Alejandro

Am the supportive father of young violinist who has been playing for about 10 years now. He started with the Suzuki method and a cheap Chinese copy ($120) until he started playing better and more seriously. That was when we decided to upgrade his lessons as well as his violin. Aside from continued Suzuki lessons, we also engaged another instructor (orchestra violinist) who could teach the 'practical' aspects of playing pieces other than those on the Suzuki book (the system is very rigid) -- we are referring to pop, jazz, Celtic music, etc. He has been the concertmaster of his high school orchestra and currently gets engaged for small gigs (weddings, funerals, etc) for a very modest fee as well as being resident violinist for Sunday church service for many years now. He also plays jazz violin for a popular jazz/oldies group called "The Executive Band".

Over the years that we have been upgrading his violin, we are currently settled on three different violins: an 1890 French copy of a Maggini (no maker stated) that we bought from a known shop in Hongkong; a Zhang Shu Mei violin made in 2000 and a Yamaha 4-string electric violin.

Comments on the Maggini copy > it plays a very warm/mellow sound that projects fairly but not as loud as some others. It is not really the easiest violin to play as you have to "coax" the music to come out, but the results are well worth it for it can produce a very lovely sound. On the aesthetics side, it has an "inlaid" painting on the lower back that makes an interesting topic of discussion. The scroll is not that attractive though and quite roughly made. The front spruce is of a very fine grain, while the back (apart from the inlaid) is two-piece. Our set-up is made up of a Dominant G, Evah D and A and a Larsen E (after much experimentation).

Comments on Zhang Shu Mei > made in 2000 with a single piece maple back. It is very, very easy to play and very responsive/loud. But in terms of having a nice solid sound, the Maggini copy is still much better. The Zhang's set up is made of a Dominant G and the rest are Evahs.