Glasser Carbon Composite Acoustic Violin (Standard (Brown-Orange), 4/4 Five String)

I am a beginner fiddle player, but a long time musician. I play primarily Bluegrass, Folk and Americana, but dabble in other genres as well. I play the 5-string banjo, guitar, mandolin and ukulele. Being a mandolin player, I figured transitioning to a fiddle would be fairly easy since the tuning is the same. I purchased an inexpensive student violin outfit to see if I would like this before purchasing a better instrument. While transitioning what I know on the mandolin to the fiddle, I was working on fingerings and bowing techniques. While learning this, I quickly discovered the limitations of my cheap student violin. I started looking at other fiddles that would take me into the intermediate level, which is all I would probably ever need with the types of music I play. That is when I came across the Glasser carbon fiber violin. Having recently purchased a carbon fiber guitar, and being very happy with it, I was intrigued. I asked my sister, a concert violinist and music teacher, about this fiddle, and she felt it would be all the fiddle I would ever need, and because I play outdoors and in different settings, she felt it would fit my lifestyle as well.Being the bargain hunter I am, I felt that Vivo!, through Amazon, had the best price for this. I decided on the entire outfit as the bow from my student fiddle already started to warp, and the case was very cheap quality. After the violin arrived, I was impressed with the case that I pulled out of the box. This is a hefty, hearty semi-hard case with a backpack clipped directly to it. Not sure what the backpack would be useful for, for me, but it’s a cool addition. The case itself is already a backpack case, and has pockets for everything I would ever need to carry with this fiddle. This fiddle comes with a Glasser fiberglass bow, which my sister has all of her students purchase. The bow feels great, much better than the student bow that came with my cheap fiddle. The electronic tuner/metronome is really cool. You can tell it was made specifically for this instrument as it clips to the contour of the scroll. It is easy to read and helps with tuning. The rosin was a dark amber. My sister likes the light amber, and that’s what I already had, so I probably will not use the rosin it came with, but no problem. There is also a microfiber cloth that came with it. The only thing missing is a shoulder rest, but I used the one from my cheap fiddle, and it works just fine.The fiddle itself is awesome. It has a little more weight than my wood fiddle, but it is still nice and light. This fiddle is unpolished, so no bright glare to bounce back at you. The geared planetary tuning pegs are a really, really nice option. The fiddle has fine tuners but don’t see the point with the geared tuning pegs. But, it doesn’t hurt to have them either. One thing that I feel is important to point out… The picture here on Amazon, and all other pictures and videos I have seen of this fiddle, it shows that it has a wooden bridge. Mine showed up with a carbon fiber bridge, which I was very happy about. I found it silly that Glasser would have used a wooden bridge on an otherwise woodless instrument. I also felt that since my guitar, and my mom’s ukulele had carbon fiber bridges, why couldn’t this fiddle? Well, Glasser answered that for me when I took the fiddle out of the case and tuned it up. It was a very pleasant surprise.As for sounds and playability, once I tuned the fiddle up, rosined up my bow, and touched it to the strings, I was blown away by the sounds. Sure, it’s no very expensive wooden luthier-built violin, like my sister plays, but compared to the student model I have, it’s night and day better. I had a hard time putting it down. Being that it had new strings, they have to stretch, which I expected, but once they settle in, it’s going to be hard to put that fiddle down.Anyhow, I am extremely happy with this purchase.

We have been searching high and low for a quality 1/2 ”practice/travel“ violin for my daughter. We travel frequently and she refuses to deviate from her practice schedule. Last year, we almost had an accident/incident with an airline. Luckily for us, the bam case lived up to its name. But that was enough to make the case for a second violin.We tried several student violins priced from $300 - 500 and ended up returning them. The quality was, well, studently. There has to be something better out there.My daughter’s classmate’s father suggested I give Glasser a call. He read a blog about carbon composite CAD violins. I spoke with a representative and he suggested to try it, no strings attached. Just go to amazon and order it. I did and it took 6 long weeks to get here. I believe they sent it by stage coach.Initial impressions: WOW! The finish on this violin is really clean and polished. The carbon fiber really gives it a unique glow. Inspection from tail piece to scroll, immaculate detail. The nut and finger board were solid and does not look like it will warp or flex. To my pleasant surprise, the tuning pegs were the gear type. My daughter seconds the thought. She’s been asking to have it installed in her current violin. The tail piece includes four fine tuners. The overall weight of the violin is heavier. It is noticeable, how much? Noticeable.So how does it sound? After tuning and retuning, then tuning again... the instrument sounded artificial. Initial let down. But like any thing else, we knew the strings had to break in. Off went the new strings and on went a set of broken in Evah Pirazzi strings. Wow, what a difference. The instrument leaned toward the dark, deep tones and projected well. The sound almost, almost matched the character of her recital violin. She was all smiles as she said that we don’t need to return this one.In summary, this violin will not met the higher echelon’s criteria for concert performance. And it’s not designed to. But it does do well at what I believe it was designed for: a better alternative to a student violin (definitely a step up), an exceptional practice/traveling violin. Recommended for serious intermediate or higher musicians as an alternative, but not replacement.

A great instrument. The reasonace and tone make it fun to play. Not as bright as a good wooden violin, but super durable and a great fill in when the weather is an issue. Tuning is easy and it holds very well. I liked the Larson strings mine came with but found the tone even fits better with obligato. Mine came with a carbon fiber bridge and I LOVE that. I don't see others selling with the same bridge anymore. They should! It's awesome. Weighs 2-4 ounces more than the average good violin. A small trade off for all the good aspects. Picture shows 570 grams with strings on.

I was so happy to get this on time. Thank you. The violin was carefully packaged and arrived in perfect condition, ready to play. I was impressed with the quality, even after traveling in the heat!I got this for outdoors. It has a big sound, very clear tone even in the higher positions.

The instrument felt bulky, mostly for my smaller hand, although the same could be said for under my chin.

I bought this as a gift for my son. It's not even been 2 years and it's coming apart. Looks like an construction issue. I'm waiting for information on warranty. I thought it would be more durable. Not real happy. 😳

The worst experience ever on Amazon

Served the purpose. Daughter left this in a friend’s basement one summer. Books and some other things got moldy. The violin was totally fine. It was a little heavier than her wooden violin, but her wooden violin would not have survived that summer without damage. Glad she was able to use this one whenever needed and did not have to worry about where to put it.