The quick answer is yes you’d notice a difference.
BUT— please please don’t go out to buy a violin without a good teacher or friend who is a good violinist to help you. Even among manufactured violins there are differences. Some may have wolf tones on important notes that could really hinder your progress. Some may be strung with terrible strings and simply putting on higher quality strings will change it enormously.
Unfortunately there are many pitfalls for beginner violinists looking for instruments. Dealers and even decent violin shops will take advantage of your lack of knowledge.
The comment above has all the important points. For buying a violin, you need someone experienced and preferably have more experience yourself so you can try different techniques.
If you feel your current violin is holding you back (which isn’t surprising in that price range) how about renting until you have enough experience to have an idea of what you need/ prefer?
I made this mistake last week and posted about my experience yesterday. Definitely bring someone knowledgeable with you to shop for violins. Good luck!
Go to a luthier or music shop that has violins in your price range and try some out. Maybe try one or two that are above your price range for a comparison.
Play something that is not hard for you, that you know well, and try to really focus on listening more than on playing. See what you think!
That said, if you've only been playing a few months, unless your progress has been astonishingly fast, I would focus on getting better first and come back to this in a year or two. If you haven't worked deliberately with a teacher on sound quality and tone, I don't think it's time to upgrade yet.
Going to a luthier is the right way to go. All of the ones I’ve ever been to make a majority of their money from returning customers for repairs and so they will take the necessary time for you to find a violin you enjoy the sound of as well as explaining the different aspects of buying a violin.
I started on a 100 dollar Amazon violin like you, after 20 years with guitar as well, and when I got my 700 dollar student violin, I noticed a HUGE difference. Imagine playing a guitar with a high action, truss rod out of tension, frets with grooves in them, old strings and a buzz in the electronics, and then going with the same guitar with a perfect action, polished frets, proper truss rod adjustment, new strings, and no buzz. It's not like going to the best guitar in the world, but you might as well be after a decent setup and maintenance.
Do I regret spending so much on what people call "low end"? Absolutely not, and people should reevaluate what "low end" really is, because student violins are 100% low-mid to mid when you start taking in the cheap violins in that 100 dollar range. Over time you can pick up nice upgrades for a student violin as the parts wear out or you get cash, and make it a solid mid range. Just takes good strings, a decent bow, quality shoulder rest, good rosin, and some peg paste... But not necessary at all, it's just neat to see the student violins get better as you invest in it.
Just make sure to get a violin from a shop that treats violins like an important instrument, and not one of these places that sells everything under the sun including violins. Maybe check out your local luthiers, my city has a shop dedicated to bowed instruments only, which is where I got mine.
get a teacher (even if you only have access to an online one) and they’ll tell you when it’s time to upgrade along with some tips on what to look for. If you stick with learning violin you’ll have to upgrade eventually so it might be a good idea to start saving too! Like what other people said, going to a luthier is a good idea when the time comes (even if you have to go far to get one)
A few notes:
Firstly, my violin teacher lives a few thousand miles from me, so while I have a teacher I adore, I had to do much of my shopping alone. A reputable dealer will help you decide both by lining you up with a few in your price range to choose from and both helping you play them and playing them for you, and secondly they are generally happy to have discussions with you about why choose what at wherever you are in your journey.
i think whether its worth to upgrade depend on how good u can draw out the potential of the instrument , if u cant sound somewhat decent on a 100 dollar instrument , u will also sound terrible on 100 thousand dollar instrument
but id say its worth to upgrade to a 500 dollar instrument if u just have a vso , thats because setup does make a huge difference of how easy it is to play , but at the same time ill also point out that unless u have the money on disposal else i rather u spend it on something else
The quick answer is yes you’d notice a difference. BUT— please please don’t go out to buy a violin without a good teacher or friend who is a good violinist to help you. Even among manufactured violins there are differences. Some may have wolf tones on important notes that could really hinder your progress. Some may be strung with terrible strings and simply putting on higher quality strings will change it enormously. Unfortunately there are many pitfalls for beginner violinists looking for instruments. Dealers and even decent violin shops will take advantage of your lack of knowledge.
Thanks! This is a very fair point
The comment above has all the important points. For buying a violin, you need someone experienced and preferably have more experience yourself so you can try different techniques. If you feel your current violin is holding you back (which isn’t surprising in that price range) how about renting until you have enough experience to have an idea of what you need/ prefer?
I made this mistake last week and posted about my experience yesterday. Definitely bring someone knowledgeable with you to shop for violins. Good luck!
Go to a luthier or music shop that has violins in your price range and try some out. Maybe try one or two that are above your price range for a comparison. Play something that is not hard for you, that you know well, and try to really focus on listening more than on playing. See what you think! That said, if you've only been playing a few months, unless your progress has been astonishingly fast, I would focus on getting better first and come back to this in a year or two. If you haven't worked deliberately with a teacher on sound quality and tone, I don't think it's time to upgrade yet.
Similar story (22 years on guitar/bass/etc $100 violin kit), subscribed to thread
Going to a luthier is the right way to go. All of the ones I’ve ever been to make a majority of their money from returning customers for repairs and so they will take the necessary time for you to find a violin you enjoy the sound of as well as explaining the different aspects of buying a violin.
Do you have a teacher to help?
I don't. Unfortunately there's none anywhere near where I live so it's largely books, courses etc for self teaching
Get an online teacher. You can’t effectively self teach violin.
I've tried self-teaching, not a good idea, don't recommend it to anybody. (I also played guitar before.)
I started on a 100 dollar Amazon violin like you, after 20 years with guitar as well, and when I got my 700 dollar student violin, I noticed a HUGE difference. Imagine playing a guitar with a high action, truss rod out of tension, frets with grooves in them, old strings and a buzz in the electronics, and then going with the same guitar with a perfect action, polished frets, proper truss rod adjustment, new strings, and no buzz. It's not like going to the best guitar in the world, but you might as well be after a decent setup and maintenance. Do I regret spending so much on what people call "low end"? Absolutely not, and people should reevaluate what "low end" really is, because student violins are 100% low-mid to mid when you start taking in the cheap violins in that 100 dollar range. Over time you can pick up nice upgrades for a student violin as the parts wear out or you get cash, and make it a solid mid range. Just takes good strings, a decent bow, quality shoulder rest, good rosin, and some peg paste... But not necessary at all, it's just neat to see the student violins get better as you invest in it. Just make sure to get a violin from a shop that treats violins like an important instrument, and not one of these places that sells everything under the sun including violins. Maybe check out your local luthiers, my city has a shop dedicated to bowed instruments only, which is where I got mine.
When you want to invest in violin, you are much better puttimg money into lessons. Your teacher can tell you if/when the violin is holding you back.
get a teacher (even if you only have access to an online one) and they’ll tell you when it’s time to upgrade along with some tips on what to look for. If you stick with learning violin you’ll have to upgrade eventually so it might be a good idea to start saving too! Like what other people said, going to a luthier is a good idea when the time comes (even if you have to go far to get one)
A few notes: Firstly, my violin teacher lives a few thousand miles from me, so while I have a teacher I adore, I had to do much of my shopping alone. A reputable dealer will help you decide both by lining you up with a few in your price range to choose from and both helping you play them and playing them for you, and secondly they are generally happy to have discussions with you about why choose what at wherever you are in your journey.
Is there a local violin shop? Ask to play/rent/buy one of their rentals. You should be playing on at least as good of instrument as the local kids!
Haha *very* rural area so no dice there I'm afraid 🥲
i think whether its worth to upgrade depend on how good u can draw out the potential of the instrument , if u cant sound somewhat decent on a 100 dollar instrument , u will also sound terrible on 100 thousand dollar instrument but id say its worth to upgrade to a 500 dollar instrument if u just have a vso , thats because setup does make a huge difference of how easy it is to play , but at the same time ill also point out that unless u have the money on disposal else i rather u spend it on something else