Forenza Prima 2 Viola Outfit - 15.5 Inch, F2250PE

This is excellent. No doubt due to the very low price the strings and rosin will be the lowest quality, but still I am getting a good sound from the viola - when I am playing it correctly.It doesn't come with any instructions so be sure you know what you are doing to get started. The bridge is loose, the rosin needs preparation, the tuners need to be used with extreme care to avoid breaking a string, they may not be tight enough, etc. There are a few things you need to learn before you start.The viola comes with the bow, some rosin and a chin rest attached. (It is clamped on with tubular screws - put a rod through the holes to turn them.) The case is very nice and solid, and has an extra pocket more than large enough to fit "A4" sized papers and thin books inside.Fantastic value for money, it looks great, plays great and seems very solid. I dropped it violently on the ground and it was fine - it didn't even go out of tune! I am very happy with it and see no need to "upgrade" to a more expensive viola.

I am a trombonist. I decided to start the viola for fun and amusement as an adult, and was pleased to discover amazon could supply one for a reasonable price, so I went for it. I decided if it was awful then I'd send it back. I haven't.So, my viola arrived. Hurrah! The case is great, protective and lots of pockets. The bow had been clumsily velcroed dislodging a few horse hairs in transit but this was soon remedied. Also included a cloth and resin. Nice.I decided to re-set up the viola from scratch - it looked okay but I wanted to ensure optimum bridge position (it's normal to do this after transit and lots of youtube videos will tell you how)I attempted to carefully tune the viola but the top string snapped way below A 440Hz - I'd read the reviews and already purchased a pack of prelude strings which were about £25. In the end I changed all of the strings and took the time to chalk the tuning pegs to stop them slipping while I did the change.What I now have is a rather lovely viola - it plays well and stays in tune perfectly, and I love her!I've now got a 5 star instrument but I'm knocking off a star for the clumsy bow packing and terrible strings that were supplied.If you're happy to get new strings and have a Google and a tinker to set things up, then I think you'll be very happy with this.

I just wanted to be able to play more loudly and give our band more substance so I bought the full sized 16" one. I wanted a darker one because I like the look.of it. It played well straightaway, but of course, the new bow needed playing in. A friend who makes them took the strings and yoke off then restrung it, increasing the size of the holes so that the pegs would go through both sides of the peg case. It sounds much better now.The case is fine, Lots of space for the instrument and zips everywhere. My niggle is that the securing velcro arrangement for the bow traps the hair on the bow. I'll get used to it in time, but it's fiddly, and I don't want to have a bow with reduced hair. It's part of the sound of the thing.I'd like to dispose of the theory that there is such a thing as a starter instrument. The student and amateur should have something that sounds good from the start. If they have to overcome a tendency to sound like a cigar box, it is counter productive. Then you have to be very good to make a Stradivarius sound any better than any other instrument. Everyone who plays wants to sound as beautiful as they can. It's the music that counts, and the musician that makes the instrument sound good. The tone on this is nice. Robust but mellow. A good addition to our group sound.

I'm a professional violinist and violist. I also restore string instruments, make violins, restorer of bows, so I know quite a bit. I bought this viola last year. Here's the bad news first. Out of the box, my heart sunk at the hideous spray paint on it. Why do that! It's not an Ikea table! Also it's not 16". It's 15.6". The bridge is far too high and raw, the tailpiece (which has changed to a metal now I see) was too small, too light, and brittle ebony). The strings are HIDEOUS. Nobody deserves to put themselves through learning a big viola with intonation problems caused by a conglomeration of real problems. The fingerboard is very important and this is a very good ebony fingerboard, well fitted and all the measurements are accurate, I just needed to do minor edge rubbing and slightly plained the board of slight unfinished shaping. Then I gave it a French polish, with linseed oil feed. The nut is a good job. The bow is fine, it's the hair that is crap so it needs rehairing, slight cambering to stop the bounce. The bridge needs bringing down and reshaping. The pegs are stiff, so needed thinning and peg soap application. But they are not bad ebony. Quite good actually. Decent strings will cost about £60. If I decide to strip the varnish, revarnish, it needs it. But, a hell of a job, using volatile paint and varnish stripper. Then the weeks of drying and then re varnishing with weeks of drying. I can do it. But its not fun. After all that work, it probably will sound very good and play very well. However, I am a professional luthier. I could make one by the time I do all that. Now tot up all those procedures and a luthier will take up to £1300 to do that much. Go figure.