 After four weeks of playing, EXCELLENT beginning violin |
| Review Date: January 27, 2008 |
| Reviewer: Cbui, Phoenix, AZ |
This will be a moderately comprehensive review of Cecilio CVN-200 violin
First of all my knowledge of violins is limited but I'm learning everyday. I do have a music background playing trumpet in school and piano at home with some compositions on the side. I've always wanted to learn violin and finally decided to try. 100 bucks for a violin, does it even work?
I received this instrument four weeks ago and am extremely happy with it.
The outfit for this is great for the price. You get everything you need to start playing and more, ie. TWO bows, TWO sets of strings, an extra bridge, a case, a shoulder rest, a simple tuner, and a cake of rosin.
All of these are essential for playing the violin and you get them all. Also, the bow and strings are very delicate parts so having two in case one breaks is a huge plus for a newbie. The violin itself also comes with four micro tuners (at the bottom end of the strings) rather than just one on the e string that even some 500 dollar outfits are lacking. This is an excellent value for this price.
Now, none of this stuff is of the highest quality, far from it. The bows were slightly twisted, the rosin is barely usable (but is), the bridge is asymmetrical (by design not defect), the case pocket zipper sometimes fails, the pegs do slip, and the micro-tuner hooks need readjusting. However, all of this, though unthinkable for an intermediate player and up, are more than manageable for a beginning player.
So how does it sound? Well, the last violin i touched was over ten years ago and I have no others to compare with. Having said that, it plays quite well, at least it produces a sound akin to other violins I've heard. My understanding is that violins at this price are normally considered junk and unplayable. This one has quite a DECENT SOUND. Some of the other reviewers mentioned that even his/her teacher was impressed with its sound.
In fact, it plays well enough that I absolutely positively love practicing on this violin. Since receiving this little thing I have not missed a single day of practice and on average spend one and a half to two hours each day on it! Something I never thought I would do.
Having said all of that, the one thing holding this back are the included strings. The strings take precision bowing to respond at its full potential (which isn't high).
As a beginner, one tends to bow wobbly and bouncy-like which causes the bow to slide up and down the strings. The strings respond by losing resonance and whistling or shrieking. Cleaning the strings of rosin helps, and so does re-rosining the bow. As I said all the shortcomings of the product are manageable. However, once I got better at bowing I realized the strings were holding me back which is a good thing rather than replacing the entire violin.
I just recently put in an order for a set of Thomastik Dominant strings (35 USD). I read that even with a 300 dollar student violin, you should replace the included strings with much better ones (usually Dominant set is recommended). I consider this upgrading the violin to meet my own growth as a violin student rather than a shortcoming of the original purchase.
Again, I absolutely love playing on this violin. For such a small investment you get so much, everything you need to learn and develop your skill... until you outgrow it.
I am already looking at intermediate violins between $750-1100 since I now know I want to stick with it.
This violin is perfect for someone who wants to try out the violin but not yet committed, at least not enough to spend $300-500 on a typical student violin.
Considering price, 5 STARS for an excellent violin. |
Cecilio CVN-200 Violin is great for the money
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| Review Date: March 4, 2007 |
| Reviewer: Quilty Qelly, Indiana |
| I recently purchased this violin and love it! Both my local music store, and my new teacher looked it over and thought I got a great deal. Being a beginner, I really have no idea if it truly sounds good or not. But, my teacher (who has been playing violin half his life) said it really does have nice sound! So, I would recommend it as a good beginner's violin. |
For the price, it's great!
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| Review Date: December 16, 2006 |
| Reviewer: A. Moore, UT, USA |
I bought this violin and a CVN-100 1/10 size for my four year old son. He loves the CVN-100, and I love the CVN-200. Please remember that most instruments need a "breaking in" period. Get some peg drops and that will help with the tuning pegs.
The thing that I like about this violin is it's tone. A nice beautiful sound. I'm sure that upgrading the strings would also boost it's tone, but for right now, I'm happy. The thing that is nice about this violin, aside from the great price, and tone, is the fact that I don't have to worry about my four year old son breaking a $500+ violin. Because I've been able to be so relaxed, my son has taken full responsibility for his violin. He treats it carefully, wipes it down, and really takes pride in what he has learned in his lessons. It's been a wonderful, low stress way of introducing music, and instilling self-confidence in my little boy. Thanks Cecilio.
Know that if you get this violin, you need to learn how to install the bridge, you may want to order some peg drops, and you need to let it "break in". You'll love it, I do. |
Value for money
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| Review Date: July 16, 2007 |
| Reviewer: B. Kuppa, CT USA |
| I had some knowledge of musical instruments, as I used to play a mandolin & guitar earlier. I wanted to learn violin and bought this violin after reading the reviews. This is a good student violin. If you are a beginner, you should know few things like, how to fix the bridge? how to tune the strings? how to apply rosin to the bow etc. The extra strings saved me when I broke the A string while tuning it. Pegs drops are a must to have, otherwise we cant go ahead of tuning. The fit and finish is good, I can term it a 'student violin' only because its less expensive. I have been using it for a week, and its really fun to play. |
Pretty good student violin
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| Review Date: March 5, 2008 |
| Reviewer: Edit Reyes, |
This is may be a cheap priced violin, but it's an excellent choice for a student violin who's just learning or maybe is not sure about it. I have got good compliments about my violin, it has a good sound and beautiful finish. There are some glue marks in the inside but that's no problem.
The two bows are good usefull, of course you shouldn't expect real horsehair, it's synthetic but good anyway. Now the rosin is of the poorest quality, unusable, so buy good rosin. Also I haven't used much the pitch pipe, but seems good. The shoulder rest is a piece of plastic with foam, but that wasn't a problem for me since I don't use it.
In conclusion: This is a good violin for the student and begginer. It doesn't look cheap.
By the way the fingerboard isn't ebony, of course for the price you shouldn't expect real ebony, but it's good painted black.
Sorry for my bad english
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Absolutely Brilliant for beginners!
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| Review Date: November 28, 2008 |
| Reviewer: Carrie, |
I bought this violin about 3 months ago, and from the first day I got it, I have LOVED it! I was an absolute beginner. I have been taking lessons from my Grandma, and this violin has never failed us.
The case is VERY nice, sturdy, and the perfect cozy bed for both storing and packing your violin.
The extra accessories are spectacular. The rosin works great; you just have to scuff it up a bit with a piece of sandpaper or a knife so that the rosin will actually come off onto the high-quality bow.
The pitch pipe is VERY useful when tuning your violin.
The extra strings are very nice. I snapped my A string while tuning it (I twisted it WAY too tight) and I was able to just grab my extra string and put it on.
I highly suggest getting an experienced violinist when you are installing your bridge. DO NOT ATTEMPT TO DO IT IF YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU ARE DOING.
The violin itself is 100% goregous. It's smooth and polished, and just beautiful to look at, even if it's not singing! It has an amazing tone... It is more mellow, not as harsh as most violins, and just clear and brilliant.
Even my grandma, who is an experienced violinist, loves my violin and agrees that this was a really good deal.
I love this violin. I'm glad I found this amazing deal; it's totally worth your money! I bet I'll have this violin for years to come.
From a 100% satisfied customer. |
Great bargain - everything you need, mediocre quality
|
| Review Date: July 14, 2009 |
| Reviewer: Margaret Durbin, Minnesota |
This is a cheap violin in every sense of the word... both inexpensive and low quality.
That said, I didn't want to spend the money on a violin if it turns out I won't play it any more than I did as a kid.
Given its price and my questionable commitment this is a great bargain - I didn't need to spend any more than the price of the violin because it comes with literally everything but the music. It had the case, two bows, rosin, extra strings, extra bridge, metronome/tuner, and shoulder rest.
As for what makes it a low quality violin -
* The pegs do slip. It is hard to get it to stay tuned (okay, it was hard to tune it in the first place!)
* The fine tuner was broken (the pin didn't connect to the tuner for the E string and the pin head broke)
* The tuner didn't come with any useful directions. Minimal ones to get to the instrument, but not really helpful from a usefulness perspective.
* The sound quality is awful to low end mediocre. I plan to replace the strings since I have to get the fine tuner repaired.
As regards other reviews as well as helpful tips -
* Some reviews indicate that they needed to install the bridge. Mine came with the bridge installed
* The bow will work to pull out sound but you need to tighten it (turn the knob at the end of the bow) and you need a LOT of rosin. I remembered this from playing as a kid though. You do need to get the rosin surface scratched so that it will stick to the bow. And you need a LOT. When you think you've got enough put on that much 2X over.
* The shoulder rest probably shouldn't change the sound... but it does (though that may well be just due to the peg slippage as you get the shoulder rest attached) so if you plan to use the shoulder rest make sure it's attached when you tune the violin.
My plan is to take this to get the strings replaced, the fine tuner fixed, and the violin tuned. I'll update the post after I get these things done.
Keep in mind though that this review, along with all of the other four and five star reviews, is relative to the price. If I'd paid list this would be a one or two star violin. If you're expecting a Stradivarius for this price you should adjust your expectations down several dozen notches - this is to a Stradivarius what the last place t-ball team is to the world champion major league baseball team.
For an adult who is not sure of their level of commitment this is an ideal purchase. I wouldn't purchase it for a child who is still learning - there is too much downside. I agree with other posters who say to rent the kids a decent violin.
In summary - you get what you pay for but you do get everything you need. |
We love it!
|
| Review Date: February 11, 2010 |
| Reviewer: Kelley Polo, |
After careful research, we purchased this violin for our daughter. Although some feedback left us the impression that the bow might be sub-par and the rosin might fall apart, everything in this package exceeded our expectations.
We purchased ours from Austin Bazaar and the item arrived with everything promised in the condition promised. The bows in the package are very nice. The rosin was boxed and when opened, it was encased in plastic on three sides which allows the user to draw the bow across the open side. I don't even think my daughter got any rosin on her. My husband only had to score it a little bit to get it started and it worked wonderfully.
Although we had warned our daughter to look up instructions for attaching the bridge, the violin came with the bridge attached. It is a lovely violin and the finish is very nice. It makes a beautiful sound once the bow is properly covered in rosin.
The case is also very nice. The exterior is soft but the interior is a lined hard case that cradles the violin. There are places for all the accessories and the strap makes it easy to carry.
Many reviewers said a violin will lose tune until it is broken in. Our violin did lose it's tune very quickly but, as many reviewers recommended, I ordered peg drops along with the violin and they solve the problem beautifully.
This violin is a fabulous compromise if you are new to playing or want something for practice that isn't terribly expensive. We searched music stores all over our area and found nothing remotely comparable or as reasonably priced. I wouldn't hesitate to buy a Cecilio again.
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wow better than I thought it would be!
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| Review Date: November 17, 2007 |
| Reviewer: Daniel Stephany, |
| so I just got my violin in the mail and I am very pleased. I just finished setting it up and played it for a bit and the violin has a great sound! I have been playing for about 3 months now and this instrument sounds way better than the violin that I have been playing previously. the sound is clearer and carries more. It's A Good Buy! |
I love my new violin!
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| Review Date: September 24, 2008 |
| Reviewer: Pat Elliott, Southern Oregon, USA |
| I love my new violin! It has excellent tone and it is beautiful to behold. It comes with a great case & strap, 2 bows, 2 bridges, a fine tuner, an extra set of strings, and rosin. The Cecilio CNV-200 is a great bargin for anyone who would like to jump in to learning to play the violin as a beginner, and even a novice could appreciate it's beauty and tone. I'm taking up the instrument again after a 55 year hiatus! The company, Austin Bazaar, shipped immediately and I received the package with everything in excellent shape. Thanks! |
Not bad for the price
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| Review Date: December 16, 2007 |
| Reviewer: Waco Al, Waco, Texas |
Bought this for my daughter after she outgrew a 3/4 CVN 100. It sounds fine and has saved us hundreds of dollars over renting for the last three years. The extra bows and strings alone are worth the purchase price. (Check the retailer to make sure you get these!)
Great beginner to intermediate violin.
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Cecilio CVN-200 4/4 Violin
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| Review Date: January 11, 2008 |
| Reviewer: Hi, Gaithersburg |
| This violin has a great tone, especially for the price. I gave it as a gift to an amateur musician who really enjoys the sound and he is very impressed with the quality. |
Unexpectedly nice instrument for the price
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| Review Date: February 5, 2010 |
| Reviewer: J. Cutler, CLYMER, PA, US |
I purchased this item because, after playing guitar for a few years, I wanted to make a departure to a new instrument, while still sticking to something with strings. Well, I received it about 6 weeks ago and have been taking lessons for 5, and I gotta say, this violin really does it's job. It was nice to order it, and BAM, ya got everything you need (sans tuner) to start playing. The two bows are nice and have a good feel, but you probably realize they're not the best, but they certainly work. The rosin I received came in a nice little box that keeps it safe and intact. The outfit also comes with a second bridge and strings, which, at this point, I can't really comment on because I've had no use. The pegs of the violin slipped at first, but with a little playing and practice, came to hold tune really well, which surprised me. The fine tuners are really nice as well, being very smooth and make getting it in tune that much easier. The case that keep it all together is very nice as well. it's very sturdy and has nice storage space and a good, smooth zipper.
Moving away from the features, the violin was also basically setup, a fact my teacher was quick to point out, and was very impressed with. The only thing that really needed done was tuning.
All in all, I think this was an awesome purchase, and should be a great starter instrument for anyone wanting to learn. The only thing that was not quite as the product description described was the color. the violin's body is much lighter, and the chin rest and pegs are a bit darker, bit this is really a good thing, as it makes the violin that much more attractive. If someone is still undecided about whether or not to purchase this, I'd say go for it, it's well worth the $100 that's asked for it. |
Excellent product
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| Review Date: December 21, 2007 |
| Reviewer: Kathleen Begley, Bishop, California |
| This violin comes with a case, 2 bows, 2 bridges, a tuner, strap and rosin. I am impressed with the violin itself and would recommend it to any beginner, maybe even intermediate. Austin Bazaar shipped immediately! |
Very Nice!
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| Review Date: November 27, 2008 |
| Reviewer: M. Jones, |
| I purchased this for my son. And we where both very pleasently surprised at how nice it is for the money it cost. |
Great violin for beginners to intermediate players!
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| Review Date: October 28, 2009 |
| Reviewer: Ben Powers, Memphis, TN |
I hadn't played violin for almost 10 years and wanted to get back into it, but not spend a fortune doing so. So I opted, with trepidation, for this Cecilio. I'm so glad that my fears were unfounded, as this little squawk-box sounds GREAT! Thoughtful touches like an included shoulder rest and fine tuners just sweeten the pot. I couldn't recommend it any more highly.
[...]
Again, love the instrument and suggest you give it a try if you're wanting to begin or get back into playing violin. |
Cecilio Violin
|
| Review Date: February 13, 2007 |
| Reviewer: Greg E. Thomsen, Seattle, WA |
| The violin I ordered arrived in a prompt manner as promised. I bought the violin as a gift, and the recipient was delighted. It was nicely finished and arrived without damage. |
Very pleased
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| Review Date: February 9, 2008 |
| Reviewer: Jacx, Illinois USA |
| Needed professionaly tuned but came with everything you need to get started and is nice looking to. |
Pleased older beginner
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| Review Date: April 1, 2009 |
| Reviewer: S. Russell, Kentucky |
| I am an adult beginner violin student (over 60). My violin arrived in record time and I have had my first lesson. It is a beautiful instrument and has a very nice tone. My teacher is also pleased with the appearance and sound of the violin. |
I Think It's Great!
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| Review Date: August 30, 2007 |
| Reviewer: Joseph P. Lacerra, |
My CVN-200 arrived in a reasonable time. I took it home to check it out and was simply amazed by the high quality of finish, workmanship, and overall construction. I don't play the violin; with this I will try to learn.
It came with 2 bows, an extra set of strings, rosin, a tuning device, some sort of pad that I don't understand yet, and all in a really attractive case. For this price, that is astounding!
I would have given it five stars, except I have no idea as to how good it is at playing and being played. But, at this price, even if I never play it, it will be an attractive monument to impulse buying, in a place of honor in my parlor. |
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