Best Violin Stand Options Guide

Latest posts by Calum Vaughan (see all)

Buying a violin for the first time can be a stressful process, mainly due to the sheer amount of variables that stand in your way. Should you go for an electric or an acoustic violin? Which brand is best, and are their violins within your price range?

These are just some of the questions that I was asking myself when buying my first violin, but little did I know that there was more to come.

Once I bought my first violin as a young teenager, I was faced with a whole new set of problems – accessories, I wasn’t prepared with the necessary accessories. One of the main missing accessories here was a violin stand, I had nowhere to put my violin when I wasn’t using it, so back to the shops I went!

It may seem like a small problem in the grand scheme of things, but you must plan ahead and grab yourself a decent violin stand. There are tons of options on the market and this can get overwhelming, but don’t worry, because I’m here to lend a helping hand. Read on to learn my take on the matter!

Bottom Line Up Front: A high-quality violin stand should be stable with no signs of wobbling – this is the most important element and will generally be present regardless of other features.

However, beginners may favor portable and lightweight stands to facilitate easy transport to auditions and practices, whilst seasoned violinists may favor stands with a fancy aesthetic to provide the ultimate pedestal for their vintage violin.

Why You Will Need a Violin Stand

You might have read the title of this guide and be thinking, “why on earth would I need to spend money on a violin stand?” Many beginners feel like this is an unnecessary purchase, an upsell that violin companies push on you to make some extra cash.

However, this is simply not the case – having a decent violin stand is one of the most important accessories a violinist can have!

As you have probably learned from your research, violins are expensive. It costs a lot of money to buy a high-quality violin, so it’s important that once you own one, you keep it in tip-top shape. This is fairly easy to do with the right precautions, but if you leave your violin lying around your house, it’s going to be a lot more difficult.

Perhaps the best way to protect your violin from damage and dust is to keep it inside a soft sleeve, in a hard case, locked away in a cupboard. How depressing is that?! You spend all that money on a beautiful violin, and you don’t even get to have it on display.

I think that it is important to find a middle ground – as long as you own a decent quality violin stand, you will be able to put your violin on display in your practice room and keep it in mint condition.

It’s undeniable that if you are displaying your violin on a stand 24/7, it is going to pick up dust over time. Don’t worry though, because there are two things you can do to prevent this. Firstly, you can use it as an excellent excuse to practice the instrument a couple of times a day.

By doing this, you’ll greatly reduce the amount of dust that gathers on the instrument simply by using it regularly. The other thing that you can do is simply give your violin (and the stand) a dusting once a week.

This will prevent any build-up, and you can reap the rewards of displaying your violin on a stand without worrying about the instrument’s longevity. Perfect!

Qualities that Contribute Toward a High-Quality Violin Stand

15550 Violin Ukulele display stand

If you do a quick search online for “violin stands”, you will quickly realize that there are hundreds, if not thousands of options out there. It can be a lot to get your head around, and back when I was buying my first violin stand, I remember it being tempting to just go for the cheapest and simplest option.

Stop! You’re going to regret doing that, it’ll pay off if you take an hour out of your day to do some proper research into the best violin stands. You can use the following criteria to help you do so – I’m sure it’ll save you just as much hassle as it did for me!

Stability

First things first, let’s get the most obvious criteria out of the way – the whole point in having a violin stand is for it to hold your violin upright without any compromises. Imagine spending over a thousand dollars on a violin, only to cheap out and spend ten bucks on an unstable violin stand that is going to fall apart whilst ‘holding’ your precious instrument.

What an absolute disaster that would be – you may have thought you were making a financially smart move by saving cash on the stand, but that’s not even slightly worth it if it runs the risk of damaging your violin.

You should always ensure that any violin stand you buy has an excellent track record for stability – you can check information like this in the reviews, and it’s going to pay off, trust me. In terms of the basics, the stand should have a stable ‘seat’ for the base of your violin to perch on.

That’s not it though – the stand should then have a spine for the violin to rest against, in addition to a clamp in the middle that the neck and fingerboard of your violin can fit through.

As long as you have checked the reviews or tested the stand-out in-store, it should be pretty simple to spot when a violin stand is going to be stable or not. An unstable stand will not feel trustworthy, will wobble when you touch it, and will not include basic elements of the framework.

It might sound like I’m overreacting, but trust me – when you have the peace of mind that your violin can stand safely in your practice room whilst still being on display, you’ll be thanking me!

Bow Stand

Most violinists will know that having a violin stand is a bright idea, even if they don’t currently own one – it’s just common sense to protect something expensive and fragile. However, many people ignore the fact that their violin bows also need taking care of, and this can sadly lead to this important accessory getting neglected.

I couldn’t begin to count how many violin students I have encountered who have spotless violins, but with bows that look like they’ve been dragged through a field on the way to the class!

Whenever I ask what happened, the answer is obvious – they have just been putting the bow anywhere they can fit it in their bedroom, disregarding the importance of storing it correctly.

Luckily, many different violin stands come with a bow stand attachment, meaning you can not only protect the most important accessory to your violin, but you can show the outfit off to all your visitors in a uniform fashion.

This additional feature will add a bit of cash to the price tag, but it’s going to be worth it – you’ll only need to buy one once after all!

Aesthetic

violin stand

Ensuring that your violin stand is stable and will never fail to keep your violin and its bow safe is the main priority – that’s for sure. However, as I have already mentioned, there’s another key benefit to owning a violin stand, which is having the ability to show the outfit in all its glory.

Whether you want to display it in your living room for visitors to see, proudly showcase it in the practice room of your usual concert hall, or simply have it on show for yourself to admire in your bedroom, it’s great to have your violin and its bow on display.

I find that it helps give me an additional appreciation for the instrument, and sometimes just looking at it will inspire me to get some practice in!

However, this can quickly be ruined if you have picked up a cheap and tacky-looking violin stand for a few bucks. I’ve seen some awful-looking stands in my time, and I always think that it’s such a shame. Sure, it might still be stable and serve well functionally, but it’s just sad to see a gorgeous violin being held up by some cheap plastic.

Take a quick Google and you will quickly see that there are all sorts of different violin stands out there. Some of them look minimalistic and sleek, whilst others look chaotic and like some sort of microphone stand – no one needs that!

There are thousands of options out there, so take your time and find something that you know is going to look great when paired with your violin.

Portability

Next up is portability! Now, this is a criterion that is often forgotten about – after, surely the point of a violin stand is to…well, stand? You’re surely not going to have to move it around!

Well, that may be true depending on your situation, particularly if you have multiple violins. However, if you are anything like I was as a young violinist, I only had one violin, and I was taking it all over the country with me!

Sure, a lot of the time my violin was sitting in my home practice room on a violin stand, but three times a week I was having to take it to my violin teacher’s practice room.

I was also performing in school concerts once a week which required me to be sat in a concert half for hours at a time not necessarily even playing the instrument, and other times I was auditioning at other locations, requiring the same thing – me sitting around an awful lot!

My point is, that you would be surprised at how important portability is when it comes to your violin stand. You will likely have to carry it around with you to different locations, ensuring that you have somewhere safe to put your violin whilst you are waiting for auditions, concerts, or whatever else you may be getting up to.

The best way to ensure this is to buy a violin stand that is foldable and lightweight – that way you can even pack it into a rucksack, or at least carry it separately.

The worst thing you could do is buy a heavy, clunky stand that causes more frustration than convenience. You’re not going to want to take that anywhere, and this could prevent you from traveling with your violin, or worse, result in you traveling with it unsafely!

Cost Vs Quality

 Eastar EST-006 Violin Stand Viola Stand with Bows Hook Holder Portable Adjustable

The last thing that you should always consider when purchasing a violin stand is none other than the classic ratio of cost vs. quality. It’s undeniable that money buys you nice things in life – cars perform better, violins sound better, and violin stands are more stable and cool looking when you put some decent money into them.

However, money doesn’t grow on trees, and if you are anything like I was as a beginner violinist, I was pretty broke because I’d spend all my money on my violin!

If you’ve got the cash to splash, I would recommend that you spend up to $100 on a high-quality violin stand. This is going to look like the bee’s knees, it will cradle your violin gently, and it will likely come with a warranty in case anything goes wrong in the future.

However, if you’re on a budget, don’t worry – you’ll still have plenty of options. As long as you are spending more than $15, it’s quite hard to find a low-quality violin stand, most companies that produce them are making an effort to deliver a high-quality product.

I mentioned the aesthetic benefits of a cool violin stand earlier, and that is what is going to cost you the real money. However, stability is so much more important – you should never cheap out on this. $15 to $25 will easily find you a violin stand that will be of high enough quality to protect your instrument.

If you save up some extra cash though, don’t hesitate to spend it on a pricier violin stand, because you’re only going to need to buy one once!

My Top Violin Stand Recommendations

We’ve now covered just about everything you could ever need to know about buying a high-quality violin stand. Now it’s time for you to do your research and find some decent products, but if you get stuck, check out some of my recommendations – I’m a big fan of all these violin stands!

K & M Violin / Ukulele Stand

K & M Violin / Ukulele Stand

The first violin stand on my recommendation list doubles up as a ukelele stand purely because of its size, and I think you will agree that the aesthetic is minimalistic and sleek. The curved structure ensures excellent stability, and the rubber lining of each side prevents any form of damage from being made to the violin that it is holding.

If you own multiple violins and simply want a decorative stand for your favorite violin, this will do the job nicely. However, the violin sadly does not fold up, meaning once it is constructed, you will have to transport it as it is. This might not be ideal for someone looking for portability in their stand.

Pros

  • Beautiful curved design
  • Easy to assemble
  • Rubber lining prevents any damage to your violin
  • Great value for money

Cons

  • Does not come with a bow stand
  • Requires manual assembly
  • Does not fold up

Paititi Violin Stand Solid Mahogany Wood Stand

Paititi Violin Stand Solid Mahogany Wood Stand

This next violin stand is something that I feel is very special – it’s the Paititi Violin Stand made out of Solid Mahogany Wood! Not only is the wood and box-like design for this product highly unique and quite luxurious, it even comes with a delightful velvet plush cushion to keep the bottom of your violin protected when being contained in the stand.

It also comes with a slot to store your violin bow, and it overall looks beautiful. In my opinion, this is a fantastic stand for a vintage violin – the organic and luxurious wooden and velvet combination would compliment it beautifully.

I do feel like the product doesn’t seem to be as stable as other alternatives, but checking the reviews, I think it’s more stable than it looks.

Pros

  • Gorgeous mahogany wood boxed design
  • Velvet plush cushion protects the bottom of the violin
  • Comes paired with a bow stand
  • Ships worldwide

Cons

  • Expensive in comparison to other options
  • Whilst the reviews are very positive, the stability feels slightly off

Eastar EST-006 Violin Stand with Retractable Bow Holder

Eastar EST-006 Violin Stand with Retractable Bow Holder

This final product is perhaps my favorite on this list simply because it ticks all of the boxes – it may not be the coolest looking violin stand, but the reviews show that it is very stable, it can be folded up, the value for money is excellent, and it even comes with a retractable bow holder!

It’s undeniable that it’s a basic and kind of boring-looking holder, but in my opinion, this is a good sacrifice to make if you’re looking for something functional. You can’t argue with the price either, it’s a solid violin stand!

Pros

  • Very cheap considering the functionality
  • Foldable and portable
  • Comes with a retractable bow holder
  • Excellent stability

Cons

  • Somewhat ugly and basic looking

FAQs

Well, that brings us to the end of my violin stand recommendations! I tried to pick something for everyone, so I’m sure that at least one of those stands will tickle your fancy.

We’ve covered an enormous amount of information throughout this guide to the best violin stands, so I think it’s going to be a good idea to round everything off through a nice and digestible FAQ. I hope that the answers help summarise everything for you!

Question: Why is it Important to Own a Violin Stand?

Answer: Violin stands are important as they provide a way for you to store your violin safely, whilst still allowing you to present it as a form of decoration – it’s the perfect balance between showing off your beautiful violin, whilst keeping it safe and secure!

Question: What Should You Look for in High-Quality Violin Stands?

Answer: The answer to this question depends slightly on whether you are looking for a cheap yet functional stand or something posher, but overall, a high-quality violin stand should always be stable, if nothing else!

Question: Do Violin Stands Need to be Portable?

Answer: If you only own one violin and you plan to travel with it regularly, it is a smart idea to buy a violin stand that is foldable and lightweight, but if you are looking for a stand to present your favorite vintage violin, a fixed wooden stand that compromises on portability may be more appropriate.

Question: Is it Worth Paying for a Violin Bow Stand?

Answer: Absolutely – you cannot play your violin without a violin bow, and it would be a disaster if it were to be damaged, so you should always seek out violin stands that have a feature for holding your violin bow.

Final Thoughts

Well, that’s just about everything I have to say about violin stands – you may not have thought they were particularly important when you began reading this article, but I can assure you that you are going to need one at one point or another.

I personally would recommend keeping things simple with a product such as the Eastar EST-006 due to its excellent functionality, value for money, and retractable bow stand.

However, that’s certainly an option more appropriate for beginners, and if you own a fancy violin, I don’t blame you if you want to spend more on a stunning Mahogany stand such as the Paititi!

Whichever option you go for, always ensure that your violin is stored stably – the last thing you want is for it to fall over for the sake of a cool-looking stand. I wish you the best of luck!

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