I play the violin. I just got a new one at a shop in Chinatown in Flushing that I am very happy with. Most of the violin stores that I found were for concert level violins and are priced accordingly. As for lessons, I would inquire in the store -- I took lessons when I lived in California... The...
I have the 125 and am very happy with it. I would suggest reading this thread on Reefcentral (even at 80+ pages it's an interesting read...) CSS Thread I get a decent coffee colored skimmate out of it on my 29g.
-Eitan