20 Best Violins For Professionals (2022 Updated)

It’s almost as if they stopped working on the violin half way through making it. The pegs did not even come close to fitting into the peg head, so you couldn’t tighten the strings unless you had the correct peg head reamer to resize the holes.

The strings were not even made for a violin. The sound post was loose and rolling around inside. When taken out, it was way too long, so it was never installed to begin with, they just through it inside.

The craftsmanship was unreal. You could see rasp markings all over the neck. The whole package including accessories (bow, rosin, tuner, case) all looked like they were for made for a blind and deaf child.

Not funny at all. How something this pathetic could be sold as violin is beyond me. Spend a little more and get a real working violin and stop giving money to these con artists.

Nice starter violin, purchased because it was on sale. See listing picture for all the included extra items. The book has hints on the player’s stance and how to hold the instrument along with 28 lesson tunes.

Construction and finish are very good for this price class, and I like the “antique” style varnish. I would recommend this for a beginner instead of the numerous under $100 violins available on ebay because of the real ebony wood parts, extra bow and other accessories that are included.

I can’t offer an expert opinion on the sound quality but the wife and cat are not complaining (yet), so it must not be too bad.

I bought this fiddle recently to take camping instead of my amati. Did not take it camping because it was barely playable. One of the two bows were warped right out of the box. The action of the fiddle was far less than desirable, and the sound and tone was equally bad.

I will admit that the fiddle is pretty, looks like i bought a new decorative piece.

This Yamaha is very nice. I like it a lot and it looks rather nice. I bought the Navy Blue model. The neck and body is made out of spruce and it looks very nice with the blue varnish. It sounds rather nice, but it can’t beat a normal acoustic violin at all.

It’s rather easy to play and it’s not entirely silent. It’s quiet, but not “Silent,” if that makes any sense. I would describe it quieter than a practice-muted acoustic, but loud enough to actually practice without disturbing anyone.

The lower tones sound more muted than the higher tones. It’s a nice sound, but I wish it sounded just a little more acoustic. I recommend this for those who are just getting started with playing an electric violin, but if you are looking for an upgrade you should expect to pay a bit more for better sound.

It came with a custom shoulder rest, headphones, an aux cable, and 2 AA-batteries. The violin doesn’t come with many features in terms of effects. It only has 3 reverb settings, a normal setting, and an analog volume knob.

You can use a 1/4″ instrument cable to hook it up to a amp or PA system. It has an aux input and a headphone jack with adjustable aux input volume. Great for playing along to other music. I like it a lot, but in the future I plan on buying a nicer electric violin when I get better at the violin.

I am a beginning player. The overall quality is typical Yamaha fine detail. The neck and finger board are finished beautifully. The reverbs are very nice and not over powering. It is great for quiet practice and with ear phones very nice.

The tuner pegs fit nice and are easy to tune. The shoulder rest is comfortable. I wish they would have put the next size body on so you could use your own shoulder rest but it is OK regardless. The sound of course is not acoustic but still very nice.

It takes guitar effect pedals well. I like the Daddario Prelude strings on it. In the hands of a skilled player this could be amazingly nice for any musical setting.

The design is great, chin rests and shoulder rests can be exchanged between the Yamaha and other vioins. The SV-200 weighs and feels like a real violin. It plays as well as any intermediate/student violin.

Going back and forth between my acoustic and the electric doesn’t cause any discomfort. The redesign of the Yamaha electric allows for better play on stage but doesn’t justify the huge price difference from the older model.

I’m not impressed with the sound through the headphones but through an amp it’s comparable to an acoustic with a transducer with less feedback. The volume without any headphones/speakers is loud enough for practice.

It shipped with a loose screw on the battery access and played with an annoying vibration until I discovered which screw was loose and tightened it. This violin will take a beating as I’ve dropped it and only lost my chin rest when the case failed to protect it.

This was purchased for an advanced beginner student. So far, so good. Durable enough to be carried throughout the school day without worrying about the casual bumps. However, definitely purchase the extended warranty offered by a local Sam Ash.

Junior high can be a rough place when one has to carry his instrument daily, ALL day.

My 15 year old daughter has been playing a 3/4 size violin for the last 5 years. She is the only player in the whole orchestra not playing a full size instrument. It was time to upgrade. Violin prices and quality are all over the place.

We are not renters. I’d rather own it, and sell when we are done. This violin is lovely. Very high quality. It is made in China. The quality and finish are outstanding. The listing said used, but it is obviously new.

I don’t understand the pricing for this model. I’ve seen the same model # sell for 3x what we paid for this. I’m very happy with this purchase.

I brought this on Cyber Monday, with a fantastic deal. I am over the moon with the deep sound and tone of every note I play. Although I am a beginner, I can really appreciate what a wonderful instrument this is.

The description said it was used, but you would never know it- it looks brand new. It came in a sturdy case with a new bow. Wonderful!.

This is a great sounding and looking violin. The one that I received is different than what is pictured here as it has a one piece flamed maple back. It is stunning. This violin was purchased for my daughter as an upgrade from her beginner violin.

Her teacher says that it is setup great and also plays and sounds great. She said that it is a fantastic violin for the price and will recommend it to other teachers and students. I am very impressed!.

I make my living playing and teaching Celtic music. I wanted a reasonably priced fiddle to have around the studio for students to use who come in from out of town. This model came highly recommended and I must say that it did not disappoint.

I hate to admit it, but after swapping out the strings I found that like the sound of this violin more than my ten grand+ american made fiddle. I am really at a loss for words. I can’t wait for this one to play in as it will only get better.

This is a fantastic violin! I outgrew my beginner violin and needed something to take me to the next level. My teacher loves it and says she would use it on gigs. I took it to a local violin shop for a once over and was told by the luthier there that I would have to spend thousands more to get a better violin.

Suffice to say, I am extremely happy with this purchase! Highly recommended!.

The Yamaha SV250 and 255 have pickups both in the bridge and body. With a control knob to blend the 2 to your taste. The body pickup gives a great acoustic sound while the bridge pickup moves more towards the electric sounds.

having this sort of control makes this violin one of a kind. Also has the Yamaha quality in manufacture and looks. Great instrument. Also very lite just like an acoustic violin.

Its exactly what Im looking for. Ive played the violin for over 25 years. I have to say, the violin makes me fall in love with music again.

Great product. but as one of the top of the range instruments i thought the chinrest and tailpiece could have been customizable at least and have the audio plug into the body. It needs an on off switch instead having to take the batteries out and the bridge savings needed correcting.

but still enjoyable to play.

I am really enjoying this violin! It is quiet enough to play basically whenever the heck I want to even though I live in a condo. The tone is also definitely not bad (I will always and forever prefer acoustic violins, but for an electric, I’m pretty happy).

The headphones work great! I did end up replacing the bow because it was a bit on the heavy on the frog side (I upgraded to a carbon fiber bow which is more balanced and lighter weight), so I’m one happy camper now! I think I will look at upgrading the strings as well down the line, but again, for the value I am really impressed and happy! I recommended this violin to my sister who is eagerly awaiting hers as well ;)!.

Cheap but useful for quiet practice. I like the powered phone jack so you can use your headphones. Cheap tone quality but that’s alright. I don’t know if there is any electrified violin that sounds good without having proper EQ-ing through at least a good pre-amp pedal before going into whatever sound system or mini recording mixer you might use.

The neck is on the thinker side so if you have really small hands it could be hard to reach but if your hands aren’t small it’s pretty comfortable. that said. every violin is different and I’m not sure how exact the mass production of is.

so there could certainly be variations in size. but my guess is that they will all be pretty much the same. P. S. for beginners please remember that the bridge is a new bridge. It’s not too bad if you are a voilinist.

You could proably leave it as is. If you’re a fiddler you will most likely need to carefully file/sand it down so that the strings don’t sit so high off the finger board. Check on youtube for how to do it properly and remember the body of the fiddle is flat so if you sand the feet make sure you sand them on both at the same time carefully on a flat surface.

Have fun! God bless!.

You can’t beat the price. The violin is well made within specs. The paint job was flawless with on runs and smooth as glass. All the fittings are real ebonly and not dyed wood, although even with true ebony,luthiers will often dye to make the wood consistent in its color.

The tuners worked fine and the pegs did not stick. The weight of the violin is over 700 grams, much more than an acoustic violin but, it’s sold maple. The electronics worked fine and I love the right angle cable that came with the set.

The bow is adequate with a good curve, flexible but, not stiff. All in all, it’s a very nice electric violin that I think any fiddler will enjoy and if they are just starting out, your family and neighbors will enjoy the fact that without plugging it in, it’s fairly silent.

Coming from playing the violin for many years, I had went on a 2 month research of find the “best made” or “best wooded” violin. I heard a lot of good things about Cremona and just went ahead with my gut to buy this violin.

Very pleased with my purchase. It sounds just as good as a $1,000 violin. Its vibrant and sounds for the amount it cost. Just super excited about this violin and the wooding on it is just beautiful. Highly recommended for any beginning(if you want to go ahead and take the early step), intermediate players, and above.

Will probably be buying from Cremona again later after many years of use on this one! The only thing I will probably even consider a con is getting some better strings. Dominant strings are my fav but that is it.

The ones that come on it are still good. Delivery came in a of couple hours earlier than expected and came in a compatible case with no damages. Hope this review helps someone out there :).

I bought this violin as a backup for my late 1800s Mirecourt. I travel between two locations due to my job and was tired of lugging my violin on a plane every few weeks. Well, now I have a bit of a problem because this violin is kinda sorta my favorite right now.

I didn’t want it to be this way. I also have a student violin, which I was using as my backup, though it was not up to the task so I decided to buy another one. I did NOT expect the SV-800 to be so amazing.

The SV-800 sounds fantastic with a nice rich, warm tone. It contrasts with the strong bright tone of my Mirecourt. This violin responds very well and all notes are spot on and crisp. The spacing of the strings above the fingerboard is exactly where I would expect them to be.

Not only does it play extremely well, it looks quite amazing too.

I bought this as my first violin. Prior to receiving this instrument I had never even picked up a violin, let alone played. However, I have years of experience in music, playing piano, guitar, and mandolin.

And this violin was a great way to get introduced to violin. I was looking for a quality instrument, made without laminate materials that would hold up for years and years. At the same time, I did not want to spend too much for something I may discover I had no ability or love for playing.

I think the sv-500 hit that sweet spot. It was affordable, came with everything I needed to get started, and it just feels like a quality product. (and it is very pretty to look at) So now I’ve been playing for just a few weeks and getting my feet under me, and I’m overall happy with the purchase.

To be sure, it does not sound like a more expensive violin, and probably never will. However, it still sounds very nice (especially considering the price) and should not get in the way of my improvement on the violin.

Go ahead and get it -this is a great place to start in learning.

I am a novice so this is from an average person’s pov based on what I’ve researched as well. I haven’t gotten to practice on it as much as I’d like ever since receiving a few days ago, however the sound I’ve been able to produce is lovely and the craftsmanship looks decent – no extra glue or chips or cracks.

I was worried about the complaints over this site’s shipping and people receiving damaged instruments, but the violin came safe and sound. There is also space in the case for two bows which I assume is standard, but to clarify only one is provided.

Also, in my research for a violin, I’ve seen people complain that the neck is not varnished like the body. It’s SUPPOSED to be like that because paint over time gets sticky and that prevents the player to seamlessly use their left hand as intended to slide up and down.

Now, for some of the cons. I have been having to make some investments into some basic things that aren’t included or are unfit for me. I am quite short (4’11) and have a short neck, so the chinrest is painful for my jaw.

I measured it and it sits about 0. 5″ high from the violin and is not very shapely so it stabs into the corner of my jaw. I am currently awaiting a new one to come in the mail to try. There is a provided rosin in the case, but based on my usage and other reviews I’ve read on that specific rosin, it’s fairly average and will do the job, but there are higher quality rosins to be had if you’re picky.

I’m investing in a higher quality rosin and keeping the provided one as backup. There is no provided cloth to wipe down the violin, so you will have to research and invest in one. I broke a string trying to tune it because the pegs required greater force to push in and enact the friction required to keep it in place.

The person at the music shop I went to confirmed the pegs were a bit more difficult than on the average violin, but doable nonetheless as it is now tuned perfectly, so just make sure to push the pegs firmly in as you tune.

Made in China. Website description tries to sell this based on “Italian design” and “assembled in America”. Truth is, if assembled in America the sticker cannot say “made in China” if it was made by assorted parts from China, but assembled in America.

Most likely, being put into a box is what this misleading description from guitar center of means. The issue is: -the used condition -finger prints and smudges of unknown kind all over the body -the body also has hundreds of micro-scratches.

-seems as though someone tried with wax to buff those out and they also returned the product cleaning it up the best they could. -the bow had a broken string Who ships a dirty violin with a damaged bow and sells it as new? Guitar center.

I love this violin – it looks well built, clean, has a good finish and sounds great. Nice looking simple case too. I bought it for my daughter so she can plug it in and add some reverb to make the sometimes monotonous noise of practice a little more fun for her.

This violin came with a shoulder support – the simple kind that clamps on to the body of the violin, but it’s not as nice as the one she already had so she doesn’t use it. The electric option is really nice to have for a variety of reasons, but I am thrilled with the full acoustic sound of the instrument without being plugged in as well.

All told, its a great instrument especially for the price and I would certainly recommend it to anyone looking for a dependable practice model.

It is incredibly cheap. But the basic are there. The strings it comes with through the pickup are so bright as to be almost unusable. The chances of it being knocked out of wack in shipping are precarious.

But mine came in great shape and was easily playable, and with a lot of bass eg and treble cut I got it to sound acoustic through a little amp. Acoustically is was really midrange but I think with some warmer more complex strings, half the value of the viol cost, it would be better.

One often needs an instrument of little value for performances in questionable circumstances, this one will do fine.

I am a guitar player 30 years. I want to add violin. The Cecilio got very good reviews on Youtube. So, I bought it. Naturally it was out of tune when I got it. The Pegs were slipping but as you turn them push in.

Took a while to rosin up the bow which is natural for a new bow. The case it comes with is very nice. Other then that I have no idea what a good violin should be. However, as a new player I am making some good sounds, getting used to it.

It’s in-expensive but a very nice looking violin. I bought solid body white acoustic electric. Pick-up sounds nice. The strings it comes with SUCK. I bought a new set. Middle of the road quality about $40 for a set.

know it sounds great. Great starter Violin! Don’t be afraid buy it! Thanks Chris Jackson NJ.

Hats off to Walmart for selling this, the only decent student violin I have been able to find for under six hundred dollars. If you can possibly afford it, spring for this one instead of the fifty dollar specials that are often stamped out of plywood.

I’ve played and taught for forty years and this is the only decent, affordable student violin I’ve found after many years of searching. This is the first Stentor 1500 (aka Stentor student II’) instrument I’ve bought but the third I have tested out, and they are remarkably consistent and consistently good.

The tone is very sweet, it is responsive enough to get a student through the first five or six years of playing and after that, it is a great backup violin for backpacking or whatever. You can probably sell it and recoup much of your original investment.

Made in China with oversight from a London company, they boast great spruce wood top with tight grain, pegs that work, a well fitted bridge (which is AMAZING since bridges take one to three hours of a luthier’s time to fit right).

It arrives, if you are lucky, with the bridge kept softly in place by some slight string tension. If the bridge is down when you get it, go to Youtube and see how to set it, it is not a tough job. The case is so good that I moved my good violin into it.

There is also a nice rosin cake instead of the usual cheap stuff in a wood box. The bow is made of good wood and is generously haired, though I find that my inexpensive carbon fiber bow brings a better sound out of the instrument and that the wood bow could be better balanced.

A luthier would probably complain that the varnish is not traditional but would likely be happy with the tailpiece with fine adjusters, the fit and finish of the pegs, the nut, bridge and overall setup which look to me to be up to standards.

The metal strings on the violin are fine; I tried replacing them with ‘better’ metal wound nylon (‘perlon’) strings and it diminished the nicer qualities of the violin’s sound, though it did quiet the violin down quite a bit which was desirable for me (I cannot play a loud violin, hurts my ears.

). So I would leave the strings alone as they seem to have been carefully matched to the violin. The upgrades I would recommend would be a good cheap carbon fiber bow (such as Vingo bow) and an adjustable shoulder rest (the cheap Chinese ones are usually fine.

) I will use this one that i purchased to play simpler folk music in risky situations, eg. , this weekend on a boat on the ocean. For more advanced material that takes you into higher positions — Mazas, Kreutzer etc.

you will want to think about a better instrument. This instrument sounds great in higher positions but up there it sometimes takes work to produce clear notes in fast, high passages. But I can think of no better way to get started than with this instrument and if a student advances beyond it, it is still a nice fiddle to keep in the back of your car, just in case.

Yeah Walmart!.

I considered spending three times what I paid on a student guitar. I’m happy I chose the Stentor II and Musician’s Friend had a great Labor Day sale price. The violin is beautiful, the case is perfect (see uTube review) the bow works fine.

I purchased Hill rosin so I can’t comment on the rosin provided. I have a Korg tuner which helps greatly. I purchased and highly recommend “How to Play Fiddle” by Larry McCabe, the fretlless violin finger guide (use their online music for fast start), and a Wolf Forte Primo shoulder pad (fits in case on side of scroll/finger board).

I watch Allison Sparrow the online tutor on uTube. I will probably eventually replace the strings with Dominants once I am more comfortable with my progress and my ability to change a string when one breaks.

Learning to play violin is harder than harp (Harpsicle) or guitar (Little Martin) which I play for my own pleasure and for my dogs who usually don’t howl or leave the room. But I can play Twinkle Twinkle Little Star (scratchy but recognizable).

I practice for 20 minutes every day. This works for me since I am determined and methodical but I am not naturally musically inclined. I am just happy to finally have a beautiful violin to play!.

Nothing bad about this violin. Gorgeous look and natural varnish finish. Watch Stentor’s YouTube video on how it’s made. Give no attention to non sense bad reviews. Strings may break if you do not know how to gently tune your violin.

It comes with light strings, I recommend use of Medium or Heavy strings for a rich sound, Heavy is my personal choice. I have bought other Chinese Strad violin copies and the Stentor Student 1500 is way superior in all aspects.

No, I am not sponsored by Stentor.

I bought this CVN-700 violin outfit because it seemed to be a great value with all the accessories ideal for a complete beginner to the violin. The reason I chose Cecilio’s CVN-700 model instead of one of their much cheaper and lower end models is because I hoped that the upcharge would mean getting an instrument that has at least some care put into its manufacture in order to ensure a perfectly playable instrument without any critical defects in structure or workmanship.

The accessories that come with the CVN-700 are almost identical to those that come on the cheaper models with minor variations to the bows and cases. My review is written from the point of view of a guitarist and guitar luthier with formal woodworking education and years of experience performing setups, minor repairs as well as tonal adjustments on both acoustic and electric guitars.

I have had the opportunity to personally inspect 3 CVN-700 violins as a result of my purchase. The positive points of the CVN-700 outfit from my experience are as follows: 1. Beautiful wood that has been aged 7 years.

2. Plenty of accessories for a beginner to start out with. 3. Affordable price. The negative points of the CVN-700 outfit are as follows: 1. Inconsistent workmanship on all 3 violins both structural and cosmetic.

2. Wrong case was shipped with the first violin and the replacement crescent shaped case arrived without a key and with defective workmanship on the bow locking latches that overlap each other and force the bows to be compressed when stored together.

3. Accessories included were of very poor quality. 4. All 3 violins were setup very differently from each other with inconsistent sound post locations to differing string action as well as bridge curvature.

5. 2 of the 3 violins had badly angled end button holes that forced the end button to sit at an angle enough to shift the entire tailpiece off center therefore requiring an exaggerated bridge location to compensate.

This is probably caused by workers at the factory drilling these holes free hand without a proper jig and guide. 6. The fingerboards of all 3 violins have minor chips and have been stained black to make the wood darker than it naturally is, this is most evident at the edges of the fingerboard which points to a lower quality grade of wood.

7. The pegs on all 3 violins show signs of splintering with off center drilled holes where the string is inserted and are badly fitted to the pegbox making accurate tuning impossible without the use of the fine tuners.

8. The nut on one of the violins had poor string spacing and workmanship that affected playability and tuning stability. 9. The neck angle which affects the projection on all 3 violins were inconsistent with the first 2 being too low and the 3rd being ideal to allow for a lower action.

10. There are small chisel marks on the tops of the violin where it is apparent that the manufacturer hastily cut the purfling to size against the spruce top during the inlaying process. This seems to be common practice on some Chinese factory made violins and can be seen in various factory videos online.

11. The 2nd violin I received had a hidden crack or deep scratch under the fingerboard that might have been stained and varnished over to appear as antiquing. 12. Terrible quality control from Cecilio’s factories that should have caught all these issues and rectified them before distributing these violins for sale.

13. Cecilio unfortunately does not seem to warrant defects in poor and improper workmanship, only damages such as cracks seem to be covered. In summary, the negative points do seem to outweigh the positives at a glance however I would like to point out that my review is solely based on my experience with 3 of these violins and as a result of my experience, I cannot honestly recommend this violin.

I suggest only buying a violin outfit that has a guarantee on being made geometrically sound with playing surfaces that are properly aligned and without any defects in structure or workmanship. Buying a Cecilio violin would require a further investment in a proper setup at least in order to fix most of the the issues mentioned above.

Major issues such as a badly cut nut, shallow neck angle, badly drilled end button holes would usually require a much more expensive repair if the work is to be done right. Please consider all potential and additional costs when buying a violin that might look like a great deal until the details are studied extensively.

I hope that my review will help anyone who might be considering buying this violin as well as hope that your experience will be much better, thank you!.

I was very apprehensive about purchasing a violin for so little money, especially when it comes with so many extras such as free strings, case, two bows, rosin and more. I am happy to say that all that worry was for not.

The package arrived a day sooner than the estimated time and The violin I received is beautiful! Its new and it shows. This is the first violin I have ever even held and even for me, being the most basic form of novice, it was fairly simple to tune the violin using the free tuner that comes with the package.

It does indeed come with almost all the bells and whistles listed. It did not come with a cd for the lessons as claimed but it did have a chin rest and violin care sheet, which are not listed in the add.

The chin rest is already fitted on the violin when you open it. The bridge is in place as well. All you have to do is tune it slightly and rosin the bow you’re going to use. The carrying case is hard and very protective and it comes with a side handle, top handle and straps so you can carry it like a backpack.

With the rosin you do have to use a nail file or something similar to start it. You could just use the hair on your bow to start it but it will take several long minutes and a lot of effort, but I hear that’s normal.

The violin and bows are indeed wood as claimed in the description. The sound it produces once its tuned is very beautiful. I will be purchasing the smaller sizes for my children in the coming weeks. I am happy to say that I am a devoted Cecilio customer now and forever.

I just recieved mine and I love it. I’m a beginner left handed player and have been borrowing someone’s $2000 violin but this one feels a lot easier to play. The strings it comes with are great beginner strings, and the rosin is of nice quality.

The bows however were pre tightened and that isnt good. One of the bows has a few loose hairs and is in rough shape, and I believe that is the cause but it still is useable. The other bow looks and feels fine and it is a decent starter, but I recommend upgrading when the hairs wear out instead of rehairing.

Also, an upgrade of strings once these wear out will really improve the sound(the sound as it is is warm and sweet, but I imagine some really great quality strings like Dominants will sound killer). The case is very nice and it came with everything as promised, and the violin looks beautifully lacquered save for a couple little dings, but that doesnt detract from how nice it looks.

Photos honestly don’t do it justics. I’m looking forward to learning and performing with this! Thank you.

I absolutely love this violin! It actually arrived ahead of time. It’s got a bit more laquer on it then shown but still sounds ritch. I love the ebony pegs. The holes do slip a bit but if you push them in as you turn them they stop sliding.

The bow is AWSOME! It’s better then my carbon bow. It’s extreamly light and easy for a small person to play. My only recommendation is to buy better strings like dominants or Pirastro to replace the ones it comes with.

Other then that I’m extremely happy with this violin!! THANK YOU VIF CREW, for making such a beautiful sounding violin for people on a budget!.

A beautiful violin! It’s very nice and has a warm tone when tuned! One problem though is that the pegs are a bit tricky and can be pulled out by accident. When I was tuning the D string and E string the pegs were recoiling and de-tuning the string on it’s own so make sure you press in as you’re tuning.

Rosin wasn’t damaged, the case was surprisingly nice and the bow is as lovely as the Violin. The customer support team was also very nice with my questions! I know my mom will love it! <3.

I purchased this violin outfit at a good price I liked the overall look and things it included, not happy with the way the strings are too high above the fingerboard witch means I have too press down more and makes my fingertips hurt.

I will probably take my violin to a luthier and see what they can do to the nut or bridge so strings will lay lower.

For the price, this cannot be beat. I got the 1/4 size for my 5yo daughter. If she plays it regularly, I will happily get her a more expensive instrument. I just don’t want to invest until I can see that it is more than a passing interest.

This is the perfect violin to see if she will play more than once or twice. Overall I am happy with it, but it did need a bit of adjusting to get it working acceptably. The bridge comes whole, never set up, sized, or cut.

The strings are terrible, the fine tuners on the tailpiece were sticking, and the pegs were slipping. I purchased a new set of strings and a new tailpiece at an additional cost of about $40 and set it up myself as best I could.

With the strings properly pushing on the outside of the head box, I was able to keep the pegs from slipping quite so much and get it in tune. I was unable to get it in tune before these modifications.

The case is very nice. The sound is more than acceptable after the new strings and I was pleased to see the sound post was in the right place. The bow works surprisingly well, even if it looks a little shaggy.

A nicer bow will probably be my next upgrade. It was shipped very quickly, three days on the West Coast US. Overall I’m satisfied with what I got for what I paid, but it was not playable as it arrived so I cannot give it five stars.

I Use the SV 254 on stage shows in a Jam band – the instrument cuts through the mix yet retains every sweet tone and free from feedback!

Awesome violin, good pickup, and very light.

This violin has a much nicer sound than those I used to play at the orchestra. It’s still a violin for beginners I guess, but it will probably last me until I am intermediate. It does not come with a shoulder rest, and that’s something I’ll have to buy separately.

It’d be great if it came with one included. It’s all varnished except for the inner part of the head, where the strings wind around the tuning pegs. And has a little mark on the belly, near the fingerboard, but it’s not easily noticeable, so it’s ok.

The strings might not be of the best quality -D string split while I was tuning it. But I guess it can’t be helped. It has to happen sometime. I decided to buy a Stagg because I’d heard that they were relatively inexpensive and good quality.

They have proved to be so. In conclusion, I would buy it again, and would recommend it if someone asked me.

I am a complete novice /beginner, so you will have to remember that in my assessment. A few weeks ago I had a Stentor 2 Student to try out. I had actually bought it as a present for my Brother. It seemed ok after a little practice so I sent it off.

I convinced myself that I should get a violin too, but forgot the golden rule, you get what you pay for. Ive had to change the strings to get anything decent out of it. The supplied rosin is a sticky messy stuff.

The bow is basic and nowhere near as good as the Stentor basic bow. So I’m now looking around for a replacement.

I am not a violin player and my son had the option of lessons at school. Unable to borrow or rent an instrument for his trial lessons, I took a punt on this and can confirm it’s a reasonable instrument for a beginner, the price was very good.

If he sticks with the violin I will trade up for a better instrument in due course, however one month in, I’m happy with this choice, it looks okay, came with everything he needed and stays in tune.

I got the v7 Yamaha violin on my one year anniversary of learning violin. I started with cheap violin, then went to a mid-priced model, and last month stepped up to this beauty. I see no further need to upgrade as this one seems very good to me.

This is a good violin after going through the initial learning phase when you know that you’re not going to quit, that violin is for you, and after you’ve mastered the basics. Of course violin takes a lot of dedication and effort, so it depends a lot on the player too, but I have not been disappointed with the v7.

Purchased from Quin The Eskimo. Brand new never used as far as I can tell. Bow never rosined. I have a more expensive violin of nice grained woods etc. The V3 to my ears sounds all as good. Set up is fine.

Rosin the bow, tune it and go.

I had two choices, either buy an expensive carbon fiber violin or a budget violin for public venues (music festivals) on hot humid days: conditions in which I would not bring out my expensive violin.

I chose the cheaper alternative and was pleasantly surprised. The violin itself is very well constructed and set up well. The bridge was well done even with it’s odd grain pattern. The action was spot on, the strings were evenly spaced, and all of the parts were right.

The strings were actually pretty OK, similar to Super Sensitive Red Label Fiddle Strings, though I have a set of Thomastiks on order. The tone is woody and dark with actually good projection. The tone isn’t especially complex, but with good strings the tone is good enough for public performances.

The bow and shoulder rest are junk, but no reasonable person would expect them to be. Buy a good student violin bow from an actual violin shop online and save yourself a headache. A Kun shoulder rest is inexpensive and well worth it.

The case is a good quality student violin case. Buy real rosin when you buy a new bow. All in all, being able to buy a violin of such good quality for so little money is fricken amazing.

I have played violin for only three years, my main instrument is guitar. I was in the U. S. staying with my son and bought this violin just to practice on after I saw this review on youtube https://www.

youtube. com/watch?v=SNgNXAq-yXA I was not disappointed, for the money it is an excellent student instrument, and if the student decides that violin is not for them then you’ve only lost $67. It comes already set up but it does have to be tuned which can be fiddly.

(Pun intended) The action is easy on the fingers (Action = The gap between the strings and the fretboard) You dont have too far to press down on the strings. The bow is a little bit heavy but to the untrained person its fine.

The bow has to be rosined or it wont vibrate the strings. People have complained about pegs slipping and it going out of tune. This is down to inexpierence. The pegs need to be pushed fully home or they will slip.

Temprature will make the strings expand and contract which will put it out of tune, just like any string instrument. Let it acclimatize to the temprature first then tune it. The strings will take a day or two to stretch, but it will eventually stabalise and hold tune.

youtube has loads of videos on how to tune a violin. A digital tuner costs 3 or 4dollars. the case is a little flimsy but still very functional. I brought this violin along to an Irish Traditional music session and it held its own.

In conclusion, its worth the money AND for stars.

I Bought my 8 yr old this 4 her bday, as she has wanted to learn the violin since she was 3, I wasn’t about to spend a fortune to find out she didn’t really like it. Well its been a learning curve we’ve had it for 3 days,and we no nothing about violins, and today she has played twinkle twinkle little star.

I have gave it only 4 stars, because the pegs just keep slipping, very hard to stay in tune, which can be a little frustrating, but it can be done. I have to tune it every time she wants to play, even after pushing in the pegs a bit.

the sound quality, its not brilliant, but gets the job done. I recommend a violin tuner, it doesn’t come with one, but you can pick up one cheap on eBay. As for the color, its as beautiful as the picture, of course her favorite color is purple.

I’ve learned a lot in 3 days off of you tube, and to be honest with you, I’m now wanting my own Violin, and so are my other 2 girls, one plays the flute, and the other the sax. I recommend this if your looking for a toy like one.

But if you really want to get into the Violin, I do recommend a little more expensive one. Even though the color one is tempting. I bought her a 1/2 and its perfect, just make sure if you have no tutor, you do your research.

If you go on 2 you tube, and look for (The online Piano and Violin tutor) she is Brilliant and, this lady has taught us a lot in 3 days, we have dedicated a lot of time in 3 days, And really proud mama that she can learn a song so quickly.

However she never taught her the song yet, I found an app on google play, and it happens to be a violin game, so i copied the letters down for her, she played on my phone a few times, went back to the violin and she was playing twinkle, twinkle little star.

I was amazed. Thumbs up for me.

Way more than I bargained for I’ve been scratching away on a cheap, student fiddle for several years. It’s been a triumph of perseverance over progress. Paraic McNeela’s latest offering of the Maestro violin package caught my eye and I bought it.

I’m just stunned by this instrument. It is a gigantic step up in quality for me. The Maestro’s responsiveness and tone make me think I might actually master the fiddle. I’ll probably always be a closet fiddler.

But, at least the closet will no longer be insulted by my efforts! Shipping to the USA was only six days!.

I was skeptical to order an instrument from so far away but went with my gut and am very happy I did so. Amazingly a violin from Dublin made it to the US just a wee bit out of tune! The instrument itself is absolutely gorgeous with its dark finish and it has a deliciously warm sound.

The expert craftsmanship makes it easy to perform double stops and although I had some questions, the team in McNeela was responsive and incredible to work with.

Maestro Violin The instrument came to me in Germany in perfect condition. I have a lot of joy every time when I´m playing on it, but I am a bloody beginner and so I cannot compare in detail the McNeela Violin to other violins.

For me it sounds better and better day after day.