Customer Reviews

Full Size 4/4 Electric Violin Set with Case and Accessories - Black

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Lets start by saying the final product has a tonal quality I didn't expect from an electric violin. It has that heavy Jim Hendrix, Star Spangled Banner sound when the bass and volume are cranked. Want to rip up some heavy metal, this baby has no problem. Want some sweet classical stuff, it does that also (less volume, less bass, more treble, if thats what you want). The violin arrived with the used look. Touchup paint and light scratch's. The bridge has sting marks on it like someone had tried to use it. Now for the work it took. Starting at the top. The pegs are made of genuine plastic and the string holes appear to be made with a hot pin punched by a machine. The holes were too shallow, only going half way thru the pegs and the strings wouldn't stay in when I started to wind them. I took a pin size drill bit and hand drilled each hole in all four pegs. Easily done. I order four fine tuners because this package only comes with one fine tuner on the E-string. I also upgraded the strings to Thomastik Dominant. Well worth it. The bridge was way too high and had a curve consistant with the neck. Each string was 3/8" over the neck. I sanded the neck down so my stings now were G 7/32", D 7/32", A 5/32" and E being 3/32". After sanding so much wood off, the bridge ends up being too thick and you must also sand this thinner. Having a lower bridge puts less stress on the neck which can lead to the bow and arrow look. You can order a medium size bridge but it may still need to be fitted correctly. The last issue was the head phone jack. The head phone jack is located directly above the 9v. battery and the two don't occupy the same space very well. I took the back off the violin by removing six small screws and was able to make small spacers to re-mount the jack outlet using some household glue that was good for plastic. Couple hours to dry and good as new. When you finally tune the stings, use adaquate amount of peg drop. Plastic on plastic tends to slip. Get yourself a decent electronic tuner that does G, D, A and E. The bow is decent, for it sound ok. Use light sandpaper on the rosin and plenty of rosin. A dry bow is a hissing bow and the electric part really picks it up. The better strings also help quell this effect. Once this is all accomplished. I had a ripping instrument. I would have given it 5 stars except for the work I had to do on it. I recommend beginners try this one.

I have to say I am very happy with how this turned out for me. I decided to pick up the violin after not playing for several years. With a decent violin starting at about $600 minimum, I decided to go a different route, electric.

First, let me say, you will not be playing this badboy right out of the package. Mine took a bit of work to get into playable shape. Not a huge problem as nearly every violin usually does. I had to replace the strings as the ones in the package are the saddest sounding things I can imagine. For the beginner, I recommend a set of Prelude's. If you have some experience under your belt and can hear the difference, go for a set of Dominant's. I personally went for the Sensicore Octave's, but then again I like playing an odd violin/chello hybrid.

The provided bridge is way to thick, and high. I'm not a master of this but using a bit of sandpaper and a file I was able to cut it down to a serviceable size and shape. You may want to buy a new one, but you are going to be stuck shaping it no matter what you do anyway. The top of this violin is flat, not round like the classical ones, so a preshaped one may not do it for you.

The shoulder rest pad is nearly useless. It may be that my neck is too long for the thing, but attempting to hold the violin up with it would give me a horrible cramp. Buying a new rest is tricky due to the width of the violin. I managed to find a nice adjustable length viola rest that fit the bill nicely.

As for the bow, not sure what these people think brazilwood is, but this bow wasn't. Cheap fiberglass strung with what very well could have been plastic. It fell apart within a week for me, though I have noticed other buyers had different experience with this. The thing is not worth the price of rehairing, so you may need a new one depending on your luck. I was lucky enough to have an extra bow lying around so it didn't set me back.

A set of fine tuners on every string is required for this thing as well. While I have finally managed to get all of the pegs to stop slipping, the process of the initial tune is much harder than most violins. Due to the construction, tuning one string offsets the entire assembly and requires you to tune everything again. Fine tuners simplify this greatly.

After all of that, it is a nice sounding violin. Even without use of headphones or amp it has an interesting resonance to it. I would recommend this only if you are willing to put in the work. While it has the potential to be an awesome instrument, the initial effort may be a bit much for some to deal with.

The violin came in with headphones, strings, rosin, battery, sponge, bow, bridge, pegs, single fine tuner

Now here's what needs attention, the Bridge: it either needs to be sanded lower or you can make deeper notches on the curve of the bridge. Then the Rosin: Sand the rosin so the glare is gone. Headphones: Not built good enough to withstand the sounds and vibrations of the violin (in my case). Pegs: You need strength to shove the pegs in so they don't slip and additionally use Peg Drops. The STRINGS: They are the worst thing out there, they break to 1/4 the normal strength of Red Tag Violin Strings .Highly recommend replacements since my G and D Strings Broke because the braid failed.

Here's the ups

Rigid and very beautiful when it comes to colors ( don't scratch it because it reveals spots of white plastic)

Great electronics.

Light and good quality Bow (hairs exceptional)

Now Even the work is not that bad But it is still Great instrument For Beginners and/ or Intermediates. A huge Recommendation

One More thing, Make sure you get the bridge sanded by a professional or if done by yourself, Use a image so you don't mess up, Warning Make sure the shape is exact because if its not correct it will not work properly.
One Last thing, Buy a Amp because It will make your sound a whole lot louder.

:)

HAI WORLD
Things you might want before playing this violin: 4 fine tuners, new strings, sandpaper, and a 9v battery snap connector. As some of the other reviews suggested, this violin will probably not play out of the box. I purchased this through Violinsmart through the amazon marketplace; they supplied a bridge that was slightly larger than normal and without notches. Also within the first five to ten seconds the 9v battery snap connector broke in two and lodged itself in the 9v battery. The strings that the violin comes with are playable, but not easily tunable. The plastic pegs are some what finicky, but hold in place.

Go ahead and install new strings with the fine tuners, sand down the bridge and if you break the 9v battery connector, make sure you have a replacement.

Aside, this violin is a great way to learn to play the violin at a very reasonable expense. Yes, it will be made out of plastic and not be the greatest violin ever, but works as a practice violin. The perfect starter violin, just please remember to upgrade later. Don't forget to rosin your new bow for an hour before you start rubbing it.

This item came with the violin, bow, 4 strings, 1 fine tuner (E string), chin rest, shoulder rest, nylon soft case, wooden bridge, rosin, amp cord, in-ear headphones, and one 9v battery.
KTHXBYE

I purchased an Electric Violin from Austin Bazaar for my 20 year old daughter who just loves it. She worked the kinks out of it, tuned it up, and it plays just great. We hooked it up to an amp. and it creates good sound for the money. I had a problem with the postal service damaging the first Electric Violin sent to me but Austin Bazaar was very quick to replace the damaged product within days of my complaint. Their Customer Service Department worked great with me. I am very pleased with this product and the service I received from this company and would recommend it to everyone.

I am quite glad that I had read the other comments for this product. The bridge DEFINITELY needs work. Unfortunately, it looks like someone had made a 1/2 hearted attempt at sanding it. To be honest, I wish they had left it alone. I'll spend more time working with it to fix those marks than I would have just doing it all myself.

The bow is what I'd expect from a beginner's package. Not horrid, but definitely a student grade bow. Moderate quality, limit hair, and not worth any effort. I sincerely doubt it is worth the cost of re-hairing. I'll probably stick it aside for one of my kids to use one day.

The headphones had a short right out the package. Easily fixed, but a tad anoying.

I would concur with recommendations to replace: strings, battery, headphones, and bow. Also, splurge on the extra $12 and buy some fine tuners & at least chalk the pegs. I know that sounds like a lot, but in general, it's all relatively minor.

After all that, you can't beat the sound for the cost! Read some of the coments on the more expensive electric violins and you'll see similar problems until you get past the mid range pricing. At this rate, you just can't find a better deal.

It's pretty phenomenal for a cheepy. all the reviews are pretty clear.. you need to maybe sand the bridge just a little to make it slightly less flat, although it's a good bridge, and I haven't sanded mine yet. The bow is cheap, but you can always use it as a spare.. I use my good bow. I put a viola shoulderrest (KUN) on it, fit's perfect. That little G-10 amp has distortion that is killer.. I had no problem tuning it. Maybe those other people just couldn't tune!
The plastic is somewhat hollow, so it gives it a better tone to me than the more expensive yamaha.. It's self contained, and it got here in two days! with the headphones it will sound like a worm drilling your ears out, so get a guitar amp, with distortion & overdrive.. That little G10 has it. AND IT SCREAMS.

This instrument, seems to have the soul of a violin, the tone is truly amazing. Lots of fun, without the serious responsibility of an expensive instrument. If you ever wanted to dip your toe back into the beautiful world of the violin, this is your perfect route.

I am new to playing the violin but have been playing music my whole life. This product is great for me a begginer. headphones are low quality but I would still recomend it

i bought this item because i had never heard of electric violins and it sounded like it would be really cool. it arrived within a week but when we tried to set it up the instructions that came with it were for an accoustic violin and so they didnt even apply to the one i was trying to set up. the strings are frayed and my husband wont let me go near it because hes worried a string will snap and hurt me. also you cant tune this instrument. all the strings are too loose to play and if you try to tighten them they just turn right back. i really wish i wouldnt have wasted 80 dollars on this cheap violin that just sits in a closet.