Pro Violinist Compares Cheap Beginner Violins from Amazon

Testing Cheap Beginner Violins from Amazon
Mendini MV300, Bailando & Paititi are three of the most affordable real violins on Amazon.com. How do they compare against each other? We put them to the test. After producing the video, we realized that the sound on the video sounded quite different from our in-person experience. What do you think about the scores? Do you agree/disagree? Comment and ask questions below!

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Jump to sections
0:22 Sound quality
0:24 Basic tone (Twinkle Twinkle in Mississippi Hotdog Rhythm)
1:09 Evenness (G Major Scale)
2:05 G & E string sound (Sarasate Introduction and Tarantella, Op. 43; Vieuxtemps Violin Concerto, No. 5)
3:05 Ease of playing (Mendelssohn Violin Concerto, 3rd Mvt)
4:30 Workmanship
5:25 Accessories
6:02 Final score!

Product links:
Please note that this is not a sponsored video. Our goal is to help you with your setup experience, and not to sell products. That said, it’s worth mentioning that below are affiliate links, so if you are inclined to support us in this effort, consider using these links.

Mendini MV300 Violin 4/4 ($69.99 as of time of upload)
https://amzn.to/2TclXQ1

Bailando Violin Starter Kit 4/4 ($79.99 as of time of upload)
https://amzn.to/2XkDNQi

Paititi Student Violin Starter Kit 4/4 ($79.99 as of time of upload)
https://amzn.to/2EpwkYE


Text from Video:
We’ll be comparing three violins under $100 from Amazon.com.

The three are
Mendini full size MV300 (currently priced at $69.99)
Bailando full size starter kit (currently priced at $79.99)
Paititi full-size starter kit

We’ll be testing for:
Sound quality
Ease of playing
Workmanship
Accessories

Let’s start with the sound quality. Here are four tests.

Basic tone (Twinkle Twinkle in Mississippi Hotdog Rhythm): First we’ll hear a piece that every beginner gets to play at some point in their study. We’re testing for how pleasant the sound is, especially the open strings on A and E.
Evenness (G Major Scale): Next we’ll make sure the sound is even across the different strings.
G string sound (Sarasate Introduction and Tarantella, Op. 43): Now, we’ll focus on the low and high notes to check if they sound clear and focused.
E String sound (Vieuxtemps Violin Concerto, No. 5)

Here are my scores for sound quality with 5 being the best
Mendini 4
Bailando 4
Paititi 3

Next is ease of playing. Here, we’re testing for clarity of notes when playing fast passages, especially during string crossings or bow changes. Listen if the violin responds to every note that is being played.

Ease of playing
Responsiveness test (Mendelssohn Violin Concerto, 3rd Mvt):

Here are my scores for ease of playing, 5 being the best.
Mendini 5
Bailando 3
Paititi 4

Workmanship
Next is workmanship. Let’s check for alignment and seams.
Alignment: Check bridge, f hole, fingerboard for proper alignment
Seams: fingerboard, neck & ribs
Bow: weight balance, frog & tip

Paititi violin seemed especially lacking in workmanship, and the other two seem decent. However, Paititi bow was the most balanced, meaning it wasn’t too top or bottom heavy. If it’s too top or bottom heavy, you will have more difficulty controlling your bow. Bailando was a tad too bottom heavy and Mendini was too top heavy.

Mendini 3
Bailando 3
Paititi 3

Accessories
Lastly, we’ll review the accessories that came with the violin as starter kits.
For pegs & fine tuners, we’ll make sure the screws and pegs turn easily and the pegs tend to stay in place
For shoulder rests & chin rests: we’ll make sure they are comfortable and sturdy
For the rest of the accessories, such as strings, rosins and tuners, we’ll review whether they are of good quality.

Most of the accessories were of comparable quality. The differences I found were the fine tuners and pegs for Mendini being much smoother to turn than the other ones, and its strings holding the tune much better.

Mendini 3
Bailando 3.5
Paititi 2

It’s important to remember that although what we heard today may help you choose the right violin online, there could be inconsistencies in quality even among the same brand and model, especially for smaller sizes, because it is more difficult to build a nice sounding small violins. Also remember that violin is a very personal choice - at the end of the day YOU have to feel comfortable playing it. A good way to test different violins yourself would be to go to a local violin store or try the rental route, and hopefully this video will help you test the different violins in a more structured way. Check out the links below for these three violins that I tested today. That’s it and happy playing!