Quinn Violins

They have a nice website. I have ordered strings a few times. Last time, the shipment was late. This time, my credit card was charged on the 9^th, they said they shipped my strings on the 15^th. Why? Today is the 17^th, I really need these strings. I have contacted Quinn Violin, in phone and email. But no one has helped me. I will not order from the Quinn Violins again.

We were referred to Quinn Violins by our violin teacher when my daughter was finally ready to move up to a full size violin. This was both an overwhelming and exciting time for us as we’ve only had experience with mostly beginner violins. The staff at Quinn were very friendly and helpful. Several violins had been selected for my daughter to try out in a bright and spacious performance room. More violins would be brought out whenever my daughter decided against one and by the end of the hour, we took one home with us for about a week for in-​home-​trial. Chris Quinn, the owner, took the time to ask about our criteria and preferences in a violin, told us about the construction/​make of the violin we were borrowing, gave us good advice on searching for the right violin, and followed up with us appropriately. I really appreciated his patient, gentle, and kind personality. Although we eventually did not purchase a violin from Quinn Violins, we had a very good experience with Chris and his staff and I do not hesitate to recommend this business to others.

I honestly can’t say enough good things about Quinn Violin. Brought my daughter there to pick up her first violin. We were greeted warmly, someone helped us right away, and the terms and advantages of the rental program were thoroughly explained. They were very patient with questions, and made sure she had a good fit and understood the basics of caring for the instrument – without talking down to her. They also took the time to explain the cool history of their building… a former General Mills product testing facility! Great experience, can’t recommend them highly enough.

I had been looking for a Bobelock fiberglass violin case. Had a really bad experience with an eBay seller in CA, so I was somewhat worried about trying again with a shop I was unfamiliar with. Have to say, this was a great experience. The price was great and the communication was perfect. They understood I was a bit nervous because of my eBay experience and made sure I was comfortable with my purchase. I would recommend this shop to everyone!

This review is in reference to an order I placed online with Quinn Violins in October 2005.
I was in desperate need of a new case for my bass. Quinn was one of the only places I could find that sold a relatively inexpensive, high-​quality soft case with wheels built in. I placed the order online and waited.
After waiting a month for my case to arrive, I asked Quinn Violins what was going on. They told me that they hadn’t processed the order because my credit card did not go through. They made no effort to enlighten me to this mishap.
They put the order through again and it still took two and a half weeks to reach me (I lived in Manhattan at the time). I received the box, which was oddly small for a bass bag. I opened it up to find that they had given me a cello bag instead.
I immediately called them (on a weekday, during business hours) and was sent to a voice mailbox. I left a message and received an apologetic email response (isn’t it standard to return a phone call with a phone call?) the next day.
To Quinn’s credit, they offered me the option of a full refund with reimbursement for the cost of shipping it back to them. They also offered to ‘try again’ and sell me the bass case for one third of its original price. I took them up on their offer and received the case promptly after that last email exchange. It took a total of two months and change to fulfill my order. However, It’s a great case and has held up very well over the last 5 years.
That said this is — to this day — by far the worst experience I have ever had shopping online. That’s why I remember it, and that’s why I’m writing about it in 2010.

For a birthday gift this year, I was given something I’ve wanted for many years: professional cello lessons. As a result, I found myself quickly and unexpectedly thrown into the world of cellos. I knew I wanted to rent before I bought and… that was about it. My last music class was in sixth grade. I’m not working with much.
Oh, and I knew I needed a bow to play the cello with. And probably a bag or something.
I started out at Groth and Schmidt, both of which I immediately disliked. Groth forced me to fill out more forms and more personal information than most leases I’ve ever seen, then told me that it turned out they were out of cellos. Schmidt had exactly one cello available for adults to rent, which by the clerk’s own admission was really expensive and not a great idea for a beginner. Thoroughly disillusioned, I asked my new cello teacher for a few local places that rented string instruments.
Quinn Violins was pretty much exactly what I needed. They offer all manner of string instruments, starting from really simple (and really cheap) beginner’s instruments to professional-​level stuff, both for rent and for sale. Especially for people learning an instrument, the terms are extremely generous. Purchased instruments can be traded in for between 80−100% of their value toward another instrument. For rented ones, the monthly rental rates are very affordable ($ 15-​$ 75 a month, depending on the instrument and quality) and designed as a rent-​to-​buy arrangement. The vast majority of each month’s payment is a payment on the instrument; you can either keep renting until you own it, or use that credit toward purchasing a different instrument.
Chris, the owner, is friendly and very knowledgeable. He was as helpful toward me, the clueless rube, as he was to the nine year old violinist (with a very violin-​savvy mother) who came in before me. He even let me borrow the instrument for free for a week just to see how it worked out and what my teacher thought of it.
This was exactly how I wanted renting an instrument to be, and the beginning of a beautiful relationship.