This Is What A $69 Viola Sounds Like

If you are interested in exploring the viola for yourself, here is the link:
bit.ly/3O30YKL
Thank you to glarrymusic.com for sending me this viola to try! The instrument sounds pretty good for its price, I only had an issue with the playability (high strings, pitchy C-string) and tedious set-up.
0:00 intro
0:28 unboxing and set-up
2:53 playing it
5:06 comparison with my viola
6:18 final thoughts and rating
Background music: Beethoven String Quartet Opus 18.1 movement 1, performed by The Dolphins: • Beethoven String Quart...
Check out my second channel for compositions and performances: youtube.com/@JamesPreucilViol...

[@ViolaKing]

Hey Viola Kingdom, it’s been a while! Sorry if anyone was worried about me-I got a few messages checking in to see if I was alive lol. Since I last posted in June, I’ve had more career stuff going on than at any other point so far (mostly with my quartet, The Dolphins) and I have been playing an incredible amount of viola every day. I have also been deeply entrenched in writing more music. The biggest composition project of my life so far will be premiering this Thursday: String Quartet 1 in F# minor “Grunge”-I think you will all love it! It is also the year of my master’s degree auditions so that’s been a whole other thing to worry about. Anyways, I love making KZbin videos but this year has been especially demanding of my time and energy so KZbin very sadly had to take a back seat. It takes me a very long time to make content that I am proud of, especially the editing part. For example, this video alone took me three weeks to edit when I had time (in between preparing for a competition, sitting principal for an orchestra cycle, traveling to a quartet seminar, finishing composing my quartet, preparing for a solo recital, and classes). That being said, I can’t promise any kind of uploading consistency for now-but I can promise that every video I do publish will be something I’m truly proud of creating. Thank you all for sticking with me through content gaps-your continued support keeps me coming back to make more videos no matter how much other stuff I have going on.

[@Bagim9]

Cool

[@Aquaticarefish]

i missed you fr

[@elissahunt]

I'm excited for all the cool things you've got going on. Very happy that you were able to squeeze in a video for us as well. 😍

[@oxoelfoxo]

hope to watch Grunge soon

[@BMDviola05]

Hey, James! I’m glad to see you post a video again! I understand the stress and time consumption, I’m currently applying for college for music education and have had to work on viola auditions as well, alongside school work and my personal life. But you got this! Don’t worry about consistency, we enjoy seeing your videos any day! Keep up your hard work and dedication to music, and thanks for being an inspiration to violists everywhere!

[@MrGlbert1999]

I literally got that viola 1 week ago the setup was insane and I had to get all the strings fixed 😭 good video btw!! We missed you

[@ViolaKing]

What a coincidence! If the strings are as high as they are on the one I tried, I recommend getting the bridge shaped by a luthier as well. The height makes it a lot harder to play

[@MrGlbert1999]

@@ViolaKing yeah that viola bridge is to big lol

[@alisonderrick1067]

We want low action for efficiency. Strings as close to fingerboard as possible. The more height/ action it’s gonna be a lot different. A completely different game of inefficient space there’s no room for. 😂 I love you guys ❤

[@VavafsEtMouton]

As an oboist, this was actually some acceptable sound for an oboe (even more acceptable, especially since it comes from this thing ) even if I for my part couldn't identify the note played 😆😅😅

[@TragoudistrosMPH]

I played clarinet, so I can admit this this to you... before I bought a violin, I always assumed under the bow was a giant reed 😅 I have no idea why I thought that 😅😅

[@Jayspider2009]

You inspire me as a Violist to keep on going. Not just for Viola, but Double Bass. Because I want to be a professional at those instruments one day. Yes, I considered you a professional Viola King lol.

[@ViolaKing]

Awesome! I’m in my last year of undergraduate degree so you could consider me a young professional

[@Jayspider2009]

@@ViolaKing Roger that, lol

[@Jayspider2009]

Love your videos. Keep up the great work.

[@dominikj378]

Good to see you back!

[@user-bh3rl7ij2t]

Glad that you are back.

[@macart5429]

2:31: Your fellow channel viewer and subscriber is proud violist(8 years of experience) is also an oboist!

[@user-wq4hn4lk3w]

EXCELLENT!!!!! BRAVO!!!!! BRAVO!!!!! BRAVO!!!!! GOD BLESS YOU AND YOUR FAMILY AND FRIENDS.

[@christinashelby6083]

Glad to see a video from you again! I guess others have touched on it, but I wonder if that bridge wasn't so much a ready-to-use one as it was a bridge blank. But, then, I play trumpet, so I should just stay in the corner eating my popcorn, lol. Fun to watch you get this playable.

[@jamesbell6203]

Thanks for exploring this, I've always wondered about those inexpensive instruments as well. Other than the bridge being a hot mess, it seems you found a serviceable viola.

[@TitusWaddimba]

We missed you!

[@inactiveeagle04]

Welcome back brother

[@Polished_Perspective]

I wonder how it would sound if you took it to a luthier to set up properly. Also if you added the price of the setup (which I would imagine would include cutting the bridge, maybe a soundpost adjustment) and a price D'addario preludes so your strings can actually hold a pitch you'd probably be in for about $250. I wonder how that professionally set up $250 viola would compare to a $500 beginner instrument.

[@rorycraig]

That bridge was giving me THE WORST anxiety I have ever experienced in my life. 😨

[@TragoudistrosMPH]

Oooh, I bought a cheap (electric) violin, but that E string! I began to long for a deeper sound and discovered the viola. A cheap viola might be the fix I need. It's also fun to imagine my scrabblings would magically sound better on a more quality instrument 😅

[@tedviolafire]

❤ the Beethoven quartet #1 in the background.

[@elissahunt]

I think it would help to take an instrument like that to a luthier and get it properly set up. Sure, that will add to the cost, but it will save a lot of aggravation. Beginners don't know what they don't know, and wouldn't have any idea the strings are too high or how to compensate for it.

[@ViolaKing]

Agreed. I see this as a product flaw-paying to have the bridge shaped would likely cost as much as or more than buying the instrument itself

[@amandakippen9208]

Luthiers won't touch these instruments. These instruments are so poorly made with such poor quality materials that the cost would be more than getting a quality instrument to begin with. Strings need to be changed, peg need to be replaced, bridge needs to be fit or replaced, fine tuners get stuck and make it hard to tune, bows are terrible and would need to be replaced as well. I've seen necks made from plastic, which do not hold up to the tension from the strings. As a music educator, I can't say enough, I detest these cheap instruments.

[@elissahunt]

@@amandakippen9208It depends. I've seen at least one video where a luthier put a $69 violin into working order. The inconsistency in the manufacture of these cheap instruments makes their quality vary widely. But you're not wrong that it would be far, far better to buy (or rent/lease) a higher quality instrument in the first place--and that goes for wind instruments as well. Most music stores have affordable payment plans, and that's a much better way to go than to buy an instrument that doesn't really work and will make playing it an exercise in frustration.

[@Serenityblu23]

I just got a viola as a present from amazon. The bridge you have to put together.

[@michaelnancyamsden7410]

You have a lot going on! I welcome any posts...no pressure from me.

[@SwooshTV1]

Any day you post is a w

[@johnjankiewicz3478]

The feet on the bridge coould be sanded down by a luthier it would probably help with the string hight. There are videos out there that show how to do that. Just sayn'

[@cheater21211]

This makes me feel better with how I sound on my (even cheaper) violin

[@ViolaKing]

Instrument quality really does make a huge difference. The best soloist in the world would still really struggle with a cheap instrument

[@jameslewis4059]

Hi James. I'm also James and also an asparing violist.

[@CurlTrek]

I just got a 15 inch, much smaller than my old 16.5 inch, and I MISS the really deep tone. I'm thinking of going back and getting a 15.5, even though it's a bit harder to reach my c string stuff, do you think it's worth it?

[@Cloxxki]

Noon here. Wonder how good it is with a trimmed bridge. Better too tall than too low for the instrument?

[@ViolaKing]

Yes, if it’s gonna be off it is better to be high. Then at least you can trim it down

[@xykleogd7180]

Can confirm that is definitely a viola

[@oxoelfoxo]

3.5/5! very high score for what i thought would surely be a VSO

[@ViolaKing]

What does VSO stand for

[@cesca6829]

Viola/violin-shaped object. I think it's s a twoset thing for cheap and nasty

[@oxoelfoxo]

what cesca said. but i hear it from Olaf the Brisbane-based luthier@@ViolaKing

[@Yeshanu]

It wasn't a great viola (or even a tiny bit good one), but it's way better than some of the cheap violins I've heard.

[@ViolaKing]

Yea I was comparing it to some of the school-owned instruments I remember from my high school and relative to those it sounds ok

[@CJSKB]

ay can you make a top 10 viola pieces that are easier than they look i need to flex please bro

[@yashinta69]

Is the $69 viola made of plywood ?

[@DolphinsQuartet]

!

[@agucci]

To sound like an oboe, play the viola of the Law. 😂

[@eao3482]

First! ❤

[@RockStarOscarStern634]

The bridge needs to be cut down & notches need to be added

[@anthonypreucil6155]

Lol this made me laugh. Realistically you could actually get some sandpaper and shave some wood off the bridge from the top. I bet it would sound 10 times better. Would be interesting to see how it sounds as you get closer and closer to a real bridge shape. You'd also want to re notch it where the strings go I guess.

[@johncebasek6252]

3.5 out of 5? I think that's way too high. Whatever the luthier is going to charge to replace the bridge can be put toward a little better quality instrument bought at a music store. Add to that the cost of a new set of strings - I think Daddario Preludes are available for viola, the money spent there can be put toward the new instrument. When it comes to music and instruments, don't buy from the 'A' company, instead buy from your local music shop.

[@Owldaughter]

Oof. It looks like that bridge hasn’t been shaped at all. 😬

[@ViolaKing]

Yep, guess they couldn’t afford it

[@spencermado]

“it is only 79 dollars” title: 69 dollars

[@ViolaKing]

Yea they put it on a bigger sale while I was editing the video

[@bloubear2557]

that's definitely a basswood instrument

[@valtteripennanen4043]

ok, comparing to your viola, the cheap one definitely has a high ass bridge

[@johnduheaume6650]

Take a moment to reprofile the bridge, that should improve the treble stopping problems, I'm learning folk fiddle but my last set of strings cost more than your whole set up, a case a bow and a viola that plays for £ 69 is dirt cheap, think how much the Chinese workers would get paid to produce that , we worry about slavery going on 300 years ago.

[@danielagreda1974]

Maybe this is an interesting video, but I cannot attend it because it’s all out of tune and that sicks me!!!

[@muztochi]

Nice Viola joke👍

[@lukeplaysviolin]

at 7:52 when u said that the viola was "only 79 dollars", were you misrepresenting the cost of the instrument intentionally to make your review more critical? why are you misleading consumers.

[@ViolaKing]

You must not have paid very close attention to the beginning where I write very clearly that it had gone on sale since I filmed the video so it’s now $69. SMH come informed before you get so critical

[@hildegerdhaugen7864]

Oh my fucking Christ.... That sounded truly bad. Sorry.

[@ViolaKing]

Haha yea some of the worst sounds I’ve ever produced on the chaconne chords

[@g.jessanamruthraj7585]

Hey @Violaking could you please play playing god by polyphia on viola.... i hope it works on viola as well