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Austin Bazaar Full Size Violin 4 X 4 with Case - Natural Color | 
 enlarge | Brand: Austin Bazaar
Category: Musical Instruments
List Price: $179.99
Buy Used: $50.00
You Save: $129.99 (72%)
Rating:  35 reviews
Sales Rank: 828
Shipping Weight (lbs): 10
ASIN: B0007KPI2S
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Features:
| • | New Violin 4/4 Full Size with Case & Bow | | • | Comes with an Austin Bazaar product guide | | • | Maple sides and back | | • | Spruce top, ebony colored pegs | | • | Wood bow with genuine horse hair |
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| Editorial Reviews:
Product Description
This violin is ideal for the beginning musician. It features maple wood back and sides, pear wood fingerboard and four fine tuners. It also includes a genuine horse hair wood bow, rosin and a featherweight carrying case with strap and carrying handle. Accessory colors/style may vary. Comes with an Austin Bazaar product guide. Here are some hints to help keep your violin in tune: 1. Although the violins come with a bridge, it is not installed. Installing a bridge should is not difficult, but if you have a problem, please email us. The bridge has to be installed for the violin to play correctly. 2. Strings do tend to slip and lose their tune on a new violin because they need to stretch. If this happens, just give it time. The strings just need time to settle in. 3. If the violin pegs keep slipping, try to push the peg in while turning it. If they still dont stay in, peg drops are available at most music stores. They are relatively inexpensive and should help the pegs stay in. 4. If a strand of hair breaks on the bow, take a pair of nail clippers and cut it from the frog (bottom of the bow) or the top of the bow. A few hairs are bound to fall out with play. Remember to rub a little rosin (included) on the bow before playing. This is a great violin to get started with. And at this price it is an unbeatable value.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 30 more reviews...
 This is not the violin you are looking for... December 20, 2008
austin dunk (Sarasota, FL 34239)
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
After seeing several positive reviews, I decided to purchase this for my wife, who played violin for years when she was younger. You do receive a violin that is nice and shiny-- which is what some people consider to be a sign of quality. Look closer and you see some serious issues. The top piece and bottom piece are both made of laminated wood (make just like plywood) and anyone with some acoustic knowledge can confirm that this will never produce a good sound-- even with Dominant perlon-core strings as another reviewer suggested. Plus, the heavy finish I mentioned, while looking pretty to most people, also ruins the sound.
Another sad fact is the quality of the components. The fingerboard isn't ebony, or any sort of durable wood-- it is painted black and easily dented with a fingernail. To fix this, it would be more than the cost of a much higher quality violin. The peg holes for the D-string tuner were drilled oversize on my instrument and the far end of tuning peg protrudes more than 1/4" out of one side of the pegbox in order for it to fit. To fix that, you would need to re-bush the hole, which again is cost prohibitive. The pegs do slip, much more than they should. The frequent tunings, even after several months of use, made playing this even less tolerable and is another reason I am discouraging it's use by beginning players. The bridge is a generic, poorly cut piece, which will need to be professionally adjusted and fitted unless you have some experience. To properly set up this instrument you will end up spending $35 - $50 on top of the purchase price plus the cost of new strings. You are much better off buying something much better, even if means you need to add another $100 to your credit card bill.
I was surprised that any violin teacher would say the sound from this instrument is good. As you would expect, this violin has a muddy sound and it doesn't resonate well at the higher frequencies. Before you get upset, I know the music world is full of snobs but I'm not one of them. I would never suggest that any violin with a price tag less than $1,000 is a toy and I've played enough instruments to know there is little reason the average/beginning player needs to spend over $500 for a quality violin. Prior to the internet, a $900 violin was usually a $300 violin which was marked up by the store owner. Now, it's not too hard to find that same instrument for $350 from an online retailer. The same applies for entry-level instruments which used to retail for $500, they are now available for under $200
Yes, it's cheaper than anything around. Yes, you get a case... but with a $150 violin outfit you get something that is much higher quality, is easier to use, and will provide better sound. For beginning instruments, there are several good choices and you'll be happier as the years go by if you bypass this in favor of something slightly more expensive-- but many times better. Please check out the violins made by Bonn, Helmke, or Cremona (unfortunately some of these brands aren't sold on Amazon). All have solid spruce tops, real purfling, better hardware, better bows, and some vendors even properly set up the instrument for free prior to shipping it. You will find very good instruments in an affordable ($100 - $200) price range, which is what you would have invested in this piece from Austin Bazaar when you consider the purchase price and the additional costs needed to make it playable.
 Terrible Quality of Workmanship December 5, 2008
M. Stone (Saint Charles, MO USA)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I bought this as a Christmas gift and it is just not acceptable to give as a gift.
The varnish is high gloss and has drip marks on it. The black paint is badly applied and there is a streak of black paint on the unfinished part of the neck. The paint on the scroll at the bottom of the tuners very messy. There are also white spots where varnish is missing.
I am returning the item despite the 20% restocking fee charged by the seller.
Don't waste your time or money on this violin July 30, 2008
Rishel Gordham (Olympia, Washington)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
This violin is VERY cheaply made. I would only purchases this for a child or young adult who isn't seriously going to learn to play. I would not recommend this to anyone.
I get what I pay for July 29, 2008
Ray B (Portland, OR)
Quite junky. The nylon/plastic cord holding the tailpiece to the violin is fighting the string tension with only 2 brass nuts THREADED onto the cord. Who threads a soft plastic cord? Anyhow, the nuts kept slipping, as did the plastic pegs. Prepare for a fight when this thing gets unwrapped.
 Not a bad little instrument May 11, 2008
M. Mangum (TX)
I was a little hesitant about buying this instrument. I was worried that the quality of the sound would not be good. However, after some minor adjustments, I was quite pleasently surprised by its tone. Not only me, but the lutheir, who did the minor repairs, even mentioned that it had a very nice sound.
I will mention that I did have to have the sound post cut and fitted to the violin. This made a difference in the quality of sound. I also had to have the bridge cut, to prevent the strings from slipping.
I would definitly recommend this violin as a starter instrument, and maybe even for intermediate level students.
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