I have completed another full year (and a few months more) of learning the violin. Throughout my entire second year I used the Eastman VL100 violin outfit – which I bought from my favorite little shop in Studio City, Benning Violins.
Let’s start off by taking a general look at the outfit itself
Hard Cover Case
The case is a big upgrade from my previous case. It’s balanced enough for the case to stay upright even if the violin is not inside of it. Which is a really good start.
It’s lined with a nice velvety fabric and attached to it is a velvety silk cover to protect your violin while it’s inside the casing. It also includes a lock and key feature – which I never use. I stored the key because I could easily lose it. It would be a bad day if ever I’m stuck with a locked violin case. In any case, the lock and key feature is a good option to have (in case you need to travel with the violin).
The straps of the case allow for the violin to be carried as a back pack, or as a satchel. And last, you have a cute little compartment inside and a large zipper pocket on the outside. The inside compartment is large enough to carry your rosin, nail clipper, a mini metronome, and a few little cleaning cloths.
The Bow
This outfit comes with a K. Holtz fiber glass, one and done, bow. This bow has not been used at all. When I tried using it, it seemed to stiff and heavier than the bow that I’m used to. So I use my very own one and done bow which is the Artino carbon fiber bow. But, if you were to use the Holtz bow it comes with, the sound should be fine. It’s just a matter of bow taste, I prefer my bow to be flexible and light.
The Violin
I bought the Samuel Eastman VL100 violin brand new, so it came freshly varnished. Mine has a two piece semi flared back. It comes with stock Eastman pericore strings. These strings are very good quality and sound really good. I have a few recordings that demonstrate the quality of the Eastman stock strings, if you’re interested in hearing the sound, go to the following link: https://youtu.be/X2v2HCciy2I.
You would be able to play with the stock strings for a very long time until you want to experiment with different strings (which is what I did).
Tuning
It’s very easy to tune from either the pegs or the fine tuners. But let me point out something the pegs. When I was testing this violin at the shop I did test the pegs and noticed that they were hard to turn. I addressed this issue with the kind sales person at the shop and she immediately had someone adjust the pegs properly so that it’s easy to tune with the pegs. That is why I highly recommend you buy your violin from a reputable shop. They will make sure you take home an instrument that is very ready to play. Since I took home the violin, I’ve had no trouble with the pegs at all. I was able to install new strings at about 5 – 6 months after buying this violin. I used the pegs to brings the strings to pitch with out any problem at all.
This violin also keeps it tune in my environment. Which I would consider dry during the summer and a little humid during the winter. It does not go out of tune very much – all I use are the fine tuners.
The Fingerboard
The fingerboard and string height work very well. I pay attention to this detail because that was a major issue with my first cheap violin. The finger board keeps it’s nice dark color, though I’m not sure if it’s ebony wood. When I started with it, black pigment would always stain my fingers. But after the 5th wipe down, both my fingers and my cleaning cloth did not get any pigment on them anymore.
The strings sit low enough on the fingerboard to play comfortably. Granted I do already have developed calluses – especially after always playing my first violin. But I feel that it’s so much better and I can play without feeling like my finger tips are going to fall off. Also, I’m able to go to a higher positions and not force the strings down – which is good because eventually, I do plan to play in 3rd, 4th, or 5th position.
The Sound
I compared this violin to 5 other violins at the shop. This one was the one as soon as I heard the sound come out of it. It sounded like a major upgrade to my previous violin. Other violins that I’ve tried at two different shops did not feel like a major improvement. This one did. I feel like this one has a really good balance of what would be considered bright and dark sound. The volume is not too sharp and gives me freedom to experiment with dynamics.
There are times that I’m able to play a passage in tune and with musicality (yes it does happen on occasion). When that happens, this violin knows how to sing. It’s sing beautifully. It sounds it’s best when I get it right.
My Ideal Setup
I currently use this violin with what I consider my most ideal and customized setup. This violin feels and sounds it’s best so far with all the accessories I modified on it.
I started with switching out the chin rest. The original is a little side mounted wooden rest, it was replaced with my favorite Whitner Hypo-Allergenic side mount chin rest. I also use it with my new favorite custom adjusted shoulder rest – the Bon Musica. This gives me the best comfort so far.
My very favorite and very inexpensive carbon fiber bow the Artino has been the best bow for my level and goes great with this violin.
The Thomastik Infeld Super Flexible strings sound awesome once they’re adjusted with this violin and provide the right amount of resonance.
You can hear samples of this setup at my YouTube channel by going to the following link: https://youtu.be/iMuGBPN3Mbg?t=142
Durability and Price
Overall, I have not had any issues with this violin at all – which is the way it should be. It’s really up to you as the player to bring out the best from this violin. With proper maintenance, I plan to keep it throughout my whole beginner phase (which I predict will be about 2-3 more years). I paid a grand total of $640.00 for this outfit. Well worth the price and in my opinion a very great value.
I give this violin a 5 star rating. In my opinion, this is an ideal first violin for those who are serious about taking on the life long journey of learning the violin. It should last your entire beginner stage.
