Mendini by Cecilio 16-Inch MA250 Varnish Solid Wood Viola with Case, Bow, Rosin, Bridge and Strings

I bought this item on Prime Day for about $70. The quality is definitely great for the price. This viola is very light weight and has a decent tone. I did have to replace the C string that came with it though since it couldn’t hold a consistent tuning at all. The other strings were decent quality, though the A string sounds a bit strained once you get past the 5th position. The quality of the fingerboard isn't great. It's already losing some of the black finish after maybe 10 hours of play time. This viola is certainly not for professionals, but is perfect for beginners, or even more intermediate level players who want to experiment with a different size viola.

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!

Let me start by saying this viola pleasantly surprised me on quality and sound for such a cheap mass made product. I've been a violist for almost 30 years, my daughter plays the violin and has been interested in trying the viola, since I didn't want to let her have mine, we often practice at the same times I thought I'd see about something cheap to see if she would want to continue to pursue it before dumping a ton of money into another viola. My main viola is easily worth over a grand so I know what a good solid made viola is like. This viola is much lighter than a professional instrument, however the craftmanship is much better than I would have expected for how cheap this instrument was. The pegs are strong the fine tuners work well. It stayed tuned easily even without using peg grease. The sound, with the given bow is decent and fairly rich. That being said the bow is extremely low quality, and has about half as much hair as it should. When swapping to a better bow the sound was more fluid. Keep in mind a decent bow generally costs as much as this viola so personally I'm glad they put more quality into the instrument itself. Strings are cheap but yet again decent strings are going to run you as much as the price of this instrument so no big deal. I think this instrument is decent enough for a student that wants to find out if they are truly dedicated before spending money on something higher quality. If you invest in a better bow and some better strings to go with it it is actually fairly decent, especially considering the price is unbeatable.

I was very disappointed in both the viola and the bow that came with it. The bow arrived with it's hair hopelessly tangled in the mechanism that holds it in the case. At least a dozen hairs were pulled out and had to be cut off, but that wasn't the worst of the issues with the bow. The hairs were never secured into the tip of the bow so it was impossible to rosin it without having another half-dozen or more hairs come loose, every, single time I tried.The quality of the viola wasn't much better. Little spots of the finish were missing, the finger-board isn't quite centered and it will not hold a tune. The strings and bridge are also terrible.I read a lot of reviews for this viola and some people are pleased with the instrument they received, but I feel sorry for any beginner who might have received this particular instrument and bow and who may have thought all violas and bows are as difficult to play as this one.Amazon was great about sending a return label. I ordered a SKYVA303 to replace the Mendini and it arrived a few days ago. The cost is closer to $300 but this viola both looks and sounds beautiful, the difference in the level of "craftsmanship" is remarkable and the bow is a far cry from the awful one that came with the Mendini.I will allow for the one star because the case is quite nice and the company included an extra set of strings and an extra bridge, along with some rosin.

This product was purchased, shipped and received all in good order. For the price this is an excellent purchase for a student or beginner viola player. Sounds good and plays well.

My daughter is learning the viola and since she is showing more interest, i decided to buy her this beginner instrument. It has a good sound quality and the price is perfect!

Es un maravilloso instrumento, de muy buena calidad y muy buen sonido, muy recomendable

Llego de acuerdo al tiempo previsto. El instrumento le ha funcionado muy bien para aprender a mi hija pequena de 10 anos. Me parece una buena compra por su precio

me gustó mucho, llegó a tiempo y en buen estado, lo único es que el estuche tenia descosido un belcrom, pero en realidad nada que no se pueda arreglar y no es causa de devolución para mi, el instrumento y sus aditamentos muy bien