Stentor SR1500 Violin Student II 4/4

I have been playing on my Stentor 2 for 1.5 years now. I must say it never ceases to amaze me. I have been told that the sound quality is unexpectedly good for a violin in this price range and it responds well to sound projection.
My only complain about the violin would be that i had to lower the bridge a bit to make it actually playable. The strings it came with only hold up for 3 months of beginner violin playing. The bow it came with is not that good, which is expected. And i had to make the case repaired after a year of carrying the violin around. (It was tearing from the point where the straps were attached at the violin)
I have no regrets regarding my decision to pick up Stentor 2 and start learning the violin. It offers everything you could ask of from a student violin, and much more!

As a total beginner to the violin, I was looking for a budget-friendly violin that's easy to play and which I could use to learn the basics on without getting frustrated. And it has been exactly that. It stays in tune long enough that you don't have to keep tuning during a practice session, the bridge has the right curvature (as far as I can tell) so isolating strings or doing double stops isn't too hard, and it doesn't feel like the fingerboard is restrictive to get around. Main complaint is that the fine tuner for the E string is a bit hard to turn.

As for the sound and the look, it sounds and looks like a violin. I wouldn't say it has any sense of character though. 'Plain' would probably be a good word to describe it.

All in all I am happy with the instrument. It has allowed me to get started on the violin and it has made me find out that I want to pursue it further.

Usually a very good violin will start on a much much higher price level, so do not expect any revelation, but I must admit that, as it was stated in some reviews this model is really probably one of the best for beginners. It is playable and sounds nice. I bought it for my ex girlfriend and her teacher also admitted, that this instrument was good enough. Anyway, there is a lot to learn, before You get a pleasant sound and some skills. It is definitely worth investing in this instrument for learning time, before You will decide, You really wanna be a pro violin player and go for pro and very expensive instrument.

I'm a complete beginner in violin, but still an educated musician.
I was able to produce a nice sound (at least to my ears), And assume it is good for the price point. hence 5 stars for sound. I guess it has to do with it being made all out of solid woods.
mine has a small dent on the broader bottom side of the fingerboard, and the nut near the head (where the strings meet the neck on the top of the instrument) seemed to have been glued a bit off. there is also a tiny chunk of something sticking out on the finger board near the top. not sure how this affects playability as i am a complete beginner so take everything with a grain of salt. It does seem to me that quality control for this product may not be the best, but i guess it is understandable for the price. The case is nice and includes bow and resin.
I did rip the E string trying to tune it. as a guitar player i'm not used to pegs not holding tune. i've been told there's ways to fix it and maybe i was doing something wrong.
Overall i think, after i figure out how to tune it, it will serve its purpose of being my first violin that will be able to satisfy my musical needs with it's decent enough sound until and if i want to upgrade to something better.

While it's a good violin for it's price and I'm really happy as a beginner I must say that:
1. Pegs are absolutely NOT fitted - keep in mind that this violin will probably need to be adjusted by violin maker on day 1. Pegs are too loose and you will spend most of practicing re-tuning the strings (they sometimes loosen drastically while playing).
2. The strings included in the set are "meh", not too terrible for a beginner, but as clear sound should be taught as early as possible, I highly recommend getting something better.

3. Bridge was not centered, but with long distance shipment it is kind of expected (nothing wrong with the sound post - still stands firmly in place)

In general, I had to invest ~$50 more to make it work.

Other than that - In my beginners opinion it's a very good option for that price, especially if you just want to try and have violin maker available nearby.