I used to be in a band with a guy who played the cello. One day he, I and another of our fellow band mates decided to take a trip to Cremona House Violin Shop in search of a cello pick-up. Now, this guy is one of those kinds of people who can charm just about anyone he meets. He's super-friendly and pretty much everyone loves him. Still, bearing this in mind, the people at Cremona were incredibly accommodating. Once we'd explained what we were looking for, they very helpfully let us have a look at the various pick-ups they stocked and talked us through which ones they had heard were the best (a point to note: the most-expensive one was not their recommendation). They then helped us to fit it onto the cello and then, something that still baffles me to this day, they let my friend take it away. For free. He gave them his details and then they said he could keep it for a while so that he could test it out at some of our upcoming gigs. Even when he failed to return it within the agreed time (classic musician), they didn't seem to mind! Anyway, in the end, he bought a different pick-up, but I can't rate the service in this place highly enough. read more