I ordered this brand of viola because it was highly recommended on music websites for beginning players who didn’t want to invest a lot of money in something that may just be a fleeting pursuit. It came with 2 sets of strings (luckily), 2 bridges, a bow, rosin, a nice case, and a beautiful looking viola. I watched a video on how to set up a viola. I got the bridge in easily enough but as soon as I started tightening the strings, I could see the “a” string had not been threaded properly so it wouldn’t tighten. I figured I could address that after tightening the others . At that point, the “c” string snapped, the bridge fell over and the tailpiece came loose. (The tension of the strings is what holds a viola together.) I drove it to the nearest music shop—what I should have done to start with—and the luthier set it up for me. I now have a tuned, nice sounding (even with a beginner playing!) viola that the music store people told me should be great to learn on, and it has “good bones”.I was pleasantly surprised to see how nice this viola was. I bought it for my daughter for school. It comes in a high quality case, and I was easily able to tune it. It had a rich, nice tone to the instrument. This was a wonderful find!Okay, this is a little premature, I got it today and haven't tuned it or brought it to my teacher for her to break it over my head, and I'm a total newbie, never played strings before besides guitar and... keyboard. No chance I could ever afford an "approved" one. The price is obviously unbelievable. However the case is hard and felted, and the construction is beautiful of wood, with plastic parts (neck guard). It's *very* lightweight. When I first saw it I thought it was too small to make Viola-bassey sounds and wondered if they sent me a violin by mistake.But I'm writing about the immediate construction and first *sound*, timber, functionality (playability) of the instrument. I somehow managed to rosin my first bow adequately (my orchestral roommate tightened it when he came home because I forgot to). I had watched YouTube videos and read the scant instructions which tell you to wait and let your instructor guide you in your first setup. I held it (I'll definitely need a shoulder brace), and tried the lowest open string... my eyes opened wide. I had never produced a tone on a concert stringed instrument before. It was BEAUTIFUL. And totally bassey. Sounded exactly as it should (correct tuned pitch aside). I was actually amazed. I played all the strings open one at a time, likewise. Absolutely lovely instrument with a beautiful and fully resonate, bassey sound. Just like the YouTube videos. I tried some fingerings; okay, that'll take practice and a developed reach. But clearly it would play. If there's a problem of tuning, not holding pitch or cracking, I'll update my review. But I wouldn't hesitate to purchase this instrument if you're worried if it sounds good enough, esp. for the price. I hope my instructor doesn't break it over my head, I love it and will be sad. My first 4/4 cello by the same maker and store is on the way! :) My seller feedback:Thrilled! Arrived early, unbroken, with hardcase and all accessories, and... plays! First time ever player, sounds wonderful! :) :) Thank you!Update: Ok it's two hours before my first lesson. Tried to tune, string broke and the tuners generally won't hold. I should have had it set up before lesson day. I'm going to see if she knows a trick with rosin or such to make tuners stick. Otherwise I'll have to wait for a setup and it'll set my lesson back and may make it unaffordable depending. I'm not in the market for a more expensive instrument at this time. The sound of the box is still terrific and bow and rosin work fine. 4 stars and we'll see.Update Update: My teacher took it walked around awhile while I was getting ready and handing it back to me said, "Why did you think it couldn't be tuned?!" :) I also got a shoulder rest and two packs of DiDarios. So back to Fine Instrument! :) but follow instructions and let your instructor do the setup the first time. You'll save a string. She understood it was inexpensive, knew the price, but had no problem working with it and is starting me on the Suzuki method :) I thought the tuners absolutely wouldn't hold, so see a pro before giving up!I love my new viola. It was fairly cheap, but it’s not a crappy instrument. It is well crafted. The only thing is one of my C strings sounds a little off but still fine. I love that it comes with extra strings, an extra bridge, rosin. I’m very happy with my purchase.I am not a violist, but I have been playing the violin for about 7 years.`1.) This viola came on time in perfect condition. It is a beautiful instrument, and it is the correct size. Not a restrained violin as some of the other reviews suggest. The bridge was already on the instrument as well. It came with an extra bridge, but the second one is uncut. As in it does not have the notches. I don't know if the one on the instrument is that way, but it is in the perfect location and standing up properly.2.) The bow isn't the best obviously, but it isn't that bad. It came with a few broken hairs due to the way it was incorrectly put in the case before transit. Other than that, it is really not that bad. I have used both the crappy bows from Amazon, and a $300 bow my teacher had to go to a special convention to buy from a special maker from South America. It has one area where it is missing hair, but it holds the rosin pretty okay. Speaking of which, I don't use the rosin provided. I just use the dark rosin I already own from my violin, and it sounds great.3.) The strings are fine. I use pretty high quality ones for my violin, and have terrible quality ones for my cello. these sounds fine. I was amazed at the beautiful sounding C string, and the beautifully mellow G through A strings. Much prettier than the violin in my opinion.4.) In regards to tuning, I have been doing it with yours on the violin. First time with this viola took 5-10 minutes just as the manual that comes with it suggests. Other than that, it hasn't gone out of tune. It gradually gets flat day to day, but nothing the fine tuners can't handle.5.) The case is okay. It is really simple, but does its job. I really like the blue color. Note: iT WILL NOT HOLD A SHOULDER RESTDO NOTE HOWEVER: This instrument does not come with a shoulder rest, so you will need to purchase one. The cheapest I have seen on Amazon was about $15, while the music store had one for the same price. Buy it from the music store, as the quality is much better.All in all, this is a beautiful instrument for an amazing price. I am very happy with my purchase, and enjoy playing it even more than my violin.What a beautiful viola! I absolutely love this. The build and paint finish are gorgeous. I'm amazed that this level of quality can be had for such a low price. I am more of a pianist but have always wanted to learn the viola and didn't want to spend too much in case I later decide it's not for me. This has a nice sound and is a joy to play. I know a much more expensive viola will sound richer and hold its tune better but for the money this is a tremendous value. It even comes with a really good case and extra strings.One word of caution though: The rosin supplied gave me incredible migraines. I think it may be coloured with tartrazine (which is a migraine trigger for myself and many others), so I would recommend not using it and buying some better quality rosin like D'Addarrio. I don't know this for certain but every time I used the rosin I got a migraine within hours. Normally I only get migraines a couple of times per year as I avoid tartrazine and my other triggers at all costs.Ich war einfach neugierig, wie es sich so auf einer Viola spielt. In meiner Jugend hatte ich eine Weile Geigenunterricht und kann daher die grundlegende Technik. Also wie man spielt, wie man ein Instrument stimmt und einrichtet und so weiter. Von daher ist das bei günstigem Preis eine nette Gelegenheit gewesen, diese Viola zu kaufen und ein bisschen spielerisch meine Neugier auszuleben. Wer das Instrument richtig zum Musizieren nehmen will, weil er Viola bei einem Lehrer lernt wird damit wohl eher nicht so glücklich werden.Ich habe schon mehrere günstige Streichinstrument aus der Massenfertigung aus Fernost gekauft und diese Viola ist nicht die am besten verarbeitete. Bei anderen Exemplare aus der Serie mag das ganz anders ausfallen, da schwankt oft die Qualität.Das gilt auch für den Bogen. Der ist etwas schief. Zudem waren die Rosshaare nicht richtig eingeklemmt, so dass beim ersten Spannen auf Probe einige Haare ausgegangen sind. Also war schon beim Bogen Basteln dran.Auch bei der Viola muss erst mal gebastelt werden, was aber bei den Geigen die ich über den Versand gekauft auch so war. Der Steg liegt lose bei, die Saiten daher auch nicht gespannt. Dank Youtube kann aber auch ein Anfänger heraus finden, wo und wie man den Steg aufstellt. Das ist auch gut so, weil die mitgelieferte Erklärung auf Englisch war und zudem noch so knapp, dass man als völliger Anfänger damit rein Garnichts anfangen könnte. Das habe ich auch bei anderen günstigen Geigen zum Selbstaufbau schon besser gesehen. Wer auf Nummer sicher gehen will, sollte aber zum Geigenbauer gehen, denn bei der Prozedur kann der Stimmstock umfallen und das macht den ohnehin nicht gerade umwerfenden Klang nicht besser.Nach dem Aufbau fiel mir ein sonderbares Störgeräusch auf, dass ich noch nie bei einem Streichinstrument gehört habe. Nach einigem Suchen fiel mir auf, dass der Kinnhalter an den Saitenhalter stößt und dann damit zusammenstößt in der jeweiligen Streichfrequenz schnarrt. Also erst mal den Kinnhalter demontiert und mit Holzwerkzeug die Teile abgetragen, die die Fabrikarbeiter da vergessen haben. Was will man zum günstigen Preis schon erwarten. Wenn die Maschine da halt nicht richtig eingestellt ist, bleibt da schon mal sowas übrig, da ist eben keine Zeit, von Hand nachzukontrollieren und auf Feinheiten zu achten. Dann habe ich gleich noch an den Wirbeln die Grate an den Bohrungen entfernt, um die Saiten zu schonen.Der Lack ist speziell. Dadurch dass er sehr deckend ist, liegt die Vermutung nahe, dass der Corpus womöglich aus Sperrholz besteht, aber sicher kann man da nichts sagen. Was man auf Fotos schlecht erkennt: In den Lach ist Perlglanzpigment eingearbeitet so dass die Bratsche etwas glitzert. Wenn man sie nur zu Hause oder als Deko nimmt, ist es egal, dass sie dadurch trotz der vollen Größe und Klobigkeit wie Kinderspielzeug wirkt.Positiv ist, bei mir war ein zweiter Steg und ein Satz Saiten beigelegt. So hat man zwei Sätze einfache Saiten.Der Koffer passt gut zum Instrument, ist leichtgewichtig und einfach mit synthetischem Pannesamt gefüttert. Die Verarbeitung ist nicht so stabil. Erste Teile sind schon beschädigt nach ein paar Nutzungen. Das lässt sich zwar reparieren, geht aber auch in diesem Preissegment besser.Fazit: Wenn man gerne mal an einem Streichinstrument herum basteln will, ohne dass ein Totalschaden einen Weltuntergang auslöst ist diese Bratsche ein tolles Versuchsobjekt. Wenn man kein Heimwerkertalent hat, würde ich davon die Finger lassen, denn da müsste ein Geigenbauer schon einige Arbeit reinstecken um sie spielbar zu machen. Für einen Anfänger, der wirklich ernsthaft das Instrument lernen will, würde ich sie eher nicht nehmen. Einfach nur so zum Gelegentlichen spielen und zum Stillen von der Neugier wie man versuchsweise eine Viola streicht, ist sie einsetzbar. Vielleicht hat man ja Glück und ich habe einfach das Montagsmodell erwischt und die meisten anderen sind besser verarbeitet? Noch drei Sterne, weil sie bei mir den gewünschten Zweck erfüllte, einfach mal einmal im Leben eine Viola auszuprobieren ohne jegliche Ambition.What a beautiful viola! I absolutely love this. The build and paint finish are gorgeous. I'm amazed that this level of quality can be had for such a low price. I am more of a pianist but have always wanted to learn the viola and didn't want to spend too much in case I later decide it's not for me. This has a nice sound and is a joy to play. I know a much more expensive viola will sound richer and hold its tune better but for the money this is a tremendous value. It even comes with a really good case and extra strings.One word of caution though: The rosin supplied gave me incredible migraines. I think it may be coloured with tartrazine (which is a migraine trigger for myself and may others), so I would recommend not using it and buying some better quality rosin like D'Addarrio.It feels cheap, but that's not necessarily bad. It doesn't sound like a million dollar viola, and you shouldn't expect it to. It sounds like something that a pauper plays, and that's just fine. It's great for folk music. It sounds good playing reels and jigs. And the price is decent, so you can take it to the pub without being paranoid about wrecking it. If you want a serious viola, what are you doing buying a purple viola? If you want a fiddle, buy this!My only complaint: The bow is garbage. Don't let yourself think that you will do any serious playing with this bow. The viola has character, but the bow has nothing. Do yourself a favour and spend some money on a really good bow. But the viola is great.My daughter is learning the viola and since she is showing more interest, i decided to buy her this beginner instrument. It has a good sound quality and the price is perfect!