SV-175

The case is great!! Read on - lots of good wisdom in this....... At first I was displeased because I thought the strings were broken and there was no bridge. The violin came with the bridge floating around in the case - I am guessing that it popped out of place during shipping because the company says it comes set up and ready to tune. The rest of the pieces/parts were all in place and none of the strings were broken. One of the reasons I purchased this item is because the factory does the set up prior to shipping. All you need to do is tune it. ***If you are new to violins, check into this part of the process because if you order one with no set up, you have to take it to a luthier [professional violin "fixer"] to do so and that may be $50.00 to a few hundred dollars before you can use the instrument.*** We found a video on how to set the bridge [good learning experience]. The same video also showed how to tune, set up [tighten and rosin] the bow, and how to place a shoulder rest - among other things. I am an older adult learning how to play - I have spent many hours online educating myself about the basics prior to the purchase. So, I was not daunted by the bridge being out - you really can find many helpful videos for novice violin players. Now, I am able to make actual violin sounds on this violin and they are strong and bright - I just have to learn how to play notes. One of the videos taught me that the new strings will likely go out of tune for a while as they stretch and settle - so be patient. Also, you will need some accessories - you should consider purchasing a shoulder rest, a better quality resin [the resin that came in this set is fine, but I ordered another kind anyway], a practice mute [a rubber coated metal one is what many videos recommend], and some sort of finger board marker sticker - there are flat ones and one that has raised frets that you can adhere to the finger board. I ordered everything - except the raised fret sticker - from Amazon. The raised fret sticker comes from another, small company. With regards to the craftsmanship, the finish could be better, but that has no bearing on how it plays. The violin is super light and the case doesn't add much more weight. I know that this is not the world's top instrument, but I found a video series [from Italy??] that shows a professional player demonstrating all of the violins in Cremona's line. This one sounded just fine in her hands, so I believe it will take me quite far. I am very pleased with my purchase.

The case is good quality and looks very secure. The velcro that holds the neck of the violin is very secure, and will not easily open unless you open it by hand. The suspension strap to keep the case open also works as intended. However, the problems begin with the bow, and only get worse from there. The black part of the frog is misaligned on one side with the brown wood of the stick. The black leather grip is also slightly uneven. Additionally, this bow is only meant for beginners- it can't handle articulations like sautille or ricochet. I had to practically force the bow into the string in order to get it to bounce. However, if you are indeed looking for a bow for a beginner, this should last them for a decent while. The bow hair absorbs the rosin well, so you won't be frustrated by having to rosin it for a very long time in order to start playing. Now for the violin. Firstly, the body of the violin doesn't feel like wood; it feels plasticky to the touch. You can even hear from the sound that this is not made of real material. The tone is very muffled in the low range and still affects the higher strings as well. Next is the bridge; the bridge was slightly warped so that the top was not aligned straight with the bottom of the bridge. It is also incredibly difficult to tune this violin. When I took the violin out of the case and attempted to tune using the pegs, the pegs kept on slipping and would not stay in the spot I want them to. I asked a friend to help hold the other side of the scroll while I pushed the pegs in, and they still would NOT stay in tune!! The pegs would continue to slip while I played the violin as well. When I used the fine tuners to attempt to compensate for the shortcomings of the pegs, I had to turn them almost completely into the tailpiece before this violin would attempt a minor semblance of staying in tune. If I am so frustrated already, then what will a beginner do?! The most infuriating thing about this violin-shaped object, however, is the fingerboard. It is not even made of ebony like the listing claims it is! Like the body of the violin, it is made out of plasticky material. Now comes the worst part. When I played the violin, black paint began to rub off on my fingers. I had to wash it off with soap. The other violins that I have played have never been like this. Do not think that this is the fault of the strings or dust on the fingerboard. I wiped the board with a clean tissue and it came back with the same black paint. In short: do not waste your money!