Customer Reviews

ViolinSmart 1/4 Size Student Violin w/Bow, Case, and Rosin - Solid Natural Wood

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

 

 

When I first tried to tune the violin I applied pressure to the D peg and the scroll broke from the fingerboard! It wasn't a lot of pressure so I assume there was a crack or a weak spot in the wood. Needless to say I contacted (emailed) customer support and was pleasantly surprised when they agreed to replace the violin at no charge (not even shipping)! The new violin arrived and I was able to tune it fine. My five year old son has been performing around the house almost everyday!

Now a word about the quality. Would I buy this brand to perform professionally? No. This is an inexpensive introduction to the violin - it is a massed produced product that I think is wonderful at this price. Beautiful to look at and my son loves it - nuff said.

I purchased this for my daughter. She has taken great care of the instrument. We had the instrument for a month when as her violin instructor was tuning the instrument the back of the violin came apart. Austin Bazaar would not refund or exchange the item. I would not order anything from them again. It is cheap, there is a reason for that.

My 6 year old son is taking violin lessons and the is the violin we purchased is for him. The sound is very good and his teacher asked where I purchased it from. I started playing the violin at the age of 8 yrs old and smaller violins tend to have poor sound in general. I was pleasantly surprised by this violin's sound (not squeaky at all). Violins are fragile instruments and no one should assemble it without experience. No matter what the quality of an instrument you have, it can break easily. I am very happy with my purchase. The only reason there are only four stars is because the extra set of strings and pitch pipe were missing from my order. Hopefully this was an oversight and will sent shortly, I have e-mailed customer service.

I brought the ViolinFactory for my grand child who fell in love with the Instrument from the start. The violin is very light in weight, making it easy for a child to handle for hours on end. I myself have no clue about how to tune or play a violin, so I had to search the internet on how to tune the strings. For what I found, one would think this info would have came with the Instrument itself. I also had no clue on how important the cake of rosin that comes with the unit is so thats a plus. At this point in time I'm still not sure if I placed the bridge on the right way, this info is not included in the limited info that is shipped with the unit. in fact if you don't know what a bridge is for you just might throw it away thinking it was a piece unfinish wood. The carry case is well made with plenty of space for extra items you may need or want to have. Would I buy this unit again if I had to..probley so.

As a string instructor, I have unfortunately seen instruments like these at school. It would be better for parents to check into school-rental instruments or other inexpensive sources than to buy low quality instruments. Look for instruments adjusted to MENC specifications. It might seem like a cheap instrument is better than no instrument, but the students I have observed with these either get a better instrument soon or quit out of frustration. Either way, it's money down the drain.

This violin never worked right. It needed to be put together, and we never were able to get any decent sound out of it, even rosining the bow with what we were sent. It's basically just a dust collector.

Got it for my son for christmas and arrived on the date promised with no problem. The product is really good and resistent( good for smal children:))

I purchased this violin for my four yr old grandson. My daughter is a band teacher and wanted to teach him to play the violin. The product arrived in just a few days and was easy to tune and play. He practices on it almost every day. They are both very pleased with the product. It came complete with everything he needed. It is a very good beginner violin for a child. The price was unbeatable.

We read all of the reviews, positive and negative, for this violin, and compared as best we could with others of similar size and price here on Amazon and elsewhere. It was turned out to be perfect for our needs.

Pros:
- The sound is adequate for the size of the instrument and level of playing it is currently being used for. (Once the student using this grows, they will 'graduate' to another bigger instrument that is waiting, so spending a lot of money for a pricier 1/4 sized violin did not make sense to us)

- Once the pegs are stable, the strings seem to stay put for long periods of time with only the usual minor tuning adjustments required.

- We have had no broken parts or pieces, missing parts, etc. Initially we were missing a tuning pipe that was listed as included, but the shipper took care of us in a timely manner.

- The case and accessories have worked out perfectly.

Cons:
- The sound quality (which I also list as a pro), while often typical for this size, is like that of a bigger instrument, and so in comparison, it sounds a little thin, but this does not diminish the joy that the student we purchased this for is getting from playing it. And, as I have already mentioned, in consideration of the relatively short duration of time this 1/4 sized violin will be used, the sound is more than adequate for the experience. This 'con' is of little concern to us.

- Tuning the strings is a little trickier on this instrument due to its size: even the tiniest of adjustments in tuning with the pegs causes proportionately larger variations in the pitch of the string, requiring more than usual patience and persistance for full size violin tuning. Many times, however, the fine tuning screws behind the bridge will take care of minor adjustments less painfully.

I am an orchestra teacher and I HATE when my parents go on ebay, or craiglist, or here, to purchase an instrument. ATTENTION PARENTS: You will NOT find a quality violin or viola for under $150, preferably 200! Stop trying to save a buck and get your child something they will be successful on!