I open up the 100 dollar violin

Master Violin Maker Olaf Grawert opens up the $100 violin. What he finds inside is unbelievable...
And he has seen a lot of unusual violins in his nearly 35 yeas as a violinmaker.
Find out what makes the $100 violin sound the way it does.
#myviolinmaker, #olafgrawertviolin
Website:
www.olafgrawer...
Social:
/ olafgrawertviolinstudio
/ olafgrawertviolinstudi...

[@YayHappens]

Olaf this information about the summer and winter grains of wood and how that works for the top plate is really fascinating! I love little bits of info like this. Thank you!

[@AskOlaftheViolinmaker]

Thank you

[@cynthiaverjovskymarcotte1379]

Agree! I really love learning interesting tidbits like that.

[@jimothysparkcus]

That was super informative! No wonder so many top end acoustic guitars have sitka spruce tops.

[@wyzonzebedee5556]

I don't want to sound pedantic here but the growth rings are a combination of cells that are laid down in the spring and the summer, not winter. Trees, other than those in tropical areas where conditions are similar throughout the year, do not grow in winter. The trees go into a dormant phase. When growth starts in spring cells are laid down relatively quickly and the light part of the growth ring is formed. This is the springwood. Cells are laid down more slowly in summer and these form the dark part - summer wood. An annual growth 'ring' is a combination of these light and dark cells - one layer of springwood and one layer of summerwood. Fexibility along the grain is determined by the length of the cells that are laid down. In spruce these are relatively long, hence its relative strength. Wood cells in ash, elm and poplar are also relatively long, hence their use in spokes for cart wheels and snooker cues (ash), wooden (not MDF!!) coffins which are shaped (elm), and matches which have to resist snapping when struck (poplar). Trees that do grow in the tropics may not have spring and summerwood like temperate species, but still do produce 'rings' as growth rates vary throughout the year, though they may not be very distinct. Some species like eucalyptus have a 'resting' phase each year even though conditions for growth may be conducive. And finally the term 'sap rising' is a bit misleading. In any tree free water or sap is found in the cells in the cambium - the actively growing tissue below the bark - and is there all the time. It does not rise and fall depending on the season. The more accurate term would be 'sap flow'. It flows fastest in spring, slower in the summer, and there is hardly any flow, if at all, in winter. Lecture over!! I really enjoy these videos and it is great information for when I make my first fiddle. Thank you Olaf.

[@jasonli2974]

@@wyzonzebedee5556 I thought that spruce was a coniferous tree and didn’t lose its needles. Does it also go into a dormant phase in the winter?

[@anastylos2812]

If you can glue it slowly, you can glue it quickly.

[@AskOlaftheViolinmaker]

If you can glue it quickly... You can glue it quicker!

[@lyphebliss7278]

Ask Olaf the Violinmaker, lmao xD

[@wanrazul]

@@AskOlaftheViolinmaker 12:16 reminds me of Prince Charles'Bluebottle impression here kzbin.info/www/bejne/f5fLdGhubLycn80

[@wakingtheworld]

Nice one!

[@Mieun1011]

Lol

[@microslavery]

Reminds me of cheap homes, where the bulk of attention to detail comes at the very end, to hide all the inexpensive shortcuts and cheapness that will fall apart in short order. My father once did a tour of such a house, and when he pointed out that he could feel a breeze in front of a closed doorway, they mentioned that they could change that - like air leaking through doorways was a feature.

[@Kimoto504]

Property developers...

[@massimookissed1023]

That's aerodynamics, ~ helps the house go faster.

[@ananda_miaoyin]

NEVER buy the models. They are built first and have all of the fuck ups! I built many track homes....what an experience that was. My house was built in 1965 when they still used true dimension wood, six inch walls and heavy iron pipe. Anything that is ´´master planned´´ and built after 2000 will fail quickly....cough, cough...Chinese drywall...

[@J.C...]

That can happen in any house, cheap or not. All it takes is a lazy door hanger. Having expensive doors doesn't keep it from happening.

[@nomore6167]

@@J.C... "Having expensive doors doesn't keep it from happening" - I don't think the OP was implying that expensive doors would prevent the air leak, in that example. I think he was saying specifically that the builder didn't pay attention to the details when building the house, thus the "shortcuts" and lack of attention to detail led to inexpensive and cheap-quality labor, which resulted in the air leak (as opposed to building the house properly, paying attention to details, which would have increased the labor cost).

[@AndyZach]

Sacrilegious! For those who don't know, VSO=violin-shaped object. Never was there a better acronym for this particular VSO.

[@sorrenblitz805]

I mean it IS a violin, it's just also a poop from a butt.

[@brymusic1542]

That's really funny. Reminds of what we call "food" from cheap Mexican restaurants here in the American Southwest: "Taco flavored hunger suppressants."

[@eddavidson3051]

Thank you! I’ve been a violinist for 45 yrs and had never heard the term “VSO” before!

[@carlosmacmartin4205]

There's really no point in polishing a turd. LOL

[@herr_barus]

Well, you can sell it to a stock photo agency... They don't even care if their models are holding the instrument right.

[@zwz.zdenek]

Yes and no. Some customers, especially those paying $500+ for a single photo, might be discerning. But if it's for a mainstream ad or a movie, they will put the most deceiving fakery in there.

[@herr_barus]

@@zwz.zdenek www.google.com/search?q=violin+stock+photo

[@eldricgrubbidge6465]

Sometimes the violinists in publicity photos have huge long fake nails.

[@Kimoto504]

Or if it has a bridge... or if the bow is before or after the bridge... Or if the bow is relatively straight across the strings...

[@tookitogo]

Enrico Friedrich As amazing as those stock photos are, they can’t hold a candle (or, indeed, a flaming violin) to the stock photos of people soldering. (Ok, actually they can, but then a perfectly good pun would have gone unused. All the same, electronics repair stock photos tend to be a dumpster fire of hilariously staged randomness while holding parts and tools in nonsensical combinations. But the take home message is of course to always hold the soldering iron by the heated working end, not the handle... 😂)

[@eliz_scubavn]

Interesting that hide glues are used for violins, as they’re similarly used in art restorations for much the same reason that it’s reversible.

[@cynthiaverjovskymarcotte1379]

Are you a fellow Baumgartner fan? 😊

[@eliz_scubavn]

Cynthia Verjovsky Marcotte Of course! What could be better than fish skin glue and Belgian linen?

[@cynthiaverjovskymarcotte1379]

@@eliz_scubavn right??

[@rosin_eater]

@@cynthiaverjovskymarcotte1379 :0

[@mrz80]

Similarly, the neck joints on better acoustic guitars are often done with hide glue, so that neck resets are marginally less painful for the repair guys.

[@f1f1s]

Even when Olaf is trying to play the bossy character, he still sounds timid. What a truly kind person, he can’t impersonate bad people.

[@martinroeeidhammer9108]

I suspect Olaf to be of Norwegian descent, We Norwegians are timid, but kind people😀

[@angelikafranz4545]

​@@martinroeeidhammer9108 As I know, he has German ancesters.

[@martinroeeidhammer9108]

@@angelikafranz4545 I am sorry. Somehow i thought he was of Norwegian descent.

[@MrDanisve]

@@martinroeeidhammer9108 He would probably be named Olav if he was from the nordic countries :P Hmm, not sure i would say Norwegians are kind. They are polite, but not kind. Typical example of difference between kind/polite: Like in eastern USA, people are kind but rude. If you have a flat wheel on your car, they will tell you how stupid you are for not having a jack. But will help you. They are often kind. If you move to the southern states. People will say "Oh no, thats bad luck. Ill pray for you" but wont help you. They are polite, but not kind. Norwegians excell at conflict avoidance and a fear of social disaproval. Hard to be the black sheep in Norway same as Japan. One is expected to follow the mass.

[@martinroeeidhammer9108]

@@MrDanisve Interesting to see that what was meant as a joking comment turned into a deep analysis of us Norwegians. Well, that's the internet. I can live with that 🙂

[@shadowgolem9158]

The sound of the VSO makes me think of the sound plywood topped guitars make. Not much harmonic complexity and very heavy in the higher register and lower register is mostly missing. Edit: LOL and it IS plywood! I'll have to watch all the way thru before commenting next time. 😂

[@RolandHutchinson]

Nice call!

[@paulbecket7399]

just the fact that it's made of plywood explains why the instrument sounded so "muddy" having the grains of the wood bring crossed one way and then the next layer being at right angles to the first would stop the plates from vibrating properly

[@markfisher7962]

Yes, I expect that the plywood damps a lot of the vibration. A flitch of old growth growth spruce will ring if tapped.

[@fnersch3367]

They lied. That's a VSO and is not a violin. I bought one of these broken ($5) and glued it back together after resculpting the top plate to Schladni's principles. It sounds great. Remaking junk good is fun!

[@laralovesviolins6510]

Wish you had made a video, that sounds interesting!

[@fierywomanpacnw7004]

Winter grain, summer grain: utterly fascinating! Thanks for such interesting information.

[@mynx_uk]

i allways have a manic grin on my face when Olaf opens up any violin, i will be taking an angled mirror when i next buy a new violin.

[@meemurthelemur4811]

Small dental mirrors work well

[@laralovesviolins6510]

The $100 violin sounded much better than I thought it would!

[@stevev5510]

Hi Olaf, I'd love to see more of the interior of some really fine violins. I recently saw the light in my daughter's eyes as she tried some better instruments after playing on VSO's

[@AskOlaftheViolinmaker]

I'm definitely planning to do that

[@isaiahmcclure8894]

haha me too, my first violin was only around 300 hundred USD, upon playing my new violin (a little over 1000USD, still not expensive in terms of instruments) My mind was blown

[@patrickdillon8554]

I was going to suggest that you try to make a violin out of a shelf but looks like someone already has lol, I suppose you could make an electric violin out of it lol

[@AskOlaftheViolinmaker]

Yes, electric could definitely work

[@KaidoLP]

David Hilowitz made a cello and 2 violins, they actually sound ok, taking their materials and shape in to account

[@WhatAboutTheBee]

Every material has a modulus of elasticity. When the material is formed into a shape, we can determine its natural resonant frequency. Consider a perfectly shaped violin top plate made of stainless steel. The modulus of elasticity is much higher (stiffer) and so the natural resonant frequency will be higher. Get the perfect material but shape it improperly, and the NRF changes with the shape. It is completely unsurprising that a lamination of wood and glue, with alternating grain direction, has a different modulus of elasticity. The modal shapes will be quite altered, and the change in the NRF will change the sound. VSO indeed. Well explained Olaf.

[@SidneyCritic]

Spoken like a true engineer. It might not be that simple because different shapes will have different internal reflected sound wave distances, and that might make it sound different.

[@WhatAboutTheBee]

@@SidneyCritic Hi Sidney. Yes, a differently shaped object will have different modal shapes. Even seemingly minute differences can have dramatic effects. Finite Element Analysis can illustrate this beautifully. And yes, engineer here.

[@oliviapereira364]

Do you think it's possible that the horrible looking resonance bar actually helps the VSO resonate better than a decent resonance bar would? I mean, could it be that making plywood resonate as much as it can is actually less pleasant for the ears than resonating it not so much (so that its bad sound isn't amplifyed, if you know what I mean)?

[@WhatAboutTheBee]

@@oliviapereira364 Hi Olivia. The resonance bar is likely made of plywood, just as the rest of the VSO is. Speculating how that individual part would "improve" the sound is meaningless.

[@Dartagnan65]

Aluminium "resonator" violin. (!) - 1932 Aluminum Musical Instruments Co. Violin kzbin.info/www/bejne/ZquchaSOnN6qiK8

[@randomslomo1875]

I never thought "plywood" and "violin" would be in the same video...

[@mandolinic]

You should have paid the extra $20 for the factory-fitted dust ball ;-)

[@AskOlaftheViolinmaker]

😂

[@conchobar]

After your setup, that VSO wasn't as awful sounding as the price would suggest. Yet, when you removed that top plate, and compared it with properly made instruments, I can't fathom someone watching this video and afterward still wanting to invest in such a poorly made device. Thanks for opening our eyes.

[@AskOlaftheViolinmaker]

Thank you for the feedback... that's so nice to hear. Us violin makers often get so frustrated seeing enthusiastic little violinist struggle against VSO's thinkingthat they can't play... the worst thing is when they give up... just breaks my heart. It's one of the reasons I made these 3 videos.

[@JasperJanssen]

I mean, the converse is that buying a violin for a hundred bucks is pretty much the equivalent of picking up the candy next to the cash register - impulse purchase. Not really “invest in”.

[@glenntozser817]

@@AskOlaftheViolinmaker You are SO RIGHT. You get, especially a child a crap instrument and it ruins them from wanting to play music. I became a professional bass player because at 10years old the cheap guitar I had was SO BAD I thought there was something wrong with me that I couldn't push down all the strings - so I went to playing bass where I (basically) had to play only one string at a time. (Tho at least I really enjoy playing the bass! 😁)

[@brattingprincess]

Ask Olaf the Violinmaker Yes! Schools need to stock the 3-400 violins.

[@Native_love]

Yeah he made is sound very decent for a $100 violin. Makes you wonder how good his violins sound.Nice work!

[@bensprinks]

I know this isn't a comedy video but your comments and expressions as a real craftsman are hilarious.

[@mousetoad7040]

Some VSO's can be used as fiddles. I've seen primitive fiddles that are box shaped, made from cigar boxes, etc. The players don't hold them right and the scratchy sound fits the style of the music and player's style. Also can be used outdoors in less than ideal humidity and weather for campfire mountain music.

[@paulmcg8237]

Totally agree, these little boxes have their place.

[@BigHenFor]

No-ones saying they don't have their place. But you're not going to be playing in an classical orchestra with a cheap fiddle. And, when you going into that type of music, you wouldn't get anywhere unless you have a good instrument. And a good violin repays the investment and servicing of it, by its sound, which is fuller, rounder, and more lush.

[@paulmcg8237]

Kind of a silly statement you've made there. Of course you are correct, but even a pub session amateur wouldn't touch such a cheap instrument. Their purpose is to give someone who has never played before a cheap introduction to the fiddle, that's it, nothing more. And BTW, almost all of these review videos out there are slating these "VSO's" and telling people not to go near them, which, IMO, is wrong. I think I've only seen one video where the reviewer tells the honest truth, that although the the quality of sound is very poor, it holds a tune and are handy for complete beginners, it's how I started.@@BigHenFor

[@benykid1]

Can you please do a build series on making a new violin from start to finish. That would be really interesting to watch.

[@speedbird-ro7dm]

That inside of the $100 violin is sacrilegious. 13:05

[@AskOlaftheViolinmaker]

Exactly

[@kristof9695]

I'm always joking cheap violin is made from plywood, now I'm really shocked it's true😂

[@lynnccm1442]

While I find it difficult to watch you take it apart, I am fascinated by how the insides look. Thank you Olaf, for educating us.🥰

[@shoham2792]

I got a new violin a few days ago and before that I had one of these cheap instruments. it was so hard to make a good sound, let alone different techniques. the violin I have now sounds better and works so much better i wish I got it in the first place.

[@caffeinhoney3563]

Little note on what you said at about 14:23 on winter and summer grain. Maybe for simplicity’s sake you cut a few corners, but I learned that wood does not grow in winter, so the darker lines (winter grain) are the ones the tree makes in late summer and fall to stabilize the growth it had in spring and summer (the lighter lines (summer grain)). Alpine spruce has, for the more difficult environment, less summer grain and thus it is harder (the dark lines are always the same thickness). But very good content, I really enjoy our videos.

[@arii414]

It depends on the climate. There's places where the summer is too hot and the trees are just trying to not die (they even get rid of some leaves like in fall in other places). Then in fall and winter they grow and get new leafs because that's the seasons when there is some rain.

[@fusion-music]

The scoop that you mentioned at 7.30 is there not just for beauty or to show off the skill of the luthier. It allows the top to be fee to resonate. All these small things add up to a better instrument. I'm enjoying your videos even though I don't play violin.

[@RobertFay]

*- Did I get this right, Olaf?* *- To produce the narrowest growth rings for Alpine Spruce, the trees would have to be grown in:* *- North Facing Gorges with Steep Sides so sun and heat are limited year round especially during mini-Iceage times.* *- There are such 3-5 ft diameter trees, but they are at sea level in Bay of Fundy, Nova Scotia.* *- They would be good for masts, yards and spars but probably not for violin top plates.*

[@tookitogo]

The rigidity of plywood is precisely why (thick) plywood is used for making good loudspeaker enclosures, where you want to prevent flex, not allow it.

[@puutans]

I was curious about the inside of these violins, so thank you! This was very educational. The explanation of how the wood moves was very interesting!

[@nupsiwulst9946]

Wow. This was shocking indeed 😮 - and fascinating. Thank you! Also, completely off topic: when cleaning my violin after practice, I found myself singing „wiping down my violin, removing all the bad dirt, and don’t forget that spot here, cause Olaf said so“ to the melody of ‚why don’t you say so‘... 🤦🏽‍♀️ (the Debussy version, naturally...) You have a good influence on us. 🤓 - it’s nice to have you back. 💕

[@AskOlaftheViolinmaker]

Haha.. love the song 🙂

[@acornhousepear4483]

I got a cheap mendini for around 70-80 dollars. It was surprisingly well made and sounded great. I’ve had it for around 2 years now and it works great. I looked inside it with a camera as best as I could and everything was in place.

[@the_red_piano455]

11:20 if brett and eddy saw this... sacrilegious

[@kodoqbesar4301]

He should review TwoSet's DIY violin that costs around 69 dollars.

[@zwz.zdenek]

That's 69 LMAO.

[@justemily6444]

He did and he commented on it XD There’s no vid of him reacting to it so qwq

[@Kimoto504]

They trashed it.

[@JasonBhoy7]

My first ever guitar was a Westfield acoustic made of plywood that cost £60. I still have it and use it 20 years later and you'd struggle to guess it was made of plywood. I have even used it in recordings instead of some of my top end guitars including my beloved Taylor. For £60 it was worth every penny. It can take a beating as well. I learned how to play, how to set up and how to fix guitars from it.

[@set3777]

I bought a very cheap plywood accoustic (about $50) guitar too, even though I used to have expensive guitars before. I just needed to replace the bridge with one made of bone, buy better quality strings and with some filing and tuning make it sound OK. Violin maker must be so theatened by CHEAP mass produced violins to even tell ridiculous lies about them and just call them VSOs?

[@costascostas1760]

To be fair that's like a £120 guitar nowadays. Still very cheap!

[@set3777]

@@costascostas1760 Is that a £120 GSO (guitar shaped object)? Since $100 item was just called a VSO (violin shaped object)? I remember the days when threatened Pipe Organ Makers tried to deny Lauren Hammond the right to call his USD2000 electric product an "ORGAN". Anyway, sales of Hammond OSO (organ sounding objects) were 1,000 times more than those expansive organs.

[@costascostas1760]

@@set3777 nah, guitarists are simple people. We have bad, good, and great guitars. But we get away with it a bit maybe because we can okay many strings together so a really bad sound could be masked a bit by the resonance of many strings. Not sure. F9rbsure I don't think the sound difference between price groups is so pronounced as in violins.

[@paulmcg8237]

Totally agree, these instruments have their place.@@set3777

[@SculptyWorks]

Olaf is so very brave to open up a violin on camera! That's kind of a luthier's dark, secret process, not meant for the public eye, because of how violent and scary it looks! And the noises it makes, it can make violinists faint! 😉 👍

[@AskOlaftheViolinmaker]

It has made violinists faint... Especially when they see their $100,000+ violin being opened. But no, I never open clients instruments in front of them.

[@toddgreenwood9631]

I Must Comment. I like your channel and I really like how you dissected this violin and gave a lesson on construction and how the sound transfers et cetera. How ever I feel I must stick up for the hundred dollar violin. Yes given to a beginner musician a cheap violin like this may be frustrating if they are trying to get beautiful tone. However one can still play Edelweiss on a cheap fiddle like this right out of the box and an accomplished player can make it sound quite sweet and quaint albeit with a very small and thin tone. While on the other hand some players can't make anything sound good. I loved my hundred dollar violin (although the year was 1976 and it was a 50 dollar violin. ) I was a young (15yo) guitar player in the city to by yet another guitar and started to talk violins with one of the luthiers at a store. I got to see the range of prices from 800 dollars to 10 thousand and was completely intrigued. Having saved more money on my guitar purchase than I had anticipated I had fifty dollars left and the dude said how, he wouldn't recommend it, but they did have something that they referred to as a "Chinese Special". We went in the back back room which was behind the back room and they had about 50 of these units, in cases that came with a bow and a block of very hard rosin and all of these fiddle stunk if mothballs. Of course one of them went home with me and my new guitar. While I loved this instrument not everyone else did. I was awful at playing it but I was so amazed at how I could squack out a tune on this violin shaped thing. Later I used the dimensions to hog the wood off some fire wood in our farm shop and ruffed together a solid body instrument with guitar strings on it. Again, while under appreciated by others I was able to get a tune. As the years went by this humble little instrument morphed into different representations of musicality as it bore the brunt of home made pickups, holes for volume pots switches and batteries placed in it and all the while fellow band mates making jokes about it ... but we still played OBS nightly at our gigs and it always packed the dance floor. So I understand you discouraging people in the purchase of a 100 dollar violin but I would like to not discourage anyone still considering laying down a hundred bucks on one of these violin shaped instruments. Consider ... in this purchase you get, a cheap fiddle, a chunk of rosin BOW and a CASE ... for the price of a steak and red wine for two. For someone who wants to experiment with sound and perhaps perform destructive modifications to the instrument as I had done I would much rather they did it on a factory built plywood unit rather than even a cheap 500 dollar instrument build by a craftsman. (Oh! and the bow, o course can be used on everything from electric guitars to wine glasses. And the case can be used to care for a barn find fiddle should the former be discarded, just wrap it in a tea towel) You won't be earning a lot of points at a fiddle recital with these hundred dollar units. But throw a mute on it and it is adequate practice equipment. It can be frustrating to play if your used to a better instrument but it can really make you work harder to bow correctly. The only thing worse than these cheap fiddles is having no fiddle at all. Know which end of the horse you are looking at and keep expectations in perspective. Anyway, who owns only one fiddle.

[@davidorellana6278]

Two set brought me here but Olaf made me stay , such wonderful work .. brilliant

[@holton345]

Craftsmanship-real, genuine love and skill being poured into something-is dying across the globe. Few people give a damn about the person who makes the item, so today few makers seem to give a damn in return. For the customer, the price has become the main concern, so in response (and in order to stay financially afloat) the craftsman has been replaced by workers and bosses, for whom price is the main concern. You do some nice work, sir. Keep it up, keep those standards high, and keep the videos coming. Thanks!

[@graceliu2549]

OMG. This comment! So much. We need more craftspeople who take pride in what they do. And we need consumers who understand that real craftsmanship is worth the extra price. The reason cheap goods are made is because there are people willing to pay for it.

[@sobrikey]

Thanks dear Olaf , very informative and helpfull

[@hrobert745]

I bought an $89 fiddle from Amazon, but I was very pleased because I was comparing to homemade cigar box type fiddles. I liked it so much I got another so I can have two different tunings eventually, for instance dead man’s tuning, DDAD for certain tunes like Bonaparte’s Retreat. By the way, do you know the difference between a fiddle and a violin? You can’t spill beer on a violin. 😹

[@boeriksson9116]

Loved the "shallow and Trumpety" :-D

[@nickpag3502]

Love Olaf's Groot shirt. lol

[@Joe_for_real]

I hail from Alaska and have always heard that our Sitka spruce were widely used in the manufacture of instruments. It's so interesting to hear why that might be.

[@Native_love]

Olaf, if you can make that violin sound that good, you are truly a miracle worker!

[@tybriggs9880]

Tree's from the mini ice age made it into great violins

[@ellisc.foleyjr9778]

Wow! Wow, Wow!! I'm just an avid viewer, no musical violin training , (old drummer from the 60's and even then limited) but I do dabble in wood weekend hacker. but love it. I'm too old to get serous but can at least think serious. that's why I love watching you Olaf. and many other videos per Luthiers etc. Yet even my untrained eye saw a huge!!! difference in the workmanship alone between that older violin and the VSO. Now I can really see why you call them VSO's that's all they virtually are just shapes of the instrument. plywood!!! I can't believe that but I saw it with my own eyes. thank you so much for taking the time to open that beast! and showing us views for sure what you 'be been telling us all along. Great video enjoyed it immensely Thankd for sharing. ECF

[@chrisvighagen]

"If you can glue it slow, you can glue it fast" is it? Love this video, it really is a great buyers be aware video.

[@torbennielsen7529]

John Malkovich could play you as the mad violin maker

[@gapdragon01]

"That's not how you make a violin." LOVED IT!!!!

[@karinaurelia1258]

I got scared when you role played firing the 'luthier' but the insides of that VSO is much more terrifying whoa :( i have a quite cheap violin myself, my teacher found it, but mine is a real decent violin. I feel sorry for ppl tricked to buy vsos :(

[@ikbintom]

I'm surprised how relatively alright it sounds, knowing that it's made of plywood

[@oystersnag]

Thank you Olaf. This is extremely educational. I would love to see you do some work on a cello sometime too.

[@feb5th]

At least we know why it only cost you $100 to buy. With that wood, it probably cost them $10 to make!

[@milanvarghese]

I was literally shocked to see that this violin was made of plywood. These violins should not exist.

[@NatJediMASTER]

You’d be surprised how many really cheap instruments are like this. It breaks my heart a little every time I see one.

[@milanvarghese]

@@NatJediMASTER I know mine is a cheap violin right now. Playing on it is sometimes frustrating because the tone on it is not pure. I am really dreaming of buying a good violin in the future to play with. Maybe after I get a job, I am still studying. Sadly, Most violins available in shops in Inda are cheap bad quality mass-produced violins. But I have recently got connected with an experienced Luther in another city and another person who imports authentic old violins from Europain countries.

[@Ragnar8504]

Being a guitar player experienced with the cheapest guitars I'm not surprised at all! Most really cheap guitars are at least partly plywood and have been for at least 50 years. I recently rescued a horribly beaten guitar from 1973 and the back is plywood. The top is solid spruce though and I'd consider it playable. The question is always what you want from an instrument. Guitars are frequently played outside in less-than-ideal conditions (e.g. at a bonfire) and there's no way I'd want to play an expensive classical guitar in that situation! Few people care about nuances of sound in that context either! Obviously playing concerts is something completely different and you want a good instrument for that. Violins are probably not played under adverse conditions that often so I can see why you'd expect any violin to be better than a cheap guitar but I can still easily see why a cheap one is made from plywood.

[@kimseniorb]

They should exist, they are a perfect tool for learning and quite useful in my home studio actually. I prefer them to the old soviet ones that I can find here

[@RPSchonherr]

Not exactly plywood. They laminate thin sheets into a press to get the same shape every time hundreds of times a day. A luthier/violin maker will take several days to weeks to make 1 violin that only rich people can afford. These are geared to people who aren't rich so little Timmy can join the school orchestra. If Timmy likes it then Tim buys his own $1000 violin to take to Julliard, after training with a master Mr. Timothy can try for the Symphony Orchestra and get that $10000 violin. If he's good enough to get 2nd chair he'll upgrade to the $500000 one and if he makes first chair he can consider that rare Strad.

[@robinj.9329]

I'm not a musician. BUT...... I've always "Wished" I were a musician. As a child I tried to get my parents to let me take lessons, but NO! The were simply not interested in having me "Practice" several hours a day and they felt the "Sound" would drive them CRAZY. As an adult I've tried to learn Keyboard. And I thought I had a "nature sense of rhythm" for music. But, even my Wife didn't want to hear me practice!!! So now, at age 70, I heard someone who is truly a "Master" with their chosen Instrument and I'm both envious and impressed! I've looked at violins 🎻 to purchase. And prices are all over the place! From a few hundred to many thousands of dollars! Maybe, one day I'll splurge! Just to have a fine Instrument on hand. And when a real, genuine Master visits my home, I can ask them to "Please, try my own." We shall see.......

[@thatcellistfromfinland4402]

So interesting to see these comparisons of the cheap vs. the expensive! It may be a lot cheaper in the long run to make your own string instrument under tutelage. When I started to play cello my father actually started to build a full sized one for me once a week in a group that builds violins as a hobby. Meanwhile I borrowed an instrument from my music school. Took eight years because it was his first one (he was a doctor so nothing to do with woodwork 😄) Super interesting to follow the process also the cost of the parts spread through the years. My cello was finished for Christmas 2008 and I have been playing it since. In the last stages of becoming a cello teacher and still playing it, I haven't found anything to complain about it. Ofcourse now the cello is priceless for me and sometimes I have to take it to a reputable luthier to keep taking care of it properly which costs money of course. Thanks for the video Olaf!

[@Capt.SeaShanty]

I love how quickly this man can tune a violin

[@RPSchonherr]

I'm never going to be a violinist. I'm just going to "fiddle" around now and then. The $100 toy is good enough.

[@brattingprincess]

Renting is cheaper and you can get a MUCH better instrument.

[@RPSchonherr]

@@brattingprincess That is probably the best idea. I know a lot of students in middle school and high school rent instruments for marching band. I hadn't thought that they rented violins too.

[@brattingprincess]

Robert Schuster Yeah we all rent until we get to be full size. Even as a big kid I grew into full size at age 12. There also may be an availability issue because maybe there aren't any rental shops in the area.

[@eldricgrubbidge6465]

Honestly, something like this can potentially be fine to play with, just not as nice sounding as the real deal. BUT 1) Usually the set-up is just as terrible as the materials. The pegs stick. The bridge is badly cut. The nut is all weird. So it's nearly impossible to tune the thing. It's uncomfortable and difficult to play. Basically hellish for a begginer. 2) sorting out these set-up issues is actually quite expensive. So you saved money buying a cheap violin and then you have to spend loads of money polishing a turd. 3) if you spend your money the other way round - 500 for the fiddle, 100 for the set-up, and Not 100 for the fiddle 500 fixing it's issues - you'll probably have something decent. I'm not saying it'll be amazing, but it will be miles and miles ahead of a plywood one.

[@jasonwang7028]

Please do an episode with the God Pillar XD

[@AskOlaftheViolinmaker]

I'm in two minds about it... it's a really dodgy website

[@Adam_Wilde]

@@AskOlaftheViolinmaker Safer to make your own god pillar. Can't be too difficult 😄

[@rossthefiddler5890]

I converted a viola to the sound post through the belly to the bridge & it made it into a 'deep boomy' viola. That was different. Some have advocated it for small instruments used as a viola to at least get it sounding something like a viola, but it does require careful maintenance of the bridge, unlike many that let their bridge continue to bend towards the fingerboard. The soundpost is connected to the bridge foot by pinning with a toothpick. :)

[@pheart2381]

@@rossthefiddler5890 I tried down octave strings on my violin and took them off after two days. The effect was horrible and it took 6 months for my violin to settle back down again.

[@jimhughes8242]

My Father bought my younger brother a cheap violin, in 1958 ,in 1960 he bought him a Albert Krell which at the time was $300, to see if he would keep playing he quit 1 yr later, he wished he hadn’t bought the Krell ,but I got it yrs later ,and still play it after 60 yrs. The sound is great and everyone wants it for it plays easily.

[@chrisgriffith1573]

So- being an artist, I know that PVA can be softened by Ethanol and water, with heat being applied to speed things up. Denatured alcohol can work too. No. No to the fact that woods grow in the springtime, summer, and then retract nutrients from the branches in the fall, going into winter they don't grow. So the grains you see are from springtime to the end of summer, and at the end of fall, the darker grain stops, until spring begins and new growth, (fast growth) begins again for the lighter fast growing grains.

[@sonomabob]

Geez the fact that it played at all for $100 retail is not bad

[@terryjohinke8065]

I bought my son a Gliga violin from Reaumania then finished in the US. It is Carpathian Sprce and Maple. Ebony fingerboard and tailpiece. It only cost a few hundred $$$s. His Ukranian/Russian teacher, a stunning woman who is also a concert violinist said his violin was qutite good ( she taches with a $30,000 violin, not her concert instrument. I make acoustic guitars and Ukuleles for new additions to the family. I am a guitar luthier. To me it's mostly in the woods. We got lucky.Now the market for learners is flooded with Chinese laminates, plywood with 1mm. spruce or maple of exterior.. Nothing beats an all wood instrument. As I said we got lucky. Many guitar luthiers fix violins, myself and a friend included. Much less bracing ( none) just the sound bar inside. More complex on the exterior.

[@ronaldmoretto4844]

Olaf, I’ve worked in China for many years in string instruments factories including violins, my job was mainly line production consulting and QC. I knew it was plywood at the moment the video started, I can tell you all about these cheap violins, there’s also lots of interesting info about how it’s is made, which is totally different than handcrafted real violins.

[@_koza]

I've always wondered how to become a luthier. Its something Im extremely interested in but dont know how or where to start.

[@60000L]

I'd assume you'd have to be able to play pretty well to be able to discern precise tuning. After that you'd probably have to get an apprenticeship in Violin-Making from a Luthier (More than likely from Europe) that's willing to teach you!

[@noranekokimono4301]

Depending where you are from: there are luthier schools where you can study. There are also some luthiers who take in students but at least in germany those students have to go to the german luthier school in Mittenwald for 3 months at a time to pass theoretical classes. If you are serious about becoming a luthier, google luthier schools in your country and maybe ask you own luthier where they studied. P.S.: you don´t have to play "well", at least for Mittenwald. There you have to play on a level fitting the years of music lessons you had. You need to have played a string instrument for at least 2 years, so if you have just played for 2 years, you don´t have to play a Mozart concerto or anything like that. If you want to know more, feel free to ask. I almost started luthier school as I was waiting for a medschool university place but got accepted into university right before the lutheir school entrance exams. I also am building my own violin in vacation courses with a luthier. I don´t know everything but I can tell you at least a little bit and give some tips.

[@SculptyWorks]

You don't have to play well to be a luthier, but it does help to have a good ear, and problem-solving skills, and be good with your hands, and some basic musical understanding. How to get into it depends a lot on where you are in the world, but the easiest (and cheapest) way would be through a job at a stringed instruments shop that has a proper luthier on-site and that does repairs, and if the luthier is willing to teach you (ie. an apprenticeship). I've know people who started simply cleaning up the dust and dirt from rental instruments and from there learned how to do proper repairs.

[@trumpetplayer6397]

Yeah, this is interesting Olaf! The one I have now is made by Ernst Heinrich Roth in 2018 My first violin was a $100 Chinese job. Case, bow, rosin, and agony all complete in one package. Failed and didn't achieve anything on that thing.😄 Now I can play an open string, and it sounds right, and anything else will sound beautiful if played with the right technique.

[@Helveteshit]

@Olaf, Wouldn't plywood be possible for a Violin if you speak about the flexibility? Because if you make the plywood yourself, you can use different types of wood to obtain the qualities of Spruce but the potential vibrational quality of another wood. Since you can mix different type of grains to obtain a different sound quality. And unlike normal wood that you need to carve out. With the plywood, as you make it from scratch. You can potentially shape it according a baseplate from the beginning. Providing that nice base plate that you just need to carve the holes. I am hardly a violinist but I am just theorizing. Since plywood does have that advantage. Because like you said, pine's growth during the summer is more flexible while the darker grains are harder. So if you mix dense, light and tropical layers of wood. You should be able to experiment forth a different sound quality that solid wood cannot provide. Of course, that sound might not be ideal, but it is interesting thought to me.

[@danayang7712]

Youre sooo inspiring! Im almost thinking about being a violinmaker myself, just from watching your videos. They're so fascinating and exciting! Thank you! 👏👏

[@ljooni]

I was someone who grew up poor and obsessed with violins, but even as a small, tiny child I knew the value of money so I knew violin and lessons was not an option... So I'm 40 now and I thought what the hell, I can afford the cheapest violin, the 100 dollar one so let's go :D So that is what I got. And I struggled to make it even make a sound but your videos helped a lot, especially on setting up the bridge. It sounds awful, I sound awful haha. But with this I can at least see if my lifelong want translates to commitment. And if it does, THEN I will try to gather the funds to buy a thousand dollar violin. But in the mean time I really do appreciate knowing what exactly makes mine what it is.

[@0xe4524ffe]

Maybe carving many vertical parallel groves in top plate would've made it more flexible horizontaly than verticaly and improved the sound?

[@sonicase]

actually kinda surprised they can get the plywood to sound 'okay'...makes me wonder, after what point you pay for a violin made with proper timber does the timber not matter in the pricing...in otherwords, what's the cheapest you can get a violin for that has the "best" (soundwise that actually makes a difference) timber?

[@eldricgrubbidge6465]

sonicase you might be able to get a violin with a real wood top for a similar price to the one he has there. Certainly if you went up to two or three hundred you could get real tonewood. Having said that... there’s wood and there’s wood. The grain might be a bit looser than a nice instrument. If the wood is softer, they have to cut the plate a bit thicker or it’ll crack or warp or what have you, and that will leave the violin sounding muddier. I’ve seen fiddles for eight or nine hundred with wood that looked every bit as good as more expensive ones. Maybe Olaf or another luthier will say there’s more to it than how it looks though.

[@annie2225]

I guess it is not so bad for early graders.

[@lnx0007]

I bought a $50(USD) violin from amazon. . . On purpose! it was for a 4 year old who doesn't understand the meaning of "gentle". . .

[@jvin248]

I'd say that violin is still good for some additional testing even though you were disappointed in seeing the inside. Scrape off the PVA adhesive (looks rubbery and sound deadening), rework/replace the bass bar, reassemble with hide glue as you'd normally do, correctly place the sound post. Retest. You'll probably hear a great improvement even though it's a plywood top. Use the same strings and bow to A/B vs the same better violin and link the videos. Second dive into it, make a new top (or find another that fits) with conventional wood but keep everything else the same about this violin, even the same strings and same bridge. Sound test. We all may learn a lot. While I played viola as a kid, I play, repair, and build guitars now -- the most important parts are the bridge and bracing even though all the rest is 'marketed' as desired. If you watch a guitar builder video they spend all their time 'tap-tuning' the top while carving the braces to get to the desired tone. No work is done on the top material, and while the $100 acoustic guitars have similar laminated tops (prevents splitting) they do not get the carved braces and that leads to the tone differences.

[@ankavoskuilen1725]

When you also replace the bottom, you have an entire new violin. Still not worth the labour.

[@brattingprincess]

Seeing that it was plywood yeah that was heartbreaking. When we do "fittings" for a violin it is because things are literally not cut properly like the nut or parts of it because it is a VSO. But if the VSO is such low quality the labor grossly outweighs the vso initial cost.

[@fireballxl-5748]

I know nothing about violins except both my daughters play and the one is an orchestra director at a public school. Thank you for this video that explained to me a little of why violins are so expensive. I watched you repair another fella's violin (a 2 part video) and learned so much. I have a greater appreciation for your expertise...and thank you again.

[@PrinceWesterburg]

Electric guitars made of plywood sound awful too. I have a 'VSO' and used it last week to record a pirate themed scroe, it sounded awful, which was just perfect for the genre! :D

[@joestevenson5568]

Electric guitars made of plywood because the people making guitars with plywood are doing a bad job in other places too. Tone wood is a myth on electric instruments, vibrations through the wood do not contribute significantly to the sound unless you have improperly made pickups.

[@nikitafang231]

Olaf's voice is so calming. Even he's scarry look is super cute.

[@charstringetje]

I half expected you to use a round bell mallet to whack it open. One of those round wooden hammers that sculptors use, so they can focus on the piece of art, instead of the orientation of the hammerhead.

[@tomcranks]

Springwood is usually light in color and of low density. It contains much of the wood tissue that conducts water up and down the tree. Wood produced later in the growing season is called summerwood and it is usually denser and darker.

[@katewebber1131]

Wow knife and violin should not be near each other. 😊😊😊. You make it all so easy.

[@daviddazer2425]

I don't play violin or any instrument or repair them, but I find this channel fascinating. Sadly, the $100 violin still sounded good to me. LOL

[@lesley-annmathews7971]

I have been waiting for this answer... cant wait to see this video thanks!!

[@erniemiller1953]

Your explanations are helping when I design my violin. Thank you.

[@besthobbit]

Watching your vids always makes me want to get a new cello. I only started playing 8 months ago though, so I'm trying to put up with the $800 student one I've got for now. If only I was better at saving money 😅

[@benjpress]

I took a peak inside the f holes. Seeing grains sideways. I don't think i got ripped off. Only bought it online from a reputable store. Awesome video. :D

[@oliverjocher2999]

Wow, danke Olaf..schön zu sehen wie die Innereien einer VSO wirklich aussehen...schauderhaft. 😲

[@Skyliner_369]

the best way I can think of to cheaply automate (at least the bulk work) of making a violin is with a CNC router. Carving it on one of those is relatively fast and if you know how to get the wood to respond the way you want (virtually nil chipout) you can move straight to (first sawing the attachment tabs) and then scraping. in fact CNC routed parts of large piece wood could make pretty acceptable basis pieces.

[@AmandaViolinGirl]

Sounds like the vso doesn't want to be heard from a distance and send sound vibrations but the good one sounds like it does want to be heard and happy to send vibrations wherever.

[@becomingsports189]

I love this channel.

[@glenntozser817]

Bro ... FASCINATING!! Thank you!

[@JuanCarlosPieschacon]

Olaf, I think you should return it now. Thank you for sharing what is inside :)

[@dianeramakers3368]

Thanks for this video. I have built my own violin at a workshop from my friend Lisa who is a professional violin maker. I love the sound of it and so does my violin teacher. It took me three years to build. Still, my friend and I are thinking about an experiment. We want to build a violin from wood from the construction market. In the Netherlands there is one with the name Gamma. We will call it a viola da Gamma. Really curious how the sound will be.

[@Angela-ov7sz]

i--- my heart was actually beating real fast when you showed on your old violin top plate that violin isnt supposed to be that rigid- i was genuinely scared 😂 . but thank you, Olaf, for your content! i love it so much 🤍

[@QoraxAudio]

10:30 When a violin maker uses a chisel to split wood 😂 Looks like you're preparing it for your furnace 😜

[@suepritchard9287]

Jeez Olaf! Thought you were going to take your hand off along with top of the vso!!!!!!!!!! Love the channel ✌️✌️✌️😂😂😂😂😂😂

[@LouisEmery]

15:50 How about carving longitudinal ridges? That will decrease the spring constant in the transverse direction more than in the longitudinal direction. The string constants can be quantified by some kind of measurement tools.

[@sorrenblitz805]

Watching these as a guitarist: "I don't know why I'm here but I'm happy that I showed up."

[@psalm3496]

Jesus loves you. God sent him on the cross to die for YOU so you can be freed from sin and spend all eternity in heaven. He’s coming soon!

[@billharris6886]

Thank you Olaf for the tour of the $100 Chinese violin, this is quite the eye opener. Having been in electronic design and manufacturing for entire my career, I see many of the Chinese techniques used in low cost mass production. The plywood is probably used, because it is the closest wood available in large quantities at a low price. It also resists cracking when put into the steam press to shape the top and bottom. The internal blocks and bass bar are likely punched out from a sheet of wood. The huge amounts of glue are being used to fill gaps in the non-shaped wood pieces. The varnish is more of a paint so you can't see the wood grain, which is mismatched and running the wrong directions. I'm actually surprised the violin sounds as good as it does. Obviously, much trial and error was put forth to arrive at a suitable compromise between sound quality and price. Initially, I was expecting to see CNC machining of the wood but, the build/assembly techniques used here are much lower in cost.

[@GioGuitarGuy]

Olaf thank you for your videos.. I’m a guitar luthier and I’ve been looking for multiple different thinks to apply to my making and fixing. How inspiring to see the violin side of things!

[@adamabele785]

I'd call that uneven resonance. You get some kind of vibes that sound like they do not belong to the actual note that is played. Some tones are louder others are a bit muted. That makes it difficult to produce a nice and even sound when you play up and down the scale. I am convinced that it might be possible to make a 100 dollar violin that has a decent sound, not brilliant or with good projection, but something that gives a starter a decent experience that does not sound like a tin box with strings.