Bows for Strings

I truly appreciate the mix of patience and expert advice that the staff provide. My daughter and I spent over an hour trying to find the perfect violin for her. We felt supported and not pressured and are very much enjoying the new violin.

Great service and a really good range of new and second hand instruments. Staff were all very helpful.

Always wonderful friendly and helpful service. I love having my string playing so well supported by Bows for Strings. Thanks

The staff was very patient to explain and let us try different violas, which was a very pleasant shopping experience

This is a highly recommended place to find your favourite string instrument, especially recommended Katelyn for cellos, she not only helped me find my 3/4 cello which also inspired me how to make the high quality sound, I already started to practice at home. Thank you Katelyn.

Very friendly, fast and professional service. We are really happy about the whole experience. Thank you.

I went in to repair a loose sound post in my fiddle.
They fixed it and then tuned it, both without any charge.
All it cost me was a handshake.
They were professional, friendly, honest and helpful.
They were this way to everyone I saw walk into the store.
This is the best kind of business.
Very impressed.

I’ve been to many music stores over the years and have never had the kind of service I have had here. All the staff are so friendly and willing to go the extra mile to help.

After recovering from a horrific car accident I walked into Bows for Strings to get my violin tuned up with upgrades so I could start again.
I am only at beginner level, but still received such lovely service. The owner sat with me on the bench, spoke to me about my concerns and said he'd have my violin ready by the next morning.

I have no idea how it was done so quickly - they were absolutely swamped when I came in on the Saturday!
I was left with such a nice feeling and am thoroughly enjoying my instrument now.

Won't be going to any other store - the staff are always so nice:)

Thank you Bows for Strings!

A professional string instruments shop, nice and professional stuff, offer trade in service as well.

We’ve been purchasing and servicing my son’s cellos at BFS since he started his music journey in 2020. Since then we’ve bought 3 cellos from them - two second hand and one brand new. The front staff are knowledgeable and helpful. I particularly had good experiences with Myles, d’Art and Liv.

In early October our cello teacher recommended moving to a half size cello for my growing son. I wanted to make sure I knew how much we could get for the quarter size trade in, so I brought it mid-October for a quick appraisal.d'Art, who has helped us with our previous cellos was working. He spoke to the luthier in the back and came back to report that they would offer 50-60% of what I initially paid, depending on the price of the next size cello we chose to buy. I understood if I choose a cello that was less than the price of the quarter size when we bought it, I would only get 50%, which was acceptable to me.

Then on October 24 I returned to the shop to borrow a half size cello to try out at our lesson. After the lesson our teacher said the half size cello would need a new bridge, and to ask the BFS would cut one for us before committing to buy it. I did what she suggested and talked to BFS. After discussing with the luthier in the back, the front staff, Liv, said a new bridge could be put on for the listed price of the half size cello and I would not have to pay any additional. This was all recorded on an invoice, so I paid a 10% deposit on the 2nd hand cello under the conditions that I would receive 50-60% of the trade in and a new bridge would be put on the half size for no additional cost.

When the half size was ready, I returned to the shop on November 2 to trade in the quarter size and pay the balance on the invoice. However, when I went for the trade-in, Brenton, the luthier in at the time, said he would only offer me the equivalent of 40% for the quarter size due to its condition and he also cited that he put a new bridge on the half size. These were not the terms of the invoice which I paid a deposit on, but at the time, I didn’t think to look up the invoice, so I just paid for a half size cello and left the shop feeling uncomfortable with what had happened because BFS did not uphold what they had promised.

After thinking it through for a day and looking up the original invoice to make sure I understood the conditions, I returned to BFS to explain my perspective and see what could be worked out. I intended to talk with the owner, Nick, who was in the shop that day, to discuss my experience. However Brenton the luthier who remembered me from the day before came to assist me. After explaining my perspective and showing the original invoice which I paid a deposit on, and a bit of back and forth, we worked out a solution where he credited me the difference between the actual trade in value of the quarter size and the promised trade in value for a future purchase. He made a note of that in their records. I felt this was a satisfactory outcome and that BFS did a good job to repair trust and bring customers back.

I've had dozens of good experiences in this shop, so this one slightly off experience won't have us going to another store. I feel it is a positive sign when a business listens to their customers’ and is willing to address dissatisfaction, whether from a mis-communication or from differences in expectations, then try to come up with a satisfying solution that has the customer happy to return. To me how a business handles unhappy customers reflects whether they exist to serve and treat customers well or just make a profit. This measure is equally important to me as how many satisfied customers there are.

(Photo of the 2nd hand 1/2 size we purchased.)

Terrible staff in their workshop. My chinrest cork fell of the next day. Horrid violins as well. I could not recognise a Gilga!

Thanks to the team for the great advice and trade in for the next new Violin. Fantastic staff with great knowledge and passion.

Recently brought my violin back in for a bit of love after a long time. The team as always are fantastic and helpful. I had visited a few weeks earlier and they were upfront and clear that there was a bit of a wait due to back to school and recommended we come back later which is what we did and had our instruments back with us bang on two weeks. My violin looks and sounds better than she has in many years- will be back when I can for a shoulder rest upgrade!

Very pleased with my experience with Bows for Strings - it was recommended by my teacher. The staff are very professional, friendly and highly knowledgable. I bought an instrument on Saturday night and they've had it ready for collection the next day.

I bought the Hellier Stradivarius c. 1679 violin which was a big investment but definitely worth it.

Beautiful pieces of instruments and great value. Thank you!

Excellent and professional service. Both of my kids got the instruments from the store and they are very good quality.

If you're thinking about purchasing online instead, don't. The prices here are better than they are on online stores, and the staff are incredibly friendly and helpful. The staff were under the pump when I went in but they still made time to help me through a series of decisions carefully. From now on I will always go here for my violin needs:)

Bought a 16.5 viola from them, which has good sound quality for my budget. Been to a few other stores and most don't stock viola in that size.

I started from buying my daughter's first violin here years ago, changing to different sizes as she grew, and now she's on full size. We never need to think of going elsewhere, as we have been well looked after here at Bows for Strings over the years. The staff here are friendly, professional and helpful. Highly recommended.

This is a lovely, modern store with a large range of instruments, bows, cases, sheet music (you name it) available. The staff were super friendly and helpful; parking is readily available; it's large size means that customers can try instruments in different rooms. Shout out to D'Artagnan and Nick for helping me! Can highly recommend!