Cremona SVA-130 Premier Novice Viola Outfit - 12"

15 " viola. Bought in an emergency as I broke my current viola just before my grade exam and needed something to practise on while it is being repaired. The sound improves quickly the more it's played. It is somewhat soft but still pleasant to listen to. It's a good first viola for players up to about grade 5.

I bought this from Amazon earlier this year. Delivery was quick and efficient and the item arrive undamaged. The only issue was that the bow had been packed in such a way that it was impossible to remove it without damaging some of the hairs. However, this was a minor issue and, compared to the Chinese instruments I used to play on in my youth and some I've tried and seen more recently, this purchase was excellent value for money. Chinese violin/viola makers seem to have come a long way in recent years.The wood used (spruce and maple) seems to be decent quality with no splits or issues. Mine came with Daddario Prelude strings, which are playable and decent quality. The viola itself has a decent sound, isn't too heavy, seems to be well finished and looks good. These strings and the viola would probably be fine up to about grade 5/6 standard, I would say. With a better bow and strings, it would probably take a student beyond that. Some fettling was needed, particularly the pegs, as is expected for any mass produced instrument that has travelled from one climate to another. The bridge seems well fitted, though, with the feet, string height and bridge shape about right.The case is pretty much as is standard across most instruments now - fits pretty well, provides good protection and, crucially, is light. The bow is made by Anton Breton (again, a Chinese make, I believe). Whilst it is nice to have a bow with a name on it and it works well enough, it is a bit basic.The outfit is pretty complete, with rosin, case, strap, bow. However, you will probably need to invest in a shoulder rest, if you don't have one already as, as with most outfits, this isn't supplied.Overall - a good purchase that I am pleased with.

We bought this viola nearly two years ago for my daughter starting out in orchestra, and we have been very happy with it. It's in the sweet spot of not the low quality instruments, but still reasonably priced for beginners. This is a much better buy than trying to rent an instrument - we haven't had any maintenance in the two years we've had it, and it would have been $35/month for us to rent it, so we've made our money over several times by now. I was worried about the very low quality instruments - I got burned once by a far too cheap violin - but this is decidedly not that instrument. This has good tone and is easy to play. When my daughter gets to high school we'll buy her a better quality instrument, but for grade school and middle school this is perfect.

I have been getting back into playing the violin with a very casual and small, local string group. As there is no viola in the group I decided to get one so that we can play quartets. The first viola I ordered broke while I was trying to tune it. The glue (or something) gave away at the back of the neck. But Amazon was so great and immediately sent me a replacement. Hopefully that was just a fluke, because the one I have now has been great so far. It has a pretty nice sound and I'm having a lot of fun with it. With the level I am playing at right now it is much more enjoyable to hear a viola than trying to reach high notes on my violin!Be aware that it comes with the bridge down, so you will have to set it up yourself. It is not that hard to do, but be sure to look up a how-to just to be sure on what to do.If anyone is thinking about learning viola this one is a good choice without having to spend a lot of money.

I bought this Viola for my 10 year old son. This is his first instument. The price was excellent and it was about 1/3 of the price of renting a Viola from the local strings retailer. We researched online to learn how to place the bridge and tune it. I was able to use my electronic guitar tuner to tune all but one of the strings. I also have a piano which I used to tune the last string. The whole process of placing the bridge, tightening the stings and tuning took about 1/2 hour, and by looking up ""bridge" and "tuning a viola" I found step-by-step instructions online of how to do it. We were also able to look up how to get the correct size for our son online before chosing this size. My son has been playing this Viola now for one month. He loves it! His teacher says that his is the best intrument in the Viola section at our school, because it has very good fine tuners, and a really good sound. We hightly recommend this instrument to anyone who is looking for a good quality student viola. This Viola comes with the bow, case, rosen and a music book compartment. We are very happy with our purchase.Cremona SVA-130 Premier Novice Viola, 14-Inch Cremona SVA-130 Premier Novice Viola, 14-Inch

I bought this for my 11 year old daughter. It sounded great for a novice instrument. It held it's tune and I wasn't stressed about her damaging an expensive instrument. The strings and fingerboard wore well. I have no complaints. It did it's job which was to bridge her till she moved into a full size instrument.

Our teacher found that two of the strings sound strange and old. We just spent a hundred dollars on a new set of strings.