Because we are not a large concern and do not have impressive retail premises (in fact, none at all) we are rarely inundated by makers of instruments trying to interest us in their products (you guessed it, in fact, none at all!) Instead, we have to do our research, get out there and take the initiative ourselves. It therefore gives us a great kick when we find something good which the established names in the music retailing world have passed over. That happened with Gliga violins, and again with Glasser bows, in each case lines which no other seller in the UK were selling, and now we have made it a hat-trick! We found a truly excellent violin making company in China who did not have an outlet for their violins in the UK. You guessed it – we are first again!
When we made contact with the firm, whose identity we are not prepared to disclose – despite our pride in being open in our dealings this one will have to be a trade secret – we had no way of knowing what quality to expect. It was a leap in the dark for us, and we took a chance which paid off magnificently. We had started receiving violins from Romania a little while before and arranging transportation for them was no more difficult than getting them from the other end of England. This time they would have to come by sea and we had no experience of international shipping so did not have a clue how it worked. Nothing ventured, nothing gained, we put in a fairly large order and waited.
We waited for some time as there was a small hitch (our fault) and then we ran into the Christmas holiday period. “Slowboat from China” did someone say? However, they eventually came. They were worth waiting for. We were delighted with them.
We will be keeping a small number of them in stock to supplement our main ranges of Prima/Primavera and Gliga to improve our spread and give wider choice. It was these instruments which really made us change our minds about Chinese violins and realised just how outdated and unfair their lingering reputation now is. Not all Chinese violins are as good as these of course, and neither are many of their better known European competitors (even those who actually make in Europe!)
We thought of sticking German sounding labels into them, but resisted the temptation of course, though if we were dishonest the violins would be good enough to let us do just that! The only regret we have about them is that we may have to order them specially (if we don’t have the correct size, for instance) and that could mean a two-month wait, in which case we would be looking for a deposit.
And here they are ...
THE
ELIDA OVERTURE
Available
in sizes: 4/4, 3/4, 1/2, 1/4, 1/8, 1/16
This is a cut above the commonly sold beginner's models, having an ebony fingerboard and beautiful boxwood pegs, chinrest and endpin. Some even have gold coloured fittings on the chinrest! The bow has an ebony frog. The bridge is excellent considering it has been factory fitted; it is thin, and low enough to cause no difficulty in playing even up to seventh position (not that we would recommend this instrument for that level but it illustrates the point.) It is very common with beginners' violins to feel that one is fighting against the instrument. "Cheap and nasty violins" are substantially more difficult to play: this one isn't! After some experimentation we found that D'Addario Prelude strings make quite a difference to the sound of these violins without adding a vast amount to the cost. We are therefore now fitting these as standard. You could expect to pay around £15-20 for a set of these strings if bought elsewhere. All teachers that we have shown this to so far have been impressed.
MORE PICTURES HERE!
The ebony fingerboard and boxwood fittings put this
violin firmly in the Stentor 2 / Prima 200 league, but will cost you
substantially less at only £85 including
postage within UK. The Prima 200 has a
slightly better case.
THE
ELIDA SERENADE
Available
in sizes: 4/4, 3/4 1/2, 1/4
At present, due to a change in specification, we have this outfit available in two versions. One has an ebony fingerboard and boxwood pegs, chinrest and tailpiece without built-in adjusters (though we are happy to fit adjusters free) and is supplied with a fully lined bow. The other has ebony fittings throughout (apart from the tailpiece which is of the standard modern metal type with built-in adjusters), better factory strings which actually sound quite good, and a half-lined bow with octagonal stick. In each case the bridge is better than on the lower models and the violin itself has a flamed back. We would advise that the boxwood fitted one really does need upgraded strings, which are not included in the price.
This outfit competes very favourably with anything else in its price range and we are confident in recommending it up to around Grade 6. It is a great violin for a lucky beginner or a suitable step-up instrument for an advancing player on a budget. We have even sold one as a "cheap enough to leave at school" instrument for a Grade 8 player whose parents did not want to take risks with her best violin.
Of course we are biased but we think this is a splendid instrument and a very impressive buy at £100 including free postage within UK.
THE
ELIDA INTERMEZZO
Available
in sizes: 4/4, 3/4, 1/2
This violin is finished with the attractive soft varnish typical of intermediate level Chinese violins - unfortunately this means that it is prone to minor cosmetic damage in transit. This is so common on this type of instrument (from all suppliers) that it is not realistic to continually list these as seconds. You should assume that there will be minor cosmetic damage on the back where it does not show unless looked for.
There are minor variations in the specification of these instruments, such as one piece/two piece back and the exact design of the pegs, but all are most attractive and, when fitted with Pro-Arte strings (included in price) sound most impressive for the price. One of our regular customers even committed the ultimate heresy by suggesting that this instrument competes seriously with Gliga Gems 2!
It is supplied with a good brazilwood bow and a shaped woodshell case. A metal tailpiece with built-in adjusters comes as standard.
This is an excellent step-up violin and is good enough in our opinion to go right up to Grade 8.
We present this contender for your consideration at a very reasonable price of £200 including free postage within UK.
We have a small number of higher models from the same workshop priced between £300 and £600.