Antonio Strad Violin

I began taking violin lessons last year. I walked into Strad Violin not knowing diddly about violins. They set me up with a nice rental instrument and a schedule of weekly lessons that are all reasonably priced. The employees are all musicians that know their business very well and are always willing to spend that little extra minute giving tips and pointing out ways to improve my playing experience. There has never been any pressure to buy high-end expensive equipment or take more lessons or anything like that. There are times when I can't make a lesson and, although they don't have to, they have always revised the schedule to give me make-up time on another day. The rental fee I'm paying goes into an ""account"" that I can use later to upgrade or buy my own instrument. My teacher is the sweetest, most patient person I've ever met and is always encouraging, never condescending. She is probably the reason I was able to stick with it this long. Overall, I am extremely happy to have walked into Strad Violin in the beginning. I highly recommend them. Pros: Employees are musicians, student friendly, reasonable prices, sympathetic to my needs. Cons: They won't let me rent living space there. more

I stopped by an hour before closing without an appointment and thoroughly enjoyed the visit. The owner found particular music books and CD I needed and spent the next 45 minutes showing me several violas and Coda bows. I thought the prices were good (especially in comparrison to several east coast luther shops in Virginia and NY). He also explained the tonal and wood differences between the new Roth and new Ming Jiang Zhu instruments. Next time I visit San Antonio I'll bring my viola for a new bridge and fitting and possibly purchase a bow - his prices are very fair. Pros: instruments are beautiful and range from advanced student to fine German, etc. more

THE STORE IT SELF IS WONDERFUL THEY HAVE A VAST SELECTION OF INSTRUMENTS Pros: great instruments Cons: mean employees more