I will preface this by saying that I'm not a professional performer, but have been playing for 30+ years. Because I'm now in a bluegrass band, I have more regular need for practice than usual, but having a family these days, not to mention neighbors, I can't well use my real acoustic violins during my free time at night.
I have previously avoided electric instruments because they are all hampered by a lack of tonal qualities and such details, that my interest has simply not been there. I know the mindset about electric violins should be to explore something different, but I do so love the natural acoustic sound of the violin - perish the thought to replace it with something inferior.
In the hopes that I could find a silent option which still delivered a somewhat true tone, to make practice feel fun, I initially bought the current flagship Yamaha SV model. Very fancy active circuit fed by a sound modelling box / amp and blendable between bridge and some theoretically acoustic emulating pickup. But, nice as the sound was, it still wasn't on par with my hopas and expectations. Additionally, the instrument was rather poorly built - not at a glance but as you have an instrument for a while, your eyes really start to nitpick the details. And for a top of the line brand violin, I was indeed a bit shocked that the build had been allowed to leave the factory with the obvious lack to details. Foremost, I perceived a slight angle to the fitting of the nut, which I suspect was the reason I had a hard time intonating and tuning perfectly.
This left me with the sad conclusion, that I'd be better off buying a cheaper range instrument and just accept that my silent practice would sound boring. I still had faith in Yamaha's bridge pickup circuit, so I decided to try the YEV - if anything, it at least looked very good...
Long story short - it has the cursed nasal and nerfed sound, but, the very hot and quality bridge pickup paired with the acoustic modelling THR-amp (I splurged on the top THR30IIA) fills the gap to what I find is a passable acoustic emulation; my preferred setting is violin output at about 50%, amp tone set on "TUBE", full blend, with bass cut back a bit and mids boosted, plus a touch of short reverb. My other options was the small Palmer Acoustic pre-amp and another very high tech modelling box, but I think I'm quite happy with the combined sound and capabilities within the Yamaha eco-system. The parts and bits that matter for playability are finished nicely enough, and aside from minor difference in balance, has a solidly pleasant violin feeling.
I also bought the late version of wireless Boss jacks, and while playing without cables is another improvement, be aware that this particular combination has a minor but notable delay. The Yamaha amps built in Line 6 Relay might be better. Of course I've also tried a couple of pedals - it's for sure entertaining to mess about with "guitar sounds", a Zoom multistomp and a couple of beers will keep you busy for the better part an evening, and I appreciate having the option even if I will never use it for real.
To wrap up, I will say that the YEV instrument itself, once you look beyond the obvious quirky design, is also a bit lackluster. The core "plank" is solid and as well built as one could expect in the pricerange. The rest is just slivers of wood glued on with let's say a generous degree of tolerance. I get that the Chinese guys in the factory works on the clock, but I reckon Yamaha could spare 5-10 minutes more on each instrument and just have a nicer fit and finish that didn't look and feel as hurried. For the price though, I'm well happy with what I have. Violin and amp in my humble opinion sounding on par with the SV-250, offering more functionality AND ringing up at less cost total.
Shortly after my purchase, the PRO YEV was announced. The in-body pickup is something I probably would have preferred (this was the best setting on the SV-250). The rest is pretty much decorative or aftermarket parts, that doesn't quite merit the price hike above the plain YEV, so thinking a bit with my wallet I don't have any buyers remorse over not waiting for the upgraded model.
