D Z Strad Viola Model 600

About the D Z Strad Viola Model 600

The Model 600 is described by its maker only in broad terms: the body is built from what the product page calls "selected supreme-quality maple and spruce materials" without naming which part gets which wood, how it's cut, or how long it was seasoned - a noticeably thinner description than the brand gives its pricier Model 700, which specifies a hand-carved spruce top and hand-applied oil varnish. The Model 600's finish is simply "lightly antiqued," with no varnish type mentioned, and the fittings (pegs, tailpiece, chinrest, end button) aren't specified at all on the product page, unlike the related Model 400 listed alongside it, which names boxwood fittings explicitly. What is confirmed is the bridge - rock maple, fitted in-house - and the factory strings, D'Addario Helicore, the same mid-tier choice used across most of the brand's range. The viola is offered across an unusually wide run of seven body sizes, from 12" up to 16.5", all at the same $3,000 price, putting it a step below the Model 700 ($3,500) and well below the brand's Professional Model 1000 ($12,500) and higher. Retailer listings for the same model describe it as shipping with a case and a single bow, rather than the two-bow outfit D Z Strad bundles with its 700 and 900 series violas.

Where to buy

• Reverb D Z Strad Viola Model 600 2.422 EUR Best price View details

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Source: https://reverb.com/item/43866409-d-z-strad-viola-model-600

Sound character of the D Z Strad Viola Model 600

The maker describes the instrument's response as warm with a distinct character and a notably strong tone for the price tier. Beyond this manufacturer framing, no independent acoustic assessment of the Model 600 specifically - projection, register balance, or comparison to the brand's other tiers - turned up in available sources, so the tonal picture rests on the maker's own description rather than corroborated third-party listening impressions.

What owners of the D Z Strad Viola Model 600 say

Independent, model-specific feedback on the Model 600 viola is essentially absent - searches across specialist forums such as Maestronet and violinist.com, as well as general violin community boards like Fiddlerman, turned up no dedicated discussion of it. The closest available data point is a comment from a buyer researching a different D Z Strad model, who noted that reviews beyond the manufacturer's own site were hard to come by - a pattern that appears to hold for the Model 600 as well. What general brand reputation exists comes from reviews of the company's cheaper Model 101, which one specialist review site ranked among the best intermediate viola brands, but that assessment can't be read as a direct endorsement of this particular tier. Buyers considering the Model 600 are largely working from the manufacturer's own description rather than a body of independent experience reports.

Recommended accessories & strings for the D Z Strad Viola Model 600

The factory D'Addario Helicore strings are the same mid-tier set the brand uses across most of its range, so an immediate string swap isn't the obvious first upgrade some cheaper student instruments invite. Retailer listings for this model indicate it ships with a case and a bow, a leaner outfit than the brand's pricier 700 and 900 series violas, which both include two bows of different materials - so a player moving up from the Model 600 might reasonably look at a second bow (carbon fiber for durability, or a traditional wood bow) as a useful early addition rather than a necessity. Beyond that, upkeep follows standard viola practice: periodic bow rehairing, fresh rosin as needed, and a recommended service check roughly every six months, which isn't included in the purchase price.

Technical data for the D Z Strad Viola Model 600

Price history for the D Z Strad Viola Model 600

Cheapest seen: 2.422 EUR  ·  Most expensive seen: 2.422 EUR

The history of the D Z Strad Viola Model 600

D Z Strad's Model 600 sits between the Model 500 and Model 700 in the brand's graduated handmade viola quality tiers.

About D Z Strad as a manufacturer

D Z Strad Violin Shop was founded in 2014 and operates out of White Plains, New York, where the brand says every order is hand-selected, packaged and shipped directly from its own workshop. Within its own numbered model line - spanning entry-level instruments up through a dedicated Professional tier priced well into five figures - the Model 600 sits toward the lower-middle of the range, a step below the Model 700 and well below the brand's priciest offerings. Reviewing the company's more affordable Model 101 viola, the review site Viola Central named D Z Strad its 'best intermediate viola brand' in both 2016 and 2017, a brand-level distinction rather than one earned by this specific model, but a useful data point on how specialist reviewers regard the company overall. Independent, model-specific commentary is thin across the board for this brand: a buyer on the Fiddlerman violin forum reported finding little beyond the manufacturer's own site when researching a different D Z Strad model, pointing to a broader gap in third-party coverage outside the brand's best-selling entry instruments.