Mendini by Cecilio MV500+92D Violin Full Size Set

This is an exceptional instrument for the price. I’ve had mine since 2018 and I couldn’t be happier with it. It looks beautiful and plays wonderfully after being set up. When you order one of these budget violin outfits, you have to understand that right out of the box, they probably aren’t going to be playable. However, there isn’t much to be done to make this instrument fully serviceable for a beginner or someone who is interested in starting the violin or fiddle on a budget. I would recommend you take it to your local luthier or stringed instrument specialist just to make sure the bridge is aligned properly, and ask them to apply some peg compound to help keep the strings in tune, but if that’s not an option, here’s what I did:

Mine came strung with D’addario Preludes, which are great strings, but if you go with an instrument that ships with stock strings, or strings with no branding, then immediately restring it with the Preludes for an extra $50 and use peg drops or peg compound to keep the pegs steady after you’ve restrung it. (These 2 steps are mandatory, IMHO) Tip: if you are restringing at home look up videos on how to do it properly so you know how to replace them without knocking the bridge or soundpost out and when and how to pull the tension so that that string holds the peg in place. It’s a bit more complicated than restringing a guitar. Also if you aren’t seeing a luthier, watch lots of videos on how to set up the bridge correctly. Make sure it’s positioned the right way, it’s the correct distance from the nut, and that you’ve put a little graphite from a pencil in the grooves where the strings sit to help keep them in tune. There are tons of videos out there that go over this in much greater detail.

The bows that came with mine were perfectly fine, but something doesn’t sit right with you, shop around for a highly rated affordable bow. I upgraded to a fiberglass composite bow just to see what that’s like. However, even after switching out the strings ($50), using peg drops, ($14) upgrading the bow ($35), having a luthier briefly check it out AND even buying a new case (completely optional. I did it for the aesthetic), I still ended up paying less than $300 for the whole thing, and I’ve loved and used it since for almost 2 years now.

I know a lot of people have some divisive opinions on these budget instruments, but I’m a big proponent of making music available to everyone, not just those who can afford the best instruments. With a little ingenuity and work, instruments like these can become excellent ways for low income households to introduce music to their children. They’re also a great way for adults or teens who are stuck at home right now to develop a productive and fulfilling hobby. The craftsmanship on these instruments is great, and what few disadvantages they have can be remedied with just a little more I vestment and a little work. After getting it set up the sound quality of mine is great. It projects well and can play a variety of tones to help match the mood with my music.

My daughter has been playing Violin since 4th grade….she wanted a new violin for her birthday. SHE received it earlier than expected!! SHE is very very pleased with everything from quality of Violin to the light weightiness of the beautiful case! THANK YOU!!

This instrument is a real steal for the price. I received it at the promised time, which was great. Keep in mind to this review that I’m a beginning player, just with an ear and eye for detail. Now to the actual instrument:

Violin:
– Sounds alright, doesn’t sound extremely bright or dark. Doesn’t sound extremely shrill and piercing(in a bad way) like some student instruments I’ve heard.
-Pegs were not fit to the peg box, I had to push them in quite a bit just to get them to stay when I first tuned it. I didn’t put rosin dust or peg drops on them.
-Scroll was sloppily carved, very messy and rough. Won’t affect the sound quality, though.
-Pegs, fingerboard, and chinrest seem to be real ebony, I even filed an extremely tiny corner of both the the fingerboard and chinrest to confirm it(barely filed anything though, it’s basically unnoticeable).
-Bridge seems slightly thicker than most I’ve seen.
-Looks great.
-The tailpiece allows use of ball or loop end strings.
-Soundpost isn’t properly fitted, it’s too long

Bows:
-They both worked fine, but were slightly different
Bow #1:
-Had a darker varnish than the other, which I liked
-Had a slightly sweeter tone than that other
-Heavier than the other
-Screw was easier to turn
-Slightly warped, but hardly noticeable
Bow #2:
-Had a more even, velvet tone than the other
-Completely straight
-Screw is a bit difficult to turn, but still able to the turned
-Ever so slightly lighter than the other

Rosin:
-Since I’ve heard and read many reviews saying that the rosin is terrible, I just bought Pirastro Goldflex and didn’t use the one that came with the violin.
-Came cracked with the box dusty, much dustier than shown in the picture

Tuner:
-Haven’t used it yet, I’ve been using my old universal tuner
-No don’t do 420 blaze it, it’s 440 tune it, you silly person

Shoulder rest:
-Extremely small and uncomfortable
-Cushion is so stiff, not even really a cushion
-Just get a better shoulder rest. A Wolf or Everest would be so much better to use than this thing.

Case:
-Will protect the instrument just fine, not sure if they always have the same color inside, but the one I received has such a pretty, dark teal.

Strings:
-Sound okay when open, but very muted when fingering. I replaced them with a set of D’addario Preludes, they sound so much fuller, warmer, and project better.

-Extra bridge might come in handy someday, as of now I just keep it in my case.

All in all, a great product, especially for the price. If you can’t afford a better instrument, this is an amazing violin to get. It’s really meeting my needs for my first violin. I haven’t asked a professional or teacher about their thoughts yet, but it seems a lot better than some instruments I’ve seen my friends in orchestra playing on. I’m extremely satisfied with this purchase.

A few recommendations, only for comfort and instrument care:
-Get a better shoulder rest
-Put new strings on it, a cheap set of D’addario Prelude strings should do, Dominants would be even better if you have the budget. Infeld Reds sound great on it but the g sounds a bit unclear after a few months of use on them.
-Get an instrument cleaning cloth, you’ll need to clean your instrument and strings of rosin dust after each play session to prevent it from sticking to the strings and varnish.

I highly recommend this to the beginner violinist on a budget. Great purchase, satisfied!

Edit: (7 months later)
I have tried this violin with several strings, qnd the E string seems to sound great no matter what. A tone qualities gold plated E strings seem to really suit it. It sounds fine with vibrato, but the G string sounds quite muffled in higher positions. I took the fine tuners off of the G,D, and A strings which made me really notice that the pegs arent properly fit to the pegbox. It’s nothing too major though and can probably be fixed with peg compound, which I will be trying soon(I’ll post my results when I try it). The D and A strings sound about average for a student violin in higher positions, nothing special. Still a great instrument for the price: perfectly responsive, decent tone except for the E string, because that string sounds very sweet, brilliant, and has the perfect amount of ring nearly no matter what. I am no longer using the bow that came with it, which did improve literally everything that involves the bow. The instrument seems to be warming up ever so slightly, which I am elated about.

Edit(11 months later)
-Peg Compound fixed most peg issues, I removed the fine tuners on g, d, and a and It takes me about 10-15 seconds to tune it when it isnt perfect.
– I’ve gotten a teacher, and she said that I have, “a really nice violin.” She doesn’t know I bought it from amazon, but she has heard it being played and has played it a bit and said that it sounds very good. It’s still very responsive, and a better set of strings really brings out it’s good qualities. I have a set of Infeld Reds on it right now, and the only bad thing is the lack of clarity on the g string. That may just be because of my strings being near due a change.
-I’m using a different bow and rosin, and the quality makes it much easier to play.
-in 3 months(It’s currently the end of October 2016, my audition is in late January 2017) I’m going to audition for a performing arts high school and major in orchestra using this violin. Once that happens I’ll post another edit if any of the feedback I get is relevant to the product.