Features:

  • Size 16.5" viola made of solid hand-carved spruce top, flamed maple back & sides, beautiful inlaid purfling & finish
  • Hardwood fingerboard, boxwood pegs, chinrest, and tailpiece with 4 detachable nickel plated fine tuners
  • Brazilwood bow with unbleached genuine Mongolian horsehair
  • Includes: lightweight hard case, quality rosin cake, 2 bridges, & extra set of strings
  • 1 Year Warranty Against Manufacturer's Defects
Excellent Choice for Students

I am a string orchestra teacher and was pleasantly surprised by this viola. First of all, I got mine for $59.50 (I don't know when/why I got such a good deal on this!). It has a 1-piece solid wood back, which it didn't advertise, but means that it's better quality and sounds better due to this construction. The strings were okay, I don't really like the Cecilio strings (I prefer Dominants, Prelude, Pirastro). The rosewood is beautiful and the finish is lovely. The bow is good, flexible, and genuine wood and horsehair. The fine tuners are a bit off-center, but they can be loosened and centered with some effort. The tuning pegs work well and it stays in tune (super important!). I highly recommend this item for any student looking for a teacher-approved instrument. The case is sturdy, roomy and somewhat cheap-looking. Note that it doesn't come with a shoulder rest, but that is an easy $15-30 purchase. The one thing I though was cheap and needs improvement is the bridge. It is too high, therefore the action on the strings/fingerboard is too high. I took it off and sanded it down (especially where the A string goes) to give it more of a slope that allows students to play the string easier and cross strings easier. It was an awesome deal for how much I got it for, and though it's more expensive now, it's still worth $162.

Good clear sound

Good clear sound. I realized we were spending a small fortune in rental fees so we decided to buy. If you are worried about the quality then don't. As a player and parent you won't find a better instrument at this price point. Perfect for a child that may not stick with the instrument.

Perfect for beginning player, great quality/tone

Granddaughter (10) signed up for viola in school orchestra. Rental would be $35/mo. Decided this would be a better choice if the quality was good enough. We had her music teacher check it out and tune it the first time. He was amazed by the quality, having been referring students to a $500 model in the past. He now recommends this manufacturer for his beginning/still growing students.

GREAT FOR THE PRICE

Not only do you get a great beginner viola but you also get an extra bridge, extra set of strings, a decent bow and rosin that can actually be used unlike in most kits. I am not saying that this is the best rosin on the market but it is actually usable unlike what comes in most kits. The bow is also usable and decent not quite as good as the one that I purchased as a back up but also great for the price. When you take into account how much the extra strings, extra bride, bow and rosin cost you almost have the entire cost of the kit right there. The case is a decent case for the money and the viola sounds a lot better then most of the cheap ones that are purchased in these student or basic kits. The only thing that could make this kit perfect would be a tuner and cleaning cloth! I LOVE THIS VIOLIA!!!!

Great entry level instrument for the price

I am very impressed with the Cecilio CVA-400 16 inch viola. The instrument actually holds its tuning surprisingly well. I've played it both indoors and outdoors in mildly cold weather around a bonfire, and it is responsive in both conditions. I did eventually purchase an intermediate level viola (~$3000). Of course, the intermediate level instrument sounds and plays better, which is expected. But the Cecilio is still extremely solid for the price. Not to mention it comes with a case, rosin, bow, and extra strings. The action (effort needed to push on the strings by the left hand) is slightly higher on the Cecilio compared to the intermediate level viola, but it is definitely playable (for comparison, a cheap guitar with a very high action is almost impossible to play well, even by professionals...this is not the case with the Cecilio viola). Now, there is a saying "you get what you pay for." If one is expecting an intermediate or professional level grade instrument with this viola, you will be disappointed. Now that I have my intermediate level viola, I hardly play the Cecilio except for social gatherings (I wouldn't want to take my more expensive instrument out into the variable weather). But if one is looking for an entry level instrument to practice on, or an instrument that can be played socially with friends, family, and small gatherings, this is not a bad choice. *My background: I have 20+ years of piano experience, took approx. 2 years of violin lessons in middle school, and am picking up string instruments again as an adult. I am NOT a professional violin/viola teacher, and as such, keep that in mind when considering the above comments.

Nice starter viola.

We had a little trouble tuning this viola at first, every time it was used it seemed that the same two pegs were considerably out of tune. A few peg drops helped the pegs tighten up. We are mostly tuning with the fine tuners these days. (Be careful with peg drops, they can make the pegs very hard to move!) We really like the matching pegs and chin rest. I always found that a very unique and classy look. We also enjoy the cloth that lays on top of the viola, protecting the body from the rosin on the bow. Set came with bow, rosin and one extra set of strings. Teacher was pleased with the viola, and it was cheaper to buy this viola than to continue renting for the remainder of the school year. So, an all around great purchase.

Our viola teacher said he was impressed with our instrument!

I know nothing about purchasing violas and took a leap of faith based on the reviews here. Sure they are great reviews but they are subjective as most people buying an entry level viola probably aren't familiar enough to know good vs bad. Well, our viola teacher who had been teaching for 20 years said he will now recommend all his students check this exact model out. He said not only is it a quality instrument, but he didn't believe me when he asked what we paid- that's what a deal this is! I had to pull up our purchase history on Amazon to prove it to him! Where we live it would have cost $35/month to rent. After several months you might have well bought this viola- you could always sell it if your child doesn't stick with lessons. Tip- if you're like me you are super curious to see what it sounds like as soon as you get it out of the box! Make sure to buy yourself a clip on tuner. We purchased this one: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01GJDIA1M/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1 Youtube videos can help you from there on how to tune it. Also, your bow needs resin on it before it will make the sound we all love. You need to scratch up the resin a bit before it will adhere to the bow. Our viola teacher used the end of the bow to make numerous scratch marks in the resin then liberally applied it to the bow- WOW then we were able to hear what this viola can really do!

Great value for money for a beginner

I am neither a professional nor avid player. I enjoy music and play for fun. High quality and value instruments have their place. I appreciate both. This instrument is for a beginner kid. What I like: Decent beginner quality in sound. Look is comparable to many that are higher price. The included hard case not only looks nice but also does a good job protecting the viola. The bow is decent to use and handle. The price is unbeatable vs the local store. What I don't like: the pegs could come loose easily. It took me more than few times to adjust and re-adjust to stabilize them and the strings. The chin rest is not comfortable enough to use. I purchased another from a local store for better fit and comfort. The horse hair of the bow gradually breaks after a few weeks. Maybe it's normal wear and tear. Overall, it is an excellent value for a beginner. It turned out too large for my kid so I purchased another smaller size (13). The older and taller kids is using it now. I'm happy with this purchase.

very nice

very good , good sound, good quality , came on time , my sister loves it, the only thing be really sure of the size, because i bought one and it was a bit small, then i bough another one bigger. first i bought 13 in which is i think 7/8 then i bough 15.5 i think it was 3/4. just double check the measurement before buying, other than this it is very worth it. i recommended.

Beautiful For Beginners

Being under a year in practicing viola, I believed it was time for me to purchase my own for studies at home. I settled on this when I asked my professor for his input. When it arrived it was clean and nothing was damaged, came with as promised. The sound is beautiful and vibrant, perfect for beginners as told by my music professor. The detail in this instrument is incredible as I found myself enjoying the design, the gloss layer and more!

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