Best Mendini Violins Brand Guide

If you have recently decided upon the violin, you might be looking for a new instrument to bring into your home. Mendini is one of the best brands for beginners and comes highly recommended. 

This best Mendini violins brand guide will review each of the Mendini violins and when to choose them. 

Bottomline Up Front

I recommend the basic Mendini 4/4 MV400 Violin for beginners because it has everything you need to get started, is well made, and is inexpensive.

Mendini is an excellent brand for student instruments, so if you are an adult who is just beginning with the violin or you have a younger member of your family taking up a new instrument, they are great.

If, however, you are looking for an instrument as an upgrade and you have been playing violin for two or three years, this is not the brand you want to consider.

Selection Criteria

I have reviewed all of the 6 Mendini violins evaluating them based on their construction and the woods used for that construction, their aesthetic appeal, and their accessories. Knowing which accessories are most important, especially for a beginner, can help you decide which of the top six violins is the best for your situation.

Who is Mendini?

This best Mendini violin brand guide wouldn’t be complete if I didn’t explain a bit of the company first. Mendini is a top-rated manufacturer of smaller stringed instruments. The Cecilio company owns them, which emphasizes student model instruments and corresponding accessories.

Cecilio focuses on a wide range of instruments, including woodwind, percussion, brass, and stringed instruments, but Mendini specializes in smaller instruments and their corresponding accessories.

What I like about Mendini is their price point; they are the most affordable beginner models on the market when you consider the accessories and the craftsmanship that goes into each design.

Mendini Sizes

Mendini makes a range of sizes. They divide their violins by the MV line, followed by a number. The lower the number, the more suitable it is for children. The higher the number, the more appropriate it is for adults. For example, the Mendini MV violin comes in fractional sizes and is intended for children, with lots of bright colors for the finish.

By comparison, the Mendini MV650 is meant for teenagers or adults who only need a ¾ or 4/4 size violin. The higher levels do not come in smaller fractions.

It is easy to measure and find if you do not know what size violin you need for your child or a music student. Even though violins are divided by fractions, each fraction corresponds to the length of the instrument, and that link should match with the measurement from the player’s neck to their wrists. This video explains more on how to check for the correct size:

Features of the Mendini Violins Brand

There are critical features of the Mendini violins that you should look for when evaluating the options on this best Mendini violins brand guide. 

Quality Construction

Start by examining the construction. You do not want anything that doesn’t explicitly say it was handmade with solid wood construction. Solid wood construction means that you do not have particle board or any other alternative to a solid section of wood. Handmade refers to the second of two steps in the construction process.

The first step is cutting the different sections, and this can be done with the machine for better precision, but the second step is putting all those pieces together to make the violin. This part you want to be done by hand for better quality control. Handmade construction means you will not have any cracks or seams that are showing.

Cracks or seams can let sunlight and moisture into your violin, causing damage. You shouldn’t hear any odd creak when you press down on the top of the violin or along the sides. 

Note:  All Mendini violins are made in a factory in China where machines cut the pieces. They are shipped to Los Angeles, where they undergo a final quality-control test. For this reason, you might need to slightly adjust the pegboard and tune the strings when the instrument arrives. 

Wood

You have to look at the type of wood used for the construction. One of the reasons I turn to Mendini for beginner instruments is because they always use the right kind of wood.

The wood used in violin construction plays a significant role in the sound generated by the instrument. Things like particle boards will not reverberate the vibrations of your violin bow against the violin strings well at all. 

The most common wood for the top panel or the table of a violin is spruce. The most common dense wood for the body, the back, and the ribs or side panels is maple. The parts that need to be a little firmer, like the fingerboard, pegs, and chin rest, are most commonly made with ebony.

In almost every violin included in this best Mendini violin brand guide, you will get those same components: spruce for the top, Maple for the rest of the body, and Ebony for the fingerboard and chin rest.

Selection Criteria

I selected all of the 6 Mendini violins evaluating them based on their construction, materials, and extra features. Understanding these different features will help you choose the most appropriate instrument for your situation. 

Best Mendini Violins Guide: My Top Picks

I want to clarify that the Mendini violins are beginner violins. This doesn’t mean they are of poor quality. It just means they do not have the highest quality materials. So, suppose you are an intermediate player and looking for a reliable instrument. In that case, there is nothing wrong with the Mendini 4/4 MV400 Violin, for example.

Still, you might want to upgrade the strings immediately and invest in a higher-quality brazilwood bow. You do not have to do this, but I strongly advise it if you are not purchasing a Mendini violin for a young child or a brand-new musician.

Mendini 4/4 MV400 Violin

This Mendini MV400 option is the best one for a beginner. It is a full-size violin with all of the accessories you need to get started. I always recommend that beginners look for a kit that has the accessories they need so that they do not have to search for things like the right violin bow or a suitable case.

This model is constructed with a spruce top and maple back, neck, and side panels. These are the two most common types of wood for violin construction because they are dense and help project vibrations more effectively, giving you a warmer tone. You get a stunning varnish on the exterior, so it has that glossy finish.

I like the sound it produces and all the accessories it gives you. The brazilwood bow, lightweight hard case, bridges, rosin, and extra strings are slightly higher quality than other Mendini models. 

Pros

• Lots of colors
• Affordable
• A good set for beginners

Cons

• Tailpiece commonly breaks first

Mendini 4/4 MV500+92D Flamed Violin

This Mendini MV500+92D model has the same accessories except you get to brazilwood bows or when the first one breaks. It has a tailpiece with four detachable tuners. The chin rest, tuners, and pegs are made from ebony. It has a hand-carved Spruce top with maple for the rest of the body.

Most of the Mendini brands have a bright color or a natural wood finish, but this one has a stunning dark finish, making it one of the most beautiful if you are looking only at aesthetic qualities. I like that it is hand-carved, and the wood used for the spruce top comes from a solid piece. 

Pros

• Hand-carved flamed tonewoods
• One-piece design for the back
• Dark finish
• It comes with lots of accessories perfect for beginners

Cons

• The violins need to be assembled upon arrival
• Not available in all sizes

Mendini MV 200 Violin

The Mendini MV200 is the same violin as the MV and MV300 series. However, it comes with a natural finish. You get a hand-carved solid wood pop made from spruce.

Maple is used for the back and the sides with an alloy tailpiece. You get the accessories any beginner needs, including the unbleached Mongolian horsehair violin bow made from brazilwood and adjustable shoulder rest, extra strings, and rosin.

Pros

• It comes with lots of accessories
• It has a nice varnish

Cons

• The pegs seem to break after just a few hundred hours of use

Mendini MV Violin

This MV violin is precisely the same as the MV200 and MV300 models, but it has a different finish. This particular design is known for the bright colors, so if you have a child just learning to play the violin, they might want a fractional size that comes in pink or blue.

Pros

• It comes with lots of accessories
• It has a nice varnish

Cons

• There are some quality control issues in the customer reviews, so you might need to adjust your violin when you first get it.

Mendini 4/4 MV650 Violin

This model is made from hand-carved flamed one-piece construction. The back, neck, and sides are made with maple, and the top is a hand-carved piece of spruce with a beautiful finish. You get ebony for the chin rest and pegs.

You get a chromatic string tuner, a metronome, two Brazilwood bows, an adjustable shoulder rest, extra strings, a hard case, and rosin. I love the finish on this model, but I still recommend you invest in a different bow.

Even though you get too, which makes it a good investment because you always have a backup, it is still not the highest quality bow. If you are investing in this violin level, you should consider stepping up your accessories.

Pros

• Has a rough tone for the lower registers
• It has a beautiful dark varnish

Cons

• The bow sometimes arrives warped or unbalanced, so you might need to get a separate bow 

Mendini MV300 Violin

This Mendini MV300 violin is precisely the same as the Mendini MV or MV200 but comes with a satin finish. It also comes in full size, so it is suitable for adults or older children, whereas the other MV models are typically in fractional sizes for smaller beginners.

This model has the same construction and quality wood materials. It uses maple for the fingerboard, chinrest, pegs, and tailpiece with spruce on the top.

You also get the same accessories as the other Mendini products in this best Mendini violin guide, including the unbleached Mongolian horsehair brazilwood bow, the rosin cake, an additional set of strings for when yours invariably break, two bridges, and adjustable shoulder rest.

But it also has the beginner lessons book and extra straps to make carrying the violin case easier.

Pros

• It comes with a lesson book for beginners
• Satin finish 
• It has an extra bow, rosin, hard case, and shoulder rest

Cons

• The strings are noted as flimsy, and they easily break 
• No information on the material for the fittings

FAQs

Bottomline 

I recommend the basic Mendini 4/4 MV400 Violin for beginners because it has everything you need to get started, is well made, and is inexpensive.

The MV, MV200, and MV300 are entirely the same except for the finish, and they are not entirely as well made, while the MV500 and MV650 are equally great but meant for students who already have some experience under their belts.

No matter which of the Mendini violins you choose, they are well suited for beginners because of their distinctive features, accessories, and reliable construction.

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