Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I've been playing the violin for almost nine years now, and I thought this would be a good present to myself for the amount of time I've spent on one thing, and I also got this because I've always wondered what it would be like to play an electric violin. I have a lot to say so I'll just lay it out into pros and cons (: Pros: -It's just like playing an electric guitar, but it's a violin. You can use all the amps and distorters you want, and it sounds absolutely awesome. -For the price, this is an excellent instrument. The strings are brand new, the finish on the violin is beautiful (I got mine in black metallic), and it has a great tone. -It's very lightweight. It and the case together weigh less than holding my oboe (whilst cased). -I received it within four-five days of buying it. -The case was much better than I expected. It's actually a hard case (I couldn't tell from the picture) and has a pocket for storing things on top of it and a pocket/cubby inside to put your rosin in. -If you don't have a bow or rosin, it comes with both. (I already had both, so I'm using my bow and my rosin because I prefer them, but it's all a personal decision, really.) Cons: -It's very hard to tune. When you get the instrument, the strings aren't tuned whatsoever (which is fine) but trying to tune them was a bit of a pain seeing as how the strings have not been stretched out yet. I keep having to retune every ten-twenty minutes. This isn't really a problem of the manufacturer, that's just how violin strings are, so if you're not aware of that/don't have much experience/are scared you'll break a string, you might want to do what I did and go to a music store that has someone who knows what they're doing in the way of stringed instruments and have them tune it for you. If you do this, it will still get out of tune, but it will take longer, and it won't go as flat. Eventually, it will cease to un-tune itself. -You will need to buy your own shoulder rest. In addition to this, there is not really a good place in the case to put a shoulder rest. This isn't a big problem, however, and it's easily solvable. I just unscrewed the legs from mine and put the legs and pad next to the scroll (in the case). Overall, one of the best purchases I've made as of late, and I can't believe I ever lived without an electric version of my favourite instrument!