I really wanted to believe that one could buy a decent violin at this price. Unfortunately I was wrong.

Summary:

Pros: cheap, comes with the whole package

Cons: cheap, bad bow and strings, heavy, made of young 'twisty' wood

It makes a sound when you rub it with a bow, and as a beginner I thought it was good enough. I played it for a week and started to get annoyed with the continuously slipping tuning pegs and a bow that didn't seem to make a good sound. I decided to test my friends' violins to see if I was just too inexperienced to play any better. As soon as I grabbed the first one I realized this was heavy. Even the huge viola my teacher has is lighter than this. Also the fingerboard is a bit crooked. The bow included doesn't have the hairs evenly spread because a small piece is loose, and the stick isn't straight.

I think this would be okay for tuning practice, "test a violin" session, or for decoration since it's really pretty. But if you are a beginner and don't want to kill your motivation, do yourself a favor and buy a better violin.