Eastar 4/4 Full Size Violin Set Matte Fiddle for Beginners Adults with Hard Case, Rosin, Shoulder Rest, Bow, Tuner and Extra Strings (Imprinted Finger Guide on Fingerboard), EVA-3

Edit: upgrading stars again. I've had this violin for well over a year now. I don't recall if it held its tuning by two weeks, but I believe it did. I rarely have to finetune it and never have to retune it fully and haven't in at least a year. I took a long break from learning and came back, so I only have a few months of actual experience playing at this point. I can make this violin sound like my instructor's, which is exciting as a learner and says a lot for the violin itself. There has been no issues with the strings, pegs, etc. since it was replaced from the defective original. This is a great beginner violin (quality may vary between instruments, but if you get a dud, the company will fix it!) if you follow all the setup and care recommendations, and I'm happy.To people complaining that you have to set it up yourself: you're looking at it the wrong way. Learning how to do that is an important skill, and it gives you a greater understanding and appreciation for the instrument. If you can't do something as simple as replace the bridge (which needs to be off for the violin's safety during shipping), then you're going to be paying other people to do a lot of things that are much simpler than you think. Bridges slip. Strings need to be replaced over time. Instrument care is part of playing. You get back what you put into it.Edit: upgrading stars. The company sent me a replacement, and I'll update my review again if it lasts! I'll also see if it responds as well as the first and if it holds tuning by 2 weeks as well.So, when I got it, it came precisely as reviews had mentioned. I followed every bit of advice and a few tutorials, and after two weeks, it was holding its tuning well! Yes, it was cheap, but it was serviceable, especially since I was an absolute beginner (I've been playing guitar for 23 years and own multiple, though, so I'm not unfamiliar with stringed instrument care and how it varies by instrument).For two months, I found myself improving at a promising rate and very happy with my purchase. I kept it in the case it came with, safe and sound. I'm the only one who uses it.Today I lifted the case and heard a rattle. I knew I had secured the bow, but that was the only thing I could imagine could be rattling around in there. Then I opened it to find the tailpiece had snapped.Two months. That's how long it took to break, and it wasn't even during or from use. I've wanted to learn violin for 30 years and finally was able to convince myself it was okay to try.

My arm is killing me but wow! I was so anxious to get this violin this morning! And it was NOT a disappointment! I haven’t been able to put it down!It’s been roughly fifteen years since I’ve played and I just had an itch to pick it up again. I didn’t want to spend a fortune in case I didn’t find the time to play regularly.I initially thought I would go with this violin when searching the first time on amazon. However, I chose to look around and read many many reviews on all the cheaper priced violins. After waiting and reviewing for several weeks, I came to the conclusion that for the price, this one seemed to have the best reviews and be of higher quality than others in the same price range.And my first instinct was right! :) This beautiful violin and setup is a wonderful deal!The violin came well packaged. The finish on the violin is beautiful, just as pictured! The bridge was NOT on it when I opened it. Strings were loose but having read all the reviews I was expecting this. I knew where to place the bridge and then I did as people suggested and started by slowly tightening the middle two strings, then the outer two, to avoid the bridge shifting.I pushed the pegs in as I tightened and I did not have any major slippage with them, they all held fine. I played around with tuning it, knowing since the strings are new it probably will take a bit to get it right, but when I came back to it after lunch, I gave it another go at tuning, and got all the strings sounding correct. Let me say the tuner was a plus as I have one for my guitar, but the one included has a setting just for violin. I’m also happy about the shoulder rest. I used to have a really nice one and will probably order a better one eventually but just for getting started the one included is an awesome bonus!The rosin I roughed up, and after about twenty to thirty passes had the bow nicely rosined and ready to go. I do plan to order a nicer bow but for the money this one is great, in perfect condition and plays nicely, though I’m years out of practice so someone more experienced might know more about the balance of it.I plan to get better quality strings to put on the violin in the near future but for now I’m happy with the ones included and think the violin sounds great!!!! (There are extra strings and an extra bridge in the nice and well padded violin case)I have only one tiny minor complaint and that is that it can be hard to keep the bow from hitting the G string when attempting to play the D string. I did notice some comments about that in the reviews but the longer I played today the better I got at keeping that to a minimum so I’m not sure if it’s the violin or just my rusty playing skills.The inlayed spots on the neck of the violin made finding the correct finger positions SO easy, though I noticed after about twenty minutes of playing that my ear could tell when my fingers weren’t in the proper position. But for a complete beginner, this is extremely helpful and again cuts out the need for extra purchases.This violin gets a ten out of ten from me!IF YOU ARE NEW to playing violin, please remember it takes time to break an instrument in. The strings have to stretch some and so you may struggle with the tuning process or have to retune often. If you have patience and are willing to learn about your instrument then you should buy this one with confidence!From all appearances, it’s a well made, handsome instrument and I am so excited that it arrived as quickly as it did!Gotta go... it’s calling me! ;) Happy fiddlin’!!Edit: Have had this beautiful instrument for a week and was so impressed that it has stayed in tune after that just those multiple adjustments on day of arrival. Every time I get it out to play I may have to give the fine tuners a slight turn but despite days of playing, none of the legs have slipped and it’s stayed in tune. I’m still very pleased and so thankful I purchased this violin. Will update if anything changes but as of right now I have no complaints. ... except maybe the bow but I’m hoping to update it soon!

The media could not be loaded. I ordered this 3/4 violin for my 8 year old son and it fits him perfectly (he is very tall/long for his age). The instrument wasn't packaged very well, but it's holding a tune and playing nicely five minutes out of the box! Surprisingly nice sound. My playing isn't great, but I've included a video of my first test play.As a result of the haphazard packaging inside the case, the tailpiece was a little damaged and seems to have scuffed the body of the violin a bit, all the fine tuners were loose in the case, and the bow was shoved in backwards and is extremely warped. I managed to get the tailpiece functional enough, got everything on the violin adjusted and holding a tune, and I don't especially care about the scratches. But the bow, I don't know what to do about it and I'm hoping the company might send another (I sent them an email, we'll see!).I ordered a 1/4 sized violin from another company for my younger child recently, and it was more inexpensive (and sounds it) yet it was packaged much better. The other company also provided detailed set-up instructions in the case, whereas this one provided no printed instruction. But frankly, if you don't already know what you're doing, you should probably take it to a violin teacher to help you set it up.Overall a nice little instrument that includes almost everything you need. (It didn't come with a cleaning cloth and I also ordered a bow buddy separately.)