Mendini 14-Inch MA350 Satin Antique Solid Wood Viola with Case, Bow, Rosin, Bridge and Strings

4 4 out of 5 stars | 1,644 ratings

Price: 47.99

Last update: 08-19-2024


About this item

Size 14" satin antique viola
Hand-carved solid spruce top with maple back & sides
Maple fingerboard, pegs, and chin rest with an alloy tailpiece with four integrated fine tuners
Includes: lightweight hard case, a Brazilwood bow with unbleached genuine Mongolian horsehair, rosin, and bridge

Product information


Top reviews from the United States

SIMON RIERA
5.0 out of 5 stars Excelente.
Reviewed in the United States on July 15, 2024
Suena muy luego de afinar las cuerdas.
soda
5.0 out of 5 stars Thrilled! Fully intact, and sounds Gorgeous!
Reviewed in the United States on September 17, 2017
Okay, this is a little premature, I got it today and haven't tuned it or brought it to my teacher for her to break it over my head, and I'm a total newbie, never played strings before besides guitar and... keyboard. No chance I could ever afford an "approved" one. The price is obviously unbelievable. However the case is hard and felted, and the construction is beautiful of wood, with plastic parts (neck guard). It's *very* lightweight. When I first saw it I thought it was too small to make Viola-bassey sounds and wondered if they sent me a violin by mistake.

But I'm writing about the immediate construction and first *sound*, timber, functionality (playability) of the instrument. I somehow managed to rosin my first bow adequately (my orchestral roommate tightened it when he came home because I forgot to). I had watched YouTube videos and read the scant instructions which tell you to wait and let your instructor guide you in your first setup. I held it (I'll definitely need a shoulder brace), and tried the lowest open string... my eyes opened wide. I had never produced a tone on a concert stringed instrument before. It was BEAUTIFUL. And totally bassey. Sounded exactly as it should (correct tuned pitch aside). I was actually amazed. I played all the strings open one at a time, likewise. Absolutely lovely instrument with a beautiful and fully resonate, bassey sound. Just like the YouTube videos. I tried some fingerings; okay, that'll take practice and a developed reach. But clearly it would play. If there's a problem of tuning, not holding pitch or cracking, I'll update my review. But I wouldn't hesitate to purchase this instrument if you're worried if it sounds good enough, esp. for the price. I hope my instructor doesn't break it over my head, I love it and will be sad. My first 4/4 cello by the same maker and store is on the way! :) My seller feedback:

Thrilled! Arrived early, unbroken, with hardcase and all accessories, and... plays! First time ever player, sounds wonderful! :) :) Thank you!

Update: Ok it's two hours before my first lesson. Tried to tune, string broke and the tuners generally won't hold. I should have had it set up before lesson day. I'm going to see if she knows a trick with rosin or such to make tuners stick. Otherwise I'll have to wait for a setup and it'll set my lesson back and may make it unaffordable depending. I'm not in the market for a more expensive instrument at this time. The sound of the box is still terrific and bow and rosin work fine. 4 stars and we'll see.

Update Update: My teacher took it walked around awhile while I was getting ready and handing it back to me said, "Why did you think it couldn't be tuned?!" :) I also got a shoulder rest and two packs of DiDarios. So back to Fine Instrument! :) but follow instructions and let your instructor do the setup the first time. You'll save a string. She understood it was inexpensive, knew the price, but had no problem working with it and is starting me on the Suzuki method :) I thought the tuners absolutely wouldn't hold, so see a pro before giving up!
Heather M.
4.0 out of 5 stars Not bad, needs new bow
Reviewed in the United States on June 6, 2024
First impressions: The viola just arrived an hour ago, so these are just first impressions. Many reviews mentioned a crooked fingerboard and tailpiece, but everything looks straight so far. I was surprised that it shipped with the bridge already in place and the strings had actually been tuned when the bridge was set. The nice thing about that is it meant the strings were already somewhat stretched and not going flat constantly while they stretch out. The pegs want to slip, but if you push in while turning, they seem to hold okay so far. The bow is not good. The frog and stick have a visible gap at the bottom, so I suspect that the frog will snap in half at some point.

That said, I'm a music teacher and have the knowledge to fix any issues that would arise with a crooked tailpiece and fingerboard. It is a risk buying an item like this because you don't know what you'll get. It stinks when kids think they are bad, but it's really the instrument. I only bought this to use to teach my child how to treat an instrument before trying to use a nice one. For $40, that's a good value.
PikaPooh
1.0 out of 5 stars 1 star for quality, 5 star for customer service
Reviewed in the United States on March 13, 2023
3/22/23 Update: While the Viola is not made very well but Customer Service was great. They got back to me fairly quickly and sent me a shipping label right away to ship back the broken viola once I sent them the photos and video to show the broken part. I recommend keeping the shipping box for at least a year because I threw mine away and I had a hard time finding a box that fits the viola to ship back. I also got the replacement after about a week and the replacement luckily is working fine for now. I guess for the price, you can't expect too much out of it.

Original feedback:
This Viola worked ok while it’s working but it just didn’t last. With under 5 months about 2x a week usage, under normal conditions/environment, the back of the Viola is already cracked right through the middle as shown in the picture. I sent customer support a message about it and waiting to hear back. It’s supposed to have 1 year warranty against manufacture defects so I’ll see if I can get a replacement.
Customer image
PikaPooh
1.0 out of 5 stars 1 star for quality, 5 star for customer service
Reviewed in the United States on March 13, 2023
3/22/23 Update: While the Viola is not made very well but Customer Service was great. They got back to me fairly quickly and sent me a shipping label right away to ship back the broken viola once I sent them the photos and video to show the broken part. I recommend keeping the shipping box for at least a year because I threw mine away and I had a hard time finding a box that fits the viola to ship back. I also got the replacement after about a week and the replacement luckily is working fine for now. I guess for the price, you can't expect too much out of it.

Original feedback:
This Viola worked ok while it’s working but it just didn’t last. With under 5 months about 2x a week usage, under normal conditions/environment, the back of the Viola is already cracked right through the middle as shown in the picture. I sent customer support a message about it and waiting to hear back. It’s supposed to have 1 year warranty against manufacture defects so I’ll see if I can get a replacement.
Images in this review
Customer image

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