Customer Reviews
Don't Listen 
2008-08-28
To the people who rated this thing 1 and 2 stars, they are probably very advanced players to begin with... i am a beginner, i haven't been playing that long and i have to say this was the perfect fiddle for me. it sounds great and everything, there is just one complaint i have, when i opened the case for the first time and took the bow out, a whole bunch of strands of hair were broke off the bow, and the bow isn't that great either, im gonna just buy another bow. But as for the fiddle itself i am highly satisfied.
This Cost Me More 
2008-08-10
I ordered this product for myself on a Sunday night and received on Thursday; however, although their were no instructions to installed the bridge,it wasn't hard to google instructions "violin bridge". The bridge wasn't the correct size, the proper cutouts did not fit the notches of the instrument. Yes, this is a bargain!! agreeablely so, the strings are undeniable CHEAP and broke on me the first night during tuning,the Rosin came in pieces and the screws on the tailpiece were jammed. So before I could enjoy, music I had to first achieve sound, I took my new "beautiful" violin to a local violin repair shop, I had the strings, bridge, rosin and the tailpiece replaced; the cost including tuning and labor $120. So this bargain ended costing me the price as if I bought it in the local music store.
Horrible Condition 2007-09-06
I recieved my violin today for my daughter. I read the reviews on this product and I was really in the middle. Well after recieving a broken violin today I am convinced that I should have gone done to the local music store and rented one. It was horrible, light wieght - yeah like 8 oz, not 8 lbs. I think that is why it showed up broken. The strings will not stay tight, the neck was broken, the chin rest was broken and the back had a long split. I was horrified. I buy a lot online and this is the first time I have felt I was taken. I am trying to return the product now.
rawr 
2007-07-26
I took my time and picked out a cheap violin to fool around with and this looked like a good deal. I even paid attention to when everyone said that you need to be careful with the strings and all that jazz BUT the stupid things snapped...twice and I even had the music store tune it after I broke the first string and he snapped 2 more while I was standing there. Im just annoyed with it, maybe it was just mine but...rawr.
Teacher says, "AVOID AT ALL COSTS!" 2007-06-19
Please, please, please, if your child is interested in violin, do not think you are going to do him/her any favors or save yourself any money by getting a $50 instrument off the internet.
Go to your local music store. They will rent you a MUCH BETTER INSTRUMENT for the low low price of about $15/month. Most have specials where the first few months are $5 each.
Then, if your kid likes it, they have a GOOD quality instrument to play which will encourage them to keep playing. Poor quality instruments are difficult to play. Heck, I've been at it over 20 years and I can't get a decent sound out of a $50 violin. You can't expect a beginner to, either! :(
If your kid hates it, then you're out $15 instead of $50. I saved you money! :)
Thank me later!
none 2007-01-29
A hand-carved solid spruce top and solid maple back, sides, and neck deliver fantastic tone. Features a fine tuner tailpiece, ebonized fittings, and inlaid purfling. Full size. Comes with Mongolian horsehair bow, rosin, and featherweight suspension case.
what inlay 2006-11-04
Violin is not what they say it is. There is no inlay around the edges, and the top and bottom are heavy for a violin. A bestler at it's best!
a bargain for beginners 2006-09-01
shipping was very very quick. i paid standard shipping (about 9 dollars), i ordered it very very early on a monday, and recieved it the following thursday, only 4 days later.
when i bought this it was on sale for a mere fifty. This means that its thrifty, replaceable in case of tragic events, which makes it great if your just learning to play. If you buy a smaller version for younger learners, and their not as gentle with it as they should be, and it breaks, its not so big a deal. If youve never played much, buy this, and end up loosing interest, it only costs about a sixth of what any higher quality violin should cost, so you waste much less money than you would have otherwise.
the violin looks nice, but upon close inspection has a poor paint job. very very small spaces, in the seams of the violin still bare the color of the natural wood. it was missing one of the fine tunning screws as well, but those cost pennies anyway.
the bridge isnt installed when you buy it (like any violin), but some people might not expect this or know how to install it, and unfortunately there are no instructions included. (Pictures can be found easily by google-ing "violin bridge". its very very simple to assemble.)
once you have the bridge in place, put rosin on the bow, and tune your strings, the sound quality is alright, pretty much what could be expected from such a thrifty purchace (again, good for learning to play, not for symphany orchesras!)
the case isnt great quality, but its quite convenient for storing the violin.
Better than I expected! 2006-07-20
I purchased this violin on a whim when I was reminiscing about playing as a child. It is a terrific price (cheaper than most toys...or at least the same price as a meal out with the family...) and comes with everything I needed to get started. I was pleasantly surprised that it came well packed and within the suggested time. I was also able to track the item through UPS. I panicked at first because I could not get any sound to come out of it and thought I had been sold a piece of junk. I went to the internet to see if I could figure out what was wrong and found that I needed to attach the bridge that was in the accessory compartment of the case. It was much easier than I thought. I found a great website that explained it all to me [...]and also has free beginning lessons and other important information that I have already found helpful. The other crucial key to getting sound from the violin is to have the bow rosined properly. (You also need to tighted the bow with the little screw at the end so that it is taunt) To get the rosin to work, sand the shiney surface off the top with some sandpaper and then rosin your bow, otherwise the rosin will not deposit on the bow. Once I did these things, I was able to get great sound out of my new violin....Notice - I said sound, not music! That will hopefully come later!
Go Violin! 
2006-07-18
I ordered this violin on a Sunday evening and recieved it the following Saturday at 9am with the cheapest shipping.
This is, well, a cheap violin. You're looking at it because you're interested in getting a cheap violin. Why? I thought of the following:
Decor, prop, for a child, to find out if you hate or have an unknown untapped talent for the violin, you think it will be fun, but don't want to spend a lot of cash on a whim.
I'm kind of the last two, and I don't have piles of cash lying around. So I figured I can afford that, if I hate it then hey at least it would look pretty in a room of my house somewhere.
So yeah, it arrived timely. The case... is cheap. There's like some glue on the felt in spots, wooden debris, the outer material feels a bit flimsy, but it's a case, and it will suffice. It actually looks soft-sided but it's firm. I kinda like it. My interior was red, not the tan.
Setting up the bridge is really easy. I'm not sure why people complain about it in these reviews (like for other colors). I never had a stringed instrument before- it took a couple minutes. I will explain it here to help future customers so that they needen't google all over like I did.
The bridge is that piece that goes under the strings that aligns them in the right shape and provides tension. If you look at the violin on the sides of the strings you see those holes that look like f. Those are the F-holes (not kidding). At the cross in the f is where the bridge goes. First, slacken the strings a bit. I did this because people said they broke them. Then put the bridge on its side under the strings so that when you stand it up the tallest part is on the fattest string. Now stand it up so that when standing it's at the f's cross, fitting the strings into the little slots on the top. You may need to slacken the strings more to get it to fit. After you get it standing the strings should still be tight enough to hold it in place. You will tighten as you tune.
I purchased the 9.99 electronic tuner through Musician's friend on amazon, it fits perfectly in that little compartment in the case.
The pegs slip, but you're supposed to push in as you turn them to get them to stay. If they still slip, push harder. Or use peg dope to make them frictiony-er. The violin went in tune well enough, It did go a little flat as the new strings stretched out but now it's behaving.
Within a couple hours I had a few notes down and a horrendous rendition of "marry had a little lamb."
As far as being a starter vioin it's perfect for my needs. It's pretty, in-tune, and functional. If you're a serious professional, you spend serious money. I'm sure a master violinist could make my cheap violin sing beautifully.
