Mendini by Cecilio Violin 4/4 Full Size Kit For Beginners - Hand Carved Acoustic Violins Set - Fiddle Solid Wood Kit with Hard Case, Bow, Rosin, Shoulder Rest, Bridge and Extra Strings

I am a decent amateur pianist with a masters in music, but I have never played a violin and thought it would be fun to give it a try. I didn't want to spend a fortune in case it didn't "take." I listened to the comparison on Youtube between a $62 violin from Amazon and some 18th-century, $150,000 (or more) violins, and concluded that how a violin sounds depends a whole lot more on the player than on the instrument. So I ordered the Mendini MV200, which cost about $45 with the Amazon Prime discount. It comes with everything you need -- nice case, bow, rosin, shoulder rest, extra bridge, extra strings -- and it looks beautiful. At time of delivery, it was set up with the bridge in place (centered between the notches on the F holes) and the strings attached to the pegs, but not tuned. When I tried to tune it, the bridge, which is held in place by the strings, fell off and had to be put back, which was no big deal. Because all of the strings were loose at the same time, I was concerned that the post inside the violin would slip once the pressure from the bridge was off, but I treated the violin very gently and fortunately that did not happen.While I was tuning, the pegs kept slipping, and at some point in the process I broke the E string -- not a rare event among violinists. To solve the peg problem, I applied rosin powder (after scraping the rosin with sandpaper to rough up the surface), and that made the pegs more difficult to turn, which kept the strings in tune. I rosined up the bow so that the violin would produce a sound. Then I produced a sound that made even the mice run for cover. Now I'm reading "Violin for Dummies," checked out of the library, and I've acquired some violin-lesson books, also from the library. I'm on my way to playing a scale!In addition to the violin package, I purchased from Amazon an Eno Professional Violin Viola Tuner, Colorful LCD display Easy Control Clip on Tuner (ET-05SV); and, as backup to the rosin that came with the violin package, a small, rectangular container of Super Sensitive Dark Violin Rosin. I then ordered different kinds of strings from various companies, including on EBay, to allow comparisons. From Amazon I added a Fretless Finger Guide for Full (4/4) Size Violin, a ChromaCast CC-MSTAND Folding Music Stand with Carry Bag, and an eBoot Rubber 4/4 Violin Practice Mute, Black (to protect the other members of the household). I have ordered the highly recommended Essential Elements for Strings - Book 1 with EEi: Violin and some sheet music with technical exercises. Everything cost me less than $100. Now I'm good to go.Eventually, I'll have to replace the bow, which is already losing a few hairs, or have the existing bow restrung. Now that I know I'm not supposed to touch the rosin, but instead hold it through the cloth it came with, I expect it will last for a while. Note to other reviewers: Rejecting the violin because of the rosin or the bow is like rejecting a house you like because a light bulb is flickering and may need to be replaced. Rosin costs about five dollars and, fortunately, there are plenty of reasonably priced bows on Amazon (or EBay, which is a good place to go for accessories that can cost less than they do on Amazon).I am amused and bemused by the angry, dire reviews left by a few violin teachers and music store owners, as if the existence of an inexpensive violin is an attack on all things beautiful about Western civilization. I can see nothing to regret and no reason to return the instrument, which delights me. My limitations as a player are so great that the violin's limitations make no difference. I can still learn how to hold the violin and the bow, bow technique, where to put my fingers to create different pitches, how to do vibrato, how to play double and triple stops, and a lot more. If the violin starts holding me back, I can get a new instrument, but I don't expect that to happen soon. If it does happen, I'll be thrilled.

*** 3-month Update at the end ***Pros: The violin we received was brand spanking new, as were all the parts (See below for contents). It looks great, and the antiquing looks awesome, well done. My daughter's tutor said it was a perfectly fine instrument for learning and was able to tune it first time no problem. The fine tuners work well. To me (an acoustic guitar player), it sounded great. The construction is good for the price, and I don't believe it will fall apart or break with normal wear.The price was excellent. We opted for private lessons so, if the daughter continues on with the instrument, when we can afford a good violin she will have experience and can appreciate it that much more.Cons: The body feels like laminate, because that is what it basically is. Although everything is much better quality than anticipated, it still feels cheap.Thoughts: This is not a Stradivari, so any expectation for a fine instrument for a bargain price is silly. What it is, is a student/beginner violin that works well in that role. If you aren't sure you or your kid is going to stick to it, this is a very cost effective way to start. If you do stay with it, you will naturally outgrow this starter and seek a better quality one. If not, you won't be out a lot, and may be able to resell for close to (or at) full cost.Contents:ViolinBowExtra strings (one of each)CaseRosin puck in a cloth, all in a casetwo bridgesshoulder supportCare of violin instruction paper*** Update *** - After three months my daughter is still playing. Several practices a week and weekly lessons. This is a good instrument and has served well. The only problems we had:1. The bow had no rosin on it whatsoever. She's had to use the puck before and after every time she plays to work on that (I'm finding that can be normal with new bows).2. We had a horrible time with the E string not staying in tune, and pulling the other strings out of tune when we tried to fix it. I eventually took a closer look and found the string wasn't sitting in the fine tuner at all, it hadn't been seated correctly before it was shipped to us. After re-stringing the E and double checking the fine tuner, all is well and it is working perfectly.All in all, not really problems, we just didn't know to check these things as it is our first violin. I highly recommend this one to anyone who wants to learn.