Cecilio CVN 100 is the first violin of the Cecilio CVN series, and it is the most suitable for beginners. It has all the basic qualities you can ask from a student violin, and the cost is exceptionally reasonable. Let’s find out more about this violin in this Cecilio CVN-100 violin review.
Cecilio CVN-100 Violin at A Glance
Let’s go through the Cecilio CVN 100 violin specifications before we get into the in-depth review.
- The Cecilio CVN 100 is a full-sized (4/4) violin
- It weighs about 4.2 pounds
- The dimension of the violin is 32X5X12 inches
- The top of the violin is made of spruce
- The back is a solid maple wood
- The sides are maple-wood as well
- The fingerboard, chinrest, pegs, and tailpiece is made of rosewood
- The rosewoods parts are colored in black
- The violin has a glossy varnish finish
- The violin comes with inlaid purfling
- The tailpiece has 4 alloy-made fine tuners
- It comes with D’Addario Prelude strings
- The bow is made of genuine Mongolian horsehair
- The wooden part of the bow is Brazilwood
- It includes some accessories like rosin cake, extra set of strings, bridge
- The violin comes in a violin casing
Cecilio CVN-100 Violin Review
Cecilio’s CVN 100 violin model is marketed for students who want a good quality violin at an affordable price. There are mostly positives about this violin, with only a few areas where Cecilio could improve.
Things We liked about CVN 100 Violin | Pros
- The look of the CVN 100 violin is different from the other CVN series violin. This one has a more red tint to it. It appears more glossy with the varnish finish. The black-colored fingerboard, tailpiece, and pegs add a nice contrast with the reddish violin body.
- The body of the violin itself is quite good quality and sturdy. The back and the sides are solid maple wood, which adds to the durability of the violin. The top part is spruce which is also of decent quality. The fingerboard, chinrest, pegs, and tailpiece are made of rosewood, unlike most violins of this series. Other violins of the CVN series have an ebony fingerboard, tailpiece, pegs, bridges.
- Being a very basic student violin, this violin comes with good quality strings. It has D’Addario Prelude strings which are incredibly good for the student level. Most student violins come with low-quality factory-made strings. This feature makes it way better than other student violins.
- This violin can produce amazing sound with good quality strings, an aligned and good quality bridge, and good quality wood. The sound is bright and loud. However, not too loud in an unpleasant which is a common issue with many beginner-level violins.
- The violin comes almost ready to use. All you need to do is tune the strings, and you need to do it for any violin, affordable or not. You do not have to do anything else like attaching strings, bridges, etc. This part is very convenient, especially for beginners, as they might be confused if they had to assemble a violin by themselves.
- The violin additional comes with all necessary accessories. It comes in an incredibly useful case. Other accessories include extra bridge, bows, extra set of strings, rosin cake, etc.
- Lastly, the price point of the Cecilio CVN 100 violin is highly favorable for new learners. The violin is less than a hundred dollars, and above that, it is outstanding in quality. There is not much option to beat this violin at this price point.
Things That Could Be Improved in CVN 100 Violin | Cons
- There is no mention of how mature the woods are. They are probably not that old. Older or mature wood tends to make a good sound. However, you cannot expect mature wood for beginner-level violins, especially at this price point. You will get mature woods for violins that are more for intermediate or advanced level learners. Yet keep in mind that the Cecilio CVN 100 has less matured but good quality wood.
- With the average quality wood, the sound prefers to be quite neutral. The CVN 100 has more of a neutral tone with not much character to it. However, you cannot expect characters from beginner-level violins like the CVN 100. Moreover, it produces a loud sound. Some might not prefer the loud sound of the violin. Many cheap violins tend to be loud in a bad way, which is not the case.
- The bridge might not be the best quality. It can be wobbly. You can easily fix it by aligning it in its place. It can move or tilt a little while tuning with the pegs. You can fix it by simply eyeballing.
How Can You Improve Performance of Cecilio CVN 100?
The Cecilio CVN 100 violin does not have much to complain about. You get what you pay for. If you want more features and better performance, you likely have to pay more. However, with some changes, you can improve the tone quality of the CVN 100.
Keep in mind that these alterations will not drastically change the performance of the violin. You will not get a professional-level outcome from a student violin by changing a few things. There could only be a slight improvement in the playing experience and tune.
- The strings are of good quality. Still, if you feel like you want even better strings, you can always replace them with your preferred strings.
- The bows are of average quality, and you are not bound to use the bows that come with the violin. You can use a bow that you prefer and feel comfortable using. Also, use a better rosin cake for your bows.
- If the bridge seems like it could be better, you can replace that too. You can easily get bridges that are better in quality. You can use them instead of the bridge that the CVN 100 comes with.
Comparison of CVN 100 with Other Similar Violins
The Cecilio CVN 100 is undoubtedly an amazing beginner violin. However, if you want to check out a few more violins similar to this one, there are other good options available as well. The CVN 300 is also good for beginners but might cost a little more. Another series from Cecilio is also great for student violin. It is their Mendini series. The Mendini 500 and Mendini 650 are the two most wonderful violins from the series. They are suitable for the amateur to intermediate learners.
If you want to buy a student violin and continue your intermediate journey with it, you can check out the CVn 600. That is more suitable for beginner to intermediate players. Other than Cecilio violins, Stentor makes some remarkable student violins. Their Stentor Student 1 Violin and Student 2 violin perform outstandingly for new violin players.
Ending Note
This Cecilio CVN-100 violin review points out that there is no doubt that the CVN 100 is excellent for those who are at the very early stage of their violin playing journey. They can start with this violin and gradually upgrade to violins like the CVN 600 or CVN 800. If you think you will skip into the intermediate violins without buying a student violin first, that might not be the wisest decision. Using a higher-level violin at the very beginning can be overwhelming and can cause many difficulties. So I would suggest that you start with a basic violin, like Cecilio CVN 100.
