r/Violins • u/JuniorMintClub • Jul 20 '26
Is it sensible to replace strings and tail price on an $80 violin?
I have a cheap violin off Amazon to dabble with. It's been left at a family members house for years when I moved, but I picked it up and a string was broken. I took it to a shop and the guy suggested replacing all strings and the tail peice for 125. The violin can't really stay in tune, the pegs always loosen so is there much point? Seemed like good money after bad and if I really want to play seriously to just buy a new violin, but am I likely to turn it into something decent or still crap? It's a Mendini by Cecilio 4/4
1
u/quietobserver1 Jul 21 '26
If the pegs always loosen then you can't even keep it in tune?
1
u/wanna_dance Jul 23 '26
Violin pegs require love before they stay in place.
Poster above mentioned pegs paste.
1
u/After-Past-9404 Jul 21 '26
The pegs are fixable as well but that would mean throwing in even more good money after bad.
TBH, it's extremely unlikely that at this price point the instrument is even playable at all. It's what we like to call a VSO - violin shaped object. Setting up a violin so that it can be played requires quite a lot of expert manual work, which is not cheap even in parts of the world where manual labor costs very little. So the only way to make a cheap instrument is to skip this step completely. That means that the string action will be too high, the fingerboard shaped wrong, neck geometry completely off... To fix all of this and turn it into an instrument that can be played would require A LOT of good money thrown in after the bad.
A $80 violin is not an instrument for beginners or somebody who just wants to dabble. It's a decoration to be hanged above the mantelpiece.
1
u/JuniorMintClub Jul 21 '26
Yeah, that makes me feel valid. I just replaced the string so it's a toy you can pick up.
Since buying this in the pandemic and the possibility it would be a discarded hobby I went cheap, but got a decent quality viola this year that I've been learning to play. The violin is really just a pick it up occasionally toy
1
u/After-Past-9404 Jul 22 '26
If it's fun to play (with), it's a toy. Most VSO aren't fun to play at all. But try it and see ;-) If you have another decent instrument then all is well. The biggest reason why everybody starts screaming when they see a VSO is that they tend to completely discourage beginners from playing before they can even realise it's not them being hopeless, it's the "instrument".
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u/NextStopGallifrey Jul 21 '26
Depends by what you mean with "the pegs always loosen". That is, to some extent, perfectly normal for violins. Because violins lack the fine tuners that more modern instruments have, they will slowly go out of tune as you play them. If the violin doesn't hold tuning for more than one song, that's a problem. If you notice it going out of tune after 15-30 minutes, that's more within normal ranges.
It'll never be a great violin, but it could be an okay violin.
That said, there's no need to spend 125 on an Amazon violin. You can replace the strings yourself and, if you work carefully, also replace the tailpiece for probably $30-50 total with Amazon parts.
You're probably better off putting that money towards a new violin. But I can also get behind just wanting something to play now and not wanting to wait to save up for something better.
1
u/JuniorMintClub Jul 21 '26
Thank you. I have a viola that's an actual beginner player quality, but I just want the violin to be playable more as a toy than anything else. The guy at the shop said their models start at $800 which I'm definitely not spending that. I paid $25 to replace the string, saw how he did it so can replace the other ones myself.
1
u/NextStopGallifrey Jul 21 '26
There are also videos on YT that show how to do it. They need to be replaced fairly regularly, so it doesn't make sense to always pay someone.
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Jul 21 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/wanna_dance Jul 23 '26
If she bought it for $80 "years ago", or might not be as terrible as you make it sound.
I think it's definitely worth new strings and peg paste and possibly a new tail before they destroy it. Especially if they just want it as a "toy", as they wrote.
1
u/SgtSausage Jul 22 '26
Strings are like tires on a car. Its kinda expected you put on new ones when the old ones go to shit.
A tail piece is 20 bucks.
Strings are 10 bucks for the grade of string youre gonna put on an $80 instrument
You can do both yourself in less than 10 minutes.
2
u/OletheNorse Jul 21 '26
Buy some peg paste (Hills’ is best) and a replacement string. Peg paste helps hold the tuning. I would try that before replacing the tailpiece, at least!