Snow violins represent some of the best sounding contemporary workshop violins available today. Founded by award winning master violin maker Xue Ping, Snow violins reflect Baroque Italian traditions following the models of Stradivari and Guarneri. The Snow violins we carry possess a warm, complex tone, as well as impeccable craftsmanship, and are the perfect instrument for advancing violin students. Each violin available at our shop has been selected for tone by a professional musician, and has been carefully set up in our workshop.
Are you looking for an affordable yet high-quality instrument? Yes, there is such an instrument: the Snow violin. Made in China by the Snow workshop, the Snow violin is carefully crafted to provide a strong and even tone. The careful finishes make for an attractive and professional-looking instrument. When you’re buying a Snow violin, you know that you are getting a high-quality instrument that will give you an excellent sound.
The Snow workshop first opened in China in 1989 and its namesake violin was made in the workshop by Xue Ping Hu (who is also known by his English name, William Hu). Since then, the workshop has had to expand from just six workers to 70 in order to accommodate the high demand of the international market.
Xue Ping is a well-known Chinese luthier with a reputation for creating great quality stringed instruments. He learned from the renowned master violin maker, Quan Zheng. In 1993, he opened his own workshop where he first developed his trademark technique of using a transparent golden-brown varnish. He also began experimenting with different materials to create unique sounds. In 2006, the Snow violin earned a Certificate of Merit for violin tone, awarded by the Violin Society of America during the International Violin Making Competition.
Snow violins have distinctive features indicating that they are made by the Snow workshop. Xue Ping started to develop his technique by using physics and being inspired by Italian style and quality. The wood used to create Snow violins is carefully sourced from Bosnia, Italy, and the Sichuan and Yun-nan provinces as well the northeast region of China, depending on the type of wood.
The wood sourced from Italy is spruce, which they use for the top of the instrument. For the back, they use maple which is from Sichuan and Yun-nan provinces. If it’s a higher level of instrument, they use the best wood for sound quality, which comes from Bosnia. It takes a minimum of 8 to 10 years for the wood to dry outdoors to ensure that the wood will be seasoned enough to become a Snow violin. Then they use the European method, which is to place the wood in a drying room so that they can make sure the wood will not warp or split.
Every worker at the Snow workshop is specially trained in order to maintain the quality craftsmanship of every instrument they produce. Each worker becomes an expert at creating one model and will only work on that specific model. They are also constantly expanding their knowledge and learning new techniques from luthiers who visit the Snow workshop from around the world.
The Snow violin is a well-made high-quality instrument at an affordable price, making it more accessible to violinists of all budgets. Even though it tends to be more affordable, it is an excellent violin that is carefully crafted by experts and in high demand.
Every violin at Dolce Fine Violins is chosen because of its great sound and quality. With the variety at Dolce Fine Violins, every violinist, whether just starting out or expert level, is guaranteed to find the best instrument for them, and the Snow violin makes for another great option.