Mendini by Cecilio MV650 Ebony Fitted Highly Flamed 1-Piece Maple Back Violin + Chromatic tuner w/Metronome, 2 Bows, Extra Set of Strings, Shoulder Rest, Extra Bridge & Case in 4/4 (Full Size)

It broke the first time we touched it. The violin teacher was luckily there to grab it before it completely fell to pieces and the sound board collapsed. I called them and they sent me a wire. They think it's a manufacturing defect and they sent me a wire. I am supposed to now take the thing apart and fix it? One wire. Kudos for a human answering the phone and doing something but I just bought the supposedly nicest violin in the pack and it fell apart. I don't want a new wire. I want a functional new violin, what I THOUGHT I bought! Low quality ! Fell apart ! Customer service was nice but not really any good if they think that is going to appease me.

Bought this for my wife. This violin took only minutes to assemble. You really don't have to have it set up professionally if you do your research and educated yourself. It isn't that big of a deal. Search Youtube as they have many good related videos. This violin looks very nice and has a nice finish. The strings are cheap and basic but these need replaced anyways as time goes by. I can see no defects or major issues in the finish. My wife's music teacher plays professionally and she agrees it is a great value for any beginner to learn with. It sounds great also, very crisp and has good tone. Iv'e heard it side by side with more expensive violins and it is comparative. It is a great buy and we have no regrets.

I bought this Violin/Fiddle ( I will be calling it a fiddle for the purpose of this review) to help my 7 year old son practice his fiddle lessons. I wasn't planning on taking up the fiddle at the time I purchased this, so I just needed something inexpensive to demonstrate what he should be doing, or sound like. I had played violin, and cello as a child, and I also play guitar, and a little piano, so I am a bit of a help to him getting through his fiddle homework from his teacher. I really wasn't expecting too much from this fiddle, and that is partly why I gave it three stars instead of two. I had researched many instruments under $200.00 and decided on this one, because it had real ebony fingerboard, and pegs, not painted black wood. Also I liked the fact that it had inlaid purling. The extra items that came along with the instrument other than the case, were of no real importance to me because I knew I would need to upgrade the bow, and strings. And good rosin is pretty cheap ( around $10.00). The good: The fiddle came set up with strings and bridge. If you are a new player, it is intimidating to to string and set up the bridge on your instrument. The fiddle did in infact have ebony fingerboard and fittings. Right out of the box, It was playable, but the sound wasn't very good. I could have left it as is, for a teaching aid I suppose, but I wanted to get the best possible sound out of it. The bad: The fiddle had a terrible smell out of the box, I suspect it was the varnish that was used. I could live with it, but someone sensitive to smells might have a hard time. The strings that come on the fiddle, and the extra set are really terrible. Tinny, and buzzy. I had already planned on upgrading the strings. I actually purchased a set of D'Addario Helicores at the same time I purchased the fiddle. Replacing the strings is a must if you want to be able to play without being frustrated by the scratchy sound these produce. The fine tuners were impossible. They simply weren't big enough to get the ball end of the strings through. They didn't look like the fine tuners I had been used to, so I took them to our fiddle teacher, and asked her to help me. She couldn't get them to work either. She said I would need to put a new tailpiece on. I took it to a local luthier, and had them replace the tail piece that came with it, with a whitney style tail piece with fine tuners. The luthier advised me not to spend anymore money on this fiddle, as it was just not worth it. I wasn't planning on it anyway, and I knew it was a really cheap poorly made instrument, so his response didn't shock me. The bows that came with the fiddle starting falling apart right away. The hair was constantly snagging on things, and getting ripped out. I decided to upgrade the bow to a carbon fiber bow, and was much happier with the results from that bow. The varnish on the back of the fiddle, comes to a really abrupt stop on the neck. The neck should NOT be varnished.( I saw some reviewers complaining that the neck had no varnish. This is how it should be. The varnish will mix with the oil from your hands, and become sticky, making sliding up the the neck really hard) This fiddle has a clear line of demarkation where the varnish stops. I noticed on my son's much more expensive fiddle, it is a really gradual fade that is hardly noticeable. Also, the neck on my son's fiddle, although varnish free, has been sanded to a really smooth glossy feel. This fiddle feels like it was given a preliminary sand with a rough grit, and then never finished. The action is very high ( the distance from the string to the fingerboard, higher action means you have to press harder to get a good clear tone from the string) this could be fixed by having it re-set up by a luthier, but I really wouldn't waste the money on this instrument. The case is really cheap as I expected, the inside pieces started coming unglued within a few months. Although I didn't buy it for the extra items included, the shoulder rest is also very cheap, it falls off a lot, and I replaced that as well. The rosin is ok. It works. I didn't receive the tuner with my purchase. The verdict: This is an extremely entry level instrument. For the price, you can upgrade the bow, the strings, and tail piece, and end up with a violin that will last through your first year or two of lessons and is still pretty inexpensive. It is in no way professional level, as stated in the description. It was playable though. I bought a cello online many years ago, and what I received was a cello shaped object. Completely unplayable in every way. This fiddle served its purpose as a teaching aid for me. And I have decided to start lessons myself. I just upgraded to a french trade violin from circa 1890-1913 the difference is remarkable in tone, action, and response. In general if you are looking to get this for yourself or your child who wants to take lessons, I would say you are better off renting from a quality violin store. The ones in my area rent good quality violins for under $30.00 a month. Rent until you are sure this is something you want to do (i'd say at least a year) then shop around locally for an instrument you can try out. Or use an online violin store that offers in home trials. If you are looking for a throw away instrument like I was this will get the job done for you.

I received this violin yesterday and my first impressions are extremely positive. First of all, it is even more beautiful than the pictures suggest. The finish is a bit lighter than I expected, but that's actually a good thing because some of the pictures made it look a bit muddy/dark. The actual color *is* sort of dark, but it has a nice warm color that doesn't really show in the pictures, and the glossy finish is very nice. The mother of pearl inlay on the tailpiece has a slight blemish, but I can tell that it is inherent to the actual pearl itself, not due to any damage or manufacturing issues. Though that might bother some folks, I actually don't mind it, since I think it has unique character. There were even some pleasant surprises that didn't show up in the pictures, such as beautiful detailing on the sides of the tuning pegs and on the endpin. It has the appearance of a mother of pearl inlay surrounded by a gold circle, but since it isn't mentioned in the product description, I suspect it isn't real mother of pearl. Regardless, I didn't expect it, and it looks gorgeous. The bows that came with the violin were nicer than I thought (definitely better than the one that came with my Mendini MV300) but still not what I would call "good". They're still a bit tip-heavy, and bow hairs were already loose when I first opened the case. I didn't really care, since I'll be using my Fiddlerman Carbon Fiber bow anyway. But they certainly didn't seem terrible, and they will get the job done. As for how it plays, that will have to wait for an update. I dropped it off at a luthier this morning to have him check it out, set it up, and make any adjustments that it may need before I start playing. I also will be having him restring it with Zyex strings (I'm not even going to bother playing on the factory strings it came with, as I've never heard anything good about them). As soon as I get my violin back, I will update this review with my impressions of the sound quality as well as information about how much I had to pay the luthier for any adjustments (and what, if anything, needed to be done to render it playable). For now, though, let me just say that I'm extremely pleased, and I can't wait to actually play it. UPDATE (2/23/2015): Heard back from the luthier. He said that it needed a new bridge (which I honestly kind of expected, as the bridges for most inexpensive violins are not customized for the individual instrument) and that the nut needed to be filed down a bit. Total cost to me would be $50.38 for the adjustments. Honestly, that's not bad. I'm still pretty pleased. I won't get it back for another three days, so I can't yet comment on the sound, but I will update again when I able to play it. UPDATE (2/28/2015): I got my violin back from the shop on the 26th and have been playing it pretty much nonstop. I think it sounds great, and I'm still very pleased with my purchase. The luthier did mention that one of the two bows that it came with was pretty warped, and said he wasn't sure if he would be able to straighten it. Since I won't be using it, I told him not to bother, but it is something that may be of concern to others. Something I haven't yet mentioned is the Cecilio 92D tuner / metronome, which works well and is extremely convenient. I was going to purchase a metronome at some point anyway, but now I don't have to (money saved!). I also haven't mentioned the included shoulder rest, but it's really not worth mentioning. It's small, feels cheaply made, and the feet that clamp on to your violin are made of hard plastic, which I would be afraid would scratch the finish. I'd definitely suggest a different shoulder rest. But while the accessories are a bit hit or miss with this kit, the most important thing is (obviously) the instrument itself. And I think that for the money it's a really nice instrument. It doesn't look or sound cheap and considering that the price has come down quite a bit (it was over $250 when I first added it to my wish list) I think it's well worth buying if you have realistic expectations of the kit as a whole. I certainly would have paid a great deal more for a violin of a similar quality in a music shop, of that I'm fairly confident.

I was very happy with this product when I first received it but about a week later I went to play again and the wood had split. I am no longer able to use it. I am very upset because I wasted 200$ just for it to break for no known reason. I would like to get a refund.

I'm an petite adult just learning the Violin. 4/4 and 3/4 sizes were too large and uncomfortable. I rented a 1/2 that sounded a bit ping-y but fit nicely in size. I read that the smaller Violin sizes might not have the best sound, because they don't have the volume to resonant as much. I picked the Mendini by Cecilio 1/2 MV650 after watching a YouTube review. I, and my Violin teacher were both pleased with the Violin. We both think that it is beautiful, and sounds closer to the larger sizes. I am so relieved to find the smaller size Violin with a good sound. The wood has very tight year rings, the finish is beautiful and the tone is richer that my rental. My teacher noticed the beautiful tuning pegs. There are two, more expensive Cecilio Violins's at KK Music that I would consider buying when/if I upgrade at a later date. KK Music had a great price for the setup and lots of extras!! The only thing the Violin teacher suggests, is a more expensive bow, which I will do later, but the two bows for a beginner are just fine!! I want to practice all the time now, I'm very pleased. This one has a serial number which I will happily record and keep in a safe place!! Review update. After playing this Violin for a while, I am still happy with it. The only thing I have noticed is the bow is unbalance and will bounce at times, also I my finger position is at the end of the neck, which is ok, but I'm not use to being so far up the finger board to finger the notes. Eventually I will update the, strings, like I do every Violin that I get, and I will update the tail piece, fine tuners and bow.

This violin was in my shopping cart (saved for later) for several weeks. Suddenly I saw a price drop and the order was sent. Mendini/Cecilio violins are in general not rated as good as Cremona violins based on Amazon customer reviews. I have the 1/4 size Cremona SV-150, which is not bad for its price when I bought it ($103). For the 1/2 size one, which I like to get in advance to my daughter's arm growth, I want something in a different brand and something higher in its series. The Mendini MV650 is much more in its original price than the SV-150, because it is in the top of its lines. I paid more, even after the deep discount ($131), than I paid for the SV-150 as well. After playing with the violin for a couple of days, I should say I don't regret to have purchased this violin, but not too excited either. Here is a list of the good and bad things with my copy of this 1/2 size violin. Pros: 1. The body of the violin is in decent quality. The paint job is not bad. I like the 1-piece back and the varnish finish. 2. Two bows are better than one, although they are not in high quality. 3. The sound is good both in terms of volume and quality, after I put on a new set of D'Addario J810 Prelude strings. 4. I like the compact case, which is slim but provides good protection. One can carry the case like a backpack. 5. There is a yellow handkerchief that came with the violin. It is not mentioned in the description but a very good one to have. 6. Low price paid. Price is always a top consideration in rating a product, because if you pay more you could always get better products. Cons: 1. Extremely poor quality of the strings that came with the violin. E string broke into several pieces when I tried to just tighten it, due to rusts. The spare set is of the same make hence the same poor quality. I don't even bother to try them. 2. As far as I can see, none of the fittings are made of true ebony. The finger board is made of some kind of wood, which is not naturally black but painted semi-black. The others: chin rest, tailpiece, and pegs are made of some kind of composite materials. 3. The finger board is not aligned with the center line of the violin body. Its end slightly points to the left. 4. The accessory tuner is also not a good one. I bought that before separately and returned it later. 5. The shoulder rest is useless. 6. The rosin is a not a cake, but a cheap looking bar. 7. The bows are in poor quality compared with the violin. I would rather have one good bow than two cheap bows.

I bought a Cecilio CVN 100 violin through Amazon in 2009. I liked it well enough. I bought a Cecilio CCO 200 cello in 2011. I love it. I have had no problems other than the basic ones - cheap strings (get some nicer ones!) and un-fitted bridges (just scrape the feet to make them more in shape with the instrument). The bows - both the CVN 100 and CC) 200 broke - so I replaced them of course. I JUST upgraded to the Mendini MV650 violin also made by Cecilio. It's nice. It has a brighter sound than then CVN 100. I will be getting nicer strings and a new bow of course and then I look forward to playing more. Meanwhile, I am enjoying it. They are nice starter instruments. And if you have a place to SEE and check out violins, go there FIRST. I would have liked to see the finishes before purchasing but I have no showroom nearby. So look for something you can see before you buy. Like many things, you want to fall in love with your instrument - not just tolerate it.

It is a great violin for the price. The shoulder rest is a waste of time, but I am very pleased with the instrument.