Student Violin Buyer's Guide

Buying a violin for your child? We make it easy and convenient for you. Our founder, Sam Ash, was a violinist, so for over 85 years, we have taken particular pride in offering the best products and service to beginning violinists.

Whether your child aspires to be a country fiddle player, like Charlie Daniels or Alison Kraus; a rock violinist, like Boyd Tinsley of the Dave Mathews Band or Papa John Creach of Jefferson Airplane; or a classical player like Joshua Bell or Midori; it is important to start early, with a quality instrument that has been set up properly for the best sound and comfort.

The Sam Ash Difference

At Sam Ash, every violin is prepared with care by our experienced string instrument technicians. Since the climate conditions in the US is very different from the climate in China and Romania, where most student violins are made, there is no substitute for a proper readjustment by an expert technician in the US. Our technicians perform the following procedures on every violin:

Tuning Pegs are fitted so that they turn easily but still hold in place.
The bridge is carefully fitted so that the strings are low enough for easy fingering but not so low as to introduce buzzing of the strings against the fingerboard.
Each violin is restrung with quality American or German violin strings to provide it with optimal tone.
The soundpost inside the violin is properly place for the richest sound.
Most important for over 85 years we have painstakingly reviewed instruments from around the world to select the best for your student.
Adjust the violin to the standards set by the Music Educator’s National Conference (MENC). Since we guarantee that your violin will meet MENC standard, you can be confident that your child’s teacher will be satisfied with your choice.

Getting The Right Size Violin

Children and violins come in different sizes. A very small child can’t handle a very large violin. For that reason, our violins come in 6 sizes from full size (4/4) down to 1/16 size to accommodate children of all ages and dimensions. You can choose the right size by your child’s age or more precisely by measuring the length of your child’s left arm stretched out directly in front from the top of your child’s shoulder (next to the neck) to the tip of the middle finger. Either way, if you pick the wrong size we will exchange your violin free of charge within 60 days of purchase as long as you return it with all accessories in the original box:

Child’s Age	Arm Length (see previous paragraph)	Violin size
3-5 (small to average)	13.5 to 14.5 inches	1/16
3-5 (bigger than average)	15 to 16.5 inches	1/8
5-7	17 to 18.5 inches	1/4
7-9	19 to 20.5 inches	1/2
9-11	21 to 22 inches	3/4
11 to Adult	23 inches or longer	4/4

No need to worry about the violin bow, each of our student violin outfits comes with the right size bow for the instrument.

If you need more assistance in choosing the right violin or are buying for several children or a school program, please call a Sam Ash Professional at 1-800-472-6274 for special attention.

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