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.

German design by Frank Lee

This violin was made by the Frank Lee's workshop in Shanghai.

The violin is of German design and uses alpine spruce top and flamed maple back, ribs and scrolls which has been aged for 10+ years.  The varnish is a combination of spirit and oil varnish.  This results in a beautiful golden yellow hue and as always with most well made violin a beautiful back to show off.

The sound is your typical German sound signature.  It is bright and robust but, it is well balance on all 4 strings.  The D and G strings are a real treat when playing as there is some nice resonance when played.  It is forward in presentation and projects sound with relatively ease.  The sound is also quite clean and clear without sounding muffled, you can almost say it's quite analytical.  This is a great violin if you are looking for violin that is clean in it's presentation.   This is a well made instrument for students and advanced players.

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Starting a blog to talk about my hobby!

Hello to all the violin and fiddle players,

This is Peace.  I am a retired classical violin player. I have been playing the violin on and off for more than 40 years and I have a vast knowledge, experience and expertise on violins.  I would like to share my passion for the violin with every music enthusiast.

I am a classically trained violinist with solid background in all aspects of Classical music literature.    It will be my pleasure to be able to assist anyone to find a suitable violin for your musical enjoyment.  If there is anything I can do for you, please don't hesitate to contact me.  Thank you for your time.