Highlights: * Huge bass selection! * The website offers scheduled appointments for repairs and sales; but they accept drop-ins too. * Open on Saturdays * Competent and reasonable repair staff We've been to Finlay and Gage a few times in the past year. In my opinion, it's the closest thing to a mecca in New York City for upright bass players. They have a huge stockpile of new and pre-owned basses at a variety of price points. The staff is personable and down to earth. Their repair staff is quite competent and reasonable. Two experiences: 1) The fingerboard of the upright bass at my son's school bass had come off, and needed to be reattached. The shop was particularly busy and had given a timeline of a few weeks. 2) We had a mishap with a cat on our personal Shen SB80 bass that caused the bridge to shift a little bit. We got it back into place by eye, and lived with it for a month or two, but with a performance coming up, we wanted to make sure it was in tip-top shape. We met with Zoe. She did a quick diagnostic and made some quick adjustments (fine tuned the position and angle of the bridge; tweaked the soundpost down slightly), and she sent us on our way in less than 5 minutes. Noted that we had some mild pitting on the soundboard, but could take care of that later. No charge on this visit. For that we'll be eternally grateful - it helped make my son's first public performance on his personal bass a resounding success. It's been a few weeks now and wow, these little tweaks really made some measurable differences in playability and volume. The action feel great for both pizz/jazz and arco. I wouldn't hesitate to bring an instrument there for a check up. Pro tip: As of early 2025, there is metered parking around the corner on Church St starting at 2pm on weekdays. So if you're driving yourself, you have some options if you're bringing your bass in or are picking up. read more

they want $60 just to give you an estimate. I've never been to another shop that does that. it's so disrespectful to musicians. find some place that doesn't try to fleece you read more

Very grateful to Bela at Finlay + Gage for replacing a bridge on my daughter's violin same day so she could take the stage at Carnegie Hall two days later! Hero read more

Finlay + Gage NYC - Bela the hero that replaced my daughter's broken violin bridge same day. - Musical Instruments & Teachers Near Me - New York, New York

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I was recommended To DGSI by my Viola Teacher. Beyond just the aesthetics, this shop is full of knowledgeable and passionate luthiers. The care and consideration shown by the workers is two fold, as you can see it in the instruments as well as feel it as a customer. As a complete beginner i was slightly intimidated to go into a store that was filled with such pristine instruments, though I was wholly welcomed, in fact, I was encouraged! Matt Robinson set me up with Viola, educating me about the product, he tuned the viola, gave me a fresh new bag and even rosined it up for me. I left feeling as though having gone here was absolute pleasure! read more

A friend and fellow bass player recommended this store as I needed to rent a bass. I called and Matthew helped me with booking a bass and when I got to the store, I met Mr Gage himself who was extremely warm and helpful. I rented this instrument for a week and was very happy with it. 10 stars !!!! read more

Bringing your instrument to fix is like bringing your child to the doctor - it's stressful, worrisome and you want to know that your "child" is in good hands. In my case, my cello's bridge needed fixing and Zach helped me with it. He was knowledgeable, reassuring, gave me few options for the bridge and also looked out for the overall well-being of my cello. The place itself has a nice wood-shop feel to it. I wouldn't hope that my cello needs fixing again - but the trip to David Gage is almost a treat in itself. Highly recommend! read more

Finlay + Gage NYC - Added two little "feet" under the bridge - Musical Instruments & Teachers Near Me - New York, New York

I have owned my Realist 5 (RV5Pro) since 2010 and have been very satisfied with the instrument's tone, projection and ease of play. Recently emailed for support and received a response almost immediately. Called, and all those I spoke to were friendly, professional and provided me with great advise. I'd recommend them 100%. They're accessible and stand by their product. read more

Brought in my Guild six string for some love, and Manny made it a perfectly playing guitar in such short order. And he was nothing but lovely the whole way. You can tell he brings pride in making his customers happy, and I'm sure he puts a smile on everyone's face that brings in a work order. Very talented and a great price for the work done. Not to mention the place is the garage of my wet dreams.. read more

I will no longer go to David Gage for anything because, while I have had some good experiences with Sprocket and Mike Weatherly, I got tired of the "customer is always WRONG" attitude that prevails in some of their other employees. As a professional musician, I have heard stories of this happening to my colleagues, as well. It's time someone called them out on it. Sprocket and Mike Weatherly are the nicest guys and highly skilled and helpful. But they're all that I can recommend about the Gage shop. read more

I have been going to Gage for over 10 years. I bought a beautiful bow there when I turned 16 and an amazing upright bass when I was 24. They are patient and respectful, which I can not say for the other Upright Bass shops I have been to. Every time I go to have my bow repaired at Gage they have it ready for me pronto or a spare I can borrow. I only wish parking was better and they were open later for when I need emergency rosin or strings. read more

I took in my son's violin since it hadn't been played in a year and didn't sound right. Derrick took the time to look it all over, tune it, make a few suggestions for no charge. I never felt pushed into spending any money and thought everything he said was fact based not based on maximizing his bottom line. I ended up getting an "antiallergic" chinrest for both my kids since they have had a reaction to the metal on the chinrests. It's the first time I've ever seen it and it cost less than the prices online! In summary, I highly recommend this place! read more

Great shop, professional service. They fixed my gear after another shop botched the job. Thank you!

I rented a beginner cello and I couldn't be happier. Nice staff. Easy process. Beautiful sounding instrument.

Wow. Incredible collection of instruments at a pretty wide range of prices. And it's worth a trip just to see the place -- only in New York . . . The people couldn't have been nicer, even though I told them up front I was just a tourist, not a buyer. read more

Great and thorough repair service, backed with loads of knowledge and great costumer service. Highly recommended, and I would never bring my instrument anywhere else. read more

Very helpful. They installed the violin string and even tuned up the violin.

When my 15 year old daughter needed an acoustic bass, a few musician friends recommended that we go here, and wow, were they spot-on. We were helped by Alex, and Matthew also offered some great advice. Alex spent a lot of time with my daughter, and found her just the right instrument that was within our budget. The folks here are incredibly knowledgeable, patient, and all about great customer service, and there is no hard sales pitch whatsoever. What a wonderful experience! read more