Mendini by Cecilio Violin For Beginners, Kids & Adults Starter Kit

I bought this violin back in July 2018, Mendini MV300. I am 63 and purchased it for myself. I did not want to spend a lot of money on a more expensive one and find my old body could not hold and bow it properly. I was able to.

At first I wasn’t too impressed. I was hearing professional violin sounds in my mind (no, not senility!). I was hearing the tone, not talking playing quality, I wanted in my mind, but the sound from the violin was not it, it was rather scratchy and weird, and empty. I read up and purchased Pirastro Tonica strings for it and used my cello rosin instead of what came with it. Wow, 100% better. I really liked it.

Then we, my husband and I, found a viola for sale rather inexpesively, about an hour away, so we went there to have a look. We bought the viola, it suited my purpose. While we were there, we were shown a Windsor violin outfit. It sounded pretty good (for a non-violinist test) and we bought it. I put the Celilio strings I removed from my Mendini onto my Windsor and it immediately improved in tone, but was not anything like the Mendini with the Pirastro Tonicas. Did not expect it to be, but it did sound better than the no name strings that were on it. It was a little brighter and little bit of a hollower sound than the Mendini, basically, not as good, but playable and gave a different sound.

I wanted a better violin, and in my mind I am thinking a bright violin. So we went to a violin shop an hour away and purchased a way better quality violin. After I purchased a violin that had a bright tone, I decided that bright was really not what I wanted in a violin. I brightened my cello, but that has a deep sound anyway, so there was a difference that I did not think of.

Now, this is the reason I have mentioned all of this and how it applies to my Mendini MV300. I am trading my bright good violin for a mellow dark toned violin next week, at the violin shop I purchased it at. I was curious, though. What was the difference in the sound between the three? I have learned “English Country Garden” and have it memorized. I played it on all three of my violins, and recorded them. I used the same exact bow, the one that came with the Mendini (I like it better than the carbon fiber one I purchased for the more expensive bright violin). After listening to all three, this is what I found:

Naturally, the more expensive one had more depth, tone, etc. The Windsor sounded pretty good but was weak. The Mendini with the Pirastro Tonicas sounded very clear, and has as nice sound. It is hollow, though, but it is robust. That is not a complaint. It did NOT cost a lot of money and the wood is not the age and quality of the more expensive violin.

This surprised me. It is hard to tell when you are playing it and it is right up against your ears. What I did change on the Mendini is the Celilio Strings, that were on it, to Pirastro Tonicas. I purchased a chinrest at our local music store that is more comfortable to me. It is not a center mount, it is side mount chin rest. I have no idea what brand it is. I also do not use the rosin that came with it, I used my Jade cello/violin/viola rosin (although I now use violin rosin I bought with the more expensive violin).

Now, about this Mendini. I actually like this violin. I will be using it for songs that really need a brighter sound, after I get my mellow darker toned violin. I am not going to just put it away because I have a better more expensive one. It plays well. It is very comfortable to hold. It appears to be solidly built, just not the good quality aged wood of the more expensive violins. It is definitely worth the money and is definitely a quality that a student can learn on and them step up from.

I really recommend changing the strings before using it for lessons. For some reason, from what I learned, sometimes an instructor will tell students that they need to get a better violin. They do not always realize that maybe the student can’t afford a better one and a whole can of worms is opened when (s)he tells her/his parents the instructor said I need a better violin. CHANGE the strings first! You will not believe the difference. Like I said, I did research and for what I wanted, the Pirastro Tonicas are beautiful!

I use a washcloth folded in half for a shoulder rest. I do not use the shoulder rest that came with it. I had purchased a should rest, but found that for me, the washcloth folded in half on my shoulder up by my neck, with the chin rest I purchased, is extremely comfortable. I don’t use the one I purchased. This is different for pretty much everyone, so if there are issues holding it, etc, check out your chun rest and should rest options.

This violin is simply wonderful for a beginner, and a little beyond, actually.

The look (the least important factor as far as I am concerned). I have read where people are complaining because of the satin finish, not the shiny varnishy finish. It states in the write up and shows in the photos that it is a non-shiny satin finish. I really like it! I think it has charm and is so different from other violins.

The bow. I love the bow. I love the weight of the bow. I purchased a carbon fiber bow to go with my more expensive violin that I am trading for a mellow dark tone violin. It is too light for me. Probably after I get lessons and get bow control, the lighter carbon will be nice. Right now, the bow with this violin is simply fantastic.

The case: the case is great, but there is one issue, that I just let slide by. There is a slot for two bows. One of the slots is unuseable in my case. The black clip turns to hold the bow in bow in place on one was broken when I got my violin. The top of the clip was lying in the case beside the violin. Thought I could snap it back in, but it was not just unsnapped, it was broken. That is not a deal breaker for me. It does not change my rating or feeling about this violin. It is still worth more than I paid for, in my opinion.

Bottom line, if you are a beginner or just want to see if you can actually hold and bow a violin, buy this violin. It is well worth the money and with the string upgrades and getting the shoulder rest and chin rest that fits you, using better rosin, you will have an inexpensive violin (not cheap – there is a difference) that will actually get you quite far into your violin learning. It has a great sound, although hollow due to the wood, and projects great with that string upgrade (that is key). The bow is perfect!

It’s the best 🎻 for beginners and the music emanating from this is at par with other costlier 🎻. Thanks for delivering at the given time and the response by the person at the customer care was a pleasant experience. Thanks a lot.

Decent build quality. Probably not the best wood, I know guitars and ukes well but it’s my first violin. Sounds decent so far, loud as you could hope for. Recommend buying a mute if you live in an apartment or with other people. You’ll definitely need to get new strings, a bow and rosin pretty soon(which will start to get close to the value of the violin). Good enough for an absolute beginner to get a feel for it and learn how to finger and bow properly. May be considering new tuning pegs as there is a small splinter in one where the end meets the second hole.

I am a decent amateur pianist with a masters in music, but I have never played a violin and thought it would be fun to give it a try. I didn’t want to spend a fortune in case it didn’t “take.” I listened to the comparison on Youtube between a $62 violin from Amazon and some 18th-century, $150,000 (or more) violins, and concluded that how a violin sounds depends a whole lot more on the player than on the instrument. So I ordered the Mendini MV200, which cost about $45 with the Amazon Prime discount. It comes with everything you need — nice case, bow, rosin, shoulder rest, extra bridge, extra strings — and it looks beautiful. At time of delivery, it was set up with the bridge in place (centered between the notches on the F holes) and the strings attached to the pegs, but not tuned. When I tried to tune it, the bridge, which is held in place by the strings, fell off and had to be put back, which was no big deal. Because all of the strings were loose at the same time, I was concerned that the post inside the violin would slip once the pressure from the bridge was off, but I treated the violin very gently and fortunately that did not happen.

While I was tuning, the pegs kept slipping, and at some point in the process I broke the E string — not a rare event among violinists. To solve the peg problem, I applied rosin powder (after scraping the rosin with sandpaper to rough up the surface), and that made the pegs more difficult to turn, which kept the strings in tune. I rosined up the bow so that the violin would produce a sound. Then I produced a sound that made even the mice run for cover. Now I’m reading “Violin for Dummies,” checked out of the library, and I’ve acquired some violin-lesson books, also from the library. I’m on my way to playing a scale!

In addition to the violin package, I purchased from Amazon an Eno Professional Violin Viola Tuner, Colorful LCD display Easy Control Clip on Tuner (ET-05SV); and, as backup to the rosin that came with the violin package, a small, rectangular container of Super Sensitive Dark Violin Rosin. I then ordered different kinds of strings from various companies, including on EBay, to allow comparisons. From Amazon I added a Fretless Finger Guide for Full (4/4) Size Violin, a ChromaCast CC-MSTAND Folding Music Stand with Carry Bag, and an eBoot Rubber 4/4 Violin Practice Mute, Black (to protect the other members of the household). I have ordered the highly recommended Essential Elements for Strings – Book 1 with EEi: Violin and some sheet music with technical exercises. Everything cost me less than $100. Now I’m good to go.

Eventually, I’ll have to replace the bow, which is already losing a few hairs, or have the existing bow restrung. Now that I know I’m not supposed to touch the rosin, but instead hold it through the cloth it came with, I expect it will last for a while. Note to other reviewers: Rejecting the violin because of the rosin or the bow is like rejecting a house you like because a light bulb is flickering and may need to be replaced. Rosin costs about five dollars and, fortunately, there are plenty of reasonably priced bows on Amazon (or EBay, which is a good place to go for accessories that can cost less than they do on Amazon).

I am amused and bemused by the angry, dire reviews left by a few violin teachers and music store owners, as if the existence of an inexpensive violin is an attack on all things beautiful about Western civilization. I can see nothing to regret and no reason to return the instrument, which delights me. My limitations as a player are so great that the violin’s limitations make no difference. I can still learn how to hold the violin and the bow, bow technique, where to put my fingers to create different pitches, how to do vibrato, how to play double and triple stops, and a lot more. If the violin starts holding me back, I can get a new instrument, but I don’t expect that to happen soon. If it does happen, I’ll be thrilled.