A young teen from Trinidad played a Fiddlestix violin as part of a Rotary Club project

The handsome young man pictured above participated in a Fiddleheads-sponsored Rotary program in Trinidad that gave teens an opportunity to learn to play violin

Fiddlestix: A Short-Term, 5-Year Economic Recovery Program for Violinists

Ebay, Amazon, Wal-Mart and pretty much any other general music store or flash in the pan violin outlet brings in cheap, firewood fiddles by the shipping container and sells them like hot cakes. It's brain-dead easy it is to sling cheap violins. Heck, I think even moderately woke zombies could sell 'em.

I know because, as Fiddleheads' Owner, I've sold super cheap violins too. But to be clear, I was selling the best possible, most beautiful and highest-rated cheap violins on the market.

From late 2009 to early 2015 I carried the popular "Fiddlestix" violin outfits for $119 USD (at par in CAD). I did this only in response to desperate parents and new players demanding the most affordable beginner violins following the catastrophic 2008 global market crash that left many in financial ruin.

Mind you, I didn't rush into the decision to sell low-end violins lightly. Frankly, business was strong as ever for my shop during the recession and I certainly didn't need a low-cost violin to generate more sales. But the demand was strong with daily emails requesting a violin outfit under $200. I think everyone should have an opportunity to afford a violin and the pleas from people in financial hardship resonated with my own childhood memories growing up in poverty.

I made the pained and delayed decision to carry a suitable product until demand decreased and people could again afford better quality instruments I am proud to sell. I had already spent years researching the best possible options rom a variety of makers and added to that a full year beyond the initial market crash in September 2008 to plan the Fiddlestix line and test out violins from a wide variety of makers across Asia.

Fiddleheads sold thousands of Fiddlestix outfits in 6 sizes to parents and school programs on a tight budget and pretty much wiped the floor with the competition. All the while I encouraged people to upgrade to my better VN-100 student violins if they had the means and explained these violins ideally were only to be used for the first 6 months of playing.

To keep quality under control, I ordered a small lot of only 300 violins at a time, 10 to a box usually shipped by air, and didn't bring in thousands at a time in overseas shipping containers. With each new generation of upcoming commissioned Fiddlestix violins I made numerous improvements: upgraded the woods, varnish and setup from the factory. I learned from my mistakes, listened closely to customer feedback and promptly dropped makers if quality started slipping at all.

discontinued violin outfits in red and brown finishes

My Fiddlestix violins were, by far, the most beautiful and popular budget violins on the market

The primary cost and quality issue, in my mind, was setup

Still, all my efforts weren't enough to keep my personal high standards met. Adding my precision setup and quality strings to these violins would have more than doubled my already low, low price, which would defeat the purpose of selling a cheap violin. It would have also been, to be blunt, throwing good money after bad.

It's not worth putting 6 hours of luthier time and all upgraded fittings and strings into an instrument that would never sing like my other violins could, so the Fiddlestix violins were sold with the factory setup (from the makers).

It was frustrating not being capable of providing a violin setup to my high standards at that price point. I didn't want to send junky, toy-like violins out into the world, however I felt a better knowing they were still far nicer than pretty much anything else available around $100. The reviews were positive, enthusiastic and thousands of customers were grateful and had a start in music they otherwise would not have afforded.

I felt gratified knowing it was a good solution and a need was met in the short-term, as intended.

The violins served a noble purpose and got a new generation of players a start in music

Thankfully when Fiddlestix inquiries began to decrease and more players and school programs were opting for my VN-100 violins, I was again free to follow my gut and discontinue the product line. It was a day of reflection when the very last Fiddlestix outfit went out to a fledgling First Nations school fiddling program in Northern Ontario, the end of an era for my shop.

I knew I made the right decision when the coordinator for that same program received financial approval to upgrade their very next order to my VN-100 violins.

Though eliminating this budget-priced option disappointed some customers, most were highly supportive and I gladly returned to my long-term and original pursuit of only selling violins I feel proud to see played by my own students and players around the world. It was a happy decision to see my first student violins since 2003, my exclusive Sun series, as my primary student violin option again and many school programs upgraded their rental pools in short order.

Who knows, I may revisit the Fiddlestix project again, but only if I can improve the setup, playability and tone of the instruments without making the price prohibitive.

In the meantime, my custom-commissioned VN-100 violins are selling better than ever and the praise is consistently enthusiastic. They really are worth the investment.

Rhiannon Nachbaur signature

Rhiannon Nachbaur, Fiddleheads' Owner