Stentor 4/4 Full Size 4-String Violin for Right-Handed Players - Perfect for Beginners, Students & Professionals - Ideal for Practice, Performances & Music Lessons

My small son started to take violin lessons when he was 3 years old and is now seven, and has outgrown the original 1/8 size violin we purchased for him to begin on. So after doing a bit of research and speaking with my son's violin teacher and other violinists at music stores, I was recommended to take a look at the Stentor Student II (1500 series) violin or the Cremona SV 150 or 175 models. I ended up purchasing the Stentor because it seems like more care is paid to the actual construction of the violin and the quality of the wood used and ebony parts is of a higher level than the Cremona. It also appears that Cremona is putting more of their effort into their case construction rather than the actual violin. I was not entirely sure I was making the best decision but I figured with Amazon's warranty at my back, if anything was off I could simply return it and order the Cremona.I ordered the Stentor 1500 and it came about three days later from Amazon with no problems. I set it aside until my son's instructor (who is also a full time professional first string violinist in the city orchestra) could look at it and tune it for him correctly. (I unfortunately do not play yet) Upon looking at the violin closely later in the week, my son's instructor said that he was fairly surprised at the higher quality of the violin. He said the ebony fingerboard and pegs and the composite tailpiece all appeared to be of high quality. He thought the wood construction was extremely good for a violin under $500 and he liked that they included the Red Label strings which he said were a good inclusion for intermediate learners. (my small son is still a beginning intermediate player and is at the beginning of the third Suzuki book)He began to tune the strings and then would play for a few seconds and then did some more tuning. This continued for about 30 minutes until he said things were decent for that day (new strings can take several days or weeks to fully stretch) and then he began to play some Mozart and Bach. He said that the Stentor 1500 has medium "projection" meaning that people in a concert hall could hear it fairly well and said he was fairly impressed by the quality of the sound in comparison to the reasonable price. He then noted that the bow was real Brazilwood and said that was an excellent choice for an intermediate level instrument. He also said the violin would be more than fine for my small son until he grows older and can move to a full size (4/4) violin.I can also say that the quality of the case, the rosin and the carrying strap are more than adequate. The quality of the case in particular is fairly high and is strong enough to hopefully withstand any abuse that a six year old boy can deal to it. Any time you buy an instrument, you never know how it will hold up six months or two years later but I will come back and update this review periodically. So far though, we are all pleasantly surprised by the high quality construction and sound of this Stentor II 1500 series violin. Five stars so far!Fall 2017 Update - (18 months later) - This Stentor 1500 is still going strong and holds it's tuning very well. My son's other instructors in the city youth orchestra have commented on the Stentor and indicated that the sound was good (especially considering the price). My small son has managed to take good care of it so far (fingers crossed) and the instrument continues to play delightfully. Still five stars!