Palatino Dolce Violin Outfit, 4/4 Size Review

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(More customer reviews)I give my Palatino violin a five star rating. It has no defects, good tone, and it is completely functional. My violin is more than adequate as a learning instrument. In fact, so far I feel little need to upgrade. It is well worth the $300 that I paid for it.
I own the Palatino Anziano VN-950 and a close friend owns the Palatino Dolce VN-850. We have both practiced some beginning level exercises together and we cannot tell any difference between our two instruments. They both have the same good tonal quality. In addition, since purchasing my Palatino I have tried more expensive violins of $1,000 and $2,000 and I find the difference compared to my Palatino noticeable but insufficient at my playing ability to deserve their much higher price.
It is interesting that evaluator Tony Thomas gave the Palatino a one star rating, yet he doesn't indicate whether or not he actually bought one, or even tried one. Don't think because he uses the term VSO (a violin shaped object) that he knows what he is talking about. Yes, I've heard the term VSO used at violinist.com, and any school child can remember an acronym. But knowing a bigoted buzz phrase is not license to criticize all $300 instruments. I prefer to look at the evidence. Yes, you always get what you pay for, but in today's world, you can get a pretty good student violin for $250 to $300 from Palatino. I cannot speak for Palatino's lower models or for Cremona's models because I have never tried them, but I am told that a $250 to $300 Cremona is a perfectly good student instrument as well. I would even consider lower models if my budget was more constrained.
Of course every violin needs regular adjustment and slight maintenance, like buying better rosin than you typically get with a $300 instrument, or installing fine tuners if your instrument has none or only one, and using peg drops once in a while when the pegs slip. Also, changing to a good set of strings, like Dominant, produces a noticeable improvement in tonality. I even changed my bridge out of curiosity, but I noticed little difference. In my opinion these issues are slight and should not be used as criticism of a $300 instrument. If you feel that way, well go out and buy a $1000 or $2000 instrument that comes with Dominant strings and be done with it. I prefer to spend $300 for the instrument and buy the strings myself for $50, thank you very much.
I should also mention that my Palatino came with a brand new bow that was not pretreaded with rosin. The bow just slipped over the strings making no sound at all. But that was not the instrument's fault. It takes many applications of rosin to get a brand new bow to work correctly. Mine took a week before it sounded good. My understanding is that this is normal for a brand new bow that has not been pretreated with rosin.
I do not find my Palatino VN-950 discouraging in any way, although I do complain a lot about the fact the God did not see fit to give me Mozart's musical talent. Learning an instrument for an average person like me is a challenge, but that challenge is no greater because of my instrument. I agree that a more expensive instrument would have slightly better tonality, but that would not make the learning of the instrument any easier at my level. To reject my Palatino out of hand as a "Violin Shaped Object" is pure bigotry and snobery. If after a few years I learn to play well enough to deserve a better instrument, I may get one. But for the foreseeable future my Palatino is a perfectly fine instrument. I recommend Palatino's VN-850 or VN-950 to anyone who is looking for an inexpensive way to see if they can learn violin.
I also find it odd that a person who admits to starting guitar on a $15 Stella criticizes people for spending $300 on a violin. You may prefer the tonality of a $1,000 violin, but don't discourage those who cannot afford one by calling their $300 violins VSO's. It is a lot better for a beginner to start on a $300 violin than to give up before even starting because they cannot afford a $1000 instrument.


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The Dolce has a handmade and graduated top of select, close-grained spruce. The sides and the hand-carved, graduated back feature a gorgeous, book-matched flamed maple selected for tone as well as beauty.

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