Mendini by Cecilio 1/4 Violin Set For Beginners - Hand Carved Acoustic Violins Kit - Fiddle Ebony Fitted Solid Wood Kit with Hard Case, Two Bow, Rosin, Shoulder Rest and Extra Strings

We have had this violin for about 8 months now and it still plays beautifully. This Violin is just right for my 7 yr. old son to start learning the basics. It looks and sounds nice-everything came in one piece (and assembled) and nothing is broken, crooked or misaligned. The only complaint that I have is the packaging -it came in a basic cardboard box (not very sturdy) that did not have any padding whatsoever. I am very fortunate nothing was broken in shipment.I used to play the Viola when I was younger-so I'm familiar with the strings. Before going with this company, I did a lot of research on what kind of inexpensive violin is good. Almost everybody said "do not buy a cheap violin-spend 300 or 400 dollars." Right! That is easier said than done. Not many people have that kind of money to spend on their children for something that may be very temporary (if they end up not wanting to play for example). So I decided on this as a trial, if he continues to play, then I can look at a better quality violin (for Carnegie Hall).I loved the quality and price of this particular violin so much that I bought another more inexpensive Mendini MV200 violin for me to help my son practice (review to come on that as soon as I get it). I also looked at the various color versions of the violins (one of the pretty blue colors). Just something fun for home, but was swayed by many people not to buy a painted violin because the tone and sound quality would be slightly off. A violin needs to vibrate freely throughout the wood, painting it hinders the sound (just a bit). Also, keep in mind-if you are looking for an inexpensive violin for your child, many schools will not allow a colorful violin because it is a distraction from the rest of the orchestra-not to mention the sound quality. I am very happy with this purchase and trust Mendini as well as KK Music Store with their exceptional 1 year warranty (where I bought both violins through Amazon) for future purchases.

It's cheap, it's a great entry level violin, and it's allowed me to follow my desires....Oh, yes, let's though. This is my first violin, and I'm only about 3 months into lessons, so take most of this with a grain of salt ;)Based on other reviews, I immediately purchased rosin. Can't comment on quality there. Same with the strings - though I broke the A string on the new ones - the old one seems to hold tone and play well. Well, after about a wekk or so. I understand that's about normal for strings, though, and the new ones were about the same (Preludes).The shoulder rest feels uncomfortable - I just play without.I had issues with the bows (it came with two), which I thought was me, but as my lessons progressed, even my teacher couldn't pull much from them. Other reviews fluctuate. Mileage varies, I guess, /shrug. I bought one and haven't been happier. Consider them garbage or wall decorations, but don't count on them.The case is decent, Velcro strap for the neck, cloth to protect the actual violin. Small compartment which holds the rosin and extra strings well, but not much else. There isn't really room for a shoulder rest, and the pouch on top just barely holds a lesson book - which leads to some wear and tear. Two decent sliding holders hold bows. Some screws came loose after about a month. Nothing a glue gun won't fix. It's serviceable and does what it's supposed to, but does feel a bit cheap.And yes, it still gets 5 stars. The accessories... not so much, but hey, it's a great violin for the price, has fine tuners on all strings, and allows you to play without spending an insane amount. The pegs hold pretty well, fine tuners take care of the rest, and I would enthusiastically buy again, or suggest to anyone with an interest to learn. You truly can't argue with the entry level price or quality... at least based on such. Not that I've played a higher priced one yet ;)

With these Mendini violins it seems hit and miss. Avoid the painted instruments as the paint allows poorer quality to be sold.Ours is varnish finish. Bows seem to be hit and miss. My Brother in Law's bow was useless (being a new player he thought it was just him and didn't contact the company in time) so I gave him one of my spare bows. The two bows that came with the 1/4 size are actually pretty decent for a student. My daughter is 4 and so the 1/4 size is a bit big for her but by the time she's really ready to actually start playing it will be a good size for her. Easy to tune- but be careful and go slow. New strings on a small instrument are easy to snap. Sound is decent, not the best but again, great for the early learning.Shoulder rest is good, I prefer this style of shoulder rest and was happy it included one as finding them in fractional sizes this small is a real pain.The bridge is a bit thick but fine. Strings are crap, but decent crap. Useable for their life and if the student is still playing when the extra set dies they have earned a string upgrade.As I said, both bows are decent with the 1/4th I received. I like that it comes with two- teaching small children it takes time to ingrain the "don't touch the hair" mentality. I recommend leaving one in it's sleeve to switch to when the first is in need of rehairing or replacing. If you order a fractional under 3/4 I wouldn't recommend replacing the bow unless the child is a serious player as they will grow out of it soon enough unless you get one that is unusable.Comes with an extra bridge, both bridges are a bit thick for my tastes but again, useable to a early student learning.Rosin pictured is not the rosin that was included. The one shipped was a block with plastic siding, though I amber rosin still, it is a bit darker then pictured. In general, my opinion of rosins that ship with student instruments is only suitable for the trash. I rosin her "playing bow" with my rosin and her "practice bow" she uses the rosin that came with it. It's useable and will work for a student but a upgrade will cost you $10 so if you want to upgrade, go for it. In general, I prefer rosin cakes to boxes as the plastic on boxes can catch the hair's and damage them.Rosin often comes shattered when shipped in a violin case. Ours did not. But don't be surprised if you have to upgrade anyway. It's not worth the trouble of reforming it.Remember to scratch the rosin surface and a rosined bow is soundless. First rosin takes 10 min. Your violin will need to be retuned often, checked every day. new strings don't hold a tune well.

I bought this violin for my 9 year old girl for christmas. She had been asking for one for a long time. I paid around 120$... it came with 2 bows, the resin , the shoulder rest and a set of cords.When we opened the case we were pretty amazed at how nice it looked. The sound was really nice too. When her violin teacher saw this violin and herself played with it ..she couldn't believe it came from amazon for that price and that it sounded that good and also that it kept it's strings in tune. Naturally, this is for a beginner violin , but does the job REALLY well. She has been playing everyday since the month of May(when she officially started her violin courses) and it's keeping up (pegs, bows , resin, ) We just had to change the strings because they are pretty cheap..but for that price I just bought better quality ones. For Quality AND Price this deserve a huge 5 star.

Lo strumento è arrivato in perfette condizioni ed è molto valido e bello. L'insegnante di violino conferma che lo strumento è ben fatto. Ottimo suono.

Very impressed with violin, looks great, excellent finish sou. nds great, after I tuned it up, came in a very nice case with 2 bows,extra strings rosin.An excellent deal for any beginner,would probably sound better with quality strings, but for now I am happy

Preso per mio figlio minore che ha iniziato da 7 mesi le lezioni.Direi che è completo di tutto.A giudizio dell'insegnate dice che è più che adeguato per 'età e le rifiniture.Buona l'accordatura.

Delivery time is excellent. Value is great. I rated this purchase only a four this time because, the product inside came in not as well as the first violin we purchased. There was quite a bit of sawdust on inside the case which was all over, the rosin was in pieces, and out of the container which also made quite a mess. But after the clean up, the violin itself which is what is most important is great, looks and feels good, keeps tune and sounds lovely. For the price, I don't think I could have done better. All in all I am very happy and look forward to learning to play the violin with my daughter.