is a mendeni an okay violin to start out with?

It really is that bad, send it back.

Violins that cost less than around $300 are not worth purchasing; just putting quality strings on them doesn't solve the instruments problems. The quality of the parts and sound make them a waste of money and will cost you more in the long run. These cheap instruments are made with cheap materials. The Maple that is used in the instruments is softer than it should be making the pegs wear the holes in the peg box prematurely. In addition the back also being made of this soft maple makes for a dull unappealing sound. The top which is made of inferior spruce creates an unfocused sound and is weaker and more susceptible to damage. The ebony fitting like the fingerboard and pegs (if they are actually ebony) are also softer than they should be, making them wear more quickly. The varnish is usually a sprayed on lacquer which is too hard and creates a hard rough sound because it keeps the wood from vibrating. Just the wood used for a proper beginner level violin costs over $75, so you can’t get a whole instrument made for anything close to that that is any good.

When you purchase an instrument over the internet, you have no idea what it will sound like. A picture on a web site with a description tell you nothing about how an instrument sounds or how it will hold up. You also have no one to go to if you have any problems after you receive it. A violin needs to be played to see if you care for the sound. If you don’t play yet, you need someone that is proficient enough with the instrument to demonstrate it for you. Internet sites come and go as it is real easy to just rename the site and start over.

So do yourself a favor and save up some money and get an instrument that you will be happy with. The cheap instruments with their poor sound and poor quality will just frustrate you and you will give up, then all of your time and money will have been wasted. You can also rent a violin and a good store will allow a portion of your rent to apply towards the purchase of an instrument. The better the store, the more of your money will apply. Violin stores will typically offer you the best selection, the best quality and the most rental credit. Music stores will have some violins but not the selection or the quality and no one on staff that understands violins, they are very different from guitars. Value for value, you will get a much better deal at a violin store.

If you absolutely must buy over the internet because you live to far from a violin shop, here are some violins under $450 that have a proven track record and are from reputable companies with actual luthiers working and setting up the instruments properly.

Fein Violins ($300) - http://feinviolins.com/item_display.php?upc=V0AMAT...

Quinn Violins ($350) - http://quinnviolins.com/qv_beginnervioli%E2%80%A6

Sullivan Violins – Eastman (around $375-430) - * my favorite

Shar Hoffman Maestro ($425) - http://www.sharmusic.com/Shop-Shar/Instruments/Vio...

Hoffman Deluxe ($430) - http://www.sharmusic.com/Shop-Shar/Instruments/Vio...

As a professional violin maker and repairmen with 35 years experience in the retail violin market, 40 years as a violinist and a onetime teacher, I have seen this subject from all sides. I hate to see people waste their money on these unusable instruments and then having to pay more to make them even function.

They're pretty bad. The one you get might be playable or it might not be. Some of them need work before you can even tune them up and play them. They can be pretty hard to tune and hard to get a sound out of. A beginner really should have an instrument they don't have to fight with and isn't so frustrating to play.

You could wait and see what the violin you get is like. Some are okay at first. If it's really hard to deal with, take it to a violin shop and have them do what they can to fix it up so it's easier to play. Better yet, send it back right away and get a better one if possible.

Your love for the device speaks extra for you than a musical history. I feel the secure attention training offers will support you for your experiences, if you happen to provide your self time for each. So you're now not a prodigy, that concerns little in the end. You gets out of it up to you installed. It's bigger to provide it a take a look at, than surprise what could had been, specially with the assets you have got ar hand. I've noticeable individuals decide on up devices when they retire, so.... If it makes you comfortable, why now not? Besides, you're 14, you're younger, believe me. I could now not say it could now not be rough to play Paganini, however is not if amusing to be challenged? You could now not be most sensible scholar if you didn't have this angle. Just so you recognize, I obtained the highest SAT rating in my elegance. My mom and dad desired me to do anything utilising my mind, so it was once now not till after I was once accredited to Carnegie- Mellon as a composition essential, that they rented a piano and I had courses. I was once appearing publicly part approach via institution. Convinced but?