Hello everybody,

Please forgive my total invasion of the 'string section'. I confess I am a Sax player and would probably only be welcomed by the 'jazzers' amoung you but ho hum...

My wife is a string player, however, and she has wanted a Viola for some time. She is not a pro but a very good musician nonetheless (I'm biased). I would like to get her a viola for Christmas but realise that owning an instrument is a personal thing and would like take as much information about violas as I can to inform my choice. I intend to use a reputable dealer who understands that I might be bringing the instrument back if my wife is not 100% happy.

I was wondering if anyone had any knowledge or advice about Stentor violas. I have been offered a very good deal on a Student model but was wondering what the difference was between it and a 'Stentor Conservatoire' model. My budget won't extend too much further and I'm sure this will be a 'stepping up' kind of instrument for my wife... Does anyone have any ideas.

Thanks for reading this far!

Tim

Well the Conservatoire is more than double the price of the Student 1 and, as you would expect, will be better. However, if your wife is a good player (presumably of violin?) then I don't think either are going to be anywhere near the level you want. But of course that might not be what you want to hear. What standard is your wife? The usual market for the Stentor Conservatoire is the adult beginner or the youngster who will be upgrading again in a couple of years when he moves up a size. The Student 1 really is no more than adequate for a beginner.

Liz

Liz,

Thanks for the insightful reply! You may remember that you sold me my Sax (Hanson SA-8) a wee while back in exchange for 3 of my old saxes. I love the instrument and many thanks!

My wife is a good Violinist, grade 7 at school, then nothing more. The instrument is more for her to get some experience on Viola and then move up, probably with a part exchange for a more advanced model that she can choose herself.

I just can't afford more than about £150 at the moment, but I hope the gesture is seen as a way of allowing her to get of the starting blocks with a Viola...

I guess what I am trying to clarify in my mind is the actual physical difference (hang on... sound quality difference) between the student and conservatoire. If the Conservatoire is just the same instrument but packed in a nicer case with a better bow then I would be happy to get the Student model because I not interesting in the frills of a deal.

I also got a quote for the Student from a shop that I could liaise with in the future and are close by and could sort out any issues that we might have with an instrument. But, I can get the Conservatoire from the internet at exactly the same price. I do not want to ask for a reduction in the price the shop are asking for because I totally respect that they are offering a superior service and have differnet overheads. However I can't deny that I could get a better instrument for the same money.... And it is the instrument that I want focus on.... hmmm Complicated, I know

Thanks again and I look forward to any more expert comments

Tim

No, the Conservatoire will certainly be better. If you can get that for £150 then I'd suggest you go for it unless there are better deals. Have you worked out what size you need?

Liz

I recently traded up from a Stentor Student II to a Gliga Genial 1 for my son when he moved up sizes of violin. The Gliga is in a different league in terms of quality of workmanship and in sound. I was lucky enough to be able to buy a used one and I suspect that a full size Viola, Genial 1 is a bit more than £150. I have no experience of Stentor Conservatoire but Gliga is worth a look I should think.

I read somewhere that the different Stentor instruments get assigned to a particular range (eg Student, or Conservatoire) after they are made depending on how they sound/how well made they are. So, if that is true, you would get a better instrument if you went for a Conservatoire model.

My daughter has a Stentor Student II viola on loan from music school at the moment. She seems to prefer playing my viola instead though! Her Stentor viola sounds OK. It is quite quiet but the tone seems to be reasonably pleasant and fairly well balanced across all the strings. It is OK for someone just starting to learn viola/ just trying to decide whether or not they like playing viola. It is probably OK up to about grade 5 level, but then I think the quietness of the instrument would start to be more of a problem. If I were to buy a viola for my daughter I wouldn't buy a Stentor, as I think that it is possible to get a better instrument for the same money.

No, that only applies to the Messina / Elysia / Arcadia (and I am 99.9% sure that it's done on cosmetics). Student 2 and Conservatoire are different beasts.

Liz

[size=3] hi i play the viola wich is stentor and they good so i say go ahead get your wife a viola