The Vivo Neo is what I think might be Brisbane’s best value beginner instrument. It comes from the Vivo range of violins instruments which are designed to deliver exceptional value (i stock the Elite for 4/4 full size). It has quality fittings and woods with a spruce top and maple back and sides, ebony running gear and a tailpiece with inbuilt adjusters for little fingers.
For a first instrument at half size 1/2 you have to work really hard to get a good sound and that takes a lot of money for an instrument that will likely be used for less than a year. And probably at this stage of the journey your young child might not even continue, so its wise not to over invest. By way of review the Neo violin really hits the sweet spot in this regard to price and sound tradeoff.
See also my Enrico Student plus
At $289 the price is really competitive with anything else on the, market and isn’t that much more than a secondhand instrument. Secondhand 1/2 violins can be hard to find …as they tend to go to cupboards and stay there, perhaps as a memento of the first instrument, or something forgotten when a student stopped playing. Thus they are less regularly traded up for a 3/4 (which is why I don’t always have them as secondhand).
