Any Viola players?

[tuffteef]

im looking to buy a viola for my next tri to study and learn how
i have no clue what to buy though scale wise and just in general
everyones saying no dont buy from a music store but i aint lookin to invest huge wads of cash into one
i just want something basic tell me the ins and outs do these things need setups and what not
can i say set this up super low so i can shred n shit so on so forth

[nieh]

.....why a viola?

[Mudfuzz]

.....why a viola?

Bigger, so easier to play if you haz bigger hands, deeper voice, ect.

[wsas3]

I'll steal one from my high school, that is if you'd support it?
EDIT: FO DAT CASH MUUNEEY

[tuffteef]

.....why a viola?

Bigger, so easier to play if you haz bigger hands, deeper voice, ect.

correct!
closer to the cello larger scale and body
way different sound to a violin
im also not small

also highschools never stockpile anythin decent

[nieh]

.....why a viola?

Bigger, so easier to play if you haz bigger hands, deeper voice, ect.

correct!
closer to the cello larger scale and body
way different sound to a violin
im also not small

I know this, I've played cello since I was in 3rd grade...

Not a viola, but I have a full size electric violin I don't want.

[tuffteef]

im all about the viola

[dubkitty]

i am not an expert, but i own a violin which i hack at occasionally, and have a friend who's played violin since he was a kid. thus, passed-down string-player advices...

since you're assumedly full-grown, get a full-sized (4/4) instrument. you're a big boy, and it'll be louder. any bowed stringed instrument straight out of the box should be set up like a guitar for best playability; the pegs should be profiled and sanded so they fit properly for tuning, the bridge feet should be contoured, and the bridge's profile/height cut to correspond to the fingerboard radius and height of the instrument. you can do this stuff yourself, but if you're new at it it's best to have a shop do it for you, since unlike guitar adjustments your pegs and bridge should last for years. and learn correct technique early; bad technique will fuck you up physically, and be really hard to correct for later when it makes it hard to do the difficult stuff.

[Adoom]

im looking to buy a viola for my next tri to study and learn how
i have no clue what to buy though scale wise and just in general
everyones saying no dont buy from a music store but i aint lookin to invest huge wads of cash into one
i just want something basic tell me the ins and outs do these things need setups and what not
can i say set this up super low so i can shred n shit so on so forth

I'm a violinist.

My advice would be to source somewhere in your area with a luthier. Somebody who knows the ins and outs of stringed instruments. Buying one online or from yer average guitar shop could lead to an unplayable piece of shit in your hands. If you go to a (good, reputable) luthier, they may sell entry level viola's with decent strings, correct bridge/soundpost placement and a good setup.

[tuffteef]

im looking to buy a viola for my next tri to study and learn how
i have no clue what to buy though scale wise and just in general
everyones saying no dont buy from a music store but i aint lookin to invest huge wads of cash into one
i just want something basic tell me the ins and outs do these things need setups and what not
can i say set this up super low so i can shred n shit so on so forth

I'm a violinist.

My advice would be to source somewhere in your area with a luthier. Somebody who knows the ins and outs of stringed instruments. Buying one online or from yer average guitar shop could lead to an unplayable piece of shit in your hands. If you go to a (good, reputable) luthier, they may sell entry level viola's with decent strings, correct bridge/soundpost placement and a good setup.

hmm yes this seems to be the general consent everyones telling me
but they want like 500 dollars son my budget is not that ballin
its more hood and ghetto
if not ill prob have to rent

[Adoom]

Not necessarily. A good luthier (like mine, Charlie from Charles Byrne Musik Instrumente) will generally set up even the €155 models with the same care and attention to detail as the high, high priced models. That man is a saint however, I would literally travel home if overseas to buy a new fiddle/have mine repaired. Luthiers like him make their name on a reputation spanning back generations, are generally older folks, and (maybe not in the States, but certainly here, and possibly where you are) value music and the propagation of music above the dollar. He literally cannot sell a bad instrument, people have come to expect better of him. Maybe he'd ship to you?

Alternatively, talk to a few string players in your area. Like I said, reputation makes men like this, and if there's a good guy about, a fair few folks will go to him. Ask a few buskers/friends/people in the orchestra in your college who they go to, and if one name pops up more than the others, that might be the place to go.

If something ain't in your budget, I found it's generally a better idea to wait briefly until it is. Save or sell. Strings are notoriously finicky bastards, and it's incredibly easy to be ripped off and not find out for a long time. Rental may be a good option, but again, you're spending money you could be saving toward owning something you'll love.

Also: don't read the above as some holier-than-thou rant! I'm typing this on my phone and hoping the benevolence I intend shines through!

[Adoom]

Also: in answer to your question, setup is utterly crucial to these things, but refers less to action than it does placement of the soundpost/bridge and their influence in whether or not the thing will ring. Fiddles of all sorts (violin,viola,cello,bass) are fairly generally easy on the left hand, tension wise, so that's not something you'll have to worry about.

Also, it's tricky, but don't give up. Bowed things sound horrible for ages. You'll have to get used to a whole new vibrato and using your ear and fingers rather than frets to be in tune.

It DOES get easier, and there's little you'll find more enjoyment in when it does.

[tuffteef]

no way dude totes on the information

if i do end up renting just get myself into it
its not too expensive and if i follow through i can invest in something

im luckily studying music and every sem i study a new instrument or do it for a couple tris
id love to learn how and its obvious it will take time but hopefully i can stick it out
and im doing it aswel to force myself to use my ears more and get a decent p pitch in my head to help me with my other studies

[Adoom]

i am not an expert, but i own a violin which i hack at occasionally, and have a friend who's played violin since he was a kid. thus, passed-down string-player advices...

since you're assumedly full-grown, get a full-sized (4/4) instrument. you're a big boy, and it'll be louder. any bowed stringed instrument straight out of the box should be set up like a guitar for best playability; the pegs should be profiled and sanded so they fit properly for tuning, the bridge feet should be contoured, and the bridge's profile/height cut to correspond to the fingerboard radius and height of the instrument. you can do this stuff yourself, but if you're new at it it's best to have a shop do it for you, since unlike guitar adjustments your pegs and bridge should last for years. and learn correct technique early; bad technique will fuck you up physically, and be really hard to correct for later when it makes it hard to do the difficult stuff.

Also, pay heed to this! All of it, but especially the part in bold.

Good stuff, and you're going the right way about figuring out pitch. Also, things tuned in fifths make sense. You'll see what I mean when you play it. Absolute best of luck whatever way you do it. Whenever I fuck around on a Viola, I enjoy how crunchy it can get. Wonderful instrument.

[tuffteef]

cant go wrong with the magic of the fifth
pop music rules haha