Need some advice from violinists

In a word, no. I'd recommend visiting a reputable shop and inquiring about renting a violin instead. Lower up-front costs and if you decide to quit, that's it (but hopefully you'll love it and continue!)

I don't know if you still need the information, but I would definitely recommend buying yourself a decent violin. Sure, you may not take to it, but if you do you're going to want one with a decent sound... the cheaper ones sound so scratchy and the wood is just not good quality at all. So then, once you get sick of that sound, you're gonna want to buy a new one, which means you're paying twice... right?

I went into a music shop in my city and bought a student violin for £135, not sure what that is in USD, but it's the one my tutor recommended to start on and it sounds gorgeous already!

Good luck, and I hope you discover how wonderful this instrument is!

I agree that you should get a better quality violin, however, be cautious if you decide to rent. It's actually quite expensive after the 3 month trial period and the instruments, in many cases, are quite inferior.

That being said....how AWESOME that you want to learn to play the violin!!! Good for you, the world needs more violinists Best of luck with it!

UncleDave said:

In a word, no. I'd recommend visiting a reputable shop and inquiring about renting a violin instead. Lower up-front costs and if you decide to quit, that's it (but hopefully you'll love it and continue!)

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OOPS DISREGARD POST! RESPONDED TO WRONG POST, MEANT FOR OP. SORRY! I'm still not sure how to delete posts or forgot how to do it!
When i first started, I rented an instrument for the first couple years and then went to a good shop and spoke with different people. I've played violin for 30 years (started at age 10) but didn't get a qulaity instrument until about 5 or 6 years later. Nothing wrong with starting to learn on a student quality instrument! You probably want to find out if you'll really like violin enough that you see yourself continuing on with it in the years to come.

corvus_corax said:

I'm seriously thinking about taking up the violin.
However, once I start, I might find that I don't like it (hey, it happens). Because of that, I don't want to outright spend $200+ USD on a 4/4 student violin. Additionally, honestly we just don't have that kind of money right now for this.

So, my question is- Considering the above, is a 4/4 Student Violin (with case, bow, rosin and extra strings, and pitch pipe) priced at a measly $45-$75 USD (via amazon) worth the investment?
According to one description, one of these are constructed of "solid spruce top and solid maple back, sides, and neck"..." Features a fine tuner tailpiece and ebonized fittings Full size".

Additionally, most of these "non-expensive" violins had mixed reviews (to be expected, I suppose)
Or is a violin that is so "non-expensive" just going to turn out to more useless than not even trying to learn?

Thanks in advance for any advice and insight

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When i first started, I rented an instrument for the first couple years and then went to a reputable shop and spoke with different people. I've played violin for 30 years (started at age 10) but didn't get a quality instrument until about 5 or 6 years later. Nothing wrong with starting to learn on a student quality (esp if you are limited in what you can spend) instrument! You probably want to find out if you'll really like violin enough that you see yourself continuing on with it in the years to come. But you also dont' want to get something so cheap you think it's your playing when it's really the bad instrument! I"m not sure how that plays out in terms of actual price numbers today, as it was in the 1980's when I got my best and last instrument. I've stayed with this same violin since I was about 15 or 16! It's seems though, that $45-$75 for 2011, is a bit cheap! I can almost guarantee you won't like how it sounds and will be a discouragement as you learn!

Question: do you take private or would you take private lessens? Your teacher would have a good idea where to start with this I imagine. I never became a teacher, though my violin teacher at the time was the one who led me in the direction of who and where to go for an instrument.