Thank-you! I purchased my Glasser Carbon Composite violin (same as the one in your video) from you back in July '23. I'm VERY happy with it! I fiddle and bought it for playing outdoors, and its great for that (other players enjoy trying it too)! Its an easy to play instrument, has a very decent sound and holds its tuning well; also the geared tuners are great! Its been to outdoor woodsy moist gatherings and was played on the beach for a week-ish. And now, it will also be my winter travel-to-jams instrument. For my setup, I changed out the Larsen strings for Helicores, and I changed out its chin rest to a Wave (I have a long neck). 🎻🙂
So nice to hear, a big thanks for sharing. Yes, carbon composite instruments are perfect for playing outdoors. We are so happy that you are enjoying your Glasser violin! Music to our ears 😍
Thank you so much for your comparison video. I ended up buying the Glasser AEX 5 string violin from your store yesterday. I've been using glasser braided carbon bows for many, many years, and love them. I am sure the two will sound great together! I can't wait to receive the AEX from you! ❤
I've read every article and watched every video I could find on various carbon fiber violins, and I kept being drawn to the Glasser. I especially like y'all's videos comparing the different brands and models, and I ultimately decided to order the Glasser from your website last night (along with a case and a bow). I look forward to playing it once it arrives. Thanks for all the videos about it. They were even more helpful than our local violin shop that also sells it.
I have the exact Glasser from the video, and it has served me well my past two years learning the violin. I live off grid with degrees in the negatives through 110F depending on the season.
Something in the back of my mind noticed a visual difference between the first violin and the last two but I couldn't exactly tell what at first. I eventually realized that the dearer two don't have the sharp "corners" at the waist, it's more of an acoustic guitar body shape. I can't unsee it now but I think I really like that!
I love it. Rich, resonant tone, no dead notes anywhere in the frequency range and most importantly, consistency from one instrument to the next. You know what you're getting.
I wish these comparisons had included at least one traditional wooden violin so that one can get some idea of the tonality of the microphone's sound pickup. That way one could sort out whether the nasality I hear in all of these models comes from them or the combination of microphones and my speaker frequency responses. I know my speakers aren't flat and I bet that the mikes used aren't either.
With no doubt the mezzoforte sounds better and even way better than wodden instrument from the lower third of the regular price-scale (excluding really expensive violins)
The carbon fiber gets better at higher frequencies because of its stiffness, but the lower you go the more nasal it sounds. It just doesn't have the richness of lower frequencies.
@@ThomasTVP Hi, Thomas. I hope you're doing well. I wanted to follow up on your posts in which you seem to prefer issuing insults rather than contributions to the discussion. Is there a purpose to your posts and, if so, what is it?
@@LRPhotographer I just made clear that because of the limitations imposed on carbon fibre instruments by the material (that no luthier can change) especially in terms of resonance, they're only usable for specific purposes, eg. playing outside.
i just bought one from you through reverb the e and a strings the d finally tuned to pitc but the g string broke and c stringthe never would tune to standard low c
To my ear (which is aging and missing upper register overtones), the sound of the instruments is somewhat dead - an incomplete array of frequencies. So far, these instruments seem like they'd make good band instruments, especially to replace the standard electric violin, but they are not something for even semi-professional or good amateur groups. Student-level setups are pretty inexpensive (and sound it). It would be interesting to hear how a cheap carbon-fiber student level violin sounds and how much it costs in comparison. Another important issue is resonance. If the carbon-fiber instruments resonate too much (it doesn't sound like they do), then there will be frequency interference between notes which increases as speed increases. Also, what do they sound like in high registers? This demo shows instruments that would be good for Celtic, folk and C&W music, but not classical music. Cost is really the key indicator here, along with the need for durability (the most prominent of the secondary issues). What kind of sound do you get for your money?
Yes, that would be another great video to cover. The majority of properties still translate to viola. But let us know if you'd like to give a carbon fiber viola a try!
@@Fiddlershop It would be great to hear if there is any difference in sound quality from a 15” or even 15.5” carbon fiber viola to a 16” carbon fiber viola. And also to hear your opinion on whether the trade off in sound quality (if any) is worth the additional difficulty of getting around a bigger viola. Yes, I “can” play a 16”, but if I have to play for 6 hours or more in one day 15” is a better choice.
I know it's hard to appear objective, but in my opintion Mezzo Forte instruments are pretty close to Luis and Clark instruments. The advantage is that MF's are more easily available, L&C intruments have (last we heard) been out of stock everywhere or been on backorder for months if you order directly from them. Carbon Klang instruments are very nice, albeit significantly more expensive, so the very slight difference in sound quality is hard to justify for the price compared to Mezzo Forte. (-Gibbles)
Were you saying that one of the qualities of the carbon fiber models is their resistance to weather? If that's the case they might perhaps be a much better choice for students and beginners.
Thanks for watching! I wouldn't say that. There are working musicians that may play more outdoor events or gigs than indoors that would benefit greatly from a carbon fiber violin for those reasons. Taking out your good violin in humid or dry conditions can have adverse effects on wood instruments, which could lead to costly repairs.
It depends on how often you would use the violin, and whether you think it’s worth it or not. If you’re going to be using the cf violin in performances and practice on it daily as if it’s your main instrument, then i think the pi will be plently worth it.
In the vocation, these are known as VSO: violin shaped object. They have none of the tonal qualities of a classic violin. I suppose you get what you pay for: $1000 for a carbon VSO that may or may not be adequate for gigs, depending upon the demands of the gig; eg. fiddler. I suppose this could be useful as a teaching/learning tool; a VSO that can be knocked about, watered, heated, etc.
I own a Mezzo-forte violin so I can confidently say you couldn't be more wrong. I enjoy playing it much more than I enjoy playing my "old" high-end violin by a master violin maker. The sound is fuller and more resonant and overall it's just way more fun to play. I have played quite a few violins and violas in my life and the Mezzo-forte easily beats all of them (and I include violas in this statement because my Mezzo-forte is a 5-string). Sure, the tonal quality is a bit different which might not be to everyone's liking - and it's certainly not suitable for all genres. But different doesn't mean worse in this case. To summarise it, it's definitely not a VSO but a high quality instrument - AND more durable.
@@robgrune3284 they're not completely dissimilar but yes, of course there's a difference. But not in a bad way. BTW, a Mezzo-forte violin won in a blind test among several fine violins by the best violin makers in Germany. So it's not just me who prefers the tonal quality of carbon fibre, but also people who are way more experienced and knowledgeable.
The problem of ALL carbon fiber violins is the lack of resonance that is inherent in the material. There is no richness to the sound, there can't be. The Mezzo-forte does sound cleaner though.
