Hi guys I just ordered one of those real cheap starter violins for 50$ and received it. I have never played violin before (I play piano) and wanted to just try it out see how it is. Anyhow I've watched some tutorials and such on the net for posture and positioning. The only question I have is that it seems the D and A strings are basically impossible to play if I have a finger on the string playing any of the notes.
What I mean is that if I were to let's say have my finger on any note a bit up the string on the D string then the violin Bow is unable to play JUST the D string because the string seems bent so low that the BOW plays both the D string and the A string at the same time.
The same thing goes for the A string, if I'm holding down any note on the A string the bow seems to play both the A and the E string at the same time no matter how much I try to repossession the bow ever so subtlely ..it seems the strings are just not high enough of an elevation apart from each other...is this a limitation of the cheap crappy 50$ violin or am I missing something and just not accurate enough with my bowings or is the bridge messed up and not installed by the company properly?
Please help!

I don t remember having the same problem at the beginning. Maybe I did but when I was focused and my hand had a steady direction and also when I was looking at the strings to make sure that the bow was on just one string, I could overcome this difficultie.
Ok, yes
It's propably because it's a low quality violin. It shouldn't be so hard as you describe it. I bought mine around 180 euro. It s not the best thing but it's convenient.

Could be..

1 - You aren't positioning your elbow right - no matter how many times you re-angle your bow, if your elbow isn't at the right angle it will go wrong and hit another string. You have to make sure that only your lower arm moves as you bow, try to keep that elbow stationary!!

2 - Your violin was priced similar to mine, and my bridge shape was completely wrong - it didn't have enough curve in it. It was also positioned wrong.
I advise you find a professional to take a look at it and fix it up.

I can't tell you what the prices would be for a new bridge to be fitted - for me it was £20, but I'm in England and I'd imagine it was different in each country.

I also recommend that you change your strings, as the ones that come with a violin that cheap will be bad.

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Edit - sorry, made a mistake with my elbow advice. I was thinking of straight bowing and not moving your elbow back as you play.

When you're playing you do have to move your elbow up slightly as you reach the heel, and down slightly as you reach the tip.

i totally agree with ragatopp about the elbow position and the bridge..

your bridge will need to be adjusted. becasue it is a $50 violin it could be that the fingerboard is actually set too low on the body, but it has probably not been set up at all, and so the bridge will not be shaped for playing. you shouldn't have that much difficulty playing the D string, even if you are a beginner, the violin is not that impossible! so i would say either take your violin to a luthier and get funny looks while they fix it because they can't believe you bought the thing, or try and get your hands on an older bridge and cut one yourself. granted the bridge might not be the exact shape you need but it will be better. just remember that a little sanding will be involved to smooth the wood so the burrs don't ruin your strings and that you will have to get the notches the strings sit in in the right place or it opens yet another can of worms.
that is generally what you get buying a violin that cheap though.

Personally I wouldn't recommend cutting your own bridge - my teacher and I tried that and we got it completely wrong.

Even on a bad violin, a decent bridge makes a world of difference.

Take it to a professional. Don't worry about any looks you might get - if you're progressing and enjoying it then that's all that matters.

I will agree with ragatop. i have only really cut bridges for violins when i had the orginal cracked or broken bridge that had been cut for the violin. makes it much easier when you have a copy.