Cecilio 4/4 CEVN-1BK Solid Wood Electric/Silent Violin with Ebony Fittings in Style 1 - Full Size - Black Metallic

I purchased this Cecilio violin from Amazon because of my history of dealings with Amazon quality. I was taught violin, in my youth, and played daily for fifteen years. I am also a union carpenter and have over forty years of building experience. My profession and duties at home did not allow a practice schedule. I would play when I had opportunity. I have an acoustic violin that will project through the house with closed doors, rubber practice mute and foam in the "F" holes. I have some electric experience with a Barcus Berry pickup on my acoustic but no experience with electric solid bodies. I needed something for silent practice and decided on this violin as an inexpensive trial until I can build my own. I am reviewing this as a budget electric violin and not comparing it to much more expensive electric violins. I am not qualified to review this violin in a professional amplified setting. I cannot add or detract from fiddleman's video review. This violin is machine produced for a mass audience. I found the quality control reasonable for this function. The one I received is perfect for silent practice. I found the controls to be functional and the jacks to be secure if the cable is partially supported by a shoulder rest or through an opening in the violin body. My Wolfe shoulder rest fits but slips on the lacquered finish. I am going to try some non-skid paste wax. The violin I received is functional and playable but I found some fitting I needed to improve on mine. I noticed some of the tuning problems that others had but with strange noises as I brought up string tension. I initially attributed it to a normal settling in and string stretching. After a few days, I decided to install some D'Addario Pro Arte perlon strings like I use on my acoustic. I checked the fingerboard, with a straightedge and it does have a shallow scoop; however, there were light chatter marks from the machining. I filed and sanded them to smoothness, bridging the marks. I filed to touch and steel straightedge. They still show visually from the burnishing of the machining. I did not want to overcut for cosmetics. I filed the nut for uniform string clearance at the fingerboard. The E string side was a mm higher and not rounded on the end. The bridge is a factory bridge. I trimmed and thinned the bridge to reduce the string height to my preferences. The pegs only fit about half way into the opposite peg box wall. I did not want to buy a peg cutter so I lightly turned the pegs in 320 grit sandpaper to remove the finish. I rotated in each direction and frequently checked until they were just flush with the opposite peg box wall. I gently rounded the ends but only the edges. The pegs are cut for length, so I didn't round the ends to the normal profile. I used a common #2 graphite pencil to lubricate the contact points with the peg box walls. If the pegs slip, you can use blackboard chalk. If you get too aggressive in your fitting you will be drilling new string holes in the pegs. When I installed the new strings there were ominous noises again. I released all string tension and checked the tailpiece. The "gut" had small finely treaded brass retainers that screwed on each end. One was slipping and nearly off. I remembered the past, using cellos strings with a knot but didn't have one available. I chose to use what I had on hand, Super Glue. I threaded the devices back to where they should have been. The fittings pulled the glue with capillary action and it seems to be a good temporary fix. I did leave it over night to cure. I removed the fine tuners leaving only the E string. Four tuners are common with steel strings. It is very important to bring your string tension up gradually. Constantly straighten the bridge so the side near the tailpiece is at 90 deg to the violin body. I use light tension on the G and E to start. I experienced at least a day of settling in before the violin would stay in tune. I don't recommend my unprofessional efforts but rather a set up by a skilled professional. If you are a home hobbyist, there are many helpful articles to sort through on the Internet. A sharp knife, sandpaper and a good file will do the work. I would not do this work myself on an acoustic violin. Precise bridge work is critical to sound on an acoustic and even experienced luthiers are still developing their skills. The violin now plays very similar to my acoustic and I have played it several weeks. It was certainly worth the low price. I find it to be very useful for the quiet practice I needed.

First I should say that while I play several other traditional instruments,my closest personal encounter was during a year in high school when I "held a viola".So far I'm not serious -- just have some spare time -- and the price is right.So on to the review: I am in an apartment - thus the reason for "silent".The hard case (foam I think) is very nice and light - 2 zippertoggles for closing, 2 shoulder straps on the back, with a pocket on theoutside top - 6"x8" music would fit easly.Inside the case there might be space for an extra bow,but apart from the electronics -(which I haven't tested or looked at) thereis only the small compartment under the neck for items - rosin, battery As far as I can see there is no room for a shoulder rest inside, which I don't have yet (though that probably would fit in the outside pocket). I tuned it up and it has held its pitch for a couple of weeks so far. I had to roughen the rosin surface with coarse sandpaper before the bow would take it up. With a little rosin on the bow, it is loud enough for me without amplification. I have playing tried without and with various homemade shoulder pads -- but nothing worked (at all) - so now waiting for a commercial model. I'm now thinking this is the most important part of a violin! If you can't hold it you can't play it. Conclusion: a good buy - it's worth what I paid , and I can't find fault with it. Not 5 stars because I haven't tried everything yet.

I recieved this violin yesterday and I am really happy with this purchase. To be fully understand this rating you have to manage your expectations with this purchase. I went in on this only wanting a practice violin. I already have a good acoustic violin and bow. So everything else, sans case, was just extra for me. BUT, I was suprised with the extras.Pros:The rosin, while not amazing, was a decent dark amber rosin.The bow came untensioned and appears to work well. But I'm just keeping it as a backup.The case is really light, much lighter than my fiberglass case. ~4-6lbsIt came with a right angle 1/8" to 1/4" mono cableI put on D'Addario Prelude strings it plays very well, no bridge height adjustment needed.Tuning pegs seated very well and made string stretching a breezeGood finish.Cons:The headphones are of low quality, but a cheap pair of earbuds will go a long wayThe max headphone volume is lower than I would want but thats a personal preference.The A string and E string fine tuners were really loose and I had to reset them.The stock strings have a lot of high end, get D'Addario Prelude strings at a minimumBattery life may be a problem but a high capacity rechargeable may fix that problemMy setup:I ran this through a Ernie Ball VP Jr with a TC Electronic Polytune Nior, a TC Electronic Hall of Fame Reverb, a Behringer Noise Suppressor and into a 15W Fender Acoustasonic. I also have a Glasiel Rubber Mute. The violin is really quiet in the room. When really digging hard with the bow the ambient volume about the same as pluck on an acoustic violin. Through my acoustic guitar setup it feels like cheating and here's why that is a good thing:- The Polytune really helps you track your intonation and drift as the strings stretch so if you're a beginner or even experienced violinist, suck down your pride get one, its worth every penny.- The Hall of Fame Reverb adds a lot of character (and reverb, of course) to the flat piezo tone.- The Noise Suppressor though, is where the magic is at because it does 2 things: 1. It reduces noise from the pickup that gets multiplied through the reverb 2. On a mid threashold and mute setting, it cuts out pre-start bow noise/scratching which is common when actively checking intonation during playI would recommend at least having a mute, earbugs to cut room noise and an active tuner like the polytune or mooer tuner. If you're experienced but arent ready to bite off on a $700 violin, grab some D'Addario Helicore or Prelude strings for a fuller tone.

Bought it three weeks ago. The violin itself is decent and bow is functioning. But everything else should probably be replaced. Rosin and headphone are garbage. Remember to get a better rosin and a shoulder rest with this violin.Basically there're two problems with this violin making me give it a 3-star.One is that it's still pretty audible when you play it. I'm living in an old small studio apartment and sometimes can hear neighbors (sometimes I know someone is talking or watching TV loudly). I'm still not sure whether they really can't hear me playing at all:/ I would say the sound may be more like an acoustic violin with a practice mute (and may be quieter).But the pro is that you absolutely can practice without headphone, and if you want, you can get a better and warmer sound through the headphone, or even EQ it with a mixer.The other problem, which is more annoying, is that the bridge is set too high which causes finger pain. And it also get harder to make good sound with a higher position, especially with pinkie. It seems the only way to solve this problem is to bring your violin to a luthier and adjust the bridge at your cost. Replacing the strings with synthetic core ones may also make it better though it won't change the situation.Anyway, I won't say it doesn't worth this price. But get ready to pay more than the price shown on this page to really set it up.

I am a beginning violinist (like never even touched a violin before) and decided I wanted to buy a cheap violin to teach myself how to play. After a TON of research, I decided on the Cecilio electric violin. I saw a few reviews on youtube and thought it sounded nice enough, but what really impacted my decision was that it was "silent" and that I had the ability to plug in headphones when practicing. The headphones option was the biggest draw for me, because the last thing I wanted was to have my whole family listen to my screeching first attempts at learning.So here is my review. The violin came quickly and arrived safely, with all parts working and assembled. The strings were attached, the bridge was upright, and everything looked really nice. The metallic black was very pretty and attractive, definitely an edgy look.Here's where it goes bad. I was able to tune the violin just fine, no broken strings or problems. The strings would literally go out of tune 30 seconds after I tuned them, which was frustrating but I learned that that is typical of a new violin, and that you need to let the strings stretch and settle before they stay (mostly) in tune. However (and I'm not sure if this was a defect out of the box or not) the violin is NOT silent. Yes, it is very quiet, but that is only because as an electric violin does not have a sound post or a chamber that produces any sound: it is literally just the vibration of strings that makes the sound. This makes it very quiet, but the strings produce a tinny, sharp sound that is not pleasant. Cue the plugs in the back.At first, all the plugs worked. I tested the headphone jack with both a pair of headphones and speakers, and when played through those the violin produced a much better sound. However, it still did not have the warmth of an acoustic violin. Also, even when plugged in, the violin produced a sound that was heard outside of the headphones - not what I wanted.Then about 3 weeks later, all three jacks no longer worked. I thought it was the battery, so I changed that, but nothing worked. So I was left with just the tinny sounds created by the strings. So after all this, I decided to return the violin. That was the one good thing - Amazon took the violin back no problem, and I was granted a full refund.I have now purchased an acoustic Ceclio 500, which I am much happier with.As a side note, this violin is definitely heavier than an acoustic violin.