This full sized 4/4 violin is as new, I bought it a few years ago with the intention of learning to play and wanted a high quality instrument capable of playing silently through headphones so only I could hear my mistakes. However I then travelled a lot and couldn’t take it with me so it stayed in its case. In the meantime I practised playing small, highly portable instruments like the bamboo flute and harmonica and now I’ve decided to pass this lovely violin on to someone who will actually make use of it. From my research when looking for a violin, these are really special. The luthier Paul Michael Stanton takes a high quality but mass produced instrument and then changes just about everything on it to concert standard. These are used by professional concert musicians but at the same time are very forgiving to learn on. This is the professional upgraded version of this violin, by Luthier Paul Michael Stanton. It has an ebony fingerboard allowing it to be re-surfaced. Pegs with Parisian eye and ebony nut and chin rest. Professional quality bow with ebony frog and pegs with Parisian eye detail. High quality rigid case with cover and Hydrometer and room for two bows. Solid ebony tailpiece with gold plated adjusters. High quality electronics tested through a professional recording desk. Played professionally by players in the RPO and LSO with excellent feed back. Electric Silent Violin with upgraded professional quality electronics, suitable for players of all levels. They are great for “silent practice” with headphones and once connected to an amp are equally ready for live stage performance and recording. Hand cut bridge stamped with “Paul Stanton”, the pegs are seated to make tuning easy and the nut is lowered. Just plug in your headphones to play silently or connect to an amp for superb live performance. The violin comes with an amp lead and a shoulder strap for the case. It is powered by a regular 9v battery (as used in smoke alarms etc). Now, full disclosure for anyone who may have seen this violin here recently. They fitted a new battery but still no joy. When I first fitted the battery and switched it on the LED light did not light up. I took the battery out, wiped the contacts with a cloth, flicked the switch on/off a few times, replaced the battery and then it turned on fine and the headphone output was fine too. And it’s been fine every time I’ve tried it since. I hadn’t tested the violin for a long time, and had only tested it once about a month before advertising it, so I believe that a slight film had built up on either the switch or battery contacts, as can happen with electronics that aren’t used.