Elida Violins

All 4/4 Gems 1 (except for a special antique one which costs more) and Gems 2 violins have now been sold. More are on order of course but with no indication of when they might arrive. Two Gamas are still in stock and so is a Genial 1 and a Genial 2. Also 3/4 size Gems 2 and Genial 1 and a 14 inch Genial 1 viola, and a few used Gligas in 3/4 1/4 and 1/8 size. And that's it.
If you want one of these for Christmas, get it ordered. I am not able to guarantee that anything else from Gliga will arrive before Christmas.

Here's the latest antique instrument back from the luthier. German, late nineteenth century, Guarneri label.

Here is one of my better antique violins which has just come back from the repairer. Lowendall celebration Conservatory model 1890. Made in Berlin.

Some more of my auction buys from the summer are ready for sale at last and are on my website. Three 1/2 size student violins (2 x Primavera 100, upgraded, non standard outfits, £100 each, and used Stentor 1 with significant upgrades, non standard outfit, £80). VIntage 3/4 violin and case, I suspect Czech, £250. Antique 4/4 violin, I think German, £450

Three cellos sold in seven days has to be a record for me. Both my stock room manager and my Pastor who is helpfully accommodating some of my cellos at the moment (!) will be delighted.
This means that I have only four cellos left in stock. Whoopee! They are all very good buys. If you want one, get it while you can because there won't be any more at these prices:
4/4 Mayflower (like the Primavera 90 but with black pegs) hugely upgraded, whole outfit £450... 3/4 and 1/2 Primavera 100 outfits £500 and £440 (the 1/2 size has a different bag). You're going to struggle to get that price anywhere else! 1/4 size vintage cello, solid wood, ebony fittings, not Chinese. Prelude strings and professionally fitted bridge. A nice little cello that deserves a good little player. Cello only £350
And the usual reminder that if you want a Gliga cello for Christmas it needs to be ordered NOW. If it happens to be a left handed one you are almost certainly already too late for Christmas.
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There is only one Gama violin (4/4) left from yesterday's Gliga delivery. When it's gone, that's it until shortly before Christmas IF I am lucky.
Just a reminder that if you want a Gliga that I haven't got in stock,you need to order well in advance. Unfortunately this is completely beyond my control.
In stock apart from the Gama is a 4/4 Gama super, 2 x 4/4 Gems 1s, 2 x 4/4 Gems 2s, 2 x 4/4 Genial 2s, 3/4 Gems 2, 3/4 Genial 1, 14 inch Genial 1 viola, and the following used ...violins: 4/4 Genial 1 (2010, indistinguishable from new, new bow), 2 x 3/4 Gems 2s, 1/4 Gems 1 and 1/8 Genial 1
And that's it.
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Just a quick thank you to the lady who brought a violin round for tuning on Saturday and left me some cat food today. it was no trouble at all and I never mind doing that sort of thing but it was very kind of you and I am sure the cats will be pleased :)

The slow boat from China has docked at last (after two and a half months). There are some old items coming back and some new ones. In particular, I have acquired just one each of six different violin outfits, four of which I have had before (although the specification on two of those has changed). two are new. These are intended to fill the sub-Gliga price range with a better value outfit than those available through the wholesale route.
The Elida Student returns at £90. ... Solid woods, inlaid purfling, the main parts of the violin made by hand. The fittings are not ebony. Basic bow, shaped styrofoam case, rosin.
The Elida Overture returns at £110. This was always the biggest seller from those I imported from this maker. The main parts of the violin are hand made. Boxwood pegs and chinrest. Ebony fingerboard. Tailpiece with four built in adjusters. Brazilwood bow with ebony frog, shaped styrofoam case, rosin.
New at £150 is a flamed violin with the main parts of the instrument hand made, special machine varnish giving a less glossy finish, ebony fingerboard, tailpiece with four built in adjusters, boxwood pegs and chinrest, brazilwood bow, rectangular case, rosin.
The Elida Serenade returns at £180. Specification as the Overture but with a highly flamed back, pegs and tailpiece are boxwood with a white dot. One or four adjusters as you wish. Shaped styrofoam case, brazilwod bow, rosin.
New at £200 is a well flamed violin with the main parts of the instrument hand made, special machine varnishing giving a less glossy finish, ebony fingerboard, boxwood pegs, tailpiece with four built in adjusters, brazilwood bow, rectangular styrofoam case, rosin.
Returning at £220, but very different from before, is the Elida Intermezzo. Hand made including the varnish which means there are some varnish blemishes. Boxwood pegs and tailpiece with white dot, and chinrest. Ebony fingerboard. Brazilwood bow, rectangular styrofoam case, rosin. One or four adjusters as you wish.
I have only one of each of these. Apart from the Overture which I have in 3/4, they are all in 4/4. Once I decide which models to stock regularly I will stock a full range of sizes.
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Two out of the three European Master violins will be returned to the maker on Monday. A potential customer decided that she wanted to try all three and ended up buying nothing from me at all (anyone who thinks that going elsewhere when the initial violins selection has been rejected is saving the retailer from being messed about, I can assure you that all I see is someone who has taken offence and decided to go elsewhere to make a point! Any small retailer would rather make a sale than not)
No-one else has shown the slightest interest even though these violins are literally at cost so the maker has kindly agreed to take two back. If you want to try one, this weekend is your last chance. They are at the top of my price range, all are between £2000 and £2500

If you want a Gliga for Christmas, please get it ordered now. Seriously. They are getting slower and slower. After half term all bets are off.

Just a reminder to anyone who might be looking that the price reductions on my website will be removed on October 1st. If I can't sell at the reduced prices I will not be reducing them further and selling at a loss, I will simply wait.
If you want a Gliga (no they will never be going down, demand far outstrips supply!) but don't want the ridiculous wait, why not simply have a look at what I have actually got? Most are at the lowest UK prices or very nearly so.

Note to self: never ever accept any maker's suggestion to use China Post surface mail again. Suck it up and pay for proper sea freight or airmail.
I have been eagerly awaiting a shipment from Tian Yin since July 22nd, very nearly two months. By ordinary sea freight that would be here by now. However on checking Chinapost's website I find this:
Summary: air mail takes 2 to 8 weeks, surface mail up to six months! The bit about mock tracking numbers at the bottom will be of ...
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Here are some more antique violins, all set up and ready to play. There are all 4/4. Yes the ones that are not pictured with chinrests will have them. Yes you can have a Wittner tailpiece instead of the ones shown if you prefer. Don't forget all these are available on approval and yes you can have four or five on approval if you like, as long as you are seriously in the market for one.
Maidstone - these were originally imported for a strings teaching project in Kent (unsu...rprisingly) which aimed to provide learners with good quality student instruments. This is going back 100 years or so. They have of course improved with time. Fitted with Dominant strings. Yes there are a lot of these still around and they are popular for a reason. All sorted out, no cracks or open seams, cleaned up, generally made pretty good for its age. £450
Mirecourt - this is an ugly thing but if you want an instrument that plays well at a good price, this might be the one for you (also check the Hopf on my website). I have documentation showing that this was sold in 1978 at a Sothebys auction, where it was described as French. The lot was estimated at £80 to £120. I don't know what the final price was. Bear in mind that 1. that was 1978 and 2. the hammer price is not the total price you pay at an auction (you can add around 24% to it even before you start thinking about the costs of collecting or getting the instrument fixed up). Judging by the age of the strings that were on it when I bought it, I think it came from Sothebys in a similar condition to the way it was when I bought it . I don't think anyone ever set it up. It has of course been set up now with Pirastro Tonica strings and an Aubert bridge. £650
Hopf (not the one with repaired cracks which is on my website). German, obviously. There are some good quality new strings on this but I'm afraid I can't remember what they are! £700
Sicardi Strad model violin (German). This one is nice! Good luck finding out anything about Sicardi, all I could find was a listing on an Australian private sale site asking over $9000 for a Sicardi Guarneri model which she said had been in her family for generations. It was very very similar to this one but I think her pricing is somewhat optimistic. However, this is the pick of the bunch, rich, full tone and plenty of it. Very well made. Fitted with D'addario Ascente strings and nice rosewood pegs. Lovely dark brown colour too (darker than it looks here). If this is within your budget this one needs to be tried. £2000
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There are some fascinating violins here - well worth a look purely for interest!
https://www.old-violin.com/rare.html

Some of the better quality student violins that I am surprised have not yet had any interest. All are new.
Hofner Stingl AS-160 outfit. Discontinued model but highly flamed, more like the current AS-260 than the AS-180. £190.
Gewa Allegro - discontinued model but Gear4music had the outfit for £258. Violin only £180.
... Gewa La Passione Venezia (now called the Aspirante) . Case has one zip that sticks, but you can still close it completely with the other zip. This one even has the original outer box from Gewa (but yes the box has been opened and the violin checked!) Quite a big saving here! £200.
These will not be reduced any further because I do not intend to sell at a loss.
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Some improver / step up / intermediate violins that I am surprised are still here and that I think I have the best UK price on:
Stentor Graduate outfit 1/2 size, professional set up £190
Westbury (Eastman 80) 4/4, upgraded outfit (Prelude strings, refitted bridge, better bow and case) £280
... Westbury antiqued outfits (Eastman 105) standard specification 4/4 and 3/4 £300
Concertante violins 4/4 and 3/4 (instrument only) £320
Stentor Elysia dark antiqued one piece back, 4/4 £450
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Strunal Concert violins from the top end going downwards:
Strunal 3370. This is hand made and top of the range. Very beautifully flamed. Compare this price! Pretty sure this is the same as the current 337. Reduced to £900
Strunal 3310. Pretty sure this is the same as the current 331. Well flamed. I have several of these including one with a long scratch which can be reduced in price and one with boxwood fittings which will cost a little more. Most of them are reduced... to £500.
Strunal 25W. Brown washed finish. Factory strings and one adjuster. Flamed back. Reduced to £200.
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Strunal violins from the lowest price going upwards. These prices are for the violin only. They are all solid wood with ebony fittings and inlaid purfling. First, the student range:/
Strunal 220, factory strings and tailpiece, one adjuster. 4/4 only £100
Strunal 260, Dominant strings, tailpiece with four built in adjusters, 4/4 and 3/4 sizes £160
... Strunal 22W, brown colour washed finish. Dominant strings, tailpiece with four built in adjusters. Reduced to £170
Paganini 2 (this is made by Strunal). Thomastick Vision strings, tailpiece with four built in adjusters, Teka pattern chin rest. There is a very small bit of varnish missing from under the fingerboard (gosh!). Reduced to £170. Omega had this for £229 and they were known for low pricing.
Strunal 175W ebony parisian. Brown washed finish. The "ebony parisian" bit means that the chinrest is ebony not plastic and there is a parisian eye on the tailpiece (wow!). Factory strings, tailpiece with one adjuster. Reduced to £200
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I have a number of Strunal violins right now (they came from the Omega Music liquidation sale). These are at very good prices and I have been surprised at the complete lack of interest so here is a little about Strunal:
Strunal is the largest stringed instrument maker in Europe (they are in the Czech Republic). Anyone who remembers the Tatra by Rosetti or the B&H 400, those were made by Strunal, but they don't make anything that cheap now.
They have been going more or less ...since 1873. Their old name was Cremona. Czech violins imported into the UK at the turn of the 20th century may very well have come from there.
They are now called Strunal Schonbach and have been under new management since 2016. Now, I first dealt with Strunal perhaps 15 years ago and the set ups were bad. BUT that is no longer the case. It is good to find a company that learns and progresses and that has certainly been the case here.
One of their particular things is that they keep changing the model numbers, which is a pity because it makes it quite difficult to work out what is what. However they used to have a ridiculous number of models and it did need streamlining. I currently have violins from them in 4/4 ranging from the 220 and 260 at the lower end (the 260 I also have in 3/4) to the top of the range 3370.
In all cases, I don't think my prices can be beaten in the UK.
Approvals are welcome and you can have the instrument only, factory strings or better strings, or make it into an outfit.
These are louder than Gligas and brighter in tone, but not as loud and bright as Chinese instruments.
I will probably post later with some details of models and prices.
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My lefty Gliga arrived safe and sound yesterday, very very pleased, it is lovely! Thank you Elida for being almost unique in the uk to cater for us sinistrals!!

Highly recommended :))

I've travelled to York, Manchester and Cheshire trying to find a beautiful sounding violin for a reasonable price, with no success.

Then found Liz, just 5 miles away and have bought an absolutely beautiful Gliga Gama. It has a beautiful rich tone, and Liz let me have it on trial, so I took it to a local violin teacher, who said it was a very good sounding instrument. Would highly recommend Elida violins.

Great! Really good communication and personalised service.

Traded our Gems in for a Gama. A really beautiful instrument with a wonderful sound, our daughter is totally chuffed. Will definitely be going back when she grows again!

Bought my Gliga back in 2006/7 after doing my research and probably asking lots of numpty questions that were promptly and reassuringly answered all the same. My beautiful violin was well worth every penny and I heartily recommend Elida Violins