CecilioFull Size 4/4 Violin with Hard Case & Shoulder Rest - Solidwood Ebony Fitted Violin with D'Addario Strings, Ideal for Beginners

I really like this violin and it comes with everything you need to get playing!The Violin- I am a beginner, and admittedly do not know much about violins, but it sounds great to me! The sound is loud and clear. The violin also came in perfect shape (No dings or scratches, or imperfections in the finish) and feels very solid. It is not as yellow as in the pictures and is slightly more reddish and warm colored. The strings sound great as well, but if I may find I need to upgrade as I learn and progress. The tuning pegs up top did slip for me (some more than others), but the fine tuners worked perfectly, and there are many tricks to get the tuning pegs to stay put, so I wouldn't say this is a deal breaker. From what I can tell, this is quality. It is definitely NOT a toy or a cheap-o, and I can see myself playing it for a long time.The Bows- The bows sound good and seem balanced. They look pretty, though there are minor imperfections. They seem a little bit cheap compared with the quality of the violin, but they work well enough for me. Same as with the strings, I might upgrade as I progress, but as the violin comes with 2 bows, I can't see myself needing to upgrade any time soon.The Case- It is a hard-shell case wrapped with canvas and a soft lining. It zips up and has a button flap. It has a pocket in the front (which is just big enough to hold a lesson book) and a handle and backpack straps on the back. I am very impressed with it! The case also has a spot to hold your 2 bows and your rosin/accessories. Very sturdy (and light-weight despite that). I feel confident putting my violin in it. It could take some bumps and still be perfectly fine. Definitely a plus!The Book- The book also impressed me! It covers all the basics such as holding the violin and bow. It starts off with the open strings and progresses with all of the notes and various techniques and scales. It has 32 pages chock-full of exercises, folk songs, and classical songs which are fun to play. You can learn quite a bit from this book. It is perfect for getting you started (plus a bit more!) It does progress fairly quickly though, and does not cover a lot of basic music theory. These are not necessarily negatives, but may be important to know. It does say on the book that there is a cd(?) and it did not come with one if it was supposed to. No big deal though, as I probably wouldn't have listened to it anyway. :-)The Shoulder Rest- Fits well on the violin and suits my needs. It has plastic screws on the bottom to tighten it on and the rubber feet to grip the violin. It will not scratch the violin (unless you are jamming it on). It is comfy and doesn't jab into my shoulder at all, though it may for other individuals. It seems a little plastic-y/cheap, so I may upgrade eventually.The Tuner- Okay. I don't know if it needs newer batteries than what it came with, but it only registers about 1/4 of what is being played. But when it registers, it works correctly. I will try new batteries and see if it works better then. I already have tuners, so this was not a big deal to me. It has a built in metronome though, which could be useful.The Rosin- Works well. Applies easy. It is not messy and has plastic to hold on to as you are applying it. It has its own little case as well.I would definitely recommend buying this violin. From what I can tell, you probably can't go wrong buying any in the CVN series.

I would have given it a five star if I didn't need to pay to have a new sound post cut. For the price I paid for it, I am very happy!Packaging and shipping:I placed my order on July 27 around 10 am, my 4/4 cvn 500 and 1/8 cvn 100 arrived at my front door around 3pm on July 29 - about 42 hours later. The package was fine, both violin came in the same big box stuffed with butcher paper. The violins were in individual box and they both came with cases, so they were well protected.Accessories:I opened the cvn 500 first and it looked fine. All the accessories - extra set of strings, extra bow, extra bridge, rosin, strap for the case, shoulder rest, tuner, and book were present. The shoulder rest is probably the cheapest one could get. The rosin is fine. The bows are okay. Some hair broke off of one, but still has lots of hair.There are a couple dints on the top and a chip at the edge, but I could accept those. Both bows that came with the vioin didn't need to be rosin much (seven or eight times)to be playable, a brand new bow does not make sound unless it is rosined for a good 10 to 15 minutes (if the rosin is new, it needs to be scratched up - use a paper clip to break the surface).Appearance and set up:I'm not an expert but everything seemed fine - the tail piece and chinrest look beautiful. Pegs are made of ebony but I'm not sure about the fingerboard, it might have been dyed black. The sound post was not in the right spot - it was under E string instead of under A string - it could have been too long or got shifted during shipment, which is common. The bridge looks great as well; however, it was not line up with the notch of f holes, again, it could have been shifted like the sound post. Strings were loose and I tuned them with the tuner that came with the violin. I took it to let my daughter's violin teacher to look at it, she was impress with the appearance but not the sound; she said the sound was "teeny." I heard from others that it takes 6 weeks to 6 months for a violin to be broken into - playing a good amount of time on it everyday. I am just a beginner, so as long as it is playable, it is fine for me. In addition, I really had no other violin to compare with and it sounded so different when you heard it right under your ear.Adjustment made and satisfaction after adjustment:After I had been playing with it for two weeks, I took it to a luthier for him to look at my CVN 500. He recommended a few changes: 1. to replace the sound post that is too long and not in the right spot, 2. to change the steel strings that came with the violin with Dominant strings, 3. to cut a new bridge, the current one is too thick and too low (a thick bridge would dampen the sound). It will cost me $150 for all three and I was not willing to spend so much money on it so I chose to replace the sound post and replaced the strings with dominant strings, which cost me $70 (I purchased my strings on line instead of from the luthier and put them on myself).When the sound post was off, my A string sounded very weak, like when someone couldn't get his/her voice out when he/she talks. After I had the luthier cut a new sound post the sound of all strings improved greatly, my A and E string sound a lot stronger/louder than before. On the fourth week I changed the steel strings to dominant strings. The day when I changed the strings, all the strings sounded great as people said the strings would make a tremendous difference.