Did a bit of research and decided this was the best least expensive violin out there. This is my first violin, and figured I can't screw this one up and I can only go up in quality from here if I stick with it.

Actually I had selected the MV200 4/4, but when I chose the Satin Antique varnish for $10 more it switched to the MV300. The varnish looked a bit better on the product images, so I bought it.

When I got it in the mail, the smaller cardboard box was in a much larger and paper stuffed box from Amazon which was nice to protect during shipping. Everything was shipped successfully.

When I opened the box, I grabbed the tuner and began to work the bridge on and tune the strings. The bridge wasn't on when I opened the box, so after some googling I figured out the lower sloped side goes on the right or by the "E" string, and the higher on the left or by the "G" string. The "Cecilio" brand stamp on the bridge should face the bottom of the violin (bridge should also be at a 90° angle, allign in the middle of the two "f" holes, and be centered left to right).

One string came off the tuning peg, but that was easily restrung. Also make sure to loosen the fine tuning knobs before tuning. The tuner provided allows for tuning based on the vibrations (clipping it to one of the tuning pegs), or via the mic. Both work well, but the letters on the "modes" stand not for the notes but either a guitar, bass, violin, or cello. There is also a dial that changes the pitch, though not sure what that does for me. It worked great and got it tuned successfully.

The last tip/feedback bit is when I went to apply resen to the bow, it was very slow/unsuccessful until I googled and then used sandpaper a repeatedly and then used the bow to loosen up rosin dust and then apply it until the shiny part of the resin was gone.

After playing for an hour or so, I looked at the back of the neck for what I can remember as the first time and noticed the varnish either wasn't applied (like a previous comment) or it quickly wore off in my first evening using it. Could be either, but pictures are posted.

The book didn't give much guide for how to prep your violin, so I hope this helps. Cheers!

I'm a complete beginner to strings, after viewing many videos on which violin kit to start with, this Mendi Cecilio MV300 4/4 (Full Size, Satin Antique) was voted the best.

I love it! Convinced a friend to get one!

I bought this as a very beginner. I didn't want to spend a lot in case I damaged it while transport or practice. So price was 5 stars. Sound was a little off, not terrible, but not top quality. But that's to be expected. Although my teacher said it wasn't bad and helped me fine tune it.
Shipping was great, it arrived a day sooner than expected. I bought the purple version, and it is gorgeous. Overall, very happy with my purchase.

Value for the money

The media could not be loaded. This item is certainly a mass produced item, but for the young beginner it seems to be good quality and has good sound. Our order was for 1/10 size and sizing matched size charts we referenced. Our child has no trouble producing very good sound both plucking and with the bow. It must be tuned regularly, which isn't a surprise with any string instrument, but it is a very fine tuning process as it is so small. The shoulder rest included with the instrument doesn't suit our child, so we needed another style, but that is a personal preference.

The bow works well, however the first bow we received from our seller had issues. The bow with issues had a crooked tip and hairs easily popped out, plus there was an awkward bend to the top of the bow (stick). Our seller replaced the bow immediately and did a good job, but this review is not focused on the seller. A true issue with these bows though is that the black piece (grip) on the stick has an obnoxious odor that is a chemical smell something like tires. We have experience with violins and thought that's not a structural part of the bow and removed the grip with a blade, then carefully cleaned the bow and all is well now. Be sure to add lots of rosin to ANY new bow for it to work properly.

Even with our bow issues, we would recommend this violin set for a young beginner. For an older child, perhaps something of higher quality would be preferred though.