Never played violin or any instrument. Not sure I`d stick with it; didn`t know price ranges. Found a new one for $50 on internet. I can`t get a decent sound out of it - not even close - I don`t need a perfect-sounding violin to learn. Does this thing just belong in the trash - nothing can be done to make it work? It sure looks nice to someone who doesn`t know anything about violins.

A $50.00 violin is certainly a sub-standard instrument to say the least. However, if you`re testing the waters to see if violin is something you desire to stay with, a $50.00 violin might be enough to let you make that determination. What I`d first do is take it to a setup luthier and have the bridge, soundpost etc be properly setup. Also, when you mentioned you can`t get a decent sound from it made me wonder if you had applied enough rosin to the bow. I assume it is a new bow and if so they require many applications of rosin before they will properly grab the strings. Proper setup isn`t going to make a bad instrument sound good...maybe better but not good. But, it will make it at least play consistently, which is what you need to decide if it`s for you or not. Lastly, after all of that if the sound is still unbearable you might consider mounting a transducer or piezo pickup directly onto the bridge and amplify the sound electronically. That way you`ll be bypassing most of the instrument, which is what`s making a lot of that bad sound. With a proper setup by isolating the sound to just the strings and bridge this way, you should be able to eletronically create a better sound by manipulating tone, EQ, etc. Good luck. Vio