We just got a 1/4 Eastman 405 violin from Phil and absolutely love it! My son was so excited--he played all his favorite songs as soon as he opened the case. Compared to his old 1/8 violin, the sound is on a whole new level -- it has real resonance and warmth. The bow Phil recommended is also excellent quality. My son really enjoys playing with this new setup. Phil was super helpful and made the whole process smooth. Highly recommend! read more

Stop gas lighting customers and telling them to "read the fine print" when considering trading a violin purchased at Johnson string instruments of lesser value for one of greater value at this shop. I've been treated better by my used car salesman for certain. read more

I'm a viola player (go ahead with your joke now, I'll wait...), but I have extra viola struggles (waiting again...it's ok, I understand...) because I'm a really small person. Long story short, all through high school and college I played a 14 3/4" German viola with an inside label saying "Hans Schiller, Geigenbaumeister, West Germany." I sold my instrument in 1991 when I was in grad school because I was broke and I never played. I regretted selling my viola for 26 years. I have Googled "Hans Schiller viola" a couple times a year for at least the last 10 years, and never got a lead on even a similar instrument. Then last week I found my long-lost viola on the Carriage House website. The size is weird for violas, and it has a telltale scratch on the top that happened when my G snapped during a performance (well, the music said fortissimo, it wasn't my fault) and the ball end whacked the wood. So I called and spoke with a helpful guy from the sales department on Thursday, and my long-lost viola and I had a reunion this morning (today is Saturday). They polished up my viola very nicely, and gave him a new ebony chinrest and a new ebony tailpiece to match. They even outfitted him with a set of Evah Pirazzi Gold Strings, which sound wonderful. I also needed a case, which you will see in the photo. They shipped my instrument in the case and packed it with extreme care, which is a really good thing, because the corner of the box was crushed when it arrived, but my viola was hardly even out of tune. I also get 100% of the value I paid toward another instrument if I ever want to trade it in. Which will NEVER EVER happen, but it's nice to know. I would do business with this outfit any day of the week! Thank you, Carriage House! read more

I recently purchased a bow from Carriage House and I could not be more happier. Thanks to my longtime friend, cellist, and sales associate, Tom Holdener, I was able to find an upgrade that was a great personal fit for a very reasonable price. I went back about 4-5 times in the last year, and every time there was a different selection of bows to try out. Never have I ever seen so much traffic come through a violin shop. read more

I really don't like to write negative reviews, but felt that my experience might be representative of how Carriage is conducting its business these days with respect to shipping bows (and possibly) instruments on approval, and may therefore be useful for potential customers. This review is only for Carriage House Violins, not for Johnson String Instruments, whom I regularly purchase products from, even though they're all the way on the other side of the country from me. I'm very happy using Johnson String and have never had any reason not to. So, back to Carriage House. In the past, I've used them to try out bows on approval, because I've been searching for many years for a bow that really speaks to me and responds to my style of playing in the way that I want. So, I've tried out bows from Carriage House occasionally, including some very expensive ones that, for whatever reason, were not what I was looking for. I think that, on one occasion, I even had a cello shipped to me to try out; however, I decided it wasn't the instrument for me and returned it. I have always returned the items promptly to Carriage House and in the same condition in which I received them, and of course exercised the utmost care and respect with bows and instruments that don't belong to me. Now, fast forward to about a month ago, and once again I'm looking at bows that they have available, because I'm in the mood to try out one or two. There was one made in the early part of the 20th century that caught my eye, so I ordered it online. After a while, I heard back from Tom Holdener at Carriage House, who left me a voice mail asking me to call him. I called back, couldn't reach him directly, so I left a message, and also asked him in the message if it was possible to send the bow instead to my work address rather than my home address that I had put on the order, since it was much easier to ensure that someone was always at the work address to sign for the bow. Not long after this, I got an email from Tom saying that it was no problem to redirect the bow to my work address, and asked me once again to call him. Eventually, we did connect on the phone, and he asked me why I had selected this particular bow, and what I was looking for in a bow. I replied that I was interested in the bow because of the period and location (Los Angeles area) where it was made, and as for what I was looking for in a bow, I told him that was really tough to answer because one's experiences with bows are highly subjective, that I had been looking for a long time, and when I found the "right" bow, I felt that I would know it. In the meantime, I told him that I just like to sample bows from time to time for this purpose. Tom was very nice and professional the entire time. After this, I took my regular bow into the shop for rehairing, and thought that while I was there, I might as well try out a couple of other bows for a week's time, so I took two bows home with me as I waited for my bow to be worked on. As fate would have it, I quickly fell in love with one of the two bows. Since I hadn't received the bow I had requested yet from Carriage House Violins, I wrote back to Tom -- now this was eleven days after his email -- and let him know that, if he hadn't already sent the bow, there was no need, because I had found a bow that I really loved and had already purchased. Sadly, I never received a reply from Tom after that (and also, the bow I had originally ordered on approval never came). Although Tom was extremely polite, I came away from the experience with a bitter taste in my mouth. I felt that I was being scrutinized under a microscope simply for requesting the bow. If they feel that way about potential customers, then why even offer the service on their website at all? Did he not look at my history with the company as their customer, and see that I was always extremely responsible with their products, returning them promptly and without damage? In addition to this, this "transaction" was quite protracted, going on for several weeks, and they never did even bother to ship the bow! Not only was the delay never explained to me, but the lack of a follow-up message or acknowledgment of my last message was most unfortunate. I do understand the need to be selective and cautious when dealing with such expensive inventory; however, this represented a notable change from my previous dealings with this company. If this is representative of the way Carriage House now conducts their business, I cannot, as a fairly sophisticated customer of string instruments and related products, recommend them to others. Nor, of course, will I have a reason to use their services in the future. read more

After having sent two of my students to look at the violins at Carriage House I will never do so again. I asked the parents to speak to their sales representative about making a small change to the bridge to an instrument they were considering buying and Alan told them that they could buy the bridge themselves and pay for the work. There are too many good violin luthiers out there (who will make sure you love your instrument before you buy it!) to have to deal with this kind of poor customer service. Not to mention, I tried selling my own instrument through CH, and it took them weeks to even get it on the market. Who knows how much they tried overpricing it too. Needless to say I am happy I took it back. read more

As a music educator (band), I appreciate the importance of a good quality violin. Allan was very helpful, allowing us time to try multiple violins and bows. He also helped explain differences only a practiced string player would understand. We've found to our go-to string shop in Boston, and will be back when she's ready for the next size. Thank you Johnson Strings & Carriage House Violins! read more

I recently purchased a viola for my daughter at Carriage House Strings. Allan Espinosa was our sales associate. He was patient, very helpful, non pressuring, and in the end gave us a very fair discount on the instrument we purchased. Recommend. read more

I was buying a violin with a budget of about $3000. I was very fortunate to have Armenuhi help me along the process. She helped me select a few violins from the shop to take home for trial and she was always accommodating. She even helped me evaluate violins from other places. Her opinion was honest and professional. I was never pressured to buy or led to feel my budget was too low. I also had the pleasure to meet an in-house luthier who was able to tweak the set up of a violin I really like to a violin I love. They were patient, friendly, and always professional. I had a blast visiting each time and I have always felt welcome and attended regardless of how busy the place was. I highly recommend this place and would not hesitate to go back for any purchase and services. read more

My three year old son and I were very disappointed. I purchased a violin online and within a week of owning my son dropped it and broke the bridge. I went to Johnson's Strings to see if they could replace the bridge. While everybody was very polite I was told that it would cost $275 to replace the bridge and another $50 for new strings. The "luthier" essentially said I should scrap my newly purchased instrument and rent from them because it would be cheaper. I am not an experienced musician but I had done some research prior to going into the store and I know that a reasonable price to replace the bridge on a violin for a 3 year old student should be in the neighborhood of $50 maybe another $30-$50 for the strings. I would have paid $100 to get the work done and instead I will not be giving them any of my business now or in the future. read more

I've had many great experiences at Carriage House before and after the merger. It's a beautiful loft-like space (including a small concert hall) with a knowledgable, friendly staff. I've taken multiple students there ranging from beginners to advanced players with a $15,000 budget. Also, I'm usually nervous to take my very old bow to people for work/re-hairs, so I'm glad to be able to depend on Jon Crumrine (bow maker) there. They have a great selection of accessories too! read more

Carriage House is AMAZING! Having worked at a violin shop years ago, I know the ins-and-outs of the business, and Carriage House is as professional an outfit as they come. *Incredibly* accomodating when it came to shipping me cellos to try out. Despite some shipping hiccups on the part of UPS, it was still a wonderful experience. Through the whole process, Phil Rush (sales consultant) was my lifeline. More than any other salesman I've dealt with in the past, he was caring, thoughtful, and strove to make my instrument-purchasing experience as good as it could be. I love my new cello, and owe it all to Phil Rush and Carriage House Violins. read more

In our small town out west we don't have much of a violin selection. We've purchased three violins now for our daughter from CHV, the first was a 1/2 size. As our daughter has grown up we've upgraded through CHV to ¾, and now full size. CHV gave us 100% credit for our old violins as we traded up. It was like a built-in savings plan. With each successive upgrade CHV sent us an assortment of violins, cases and bows in the mail. We bought what we wanted and sent back what we didn't. Allan's service was always professional and helpful, consistent with all of the service we've had and heard about from CHV over the last decade. There just aren't many shops around anymore of CHVs caliber. read more

The only semi pro violin /strings shop around the area. I only come to to select rental instruments for students. The quality of their instruments is far better than the surrounding "all in one music stores". I've converted many of my students rentals to here because the rentals they got elsewhere were not at all comparable. Don't be fooled when a store tells you the cliche "rent to own". The only reason they can do that is because their instruments are such inferior quality! Also, those al in one music shops will change the labeling of their instruments for sale to confuse the customer with exactly which "brand" /model the instrument really is. To me I'm able to judge the tone quality regardless and that's why many people that aren't even my students come to me for advice on selecting instruments, even professional musicians asks me to go with them for their instruments hunting. Anyway you end up paying a lot more money at one of those shops than here. In other words, those are shops with altered labels sell violins for $1500 but is far worse. A $1200 here is so many times better in tone quality, materials, workmanship. I can't believe that other shop's $1500 violin has plywood odor, nothing is properly crafted and setup is junk. Well that's what you get at those all in one music shops! In a professional shop you truly get what you paid for! And to the reviewer earlier that complained about the cost to carve a new violin bridge. I've actually had Johnson's strings carve several new bridges for my violins and violas over the last Few years. Yes you can get that done elsewhere for cheaper but it is not the same quality at all! I paid $275 per bridge and completely worth it! Their product's (the bridge itself) is top tier quality (they do not use less than pro quality) and the workmanship (carving it) is also top quality. You can't get that with any luthier. The store was being 100% honest and gave you the best advice to have you rent from them instead. Those violins people often "order online" from non professional shops are what we call VSO. Everything about them is wrong. From the wood type, wood quality, varnish type, varnish quality, to all the "parts" i.e. Finger board, tuning pegs, bridge, strings, tailpiece, etc... it's all junk! Of course the final test: tone quality, it's awful. No one should be ordering music instruments from online. Buying instruments is more difficult and time consuming that buying a house. Each instrument will sound different and it's not just about differentiating one tone from another; it's about knowing what the authentic violin should sound like then trying to match as much of that as you can to the violin you're shopping for. A modern instrument will never sound like an Italian antique but, it's crucial to know that tone as a reference. That's why so many people asks me to assist them with their instruments shopping even they're professional performers/musicians themselves. This just isn't a skill many are equipped with. As mentioned earlier in my review the rental prices here are similar to many other shop but the difference is in the quality of tone and instruments themselves. Better materials and craftsmanship. Also where you buy is important to. Many "modern makers" sell at various dealers but they will look and sound totally different. Aside from some stores tampering with labels , the final set up is typically done at the destination shop. Whomever the luthiers are there are the ones putting your instruments together and that can vary considerably. Your end goal is the quality of tone. read more

I came here when I couldn't get an appointment at Reuning and Sons, and I'm extremely glad that I went. I'm a cellist and was looking for a fine, older instrument to purchase. I was able to work with Robert, also a cellist, who was phenomenally helpful and friendly, and answered every question I had in great detail, and even recommended other shops that I should look at, so I was very appreciative that he seemed to honestly want to help me find the best instrument I could even if I didn't find it there. I would highly recommend Carriage House, especially if you are a cellist and are able to work with Robert. They also had a very nice selection of cellos in the 75K and up price range. Definitely worth visiting! read more

Great and knowledgeable violin repair. My violin had a four inch crack and the luthier was able to repair it quickly and seamlessly. He also checked for any other issues, which was really helpful. read more

I am a violin teacher in Cambridge at Longy School of Music, and I send many of my students to Carriage House to purchase their first violin. The service is excellent. I send them to work with LeeAnn Sutton who is also a Suzuki teacher, and I trust her to size and help them select a violin. Instruments can be traded in when you move to the next size so it is an excellent investment toward a full size violin. We are lucky to have a shop that offers quality instruments in smaller sizes in the area. I highly recommend setting up an appointment and looking into buying an instrument at Carriage House. Both my students and I have been very happy with the instruments and service. read more

Completely baffled by the responses on this page. I am a serious violin student and my violin journey was a very intense and emotional ten months. I tried to bring my business to many shops in the name of being open minded and looking at every violin after going to TMEA: Robertson & Sons (in which I felt pressured, frantic and the worse end of the stick) Terra Nova (in which the lack of communication made the process frustrating) William Harris & Lee (which pushed two violin makers every single time when they were not my preference) Bein & Fushi (in which they "ghosted" me when they did not want to work with me) and smaller shops that acted more like "car salesmen" if anything. However, in the span of ten months I went back and forth with Carriage House VERY SLOWLY, that would of tested the patience and business manner of any of the three major shops musicians work with and Allen Espinosa was honest, selective, and did not push instruments that were in inventory for a long time. In fact, whenever something new came in and was in my price point and compatibility, Mr. Espinosa would give me the opportunity to look at it. I tried to work with many shops trialing over twenty five violins and tested out over twenty other violins at TMEA. Out of the four violins that I was interested to buy: Matsuda from Robertson & Sons, Matsuda from Bein & Fushi, Ihle from Carriage House, Gilles from Carriage House... two of the violins were from Carriage House. Allen Espinosa curated the dream team for me and even made house appointments to Denton when he was all the way in Dallas. Also, Mr. Espinosa was very willing to work with me. Personally, I am appalled by the audacious reviews on Carriage House but to set things straight: Out of the nine violin shops/makers that sent me violins to try 1. Carriage House was the ONLY violin shop to provide complimentary return shipping, ready with labels. 2. Carriage House was the ONLY sales team that I worked with that were violinists and not business people, or barely violin proficient. 3. Carriage House was the ONLY violin shop that responded and communicated with me instead of refusing to reply which in itself is a response. My preferences for what I was looking in a violin was very particular and I am grateful for Carriage House and Allen Espinosa for curating my dream violin as well as providing a CONSISTENTLY positive experience. Esther Tran Violin Performance University of North Texas read more

I went to Carriage House during my grand quest to find an instrument. I didn't end up buying from them, but they have a great space, decent service, a great trade-in policy and financing for those on a budget/who prefer to pay in installments. I just didn't find anything I liked in my price range (this being totally subjective). They have a large inventory of instruments and bows and their relationship with Reuning's guarantees that your credit will always be good no matter what level of instrument you need. I can't really speak to their repairs or maintenance services but they have a large staff so there should be no problems. The location is a bit out of the way though--not really within walking distance from the T if you have an instrument with you, so if I needed something I'd be more likely to try to get it in Boston (Reuning's might service Carriage House instruments and bows though). read more

Our experience with Ms. Armenuhi Hovakiamian was absolutely outstanding. Despite our booking an appointment on short notice, she spent a lot of time with us reviewing our many options, and showed us a wide variety of violins. She is an accomplished violinist herself, and her beautiful demonstrations were very helpful in our narrowing our selection down. Perhaps most importantly, she spent time carefully listening to my son play on each violin we liked, and helped us to select the best match for him based on style of play. She is a violin teahcer herself, and her understanding of student play was clearly helpful in her assisting us with the violin selection process. In short, we could not be more delighted with Ms Hovakiamian's expert, personal, detailed, and patient service in making our violin selection at Carriage House Violins. read more

Carriage House Violins is fantastic! They have everything you need for string players, with friendly service, whether it be rental (various levels of instruments), purchase, sheet music, accessories such as metronomes and music stands, etc. Beautiful shop, too and easily reached from Route 9 and Route 128. Great catalog too - they'll send instruments to you, too. And they have accessories for non-string players, too - very convenient and comprehensive read more

We had a really positive experience purchasing a full size cello for my high schooler at Carriage House. We worked with a "cello consultant" named Robert who was very knowledgeable about "all things" cello and attentive to our questions and concerns. It was truly an educational experience! There were many cellos to choose from in our price range, and Robert facilitated the decision process by listening to my daughter play on several cellos and providing feedback on tone and ease of playing. It was extremely helpful to hear Robert play on each cello, too. Above all, I highly recommend working with a cellist when buying a cello! We visited three other luthiers in New England, but it was hard to top our experience at Carriage House. (Carriage House was the only shop we visited with a dedicated cello consultant.) When my daughter finally decided on a cello, the decision was made with confidence and complete satisfaction. read more