Guitar crew was amazing, especially the repair guy who gave me tips on keeping up the strat and Dean acoustic I had/have. The orchestral associate was the nicest of them all and seemed rather out of place in his sweater and slacks. LoL
I got dirty looks from the PA crew upon entering the store and worse looks when I entered the PA room.
One PA rep was playing with a drum machine. I had a beat come into my head and asked him how I'd incorporate a roll. He told me I could ""slow the tempo down all the way, go 'tap tap tap,' then speed it back up again"". LoL
In observing their three violins I settled on the less expensive 4/4. The other 4/4 was around $500. At $384 I decided to put it on layaway. They informed me of this arbitrary layaway interest they accredited to people who decided to back out of the deal. I payed it off in three payments and set up lessons a week before bringing it home.
When I go to my first lesson my violin teacher told me that the bow they gave me was a 3/4-sized bow - for a full-sized (4/4) violin. I returned to the store the next day and traded in the bow without incident. I also picked up the only shoulder rest they had under the advisement of my teacher but they couldn't tell me anything about it nor how to put it on my instrument.
Now the worst part:
In shopping for the violin I didn't take heed of the brand names.
When I got home I looked inside for the maker's mark and Googled it - Bestler. ...I payed $400 for a $99 violin that only got a single star in customer ratings. One website advertised it'd be good for photographers' models instead of actually playing!
The best thing I got out of the the deal was the case - the bow wasn't the only thing they mismatched.
All in all I'm glad I no longer live in Irving or I'd give Mike Murphy a piece of my mind for ripping me off on this deal. And rip me off he did. Hardcore. I suppose research would have been good for me, too.
I wouldn't advise anyone to go here at all.
-k-
Pros: Knowledgable, helpful guitar staff
Cons: Rude staff, layaway interest, hugely overpriced,ill-informed
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