Holstein Bench Cannone 1743 Violin

Punches above its weight!

I can’t say enough about the Fiddlershop staff. I hope they don’t need counseling after dealing with me and my fickle ways. I think they organized 3 videos and an in-home trail, and ultimately had to pick out this violin for me. And you know, it is stunning! The sound quality is incredible to me, and the projection makes me feel like a real violinist for the first time, even though I have owned a violin for close to 50 years. I’m so much more interested in practicing and learning new techniques compared to how it was with my old violin. Thank you, everyone at Fiddlershop, but especially Roger, who was so patient with me and all my questions.

Perfection! ;)

I’ve had this violin for several months now, and it is worth more than I paid for it. I will never need a violin upgrade. I own several string instruments from a $700 violin to a $1,800 cello, and the resonance with this instrument is beyond anything I expected. Even my father who has no musical training quickly noted the superior resonance and overtones. It took about an hour for it to “open up” when I played it initially, so if you’re testing this one out, play it for a while before deciding. Also, the tuning pegs move like butter, so don’t fear the loss of fine-tuning pegs if you are upgrading to this model. Ask questions and let Fiddlershop know what tonal quality you are looking for—I play primarily Romantic period music and love the darkness of a viola. I had considered the Ming Jiang Zhu initially, but Claire suggested this one, and she was spot on. Clare and Michael were so patient in helping me decide and even updated their video for me to expand my range of options. I will definitely return for my future string instrument upgrades.

There's no words!!!

I have to admit that I was apprehensive about purchasing a violin online. Let's face it, the risks are pretty great. For almost a year, I have been deliberating violins from the various purveyors of advanced violins to replace the Otto Ernst Fisher Bianca violin I have been playing for two years. I read and reread the reviews posted by customers who have purchased from each. After listening to the various videos of Michael comparing the Workshop and Bench versions of the various Holstein violins at Fiddlershop, I was torn between the Bench Kreisler and Bench Cannone. I am certain the Workshop level of each are superb, but the Bench series of these violins "spoke to my soul." With my family being from the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia, and many of them musicians, I love playing songs like "Ashokan Farewell" and "Shenandoah." But, I also love Celtic, Scottish, and Irish tunes, especially songs like "The Parting Glass" and "Be Thou My Vision," which, in my humble opinion, requires, superb resonance, projection, and clarity. In August, I finally couldn't wait any longer. I emailed with Michael and called Clare to the point, I'm sure, of beeing a total nuisance. In the end, I ordered the Bench Cannone with Thomastik Peter Infeld strings and a two-star Holstein Pernambuco bow. One of the accessories I considered were fine tuners, but both Clare and Michael advised the would dampen the tonal quality of these premium strings. I asked Michael to play "Ashokan Farewell" on a couple of Bench Cannone's. If you haven't seen his video for me, you really should watch it. One of the Cannone's he played had fitted geard tuners and the other did not. Unfortunately, the two violins were fitted with two different string sets, so I couldn't make an objective comparison of the tonal quality with and without the geared pegs. In the end, I opted for the geared pegs, and I am glad I did. It makes tuning when playing with others so much easier. I've had the violin for about a week now, and there's on;y one problem -- I can't put it down! The resonance across the board is amazing, The projection and clarity on all strings is awesome. But, the spine-chilling sound on the upper register of the E-string is phenomenal! This is a violin you will never regret purchasing!