15 Best Violin Brands for Beginner & Intermediate Students (2019)

Buying a violin is a serious decision that a beginner or advanced violinist can make because it is an expensive investment. And to an untrained eye, violins may look alike but in reality, there are various types of violin in terms of size, quality, make, and sizes.

As someone who is at the early stage of violin playing, it will be beneficial to read about student violin reviews.

Here, we have created a guide to help you, whether you are a beginner violinist or an intermediate one, taking into consideration the affordability and quality of violins.

This article includes fifteen best violin brands for beginner, intermediate or advanced players, as well as violin reviews of some of the best student models on the market.

And to assist you fully in picking the best violin, we have scoured the internet, asked violin professionals, and browsed dozens of books to answer the following questions:

We’ve also answered questions like:

So, before you spend a hundred bucks or more, be sure to read this violin buying guide so you can make an informed decision on how to buy a violin.

Best Budget Violin

Cecilio CVN-300 Violin

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Great for Most Beginners

Bunnel Pupil Violin

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Austin's Favorite Violin

Fiddlerman Artist

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15 Best Violin Brands for Beginner and Intermediate Students

Looking at the cost, durability, and sound quality, we’ve gathered and listed some of the best violin brands for beginners and intermediate students to help you out in your search for the best starter violins.

Here are the best violin brands that you can find in stores and online:

Stentor

Stentor is one of the most popular violin brands on the market, providing a range of long-lasting, and high-quality instruments.

It is a Chinese violin brand that is proud to offer handcrafted violins that are not out of reach for those that need to be careful with their budget.

Stentor is often suggested by violinists and violin instructors as one of the best acoustic violin brands.

Mendini

If you are still asking “what is the best violin to buy?”, you may want to consider this brand. Mendini is another low to mid budget violin brand, that is ideal for beginners and those still at a lower grade.

They might be factory made, but the instruments offer good value for money and produce tones of a medium quality.

Mendini violins were created out of the company’s desire to provide good cheap stringed instruments for budding musicians and performers.

Cecilio

We would not leave out Cecilio in our list for beginner’s best violin to start with, as they are one of the best violin companies that keep on producing good budget violins for sale.

Cecilio violins win affection from violinist of all levels, with their handcrafted violins and best quality bows.

Fiddlerman

Fiddlerman instruments are blowing away its competitors because the makers produce only the best violins in the market.

Fiddlerman – Pierre Holstein, himself curates and tests the violins they produce. He is a professional orchestra player with 40 years of experience.

Franz Hoffmann

Made in China, Franz Hoffmann violins are beautifully crafted, with a brilliant, dependable, and consistent tone. You will stand heads above other beginner violinists in orchestra with one of these reliable instruments. Their superior violins are guaranteed as the best quality instruments for their price range.

Beloved by many, the Franz Hoffmann beginner violin line is the exclusive line promoted at SHAR. Based out of North America, SHAR Music is a trusted violin dealer, so you can have confidence in their expert advice.

They work hard to ensure that you are never coerced into buying what they call a “VSO” or “violin shaped object”, but a properly functioning beginner violin.

Carlo Lamberti

If you are willing to pay a bit more for your violin and looking for the best violin brands for advanced student, the Carlo Lamberti, also by SHAR music, is a great stepping-stone out of the beginner to advanced beginner violin category.

Many great violin teachers consider this Carlo Lamberti violins to be the best violins for intermediate and advanced students, and we have to agree.

Kennedy Violins

Kennedy Violins, founded by Mr. Joel Kennedy as a response to his observation that many new violin students are using Violin Shaped Object (VSO). He felt that these VSO’s actually hinder learning instead of being a vehicle to learn violin playing.

D Z Strad

D Z Strad, also known as D Z America, is a leading American violin maker and music store for string instruments. They have a wide variety of classic and contemporary violins.

Cremona

This is one of the violin brands that we would not leave off the list for its remarkable playability at a price that will certainly not break the bank.

Cremona instruments are made in Asia. They are Chinese violins that are one of the first violin brands among major violin manufacturers to import in USA.

Cremona is an award-winning company that was founded in 1989, and is renowned for making high quality violins. It might be a little expensive for beginners but if you want to have a highest rated intermediate violin, you’ll never go wrong with Cremona.

Scott Cao

If you are looking to purchase a violin with a maker’s name attached, consider buying a Scott Cao violin.

Master maker, Scott Shu-Kun Cao has crafted top-quality instruments and that musicians love all around the world. He is rightly considered one of the best contemporary violin makers in the world.

With such a reputation, you can relax that any student model sold under his name will be of the highest quality.

Yamaha

As a maker of all sorts of musical instruments and one of the best contemporary violin makers, the Yamaha Corporation has become a household name for good reason.

Yamaha’s corporate philosophy states that they are committed to creating worldwide excitement and cultural inspiration for making music.

Primavera

Primavera is another good violin brand for students who are just starting out on their violin journey. Primavera violins are suitable for children and beginners.

They are a class above other cheap beginner instruments and represent rightful value for money.

Primavera violins are very popular in schools and with music instructors, particularly as they come in a wide range of sizes that will suit different students.

Knilling

Knilling is a relatively good quality violin brand for a reasonable price, which is certainly great for families who are on a tight budget.

Made by various luthiers around the world, they sell different types of violins that are selected and integrated under one brand name.

Knilling violins are made predominantly in Germany, Czech Republic, and Romania with the highest quality woods. Knilling violins are known for their quality and tone.

Windsor

Windsor violins offer a reasonable quality instruments for those on a budget and are primarily aimed at the beginners and student market.

The majority of their violins are factory made, with just a small number of models handcrafted.

All Days Music (ADM)

All Days Music, otherwise known as ADM, is a professional musical instrument supplier with overseas factories that deliver beginner quality instruments for a low price.

Currently, they have one line of starter violin, which is perhaps the lowest priced beginner violin set available on the market.

Top 10 Best Beginner Violin Reviews

Looking at the cost, durability, sound quality, and best value for the money, we have gathered and listed some of the best violins for beginners to help you out in your search for good quality student violin brands, as well as best beginner violin for adults.

Here are the 10 best violins for beginners:

Mendini MV200 Violin

The Mendini MV200 is the perfect, all round good budget violin. It will not produce high-class, music-hall performances, but will allow students to transition easily into the world of violin playing.

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Made with spruce top and maple for the back and sides.
Finished with ebony fittings.
Bowhair is made from high quality Mongolian horsehair.
Produces a warm tone.
The kit has everything that you will need to start your lessons.
Comes with bow, case, rosin, chin rest and a shoulder rest.
Alloy tailpiece with 4 integrated fine tuners.

May last through the early stages of learning, perhaps to grade 4 or 5th level of learning, with an enhancement or two on the way.

Although the violins are low in price, they are

durable and will see students through mid-range grades

when it will be time to invest in a higher quality model.

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