Buying and Selling | Part Time Musician . com

Viola shootout! – The Final Episode

Episode 3: The Decision

In the previous two articles, I explained our need for a new viola and the key parts of the process we followed to select one. I also described our primary criteria – sound, feel, price, and looks – and the role each played in our decision. I also introduced our final contestants, an Andreas Eastman 305 and a Scott Cao 750, and gave you a look at how each met those four criteria. What I didn’t tell you was which one we selected and why. Well, let’s get to it!

And the Winner is…

The Scott Cao 750!

Why, you ask? Well, the Eastman is a very nice instrument, but remember the criteria? Let’s address them one by one and see where the 305 fell short, just barely enough to merit a return trip to Centsible Sounds.

Sound

From yesterday’s article, regarding the Scott Cao:

This viola had more of a “soloist” sound to it, with vocal characteristics reminiscent of a violin – in a good way. The sound was pleasant and full, projection was exceptional, and every string produced a clear, sweet tone.

The sound produced by the Scott Cao was amazing for a viola of any caliber, but especially so for one that is in this price range. Was this particular viola an exceptional specimen? I’ve no idea. But from the moment it was tuned, the deck was clearly stacked in the Cao’s favor.

Feel

Again, from yesterday’s article:

The Cao was easy to play, with the sound practically leaping from the strings. The only concern expressed by my daughter – remarkably – was of difficulty “toning it down” to maintain balance in an ensemble…a good problem to have.

For our primary instruments, we become familiar with idiosyncrasies that form part of that instrument’s “personality” and grow very comfortable dealing with them…for better or worse. We spend much less time with a secondary instrument, and as such, we don’t develop the depth of familiarity (and comfort) that we do with our primary. A key consideration for us was how much of an adjustment would be required when our violinist daughter would, on occasion, lay down the violin to pick up the viola. With the Cao, the answer was “not much”.

Price

The difference in price between the two violas was small, although the Cao was slightly more expensive. With university tuition due very soon, this factored in more than it might have otherwise…but the Cao’s sound quickly eroded the influence of the small price premium.

Looks

This is where the Cao was on its weakest footing relative to the Andreas Eastman 305. To quote yesterday’s article once again, this time regarding the Eastman:

The Eastman is eye-wateringly beautiful. It’s clear that the Eastman luthiers strive to make these instruments look like the masters of old themselves crafted them, and they’re doing a fine job of it. Put simply, it looks magnificent.

If we were buying a viola solely for its looks, the Eastman would have won before either was taken from its case. But we buy instruments to play, and while the Eastman had a very nice sound, the Cao sounded as beautiful as the Eastman looked. And that’s really what matters most, isn’t it?

Keep playing,
Mark

NOTE: I can’t say enough good things about the folks at Centsible Sounds. Vince and Marie Roberts (proprietors) are advertisers here, but we have dealt with their company for many years and have always appreciated their customer-first attitude, great service, and fabulous prices. If you are happy with your current fine stringed-instrument shop, that’s great…but if not, please give the folks at Centsible Sounds a try. I haven’t yet found a better combination of quality, price, and service anywhere.

Viola shootout! – Episode 2

Episode 2: The Comparison

In yesterday’s article, I described the basic requirements we were looking to fill in our quest for a new viola: sound, feel, price, and looks – in that order, more or less. I also described my conversation about those requirements with Marie at Centsible Sounds and the results: she agreed to ship us an Andreas Eastman 305 and a Scott Cao 750 for our evaluation. Here’s what happened next…

As soon as the violas arrived at the house, we carefully unpacked them and let them adjust to the present temperature and humidity, making note of the packaging and visually inspecting the instruments themselves. Both came in suspension cases that were packed within larger boxes to avoid damage. Both violas looked as if we had hand-picked them from the wall ourselves. So far, so good.

Once the violas had acclimated, we began the serious process of evaluation. Two of our daughters played the violas, although the instruments were always compared using the “same musician”. One bow and type of rosin was used for both violas, and listening was done from all angles, even facing away for “blind tests” at times. Everything was kept as consistent as possible to produce the most unbiased comparison achievable. Below are the observations.

Andreas Eastman 305

Sound

This viola’s voice was described as “woody” or “reedy”. Its sound was full and rich, unmistakably viola-like in its character. Warmth was abundant, and the lower strings seemed richer in tone than the D and A strings did.

Feel

The viola was responsive and felt comfortable. Nothing remarkable, in either good or bad ways.

Price

The Eastman’s price was a bit below that of the Scott Cao. Amortized over the expected life of the instrument, it amounted to practically nothing…but with tuition due soon, it was worthy of consideration.

Looks

The Eastman is eye-wateringly beautiful. It’s clear that the Eastman luthiers strive to make these instruments look like the masters of old themselves crafted them, and they’re doing a fine job of it. Put simply, it looks magnificent.

Scott Cao 750

Sound

This viola had more of a “soloist” sound to it, with vocal characteristics reminiscent of a violin – in a good way. The sound was pleasant and full, projection was exceptional, and every string produced a clear, sweet tone.

Feel

The Cao was easy to play, with the sound practically leaping from the strings. The only concern expressed by my daughter – remarkably – was of difficulty “toning it down” to maintain balance in an ensemble…a good problem to have.

Price

This viola was slightly more expensive than the Eastman, although both are very reasonably-priced instruments. Since our oldest is primarily a violinist, we felt we could “stretch” less for this instrument than we would (did) for a violin.

Looks

The Cao is a nice-looking instrument, but its appearance is entirely unremarkable. Trim pieces (tuners and tailpiece) are plain black, compared to the natural wood-finished hardware on the Eastman. The one-piece back is notable – the Eastman’s was two-piece – but in terms of appearance alone, the Cao suffers in comparison.

There were other criteria, of course, but most fall somewhere within (or across) the categories mentioned above.

So what do you think? Seeing the pictures above – and knowing only what I’ve shared so far – which would you choose?

In our final episode, I’ll reveal our choice and the reasoning behind it. Until then…keep playing!

All the best,
Mark

DISCLAIMER: Centsible Sounds is an advertiser here at PartTimeMusician.com, but we have dealt with them for years – long before this site came into existence – and have always been very pleased with the results. There are other good instruments and string shops to be found, though, so wherever you buy, whenever you buy, and whatever you buy, we hope you find something helpful in these articles.

Viola shootout! – Episode 1

Episode 1: The Need

With our oldest preparing to leave for university later this month, we’re trying to finish our purchasing and preparations for all of the “college stuff” that hadn’t yet been acquired. She is majoring in violin performance, and since all three of our progeny have shared books and sheet music over the years, some duplicate/replacement music purchases were now in order. Those were easily and quickly dispatched via SheetMusicPlus, a proud sponsor of PartTimeMusician.com – for good reason.

Who will win?

The purchase that we had been struggling with for some time was that of a nice viola. We have one, and I have played it (rather poorly, I’ll admit) over the years…but our departing daughter doubles on viola very nicely, and she has often enjoyed “bonus” opportunities to fill out a quartet or ensemble as a violist. Just as with the music mentioned above, we no longer had the luxury of sharing.

We looked around locally, but we couldn’t find the right combination of features to meet our requirements. Here were the terms of our viola quest:

Sound. It must have a full, rich sound and be a joy to hear.
Feel. It must be comfortable to play.
Price. Being a secondary instrument for my daughter, we didn’t want to invest a small fortune in a viola. It should be very nice, but it shouldn’t break the bank.
Looks. No one likes to admit it, but we all like to play an instrument that looks good. It doesn’t have to win beauty contests, and even for the most visual among us, looks falls far below sound. But we may as well admit it: looks do matter, to some extent.

I’ve tested and purchased instruments from Centsible Sounds before, and their service and prices put most local shops to shame. Vince and Marie Roberts own and operate Centsible Sounds, an instrument shop with a well-established online presence. You’d be hard-pressed to find nicer people who are more interested in getting you exactly what you need and want in a fine stringed instrument.

I described our desires in a viola to Marie. After some discussion, she recommended two violas for our evaluation: an Andreas Eastman 305 and the Scott Cao 750. Both are well-regarded, yet reasonably-priced. She agreed to ship both to us for evaluation with a reserve on a credit card…fair enough for all concerned. We were on our way!

In our follow-on article, we’ll get into the actual evaluation of both violas. I already know the outcome and I’m excited about it! Hope to see you all back here then.

Keep playing,
Mark

Advice for buying a violin “long distance”

Recently, we received a question about purchasing a reasonably-priced violin “long distance”. With very minor modifications, we’re reprinting our response below in the hope that others may find it useful, as well.

Keep playing,
Mark

First let me say that I can offer opinions, and while I have valid reasons for why I form an opinion, other conflicting opinions may be just as valid…or more/less so. There is a great deal of variety in violins, and an even greater variety in the people who play them. I’ll toss out my thoughts, though, plus the rationale behind them; if you disagree with any of them, that’s fine…at least you’ll understand where I’m coming from.

I personally would be very reluctant to purchase a violin from a private owner sight-unseen (or unplayed, in the case of an instrument).

My reasons…and the reasoning behind them

No trial period

New and used instruments from shops are typically loaned “on evaluation” so you can try them and return them if they don’t meet your expectations. This would be difficult or impossible with a private seller you don’t know. Can they trust you? Can you trust them? Do you send them a deposit? What if they don’t return it if you return the instrument? What if they claim the instrument came back damaged? What if you receive it damaged? Those are a lot of potential headaches. There are escrow services, but is it really worth the trouble?

Condition

What if the seller didn’t tell you (or didn’t know) of a crack that was carefully concealed? Or that there was a buzz that they never could eliminate?

Is this the instrument I bought?

Sometimes photos really don’t reflect the true “look” of the violin. Or, photos posted may not even be of that instrument.

Money exchange/security

This ties in with the first point. How would the purchase occur? How would a return/refund be handled?

Sound

A picture, or even a sound clip, will never tell you how that instrument will sound when you play it.

Caveat emptor: let the buyer beware

I don’t mean to imply that people aren’t honest; most people I’ve dealt with are. But there are a few exceptions, and it’s impossible to tell who is/isn’t in many cases. These are risks that you bear if you’re buying a used instrument directly from a private individual. You can do so and be very happy with the results, but you should go into situations like that with eyes wide open.

Personally, I prefer to deal with established vendors for new or used instruments. This is me, personally. For student-level violins, there are many, many workshops around the world that produce very good instruments. Mainland China used to be berated (and rightfully so) for the quality of their stringed instruments, but such is no longer the case; good violins are made everywhere, at various levels (beginner, intermediate, professional, extremely professional, etc. ). I have seen a new violin from China best a beautiful old German violin in a side-by-side comparison. I’ve seen it the other way, too.

You need to determine what your goals are for your new instrument. If you want to have the highest possible resale value, you may want to lean toward German/European instruments; for the time being, they seem to hold their values better. I choose violins primarily based upon their sound. Other factors are important, and I’ll touch on those next…but the sound you hear when you close your eyes is the ultimate goal, resale value be hanged (again, IMO). If you are dissatisfied with your instrument’s sound, knowing that you’ll recoup your investment when you can stand it no more is not much consolation.

Other factors to consider

Peg box/pegs

On your search for a new (or new-to-you) violin, you might encounter instruments with pegs extending well through the peg box. This may indicate poorly-fitted pegs, but it could also mean that, at some point, the peg box will need to be reworked.

Bridge

There are various good bridges, and many are fine, but if anything looks strange about it (conformance to the violin’s body, or if strings are spaced poorly, or the bridge itself doesn’t conform well to the fingerboard shape/height – yes, I’ve seen cases of each), this is not an instrument you want. Work would be required to make it “normal”, if even possible in that particular case.

Quality of workmanship

Does it look like it was crafted, or does it appear to have been dashed together? Is the finish even? Is the angle of the neck correct? (Yes, I’ve seen that one, too…sigh.)

Damage

With used violins, there will be wear. But it should never look like the instrument was mistreated.

Bottom line

I’m probably forgetting a few things, and these aren’t all hard-and-fast rules. I just use them as guidelines.

If it isn’t possible to go and try a used violin from a private seller, I personally would deal only with a shop – either local or remote – that can discuss your needs, wants, and price range and loan/send you a couple of instruments on evaluation. I highly recommend Centsible Sounds, but there are many other good vendors as well. (FULL DISCLOSURE: Centsible Sounds is an advertiser at PartTimeMusician.com, but I have personally dealt with them over the years and have been thrilled with the results – that’s why I accepted their ad.) You can see the write-up I did here if you’re interested, but again – there are many other great vendors out there. Email or call a few vendors, ask if they offer a two-week (or more) eval period, how many instruments they will send, terms, etc. You’ll likely figure out quickly which ones want to work with you and which ones you don’t want to consider.

Everyone has their preferences, and these are mine, boiled down to a few gross generalities. Please don’t consider them as gospel, but rather as a few things to consider. I hope this helps…

Keep playing,
Mark

Top three ‘gotchas’ of buying music mail-order

Over the years, our family has bought a lot of music: method books, technique books, scale studies, compilations, sheet music, ensemble packages…you name it, and we’ve bought it. (With five PTMs in the house, music is a near-constant investment!) Much of this music was purchased from local stores, but we’ve also bought frequently via mail-order (catalog or online). Over time, we’ve developed a few guidelines that make mail-order music buying an overwhelmingly positive experience.

Know the piece

You might be surprised how many pieces share the same name. If a selection is requested for a gig you’re doing…or by your instructor…or maybe you just heard it on the radio and want to learn it, double-check the composer/opus/version/performer to be sure you order the right one. Playing the Schubert Ave Maria won’t make for a happy bride if she’s expecting the Bach/Gounod.

Know the publisher

The same piece can be available from different publishers, so if your instructor requests you purchase a particular piece, always check the publisher. This is always a good idea, but never more so than with concertos. Different publishers often include different cadenzas. Gotcha!

Never, ever choose discount shipping

The worst gotcha of all? In my opinion, it’s discount shipping. Unless you have a month and a half to wait, just don’t do it. Spring for the extra couple of bucks and save the headaches.

Many mail-order music stores offer discount shipping, including one of our advertisers here, SheetMusicPlus. In fact, my first (and last) bad experience with discount shipping was for an order I had placed with them. But like many other vendors, their discount shipping option uses USPS Media Mail for delivery, and that is not a good thing.

USPS Media Mail makes no guarantees of timeframes, advertises 1-3 week delivery times (even mailing next door), and offers no way to track your order. Though the folks at SheetMusicPlus were sympathetic, there was little they could do to help by the time we reported that surely-our-order-is-missing. It finally did arrive…32 days after I placed the order.

The bottom line

Buying music mail-order, via catalog or online, greatly expands your options and ability to get the music you want or need quickly. If you’re careful to avoid the three gotchas of “Piece, Publisher, and Postal Service”, you’ll stand a great chance of getting the music you want quickly at an excellent price.

Have a personal experience you’d like to share? Please leave us a comment; we’d love to hear from you!

Keep playing!
Mark

Part Time Musician . com

A day job is there to support a playing addiction

Category: Buying and Selling

Viola shootout! – The Final Episode

Episode 3: The Decision

Sound

Feel

Price

Looks

Related Articles:

Viola shootout! – Episode 2

Episode 2: The Comparison

Andreas Eastman 305

Sound

Feel

Price

Looks

Scott Cao 750

Sound

Feel

Price

Looks

Related Articles:

Viola shootout! – Episode 1

Episode 1: The Need

Related Articles:

Advice for buying a violin “long distance”

My reasons…and the reasoning behind them

No trial period

Condition

Is this the instrument I bought?

Money exchange/security

Sound

Caveat emptor: let the buyer beware

Other factors to consider

Peg box/pegs

Bridge

Quality of workmanship

Damage

Bottom line

Related Articles:

Top three ‘gotchas’ of buying music mail-order

Know the piece

Know the publisher

Never, ever choose discount shipping

The bottom line

Related Articles:

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