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Hi all...
I'm going to be buying my 12 year-old daughter her first violin for her birthday next week. Would anyone like to share their opinion/advice on which of the following 3 instruments you prefer/recommend? We're looking at these 3:
Cremona SV-175
Cecilio CVN500 (or Mendini)
Gliga Genial
All are in the same price range of $150-$200. I'm leaning towards the Gliga right now. I would truly appreciate any advice or words of wisdom that any of you would like to share with me.
Thanks!
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I have tried a heck of a lot of fiddles since I am now in the business, including all the violins above. All of these violins were at NAMM.
First off, if you try 5 Gliga's, no two would sound alike. So there is really no telling which will be the best in the end. The CVN500 that was sent to me to test was great but I have also seen bad ones.
The Gliga instruments are REAL nice looking, maybe the nicest looking of those you mentioned.
The Mendini's are the worse.
The Cremona didn't impress me much at all.
Your choice is probably the best of all 3 
"The richest person is not the one who has the most,
but the one who needs the least."
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Here is another one worth considering.
http://fiddlershop.com/instrum.....iolin.html
but a little higher priced.
"The richest person is not the one who has the most,
but the one who needs the least."
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Thank you for sharing your expertise with me. I truly appreciate it.
Now my choices are down to only 2: the Gliga & the Core 10 Academy.
They each bring something unique to the table for our particular needs, don't they?
I do very much like the look of the Gliga, but the sound of the Core 10 was very nice (though I'm looking forward to the practice mute doing its job during the first weeks!!). Though I have heard, online, some very nice sounding Gliga instruments too.
Thank you again for your willingness to help out a family just starting our next musical journey with the violin!
Christine
Honorary tenured advisor
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Ragarone said
Thank you for sharing your expertise with me. I truly appreciate it.I do very much like the look of the Gliga, but the sound of the Core 10 was very nice .
Though I have heard, online, some very nice sounding Gliga instruments too.
Thank you again for your willingness to help out a family just starting our next musical journey with the violin!
Christine
Welcome to the forum, Christine.
You will have lots of fun here as many members started the journey just a bit before you, including myself.
While I'm not an expert in violin, I like to share some opinion/thoughts with you as I have a Gliga, not the student version that you're looking but a professional level violin with one piece top/one piece back and sound-wise it's close or considered top of the line Gliga (it's was a gift to me).
However, my violin set up was very poor, not any to be desired for its professional grade of instruments. The bridge is a low grade maple, very soft and white/not even a name brand one (will need to be replaced) and sound post might have to be adjusted after it's played in which could be costly if you can't do it yourself. For professional level set up, it could cost as much as the price of those violins that you're looking at.
I've heard some Gliga's on youtube as well, but I believe those went through a custom set up/adjust with new bridge/string/etc. as Gliga is known for inconsistent sounding/set up.
So if you like the sound of Core 10 then it could be your best bet, as with a Gliga you may have to pay some extra for set up/upgrade.
Good luck with your purchase and best wish to your journey.
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I have owned a Cecilio, Cremons sv-150, and now Kohr 550. If I could do this all over again I would have only purchased the Kohr.
The Cremona is a good violin after the strings changed.
If I ever upgrade I will look at higher end Kohr's first.
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Oh wow! I can share some insight on this topic as I actually have a little bit of experience with those brands in making my first purchase! LOL ......and just last year! 
When I purchased my first violin, I had the option of the student model Gliga, Cremona and a Palatino VN-450. Yes, I was drawn toward the Gliga at first because it was a nice looking instrument (I had no idea about the sound quality or anything).
The shop owner, after some conversation on my background and my intentions, talked me out of the Gliga and Cremona. He informed me about some of the issues including improper set-ups, poor fingerboards and sound post issues, especially with the Gliga. As a I was a beginner, I was looking for something that would cause as little stress as possible while I figured out what would be the best fit for me down the road.
I did settle on the Palatino and it did it's job on getting me started on my journey! It does have it's issues, but I believe they are significantly less then if I purchased one of the others. I actually wish I found this forum first as there are many people on here with a ton of experience in choosing a good violin.
I'm actually saving up for my next purchase as we speak which I will be getting from the Fiddler Shop (I'm stuck between 2 different ones, right now, LOL). I love the fact that you have this absolutely huge support group and "live review" on all the products there! Plus, if there are any issues, all you need to do is ask and the help with come pouring in.
Good luck on your purchase! It's great that you are encouraging a future violinist!
“Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn.” ~Benjamin Franklin
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Thank you to everyone who replied to my request for advice. Your insights are truly appreciated.
After much deliberation, my husband and I have decided to purchase the Gliga for our daughter's birthday (tomorrow!). 
If, after she has played for several months to a year or so, she still has the desire to play the violin (you know how kids can be), we will purchase a better quality instrument for her. One of our deciding factors was to save a little money now on a reasonably fair quality beginner's violin & invest the savings into a better one later.
Now, hopefully the violin will arrive in time for her birthday celebration this weekend. 
It probably won't, but she's familiar with our work! 
In that case, we'll just print out a picture of the violin with a promise of the real one arriving later & wrap that up for her to open (sadly, we've actually done that before...but our kids are good sports about it).
Again, I'd like to thank everyone for their words of advice & encouragement.
Christine
Pro advisor
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Dont be a stranger, we want to see pics of the birthday girl with that Violin. We also want to see progress vids everyfew months or so. If you have any other questions or need any more help, here we are!
"Please play some wrong notes, so that we know that you are human" - said to Jascha Heifetz.
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Welcome Christine! I hope you get a reply that satisfies your request. People here, as you probably know from reading, are quite generous with help and offer all kinds of assistance to any age or skill level player.
We do have a problem, however. If your Daughter - being a youthful age 12 gets better then us (extremely high probability) then we confiscate 1 string from her violin. If she continues to improve and move way beyond us (very great chance) then we take another string. 
Seriously, do drop in often and enjoy the tips, videos, lessons and the fun. She might even learn a thing or two while visiting.
"I find your lack of Fiddle, disturbing" - Darth Vader
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