SKY 1/10 Size SKYVN201 Solid Maple Wood Violin with Lightweight Case, Brazilwood Bow, String, Rosin and Mute

My little daughter has been asking to learn the violin since she was a year old. Recently she turned 4 years old, so we bought the 1/8 size Sky Solid Maple Wood Violin Set SKYVN201 for around $80. We are very pleased with the entire set. I am reviewing the violin, the bow, and the case separately below:The Carrying Case And Accessories:The case is made of strong canvas fabric over a harder frame, complete with a handle, and backpack type straps for easy transport. The zippers work well and the case seems sturdy enough to withstand taking it to class daily. The mute is so small that I didn't notice it at first. The mute and the rosin are housed in a separate little compartment under the scroll housing. The shoulder rest is also made of sturdy plastic and fits well into an extra pocket on the front of the case. There is a special place in the lid to store the bow and a thick, soft velvet and silk cover to protect the top of the violin when the case is closed.The Bow:Prior to buying, I had been worried about the bow after reading negative reviews from other customers. There was no reason to worry. The bow is a sturdy, decent quality, real horsehair bow with an end screw.The end screw IS a little difficult to tighten and must be tightened by an adult, rather then the child. In order to tighten the screw, turn clockwise until the hairs are taunt but NOT so tight that it warps the bow. A pencil should be able to fit between the stick and the hair. The child should be taught not to touch the hair, because oils from your hand will destroy the bow and ruin its ability to pull sound from the violin.A few other reviewers said the bow had trouble pulling a sound, however I assume that they just did not rosin the bow properly. Any bow needs to be properly rosined in order to draw a sound out of a stringed instrument. This is because the hair needs texture in order to release a vibration from the strings. In order to properly rosin the bow, lightly scratch the clear surface of the rosin with a fingernail, penny, or other un-ridged surface until the surface is no longer shiny and has powder coming off it. Tighten the bow strings and run the rosin gently back and forth along the horsehair until the hairs are coated in the white powder without any forgotten spots (usually more then 20 times up and down). Test the bow on the violin to make sure it pulls good sound. If it does not, then continue to rosin the bow until it does. Re-rosin the bow around 5 strokes for every 3 hours played on the violin. Use a clean piece of smooth cloth (one that doesn't shed) to gently wipe excess rosin off your violin and bow.This is a musical instrument, not a toy. Despite other reviews, this bow is not flimsy and will work well if the child is NOT allowed to treat it like a toy and IS instead instructed how to properly hold it, use it, care for it, and to put it away properly when they are not practicing.The Violin:The violin produces pleasant sounds with good resonance, especially for such a small instrument. The main part of the violin, fingerboard, and the scroll are made of wood. The tailpiece, tops of the tuning pegs, chin rest, and shoulder rest are plastic. I assume that the plastic parts will wear out, but they seem sturdy enough that they should last until she is ready for the next size up. If not, then I will replace them with wooden parts. I consider the violin to be a good value for the price and am happy that I don't have to spend over $200 for something she will only be playing for one to two years. The strings are good quality as well and I am happy that the set comes with extra strings.For us, this set is an excellent value for the price and should work well for anyone needing a decent violin that doesn't break the budget.

Starters, this is at most a $20 violin if you can call it that, NOT $100. Feels so cheap and breakable. Strings busted as I tried to adjust and tune it, bow string is too loose, and it doesn’t even make any sound like it supposed to. Case feels like is made from card board. I am very upset with this product for the amount I payed for it.

Everything a beginner needs except a teacher. I never played a musical instrument and my 5 year old daughter asked to play violin. I like antique furniture so I scoured the options and applied what I could and settled on this. She has since retained the services of the local middle school orchestra teacher who has asked us twice now where we got this and how much did it cost. She is floored at the quality/value of this kit. I was impressed with the one piece back which she was amazed at as well. The craftsmanship exceeded my expectations for the price. My 5yr old is small to average height and we got the 1/8. It fits pretty well. The case is very nice and works well.You cannot go wrong with this.Ours arrived without the shoulder rest and the rosin was broken. The seller promptly sent out replacements. Kuddos.

first off I would like to say that you’re honestly not going to get a great violin in this price range. But for a very beginner in a tight budget, this is a very good violin. if you knock on the wood it feels very cheaply made, and the strings may break easily. I’ve already broken the highest string twice, so honestly I would get different strings elsewhere. The bow is nice quality for a beginner like myself. The case is very nice, and it is also very nice how much it comes with. All in all you get what you pay for, and this kid is very nice for the price.

I believe that I received a violin that had been returned by someone else. A number is written lightly on the bridge, had to get close up to see it, and the bridge had notches in it like someone was trying to work it. The D string was messed up and I had to use the back up one right away. The bridge was flat when I got it so it about 30 minutes standing it up and getting it tuned but it sounds AMAZING! Scored the resin, applied it and let the bow sit then came back and started getting used to it. So far so good ☺

This is a decent little violin for a beginner. We read the reviews before purchasing and decided to at least give it a try. Well first it arrived with the rosin broken in a million pieces. Then a string broke shortly shortly after getting it. There were replacement strings included in the violin case so that was nice. The biggest frustration is how easily is falls out of tune. You can hardly play a simple piece without it going out of tune. We are new to violin so having to constantly tune the violin was very frustrating and annoying. For someone who knows how to tune easily and just wants an affordable violin to start with though, this could work.

nice to play with but cost me three e strings. I do not recommend if you are going to make a career out of it. every time I needed to tune the e string the string snapped.

We bought this for my son when he took up violin. First of all, the violin looks great! It is made of wood with a very nice finish. This violin and case is priced very well and is a lot more affordable than any others we found. The case is really nice! My son can either hold it with the handle on the side or wear it like a backpack. I love that feature! It also comes with a bow, resin, a chin rest and extra strings. You will not find one with all that priced so well. This is a great buy both for the price and all that comes with it!