Customer Reviews

ViolinSmart 4/4 Full Size Student Violin w/Bow, Case, and Rosin - Solid Black

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(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.

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!

I've been interested in playing the violin since about the age of eight, I am now nearly sixteen and decided it's about time to play. I did not start in earlier years because violins are regularly rather costly. Out of curiousity, I began browsing Amazon's selection of violins and stumbled upon this specific violin set. It is a great price, a beautiful violin and a wonderful set for a beginner. I ordered this violin on the 5th of July, I was told it would arrive between the 13th and the 18th. It came today, which is the 14th, quite a timely manner and in perfect condition. The violin was just like the picture, I am not at all disappointed. Though I have to say, I had an issue with one of the strings which broke on me while I assembled the bridge, which comes unassembled and without instructions. Being that I've never seen a fully assembled violin with my own eyes, it was a bit of a challenge to figure out how to assemble it. I at first thought the strings go through the holes that are on the bridge, but quickly realized my mistake: that the strings go on top of the bridge, fitting perfectly into little wedges you notice when paying great attention to detail. I only wish that there were included instructions about how to install the bridge onto the violin, or at least an extra set of strings. However, once you get the hang of it, it's a piece of cake.

All in all, I cannot thank you enough for this beautiful violin! I would highly recommend this violin to people just becoming familiar with the violin. I would gladly buy a instrument made by the Violin Factory again.

Ok, first I recommend to buy some extra stuff with this violin to set it up correctly. I've been playing violin now for 18 years and I know that the violin isn't very confortable without a shoulder rest. So I RECOMMEND to buy a good one, for me the best shoulder rests brand is "Kun".

Then I recommend to buy 4 fine tuners to tune the violin easier and you'll see that fine tuners will help a lot in the violin tuning and it's more important if you're a begginer.

And now let's talk about the violin..As the first thing..Dont expect a Guarneri with this purchase but by the way it comes to a very good instrument so far if you can take care of it and you can play it good and give it maintenance. It has a great sound and it's good if you are learning to play violin because in some years you'll need a better violin.

It's a great instrument for learning

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.

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.

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!

Having played multiple types of guitar for over 20 years, I am fairly well acquainted with string instruments and some of the "quirks" that they tend to have; and have few complaints about this instrument. I wanted a STARTER violin, in order to learn such basics as proper technique, finger-positioning, etc., but did not want to spend $100 or more on something that I wasn't even sure I would enjoy playing. This violin has been perfect for my needs, and will be a nice piece of decoration if/when I decide to upgrade to a better instrument. This is not an instrument one should expect to play in a symphony hall - but it is capable of producing a decent enough sound for a beginner (note: the instrument is capable, that does not mean that the beginner is capable). It arrived in perfect condition & was actually better quality (violin, case, and bow) than I expected for under $50... So far, only real problem I've had was as much my fault as anything, so no complaints here!

I bought this violin to maybe dabble a bit in it as a student but, please be aware that this is a student violin in the sense that it is for little arms, little hands and little chins.

Otherwise it sounds pretty good. I had no problem tuning it. The hardest part was getting the string ends through the tuning pegs. The bridge is not steep enough but anyone can make a new one out of balsa wood. Although the pegs are not geared, they seem to hold well by friction.
The bow is better than I expected.

All in all you get what you pay for and it is worth the fifty bucks, but not any more.

This was a great product for my little brother it was cheap and affordable and he was so excited when it came in. There were a few minor errors in coloing like awkward hues and a missing string, that had us baffeled a bit! However as soon as it was replaced he grew to love it and have fun with it!