Rental Q&A

Thank you for submitting your information!  We will contact you within 1 business day to gather payment information and to answer any questions.
How do I go about renting a violin, viola, or cello?
Please note: We will need an active credit card on file at all times (Visa, Mastercard, Discover).  Upon receipt of payment, contract, and approval, an instrument will either be on hold for you to pick up at one of our shop locations, delivered to one of our participating schools, or shipped to your home (shipping fee applies).


How long is the rental term?
The minimum rental period is for 3 months.  We bill on a quarterly basis, so you will receive a bill every 3 months.   We send an invoice for the next rental period during the last month of each rental period.  If you wish to renew your rental, simply send us a check or call to authorize a credit card payment.  If you opt in for 'Auto Charge', we will automatically charge your credit card on file on the rental due date. If you wish to return the instrument, do so on or before the renewal date to avoid incurring additional costs. 


How do I rent a Double Bass?
Please call for an appointment for in-store pick-up or an arranged school trip delivery.  We do not ship basses.  The shortest amount of time we rent a bass for is 6 months. 


How do I return an instrument?
There are three ways to return an instrument.
  • Bring your instrument to one of our shops during shop hours (to make an appointment with our Poughkeepsie location, please click here).
  • Notify us of your intention to return your instrument at a pre-scheduled service trip to a school.
  • Return your instrument via UPS or FedEx.  Please call us (800) 766 0936 ahead of time to notify us of your intent to return and for shipping and packing instructions.  

What happens if I break a string?
We are happy to replace strings at no additional fee with rental replacement strings.  For an additional fee, we can put Dominant or better quality strings on your instrument.  If you live close to our shop we would be happy to replace the string during normal business hours or by appointment.  It takes about 5 minutes or less for one of our staff to change a string.  If you do not live close to the shop, we would be happy to ship you a replacement string for you or your teacher to install.


What happens if I break a bridge?
We need to fit every bridge to each instrument.  For this very reason, we do not ship bridges to rental customers.  If you live close to one of our shops we will fit you a new bridge or we can switch out your rental.  If you are not close to one of our shop locations we'd be happy to ship you an instrument and you can give us back the instrument in need of repair.


What happens when my child needs to change size?
There is no additional fee for changing instrument size.  Switching out instruments is very easy.  Contact us to let us know when you're ready to change in size.