Features:

  • Size 16 inch viola, solid hand-carved spruce top, flamed maple back & sides, beautiful inlaid purfling & satin antique finish
  • Ebony fingerboard, pegs chinrest, and tailpiece with 4 detachable nickel plated fine tuners
  • Strung with D'Addario Prelude Strings
  • Includes: Cecilio chromatic tuner, a lightweight hard case, a Brazilwood bow with unbleached genuine Mongolian horsehair, quality rosin cake, and a bridge
  • 1 Year Warranty Against Manufacturer's Defects
Husband happy, dogs not so much

My husband got this to replace his old viola. He took it out and was extremely pleased with the craftsmanship and sound. Our dogs however were not ( but they don't like live stringed instruments to begin with.... ). I foresee lots is playing happening in the future for my husband.

Initial impressions

I have no musical background and no instrument playing experience. I have not started lessons yet. That said, I can make notes on it without it screeching and I think they sound pretty good (smooth, resonant). I took it to a local professional active in the strings community and who also sells instruments to get fitted for a shoulder rest and she said it will make a good student instrument. When I first contacted her by email and told her I had ordered one from Amazon she gave the "violin shaped object" response but I think she came around after she had it in her hands and messed with it a bit. The chin rest does not fit me at all and she referred me to a local viola professor to help with that. I'm a grandfather that thought about taking up fiddle 20 years ago when my daughter started violin in scool but didn't. I probably don't have enough above ground time left to ever get good but I think I'll enjoy trying when I retire soon. The price made the whim easy to justify - I can always donate it if it doesn't work out. A few swipes of fine grit sandpaper got the rosin started. If I could give it a 4.5 I would because one of the fine tuners was broke when it arrived and I think it should have been caught at inspection. However, the seller immediately sent me a set of four new tuners and I didn't want to mark it down a whole point when I'm perfectly happy with it so far. When I start playing in earnest I'll update the review. I was lucky that I had read up a little about changing strings so I didn't knock the bridge or center post out of whack when I loosened the string to replace the tuner. Some folks have mention breaking a string the first time they tried tuning it so I was also careful with that. Turning the pegs tiny fractions make big differences. Go slow and use fine tuners - its amazing how much range they can adjust and they're a lot safer for a beginner than tweaking the pegs. I was not impressed with the elecyronic tuner that came with it but I had access to a keyboard so I didn't spend much time trying to get it to work. I'm not sure its meant for a viola.

This is a very good viola for the price

This is a very good viola for the price. No, it won't blow your mind in terms of tone. However, it stays in tune well and the bow does a decent job. I'm a beginner player and I am quite pleased with it! There are some cosmetic flaws that you will probably notice. Mine has very small imperfections around the corners. Some people get confused with the picture of the D'addario logo in the Amazon picture and think it comes with an extra pair of strings. No it doesn't unfortunately. The picture is just showing you that the viola is strung with D'addario strings when you receive it (it's in the fine print . A bit of a dirty trick ;). I should also mention you will want a shoulder rest, so plan on spending another $25 and maybe a music stand too (mine was $16). But this does come with a nice case, rosin, and tuner/metronome to get you started. The ebony fingerboard is nice compared to the CVA-400 which does not have ebony. This is really what the extra $40 is about.

Wonderful Student Viola!

This is an amazing viola considering how cheap it is! I am not a professional musician, but I did dabble with the violin and piano for a short while, and I spent a lot of time with my Conservatory friends at Oberlin. I feel I know good music when I hear it, and this viola produces some really nice tones for it's price range. I bought it for my 9 year old daughter because she picked it as the instrument she wanted to learn for her free music lessons at school. I looked into renting one, and it would have costed us around $30/month to rent a $600 viola. Only 60% of that rental money would go toward purchasing the viola. Since I would like my daughter to stick with this instrument for at least a year, it would have costed me more to just rent an instrument than to buy this one. Plus, there was no guarantee that my daughter would stick with it for more than a year, so I would end up spending all that money for nothing. After doing tons of research online (and despite the dire warnings in the music teacher's note home against buying instruments online) I picked this 14" Cecilio viola as the best candidate for my budget and current needs. The viola arrived on time and in good shape. It came with all the pieces shown in the picture and mentioned in the description. I love that it came with the D'Addario strings already on it and somewhat tightened so I didn't have to work too hard to carefully stretch the strings while tuning it and playing with it over the next few days after I received the instrument. The case is a standard, canvas-like covering over a foam core with cream-colored velveteen fabric on the inside. It's just big enough for the viola with 2 slots for bows, and a small compartment at the end for the extra bridge, rosin, tuner, some extra strings, and a rubber mute (Gotta have one of those! ;) heh, heh!). There is barely space for the shoulder rest, but I wasn't thrilled with how it rests right on the tuning pegs and neck. There is a small pocket on the outside of the case, but it is barely big enough to fit my daughter's music book without zipping it entirely shut. I was skeptical about the tuner, but after testing it with several other tuners I have, it was consistent with all of the decent ones, so I let my daughter practice tuning her viola with it. The rosin isn't anything fancy, but I've encountered worse. I say it's good enough to start with, but would recommend getting a nicer block as soon as possible. The extra bridge is also meh, but again, that is easily replaceable with a nicer one should I feel the need to do so. The bow is surprisingly decent. It has a nice curve to it - not too curved, not too straight - and the hairs are not falling out all over the place. It also has a nice weight to it. I feel it may be a smidge heavy for my daughter, but she seems to like it and plays well enough with it. Now, the viola itself. I must admit, I was surprised at the color when I first opened it. It seemed much more orangey than I anticipated. I was thinking it was going to be a medium reddish-brown, but it is more of a dark pumpkin orange-brown. It's not a color I associate with classy string instruments, but that's a minor detail for a student instrument. The back does appear to be flamed, so it does have that nice striped/flamed pattern on it. The tuning pegs were all a bit loose, but a little rosin on them tightened them up just fine. The chinrest is a fairly low-profile off-centered one and works well enough with my daughter's small neck. The tailpiece is sturdy with 5 metal fine tuners already mounted on it. I would have preferred built-in fine tuners, but that is also something that can be changed out later if I want to. I can't easily tell if the purflings really are inlaid like they said they are in the description, but there are spots here and there that make me think they are. Initial setup of the instrument involved a bit of fussing with it. I would not say it was ready to play straight out of the box, but there was nothing wrong with it that I couldn't do myself. I did have to straighten and center the bridge a bit, and I mentioned having to rosin the pegs. That involved loosening and taking each string off, rubbing the peg along the rosin a few times, then putting the peg and string back on. Tedious, but not impossible or hard. Tuning this instrument is easy. The pegs are easy to turn, and the fine tuners help. The D'Addario strings keep in tune beautifully, so I'm glad I paid a bit extra for them. Finally, how does this viola sound? It sounds beautiful! Nice, deep, mellow tones that I associate with the viola come out of this instrument - even when my daughter first started bowing on it. ;) heh, heh! There is a good resonance that I can feel when I play it. It sounds so pretty that even my husband doesn't mind hearing our daughter scratching away on it, and we haven't had to use the mute yet. Just for fun, I restrung one of my spare violins as a viola (I read online that some people do that as a substitute for a 14" viola), and compared the sound. There is no comparison. The real viola is so much more deep and resonant than the violin-strung-as-a-viola. Now, I know this doesn't even begin to touch a professional viola's sound and quality, but I bought this for my 9 year old daughter. She only needs something that can produce decent tones, and this viola amply fills that need. Even her music teacher was surprised at the quality of the instrument despite it being bought online. My daughter says he often uses her instrument to demonstrate something during class, so I assume he's okay with it. She's been playing on it for a little over 3 months, now, and is still going on strong. I will update this review later if there is more to add.

This is the viola for a beginning student!

I am very impressed with this viola! My little one is learning how to play it nicely. It sounds great! I've done a ton of research and for a beginning student, this is the one to buy. The shop I took it to too have it set- up was impressed. She did not expect it to be so nice for the price.

Excellent value and sound quality

Great beginner viola! Wasn't sure about buying this on Amazon, but my 4th grader has been playing this since September with no issues. The sounds quality is actually very good as people reviewed here. He has progressed decently as a beginner student and I'm glad we decided to buy instead of renting!

sweet

I bought this for my son. Bought with the better strings. The Viola came strung and in a very nice case. Also had a spare bridge. The sound was smooth and easily obtained. The fit and finish was awesome. My second instrument from this seller. Will be buying a Violin very soon my my 6 year old. Would but again.

Remarkable

Really love the warm sound it produces and is probably the best student viola instrument. It uses a non-glossy finish which produces bright and loud sounds. The product is well made so you can ensure it is very durable. The case is a great ideal of choice. The tuner/metronome are very accurate and the bow is a remarkable french bow. The bridge that comes with it however is a bit flat so you might hit some double stops or 2 strings at once around the C and G string. Overall, This is a great instrument and would recommend this to anyone beginning to be a musician.

Very Pleased!

I'm an adult beginner viola student. Quick math made me realize renting was not financially practical. I went to a number of music stores and talked to the managers or salespeople. They are getting their inventory from the same overseas places and charging insane markup. My rental was comparable to this Cecilio in every way and the purchase of the rental was $800. I love my Cecilio 15"! It's beautiful, has a rich sound and is made just as nicely as comparable retail violas. I'm happy with every aspect of this purchase. The instrument, the bow, the case. All more than good enough for the beginner to intermediate student. At some point I will upgrade the bow and the strings. But neither my budget nor my skill level require either at this time. I was hesitant to buy an instrument online. I read endless reviews on several similar violas from different sources and I took a calculated shot. It was a very good decision. Take care of it and when you're ready you can sell it on Craigslist and get a chunk of your money back to apply to the next upgrade.

great viola for the price

We are a family that takes violin lessons and plays together . Have wanted to also pick up viola and cello and guitar. We wanted a student grade but nice sounding viola for us and for friends sometimes who play with us . Fiddlerman had a great you tube video on this viola , and it fits the bill and then some ... Great value, a case, a bridge,Strings ( we will up grade maybe ) a bow, rosin, a fair tuner( we use our piano and another one ) strings. all in one package .... How nice to have a good one here to order that also sounds nice when tuned when the instructions and given suggestions are followed . Our local luthier can adjust the bridge to make the strings easier to play if needed , but I doubt it will be .... easy , fast and saves so much time. If we find we want one that is better than a good student grade, then we can spend more time and $$ for that, but for our level , this is just what we needed . This is a GREAT place to start with a nice sounding instrument at an affordable ,livable price. We bought the higher grade for the ebony fingerboard . Glad . If instruments alone made the music , this would be great !!! Now for the practicing !!!! .

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