Advice on Buying Violins

At Ritz Music we stock entry-level student violins by Stentor, the best-known and most respected brand on the market. These instruments are very reliable, made from good tone-woods and come as a complete ‘package’ including a lightweight shaped case and violin bow.

Violins are available in 8 different sizes: 4/4 (also called full size), 3/4, 1/2, 1/4, 1/8, 1/10, 1/16. 4/4 size being the biggest and 1/16 size being the smallest. All adults, regardless of their size, use the 4/4 violin.

To measure what size violin best suits you, you need to know the length between your neck and the middle of your left-hand palm (when your hand is fully extended and raised perpendicular to your body, just like holding a violin). About 50% of the teachers prefer students to use the length from the neck to the wrist for measurement instead of the neck to mid-palm approach. The violin size determined by the neck/wrist approach would be the size that is more comfortable for students to hold. The violin size determined by the neck/mid-palm approach would be the biggest size students should use. Another (less accurate) option is to choose the size by the age of the child.

If you have a teacher, you should ask for his or her recommendation. If you don’t have a teacher, we would recommend using the neck/wrist approach for students not using full size. For students who are deciding whether to used 3/4 or 4/4 size, use the neck/mid-palm approach. This is because it is always better that students feel comfortable holding and playing the violin.

The following chart appropriate violin size based on arm length:

Violin Size Based on Arm Length

Violin Size	Arm Length
4/4 (Full Size)	23in.
3/4	22in.
1/2	20in.
1/4	18.5in.
1/8	16.5in.
1/10	15in.
1/16	14in.

Another more general way of determining the size is by age, although this is a much less accurate way to determine size.

Violin Size Based on Age

Violin Size	Age
4/4 (Full Size)	12 and older
3/4	10-11
1/2	8-9
1/4	6-7
1/8	5-6
1/10	4-5
1/16	3 and younger

Violin Accessories & Maintenance

We stock a range of violin accessories, including shoulder-rests by Kun and Wolf, strings by Astrea and Dominant replacement cases, bows, fine tuners, bridges and rosin.

We also offer a range of services, including tuning, string replacement, fine-tuner fitting and some structural repairs. A very popular ‘up-grade’ is to replace metal strings (standard equipment on most new student violins) with high quality gut-type strings (e.g. the Dominant brand) – this improves the quality of tone dramatically!