“Outfit” is another word for “set,” as in how the three primary components (violin, bow, and case) are sold in a package. Sometimes it’s a better buy.

The beginning violin student and even someone with a few years of study might choose to purchase what is called a “violin outfit”. This is in contrast to separately purchasing the violin, bow, and the case.

Why would a student (and the funding source, typically parents) go one route over the other? It is basically a matter of having strong preferences for characteristics of each component, versus not knowing why they would prefer one bow, one violin, or one case over another. Some of that has to do with simply how much tolerance … Read the rest