I'm a beginning violinist at age 60. With a very limited budget, I chose this violin and kept my fingers crossed. I haven't been the least bit disappointed! I immediately upgraded the strings to Dominants, and used peg drops. I haven't experienced any of the problems mentioned in the less-favorable reviews. A Strad it's not, but it has a pleasant voice. Overall, I'm really glad I made the purchase.

As my first violin, I was hoping this item would at least be of average quality. Boy was I wrong. To begin with, it was really difficult to get the bridge installed properly. The strings are of such poor quality the G string and the E string both broke during tuning. In addition the pegs will not hold tension so that tuning propely is impossible. This thing is not worth the money. I have learned my lesson and have sent it back for a refund and ordered a more expensive violin. My recommendation is, don't waste your money.

I was so excited to find such a beautiful looking instrument at such a low price and despite what others said about the cliche " you get what you pay for " I still bought the cheap instrument. When I got this violin it was in poor shape. The glue that holds the instrument together was coming loose and the violin couldn't hold in tune. So I took my horrible little friend to my local music center just for them to tell me what I already knew. That I shouldnt have bought it. take my advice please. DON'T BUY THIS INSTRUMENT

I bought this as my first violin, and I am suprised with the sound. It can feel a little cheap made, but the overall tonal quality more than makes up for that. You'll definately want to replace the strings and chinrest. Overall a great instrument!

I got this after getting the mandolin (the tunings, and note fingering principle is the same). The first day I got it, I didn't do much with it because I knew absolutely nothing about applying rosin, and other aspects. Once I called a few people, and got some tips and tricks under my belt, I started to progress more. The violin itself has a pretty good sound. I like the polyfoam case that comes with it, The bow is decent, and the strings are pretty good. The pegs are nothing to write home to mother about (if they're interchangable, Im thinking of putting on some Perfection Planetary pegs. Then if I get a Silver Creek Electric upgrade, I'll have the luthier switch the pegs over to the upgrade). Jazz & blues violin is my challenge now. When I get good enough, I'll go electric.