Beginner
Double Bass
Brand Hub
Stentor
Brand history
Stentor was formed in the UK in 1895, initially importing and reselling orchestral instruments before beginning its own production to the standards it required of the instruments it resold. Sourced: www.normans.co.uk
Stentor states it is the largest-selling violin manufacturer, handcrafting instruments in its own factory across a full range of fractional sizes (4/4 down to 1/16). Sourced: normans.freshdesk.com
Instrument categories
Notable series
Student I — the entry-level-through-middle-grades range referenced in this pilot, popular with schools and music services.
The Student I range already documented on this site for Violin is genuinely also produced in viola sizes (e.g. model 1038), hand-carved from solid tonewoods with the same fitted-bridge, set-up-before-dispatch process as the violin line.
The Student I range already documented on this site for Violin and Viola is genuinely also produced in cello sizes (e.g. model 1102), hand-carved from solid tonewoods with the same fitted-bridge, set-up-before-dispatch process as Stentor's other Student I instruments.
The Student I range already documented on this site for Violin, Viola, and Cello is genuinely also produced as a double bass (model 1950), with a solid carved spruce front and laminated maple back and sides.
Compared with meaningful competitors
| Brand | Comparison point | Sourcing |
|---|---|---|
| Yamaha | Stentor traces to 1895 as a dedicated orchestral-string importer-turned-manufacturer and states it is the largest-selling violin manufacturer, positioning it as a string specialist. Yamaha, by contrast, is a multi-category instrument manufacturer whose violin line (V Series) is one part of a much broader wind, brass, string, keyboard, and percussion catalog. | Source |
| Eastman Strings | Stentor's Student I range targets entry-through-middle grades with a laminated-tier construction typical of that price point; Eastman Strings, founded in 1992 and building its own Beijing violin workshop by 1994, builds its Samuel Eastman series (e.g. VL100) around aged solid tonewoods and genuine ebony fittings — a real construction-tier difference above Stentor's entry range, per each brand's own materials. | Source |
Current product guides
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