The 10 Best Violins

For a first violin that's ready on day one, the Bunnel Pupil from Kennedy Violins is a safe bet. The top is solid spruce and the back is solid maple, with ebony pegs and fingerboard under a satin finish. Kennedy fits the bridge and adjusts it in the U.S., and it carries a lifetime warranty and a 45-day refund window. The matte look is plain, and a serious player will want a better bow in time.

Parents who want a proper student violin without paying shop prices should look at the Cremona SV-175. It pairs a solid spruce top with a solid maple back and ebony fittings, and Cremona's California workshop sets it up to the music educators' standard with D'Addario Prelude strings. Fine tuners on all four strings make small pitch fixes simple for a beginner. The warranty runs just one year, and the plain brown finish won't turn heads at a recital.

Music teachers see the Stentor Student II in school string programs all the time, because one plays much like the next. It has a solid spruce top, solid maple back and sides, and ebony pegs, fingerboard and chinrest, which wear far better than painted wood. Built-in fine tuners help with small pitch fixes. It can arrive needing a teacher or shop to fit the bridge and adjust it before it plays well, and the warranty covers just one year.

Kennedy Violins built the Ricard Bunnel G2 for students who have outgrown a starter instrument, and the maker describes its voice as mellow and warm. It uses upgraded solid spruce and maple with ebony fittings, and the outfit adds a Giuliani Premier bow, a padded shoulder rest and an oblong case. Set-up is done in the U.S., and a lifetime warranty applies. A brand-new player may not hear what the extra money buys during the first year of lessons.

Teens moving up to a second violin get a lot in the Cremona SV-500. Its back is cut from flamed maple, which gives the striped look of a fine instrument, and the top is solid spruce. The bridge comes from Aubert, a respected French maker, and the case carries a humidity gauge so you can spot dry air before it cracks the wood. It's set up in California with Prelude strings, but the warranty lasts only one year.

Advancing players who want a fuller sound for less can try the Louis Carpini G2, offered at a clearance markdown because of a small cosmetic blemish. Kennedy Violins says the flaw doesn't change the sound or how it plays. It has solid tonewoods, a lightly flamed maple back, ebony fittings and a warm amber-brown finish, with set-up done in the U.S. and a lifetime warranty. You won't know where the mark is until the case is open.

Families on a budget will find the Mendini MV500 from Cecilio packs a lot into one box: two bows, a tuner, spare strings, rosin, a shoulder rest and a case. The solid spruce top and flamed maple back look smart for the money. The bridge ships lying flat, so you have to stand it up and tune before the first note, and a teacher's help makes that less stressful. It's a sensible way to find out whether lessons will stick.

Adults teaching themselves can lean on the small guide dots along the fingerboard of the Eastar EVA-2, which mark where fingers go for each note. The body pairs a spruce top with maple back and sides, and the kit brings a spare bridge, a spare string, rosin, a shoulder rest and a case. The fingerboard is pear wood dyed black rather than ebony, and it can wear through to a lighter color with heavy practice.

Late-night practice is the reason to buy the Cecilio CEVN-2BK, an electric violin that plays through headphones while the rest of the house sleeps. A built-in pickup feeds volume and tone knobs, a headphone jack and an output for an amp, and the kit includes headphones, a cable, a bow, rosin and a case. The open frame has ebony pegs and fingerboard. Unplugged, it makes only a faint sound, so it needs power and an amp to perform.

Players who've outgrown a student outfit and want a richer tone can look at the D Z Strad 509, modeled on a Stradivari pattern with an aged spruce top and an antique-style varnish. It arrives set up in New York or London with Thomastik Dominant strings, plus a brazilwood bow and a carbon fiber bow. Few buyers have rated it so far, and the warranty covers only six months, which is short for a violin at this price.