9 Best Violins Brands for Professionals and Advanced Students

If you are on the market for the best violin for professionals but are confused as to what would be the best choice for you then look no further. Here we have detailed our top ten picks for professional violins, along with an extensive buying guide to help you with this decision.

Top Picks: Best Violin For Professionals Reviews

The D Z Strad Maestro Old Spruce Stradi model is one in which we think is the best overall choice for professional players.

This particular model is definitely a premium choice, so it would be best suited for anyone wanting to invest more cash into their new professional violin. As with anything when it comes to musical instruments, generally the more you spend on a violin, the higher quality it will be. According to Dietrich Lasa from Animato Strings (1):

This very fine workmanship really shines through when playing the instrument with a high level of comfortability and a beautiful sound produced. The maple back and sides and the spruce top have been seasoned naturally, helping to give this violin’s tone depth and warmth.

Overall, the construction of this instrument and how it has been treated has such an impact on the sound it produces. With Maestro Old Spruce Stradi you will certainly have one of the best sounding violins on the list mentioned here.

The Maestro Old Spruce Stradi was definitely made for highly advanced players in mind. If you are a professional violinist who is serious about making a living out of your profession, and perhaps are playing alongside some of the top musicians, then this violin model is for you.

The Maestro Old Spruce Stradi is an expensive violin, so it is best suited for someone who is looking to spend extra cash on their new violin.

The Sky NY100 Bird’s Eye Vintage violin is the best violin for anyone on a budget.This violin certainly has the most interesting design and finish. The hand varnished finish makes this violin seem much more expensive than it actually is.

Alongside the vintage detailing on the back, this violin will certainly hold its own against some of the other much more expensive brands on the market. This makes it perfect for intermediate players who are worried about playing within an orchestra among top players and violins, but who do not have the money to splash out on a very expensive model.

The overall sound quality of this violin is fantastic and is certainly powerful enough to perform on stage as a soloist, and rich enough to blend in seamlessly within an orchestra. Because of this, it would suit a professional who is both a solo performer and an orchestral member.

The Sky NY100 violin would best suit an intermediate player who is just beginning to move into the more advanced stages of their career. As the price for this violin is not too high, yet you will still receive a high quality violin, it would be perfect for anyone at this stage. Perhaps you are a student studying violin at University and are looking to upgrade their current violin, then the Sky NY100 would be a great choice for you.

The Johannes Kohr K500 violin outfit is a high quality violin that is the best value for money in our opinion. Johannes Kohr is one of the most popular violin brands for advanced players.

This violin is hand carved with ebony fittings, spruce wood, and maple wood for the body. The combination of these materials ensures that not only is the instrument highly durable and long-lasting, but that the instrument will produce the best sound possible. This is obviously highly important if you are a professional violin player. According to Fiddlerman (2):

Having such high quality strings along with this instrument will only further enhance your sound and tone production.

The Johannes Kohr K500 is known for its impressive rich and deep tone, particularly for the affordable price. The lower strings produce a warm tone that will benefit any advanced player while playing solo or in an orchestra.

The Johannes Kohr K500 violin was made for advanced players who are searching for the perfect balance between price and quality. The violin’s rich tone is particularly impressive for this price. If you are on the market for one of the best intermediate violins for a fair price, then the Johannes Kohr K500 violin is for you.

The D Z Strad Model 220 is a 100% hand carved and 100% hand varnish violin with a solid wood body. The quality violin craftsmanship ensures that this is one of the best violin brands for professionals.

D Z Strad is one of the best violin brands on the market among professional players so you can be assured that when you purchase this particular instrument, you are purchasing a reliable and long lasting violin. The tone produced by the D Z Strad Model 220 is clear and bright, making it perfect for advanced players who plan to perform solo.

The D Z Strad Model 220 violin is the best violin for professional players who perform solo regularly. The large and loud sound production and the bright tone make it great it a great choice for projecting your playing sound throughout and the entire venue. If you are in the market for a new high quality violin and have a lot of solo performances in your diary, then you should check out the D Z Strad 220.

The D Z Strad 220 model is one of the best violin brands for advanced student players. It is also worth noting that it is popular among beginners violin choices.

The hand rubbed varnished spirit finish on the D Z Strad is not only beautiful, but it greatly enhances the complexity of the sound of this violin. Because of this, although the 220 is a cheaper model compared to many professional violins on the market, the sound is still of good quality.

The overall majority of maple wood used to construct the body of this model gives the violin a different sound to most and would be perfect for anyone looking for a warm and less powerful sound.

Perhaps you are already quite a loud player and you need a violin to match this, then the D Z Strad model 220 would be great for you. If you are searching for violins for beginners then the D Z Strad would be a great choice in greatly assisting with technical and musical development. The ease of use of the fingerboard will help beginner players to move into the more intermediate and advanced realms of violin playing.

This violin was made for ensemble or orchestral players in mind and is one of the best violin brands for advanced students. As the sound is definitely not as powerful as some of the other professional violins on the market, it would not suit a solo performer who would need an instrument to project a lot more in a large venue.

However, the warm sound of the 220 model would be perfect for blending into a large orchestra or small string quartet.

The Yamaha SV-200 Silent violin is one of the best violins for advanced players who are on the market for an electric violin.

As the body of the Yamaha SV-200 is made from spruce wood and maple wood with ebony fittings, you will receive all the sound benefits and durability of an acoustic violin, with the added benefit of being able to plug in this violin.

In fact, this violin is one of the most natural-sounding electric violins out there which makes it perfect if you are also hoping to use this in an orchestral setting.

The sound quality is certainly not jeopardized when it is used as an electric instrument, so it is a wonderful choice for playing on stage as a solo artist, or as an acoustic orchestral player.

The Yamaha SV-200 is the best choice for professional players who are searching for an electric violin. As it is from one of the most well known brands for electric violins, this Yamaha will be highly durable and long lasting. You will not have to worry about re-investing in this violin for a long time after your initial purchase!

The Cremona SV-1500 is a hand rubbed, solid wood violin that would be a great investment for any professional violinist. The overall sound of the Cremona is brighter than most and offers amazing clarity. This is what makes it perfect for a solo player as the sound sounds out against a backdrop of other instruments.

With the spruce and maple wood used, you can be assured that this Cremona is a high quality instrument that is built to last. If you are on the market for a violin that you will not need to replace any time soon, then the Cremona SV-1500 could be the one for you.

Although not the most expensive violin on the list here, the Cremona SV-1500 is a long way off from being a budget instrument. If you are serious about further developing your career as a violinist and you need an instrument to reflect this, then you should consider the Cremona SV-1500 model.

Cremona is one of the most popular violin brands due to its reliability and durability. This makes it a great companion for a traveling musician who needs a violin that can stand the wear and tear of touring and performing regularly.

This could also be considered a high end intermediate violin, so even if you are a student and are studying violin with the aim to make a career out of it, then this would be a fantastic violin.

Although D’Luca is not the most well known violin brand on the market, they are reliable intermediate violin makers that many are not disappointed with.

Being one of the most budget options on the list, the D’Luca PROJBV44 is a good quality violin for an extremely affordable price. If the budget is one of your main concerns when searching for a new violin, then you should definitely check out the D’Luca model.

This violin comes as part of an entire package including rosin, extra strings, and a tuner. This makes it one of the easiest choices. You will not have the hassle or extra cost of purchasing these accessories separately.

The D’Luca is equipped with solid wood, including spruce and maple, and an ebony fingerboard. All of these common woods combined will ensure that even though this is a budget instrument, you are still getting high quality woods.

As this violin is on the cheaper end of the scale, there is no doubt that the sound production varies when compared to other more expensive violins. However, this is a downside that many are willing to take for the fantastic low price of the instrument.

The D’Luca instrument is definitely a choice for anyone searching for an intermediate violin at a budget price. If budget is your main concern when researching new violins, then definitely check out the D’Luca model.

This instrument will give you amazing features similar to that of a more expensive violin, but for a fantastic price.

The D Z Strad violin is made from a one piece spruce and maple wood body. Not only does this look flawless and beautiful, but it greatly enhances the power of the sound also.

If you are on the market for a powerful sounding violin that can project sound well, then this could be a great choice for you.This violin comes with Dominant prelude strings that work perfectly alongside the natural sound character of the instrument. This combination will make playing on this violin highly comfortable and enjoyable.

The maple wood in this violin has been air-dried and aged, which further enhances the deep and warm sound. This sound would be perfect for orchestral players or anyone searching for a violin with a sound full of complex depth.

As this particular model is very lightweight it is common among beginners violins also. Having a lightweight instrument will make playing for hours on end a lot more comfortable and will save you some aches and pains down the road.

These violins are perfect for anyone on the market for a mid range model professional model. It would best suit anyone who is just beginning their career as a professional violinist and is searching for a budget violin. This particular model is being sold at a fantastic price, and you can be assured that you will still be purchasing a high quality violin to aid you in your profession.

Buying Guide

Materials for the body

When you are searching for intermediate violins or professional violins, the most important things to consider are the build materials and build quality. When you are investing a lot more money into a professional violin, you will want to make sure that the instrument has the highest quality of woods and materials included.

This will ensure that the sound production of the instrument is of the highest quality also. The most common woods used in violins are Spruce wood and Maple wood. These woods have been proven to enhance the sound of the violin and produce the most beautiful tones.

Sound Production

Another vital factor you should consider when deciding on a new professional quality instrument is the overall sound production. When you are purchasing violins for beginners, the sound quality will not differ too much between models. This is because they are usually budget models.

However, once you start your search within professional violin brands, you will notice the sound between each model will be different. Purchasing a professional violin is a big investment and you will want to make sure that the sound that the instrument makes will be the perfect sound for you and your playing style.

No two violins are the same and each model will have its own sound output. For this reason, you should take your time in playing and trying out each violin you are interested in to make sure that you make the right decision.

Instrument Age

Among professional and more expensive violins, the age of the instruments will matter tremendously. When you are searching for a violin for beginner players the age will not matter so much, and generally, these types of models will be modern and brand new as they are usually budget choices.

However, when you are investing in professional violins, they will usually be much older. Generally, the rule is, the older the violin, the better. This is because when the wood in the violin ages, the sound is enhanced and you will receive more and more depth complexity in the sound as the years go on.

When you are trying to decide which professional violin is best for you, you should consider its age. A violin’s age will also affect the price of the instrument.

Strings

Choosing the most appropriate strings for your new professional violin will be vital in ensuring you are getting the best sound out of the instrument.

We recommend ensuring that you try out a few violin string brands on your new violin to find which one is the best fit for the violin. Each violin will have its own unique sound, and thus, your strings should reflect this unique sound.

There is no use in purchasing a very expensive violin if you were then to use cheap strings. This would greatly diminish the sound quality. You must also invest in your strings if you are to invest in an expensive, professional violin.