buying string instruments from Shar Music?

[WatchingThemGrow]

Found out about renting from them here, but now we are thinking DD should upgrade to an adult size since she's as big as me (13). Has anyone bought from them after renting? The one we think we would get is this one : https://www.sharmusic.com/Instrument...anca-Viola.axd

Part of me feels like that's a lot to spend on a kid's instrument, and how i'll be livid if she decides not to take orchestra in high school. Tips or thoughts??

[candaceb]

They are local to me and I didn't realize it was the kind of business that serves people out of town. I know an adult violinist who was just talking about going there for a new instrument a couple of weeks ago. I have never heard anything bad about them.

[doberbrat]

Violas are sized by arm length so double check with her instructor first. It is alot of money - I'd talk to her and see how she feels. When you buy a good instrument, you know that, assuming its decently taken care of, you can recoup at least a decent portion of what you've spent. If she uses it for a few years and then stops and you can sell if for 50% of what you spent, thats not too bad.

Another way to go would be to wait till June when there will be more used instruments available. Rental returns, people who bought and now are done with instruments etc. Pretty sure Shar has used or "blem" instruments from time to time.

[WatchingThemGrow]

Violas are sized by arm length so double check with her instructor first. It is alot of money - I'd talk to her and see how she feels. When you buy a good instrument, you know that, assuming its decently taken care of, you can recoup at least a decent portion of what you've spent. If she uses it for a few years and then stops and you can sell if for 50% of what you spent, thats not too bad.

Another way to go would be to wait till June when there will be more used instruments available. Rental returns, people who bought and now are done with instruments etc. Pretty sure Shar has used or "blem" instruments from time to time.

Great ideas! We do have about $600 of rental credit with them at this point to apply toward half of a new instrument, so that's fun.

[ang79]

Both of my girls play and are doing a rent to own program. We had to stop by the store we rent through a few weeks ago to replace DD2's bow that broke. They showed us around the store and explained the various levels of instruments that they carry. I was thinking that they said student violins are normally in the range of $800-$1000. We make 22 quarterly payments of $38.16 per violin, which comes out to $839.52 when the rental period is paid off, at which time they will get a brand new violin in the size that they need at that point. He said that as players get better, they eventually outgrow the quality of a violin and then upgrade to a better quality, more expensive one. He said for a student playing in school, this may happen in high school or college, but that the player knows when they aren't producing as nice of a sound and need to upgrade. So the violin that you linked to makes me think it is a higher quality violin, but may not be necessary for this stage of her playing at age 13. My DD1 has been playing since 3rd grade and takes private lessons and does very well (good enough to play second violin in the high school orchestra), but she is not super focused on her violin and practicing, so I would not be willing to spend that money at this age. If she decided down the road that she wanted to keep on playing outside of high school orchestra, or continued in college, then an upgrade would be better suited I think.

Also, make sure her teacher measures her for sizing. DD1 (13) moved into a full size violin this past fall. But DD2 (11) is still only at a 1/2 size. It all depends on arm length and our private teacher was cautious of the girls sizing up too quickly because it would be difficult to hold and produce a quality sound.

[KrisM]

They are local-ish to me and our schools rent from them. I know quite a few kids in the high school orchestra who have purchased new or used from them and I've never heard anything bad. Doesn't the rent you've paid go towards the price? I want to say half?

We rent a cello through Marshall Music, primarily because we were already renting a trombone from them so it was easier. String instruments are so expensive! DD moved to a full size cello last summer and we are working towards eventually owning it.

[icunurse]

We rented even through adult size. We just bought a long-term cello for our sophomore in HS. He does Orchestra, Symphony, local youth orchestra, and has started to do private gigs. Right now, he would like to play in a college orchestra. For the price we paid, I am really hoping that he does (though I did tell him that he if stops playing, it belongs to me and I will sell it). His bow alone cost almost as much as your link. I would really recommend going into a store and having your child play different violas with different bows. Maybe even take their tutor or teacher along. We spent about 1.5 hours at our place going between 6 cellos and about 10 bows. Your child needs to like the sound they make. Also, see if where you purchase they have insurance. For $6/mo, our insurance covers everything - repairing of bows (which isn’t cheap), new strings (again, not cheap), theft, any damage at all.

[WatchingThemGrow]

Whoa, such good info! Icunurse, the cello bow is insane! DS1 also plays a borrowed cello, so I need to prepare myself for that cost...makes the viola seem cheap. I took a chance and got her a bow from Shar that was on BF sale, after talking with 2 reps there. She loves the sound quality.

We will head to a local shop to get sized and do a trial with this instrument and others, but it was a starting point since we have $600 credit toward the $1250 price.

Good to know about the insurance also... I have rehaired/replaced many a bow already. This is not a cheap sport


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[mom_hanna]

As someone who has played violin from age 3 to now, and played in orchestras in middle, high school, and college, I would not buy anything without playing it. And invest in a quality bow, because there is no reason you have had to rehair and replace bows already. I have just rehaired my bow and it's been 12 years since it was last rehaired. Really, quality should last. And cost you a lot less in the long run.

[icunurse]

I’m not sure if there are any differences between the string instruments as far as rehairing bows, but we have been told by numerous cello instructors, reps, and orchestra cellists to rehair at least every year, more if there is obvious wear. DS can play quite hard, so we have done it about every 12-18 months so far. We will see what we get out of the better bow. When he tried out bows, they ranged from $150 to $1300. DS preferred the sound of wood vs carbon fiber. We were lucky to have a fair amount of credit to apply, plus right after we purchased they had a BF deal and saved 10% off our purchase, which is a big deal. I have been told decent strings can run well over $100, so to have those covered, too, is nice.

We also bought a good case at their warehouse sale. It was in an unopened box, but half price (“only” $650 on sale). So try to piece it together if you can.

Since DS plans to play in college (hopefully), I do see it as a bit of an investment. Also, I feel like if they enjoy the sound and feel, they are more likely to play it.