DON'T buy a violin from Amazon! (unless you want to 'build it' yourself!)
Warning: Histrionics Forthcoming!
Quite possibly the greatest threat to the bowed stringed instrument market is - you guessed it - Amazon. Millions of square footage of warehousing scattered throughout the United States, filled with every possible product any of us would ever need, from food to household appliances to medical supplies to...violins??
NOOO!!! NOOO!!! Do NOT buy a violin (or viola, or cello) from Amazon, and let me count the ways why!
1) It's not a climate-controlled environment. Amazon warehouses are often placed in warm/hot climates, as the land is cheaper and access is easier. The warehouses are not temperature or humidity controlled, as the assumption is that the products on all those myriad shelves will just fly out quickly enough that no damage will be done. It doesn't take long to damage a violin family instrument - not worth the risk.
2) You have to set it up yourself! Can you imagine? (see image for representation of what it might look like) This is the equivalent of going to buy a new car and then being given an instructional video on how to assemble the engine and transmission in order for the vehicle to work properly. If you don't believe me, please take a look at our StringWorks Setup page, which outlines not only each of the steps (truly) involved, but has a time lapse video on how it is done. If you feel you have the skill to do this correctly, by all means, but even I, personally, would fall short of the level of setup quality our luthiers produce, and it is absolutely essential to the overall performance of the instrument.
3) It's 'off the shelf', straight from the factory. Literally factory-made, and given no expert eyes to be sure everything is properly situated, not just in setup, but accessories, varnish, seam gluing, quality of wood or fingerboard, etc. The list is endless, and I know this as I personally hand-select every instrument from our workshops AFTER they are finished, approving only those that meet our requirements and placing my initials on the fingerboard for later shipment to our own workshops.
4) No relationship with the shop/seller. A violin, viola, or cello is not the purchase equivalent of a bathroom plunger - it's a special piece of your musical journey, a very key one, to be sure, and you want not only expertise in helping guide you to assure your purchase exceeds your expectations, but you want a relationship with friendly and knowledgable sales and support staff to be with you along the way in your musical journey. It's not just a product, it's a piece of you.
Hundreds and hundreds of our customers made 'the Amazon mistake', sinking dead money into these instruments. Fortunately for those who came to us, they didn't find themselves so frustrated in their Amazon instruments that they gave up entirely on their musical goals. They gave it a second chance, and, this time, they wanted to do it the right way. Whether it's StringWorks or your local violin shop, I can't encourage you enough to consider these truths about our precious instrument family when purchasing your violin, viola, or cello.
