Shannon Strings Violins

Bottom line — if you’re looking to buy a stringed instrument or need one repaired, definitely check out Shannon Strings. I recommend this business highly. I had a great experience in using this business and found its owners to be honest, conscientious, and responsive.
As a background history to my review, I learned to play the violin as a child, and played and studied it throughout college. I’m now in my mid-​30s and hadn’t played seriously for several years. However, a couple of months ago, a pipe broke in our home which caused minor damage to my old violin and its bow. Although I hadn’t played it seriously for many years, the water damage renewed a desire within me to start playing again and get my violin and bow fixed. In addition, I began considering purchasing a new violin because I knew my old one was of poor quality anyway (and might not even be worth fixing).
Since I recently moved to the Concord/​Lexington, MA, area, I was unfamiliar with the local music stores and unaware of any good or bad reputations. I started asking around, and a friend from church (who teaches strings at a local middle school) recommended Shannon Strings.
Shannon Strings is located in a private home, so you have to call and make an appointment. I called to make an appointment and left a voicemail, and within a few hours, I had received a call back from them and set up an appointment. At my appointment, I worked with Warren, one of the co-​owners of the shop. He was very honest but not condescending in any way regarding the lack of value in my old violin. He didn’t pressure me to buy a new one or get my old one fixed — just clearly expalined the worth of my old violin versus the cost of getting it fixed. I really appreciated his gentle candor, and because I felt he had been honest with me without being pushy at all, I asked to see some violins in their inventory in my price range. I was impressed that Shannon Strings stocks good quality, old, handmade violins, and that most of their violins were made in Europe (versus China, where many violins are coming out of now).
Warren was very knowledgable and patient with me in my search for a new violin. Even more importantly, he respected the price range I gave him and brought several violins out for me to try. There was never any type of high pressure salesmanship. I was encouraged to even take a violin or two home for a week to play and try (I hadn’t been expecting that!). After taking one home and trying it for a week, I decided that I wanted to try another violin in the next higher price range, and again, Warren brought out several in my price range to choose from. I eventually found one I loved and bought it. I also had Shannon Strings repair my old bow.
In regards to the repair, I was pleased with the job Shannon Strings did. I thought the repair cost was extremely reasonable as compared to previous rehairings I’ve had done in other parts of the country.
In regards to the purchase of a new violin, I also looked around a bit regarding violins before buying a violin from Shannon Strings — are Shannon Strings the cheapest? Probably not — you could always find something cheaper on eBay. However, Warren and Becky go the extra mile. I felt confident when I left with my new violin that it had been set up correctly, and that I’d been sold a quality instrument that I would love and an instrument that Shannon Strings would stand by. I was pleasantly surprised when a few weeks after the purchase of my violin, I received a complimentary appraisal from Shannon Strings (of my violin for insurance purposes) along with a nice note of appreciation from Becky, the other co-​owner. I have already recommended this business to others. Buy from this business with confidence. :-)