Stentor 4-String Student I Violin Outfit (1400G2-1/8)

I’m a complete beginner – starting from scratch, and I believe this is a good starting violin. The only thing I wasn’t happy about was the quality of the strings. I broke my D string in 2 days (it hadn’t even reached the appropriate pitch – so it wasn’t because of over stretching). I’d recommend getting a decent set of strings separately. Apart from that – it’s a good violin!

My small son started to take violin lessons when he was 3 years old and is now seven, and has outgrown the original 1/8 size violin we purchased for him to begin on. So after doing a bit of research and speaking with my son’s violin teacher and other violinists at music stores, I was recommended to take a look at the Stentor Student II (1500 series) violin or the Cremona SV 150 or 175 models. I ended up purchasing the Stentor because it seems like more care is paid to the actual construction of the violin and the quality of the wood used and ebony parts is of a higher level than the Cremona. It also appears that Cremona is putting more of their effort into their case construction rather than the actual violin. I was not entirely sure I was making the best decision but I figured with Amazon’s warranty at my back, if anything was off I could simply return it and order the Cremona.

I ordered the Stentor 1500 and it came about three days later from Amazon with no problems. I set it aside until my son’s instructor (who is also a full time professional first string violinist in the city orchestra) could look at it and tune it for him correctly. (I unfortunately do not play yet) Upon looking at the violin closely later in the week, my son’s instructor said that he was fairly surprised at the higher quality of the violin. He said the ebony fingerboard and pegs and the composite tailpiece all appeared to be of high quality. He thought the wood construction was extremely good for a violin under $500 and he liked that they included the Red Label strings which he said were a good inclusion for intermediate learners. (my small son is still a beginning intermediate player and is at the beginning of the third Suzuki book)

He began to tune the strings and then would play for a few seconds and then did some more tuning. This continued for about 30 minutes until he said things were decent for that day (new strings can take several days or weeks to fully stretch) and then he began to play some Mozart and Bach. He said that the Stentor 1500 has medium “projection” meaning that people in a concert hall could hear it fairly well and said he was fairly impressed by the quality of the sound in comparison to the reasonable price. He then noted that the bow was real Brazilwood and said that was an excellent choice for an intermediate level instrument. He also said the violin would be more than fine for my small son until he grows older and can move to a full size (4/4) violin.

I can also say that the quality of the case, the rosin and the carrying strap are more than adequate. The quality of the case in particular is fairly high and is strong enough to hopefully withstand any abuse that a six year old boy can deal to it. Any time you buy an instrument, you never know how it will hold up six months or two years later but I will come back and update this review periodically. So far though, we are all pleasantly surprised by the high quality construction and sound of this Stentor II 1500 series violin. Five stars so far!

Fall 2017 Update – (18 months later) – This Stentor 1500 is still going strong and holds it’s tuning very well. My son’s other instructors in the city youth orchestra have commented on the Stentor and indicated that the sound was good (especially considering the price). My small son has managed to take good care of it so far (fingers crossed) and the instrument continues to play delightfully. Still five stars!

Me ha encantado. Para empezar el vendedor ha sido tremendamente atento, nunca jamás había recibido este nivel de atención por el envío y cuidado del producto. Y ya cuando lo recibí… me enamoré. Es mi primer violín porque soy principiante y para mi toda esta experiencia que comienza por la adquisición del instrumento es muy importante. Muchas gracias y recomendable totalmente.

For the price, you can’t complain too much about this violin. It came with the case, rosin and a pretty nice bow as well.

The violin itself is somewhat low quality, the edges have some rough joints, and the one I received had a saw slice in the pegbox that went too far in. The pegs constantly slip – some more than others – so it needs to be tuned every single time you pick it up. I had a violin shop here tell me it was not solid wood either, but I can’t confirm if thats accurate or not. The sound of the instrument is somewhat flat.

That said, a violin that sounds decent for this price is hard to come by, especially considering this package has everything to get you started included. I was also quite impressed with the bow it came with, it seems like a nice quality wood bow and I can’t complain about it – very straight and the fittings look nice. If your just getting started and are not sure if you want to play long term, the price and included accessories with this instrument makes it a great choice.

I purchased this violin for my wife for Christmas as she has been wanting to learn the violin for years. Its hard to find fair reviews online but after some digging I was relatively confident in my purchase.

Overall I have to say this is a great value purchase for a mid-level violin for an adult to start on. Critiques below.

Sound – According to the instructor the violin has very good tone for its price range. He actually complemented the body, but said the strings are relatively poor and should be replaced. I imagine cheap strings are typical similar to low-mid guitars and you should always invest in the more expensive ones to maximize value.

Pegs – Never touching a violin before, I had problems with the pegs. You have to really jam them in there and twist to get them to set. They work, but it would be nice if they had a little more grip on them.

Case – The case is very good, hard molded and protects the violin effectively. This likely eliminates 99% of shipping damage that can occur with mailing this kind of equipment around. Case also has a humidity sensor, a cubby for accessories, and a locking hanger to secure the bow.

Bow – The bow works very well, no complaints.

Compared to its price it looks good