"I've had my new Kallo Bartok violin for about three weeks now and just couldn't resist the impulse to let you know how much I like it, even though it's very unusual for me to write letters of praise unless I'm VERY pleased. I should have known from the excellent service that Pat and Erik and Edmund gave me over the telephone that I was dealing with a company that truly cared about placing fine instruments into musicians' hands, but still, being the wary sort, I was only convinced to try it out because of the two week trial period.  The first thing I noticed when I took the violin out of the box was how "substantial" it felt, much different from the cheaper and lighter Chinese-made violin I'd been playing. It also looked beautifully antique -- not too much different from my teacher's violin, which was made in the 1800's. I put rosin on the Coda Conservatory bow (also an EXCELLENT product, with superb balance and a lovely feel) and began to play -- what a SWEET sound! I send my heartfelt thanks to Edmund, the violinist there at StringWorks who took note of what I wanted and how I planned to use the violin and chose the instrument out of the shipment of ten that had just arrived. The sound was exactly as I'd wanted, and I couldn't be happier. It was especially important to me that the sound be even across all strings, since I plan to use this as a soloist instrument in the future. Now that I've been playing it for three weeks, the sound has begun to open up even more, resonating better and better all the time. I can only imagine what it'll be like six months from now. Yum. When I took the instrument with me to a lesson yesterday, my teacher was truly impressed. He said it was definitely worth more than I'd paid, and that he was surprised at the quality and richness of sound, then said that this instrument would serve me well for a long time to come. He liked the CodaBow and he really liked the Deluxe case -- he wanted one, since it was so much nicer than what he had!  The best part of having the new equipment is how much better I'm enjoying practice. I can't seem to put that violin down for very long at all! I sound better than I could have believed possible. Having the better bow has made a HUGE difference as well, making me wish I'd invested in a good bow long before now. I think I would have advanced more quickly and enjoyed playing more. Thanks again for offering such a good product at a reasonable cost. I'm very pleased and plan to recommend your company to my friends." - L.R.

"(regarding Kallo Bartok violin) For me, this was the perfect violin. I was at a loss in seeking a new instrument at a violin shop without the guidance of an experienced teacher.  Your web site and staff were both very helpful in this search. The KB represents everything that I wanted in a violin. I will certainly enjoy playing this instrument for many years to come. Thanks again." - E.C. (for complete review of this violin, click HERE)

"First off....I am a beginning violinist but have played guitar for 40 years on a daily basis and professionally for most of that time. After deciding to finally focus on violin for the duration I recently purchased a Kallo Bartok from SW...For the price you cannot beat it. It compares to instruments that cost 3 or 4 times as much. My teacher has played violin for over 40 years and is a soloist and awesome player. Just this week I listened to her play the Bartok for over an hour and was blown away with the tone and overall sonic qualities. I believe she was quite impressed with it as well. The Bartoks hold their own with the instruments the pros use plus the service at StringWorks cannot be equaled..My two cents." - R.D

"Several weeks ago I decided to finally order a Bartok violin after drooling over them for a long time. When it arrived at my house, I was totally impressed by its appearance. It's an absolutely beautiful instrument! The varnish is almost a gold color, and the boxwood fittings blend with the instrument perfectly. When I first played it, I noticed how balanced the tone was across all 4 strings. It was very pleasant & the violin sounded better than my 75-year-old fiddle that I've been playing for the past 3 years. After playing on the Bartok for a couple of hours every day, I'm noticing that the tone is improving more & more. It's becoming more mellow, yet it's remaining open & resonant. When I was ordering the Bartok, I spoke to Edmund on the phone; he was very helpful & patient in explaining the characteristics of the Bartoks that were in stock & set up. In fact, everybody I've ever talked to at StringWorks has been extremely friendly & helpful to me! Thanks for selling great products, and thanks for your superior customer service!" - B.G.

"I have played the violin for about 19 years and a few years ago I had to sell my Jennifer Becker (violin maker, daughter of legendary violin maker Carl Becker) violin which had a beautiful tone to it.  It crushed me when I lost it.  I've been borrowing a family member's violin since off and on. This Christmas my mother bought a Kallo Bartok violin for me. I am so happy with it. The sound is comparable to the Jennifer Becker violin.  I love this Kallo Bartok violin - I would suggest it to anyone who is looking to start playing again or a more advanced student." - E.M.

"In case anyone is on the fence about trying out a Bartok violin, definitely take the plunge. On Friday at 4:00 we placed our order and received our package delivery at 8:30 am on Tuesday (great service!) The instrument we received was beautifully antiqued. There weren't really any "dings". Instead, the antiquing was really accomplished in the varnishing technique. Another family member has a cello from the mid 1800s and this violin is actually a miniature version of its appearance! As for the sound....incredible! It has a powerful sweet sound across the registers. The setup is excellent and made the violin instantly easy to play. After about three hours of playing...we were all having fun....the sound became more refined...again, a sweet soprano sound. We had tried out more than a few violins in some of the local shops and none even came close to the tasteful antiquing and the smoothness of sound we were seeking. Many of the ones in the local shops seemed to have a more edgy sound....so make sure you tell StringWorks what you are looking for in tonal qualities when you talk with them. Again, the Bartok played easily both softly and loudly (it was strung with Obligatos which seem like a good match). We could even play right up to the bridge without getting a scratchy or harsh tone...instead...we just achieved more power in the sound.  Sorry for such a long post, but you can't go wrong trying out an instrument from this place. After doing a lot of instrument testing in local shops, we were unable to find any instrument that could match the tone and tasteful antiquing of the Bartok unless we were looking at instruments 4-5x price range......With such great merchandise and helpful people like Erik and Pat and Todd, you can't go wrong!" - M.B.

"Hello everybody. I'm sure everyone is getting accustomed to it already, but I'd like to heap some more of my own praise onto the folks at StringWorks.  To start off, I sent out an email on Saturday with five (!) questions that required more than a yes/no answer. First thing Monday morning I had an email reply from Todd with each point thoughtfully responded to. One of my questions was regarding the wait period for a Bartok violin and he informed me that there were a few available now and that I could call to discuss them with him.  I called him up that morning and he described two of them to me. As it turned out, one of them was the violin whose top is pictured in the ultra-image. With that kind of detail, it sure made it easy for me to make the decision. I placed the order and crossed my fingers for a safe and quick delivery.  Well, two days later is today and I received it this morning. Luckily I was home sick <grin> so I was able to get hold of it straight from the mail person. After about an hour or so of letting the violin acclimate to the change in temperature (I do not know if this was necessary, but hey) I began playing and just now, 2 hours later, put it down in order to rest a bit and post this message.  Some of the things that I feel deserve additional mention are:  + Quality and care in packing: they do a thorough and great job in protecting the violin. I suspect it would take a lot of mishandling or a grave error like running over the box in order to damage the violin. Also, the violin came with a nice note, personalized (with Bartok # ... mine is #34!) packing list, and business cards.  + Instrument beauty: While the ultra-image came as close as possible to providing a feel for the instrument without seeing it in person, even it did not do full justice to the real thing. Wow.  + Sound: Well, this topic has been beaten to death in other messages. Let's just say it has a nice tone and leave it at that. :)  In closing (finally!), it feels great to know that there is a group of people out there like the folks at StringWorks committed to quality, both in attention to detail and commitment to the customer. Thanks to everyone at StringWorks!" - F.F.

"So far I love the Kallo Bartok (violin). I also really am so grateful that you recommended the Coda bow Conservatory. It is amazing. Because of the combination of the two, I sound better then I ever dreamed I could.  I no longer am compensating for my equipment.  My equipment is supporting me.  Do you know that the Kallo Bartok actually vibrates if I am holding it and speaking to anyone in the room?  It is amazing. It speaks easily and is stable into all the high ranges and in all the positions and also sounds great on the G string played all the way into the higher positions." - V.I.

"The Bartok arrived today. I coincidentally had my lesson today but hadn't planned on showing it to my teacher today. After playing it, however, I couldn't resist.  I had a couple of hours to play it before the lesson and was amazed by the sound. I have to say I have fallen in love with it. I have appointments with French luthiers this week to look at some old violins - which I'm still going to keep but I doubt that I will find something that I like better (even paying a lot more money). O.K. now comes the good part...my teacher, a French concert violinist also loved the violin; she said she could play a concert on it!  This is someone who is hard to impress and who doesn't hesitate to give her honest opinion (... of an instrument, my playing or anything else for that matter) and who generally looks down on new violins. She really liked it and played it quite a while, she said it was easy to play and responsive and the tone was beautiful." - L.C-H