This is such a great product! The produced sound is very similar to acoustic violin, it doesn't sound metallic or too rough like it happens with bridge pickup systems.
I mainly use it with a Behringer Xenyx mixer and I have to turn up the gain really high, almost 100% to get a full sound, but when you get it right, add some sweet reverb, it sounds really good. It would definitely benefit from a preamp pedal, but if the preamps and EQ on your mixer are good, then you can surely shape the sound really well without anything extra.
Putting it on the violin is not particularly difficult, but you have to make sure it's tight in order to get a consistent clear sound without buzzing. The glue that holds the velcro has lost it's strength on one edge but it's nothing major or unfixable.