Amazing ...it is worth buying..5 ?Based on function, sound quality and value, this is a great instrument. Do other violins sound better - of course. Are other violins easier to play - of course. Can you get better sound and ease of play in other violins at this price - definitely not. We have four violins in the house. We have the Cecilio beginner violin made famous on YouTube, which cost $109. We have this violin, which is a discounted Bunnel model and which was $199. We also have the Fiddlerman Apprentice Violin Outfit, which was $330. Lastly I have a hundred year old German violin that is worth maybe $3,500.The violin itself is very attractive. It is a nice darker wood with a smooth oiled finish that is easy on the hands and the neck is responsive. It takes a little more effort to play than the Fiddlerman but it costs $130 less. The case is great, except for the seller's logo. The strings will get you through six months to a year of playing. The construction is basic. The wood is quality, with a very good sound, and a nice responsive tone. You can draw long, deep chords and notes with good bow technique. No complaints at all.My evaluation of the violins is this. It is all about budget. The German violin was bought at a flea market for $65 and I actually assumed it was not a good instrument and bought the Fiddlerman and Cecilio without even having the German model assessed by a luthier (would have cost $150 and I did not think I would get a good result).If you only have enough money to rent a violin, but want the benefits of ownership, buy the Cecilio. If you can already play or are a little more committed and have a few more dollars to spend, get the Bunnel. If you play very well or if you have outgrown your Bunnel or Cecilio and want a violin you can keep for years, but are still on a budget, get the Fiddlerman Apprentice. OR - if you have a little more money to spend at any level of play, start with the Fiddlerman and keep it until you can get a performance quality violin at triple the cost.The biggest drawback with this Bunnel is the bow. Fortunately, I'm into carbon fiber and I just bought a carbon fiber bow to use with all the violins and it is head and shoulders better than just about any bow I've used. Granted, I'm just a third year player, but the first thing you'll need to upgrade and the easiest thing to upgrade that will improve your playing is your bow and your strings. If you're a good player and on a budget, get this Bunnel and a new bow and strings and you won't need to get another violin for maybe three years.To get a violin that plays better than the Fiddlerman you'll have to spend a whole lot more than $330. In fact, it plays nearly as well as my newly configured German violin, for which I did end up spending money with a luthier.If you just want to play around and learn for fun, the Cecilio is probably good enough to keep you interested and play along with your kids or a piano or cello once in a while. If you play well and have no budget at all, the Bunnel is your best choice. It's not great, but it is very, very good and you'll be pressed to find a violin that will play better if you are a violinist with less than five years of playing. Or if you are in that five year or under category and have more than $200 and less than $500 to spend, get the Apprentice and spend money on a better bow and better strings.I've had this violin for about three weeks now, and although that's not very long to write a thorough review of a product, I will attempt to get my experience down in a short Amazon review.I'm a college student that has never even touched a violin before I bought the Bunnel Basic, so I have no comparison to this violin in terms of build quality, but I can tell say that the sound on this violin is actually pretty nice. It has a beautiful resonance when you play open strings, and even my crude beginner bowing creates a pretty sound. The violin feels sturdy, although be careful with the tailpiece when using the fine tuners because you don't want to bend it too much. There seems to be some confusion as to whether this is a clearance Bunnel G2 or Bunnel Pupil, as even when I ordered it I had no idea. Mine is a Bunnel Pupil with a very small varnishing blemish, and it's for the most part hidden under the fingerboard, so I am very happy that I bought the clearance instead of spending the extra $40.The bow is alright. Again, I have no experience with violins or bows, but I can tell if something is poorly made or not. The bow I received is from Giuliani (along with the rosin), and it's held up well for these first few weeks so far. But still, the bow isn't anything special, and if you are expecting anything other than the most basic bow, then you need to either cough up some more cash or lower your standards. Also, my violin did not come with a shoulder rest, so don't expect one.I was delighted to find that my violin came with D'Addario Prelude strings already on the instrument. These strings are great for beginners, and they've held up well (although be prepared to tune them every twenty minutes for the first few weeks). The extra set of strings I believe are the Portland strings as advertised, although mine came in an unmarked plastic bag.The best surprise about this outfit is the case. It is sturdy, and I feel very safe putting my violin in it and walking around with it. There are two bow holders inside, a place for a shoulder rest, a compartment for your rosin, cloth, and extra strings, and even a built in hydrometer to keep the humidity in check. The case also comes with extra straps so you can wear it like a backpack, which I find very convenient since I also sometimes need to carry my saxophone around at the same time.I'm giving this violin five stars not because it's the best violin on Amazon, but because it is exactly what I needed at the perfect price. It may be just a simple beginner's violin, but it can always be upgraded with better strings, a new bow, or a sound post adjustment when needed. And if I ever get good at the violin, I'll buy a more expensive violin. But this violin is the one to buy for any beginner.P.S. I got this violin shipped from Washington state to Ohio, and everything was perfectly intact to play (although the pegs slipped during shipping, and tuning the first time was a trek).Let me start out by saying my wife is an experienced (15+ years) violin teacher and has played violin for most of her life. We bought this violin for our 8 year old son since he outgrew the 1/4 size Bunnel Pupil. We were looking for another Bunnel Pupil, but it wasn't available at the time in 1/2 size.This Bunnel Premier violin outfit is a great value and one my wife will be recommending to new students. It is a clear upgrade in sound over the Pupil, and the finish is a little nicer. For being a clearance item, I don't see any more than a tiny nick in the finish.The violin itself sounds great for a student violin and the fit and finish is nearly perfect. It is very beautiful, and the setup done by Kennedy was very good. The action was perfect, the bridge fit well, and the strings were mostly in tune.The rest of the outfit is definitely lower quality than the violin, but nothing is junk. The bow is good. The case is a solid. The oblong style is nice to fit music in the side pocket. The rosin is fine. The shoulder rest is much better than the one we got in the Pupil, which broke on us. This one should last fine.Overall, what you get in this outfit is impressive, the violin being the most impressive. My wife when she first played it to tune it for my son was immediately impressed (for the price). We still are happy with the 1/4 Pupil for our younger son, but the Premier is probably worth the upgrade, since it is only a few dollars more.
