What is a good brand for a Viola?

[John Fabre]

What is a good brand for a Viola?

I need a Viola for my son, would it be better to have one made?

[Regis Galbach]

That is a rather wide question. I repaired violins for a few years and learned a little. First, If your son has the character to learn and stick to his lessons, then you should avoid the new instruments in the couple hundred dollar range. It will frustrate a weak player to never sound a good, clear, quality note. If he is ready to play a full size instrument, then it's a matter of matching his ear & ability to the viola quality. Question his teacher. Expect to buy more than one as his playing matures. Check local shops for used instruments that you can have him show his teacher before buying (or get money back if unsat). If you can budget at least in the $1k range you should be in quality beginner area. Having one made by a reasonably good maker will cost at least 3 times that and pehaps 10 times. It really depends on your son's committment and ability. Know that teachers often get commission from the shop they work with so make them earn it buy demonstrating to you the difference between qualities. After his 1st viola, you should only upgrade when his ear and playing can actually distinguish between the the quality.

My 2cts
Regis

[John Fabre]

Thanks, good information on not going cheap. Would renting one first be a better option?

[Regis Galbach]

If he is brand new to music and you are not sure that he will stick with it, then rent is really good way to go.ut, if he does really take to it, get him quality instrument and bow. Bow is real important and he'll need teacher help for both bow & viola when you purchase.

[John Powers]

Rent, definitely.

[John Fabre]

He's still interested, just bought a real nice Viola for home use, what about a good bow? Still renting a Viola from school for school, didn't want to haul it back and forth.

[Shawn Pixley]

Regis offered good advice. I took 12 years of classical violin when I was young. I started on a 1/2 size violin (rented) , 3/4 size (rented), and then to a full sized (owned). Don't buy until the student shows they want to stay with it. When they can make a cheap violin sound good, get a good violin then. My final violin cost ~$1000 dollars in the sixties, so I don't know what that means today. After taking violin, I taught myself other instruments later. Wish I had a good viola today.

Other unsolicited advice, don't go strictly Suzuki method. It is very hard to go professional if you only take this methodology.

[Russell Sansom]

I know there are various schools of thought on this, but from my experience, an easy to play, loud, rich, and expressive instrument is much better for a serious beginner. A dull or hard to play instrument is disheartening and makes the student work too hard for poor results. Perhaps a poor instrument is OK for a try out. Every instrument sounds magical to a fresh young ear. It's harder and harder to become fluent and expressive on an instrument that isn't quite capable of either. Poor mechanical qualities ( for instance, hard to tune ) can be almost as frustrating as well. These aren't qualities a neophyte or its parents have the experience to appreciate.

A couple of my first instruments were of awful variety. A bow with 20 year-old hair and a violin with 30 year-old strings. A four dollar guitar with frets worn in "v's" down to the fingerboard. Who knew at age 12? Perhaps it made me stronger, trying to get a clean cord, but the frustration is what stands out in my memory. Once a friend let me play his museum-quality Ramirez, a big light went on and stayed on. I was a dumb kid. I should have given up in 8th grade but I was so absolutely driven that I stuck with it and prevailed. I've been singing this song for fifty years now. I appreciate that some people see this question differently.
russ

[Myk Rian]

I have a Viola that belonged to my Grandparents. Also have a Lute that is in another thread.
We had it rebuilt several years ago, and I bought a quality horse hair bow for it. Our Granddaughter wanted to take up Violin, and she tried it.
That was when we found out it was a Viola. Now, I don't know what I want to do with it. I'll have to dig it out of the closet to get a makers name from it.