This is a brilliant instrument for the price! If you're a beginner or a student, this is perfect for trying out the viola. For less than $100, you get a nice looking playable viola with a bow, 2 sets of strings, rosin, and a sturdy case. Pros: the price, decent sound, easy to play, nice varnish, student quality. Cons: doesn't come set up. You will have to put the bridge on and align the strings yourself. The strings themselves are functional but not the best quality. I'd recommend a set of D'Addario Prelude strings for much better sound and playability. Same thing with the rosin, but it does work. The bow is okay but for a serious player, you might consider using a better one. Overall, this is a good instrument and a lot of fun to play as it comes out of the box. Highly recommended to students for the value and quality. With a little more investment, it gets even better.

Okay, this is a little premature, I got it today and haven't tuned it or brought it to my teacher for her to break it over my head, and I'm a total newbie, never played strings before besides guitar and... keyboard. No chance I could ever afford an "approved" one. The price is obviously unbelievable. However the case is hard and felted, and the construction is beautiful of wood, with plastic parts (neck guard). It's *very* lightweight. When I first saw it I thought it was too small to make Viola-bassey sounds and wondered if they sent me a violin by mistake.

But I'm writing about the immediate construction and first *sound*, timber, functionality (playability) of the instrument. I somehow managed to rosin my first bow adequately (my orchestral roommate tightened it when he came home because I forgot to). I had watched YouTube videos and read the scant instructions which tell you to wait and let your instructor guide you in your first setup. I held it (I'll definitely need a shoulder brace), and tried the lowest open string... my eyes opened wide. I had never produced a tone on a concert stringed instrument before. It was BEAUTIFUL. And totally bassey. Sounded exactly as it should (correct tuned pitch aside). I was actually amazed. I played all the strings open one at a time, likewise. Absolutely lovely instrument with a beautiful and fully resonate, bassey sound. Just like the YouTube videos. I tried some fingerings; okay, that'll take practice and a developed reach. But clearly it would play. If there's a problem of tuning, not holding pitch or cracking, I'll update my review. But I wouldn't hesitate to purchase this instrument if you're worried if it sounds good enough, esp. for the price. I hope my instructor doesn't break it over my head, I love it and will be sad. My first 4/4 cello by the same maker and store is on the way! :) My seller feedback:

Thrilled! Arrived early, unbroken, with hardcase and all accessories, and... plays! First time ever player, sounds wonderful! :) :) Thank you!

Update: Ok it's two hours before my first lesson. Tried to tune, string broke and the tuners generally won't hold. I should have had it set up before lesson day. I'm going to see if she knows a trick with rosin or such to make tuners stick. Otherwise I'll have to wait for a setup and it'll set my lesson back and may make it unaffordable depending. I'm not in the market for a more expensive instrument at this time. The sound of the box is still terrific and bow and rosin work fine. 4 stars and we'll see.

Update Update: My teacher took it walked around awhile while I was getting ready and handing it back to me said, "Why did you think it couldn't be tuned?!" :) I also got a shoulder rest and two packs of DiDarios. So back to Fine Instrument! :) but follow instructions and let your instructor do the setup the first time. You'll save a string. She understood it was inexpensive, knew the price, but had no problem working with it and is starting me on the Suzuki method :) I thought the tuners absolutely wouldn't hold, so see a pro before giving up!

Well, the reviews were kind of mixed but tended towards good, so I took a chance. It arrived well so no complaints there. It looks really nice and the case is pretty decent. However, after a week at school, we just got a note from the music teacher as follows: "During tuning this morning, as well as Tuesday, I had a significant amount of trouble keeping her instrument in tune because of slipping pegs and defective fine tuners. After several minutes of trying to tune it, finally I had to resort to getting it as close as I could to the correct pitch and then move on to the next student. I noticed that as soon as we started playing [daughter] had a concerned look on her face that her instrument did not sound the same as the other violas around her." Anyway, she recommended we get a new instrument, or "At the very least, if she keeps the one she has, the pegs and fine tuners/tail-piece will need to be replaced." Maybe we got a defective one but I don't know for sure. Guitars, yea, I can pick out good, inexpensive ones. Violas, not so much...

Might be ok if you've never held a decent quality viola...not super comfortable to play and really thin wood. Constantly out of tune, but was good tuning practice for my daughter. Silver linings? Not agreeing with the good reviews that prompted my purchase, but probably should have done much more research before buying. Oopsies.

I'm having a blast with this. My first viola and haven't played any others. As far as I can tell it is built well, looks and sounds good. For the price, I don't see how anyone could complain. Bottom line, I'm making noise with it and having a blast learning how to play it.