Yamaha V5SC Violin Outfit 4/4 review

Full review

Yamaha's V5SC is its entry violin outfit, and it is aimed at beginners and young students. Its main selling point is consistency: Yamaha's quality control is strict, so one V5SC tends to play much like the next, which is reassuring if you are buying without trying.

Yamaha lists a spruce top, maple back, sides and neck, and ebony fingerboard, pegs and chin rest. The tailpiece is a Wittner Ultra with four built-in fine tuners. Wittner tailpieces are light and precise and are often fitted as an upgrade on student violins, so having one as standard is a plus. The outfit ships with Prelude strings, a wooden bow, a shaped hard case with a carrying strap and Yamaha rosin.

Yamaha's own spec sheet lists a polyurethane spray varnish, which is tough and easy to clean. One UK dealer describes the finish as brushed oil varnish; we report Yamaha's figure. Yamaha does not say whether the top and back are solid or laminated.

The V5SC usually costs more than the Stentor Conservatoire and Hidersine Vivente. It makes most sense if a local dealer has one in stock to try, or if you want a well-known brand with good resale value. The V5SA is a dearer version with ebony tailpiece and endpin.