Instrument Rental, Purchase, and Repairs
Guidelines for Parents and Beginning Students
IMPORTANT: Please DO NOT BUY an instrument on Amazon or EBay! This often leads to a very bad outcome with angry parents and heartbroken students. The instructors can do little to help if an instrument comes in that is not set up properly or will not stay in tune because of ill-fitting pegs.
Set your student up for success by renting from one of our trusted retailers.
It is important that our students have quality instruments to ensure their success and we strongly advise that beginners RENT an instrument from one of the retailers listed below. This is the most cost-effective and safest way to insure success for your child. Here are some of the advantages of renting an instrument when first starting to play:
Renting insures that the instrument will be properly set up for use in class.
If a repair is needed, it can be dealt with locally rather than incurring shipping costs and wasted time.
Your child will be fitted for the proper sized instrument, and will be able to exchange it for a larger size as he or she grows. Also- many retailers offer instrument insurance and rental credit towards the purchase of a full size instrument when the student is ready to purchase one.
It is understandable that parents wish to save money when securing an instrument for their child. However, an uniformed choice may cost more money in the long run than renting an instrument from a local outfitter. Please do not purchase an instrument without consulting the orchestra instructor. Some instruments for sale online are of poor quality, not usable for class, or sold without proper set-up. Instrument set-ups and/or repairs can run into the hundreds of dollars, and many local repairpersons will not work on instruments that are deemed too poor quality to be worked on. If a student has one of these instruments, there is little the instructors can do to help. Often- a luthier will not even try to set-up or fix the instrument, because the cost will exceed the value of the instrument and it is not worth fixing.
The retailers listed below have a proven record of consistently providing outstanding instruments and service to our students. If renting an instrument is an issue or hardship, please contact your orchestra teacher- we are here to help!
Instrument Upgrades
If you are a second or third year player looking to upgrade an instrument, discuss this with one of the orchestra directors or your private teacher. We are lucky to have several shops in the area that specialize in instruments and bows for advancing students.