Customer Reviews

Antique Style Natural Color Full Size 4/4 Violin with Case and Accessories

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(7)

 

 

This is an absolutely gorgeous violin! The flaming, stripes on the back, and detailing of the accessories are awesome. The tonal quality is good for beginning adult students who want to learn and practice playing the violin. The bow takes a bit of rosining at first, but once it's rosined up, it plays beautifully. I like the violin case too -- it comes with a "sleeve" to protect the violin a bit more, and also has a bigger accessory box than most violin cases. There's also an extra zip-around pocket on the outside of the case that can hold sheet music (if it's folded in half). This is a great violin set at this price.

Austin Bazaar's customer service is fantastic as well -- I had a problem with the first shipment, but they rectified it completely and quickly. Their standard shipping is also quite fast... via UPS, it only took two days from Texas to Illinois. Thank you Austin Bazaar!

A couple tips:
> The first time you open the rosin that comes with this violin, be sure to open it over a wastebasket, as it may have small pieces/crumbs in it (probably due to shipping). So for heaven's sake, don't open it while holding it OVER the violin or case!
> The strings that come with the violin break easily when you tune it up for the first time... be prepared to have a backup set in-house by the time your beautiful new violin arrives, or you will be upset that you can't play it right away if one (or more) of the strings break on you too.
> You will have to install the bridge on the violin, since it shouldn't be shipped with the bridge in place. This is EASY; just read up on it first. There's a ton of sites on the internet about installing a bridge.

Accessories you'll need with this violin if you're just starting out:
> as mentioned above, an extra set (or two) of strings -- Super-Sensitive Red Label Violin String Set, 4/4 is good for beginners (currently only around $15-20 on Amazon).
> a shoulder rest (the Kun Collapsible 4/4 Violin Shoulder Rest is awesome and is quite comfortable with this violin)
> a tuner (I'm using the Korg Chromatic Tuner CA-30, which is great, and seems to be the one of choice on Amazon -- Austin Bazaar currently sells these)
> a metronome - I'm using the Seiko DM50 Compact Metronome - Blue, which seems to be working okay (plus it was cheap). If you go digial, make sure you can adjust the volume, and also adjust the tempo by increments of 1 or 2, from at least 40 to 208 (the DM-50 goes from 30 to 250 by increments of 1). Austin Bazaar currently sells these too.
> Of course, you could just get the tuner/metronome combo and avoid having two separate devices.
> if you have "others" in your household, you may also want to invest a couple bucks in a good practice mute (Enough said there...)

Other useful items for your accessory box:
> two soft cloths -- one to wipe down the strings after playing (the rosin gets on the strings, and will build up over time), and one to polish the body of the violin. I don't recommend using the same cloth for both -- the rosin from the strings could potentially scratch the finish on the violin if the same cloth is used.
> a very small piece of sandpaper for scoring the rosin. You need to "score" the rosin before "rosining the bow".
> fingernail clippers. You may have to cut your nails down on your left hand!

Anyway, if you're thinking about investing in this violin, I highly recommend it -- it's well worth it, and is a bargain at this price!

Antique Style Natural Color Full Size 4/4 Violin with Striped Back

This violin was better than I thought in looks it has beautiful white dots on the ends of each peg, on the tailpiece, on the knob on the front of the violin, and on the bow. It had 2 scratches on the violin on the right side, top. The knob on the front wasn't in line correctly, but my instructor, a Dr., said it was playable. The knob, being off centered, made it a trouble for him to move the chin rest over a bit so that the tailpiece could align itself, for when the bridge was in place...so the strings could be tuned, etc. It is a beautiful instrument, the flaming on the back isn't that spectacular, but still pretty and for a beginner it is great! I like the sides of the violin and the pretty white dots that are on the pegs, tailpiece, etc. The bow is nice looking although you can tell it's not as "High quality" as they say, it does have a grip on it, it's just that frog had a white strip that I'm assuming was meant to be as pretty as the white dots...it wasn't it was plain white plastic looking. It looks kind of cheap to me (the bow); the case isn't one of those plastic outside cases (that's what I consider a hard case). I think it's got a hard shell underneath the soft covering on the outside. The zipper caught on one side for a while until it was able to be, how do you say, zipped time and time again (broken in) until it wasn't catching like it was. The inside is pretty, it even has a sleeve, I didn't like the rosin that came with it because it was dark rosin. Dark rosin is not good for hot climates like mine, but the shoulder straps were good! I like how I can pack it around on my back instead of just on my shoulder, that saves using my hand for other things and not worrying about it falling off as I move around. I also advise buying a Care Kit for beginners as well because it comes with peg drops, polish, duster, soft cloth, dark rosin (makes a face), etc. for your violin care. Just remember if you are in colder climates use dark rosin; in warmer climates use light rosin. All in all it was a great buy! No matter how much I complain about it I fell in love with it instantly when I held it in my hands.

I ordered this violin when it was only $99.99, and was amazed at the quality as was my instructor when it arived. I was a little disappointed at the amount of time it took for shipping and the condition of the external packaging on arival, however, the contents were intact and in perfect condition when I opened the box.

My only problem was with tuning the instrument. The pegs slipped quite a bit and I did have to visit my local music supply store to purchase peg drops which did work wonderfully. My instructor informed me that this happens with almost every new instrument so I suggest that when you aquire any new violin, invest in some peg drops as well.

The sound quality was really good, (at least when my instructor plays it), and I was really impressed with the beauty and craftsmanship of the woodworking in the instrument itself. I am sure it will remain in our family for a long time as my five year old is taking an interest in music as well.

My son has been asking me to sign up for violin lessons since he was in pre-school, and I have been thinking about fixing my old violin for him when the time comes.

This violin was a gift from my mom, and I did not take care of it for over 30 years. It looked okay but needed some repairs which might cost a few hundred dollars. When I told my friend of my concern for the price of repairs, she told me that she bought her daughter a practice violin for $150 at a local store. It seems much cheaper than the cost of repairs, so I decided to buy him a full size violin for beginners.

When I checked Amazon, there were several practice violins in the range of $100 to $300. I read the reviews posted to each violin and liked the comment posted by another reviewer for this violin.

Original price of this violin is around $300 and it seems to be the right price for what I paid for. The sound of violin is much better than I expected, and it only cost $100 for a violin, a bow, a carrying case, and a small rosin. It is definitely a bargain that can't be passed on.

In short, I am glad to find such a nice violin at an extremely reasonable price. If you are looking for a beginner's violin, this one is highly recommended.

I got this violin so I can learn to play,
this violin is horrible!
The E string will not stay in tune the hole is too big for the peg.
Bow is cheaply made and falls apart.
The fingerboard is not even made of ebony,but wood that is painted over with black paint.
The strings were replaced becuase of the horrible quality.
I would rather add a couple more dollars and buy a violin that I can actually enjoy playing with ease.
I have played my friend's violin and it sounds amazing compared to mine.
Her violin has a soft deep tone so you can get into the song that you play.
I am sorry for my bad grammar in this description but I want to warn you Do NOT BUY THIS!

It took a lot of thinking before I purchased this violin. Two things came up in my mind: Is it good quality? And if it is, WHY SO CHEAP???!!! I finally decided to purchase the violin. The shipping was fast. It only took 3 days with the standard shipping. The package was in excellent condition. When I opened the box, everything was there. Nothing missing, nothing broken. The violin had great sound. The bow was a good quality bow. The violin case was excellent. The only problem was tiny scratch on the back of the violin, but that was no problem. Overall, I give this violin 5 STARS: A MUST HAVE!

I already play the clarinet and alto sax, and I wanted to widen the variety of instruments I play. I've always loved the violin, and decided to get this one. I ordered it Monday and got it on Friday. Very nice violin. However, the rosin is cheap, and I don't like light rosin. Also, the E string broke when I was tuning it, and I didn't get any extras. However, rosin and strings are relatively cheap. Also, my violin matches the official pics, but not the customer pics. Wierd. Anyway, altogether it's a great violin.

I am writing this review as a warning...and because I can not figure out how to change my feedback to reflect this new information (I deleted my positive feedback about quick delivery). This product was received one month ago in good condition. My daughter takes instrumental music lessons and this was a replacement violin as her previous one had been well used for many years, by her brother, who we purchased it used for. We expected many years of use out of this one (two more, to be exact, as that is how much longer we expect she will take lessons for).

Her orchestra instructor had us purchase new strings as the ones on this violin were cheap...no problem, $10. Today when my daughter carefully opened her violin case, she found that the tailpiece had snapped...clearly made of very cheap wood or defective. We are in the process of contacting the company and hope this issue will be resolved. I will change this review if it is--in the meantime, beware!

We have had this product for 29 days. Too short of a time for a violin to last, even if it were simply a "toy".
Antique Style Natural Color Full Size 4/4 Violin with Case and Accessories

I bought this violin for my 10 yr old daughter and am just amazed at the beautiful resonance the sound creates. It did take a long time to build up the roisin on the bow, and at first the pegs slipped but after a few weeks they now stay in tune. One reviewer noted the bridge doesn't have slots; this certainly does although they are hard to see. I never expected this sound quality at the low price Amazon offered.

I don't usually write this kind of review.
However, for this time, I feel a strong responsibility to write a review to prevent any future victims. Bottomline is that what you see is not what you get.
If you are enticed by >$300 original price but with a huge discount at Amazon, please stop there. What you will get is really different with the picture at Amazon. This one looks really really cheap with crappy finish.