The violin is great for the price, came ready to use, all set-up, even close to be in-tune after the journey from Germany to England. I do not give it 5 stars in sound and quality only because it's an entry-level student violin. But it may take you all the way up to even grade 5 ABRSM here in the UK. You should think about the more expensive (about 50% more) Gewa Ideale VL2 as an alternative. But, as you need to upgrade later anyway, it might be better to start with this, the VL1 and go for something much better than both VL1 or VL2 later.