The instrument was not packed so well, but emerged from the voyage from Shangai with no damage! I was promised a hard case, but it came in a nylon padded "gig bag". I paid no duties or customs that I know of. Maybe this was rolled into shipping cost. I dunno.
3. COMMUNICATION with YitaMusic: They are curt but usually responsive, and will answer questions.
4. INSTRUMENT: The cello was very pretty, the top is beautiful, aged wood with nice grain and very very good varnish job. It had a modern-style black metal endpin which has to be removed The maple fingerboard was decorated with diamond purfling... but not particularly good purfling, it was kind of rough and sloppy. The fingerboard was short, in the baroque fashion, and unbeveled.
5. EXPERT APPRAISAL: My luthier's impression was that the "baroque" qualities of the instrument were not based on any accepted historical measurements. It seems to be visually approximated to baroque standards, but not in a meaningful way. The pitch of the neck is too high, and the fingerboard is badly carved. The included bridge, a quasi-bass viol bridge, is useless and far too large. This instrument needed to be completely re-fitted and set-up.
On the bright side, our impression of the instrument was that it was of very high grade, and for $999 - unbeatable in the "West" for that price. My luthier said I had made a good purchase even if the neck and fingerboard were useless.
7. CONCLUSION: the YItaMUSIC reputation is upheld by the general craftsmanship of this cello. But the baroque setup is phony and clueless. So, based on this experience, expect the following:
- Don't buy the "Baroque" celli. They are not good Baroque instruments
- Expect to spend a lot of money on having the instrument set up correctly. If you do this, it is worth it because the instruments are generally well made (the body, I mean, not the fingerboard or the setup).
Nevertheless, the quality of the Yita instruments is generally quite good. I think they are more "carpenters" than luthiers. They seem to do a great job mass-producing beautiful factory violins. That's all.
Bottom line: Don't pay too much; Cross your fingers: you might win a real gem!!!!!
(* and you might not.)
Hi...so I'm not a cellist and have no experience what so EVER! But I did used to play a violin...but I fell in love with the cello after hearing one of my favorite bands member playing it...and I grew thus desire to learn to play it...problem is I don't own one. I've done my google research to see I'd they have cheap cellos and they do for 249 and up. Although to my surprise I read a lot about how I should stay away from that. I'm still learning. So I have noticed that Yita music is the best way to go for a reasonable price on a cello...I just don't want to spends a lot because I don't have a lot of money. But I am saving. Does anyone know our recommend what you're pod cello to get? And price ranges? Also how much I might spend? I noticed that there was a lot of fixing going on after receiving a cello....
Sorry about all my spelling errors...auto correct..some one please I would love great advice on how to get the best cello for a reasonable price...I went to a store and a beginner one is almost 900 and it broke my heart cuz I couldn't afford it
I bid on and won a Yitamusic M7000 cello two years ago for $600 including a case and bow. The shipping was an additional $169. It arrive unharmed, although the soundpost required being setup since it had fallen in shipment. I initially replaced the strings and the tailpiece, although I later tried the strings and judged them quite acceptable. I later replaced the bridge with a Belgium style which I prefer. Even with my first attempt to set the soundpost I was very pleased with the sound of this instrument. It was resonant and had an even tone from bottom to top. I actually prefer it to my modern Italian instrument (Gadda/Scarampella) that I have had for some years. This instrument has completely changed some of my ideas of how price and quality of sound are related. Obviously they aren't.
That said I was not all that knocked out with the finish of this cello. The spirit varnish was rather indifferently applied so that the photos of the cello looked nice, but in person it was not so great. On the other hand the construction of the cello appears to be solid and in the two years that I have owned it, it has been problem free.
I have considered purchasing another cello (perhaps something that looks nicer), however, besides the question of whether I actually need another one I wonder if spending two or three times as much as I spent on this cello would really translate into something that sounded better. I have been especially impressed by some of the cellos I have seen in the Old Violin House store.
I have given favorable reviews in several forums on my purchase from Yita. Based on my one experience I would still recommend them.
I have bought many instruments from Yita and Old Violin House over the span of 4 years. I must say these are the 2 better sellers at ebay. The M20 from Yita did not impress me though, I prefer their T20. But in general it seemed fair for the price. Like what many has already said, I often have to change the bridge and strings even on the T20. Recently I have been buying from Old Violin House Opera and Vecchio models with Dominant or Tonica strings fitted. In general I find them better setup and it saves me lots of time. I suspect they put Dominant strings on their better instruments. I could hand it to my students without much work and they sounded fine out of the box. The default case as usual with Chinese violins leaves little to be desired. squirrelnyc is correct about baroque instruments. I think the Chinese have little knowledge when it comes to baroque. They just look like baroque instruments. I have no experience with shipping cellos too. I remain a little fearful of shipping such a big parcel. I'm eyeing at one of Old Violin House Vecchio cello, which is really beautiful from the photos. Yita has great fittings too. And you can ask them to change to parts you like and they will do it for you. They reply fast, but I get the feeling they're robots trying to finish all the emails quickly. But you do get quick responses. Old Violin House even has a chat service on their website. Their website also say they will your old unused violin for free to another player who needs it. http://store.old-violin-house.com/pages/do-good
But in general I'm thankful for these Chinese sellers, without which many of my students might have to pay more for something similar from the German factories. I hope there will be more and more sellers like Yita and Old Violin House.
Cheers from Nashville!
What do you think of Yitas latest violins? Are the T's still better? I see the m20's going for more than $300
I have two T20 violins.
The M violins seem to have improved lately, based upon the pictures on ebay. They used to be noticeably worse.
I am very happy with my T20 violins. I would recommend getting a ToneRite.
I've ordered an M19+ for my friend's son in Seattle,USA and a T20 for myself in Pune, India. Its being shipped today. I'm hoping it will meet expectations. Stay tuned for updates once I receive the shipment.
How was your experience with the violin?
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