Hi, I had mixed feelings buying this violin. A number of reviewers panned this violin so I was concerned on what I would receive. Now for my observations. The violin is gorgeous, the flaming and finish is wonderful. The bridge was intact as the sound post. The violin tuned easily and sounds great, much better than I expected. The electronic tuner works very well. Based on some reviews that said that the bows were substandard, I purchased a better bow. The quality of the supplied bows is yet to be determined. The case is excellent and of very high quality. This violin is worth every penny spent. IMO you will not be disappointed.
Edit 01/08/24: I now have three of the Cecilio cvn-600 violins. They all look the same, but sound somewhat different. I installed geared tuners, Wittner and Perfection pegs, boxwood harp tailpieces and Fiddlerman strings, and removed the fine tuners. Each of the cvn-600 have similar weights, but as the plates measured with the Magic Probe, they have different plate thicknesses. The average thickness for the top plate goes from violin 3.38 to 5.11 mm. The thinner plate top is the oldest of the three and sounds the best. This suggests that Cecilio quality is slipping. The thickness variation suggests that the plates are indeed hand made and not a CNC product. Also notice that the description for the cvn-600 no longer states that the tonewood is aged for seven years. IMO Cecilio keeps shooting themselves in the foot. I am seriously thinking of buying another cvn-600 to see how it matches with my other three. BTW, if you get a good cvn-600 it sounds as good as a thousand dollar+ violin. If you get a poor sounding one, either send it back, or put octave strings on the violin and have some fun.
Edit 01/25/24: I recently purchased a Cecilio cvn-600 from eBay that was probably made in 2006, the first year of cvn-600 production. As suspected the older cvn-600 top and bottom plate are much thinner than current production. Also the peg box is a few mm narrower than current production. The pegs are 7.1mm while current production pegs are 7.4mm. Interesting that the weight difference between my four cvn-600 violins is only 0.1oz. This suggests that irrespective of the different plate thickness, Cecilio keeps the weight the same over the 20 years of cvn-600 production. The first cvn-600 were list priced at $1000 with the price decreasing over the years. IMO while the current production cvn-600 build quality has slightly decreased over the years, current cvn-600 violins are still pretty good sounding if you replace the strings with either Fiddlerman, or Pirastro Tonica strings and use a better than the Cecilio supplied bows. The Fiddlerman carbon fiber bows are good. The Fiddlerman Sandalwood bows are even better. I have found that the D'Addario dark rosin works well with the cvn-600's.
Edit 05/19/24: I recently purchased another early produced cvn-600 from eBay. This will be my 5th cvn-600 violin. I spent some time looking at all the negative reviews for this violin. Many of the negative reviews were because of pegs slipping. There is a simple solution to this problem, peg drops. The cvn-600 is a quality instrument that if peg sipping is an issue for you after using peg drops, you may want to consider having either Perfection or Wittner geared pegs installed. I prefer the Wittner pegs. It concerns me seeing all the negative Amazon reviews for this violin. If you don't know what you are doing when it comes to the purchase of a quality violin, please seek the council of a qualified violin expert. Yes, the quality of the cvn-600 has slipped over the years, but for the cost I don't think you will find a superior violin.
Edit 05/29/24: I have asked KK Music (4 emails) (the retailer of Cicilio instruments) to provide me manufacture dates for the five Cecilio cvn-600 violins I own. They eventually sent me manufacturing dates that can't be correct. IMO they are deceptive and simply trying to get me off their back. While I find KK Music Support useless and deceptive, you shouldn't avoid the cvn-600 because of my experience, but just include it in for your decision when buying Cicilio products.
My 5th Cecilio cvn-600 manufactured early is a beauty. I would even call it exquisite. Are the current manufacture cvn-600's the same? No!!!
When you are looking for a violin you must consider price point compared to quality. IMO the current cvn-600 violins are priced right. Too bad they don't offer the quality from early manufacture.
Edit 06/12/24: I recently purchased another Cecilio cvn-600, this will be my 6th cvn-600. It is of recent manufacture so I didn't expect too much. Was I wrong. This violin is beautiful and may be the best sounding Cecilio violin I own. I will pimp it out like the others with Wittner pegs, carved harp tailpiece, new chinrest, and new synthetic strings. In the past I have inferred that the newest Cecilio cvn-600's don't equal the quality, in both appearance and sound, of the older cvn-600's. I was sure wrong. If you get a current manufacture cvn-600, you have a good chance getting a violin worth considerably more than you paid. If you get a poor sounding one, send it back for replacement.
Edit 06/23/24: This will be my final review of the Cecilio cvn-600 violin. I now have 20 violins, 6 cvn-600. If you are willing to pimp up the cvn-600 with better strings and bow etc, you will have a violin worth many thousands of dollars IMO. If you get a poor one, send it back for a replacement. Bottom line, I highly recommend the Cecilio cvn-600. Know that I purchased every Cecilio violin that I own.
Cecilio CVN-200 Solidwood Violin 3/4 Size with D'Addario Prelude Strings, Brazilwood Bows, Hard Case, Tuner, and More - Affor
4.3 | 1,146 ratings
Price: 133.99
Last update: 10-03-2024
About this item
Deliver impressive sound quality with their loud, clear and warm tone with D'Addario Prelude Strings for a full and bright sound
Expertly hand-carved from solid spruce wood top, with maple back, neck, and sides for durability
Maple fingerboard, boxwood pegs, chinrest, and tailpiece with detachable nickel plated fine tuners
Comes with accessories: chromatic tuner, lesson book, lightweight hard case, 2 x Brazilwood bows with unbleached genuine Mongolian horsehair, quality rosin cake, adjustable shoulder rest, and an extra bridge
A perfect 3/4 size violin for kids, and suitable for beginner and intermediate level players
Expertly hand-carved from solid spruce wood top, with maple back, neck, and sides for durability
Maple fingerboard, boxwood pegs, chinrest, and tailpiece with detachable nickel plated fine tuners
Comes with accessories: chromatic tuner, lesson book, lightweight hard case, 2 x Brazilwood bows with unbleached genuine Mongolian horsehair, quality rosin cake, adjustable shoulder rest, and an extra bridge
A perfect 3/4 size violin for kids, and suitable for beginner and intermediate level players
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Cecilio CVN-200 Solidwood Violin 3/4 Size with D'Addario Prelude Strings, Brazilwood Bows, Hard Case, Tuner, and More - Affordable Entry to Mid-level Instrument for Beginners
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Top reviews from the United States
Richard
Beautiful
Reviewed in the United States on July 28, 2022Eric Robertson
Excellent value
Reviewed in the United States on July 1, 2016
Eric Robertson
Reviewed in the United States on July 1, 2016
The workmanship isn't entirely flawless; on close inspection some minor imperfections are evident, but nothing that would even be noticed save under a close inspection.
The included extras are nice. In particular, it is reassuring to have an extra bridge and the instruction book has more interesting pieces than I expected, such as for example the theme to the 2nd movement of Dvorak's New World Symphony. These are fun and inspiring to play.
The shoulder rest and tuner are adequate, but not exceptional. I ordered other pieces and use these instead. I also ordered a nicer bow, though I haven't found those included to be obviously bad. Someone more experienced than I could better evaluate the included bows.
Overall, by all appearances this is a remarkable value and I have no regrets about this purchase. This instrument inspires me to play, and I am confident that it is of sufficient quality to carry me to at least an intermediate level of proficiency before the need for an upgrade becomes obvious. Of a first instrument, I can scarcely conceive of greater success than inspiring these statements while simultaneously being quite affordable.
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