FiddlerShop

Fiddlershop is a hundred percent trustworthy company with great violins and great cellos, excellent service and an absolute hassle free purchasing experience. Period. We bought first a violin and later a cello from Fiddlershop then two pernambuco bows and several other items. Never has there been any problems, and whenever something came up they immediately resolved everything with no questions asked. Plus, every call to FiddlerShop was responded by a very knowledgeable and experienced person who absolutely knew what they were talking about giving great and unbiased advice. Additionally, they provide great learning resources in form of hours and hours of videos and blogs (including for items such as a tuning fork for $5.99!). Please feel free to ask us about our detailed experience.

What a fantastic crew with a wealth of knowledge!

I have probably asked Michael and Asa 50+ questions over the course of two weeks concerning picking out a new violin. Each response from them was highly timely, clearly directional, and insightful.
Ultimately, Michael helped me pick out a violin best suited for my needs and budget, and was honest and upfront about my previous choice (which would have been way more expensive than his recommendation - due to my wanting to purchase one violin and then change all the fittings).
This team reflects stellar customer service, patience, loads of talent and depths of wisdom. I am an avid online shopper and with fiddlershop I received once-in-a-life-time experience in working with these guys.
I want to thank you guys for taking the time (2 weeks back and forth with me!) and providing me with honest, and helpful insights to what I am looking for. I am very confident in my purchase, and highly recommend you guys to anyone who is in the stringed instrument market!

I just want to thank Fiddlershop for the friendly service I received the other day. Even though they are still in the process of setting up in their new location, Pierre took a lot of time to help me choose a new chin rest, adjust my shoulder rest, and he helped me choose a new bow. Christina also helped me so much and explained everything so well. It really is a fantastic place to go if you are a stringed instrument player. They make you feel so comfortable. Also, as soon as I left, I received an email with a bowing practice exercise that has really helped. Thanks Fiddlershop for another wonderful experience.

I have been a professional musician since 1968. I have been in many music stores all over the world. I was buying violin accessories from Fiddlershop on line and taking on line lessons from Fiddlerman.com. As luck would have it Fiddlershop opened its non-virtual shop in Pompano, Florida, which is awesome, because it's near my home. This Shop/ Showroom/ Warehouse is operated and owned by the Holstein family. Fiddlershop, In my opinion, have been one of the greatest Group of people to work with.
I've had a repair on 100 plus year old vioLin owned by my father by luthier Felix. The work was superb.
I've had adjustments and and head changes done on my Barcus Berry electric that have improved the instruments playability immensely.
Beacause of this company's eye for detail And style of doing business, I have purchased two 5 string violins from Fiddlershop, one electric and one acoustic. Both of these were fantastic decisions because of the quality of the workmanship.
I highly recommend this company for any of your stringed instrument needs. They are wonderful. 5 STARS...
John Tomasko

Sent from my iPad

I order a couple of strings. They came fast. However, they gave me the wrong string. I emailed them about returning and the exchanging for the correct strings. No response.

Update: They did respond back to me and were very friendly. They even sent out the G string without me having to return the D string. I do feel bad for leaving the bad review earlier. Since everyone is shopping online currently with the whole Covid19 mess, I should have realized they were probably getting bombarded with emails. Again, they were great and friendly even though I wasn't as friendly.

I ordered a Scott Cao violin outfit from Fiddlershop. I realized after ordering that they were sending the instrument to my upstate NY home. I was worried about it being left outside (it's cold here in November, so I emailed them immediately to ask if they could please send it to my work address, which they agreed to do. Not long after, their customer service contacted me to tell me that they had sold out of the violin I wanted, but lucky me, they would send me one of their own violins as an "upgrade." I was suspicious, but at first agreed. But then I thought twice about it and asked about the next Cao model up. The response was that they were out of that too and were preparing to send the fiddlerman violin out that day, and then he assured me that it was about the same as the next step up Cao that I was considering. I again reluctantly agreed, but honestly, I don't feel good about it. Now that this other violin is on the way, I noticed that they shipped it to my house (instead of my work as I requested). I'm reserving final judgment on all of this until I get the violin, but thus far I am not happy. Mistakes happen, and this isn't the worst customer service I have ever gotten, but it hasn't been a great experience, either.

***UDATE*** So, I'm updating this review. All of the things that I mentioned above are true, and I wrote that when I was VERY uneasy about trusting their opinions on a substitute instrument. However, since then, they have contacted me several times to try to ease my concerns (I didn't respond because I wanted to wait and see what the violin was like before making a final decision). The violin arrived today. It was well packaged and is a nice instrument for the price, in a nice case, with a decent carbon fiber bow (usually I'm not a fan of them, but this one is good). It also came with a good cake of rosin (usually the rosin that comes with the instruments are terrible), and I'm pretty sure it has a new set of strings on it as well. They made good on it, given the issues I had. They did still ship it to the wrong address... it was left by my back door. But other than that, I'm happy. So four stars (instead of the initial 3). I will definitely give them another chance if I have additional violin related needs. :)

I had a tough return, but Fiddlershop took care of me where most others would have let me down. Thankyou very much for living up to your satisfaction guarantee pledge. Great company!

The customer support and service is outstanding from competitors in the industry! On top of that, they offer the best Instruments your money can buy! If you are in South Florida, it's definitely worth a detour to check out the store in Fort Lauderdale and try out some instruments!

I have played viola for years, so when my son came home telling me he was recommended to play a viola as well I was very excited, until I saw the rental form. My son scowled over the feel and sound of the instrument. My son, despite being 9 years old, has the ear of an old maestro. After a long time searching online, a friend recommended fiddlershop. I am so glad they did. I was able to purchase a viola better then what a beginners would be. The outfit is everything a young musician would need. If I wanted to nit pick, the only thing I could possibly complain about was the resin was broken. And fedex screwed up at every turn... but the viola was absolutely breathtaking. Arrived ready to play. It is honestly comparable to my much more expensive instrument. I do not doubt my son will eventually grow out of this instrument and I will not hesitate to purchase another from this company.

I have bought Fiddleman strings, Fiddleman carbon bow, Holstein Rosen. All very good products! Much personal service given by Fiddleman himself on his violins. Great people to do business with! They now have a loyal customer in me! 5 stars!

So, I paid $45 US to have the violin shipped to Canada. Fiddleshop assured me that because it is considered educational, there would be no duty. There was no duty. There WERE $90 US in "handling fees" (thought I already paid that?) and taxes. Basically, I could have saved myself over $100US if I had just paid to take it as carryon.

During the last year I have purchased, strings, two carbon fiber bows, Holstein rosin and a gorgeous Scott Cao 850 violin. I've dealt with both Mike and his Dad, Pierre (Fiddler man). They are the most caring and conscientious marketers on line I have ever had the pleasure of dealing with. And the prices are more than just competitive they are great. They did the set up on my new violin and then Pierre did a quick video tape playing scales so I could hear it for my approval before shipping it to me and yes the shipping was free. This is a full service violin shop run by experts. Need something give them a call, I believe you will be impressed by the service and the price

I have had two dealings with the Fiddler shop. Both times I came away very satisfied. I've dealt with Mike both times, very nice person, very helpful. I have recommended other friends and there have been no complaints.

I love my violin that I purchased through Fiddlershop. I bought one of their outfits. I can't believe how good the quality is for the price that I paid. It had everything that I needed to start playing. I will definitely use them again!

Have bought a few items from Fiddlershop. Mainly strings, a carbon fibre bow (which impressed my teacher s much she also converted to a carbon fibre bow, a hanging bracket, oh yes and a cap.
Considering international post was needed, as I live in the Uk, the items have arrived quickly, and the robust packaging has resulted items arriving in parcels in perfect condition, even with "postie's" best efforts to damage them.

Purchased here lots of stuff. From the violin to the bridge E string protectors and wolf-eliminator =), bows, mutes, violin case, chin-rests and shoulder-rests. That's actually not all, but the first what i can remember =) And planning to continue my shopping with fiddlershop.com (my teacher says that soon i'll need some upgrade), LOL! I live in Russia and still didn't find a better place to shop in! International shipping is available. The owner (Pierre Hollstein) answers any questions about purchase details =) Happy Shopping!

I have made a few purchases from this site. The EXPERT ADVICE is better than you could hope. Things are shipped quickly and safely. For violin and fiddle supplies or instruments this is the place to buy! Pierre wants everyone to play fiddle so he takes ALOT of guess work out of purchases.

I actually had an issue with my most recent order. I caught them during a move they were having problems with on their end, so shipment was delayed for a while. Pierre and John both called and left voicemails apologizing and explaining the situation, also offering me an upgraded instrument for the delay (ordered an Apprentice, they gave me an Artist!). And, surprise, they overnight shipped it, which must have cost a fortune as well (letters are about $30 and this was a whole violin). So just remember this is a small operation handling (due to their own reckless practice of supplying outstanding products for silly prices, as well as personal customer care) reorganization and probably a lot of new business. It's worth it though, to support a business like this, for all the extras and whatnot that make them outstanding.

These whatnots include but are probably not limited to: Pierre makes video demonstrations for all his instruments, any purchased instruments on request, instruments the customer is interested in (including side-by-side comparisons and even selecting among their stock of a particular model range an instrument best suited to the customer's stated preferences), and goes further still by making a demo video of the one he selected and waiting for confirmation before shipping it out. If you can tell me you've had that level of customer service from another online store, you're probably lying.

He also has made a good many instructive videos. I cracked vibrato from one of these. A quick aside with regard to integrity: theres a particularly funny video Pierre made for his Apprentice viola. His violist friend plays it and when asked for his opinion, says "I don't think much of the finish" and Pierre gives him a look like "C'mon man, I'm trying to run a business"... and posted the video anyway. You'll notice this type of thing in the comment sections on his youtube videos; Pierre answering questions objectively and even sometimes recommending other instruments over his own.

So now for their own line of products, of which I now have a few. They partnered with GCV to make instruments sold as outfits (typically including a chinrest, shoulder rest, strings, a carbon fiber bow, Kaplan rosin, and for the higher-end models upgraded strings they select based on the tonal qualities of the model, or whichever you request) ranging from ~$300 to over $1000. They also have their own line of historical remakes, the Holstein range, that include famous Amatis, Gesus, and Strads. Their "Lord Wilton" is particularly drool-inducing: 3

But it's the pricing of these instruments I find admirable. For the sound they produce (Youtube Fiddlerman Artist for Kevin. It sounds just like that but even more sonorous and pretty under the ear), these guys could charge a lot more than they are, especially since they have a monopoly over them.

So, still considering other options? Let's do some math: The Apprentice minus all the upgraded kit would cost about $200. Listen to it. For $200 youre in the market for cheap eBay violins or a student Gliga and those are not very nice. In fact, I looked up demos of Gligas and the least expensive one that rivals the Artist is the Genova 2, which costs over $1000 and to my ear sounds tinnier and more amateurish. But in this vein I do have one tiny nit-pick: I wish they had an option to choose which accessories to include with the outfit. They might actually do this on request, I haven't asked, but it's not on their site.

They also have their own line of strings that sound like slightly clearer, more focused Dominants, but for half the price and with a vastly superior E string. The G string is also a different metal winding than the D and A. Im not sure what it is but its very smooth. There is also a Fiddlerman carbon fiber bow that far exceeds in quality what it costs, and comes with all their outfits. Lots of surface area on the hair, great flex and balance, bounce when you want it and none when you don't. I encourage anyone reading this to buy any of their branded products, and support the type of people who, despite doing a lot of leg work to find the best quality items they could for the lowest cost to them, don't inflate prices to anywhere near what they could.

For all your violin and viola needs. I purchased a tuner from Fiddlershop.com and was amazed! Fast shipping, GREAT CUSTOMER service and everything I need for my violin needs. Prices? Prices are some of the best on the web! Go ahead, try other sites. You'll be amazed at how great the prices are. Looking for something you not listed. Shoot them an email and watch as they do all the price shoppin for you.

Here's where you find violins and accessories. Everything and anything is available, just give them a call if it's not on their website

I've purchased mdse several times from FiddlerShop.com with a high degree of satisfaction in the products and 100% satisfaction with the store and its mgmt. Fiddlerman tests and reviews most of the products on this site and a lot of the products have product test vids for you to see the mdse being used.

My experience is, Fiddlerman will make sure you are satisfied with your purchase/transaction regardless of the manufacturer.

Have purchased strings and violin music stand bracket from Fiddlershop. Had a manufacturers problem with a D'Addirio D string (pro-Arte) but after an email to Fiddlershop a new complete set was sent from D'Addario and landed within a week.
Fine with me considering I live in the UK.
I now have another order in process, for a Carbon Fibre now ( and Fiddlerman cap). Expecting delivery anytime now (order was placed a week last Friday) so will be able to give a further review once they arrive.
Will be interesting to see if the Bow survives international shipping. I had seen from other buyers of the Bow that the packing is very substantial if a little unorthodox.

So far I'd give Fiddlershop 100% and as an International Buyer by trade, with high expectations, that is not a score I give out easily

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