Submitted by EricBluegrassFiddle (see all reviews from this person) on 10/20/2014

Where Purchased: Gliga USA

Year Purchased: 2014
Price Paid: US 350 historic exchange rates / currency converter

Sound

This Fiddle is a huge upgrade from the VSO I have been playing. It has a very pleasing tone, not overly bright or overly mellow, the G string is a bit weak though, but not to bad. I flattened the bridge for ease of Playing double stops for Bluegrass and Old Time music.

UPDATE - After about 3 weeks it's already beginning to open up some as I play it daily. The "A" and "E" strings have opened up considerably and the "G" and "D" strings are on their way and breaking in as well. I will update this periodically.

Sound Rating: 8

Setup

The pegs were really tight so I added some Hill Peg Compound and not suprisingly. It's traveled from Romania to California to Florida and now to Argentina LOL. Also, I flattened the bridge radius to make it easier to play. It was easy to set up, much easier than my old fiddle, actually, this fiddle required virtually "no" set up to be honest. The nut was filed nice and low and the string spacing was perfect, I really like the neck and Ebony fingerboard, sliding seems easier, especially when playing double-stops or closed positions.

Setup Rating: 8

Appearance

It is VERY easy on the eyes. Has a thin, but very nice chocolate to dark brown oil finish on it, not thick or gloopy at all, actually rather thin and nicely antiqued. It has beautiful flame on the ribs and back and the top has interesting grain also. I'm quite suprised at the quality of wood selection that goes into such a cheap instrument. Its European Maple and Spruce from the Carpathian mountains of Romania/Czech Rep....seems to be very nice quality. The fingerboard is Ebony, as are the pegs, tailpiece and chinrest also. The bridge is standard soft Maple and was fitted nicely to the top. Soundpost seems well placed also. The scroll has a few "rough spots" on it where it needed to be sanded just a tad more, but no biggie...all in all, it's beautiful!

Appearance Rating: 9

Reliability

The finish does seem thin but I see that as a good thing, the Fiddle is soo light it would seem as if it's made of Balsa wood! It resonates very well when you play it and it's just soooo much more comfortable to play than my old Fiddle. For Fiddle music I think its an ideal Violin and great value. Some folks may want to change the tailpiece or chin rest eventually....maybe I'll do the same but for now it's adequate. I am very pleased.

Reliability Rating: 9

Customer Service

Gliga Violins USA was very easy to work with and allowed me to pay for my fiddle in installments. Chris Gliga has always emailed me pretty promptly and been very professional and courteous.

Customer Service: 8

Components

The overall workmanship and quality of materials, wood in this Fiddle is an excellent value for the money, as it's a fairly inexpensive fiddle. However, this is truly a "Violin" it is NOT a VSO like some other cheap violins. Some cosmetic stuff could be changed, bridge, tailpiece, chin-rest what have you, but if you are looking for a quality Fiddle and get the best value of workmanship, wood, sound and ease of playing.....you cant go wrong with one of these Gliga Genial-1 models and I think they'd work well for a begginner and even possibly as a back-up or travel, jam instrument for a professional fiddler in my opinion..

Components Rating: 9

Overall Comments

I've had it now for 3 weeks and the more I play it the more I like it. Everyone that sees this fiddle can't believe I've only paid $350 bucks for it. And, I'd say I have to agree. Some of these Gliga's may need more set-up than others. The bridge that comes with it was fitted well but it's not a good quality bridge. So if one can set-up these fiddles themselves or even take it to someone that knows how to do a fiddle set-up, I believe even more could be achieved with it.

My Fiddle is still very new, so time will tell as it get's played in and opens up. However, my gut tells me that this would be an adequate fiddle for a small Bluegrass ensemble ( say Banjo, Mandolin, Guitar, Bass and Dobro ) or a small Old-Time jam. I think in these situations the Fiddle would hold it's own and cut very well. For a larger jam, I don't know? Some of these Bluegrass and Old-Time jamz get to the point where there's just too many playing at once (IMHO) and I don't think we should judge a fiddle on those merits necessarily. However it has a nice even tone, not too bright, not too mellow in my opinion. The "A" and "E" strings so far are particularly strong, with the "G" string falling off a bit, but maybe that's just because it could use a slight tweak with the soundpost, or just needs to be played in more. I will update this in time.  

UPDATE: After 4 months I can tell you my Gliga ceases to amaze me. I really cant imagine a better purchase of a fiddle for the money I paid. Its braking in nicely and is much fuller and louder sounding now. The G and D strings now are much stronger and are developing a nice growl to them. The E string is clear, not harsh or shrill and is especially sweet sounding in the 3rd position up the neck where it really sings. I am continuing to be very pleased with this Fiddle and cant imagine parting with it.

Overall Rating: 8