Welcome to Frank's Violins' Comedy Corner,
a little laugh and a little lesson!
The $99.00 violin outfit usually features:
- Heavily sprayed lacquer finish, almost
"dipped" in appearance, shiny but not an open sound,
unusually heavy instrument weight, sometimes an airbrushed faux
finish that appears to be a highly flamed piece of wood, also
know as "photo flame"
- Unseasoned or improperly seasoned wood
of questionable origin
- Stained hardwood fittings (in lieu of
solid ebony) for the fingerboard, nut, saddle. Often called
ebonized or ebonite
- Plastic fittings which may include the
tailpiece, chinrest, end button and saddle
- Poorly fitted thick bridge and sound post
made of soft, unseasoned woods, improper arching of the bridge
makes playing one string difficult
- Inexpensive steel core strings with a
bright, tinny, piercing sound
- Corner blocks and/or linings in the interior
of the violin have been omitted to save production costs which
lead to diminished structural integrity
- Rough cut scrolls sometimes with glue-on
scroll eyes with poor peg placement causing strings to rub on
pegs and become frayed and eventually break
- A "mystery wood" bow (not brazilwood)
with synthetic hair (not horse hair), half lined plastic
frog (not ebony), usually weak or flimsy, sometimes straight
- Case that provides a low level of protection
with an inexpensive zipper that breaks easily
These outfits are available by special order
for only $89.95 That's almost less than the cost of a good
set of strings, a well cut French bridge and an ebony fingerboard! They are not set up
and have a limited manufacture's warrantee. If you are looking
for a "VSO" (violin shaped object) as a toy, a tree ornament,
a prop, or an art project this outfit is for you. If you desire
an encouraging musical instrument don't make the $99.00 violin mistake. |
