Cremona SV-130 Premier Novice Violin Outfit

This is a very nice violin for the money. It is absolutely amazing that the Chinese kids can put out such a nice product that sounds so good. I got this on sale, with an additional 15% off, too. Way less than 100 bucks. Wow, wow, and wow!!
I played for 5 years when I was a child, and haven’t touched a violin in more years than I can even believe (over 25), so I didn’t want to spend a lot. Anyway, I’ve been wanting one for a long time, and finally bought this one based on the product specs and the positive reviews. Things such as the ebony fingerboard and pegs were must-haves.
Having not touched a violin in so long, I consider myself pretty much a beginner. However, I did know that I’d want decent strings, and so ordered separately the ones I wanted. In re-stringing the instrument (thanks to help from you tube vids), I could see that it was indeed set up before being shipped. The pegs all fit the peg box nicely, and it was easy to re-string it. The pegs didn’t slip at all. Installing the bridge was easy, too. It had been fit to the instrument before shipping– meaning that it was actually installed, carved down to match the instrument perfectly, before being removed and packed for shipping. So, I didn’t have to do anything to the bridge to get it to fit perfectly. That would probably have been beyond my comfort level.
So, how does it sound? Very good, I’d say. Nice and deep rich sound. I have a decent ear, and was able to tune it without a problem, and it seems to stay tuned as well as any other violin. I have no doubt that an experienced violinist could probably find things to not like about this violin. But to me, it is perfect to learn (or re-learn) on, and certainly a wise choice for someone starting out.

Summary, pros and cons:

PROS: Good wood, good overall construction and components, sounds nice, nice case, decent bow, professionally set up prior to shipping (again, this doesn’t mean it is ready to play out of the box, as the bridge is packed and it has to be tuned).

CONS: The finish probably isn’t the greatest. I noticed some minor marks and imperfections, and a little glue up by the nut that wasn’t completely wiped off. Really minor stuff to my mind, but something that might bother me a little in an instrument that was 5x as expensive or more. Also, you might want to invest in better strings, although to be fair I didn’t try the ones that came with it.

Before going any further…this is a student violin. It is not made for professional use, just school classes, practice and school concerts. Some people review these comparing them to higher end products.

Here is what I look for in a student violin:
* The ability to tune the instrument and have it hold its tune.
* Basic quality: it need not be a one piece back or have flaming on the finish. Just the appropriate woods and materials used to make the violin.
* Price: I prefer to own my instruments as opposed to rent them, provided I can find something in the price range of a rental or not too much more, figuring I can probably resell the instrument when it is no longer needed.
* Proper shop adjustment (Note: you will need to seat the bridge! Violins typically do not ship with their bridge in place).

Why did I buy a Cremona? I have owned several student violins before, with this being my first Cremona purchase. My prior purchases were a `no name’ brand which I believe may no longer be manufactured (were it, I’d still be buying that brand). My other violins are all full size (4/4), however, my youngest child needed a ¾ size. Again, I prefer to own as opposed to rent, so I went shopping locally and on-line. I looked at several brand names and found only a couple in this price range.

Here is what’s included with the Cremona SV-130:
* ¾ violin with spruce top, maple back and sides, ebony tuning pegs, fingerboard and chin rest, and alloy tailpiece. The violin finish is slightly more brown and less orangey than most violins.
* Bow made of Horsehair and Brazilwood and ebony frog (What’s a frog? The little piece near where you hold the bow which is used to adjust the bow tension).
* Lightweight violin case sized for a ¾ violin. It is black material on the outside and dark green velour on the inside. It has two bow holders, an inside compartment, and an outside zippered pocket.
* Rosin.

Here’s what’s good, bad, or otherwise worth noting about the Cremona Sv-130:
It is a very nice violin for the price. It is of decent quality and arrived with the bridge securely packed and the tailpiece protected. There was appropriate tension on the strings. This is very important as you do not want the soundpost to fall during shipping.

It was easy to tune and you should be able to put the bridge into place on your own, with a little reading on the internet. This is a 5 minute job, just note how the strings fit atop the bridge and where the bridge sits in relation to the f-holes and soundpost.

The pegs fit well and do not slip out of tune, and the fingerboard and tailpiece are fine for this level of play.

The strings are just OK and you may want to change them, but if this is for a novice child, they will be fine for a while.

This bow is usable and the tension adjustment is fine, but again this is a student violin, so don’t compare it to a high priced product. I found this bow took a good deal of priming with rosin. I attributed that to the Cremona rosin which isn’t very good. I prepped the rosin by scratching it with sandpaper, but I ended up using rosin from my other violin. You must rosin a new violin bow! Otherwise you will get virtual silence when you try to run it across the strings. So be prepared to prime this bow 2 or 3 times the first couple of uses for several minutes each time, or get some decent rosin.

The case is your typical beginner case, no interior cloth to wipe down the instrument, but otherwise the interior is fine, sculpted to a ¾ instrument and including a strap to secure the neck. The outside of the case does not lock, just zipper, but this is common for beginner violins. One thing to note, the outside pocket does not really have enough room to hold a violin book and folder. You can wedge them in but then cannot zipper it fully. Not sure if this is because the ¾ case is slightly smaller than a 4/4 case (which it is) or if they skimped on the pocket.

That’s about it – overall this is a decent, usable student violin – at probably half of what you would spend for something comparable from one of the other large student brand names, and about the same or less as one rental. Had the rosin been better, and the case pocket fit a basic violin book, I would have rated this product a 5.