Copy Amati 1670 French Violin by Vecchio

Another beautiful made violin by Vecchio workshop of Beijing.  Vecchio fit and finish is superb, they always use an oil varnish to create a wonderful antique finish.  I just love the look of these violins.  This is a French 19th Century Amati 1670 copy.

They have such a nice full tone without being muffled.  It's deep, sweet and warm with excellent clarity and projection.  Soundstage is very good, it doesn't have the widest soundstage in comparison to other violins but, it has what I would say above average soundstage.  They are fitted with Dominant strings to give the violin a more forward sound without being overly bright.  There is a good bite to these strings and evens out the tone to be more neutral (which is what I try to strive).

The G and D strings have excellent resonance.

As usual, Vecchio uses their 36 layer oil varnish with genuine inlaid purfling.  The spruce top was naturally dried for more than 50 years and maple back and ribs more than 12 years. 

This is such a wonderful violin.  Pictures does not do these violins justice.  

Beautiful One Piece Back by Wang Xiao

 A handsomely handmade Violin by Chinese violin maker Wang Xiao.

This Strad style violin is quite powerful in term of sound projection and balance. While playing a G major scale three octaves I can feel there is a ringing tone from every note in both the lower and higher registers. The volume is evenly balanced throughout on all 4 strings.

The bass is quite rich with warm resonance and the tone is quite magnificent in a sense that I can feel there is a good reserve of sound development that waiting to be explored by a good player.

This violin is strung with Chinese made Perlon strings which is okay however, if a better set of European strings such as Pirastro or Thomstik Infel  or Vision Solo are installed I am confident that the sound will be better.

This violin is properly set up with a good quality French Aubert bridge and pegs are beautifully crafted. It will be an excellent instrument for intermediate and advanced players as well as teachers.

 

Maggini copy by JinYuan Du

This is another beautifully 100% handcrafted violin by master violin maker JinYuan Du of Beijing, China.

This is a Maggini copy with a golden brownish varnish but adding a touch of antique appearance. The top is made of beautiful spruce and the back is gorgeous flamed maple.  As well, it features a more ornate pegs and tail piece for aesthetic value.  And!  It has a French bridge by Aubert.

The tone is marvelous and the more this violin is played the better it becomes. The sound is clear and bright with a typical Italian signature. The power and clarity of this violin will not be easily described without playing it.  It's very comparable to the Chow and Sons but, more robust.  It's still has that clean non-muffled sound that all violins should have.  It's vibrant, good sound stage presentation being more on the bright side.

This is truly a masterpiece for advanced players and teachers.

Guarnerius copy By JinYuan Du

Jin Yuan Du is a master violin maker in Beijing, China.  His instruments have been acquired by musician all over over the world because of his fine craftsmanship.  He participated in many violin competitions and won excellent accolades.

This violin is a Guarnerius copy is 100% hand made with a reddish varnish. The 16th notes coming out beautifully when 3 octave scale is played.  It sound is full and deep and even with good resonance and good projection.  One of the nicest aesthetic feature of this violin is the flamed maple one piece is undoubtedly beautiful to look at. 

This sounds very similar to the Chow and Sons in terms of presentation, sound stage and overall sound quality.  It's nice violin with absolutely no qualms about it.  Good resonance, clean sounding and neutral, what's not to love about this violin?  I enjoy playing it.  It's an excellent instrument for advance players and violin teachers.

Amati copy by Vecchio Workshop

This is an Amati copy made in the Vecchio Violin Workshop in Beijing.  This workshop is one of my favourites due to their varnish.  They primarily use an oil varnish of 36 layers.  This workshop is known for their varnish, an Italian formula from Naples, and how nicely they antiquate their violins.  It's beautiful and thus why they are one of my favourite violin workshops.  I just love how their violin looks and of course how they play.

This Amati has a more golden and greenish hue.  Due to their varnish, much of their violins have been associated with a warmer tone, similar to the Chow and Sons but, much more refined in presentation.  It's been fitted with brighter strings which I find to be an excellent balance.  I like this violin.

The strings definitely have more bite but, it has a very open presentation that gives it very airy sound in comparison to the more direct sounding of the Frank Lee.   Not to mention, it's really sweet sounding too.  Not too dark and definitely not muffled.  Lots of potential in this violin.  It has really good resonance and smooth.  It's a very clean sounding violin with very good sound stage.

The overall construction uses Italian spruce with flamed maple back, ribs and scroll that's of course has been naturally aged for 10+ years. 

Violin by Opera House Workshop

This violin is a Stradivarius copy.  Opera House workshop is a Chinese workshop in Beijing.  The founder, Dan Sun, is German-trained luthier who blends German violin design and Chinese handicraft. 

This is a 100% handmade violin that uses Carpathian spruce top and flamed maple back, ribs and scroll that has been naturally aged for 10+ years.  The varnish is 100% oil.  This results in a beautiful red semi gloss finish which the flamed maple back just shines in the pictures.

Like the Frank Lee as they are both German designs, this violin by Opera House has a deeper and robust sound in-comparison to the Frank Lee.  It is not as bright as the Frank Lee but, it is smoother sounding.  Nonetheless, it project sound with ease with very good resonance.  It still retains a lot of the usual German sound signature, that it's clear, clean and powerful yet, smooth and sweet. This is an excellent violin.

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Stradivarious Copy by Chow and Sons

Chow and his two sons are Chinese violin makers.  Like some of the other Chinese luthiers they too use German designs when making violins.  This is their Stradivarius copy.  It's 100% handmade using spruce top and flamed maple back, ribs and scroll.  The varnish is a combination of oil and spirit to give it a semi-gloss finish which was then antiquated.  This is a wonderful finished violin that has an aged look.  The overall colour is a brown with orange hues.

From my experience the Chow and Sons workshop produces very consistent sound signatures on their Strad-copy.  The tones are more laid back (not as forward sounding) in comparison to the Frank Lee or Opera House.  Warm sounding could one way to describe it.  I prefer to say it's more neutral in presentation as it's not really muffled and it's not really bright.  It has a very clean sound in the body and resonance of the G and D strings.  It reminds me more of a French sounding violin as it's sweet, clean and vibrant rather than bold, powerful and bright of the Germans.

It has very good balance across all the strings with very good overall projection.  As a bit of eye candy it does have a more ornate pegs and tail piece than the usual black.  Like most lutheirs who are trying to compete in the world market, it's a well made violin with excellent to back up the workmanship.  A very good starter violin, you'd be hard press to find a better one in the city.