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Hi all,
As my screen name suggests I am a guitarist. I have decided to expand my horizons. It was a tough call between violin and viola but the rich voice of the viola won me over.
I was thinking acoustic guitar and viola duets would sound pretty nice.
I bought a new Fiddlerman Concert from the Fiddlershop. Got it a few days ago. I have watched a few youtube videos for technique and have managed to bow my way through a C major scale.
It still feels pretty awkward at this point but gets easier every day. I am determined to get good at this instrument.
I wasn't going to mess with sheet music as most of my guitar composing happens in my head but I have the bug and want to go all in, so I plan on buying some sheet music and getting my head around reading Alto cleff. It doesn't matter if the music is over my head at this point. I'll work it note by note if I have too. I have to start looking for viola oriented music and that will be a fun journey of discovery.
So nice to meet you, looking forward to reading your posts.
James
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Hi James,
Super sorry that there are not that many people frequenting this site. Visit Fiddlerman.com/forum and you'll find a lot of people discussing learning the viola.
Hope your happy with your Concert Viola and I look forward to hearing more about your progress.
Welcome to the forum!!!
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Thanks bud,
Watched a lot of your videos, thanks for those and thanks for responding. I will definitely head over to Fiddlerman.com.
I play a number of instruments already but the Viola is waaaaay harder than it looks. I think I will value it more because it didn't just come to me and I'm going to have to labor to be good.
Regarding the instrument, I think it is an exceptional value for the money. The instrument is nice and the set up was superb and I would recommend Fiddlershop to any one for that reason.
However, I have Viola envey. I finally broke down and hired an instructor. Aubrey Fineout, she's on YouTube. She's not only super nice but exceptionally talented. She plays one note and it sounds sooo good. I realize that's mostly her, but the instrument makes a difference.
Selecting an instrument seems to be a especially difficult challenge with Viola. There are good product descriptions but a comparison chart would help. Plus there is such a wide price gap and so many esoteric names to select from and finding guidence is difficult.
With electric guitar there is the concept of diminishing returns. I can spend $800 and get a guitar that will pretty much sound as good as any other guitar and play as good too. So why spend more? Better finishes, better tuners, stainless steel frets, binding, MOJO. .. Etc. It's pretty straight forward.
What is that tipping point with Viola? Can I spend $1500 on a Viola and get a pro capable instrument, or $2500, or $3500?
Interested in your thoughts. I'll ask the same over at Fiddlerman.
Thanks
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Hello, @Ash Telecaster. Welcome to the forum. This forum is making a comeback. This forum, along with the forum mentioned in Fiddlerman's welcome above will provide a lot of useful information. There are a lot of interesting posts from earlier members that can be checked out.
The Bumble Bee Flies
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Thanks for the kind words about Fiddlershop @Ash Telecaster
You can actually get a great instrument for $1500 but obviously, there are things that you can't get unless you spend more. For example, you can get a great sounding instrument that is made mostly in China but not a bench made instrument for that amount of money. The wood on these instruments are usually high quality Chinese but not the best Italian Maple and Bosnian Spruce. The wood quality and selection can make a huge difference in the cost. Usually great wood selection, workmanship, set-ups and adjustment are recipes for success but you can get extremely lucky without having the best of all those factors.
When it comes to good deals, a lot of dealers get their instruments from distributors. At Fiddlershop we get them from the makers.
I don't think that there is a definite answer to your question. You just have to try to get the best value for the amount that you are willing to spend.
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