It’s hard to think of a more iconic orchestral instrument than the violin.
Its searing bowed notes and bittersweet pizzicato have been enrapturing us ever since its first outing back in 16th Century Italy. But the invention of the violin was not a sudden thing.
It was an iterative, centuries-long process that brought us the violin as we recognise it – from early Asiatic horsehair fiddles to ostentatious three-stringed Italian pieces, to the contemporary, traditional, unmistakable form of the violin proper.
The violin may cut a familiar form today, but still divides in certain circles – particularly when it comes to its invention and re-invention. In a 2007 interview, virtuosic American violinist Ruggiero Ricci encapsulated the difficult nature of these iterations – acknowledging a fundamental shift in learning that can occur from the most innocuous of inventions. "Before the chinrest, they held the violin with the left hand. If you didn’t hold it, it would fall on the floor, right? But when the chinrest was invented, it became chin-held, and consequently, you lost contact. When it became chin-held then you started playing the trombone."
Reading this, you’d be forgiven for upholding a belief that the violin is a difficult instrument for expert hands. Learning the violin is an intimidating task by itself, let alone when faced with the prospect of advanced technique. Violins are often regarded as a lofty instrument to learn, to say nothing of the perceived expense; that latter belief is compounded by the high price that many famous instruments afford, as 17th-century Stradivariuses frequently make headlines at auction.
As difficult and inaccessible as the violin might appear, in practice, nothing could be further from the truth.
Learning to play is extremely rewarding, and much more accessible than it might first appear. There are myriad entry-level examples of the instrument for beginner violin players to hone their technique on, some of which lean fully into the iterative nature of its past. Each has its own strengths and weaknesses, but all provide the essential qualities that enable learning and development.
What exactly is it, though, that makes the ideal learner instrument? A chinrest, much to Ricci’s chagrin, is a good start, to enable younger learners to get familiar with the neck without having to support it.
Another useful addition for learner violins – and, indeed, a popular one for more contemporary models of violin – is that of fine tuners. Violins use wooden tuning pegs for achieving pitch, but these can be difficult to dial in (particularly in cheaper models where the woodwork may not be as high-quality). Fine tuners at the bridge make tuning easier, and can minimise the potential for headaches.
Finally, sound is not a major priority, given the main purpose as a learning instrument over a performing one. Still, a pleasant-sounding violin can make even the most tedious of exercises sound that little more harmonious. With a wide variety of cheap violins available to buy, which are the best at fitting the bill?
Best violins for beginners at a glance
- Best overall: Stentor Elysia Violin - £475, Gear4Music
- Best for silent at-home practice: Harley Benton HBV 870RD - £119, Thomann
- Best for a budget learner instrument: Gear4Music Student Full Size Violin - £59.99, Gear4Music
- Best for high quality below £200: Stentor SR1500 Violin Student II - £199, Amazon
- Best for a dependable everyday instrument: Yamaha V3SKA Braviol Violin - £321, Gear4Music
- Best for beautiful sound: Yamaha V7SG Violin - £787, Gear4Music
- Best for liver performance: Yamaha YEV-104 NT Electric Violin - £849, Amazon
- Best for aspiring soloists: Stentor Arcadia Violin - £515, Gear4Music
- Best for the clumsy primary school learner: Glarry GV100 Violin - £33.99, Glarry
- Best for budding orchestral players: Hidersine Veracini Violin - £408, PMTOnline
Shop the best beginner violins below
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Stentor Elysia Violin
Best: overall
Stentor has built a steady reputation as a budget violin manufacturer and supplier. For some time, theirs was the most accessible brand of learner violin on the high street, stocked in most music retailers and instrument outlets. While times may have changed when it comes to shopping habits, Stentor’s position as a common choice for first instruments certainly hasn’t.
Stentor’s range of violins extends past pure beginner models, with some entries in their roster that exhibit some key shifts in design, feel and overall quality. While often not the first choice for first forays into learning, these slightly-advanced instruments could be a better option – not in the least when it comes to playability.
The Stentor Elysia is an excellent example of this in practice, being an ‘intermediate’-level violin at a distinctly beginner-level price point. The Elysia boasts a maple body and neck with a spruce top; spruce is a hardwood with remarkable tonal qualities, imparting a sweet mellowness to the sound of the Elysia. The maple ribs and back support this mellowness, providing body. The violin is finished with shellac, an extremely welcome departure from the spray-coatings of other budget violins.
The Elysia utilises a single fine tuner on the high E string. While brand-new learners might initially struggle with tuning, this is a good thing; it inspires proper learning on how to tune by peg, and indicates that the Elysia ships with a higher quality of string. Otherwise, the Elysia is a forgiving violin to play, with especially thanks to the quality of its sound. It is extremely well-made for a violin of its price, and a stand-out example of a powerful all-rounder that won’t get outgrown by its owner.
Buy now £475.00, Gear4Music
Harley Benton HBV 870RD
Best for: silent at-home practice
Harley Benton is a highly-regarded budget brand in the music and audio industry, having built a reputation for high-quality guitars and basses in particular. Its wide range of Fender, Gibson and PRS clones have curried a lot of favour with beginners and professionals alike, with the brand having brought back some rare instrument designs at accessible prices. As such, Harley Benton is well placed to bring its budget electrical expertise into the realm of the violin – and has done so handily, with its electric violin model, the HBV 870RD.
The ‘RD’ indicates the colour of the unit, with black, white and even skull-decaled iterations available. This is a much cheaper electric violin than the Yamaha YEV-104, and does not quite win as many points for play comfort or sound quality. However, it is a more versatile instrument, and perhaps more useful for most newer learners.
The key to this lies in its active circuitry. A 9-volt battery powers an on-board preamp, which itself features some unique I/O capabilities. Not only is there a line out for plugging into external amplifiers or hardware, but also a headphone output for private listening – and an aux input for playing along to other tracks via the preamp.
Learners can play silently and benefit from audio exercises, without compromising on either. At this price, the HBV 870RD is hard to sniff at.
Buy now £119.00, Thomann
Gear4Music Student Full Size Violin
Best for: a budget learner instrument
Gear4Music is a chain supplier of musical instruments and accessories, first and foremost. But as well as selling units from established brands, the retailer also lends its name to a heady range of inexpensive and entry-level products. Amongst self-branded microphone stands and gig bags, there are keyboards, basses, guitars – and yes, violins for beginners. The Gear4Music Student Full Size Violin comes in well under £100, and is amongst the cheapest reviewed here today.
That low price naturally doesn’t buy much in the way of tone or construction quality, but it does offer an accessible entry point for the younger musician, which doesn’t cost altogether much to replace either. The body is constructed using maple and spruce; the mass-manufactured nature of these beginner violins, though, means there’s little workmanship in the construction of the unit.
But how does it play? It is an entirely serviceable practice instrument, that sits fine in the crook of the neck and handles relatively well. It is a little bright and quite shrill, as to be expected from most starter violins. It might not be the prettiest sound for parents or housemates to contend with in the early days of practice, but it is absolutely fine for getting those fundamentals down.
Buy now £59.99, Gear4Music
Stentor SR1500 Violin Student II
Best for: high quality below £200
Stentor is better known for its entry-level violins than the models that exist a little further up the scale. The Student II is one of Stentor’s most popular beginner models, offering a low-cost yet high-quality on-ramp for fresh learners. It comes as a set, with a carry case and bow included, all under £200.
This violin has all the trappings of a great beginner violin, and suits well for earlier beginners who are yet to catch fully with the violin as an instrument. It comes in all sizes for all ages, and features a full set of fine tuners to make life easier for both early learner and the ears of the wider household. Despite utilising maple and spruce in its construction, the Student II is unavoidably a little ‘reedy’-sounding. Nonetheless, it defeats other entry-level models for tonal response, with more clarity and less ‘scratch’ than many own-brand beginner instruments.
The Student II is a capable instrument that looks and feels better than most beginner violins, though it does experience some similar pitfalls with regard to feel and sound. It is the best budget violin for the complete beginner with a little more to spend, and will absolutely outlast any competitors in the sub-£200 bracket.
Buy now £185.00, Amazon
Yamaha V3 Violin
Best for: a dependable everyday instrument
Despite some heavy hitters in the budget violin space, Yamaha remains one of the most recognisable and popular instrument brands for beginner musicians. The company’s repertoire is nigh-on unbelievable when it comes to range, particularly when each of its products maintains a surprising level of quality for the price.
Yamaha’s upright pianos are industry-standard for smaller venues and learning institutions across the country, while its most famous electric guitar is the first guitar for a great majority of beginners in the UK.
This is an ‘introductory’ model from Yamaha’s violin range, and an extremely dependable one to boot. It is a set, as with other start instrument sets, containing a carry case and bow alongside some straps and even rosin with which to prep the bow.
The violin itself is an understated thing, that achieves exactly that which it sets out to achieve. Fine tuners allow for ease of use for beginners, and the unit as a whole is built with durability in mind. There are no surprises here, making this violin a safe choice for newer learners.
Buy now £321.00, Gear4Music
Yamaha Braviol V7SG Violin Full Size
Best for: beautiful sound
Yamaha’s size as a corporation affords it the ability to cater to a wide variety of needs. As such, its violin range is by no means limited to bare-bones – albeit well-made – entry-level instruments. There is a Yamaha model for every step in the beginner violinist’s journey, and for every personal preference you could divine.
Which brings us to the V7G violin. The V7G is, by all accounts, a major upgrade on the V3SKA. Indeed, the V7G is arguably one of the best-sounding violins here; it has a supremely pleasant air to it, and strong bowed notes attain a glassy quality. Pizzicato play is delightfully percussive, and the violin handles dynamics beautifully. This is thanks to the maple construction and spruce top, the latter of which attenuates much of the violin’s harsher frequencies.
The ‘S’ in both V3SKA and V7SG stands for ‘set’, referring to all the accessories and gubbins provided alongside the instrument itself. The V7SG comes with a carry case, bow and some rosin; it is nice to see sets still offered at the higher end of the budget range for violins.
Still, this might be a little too much to pay for most beginners, even if trademark Yamaha reliability is the reward.
Buy now £787.00, Gear4Music
Yamaha YEV-104 NT Electric Violin
Best for: live performance
While the violin has an instantly recognisable shape and strict build tradition, (relatively) recent innovations in the world of music have inspired new directions for the instrument. The invention of the electromagnetic pickup in the 1930s spawned a revolution in instrument design, and single-handedly changed the shape of popular music. While this particular invention is most commonly attributed to the electric guitar, it naturally lends itself to other stringed instruments – the violin included.
Yamaha’s YEV-104 is a powerful iteration of the ‘electric violin’, which dispenses with the traditional, naturally-amplifying hollow body in favour of a lightweight frame and some passive electronic circuitry. A piezo pickup lies within the bridge of the violin, picking up the resonance of both the strings and the body as a whole. Speaking of which, the body utilises spruce, mahogany, maple and walnut to provide a warm resonance without breaking the bank.
The pickup is accompanied by a volume control, which can be switched in and out of the signal path via a selector switch. This allows the player to guarantee full response, or to maintain perfect control of their output volume without sacrificing dynamic play. The YEV-104 is extremely versatile in this way, though the output sound does differ quite significantly from that of a conventional acoustic violin.
The form of the violin allows for quiet, unobtrusive bedroom practice unplugged, and the output makes recording performances to listen back all the easier. The cost makes this more of a performer’s instrument than a learner’s, but it remains a strong beginner option at the upper end of the budget spectrum.
Buy now £849.00, Amazon
Stentor Arcadia Violin
Best for: aspiring soloists
Stentor’s top-of-the-range violin comes in the form of the Arcadia – a hand-made instrument that comes from the same workshop as the Elysia, but which exhibits much more personality. The Arcadia has an undeniable softness to its sound, with bowed notes sounding almost buttery in comparison to the lower-range models reviewed here. It exhibits a stunning body and presence for its price point, with high notes presenting clearly and brightly without a hint of harshness.
The Arcadia comes pre-strung with Pirastro strings, widely considered to be the gold standard for violin strings. It also exhibits the same single-fine-tuner mechanism employed by the Arcadia, in service of better performance from the higher quality of string.
The level of sound quality afforded by this instrument is remarkable, especially for the sub-£700 price range – but is by no means essential for the beginner to experience. Still, if said beginner has aspirations of solo performance, they couldn’t do much better at this price.
Buy now £515.00, Gear4Music
Glarry GV100 Violin
Best for: the clumsy primary school learner
Glarry is not the most familiar brand in the budget instruments market, despite providing a number of different models from bass guitars to keyboards and beyond. All of these instruments are inexpensive units, with bare-bones features and attractive budget-friendly pricings. The GV100 is Glarry’s entry-level violin, and one that suits its price well.
It needn’t be overstated that the GV100 is not winning any awards for build quality or tone. It is the least expensive instrument here, and it shows. However, this does not make it a pointless purchase. Quite the contrary, in fact. As a parent encouraging a young child to pick up the violin, you might be acutely aware of their lack of awareness, at least when it comes to the value and condition of their possessions.
Where early learners are more likely to bash, bang or even lose their first instrument, the GV100 is not a painful violin to replace. As such, despite its tinny sound and tacky spray-finish, the GV100 could be perfect for that primary-school introduction to the instrument.
Buy now £33.99, Glarry
Hidersine Veracini Violin
Best for: budding orchestral players
Hidersine began life as a rosin manufacturing business in the late 19th Century, started by chemist Francis Hider. A long and tumultuous history has led the brand to its present make-up as a one-stop shop for all things strings. The Veracini is a standout model from Hidersine’s repertoire, designed as an ‘ensemble’ instrument perfect for playing with an orchestra.
The Veracini comes with a veritable goody bag of accessories, from a case and high-quality bow to a complimentary pack of Hidersine’s famed rosin. The instrument itself is a well-crafted thing, with a seasoned maple bridge that provides an earthy tone and body to play. The flamed maple back and ribs are undeniably beautiful, and the spruce top is finished well.
This is one of the better-constructed examples in this round-up, with attention to detail obviously of importance to Hidersine. The price might cause some beginners to look elsewhere, but its warm tone and unobtrusive dynamics make it a steal for those hoping to start out in an orchestra.
Buy now £408.00, PMT Online
Verdict
While there’s a lot to like about many of the models reviewed, there are two stand-outs: the Harley Benton HBV 870RD is an incredible entry at a low price, enabling quiet practice with some unique practice features thrown in for good measure.
However, the Stentor Elysia beats it to the top spot, as a sterling example of a quality acoustic violin at a beginner-friendly price.
