A 440 Violin Shop

I took Babygirl to be measured for her violin and we had an excellent experience. «Grandma» Bobbi measured her, took the time out to get to know Babygirl and just made sure we had a very positive experience. Babygirl’s pretty enthusiastic to begin violin lessons, and working with A 440 has added even more to her excitement.

EXCELLENT.
Professional, attentive, fair, and informative service by Andrew M.
I enjoy this quaint shop. They take a non pressure approach and give you enough time to try out the instruments so you select what is best for you.
Thanks y’all.

This used to be a great shop, and I’m hoping it will be again. There in October 14 for new strings. Poor job plus left my violin sitting out on the counter – on top of its case – for most of the day, I assume. Months later I am still correcting the windings that were done. The owner, who always did such a fabulous job, was not around. Did the store change hands?

I traveled from Texas to view some fine instruments at A440 that were being sold on consignment. This place is the real deal. I found Roberta/​Bobbie to be very helpful, knowledgable and honest as well as delightful. She listened to what I was looking for, showed me what she had in stock, and gave me good advice. She also understood that I had a budget to adhere to and she was very respectful regarding the amount I could spend. Keep in mind that the instruments they sell are quality instruments and therefore you can expect to pay quality prices.
I am looking forward to my next trip to Chicago because I will surely stop by A440. I am a very happy customer and am beyond pleased with the purchases I made at A440.
Also, this is the first music/​instrument store that I have been to where I was not ignored as a woman. Many female musicians can attest to the fact that often times music stores cater to the male clientele while ignoring female customers, guitar shops often being the worst offenders. At A440, the vibe was completely different. There were male and female customers at the time I was there and as far as I could tell, all of us were being treated with the same amount of respect and all of us were acknowledged as fellow musicians.
I felt very much at home at A440 and it was a thrill to shop among so many beautiful instruments, strings being the main focus of this store. If you are looking for something specific (i.e. hammered dulcimer, recorder, viola da gamba) give A440 a call because they might just have what you need on consignment.
P. S. How honest are they? The instruments I happened to be interested in were on consignment from a religious order of Catholic sisters. If the sisters do business with A440, that’s a pretty strong recommendation regarding the integrity of A440s business practices.

This place is a total SCAM. Do not go here. They sell fakes. They give you a verbal guarantee that you can return your purchase and either get your money back or more because of appreciation. This is not true. I have shown my violin to multiple professionals who all agreed that I was sold a fake. If I could, I would give them 0 stars. They also have made relationships with some teachers in the Chicagoland area who refer unsuspecting students here. Please think twice and be aware before you make a purchase.

I have rented violins twice for this location for my son and I will always go back. The service is great and they are affordable compared to other rental places. Insurance comes with your rental and they are very nice about repairs. They will automatically charge my credit card, so I never have to worry about the payment.
People are friendly and welcoming!

My daughter has broken the scroll on her viola and I was looking for a place for repair however we were only in Chicago for a short vacation. Luckily, we found Michael through Unilocal.Thanks for his speedy, reliable, and reasonable service. We will definitely return when my daughter needs an upgrade or service.

(I’m officially going to feel old with this next intro. However, I – like time – must march on.. .)
When I was younger, there were lots of shops like this. Back in the day, I would take my fiddle to a local guy named Lazlo Pinter (R.I.P.) he was old, eccentric, and he had a lovely shop. His cat used to curl up in my violin case while he did minor repairs while I waited, and I think that speaks volumes about the vibe of his shop. He died more than a few years ago, and I recently decided to get my fiddle seriously tuned up.
While there is no shop cat there is every bit of charm in this store. The owner; Ms. Roberta Guastafeste is charming, 82 years old, and routinely goes hiking to places like Patagonia and the Andes. Which more than makes up for the lack of a cat in my view. After all, good chit chat and reparté – like the craft of violin making – needs appropriate conservation if you ask me.
As for the service, I had a major overhaul done on my 100 year old fiddle here and I was blown away by the quality of the service. Their in-​house luthier; Mr. Koo Young Chung got the action and intonation of my fiddle dialed in perfectly. Additionally, he’s crotchety and has a wonderful sense of humor.
Musicians and luthiers tend to be eccentric by inclination (default?) and it’s nice to see that there are still places in Chicago where the people stay true to this fundamental part of the scene.
In the end, this is a wonderful shop, with a top notch luthier, excellent customer service, and a staff that’s as good to chat with as they are to shop with.
Brava!

Yes, those student violins are pretty shabby. Agreed. Then again, student violins = kids who probably aren’t really serious so spending a lot of money early on is pointless. I think it would be nice to say it’s my violin that sounds like garbage vs. my technique.
Anyway, the staff is extremely knowledgeable and helpful. You can try out whatever they have, even if they know you can’t afford it hah. Not a lot of bells and whistles, but it’s definitely not a corporate business either. It’s a woman’s house I believe, and she’s really nice. I definitely recommend this place.

As a professional, I’ve found A440 to be a great resource for my needs. I’ve bought a fine bass, bow and many sets of strings from them and have had a good experience each time. I’ve also recommended them to my students, and Mike went so far as to bring instruments out to one student’s house for trial. I haven’t used their bass repairman myself, but he gets good reviews from other area pros.

My daughter is taking orchestra in high school this year, and has decided upon the cello. Since I’ve only played the piano and a couple of wind instruments, I know next to nothing about the needs of string instrument players. However, it was clear from the first day she brought her cello home to practice that we needed something to keep it from slipping on our hardwood floor.
So, my daughter found out that there’s a gadget called a pin holder that does just that. The problem was: where to buy it on a Saturday afternoon? I knew that finding supplies for an orchestral sting instrument from a brick and mortar store might be tough. I called the Old Town School of Folk Music, since I have come to rely on their helpful advice in so many instrument-​related situations, and though they didn’t have what I was looking for, they pointed me to A 440.
A 440 is a small music shop that caters to the needs of string instrument musicians and students. I called and they knew exactly what it was I needed, and told me they carried a variety of them. Fantastic! Within an hour, I had the object that will make my daughter’s cello practice time less slippery. On the package, it’s called the «Best-​Way Non-​Skid Rubber End Pin Holder» and it also says, «Relax While You Play».
Thanks, A 440, for being not downtown or in the suburbs and open on a Saturday afternoon. My daughter will let her classmates know that they can get their string instrument supplies from you!

Just when i finally signed up for a cello class at Old Town they (old town) stopped renting cellos. So i found A440 which happened to be in my neighborhood so great! I went in and rented a cello with insurance, a bow, case and all that. They seemed nice enough but still a bit intimidating for a newbie like me.
Flash forward a few weeks into class and to my horror i notice a small hole bashed into the side of my cello as i was taking it out in class. I have absolutely no idea how that happened as i tried to be very careful with the instrument but oh well accidents happen and thankgod i got insurance. Well when i took it back the guy said insurance wouldn’t cover it and would cost me an extra $ 100. WTF is insurance for then?! I left the cello with them to be fixed (with no replacement, so i was behind on practice!) and was disappointed enough to cancel my class and not use up the rest of my rental time. i just wanted it over.
And i never played the cello again. :p