Superior Professional European instruments 4/4 and 3/4

I am sometimes asked what else I would recommend in the Gliga price bracket, and advanced players sometimes ask me where they go after Gliga without spending five figures on a violin.  Let me suggest these as one option which competes with the Gliga Maestro in price and sounds very similar.  The lowest priced ones start towards the top end of the Gliga price range.  Each one is individually made from start to finish by one person.

This maker, whose name I am not to reveal openly (though his name and signature are on the label of course, and the Master level instruments come with a certificate bearing his name along with photographs of the instrument) was one of the top makers in a very well known European workshop and then started making violins on his own alongside that before branching out completely on his own.  He has previously made violins for an Italian maker too.

Specifically, the differences between this maker's instruments and the Gligas which are the nearest you are likely to find (I would have said "readily available" except that, alas, these days they are not readily available and that is why I have been forced to broaden my horizons) are:

Wood aged longer

Violin aged much longer (because Gliga are now making to order) including aging of the violin after making and before set up.

Higher quality ebony used for the fingerboard and pegs

Better quality set up, in other words, set up as it would be done by an individual maker setting up his own instruments rather than a general set up done as standard on everything.  In short, the sort of set up that would be done by the sort of shop that would normally stock violins in this price range.

Louder and more resonant and with a good range of dynamics even in high positions, but with the same tone quality as the Gligas.

In the UK right now these are only available from me.  In fact I am the only retailer this maker works with.  He has previously supplied others but does not do so any more because they were marking the prices up too much.  He won't sell to you direct by the way, not unless you go to his workshop in person.  Others have asked him.

The advantage of buying a violin that has been made a couple of years ago is that any problems it may have as a brand new instrument have already shown themselves.  Humidity changes will have matured the wood and improved the sound.  All this without anyone having previously owned the violin.  It really is the way to do it but of course it can only be done when the maker has a build up of stock and that means either a little known maker or a maker large enough to hold instruments in stock for a couple of years before selling them (and of course that increases the price). 

They would cost a lot more elsewhere, either through one of the German dealers or through a big UK shop.  If you went to the country and visited this man's shop in person, the saving you would make would not cover your travel costs, even with a budget airline.

Violas and cellos are also available of course.

Prices vary but the cheapest 4/4 ones I can get now are £1200.  I can inquire about other sizes (but he only makes down to 1/2 size). 

I am open to serious expressions of interest in these lovely instruments but please bear in mind that I will be bringing one in specially for you and therefore I ask you not to request that unless you are genuinely in the market for one.  Both the maker and I are very small businesses!  They can be obtained quite quickly, typically in one week.

These instruments are suitable for advanced playing and have been very well received.

Here is a sound sample.  It's a half size played by a Grade 3 player approaching Grade 4.  It's the £900 violin.

https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0996/1626/files/Allegro_Concerto_in_G_-_Riedling0708.mp3?10933613376390151568

Here is the same instrument played by the same player three months later: https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0996/1626/files/Allegro_Concerto_in_G_-_Riedling1004.mp3?1024534382396588365

and another from a more advanced player playing a 3/4 size (£1200):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9uSMXlCBWWw (bear in mind this is a new violin, well, by the time the recording was made it had been played for a couple of weeks at most).  Listen to that G string!

and another from the same player.

https://youtu.be/dUmp6Nhm_Wo

The lack of volume is partly down to the fact that he is still using a 1/2 size bow - that extra four inches on a full size bow makes a lot of difference.

Incidentally, if you listen to the earlier recordings from this player it is worth noting that they were made using a Zeller.  Yes, a Zeller.  You see, the player is by far the most important factor!

The cheaper 4/4 violins (£900) are not expected to be available again so I have hidden the product, but the reviews from it are pasted below for reference: