Stentor 1500 4/4 Violin

So if you're here, it must be Instrument Procurement Season for your son or daughter who is starting in your school's orchestra. Or maybe you're looking to learn. Anyway, I like this axe. Why? Well, first, let me set the stage... Two years ago my oldest decided he wanted to play violin in school. I bought him a Mendini MV300 which, while certainly not a premium instrument, was enough to pique his interest once set up. However, that instrument required a lot of love before it was in condition to play, including work on the nut to bring the action down a bit, bridge work, and I even had to mess with the soundpost a bit. It plays better, but it will always be an instrument that is overly limiting. So when kid #2 decided to play the violin as well, I was able to draw off that experience, and it led me to this instrument. As before, I decided to buy after comparing rental terms with the purchase price. Now a fair word of caution...this is NOT a professional-level or even an advanced-level instrument. To judge it on those terms would be unfair and to do the product a disservice. What this IS, however, is an instrument that will not get in the way of a student learning the violin. First, on the concept of buying an outfit. BEWARE of package deals that offer you everything under the sun, especially if it comes at a price point that a simple violin+bow+case only barely matches. The dollars you are spending on a giant outfit are dollars that are NOT going into the violin, and in the music world, quality comes with price. Simply put, you want the violin to be the major price component of anything you buy. That money is buying you better tonewood (all wood is NOT the same...you want real solid spruce for the top because of its density and tonal qualities), ebony fittings (in particular the fingerboard but also the pegs) and good craftsmanship. This Stentor violin (which is a Stentor II) offers this to you. Granted, it's not an antique, nor is it a professional-level rig, but it is something that isn't going to block a student from learning. When properly set up (more on this in a minute), it has a tone that belies its price point. Simply put, it's eminently playable and represents a major value for the money. Moreover, it has staying power...it will remain a good instrument throughout the student's learning path, at least to advanced stages. That isn't to say you have no part to play in this. PLEASE PLEASE take the time to get this instrument set up correctly in the few weeks or so after receiving it. I say few weeks because some adjustments, like string height, are more subjective than others. But main things to consider: -The peg box. The pegs are cut in a cone shape and fit through the peg box. This shape is intended to create resistance so the strings do not come loose. An easy way to see if the construction is sound is to look at the hole in the peg box opposite of each peg...the end of the peg should be flush with the opposite side of the peg box. If it isn't, the pegs need to be reshaped. In my experience this is the main reason why pegs slip. -The soundpost. Placement of the soundpost is key. If it's in the wrong spot, the instrument will sound flat. Adjusting this is tricky and you probably want a professional luthier to do it for you. -The nut. This is the raised section right behind the peg box through which the strings fit (in little grooves) on their way to the bridge. An overly high nut means the string height is high and consequently requires more effort to push down. Lowering the nut will lower the action. My rule of thumb is that the string should be one string diameter over the fingerboard. However, this may be personal preference and some people prefer higher string actions. -The bridge. This is something you could do yourself if you're handy with wood. Mainly, the bridge needs to be perpendicular to the violin body. The feet of the bridge need to be curved so it is sitting flat on the top of the violin. If the bridge is leaning or if the feet aren't flush, the vibrations will not be transmitted efficiently to the body of the violin. Examine the bridge and make certain it's not warped, and in particular that it's in the right location (it should be lined up with the little notches in the middle of the F holes). -The strings. This rig includes Red Label strings which are....fine, I guess. They will stand up to a beginner whaling on them. But for tonal quality, I found best results from synthetic core strings. Dominant is the favorite, though I have a soft spot in my heart for D'Addario Pro Arte Nylon core. Note that strings are not a trivial investment, but it's the single component you can add that will make the instrument sound like it cost hundreds of dollars more. For the instrument I received, the peg box was perfect. I did need to adjust the bridge a bit, but overall and for a mail-order instrument...this thing arrived pretty much in 100% condition. I didn't have to spend hours setting it up. All this talk and I didn't mention the other components. The bow is really quite serviceable and actually has a quality winding. It's wood, not fiberglass, which I think is vastly superior. The frog is also ebony, speaking to the overall quality of this product set. As for the case, it's handy and sturdy, though there isn't much room inside the case for accessories like rosin or strings. An instrument cover is included with the case. Use it. Now then, next steps (and I apologize for this review dragging on so long, but buying a violin is NOT a trivial exercise). Buy new rosin (I prefer the Super Sensitive brand, light), as the rosin included here isn't much good. And even though the Red Label strings are...OK, buy some synthetic core strings or at the very least some D'Addario Preludes. It will make a difference. Note well that new strings (including the ones that come on this instrument) will stretch over days and even a week or so before they settle down...so you will need to retune very regularly over that time frame. So takeaway - this is a superior instrument for the student, and in fact it's probably the best in class. I found the construction to be very good (yes, it's made in China. But it's evidently made in the part of China that doesn't make cheap flip flops.) with no sign of hasty mass production. The varnish was evenly and properly applied, and there were no loose joints, chips, cracks, etc. It has a tone and playability that will not prevent your student from learning, nor will it encourage bad habits. In sum...it's a very good instrument.

My small son started to take violin lessons when he was 3 years old and is now seven, and has outgrown the original 1/8 size violin we purchased for him to begin on. So after doing a bit of research and speaking with my son's violin teacher and other violinists at music stores, I was recommended to take a look at the Stentor Student II (1500 series) violin or the Cremona SV 150 or 175 models. I ended up purchasing the Stentor because it seems like more care is paid to the actual construction of the violin and the quality of the wood used and ebony parts is of a higher level than the Cremona. It also appears that Cremona is putting more of their effort into their case construction rather than the actual violin. I was not entirely sure I was making the best decision but I figured with Amazon's warranty at my back, if anything was off I could simply return it and order the Cremona. I ordered the Stentor 1500 and it came about three days later from Amazon with no problems. I set it aside until my son's instructor (who is also a full time professional first string violinist in the city orchestra) could look at it and tune it for him correctly. (I unfortunately do not play yet) Upon looking at the violin closely later in the week, my son's instructor said that he was fairly surprised at the higher quality of the violin. He said the ebony fingerboard and pegs and the composite tailpiece all appeared to be of high quality. He thought the wood construction was extremely good for a violin under $500 and he liked that they included the Red Label strings which he said were a good inclusion for intermediate learners. (my small son is still a beginning intermediate player and is at the beginning of the third Suzuki book) He began to tune the strings and then would play for a few seconds and then did some more tuning. This continued for about 30 minutes until he said things were decent for that day (new strings can take several days or weeks to fully stretch) and then he began to play some Mozart and Bach. He said that the Stentor 1500 has medium "projection" meaning that people in a concert hall could hear it fairly well and said he was fairly impressed by the quality of the sound in comparison to the reasonable price. He then noted that the bow was real Brazilwood and said that was an excellent choice for an intermediate level instrument. He also said the violin would be more than fine for my small son until he grows older and can move to a full size (4/4) violin. I can also say that the quality of the case, the rosin and the carrying strap are more than adequate. The quality of the case in particular is fairly high and is strong enough to hopefully withstand any abuse that a six year old boy can deal to it. Any time you buy an instrument, you never know how it will hold up six months or two years later but I will come back and update this review periodically. So far though, we are all pleasantly surprised by the high quality construction and sound of this Stentor II 1500 series violin. Five stars so far! Fall 2017 Update - (18 months later) - This Stentor 1500 is still going strong and holds it's tuning very well. My son's other instructors in the city youth orchestra have commented on the Stentor and indicated that the sound was good (especially considering the price). My small son has managed to take good care of it so far (fingers crossed) and the instrument continues to play delightfully. Still five stars!

Schönes Instrument und als Anfänger-/ Ausprobierinstrument absolut ausreichend. Ohne größere Schwierigkeiten konnte ich sie selbst stimmen und auch gescheite Töne raus bekommen. Habe natürlich keine Vergleichsinstrumente, aber ich finde sie gut.

Stentor Student II è già di per sé un prodotto consigliato da molti maestri come violino per iniziare, ed io non posso che confermare. Il violino arriva contenuto nella sua custodia, anch'essa ottima considerato il prezzo, dotata di tasca piccola frontale, ideale per accessori quali poggiaspalla o altro, e una tasca grande, adatta a contenere libri o spartiti. All'interno, oltre al violino, coperto con una protezione sintetica, troviamo la cinghia tracolla per la custodia, l'archetto, e la pece, contenuta nell'apposito vano. Quando si acquista uno strumento ad arco, il più delle volte arriva ancora da preparare: le corde sono lente, ed il ponte deve essere installato. In questo caso invece il venditore, Reidy's Home of Music, invia il violino già preparato e pronto per l'uso (ovviamente, dopo l'accordatura, e dopo aver dato una passata di pece sull'archetto). La spedizione, anche con Prime, impiega qualche giorno in più rispetto ad altri prodotti, ma questione di un totale di 4 o 5 giorni al massimo, e direi che il prodotto vale l'attesa. Infatti lo sto utilizzando da qualche settimana, così come è arrivato, e sta risultando più che sufficiente per chi si avvicina per la prima volta allo strumento. L'accordatura non è risultata particolarmente difficile, con l'utilizzo di una applicazione gratuita tra le tante disponibili sugli app store dei cellulari, ed anche per le sessioni successive risulta mantenere piuttosto bene l'accordatura. Come prossimi passi, intendo provare a cambiare la pece, e successivamente le corde, poiché ho letto che in entrambi i casi si ottiene un buon miglioramento a livello qualitativo, ma per adesso non posso confermare che lo studio procede, con buona soddisfazione, con il prodotto così come è arrivato, senza spendere altro. Pienamente soddisfatto.

Me ha encantado. Para empezar el vendedor ha sido tremendamente atento, nunca jamás había recibido este nivel de atención por el envío y cuidado del producto. Y ya cuando lo recibí… me enamoré. Es mi primer violín porque soy principiante y para mi toda esta experiencia que comienza por la adquisición del instrumento es muy importante. Muchas gracias y recomendable totalmente.

Compared to its price it looks good

It took a couple of weeks to receive the violin, but I was so glad that I waited patiently. Both violin teachers of my son approved of the quality of the violin, the case, and the strings. I called the local violin stores around me to find out what's available and how much it costs. They charged a lot more for the Stentor student standard grade, which is a step down from this product (Student 1). Thank you for offering a great product at a reasonable price. I hope to buy the next size violin from the same seller.