Fender FV-1 Electric Violin User Reviews at zZounds

"Seek one out, play it, and you should be sold on it." submitted December 6, 2008

By a customer from hotmail.com

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Musical Background: Active musician

Music Style: Classical, Folk, Standards

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Sound: Excellent sound, and amplified sound characteristics. I've always owned and played violins professionally (35+ years), and have been resisting an electric. This one sounds the best for the $. Feature: Great hardshell case, rugged,....as if I would smack it around? However there is a comfort level knowing the case looks like it can take a "hit". Ease of Use: Good pick-up on the violin, ....I would like more realistic tone controls,....accurate volume control,...."plug and play" Quality: Nicely finished, pegs are ititially hard to turn, but once roughly tuned the 4 fine tuners do a nice job of the rest of the process. Value: For the price, you would be hard pressed to match the value!! Manufacturer Support: Haven't had to use their services, so I can't comment. The Wow Factor: Cool looking, most of my music friends were impressed with the look. It still maintains some semblance to a regular violin.

21 of 21 people (100%) found this review helpful. Did you?

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"Two thumbs up." submitted April 29, 2008

By a customer from gmail.com

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Musical Background: violin teacher

Music Style: country, classical, alternative

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Sound: This violin by far the best one on the market for the money. It's worth every bit I paid for it. The bow is worthless, but if you have a good quality bow the violin responds well. Feature: The case is very high quality. It comes with a cord as well which is good quality too. The bow is not very good. I use the bow I have for my acoustic violin which works great. The shoulder rest is very adjustable. Ease of Use: I opened it for the first time and was playing five minutes later. GREAT! Quality: It has great workmanship, and is very sturdy. Value: Great deal for the money. Compared to the Yamaha SV120K it is equal in quality and a much better buy. The Wow Factor: It looks great. Very simple, and very balanced. Overall: I am most impressed with this violin over all of the others I have tried.

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"Great product, totally recomend it." submitted July 15, 2006

By a customer from hotmail.com

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Musical Background: Violinist of 11 years; 11 years of acoustic; one of electric

Music Style: everything except r&b

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SPOTLIGHT REVIEW

Sound: Sound is great, lots of room for your own technique, not over powering. Plays great, easy to move around the fingerboard and loads of fun. I learn new things to do with it everyday, great product. Feature: Not too many features, but most of the ones are great. Only bad thing is the shoulder rest, mine keeps falling out if i take it off of my shoulder for too long. Ease of Use: very easy to use, i learn new things every time i play it. its a blast. Quality: ive had mine for about a year now and it still sounds just as good as the first day. No scratches, blemishes, nothin. still gorgeous. Value: value is no doubt one of the best on the market, great price for such a nice instrument. Manufacturer Support: im sure if i needed them then i wouldnt be dissappointed The Wow Factor: it looks great, very intriguing and has a kind of mystery about it that draws people to it. Lovely tone as well and helps me with my playing a great deal. Overall: i love this violin. it plays just like a traditional but has the capacity to be much much more than traditional. Fender really hit a home run with this great instrument!

29 of 30 people (96.67%) found this review helpful. Did you?

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Fender FV-1 Violin Customer Review submitted August 23, 2003

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Music Style: Classical, country

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Sound: I have played professionally for many years, and this is my first electric. Having serveral high quality violins, and one excellent one I am truly impressed by the high quality, sound and feel of this affordable instrument.

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"WOW WOW WOW WOW WOW WOW WOW WOW WOW WOW WOW WOW WOW WOW WOW WOW" submitted December 16, 2007

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Musical Background: Active Musicien

Music Style: Rock, Classical, Country (a bit)

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Sound: Pretty good sound on mine, but I cover original sounds with loads of distortion and effects. Feature: Tone and Volume Notches are helpful. Ease of Use: Plug in and play is what it is. Quality: Perfect quality for it's price, maybe a bit above Value: For price I got it ($250.00) amazing! Manufacturer Support: Haven't delt with support yet because it's so well made. The Wow Factor: Looks pretty cool. Mine is white and it looks awesome. Black looks cool to. Overall: Just love this thing for shreddin around on. Sounds great with effects pedals and looper stations.

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"THE BEST EVER!!!!!!!" submitted December 8, 2004

By a customer from hotmail.com

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Musical Background: A student in H.A.Y.O, blue lake, fiddling club and just private lessons and Oraschastra

Music Style: Rock...Classic

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Feature: This violin ROCKS!!!!!!!!! Alirighty..well I am a violinist with 5 years of experience. I just got it a couple days ago and it is a very good violin...if you think that the wood one is the best...yes it is more expensive...the only reason why it is expensive is because that it has alot better painting..like the rims and all that stuff. but i have the white one and it has abeautiful soud..if you want the sound that works very wil for the violin is a 25 Watt amp. I just love it all the other reviews that are bad...just don't trust them ..I relly recomend this violin to you!! It rox! thanks

8 of 9 people (88.89%) found this review helpful. Did you?

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"A Great, Dependable, and Cool Violin...." submitted March 23, 2008

By a customer from aol.com

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Musical Background: somewhere between a hobbyist and an active musician

Music Style: celtic, old time, semi-classical, and alternative

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Sound: This fiddle is pretty great---especially for the money. It threw me at first because I was playing through a friend's recording machine that overemphasized the high frequencies. Put it through an acoustic amp and it was impressive. It works best with a preamp; other fiddles often have one onboard, but this one comes alive with any preamp or distortion pedal. Even the drive on little practice amps is enough. After that, it becomes equal to just about any task. The strings that come on the fiddle are terrible, for some reason; I put dominants on one and sensicores on the other (I bought a second one after liking the first). With a delay, it sounds like I'm playing traditional violin in a huge hall, with the proper distortion, it can sound just like an electric guitar. The action may be a triffle too high at the nut out of the box, but any luthier can adjust that. All in all, it's just great for the bucks! Feature: Though the bows I got are passable, they are not all that great. I generally use other bows. The shoulder rest can tend to slip, and I might try to do something about that by way of customizing it. Nice case. Ease of Use: I tplays very well with the right amp/preamp combo. One can easily get a deceptively bad first impression if you play on an amp that's not compatible with the instrument. I got a crate acoustic 60 watt amp with effects, and it was perfect. I also used a Boss DS-1 and a Coffin Case Blood Drive pedal. Interestingly, my little Epiphone practice amp works great on its built-in distortion but sounds "barely there" on its clear channel---probably because it's not boosted. As to the learning curve, though it took a couple weeks to discover the nuances, it sounded good right away. The electric is more sensitive in some ways and less so in others when compared to an acoustic violin. Yet there's a whole new universe of musical possibilities here too, and I'm still discovering them. Quality: On the whole, it's extremely well-made. It's a bit heavier than other electrics, but I like that. The neck is a little thicker than necessary, though. The bridge functions well, but it is made of rosewood or something similar. I've heard others say that a new maple brdige cut by a luthier greatly enhances playability, but I've not tried that yet. Overall, it seems solid enough to use as a weapon if you get an unexpected intruder into your home and need to smack him upside the head.... Value: Yes---by all means! It is perhaps the least expensive quality electric I've seen. It's worth every penny. Manufacturer Support: Never needed a thing, but I did get some free stuff. So I'll give 'em a "10." The Wow Factor: It looks fine, design wise. I wouldn't mind seeing some custom finish jobs, though---other colors and patterns---that sort of thing. I think Fender's first violins probably influenced the development of other products; some of the Zetas look remarkably similar, and fender came first. I do prefer this design to most others. Overall: I might buy the FV-3 next time, or a Zeta, or a Mark Wood in addition to the Fender. They all are good in their own right and have different voices and capabilities. I'd like to have a five-string one day for versatility, and I think one could get a better pickup if you want to spend three times as much for the fiddle. But I'd keep the Fenders along with the other violins I might decide to buy, and I'd replace them with new Fenders in the event of their loss.

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"I use it for my Praise Band and I LOVE IT!!!!" submitted February 5, 2005

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Sound: I play this violin with my church Praise Band, along with other instruments like the guitar, drums, keyboard, and bass!!..its blends well with the other instruments and it sounds great!!! There's only a difference in sound when it's hooked up and when its not..when it's not hooked up obviously it sounds a bit scratchy and soft but when you hook it up to an amp..it sounds totally different..but overall..I LOVE IT. Feature: I didnt expect it to come with a wire to hook it up to an amp..but it did =]

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"Not reliable in tone quality" submitted August 18, 2008

By a customer from yahoo.com

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Musical Background: Fiddler

Music Style: Country

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Sound: I have had this violin for many years but didn't get a chance to play it until recently when I joined a band. One moment the violin sounds fine and the next moment it will sound like crap. This is caused by humid weather as I have a friend with the same model and she has played hers for years and has had many many problems with hers when the weather gets hot out. The sound of the D and G strings are ok, but the high strings are extremely thin. The violin is very quiet when amplified with a band and needs to be run almost as loud as it will go. Feature: Came with a ok case and not so good bow. Ease of Use: Very easy to play, however very heavy on your shoulder after a long time. Quality: Costmetically looks nice, is put together well. However the tone and the fact that for some reason one moment it works well and one moment it doesn't is a big problem. Value: I will say that for the price it is an ok violin. However it is not reliable. Manufacturer Support: I haven't worked with the company The Wow Factor: Looks very cool Overall: Not satisfied with it. Looking for a different instrument. Would not recommend to anyone looking for a higher end instrument.

5 of 8 people (62.5%) found this review helpful. Did you?

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"Good Violin, but preview it first" submitted November 10, 2004

By a customer from hotmail.com

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Musical Background: College Music Student

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VERIFIED BUYER

zZounds has verified that this customer bought this product from us.

Sound: If you are looking for a nice classical soud then look into buying an acusic and a pickup. However if you are looking for a nice electric Jazzy sound then this instrument is perfect. It may not be what some people are looking for in sound, but it was perfect for my usage. If you get a chance to test this instrument before puchasing it I would recomend you do so in order to make sure that you want that Fender tone. Feature: It has good basic features, athough it could use a reverb control.If you get this you're gonna want to get an amp with some good tone controls. Quality: The overall quality of the insrument was what I expected from Fender. It is sturdy and well manufactured. Value: You get what you pay for with this violin. Although it is not as high quality as some of the electrics that are on the market it is the most affordable without buying second hand. Overall: I personally felt that this was a good violin, but preview it first to make sure it is what you want before you spend your money

3 of 8 people (37.5%) found this review helpful. Did you?

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"Fender violin player" submitted October 3, 2004

By a customer from sbcglobal.net

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Musical Background: Previous Active Musician in church band, presently Hobbyist for a bit

Music Style: Christian music, Southern Gospel, Rock, love Third Days music

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Sound: I have played my Fender violin for over 2 years and I love it. The sound is great, but I would suggest that anyone investing in an electric violin should have a really good accoustic amp and a really good bow, which are other factors that help the sound of an electric violin. I have an accoustic violin and my Fender is my favorite. Feature: As far as features I am so new at playing that I don't use much special effects but I like having options available with my violin. I do wish that Fender would make an electric violin to have more of the neck accessable to play and less body, and maybe to have a variety of unique looks for different styles of the body shape. Quality: My Fender hasn't given up on me yet and has is very well made. Value: I believe that this item is priced what it is worth performance wise as well. Manufacturer Support: No, I haven't delt with the Fender Company themselves. I would say the company manufactured the violin great and Guitar Center sold it to me great also. The Wow Factor: It's a violin Overall: Until I decide to get another Fender or other electric violin for a different type of violin body shape.

3 of 9 people (33.33%) found this review helpful. Did you?

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"LOOKS GOOD, SOUNDS BAD" submitted September 3, 2004

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Musical Background: Active Musician. 11 yrs on the violin.

Music Style: Rock, Contemporary

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Sound: The sound of this instrument can be discribed by one word "FAKE". It's unforutunate b/c that sound of this violin actually sounds more like a keyboard's 'violin' setting. A disapointing model. Feature: like wise there is only one setting, but the jacks and pickups seemed to be good. Quality: Just the sound alone will reflect why the scores are so low. I mean you could have a wonderful looking instrument but, that doesn't mean anything if it sounds bad. Value: you can get a lot better for your money. Unfortunatly your paying for the name. Manufacturer Support: no comment The Wow Factor: Like I said earlier it does look nice, but looks aren't everything Overall: Not Recommended.

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Fender FV-1 Violin Customer Review submitted October 7, 2004

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Sound: the sound on this violin is just horrible and i dont think you can do anythign to make it better but to just scratch it and start over

2 of 7 people (28.57%) found this review helpful. Did you?

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