not bad. I was looking for a violin under $300 ...
932934
For the price I paid, not bad.
I was looking for a violin under $300 but sounding like a $300 violin (which is my division point of tolerable or not.) This one has served fine and my violin student doesn't have any issues with it. The only reason I didn't give it 5 stars is simply because it matched but not exceed my expectations. But for a beginner instrument, this was a good choice and I'm glad I bought it to rent out to my student. She has had no trouble with it.
3850580
Before considering purchasing this instrument I read the only other review (by Mike Guitarist - who gave it 4 stars) at the time that I purchased mine and it seemed like it would be a decent instrument and fit my needs: A cheap toss around guitar to bring in the car and practice on while I sat in all of the different parking lots I end up in waiting for my wife.

Mine came completely set up, no bridge issues to deal with (it also came with a soft gig bag, but it opens from the bottom and you have to snake the instrument headstock first up into what is a very tight fit. They should have had a side zipper.  I converted the cardboard box into a case (much better protection) which allows me to just drop it in.

I guess given my criterion it should get 5 stars - the reality being that if it got broken or damaged I wouldn't care (especially with scratches and other damages to the finish), but, since I wanted it for practice purposes I expected that it would also play well and sound and look good. The reality is that it is like looking at something from far away thinking how great it looks until you get close and find it doesn't look as good - it sort of sounds decent and sort of looks good.

The wood selected for both the body and neck had major flaws on the back where you wouldn't seem them unless you looked and then they jump right up in your face. The one on the body is a 2 inch void in the first few layers of the plywood. The other is a slightly smaller similar void in the solid wood of the heel of the neck.

I do have some issues with the playability/sound. I get string buzz at the 1st fret position on the first two or three strings, on most of the frets of the 6th string, and some of them on the first - especially when I pick as opposed to finger pluck.  I'm going to try and raise the bridge with shims to see if I can correct this.

Like Michael Guitar I am also concerned about the steel strings as I lost a neck on a ukulele which came with them but really needed nylon ones, so I may switch them out on my next set.

The fluted body shape is also something to get used to. The other instrument I was considering was the Martin, which has the same body design (I guess you could say the Sunlike is a Martin copy), but I couldn't justify spending the extra dollars given it is almost $200.

If I am able to correct the string buzz, this instrument will fit my needs until a time where I want to make a larger financial investment in an instrument of this shape/size.
1915369
This violin  was for my 13 year old granddaughter who wanrted to learn how to play.  Apparently her teacher didn't approve of it, so her father took it to a violin repair shop. They could make it usable for over $300.  So obviously, the violin was not worth the purchase.
Marie K
342340
I am an orchestra teacher and I HATE when my parents go on ebay, or craiglist, or here, to purchase an instrument.  ATTENTION PARENTS: You will NOT find a quality violin or viola for under $150, preferably 200!  Stop trying to save a buck and get your child something they will be successful on!
1883698
The violin is pretty good and the customer service helps a lot. The sound is pretty decent for an amateur. They provide a lot of cool accessories as well. I'd like to recommend this violin.
2692752
This violin is okay and may be well suited for someone who is just starting and not very serious about playing. Please be aware that for a decent sound you will want to purchase different strings than what comes with this violin. Even with premium strings, this violin will not sound as well as one you buy from the music store, it is cheaply made. The bridge that came with mine actually had to be sanded down by a luthier so that the strings would not sit too far off the neck. Between the new strings and the work done on the bridge, it was an additional $80. By time you pay that, you can get a used but very good violin from the music store that will sound way better than this one for what you end up paying. I purchased this for my 9 year old son who has expressed an interest to learn so I did not want to invest a whole lot of money. It works fine for him, but I can tell a huge difference from mine.
211399
I've played the violin for 8 years now, but haven't played one in a year, so I wanted to get back playing it. I bought a cheaper one for now. I was expecting the violin to a mat purple, not shinny and sparkly. Kind of lost motivation to play it, but it wasn't damaged and a decent price with everything it includes.
1202292
I got it at $60 dollars.  I wasn't too impressed.  I don't expect to sound good at this point in my violin playing, but I just feel like I'm playing a $60 dollar violin.
2229713
Initial Observation:
The violin is Not blue, it's more like a sparkly teal. I haven't had a chance to try and tune it and play it yet, but I'm sort of annoyed that it is Not the blue that is in any of the photos. *sigh*
711288
Wow! $129 for an electric violin that works! It sounds pretty good through an amp. I was sold after watching this video YouTube [...] and the violin didn't disappoint. I'm just learning to play the violin and this is perfect for practicing in my apartment without annoying my neighbors (although you can still hear without the amp, enough to possibly be annoying). On mine, the stereo output doesn't work very well. It cuts out periodically and it's not really stereo (just one channel). However, I'm still over the moon about it!
3577917
It's ok for a first violin. I recommend doing research on a better one if you start getting serious about the violin. The pegs don't hold a tune for more than a second, but that can be fixed with a chalky application that I find at my local violin shop. You can also ruff up the the peg so that the woods exposed and that should help a lot.
My husband got this for me at $30 on Amazon. It's perfect for the price and my first stringed instrument. I recommend using an experienced teacher the first few times to help you set the instrument up... Or you can find lots of videos on utube if your confident in your abilities. I probably like the case it comes in more then the instrument itself, lol.
The bow isn't great but it gets the job done well enough that I can learn.
If you plan to tune the violin yourself as a beginner, find an app that you can use to match the pitch of each string so you don't over tune it too bad.
REVISED 7/2/2015
I had noticed a popping sound a lot of times when I was tuning or playing ever since I first got this violin, and it would lower the sound and untune all the strings when it popped. My instructor thought it was maybe the bridge moving. Finally today while practicing and fighting to keep the instrument in tune I found out the problem. The plastic cable that holds the tail piece has 2 nuts holding each end of the cable and those nuts are slipping. I found this out when the nut finally slipped off the cable and my tail piece went completely loose. I do not recomend this violin because of the cheap construction of this cable that can't hold enough pressure in a spot where there is lots of pressure. You can buy replacements for this part. The seller I bought this from wants to send me a replacement because they think it was defective. It was nice of them to do this even though we bought this for Christmas 2014
2471872
My wife bought me one for Christmas last year. It cost about $50 for the whole outfit. I am the furthest thing from musically talented as it gets.  I have little time too play it, but I've taught myself over the last year. Now I can play a few songs, horribly, but I'm still learning. Something I could never have done if it weren't for the excellent price point of this violin.
 I have upgraded the strings to a set of SuperSensitive red labels, put a little peg dope on the pegs and have NO PROBLEMS keeping it in tune.
1979372
For starters I am not an expert violin player. I purchased the full size version and the 1/2 size for my son, we are learning the violin together. I have played the guitar for years. I have played the violin for about 2 months, I have an electric violin, my son had a 1/4 size acoustic,  my son grew out of his so I just got us both a new acoustic.

The violin comes with d'addario strings - which sound very nice. The violin sounds nice and looks just like the picture - its obviously not hand stained - but its nice and shiny. It plays pretty well (I am obviously not the best player in the world, i don't hit the other strings too much - or at least much more than I do on other instruments). The bow feels a little heavier then ones I have used before so it takes a little getting used to that, but I don't think its a bad bow.

It tunes pretty easy. I tuned both of the violins in about 5 minutes - granted I have played guitar for years so I am not new to the process of tuning string instruments but violins are MUCH harder to tune than guitars - and cheap violins often times are really hard - and then they don't stay in tune after for that long.

The case is good, about what you would expect and everything they said that comes with it did. The tuner is also a metronome which is a good thing to have for a student. For the price, this is a very good violin. If I had spent 150 or 200 for this I wouldn't feel ripped off, I think the violin sounds good - and is very playable. I would recommend this to people looking to start violin, you're not spending a fortune and you're not getting a cheap violin that is very hard to tune, won't stay in tune and the bridge just makes you hit other strings all the time. The violin is a hard instrument to learn, so I wouldn't recommend spending much more that 200 dollars for a first violin in case you don't stick with it but having said that, I don't know if I would go too cheap either because if the violin is cheap and doesn't sound good and doesn't play well at all, the cheapness of the violin you're trying to learn with adds to the difficulty, this violin seems like a good medium and really they could probably charge a little more for it.

Also for parents wondering how loud their kids violin will be:
The violin is fairly loud, so you even with a practice mute will hear in the next room, violins are not quiet, no matter what you try - if you buy an electric silent violin which is the one I started with, its quieter but you can still hear it in the next room. Acoustic violins are a little better sounding, actually they're a lot better sounding - so just buy earplugs.
504876
Strings broke first day. Plan on replacing them before being able to play. Bow is not that great either.  So far the violin is holding up, but you definitely get what you pay for here.  Ships from China so don't expect to get it right away and don't expect to be able to track it either.  It will just show up one day within the window they provide for delivery.  Overall it is a good alternative for a violinist wanting to just try out an electric violin on the side.
1319525
For the price, this is a great student violin.  Just keep in mind that you're purchasing a $60 violin.  The package comes well equipped with a case, bow, shoulder rest, rosin, extra strings and an extra bridge.  I was impressed when my girlfriend opened hers.  The violin is matte finished which I think is beautiful.  I almost like the look more than my glossy, more expensive, violin.

The primary problem with this violin is that it doesn't stay in tune at all.  I purchased peg drops, which should resolve this issue.  I will follow up with the results of that.

I haven't had the opportunity to "really" dig in a play it.  Only performed tuning and scales.  Sound quality so far is great for a true beginner.  I may eventually change the strings to a higher quality and replace the bow, but for now I feel like this will work as-is for now.
936505
I bought this Violin when it was on sale for 50$ because, quite frankly, I wanted a Violin and a student Violin seemed it would be a nice start. I started looking at reviews after my purchase and started to feel a bit of Buyers remourse, thinking that it might not have been a good buy after all.

When the Violin had came in I opened the case and was astonished, the case itself would have been worth the 50$, the violin, while the paint job wasn't 'reflective' as the one in the picture, has a nice smooth and even paintjob, the rosin(Which I do not think is in the picture) Came with borders so that you don't accidentally touch the bow's hair. When I tuned it, it actually did stay in tune.

I'm unsure if I just got lucky or if it's because my standards were that of a 300$ violin (That's on sale) but I am really happy that I had made this purchase.

As a word of advice to future buyers, when tuning the violin, make sure to gently push the pegs towards the pegbox, they are cylindrical in shape (triangle) and just turning them will cause them to untune.
1856274
I bought this violin for my 12 year old daughter who has been playing for 8 years.  While the instrument looks cool and has a decent sound, be prepared to make some additional purchases.  The strings that came on it are cheap.  The e string broke the first day.  We had to replace all four strings.  The aux cable did not work, we had to go buy a new one.  The case if really cheap.  If you will be really traveling with this instrument you would want a better case. The bow is not great; my daughter used her good bow that goes with her acoustic violin instead.  The rosin fell apart on day 2.  My daughter enjoys this for fun, but if she gets really starts to play on it we would need to upgrade.