Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #26133 in Consumer Electronics

Customer Reviews

Violin is disappointing, heavy, lacks on/off switch
The violin is heavier (800g) than an acoustic (mine is 500g). This makes it trickier to hold with your chin.

It runs off a 9 volt battery, but there is no on/off switch so I take the battery out each time. No instructions were received with the violin.

The shipped strings are all plain wire, which is normal for the E string, but the G D and A strings would more normally be spiral wound wire. I think these are very cheap strings, and intend to replace mine.

The bridge I received with the violin seemed too narrow and thin for the pick-up which the bridge sits in on this model. It kept going over during tuning or if the tail piece was knocked. Replacing the bridge fixed this problem. A new bridge is cheap, but fitting it is a skilled job, so this was a significant failing on the part of the violin.

The pegs turned very poorly until I added peg-paste. I would have expected this to have been done in the factory.

The violin does have a ridge for attaching a normal shoulder rest, which is good, and this extends around the bottom half of the chin-end portion of the S shape.

The headphone socket is inconveniently located so that unless your headphones have and angular 3.5mm connector, the lead can get in the way of your shoulder rest. (The location of the shoulder rest is a matter of personal preference.) The provided headphones do have an angular connector.

The fingerboard seems very poorly stained black, and the paint finish of the main violin is thin on parts of the scroll.

The violin makes a very quiet audible noise when played even without the headphones or an amp. This surprised me, but is not a problem. Your neighbours certainly won't hear you if you play with headphones at 3am.

The sound the violin makes does not seem as pleasing as my acoustic violin. Perhaps this is impossible with an electric. You can hear some of these violins being played by searching for "Stagg violin" on YouTube.

To give you the context, I am writing this review as a beginner, having only played one other violin, an acoustic Chantry costing less than the Stagg. I do not have an amp, and have bought the electric only in order to be able to play with headphones when people around me may be asleep.

Despite all these faults the instrument is playable, and after replacing the bridge I have enjoyed playing it. It is however, not as enjoyable for me as playing my cheaper acoustic violin - and if I could only have one I'd choose an acoustic every time.

Given the choice I would have my money back and buy a more expensive electric violin, which would hopefully sound better and be lighter.