For the money i don't think there is anything better. While this violiln sounds very nice for an electric violin, it doesn't sound quite as rich as a acoustic violin unless you plug it in which is what it's made for anyway. One of my fav. things about it is how long it can stay in tune. I've had it for about a month and it's only gone way out of tune once. So far, i haven't had any trouble out of it. I recommend changing the strings though, as the strings it came with seem to be a little on the cheap side, which is no big deal. By the way, it was made in Japan, not China. No offence meant at all!