Palatino Dolce Violin Outfit, 4/4 Size

by Palatino

Product Features

• Tightly Grained Select Spruce Top
• Highly Flamed Maple Back & Sides
• Ebony Fittings
• Brazilwood Bow & Deluxe Featherweight Case
• Set Up in USA

Product Details

• Item Weight: 5.8 pounds
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• Shipping Advisory: This item must be shipped separately from other items in your order. Additional shipping charges will not apply.
• ASIN: B0002GY1JI
• Item model number: VN-850
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #64,192 in Musical Instruments (See Top 100 in Musical Instruments)

Product Description

The Dolce has a handmade and graduated top of select, close-grained spruce. The sides and the hand-carved, graduated back feature a gorgeous, book-matched flamed maple selected for tone as well as beauty.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars My Palatino is a fine violin., January 16, 2011

By 

Paul Castonguay (Wilmington, MA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Palatino Dolce Violin Outfit, 4/4 Size (Electronics)

I give my Palatino violin a five star rating. It has no defects, good tone, and it is completely functional. My violin is more than adequate as a learning instrument. In fact, so far I feel little need to upgrade. It is well worth the $300 that I paid for it.

I own the Palatino Anziano VN-950 and a close friend owns the Palatino Dolce VN-850. We have both practiced some beginning level exercises together and we cannot tell any difference between our two instruments. They both have the same good tonal quality. In addition, since purchasing my Palatino I have tried more expensive violins of $1,000 and $2,000 and I find the difference compared to my Palatino noticeable but insufficient at my playing ability to deserve their much higher price.

It is interesting that evaluator Tony Thomas gave the Palatino a one star rating, yet he doesn't indicate whether or not he actually bought one, or even tried one. Don't think because he uses the term VSO (a violin shaped object) that he knows what he is talking about. Yes, I've heard the term VSO used at violinist.com, and any school child can remember an acronym. But knowing a bigoted buzz phrase is not license to criticize all $300 instruments. I prefer to look at the evidence. Yes, you always get what you pay for, but in today's world, you can get a pretty good student violin for $250 to $300 from Palatino. I cannot speak for Palatino's lower models or for Cremona's models because I have never tried them, but I am told that a $250 to $300 Cremona is a perfectly good student instrument as well. I would even consider lower models if my budget was more constrained.

Of course every violin needs regular adjustment and slight maintenance, like buying better rosin than you typically get with a $300 instrument, or installing fine tuners if your instrument has none or only one, and using peg drops once in a while when the pegs slip. Also, changing to a good set of strings, like Dominant, produces a noticeable improvement in tonality. I even changed my bridge out of curiosity, but I noticed little difference. In my opinion these issues are slight and should not be used as criticism of a $300 instrument. If you feel that way, well go out and buy a $1000 or $2000 instrument that comes with Dominant strings and be done with it. I prefer to spend $300 for the instrument and buy the strings myself for $50, thank you very much.

I should also mention that my Palatino came with a brand new bow that was not pretreaded with rosin. The bow just slipped over the strings making no sound at all. But that was not the instrument's fault. It takes many applications of rosin to get a brand new bow to work correctly. Mine took a week before it sounded good. My understanding is that this is normal for a brand new bow that has not been pretreated with rosin.

I do not find my Palatino VN-950 discouraging in any way, although I do complain a lot about the fact the God did not see fit to give me Mozart's musical talent. Learning an instrument for an average person like me is a challenge, but that challenge is no greater because of my instrument. I agree that a more expensive instrument would have slightly better tonality, but that would not make the learning of the instrument any easier at my level. To reject my Palatino out of hand as a "Violin Shaped Object" is pure bigotry and snobery. If after a few years I learn to play well enough to deserve a better instrument, I may get one. But for the foreseeable future my Palatino is a perfectly fine instrument. I recommend Palatino's VN-850 or VN-950 to anyone who is looking for an inexpensive way to see if they can learn violin.

I also find it odd that a person who admits to starting guitar on a $15 Stella criticizes people for spending $300 on a violin. You may prefer the tonality of a $1,000 violin, but don't discourage those who cannot afford one by calling their $300 violins VSO's. It is a lot better for a beginner to start on a $300 violin than to give up before even starting because they cannot afford a $1000 instrument.

3.0 out of 5 stars the good and not-so-good, January 22, 2012

By 

neddy's notes - See all my reviews

This review is from: Palatino Dolce Violin Outfit, 4/4 Size (Electronics)

I am not a violin expert, but I have played in the past on rented school violins. That is my frame of reference.

I have been told by a person who knows violins that this one decent. It is very attractive and it has a full sound. For the price we spent (about $100 less than the current price) I thought it came with an attractive, decent case. The package included a nice velvet cloth to place over the violin, some inexpensive rosin, a shoulder strap for the case, and an additional tailpiece. The tailpiece on the violin has fine tuning bolts and they work the way I expected.

I replaced the bridge because it was warping after a few weeks. I also replaced the strings for somewhat better quality ones, but honestly, the string replacement only mildly improved the sound of the violin and its ease of playing. The bow seems decent -- it tightens up properly and is not shedding its hair.

The turning pegs work - they hold the tune. But they can be hard to turn. BUT - I'd rather have them hard to turn than not holding the strings in place!

I am a bit disappointed with the sound of the violin. The sound is full and it resonates in the violin body, which is good! But the sound is bright and a bit harsh. I purchased an inexpensive mute, which actually sweetens the sound quite a bit.

The chin rest is not the one in the picture. It came with a center bolting rest, which I find rather uncomfortable. However, it is a perfectly good chin rest.

13 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Good that this not available unfortunate I cant give it -5 stars, August 27, 2005

By 

Tony Thomas (SUNNY ISLES BEACH, FL USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Palatino Dolce Violin Outfit, 4/4 Size (Electronics)

In violin circles we talk about violins and VSO's. A VSO is a violin shaped object. The reputation that Palitinos have among violin teachers and players is as VSOs. There are other inexpensive brands that will give you more violin for the money like the Cremonas, but the Palitinos are pretty crummy.

I know what it is like to be poor and not to be able to afford a decent instrument. I know that from having struggled to learn the guitar on 15 buck stellas back in the 1960s. However, if you can possibly wait and save up two or three hundred dollars, you can get a decent enough student violin to be worth it. You will see the difference. For a new person, often the difference might be having an instrument that discourages a beginner from playing and an instrument that will get the fun of playing the fiddle or violin to be a permanent part of your life.

Unless you know about violins, don't buy one on the Net, that you haven't actually played. Find a violin teacher, or someone from the many online groups for beginning violinists--I recommend Yahoo's Beginning Adult Violinist group which has thousands of members all over the US and beyond--who can give you advice, go with you to a store or help you make an online purchase.

Here are a few tips I have learned since I first started buying and playing inexpensive violins in the past few years.

Setup, is very crucial for a violin's sound even for an inexpensive violin. Setup involves the placement of the bridge, what size bridge and how the sound post is properly place under the bridge, something that is hard to do an requires precision. Finding a luthier who will set up a violin for you, and perhaps put decent strings on it, can make a big difference in buying a violin at any price. For someone buying an inexpensive violin it is something relatively inexpensive that can help the sound.

Likewise, the bow is often as important to your sound as your fiddle itself. Moreover, someone with little cash can more easily move up from the 10 or 20 buck bow that comes with these cheap fiddles to a 100 buck bow, than they can move up from a 300 dollar fiddle (most things that cost less are VS0s) to a 800 or 1000 buck fiddle.

Finally, buying fiddles on ebay is even more of a trap than buying one online without advice. There are plenty of vsos up on EBay and plenty of people who are selling cheap violin sets like these as used violins for even more money.

I will repeat what I said before. Don't buy a violin simply from an Internet Ad. Find a violin teacher, or someone from the many online groups for beginning violinists--I recommend Yahoo's Beginning Adult Violinist group which has thousands of members all over the US and beyond--who can give you advice, go with you to a store or help you make an online purchase.