The CodaBow Diamond Collection: Model GX

My late teacher, Mary West, told her students, “Let your Bow Be Your Voice.” Indeed, a great bow allows our bow strokes to be precise and gives us an incredible feeing of control over the sound we produce. However, a poorly performing bow feels clumsy in the hand and often will not allow us to fully express ourselves. A clumsy bow shakes and quivers as it is drawn, refuses to bounce, and often produces a fuzzy and unpleasing sound.

Though all of the new Diamond Series bows that I have tried are strong performers, this review covers only their flagship model, the GX.

Simply put, the GX is an amazing bow. Its performance is on the level of some of the finest wood pernambuco bows I have played in my lifetime, including bows by the fine french makers valued in the tens of thousands of dollars. These GX bows are consistent, well-balanced, and easy to control. They produce a strong, full sound, without shake or quiver, and are equally capable at long legato strokes and the most precise of spiccato bowings. I intended my GX to be my back-up bow, but these days I reach for it first.

Although I encourage my students to try a wide variety of bows before choosing one to buy, I am amazed at how often they end up selecting the GX.

Priced around $650 retail, the GX may seem expensive compared to some of the other carbon fiber bows on the market. But the GX is truly in a class of its own and rivals some of the best bows I have ever played. And it may well be the last bow you will ever need to purchase, with the added benefit of being very sturdy and, if not unbreakable, very nearly so.

Now if only coda could make us a carbon fiber violin that sounds like a Strad...

Rating: 5 Stars

Knilling’s Perfection Planetary Pegs for Violin

Tired of waging the everlasting student-versus-peg battle? The one where you push the peg into place and tune it, only to have it slip seconds later. And then you push it in and tune it again and it slips -- again! Or maybe you’ve pushed it in so hard that you can barely move it, and, after one last hard twist-and-push-in combo maneuver --BAM, pop goes the string.

Knilling’s Perfection Pegs are designed to give you full control over those wayward pegs. Once installed in your pegbox, these geared pegs look like an ordinarily ebony pegs. However, Perfection Pegs have gears that allow you to finely control their movement. Because the gears are actually inside the peg, they do not harm the instrument. They also rotate smoothly without slipping or sticking, and without any need to push the peg into the pegbox while tuning.

You may even be able to eliminate those fine tuners!

While they might not be the best option for an eighteenth-century Italian violin, Perfection Pegs are a great choice for most modern student instruments.



Rating: 5 Stars

Korg Chromatic Tuner. First, I feel it is important to note that, as practice aids for violin, most tuners do not respond accurately or quickly enough for students to feel comfortable using them. In fact, frustration with them seems to be the most common reaction when employed for checking pitch while practicing. However, as far as tuners on the lower end of the price range go, the Korg is, relatively speaking, a strong performer with a clear and readable interface (as compared with models by Intellii or Sabine, that are largely equivalent in other respects but more difficult to use). Of course, this Korg does not include a metronome, which is something of a disadvantage given that combining a tuner and metronome is often a very good value. Is an electronic tuner really that much of a step-up in usefulness compared to a pitch-fork? If the tuner is being used to work on passages incredibly slowly or to separately tune all four strings on the violin, then the answer is clearly yes. But for a beginner, (especially a young one) trying to learn how to play in tune the likely result is frustration.

Rating: 4 stars (deductions for absence of metronome and slow response typical of tuners in this price range.

K& M Music Deluxe Music Stands, made in Germany, are one piece wire music stands designed to be sturdier and with a wider tray, than the usual two piece wire stands. I have used this stand for the last two years and it is clearly the best wire music stand I have ever used. Although no wire stand is as strong, reliable, or easy to use as a stand with a solid back, these stands are as good as wire comes. They do tend to stay upright even in the occasional windy conditions of outdoor rehearsals and concerts, and the one piece construction makes them more both more convenient and more reliable than traditional wire stands. One complaint I do have is that this stand can be more difficult to unpack and assemble and to collapse than a traditional wire stand. The arms meant to prevent music from blowing away or refusing to lie flat can get in the way of folding and unfolding this stand. In addition, the three piece assembly can be difficult to use and the feet unusual enough due to the extra reinforcement to be confusing at least at first. Though perhaps more streamlined and sturdy than a traditional wire stand, I am note sure that its benefits outweigh the extra cost.

Rating: 3 stars (deductions for difficult assembly and collapse)

Peak portable Music Stand. A solid portable music stand that, when collapsed, is as low profile as possible is a wonderful asset for gigging (particularly outdoors) and those chamber music or orchestra rehearsals or concerts where a more flimsy wire stand is a liability. The Peak music stands, unlike most other strong and solid music stands, can collapse much like a wire stand due to several folds on the music tray end of the stand. At first blush, this stand seems ideal. But it does present some problems. First is the folding component itself. Call me uncoordinated, but several times this stand has pinched my fingers in the process of opening and closing it. In addition, the lower tray that supports the bottom end of the music needs to attach separately and tends to be a weak point of the stand that can easily break. Also, although relatively speaking low profile, this stand is significantly heavier and wider than a typical wire stand. That being said, there are few (if any) other solid non-wire music stands that collapse to this size. But due to its limitations, I have continued to use wire stands for most rehearsals taking place outside my home due to the limitations I have described and the weight and relative bulk of this music stand, at least compared to a wire stand. But at home, this stand is perhaps sturdier and less likely to tip than my Manhasset stand and therefore of value despite its other limitations.

Rating: 3 stars (deductions for tendency to pinch fingers, overall bulk, and a slightly flimsy bottom tray that supports the music.

Pirastro Passione Strings. These strings combine a gut core with a synthetic polymer warpped, as usual, in various metals. Pirastro claims these strings have been many years in the making, and that they are truly unique. From my experience with gut core strings, (such as pirastro oliv or gold label), they can seem quite unresponsive, feel odd and soft under the fingers, and “die” quickly (as might be expected from a string incorporating organic material). With the passione string, however Pirastro has sought to combine the warmth of gut with the stability of pitch and easy response of synthetic core strings. But do they succeed? My feeling is yes and no. When first installed, these strings are very responsive, aside from the G string, which feels a touch loose (i.e. unresponsive). For a few months, they do seem to add warmth and color that I have not seen in any other synthetic core string, while, for the most part, retaining playability consistent with other synthetic-core strings. One downside is that these strings are very expensive, and, considering their shorter life-span, many violinists might be turned off by this alone. Additionally, despite their relatively easy response, they still feel a bit soft under the fingers, which for some violinists feels good but for others is a very foreign sensation. Finally, another quality of the passione strings is that they are a lower tension string, and thus optimal for certain violins (especially highly arched violins) that can respond to higher tension strings with a choked and muted sound. There are a lot of strings on the market, and the major players (primarily D’Addario, Prastro, and Thomastik-Infeld) seem to come out with new additions every few years. I do believe that choice of strings does affect the sound, but, as “everything affects the sound,” sometimes there are other factors (such as an ill-fitting bridge or sound post) that are impacting the violin even more significantly, and fixing these rather than searching for the “perfect string” is of paramount importance.

Rating: 4 stars (deductions for shorter life-span and slightly loose G-string)

Scott Cao is an American Violin Maker. One of the divisions of his company specializes in student level violins of all sizes. Made in China, these are called “factory” violins but are hand-carved and hand-varnished by makers trained by students of Scott Cao. In the Twin Cities, House of Note in Saint Louis Park sells and rents Scott Cao violins in all sizes.

Given that every violin, whether made in a factory or hand-carved by the finest makers, sounds different, achieving a reliably good line of student instruments is a challenge indeed. It is simply unreasonable to expect that every instrument will sound the same, and, indeed they don’t. Each has its own voice.

Over the years, I have played dozens of Scott Cao factory instruments ranging from 1/8 to full size. It can be notoriously difficult to find small instruments that play easily and have a full, open sound. Although each is different (some are darker than others, some more bright or brilliant) the Scott Cao instruments are remarkably consistent strong performers and are ideal for students.

Scott Cao factory violins tend to be priced between $350 (for small, used ones) to around $900 (for new, full sized violins).

It is important to remember that brand new violins need time for the varnish to dry and settle and therefore will sound different (and usually better) as they age. Scratches in the finish do not usually affect the sound, and while they may not always look their best, older Scott Caod can be good buys because they are often discounted due to age or appearance (tell that to the owner of a $1,000,000 Strad!)

Rating: 5 Stars

First Frets. Now here is a brilliant little invention -- at least in theory! A decal that peels off a backing and is applied to the violin as one piece beginning at the nut as a finger marker for the first position. First Frets are made of clear, one-piece self-adhering vinyl that lays flat on the fingerboard with no tapes. Four differently-colored and mathematically accurate stripes indicate the correct placement of each of the four fingers in first position. No more tapes that slip, stick, and, peel off!

I have been using these First Frets for about a year for violins sized 1/10 through 4/4 and for viola. Unfortunately, I have discovered some problems with the First Frets that are very disappointing. The biggest problem is buzzing. When you stick a decal under the strings against the nut, this reduces the space between the fingerboard and the strings at a point where the distance between them is already almost miniscule, especially in instruments with strings set low for easy action.

The result: buzzing and overall muffling across all strings of the violin. The sound becomes scratchy and choked. This does not happen on all instruments, and seems to be worse on the smaller sizes. But I’ve seen it with full size instruments as well.

I have found something of a solution for this. Beneath the position marking the first finger, the decal material between the first yellow line and the nut is not necessary to the function of the first fret. It is there because lining the decal up with the nut allows the installer to know precisely where to place the decal to have the lines mark the correct pitches. Well, sort of, anyway. Because some instruments don’t quite fit the norm (depending on bridge position) and for these, the decal may well end up not in the right place.

My solution? Trim the decal so that it starts at the first finger (yellow line) and measure using your ear where the yellow line should be placed on the instrument. However, gone is the advantage of easy installation lining the decal up with the nut. But still, even the modified version is an improvement, in my opinion, over ordinary tapes.

But for all of you out their with violins that have had first frets installed: if your violin sounds funny or buzzes, it might be the decal.

Another slight difficulty is that sliding the First Fret decal under the strings without having it stick to the fingerboard in the wrong place somewhere along the way can be rather a challenge. In addition, the strings need to be loosened to some degree in order to apply the decal. Since a student or parent might loosen the strings so much that the bridge falls down, it is probably best for the teacher or violin shop to apply them.

Another version, called Don’t Fret, is a decal applied to almost the entire fingerboard of the violin into about 7th position, with grey stripes to mark the half-steps. I don’t usually use the Don’t Frets because I believe that they encourage bad positioning when the student may lean over and look down the fingerboard in order to “interpret” all the markings (about 15 or so) on the fingerboard rather than developing the ear. From my experience, as soon as a student is able to play in tune reasonably well, these decals should be removed.

Rating: 2 Stars (major deductions for difficult installation and modification required to eliminate buzzing)


First Frets are a reasonable replacement for tapes, if trimmed to avoid contact with the string near the nut.

Everest Shoulder Rest. I think I may possibly own or have tried almost every shoulder rest on the market. Blessed with a long neck, I need not only height but also a good, well-conforming shape for my shoulder rest. This shoulder rest has very thick padding, feels well-constructed, fits the violin well without falling off, and is actually a good buy compared to comparable rests such as the Kun or the Viva.

Several of my students prefer the Everest. Typically, these students have long necks and have not been satisfied by other rests that they have tried. Although the 4/4 model is excellent, I have noticed that the smaller sizes seem excessively high for most younger students.

That being said, this rest is built like a tank and costs about $15 (or about $25 for the collapsible version).

If you have had problems finding a comfortable shoulder rest, this is certainly a good option to consider.

Rating: 5 Stars

Jargar Violin E String


The E string on the violin is a double edged sword. It is the source of both our sweetest, but also our screechiest, moments. Although most E strings are made of steel, they are certainly not created equal. Thomastick-Infeld Dominant Strings are a workhorse set, but the E string is famous for being the weak link. What most of us look for in a great E string is a round, robust, strong but not shrill, sweet but not soft sound, that carries in a hall and sings in the practice room.

While the Pirastro Gold Label is also a solid choice, the Jargar E has a certain magical quality. Its sweet ring and depth of sound are a joy to hear under the ear.

Retailing around $5-6 dollars, this is not an expensive item but it is often back ordered, so be prepared to try several stores in order to locate one that has this string in stock.

Rating: 5 Stars