Pros:
The violin looks very good. It feels right in the hand. The neck, scroll and pegs are exactly like my acoustic violin. The finger board is good and the tailpiece with 4 fine tuners suits me. The violin is slightly heavier than my 4/4 size Guarneri-pattern violin but that is no problem.
The bow is acceptable. It is nearly, but not quite, as good as my Dörfler 15. Using my Mirecourt bow improves playing this violin a lot.
The case is well made, being, robust, attractive and functional.
The sound without extra amplification is adequate for quiet practicing without annoying neighbors or their cat and when plugged into an amplifier sounds quite good - similar to my acoustic violin There is a preamplifier in the body of the violin allowing headphones to be used. The externally amplified sound would be improved by adding a slight echo/delay unit to allow that ‘cathedral-like’ sound that I like - without being in one.
I am highly satisfied with this outfit and recommend it to anyone considering one. It even comes with a small block of Hidersine rosin so you can try it out immediately. Of course, a better bow allows more control but I guess that many violinists will have one.
I would give this outfit 9 out of 10 (losing half a mark for the lack of fitting space for a shoulder rest and losing another half mark for the ‘bullet wood’ bow. However, all in all, and considering the low price of this outfit I consider it to be excellent value and well worth buying.
Cons:
There is a lack of information with it, which is a little confusing What sort of strings are fitted but I guess that doesn’t matter too much as the piezoelectric microphone under the bridge will pick up all vibrations from the bridge.
Other:
In short, it is brilliant except for the lack of anywhere to fit my shoulder rest. The control panel on the right bout stops that and I think this is regrettable but I’ll get there without that eventually. Extra care is needed shifting down from a high position. I look forward to more time playing it.
