Enrico’s, Enrico’s boy I see a lot of these violins. At around $300 for most of their violin range these are the entry level violin for most parents, solid reliable at a great price point and available everywhere!
Purists tend to turn up their nose at them of course but I recon they are a solid performer for someone just getting started, and streets ahead of an ALDI Blue ;). Yes the tone is a little on the tinny side (especially on the smaller instruments) , but they are well setup and reliable performers and really robust. I pair the smaller ones with a good multicore steel string (I can put better strings on of course but they add to the price and people buying these ones are very price sensitive). For a full size Enrico Thomastic alphas on the better models, or an equivalent string that is a bit cheaper. yes Enrico’s like the Enrico student extra, Enrico Custom can come with much nice tone woods even with modest flame on the back at around $500 – they don’t tend to be sold so much – I suspect its a brand problem you can’t really be a budget brand and a higher end brand at the same time.
What to look for
If you are buying one new the thing to watch is the setup, as they are supplied from the wholesaler not setup – so the bridge heights and fingerboard nut are often too high. So make sure the store you get it from has had someone do a setup! The strings at the top of the fingerboard (at the nut) should have just enough space under them to fit a business card – otherwise they are too high and will be too hard to play, down at the oher end of the finger board if you can just fit your pinky tip under the G string and can’t see daylight between the bridge feet and the violin its been setup OK! Some reviews on Product Review make note of this as well.
By the time I see an Enrico it might be 10 years old…yes they keep going forever, though the cases often need a bit of work and it often gets a bow replacement too. Its tough replacing parts because secondhand around $150 is the right price and a new bow is $50 so often there are all the margins gone for putting my time into servicing the instrument.
In any case if your here and your wanting to know if they are a good starter first instrument (especially for the clumsy)…yes go for it, save your $$$ for the next size up!