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April 2023 by Corinne McCloughan
Loved doing business with Craig! He was very responsive to texts, I made appointments for any time I needed to come in, and he was always on time and waiting for me when I got there (which was great because I drove an hour each way to get there). The cello he rented us was in wonderful shape, even had a 7/8 that my son preferred, and the pricing was comparable to other shops without any hassle. Highly recommend!
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May 2022 by Lavanya Venkitachalam
Have been going to Mr.Craig for all orchestra needs over the last 8yrs. He is extremely friendly, honest and skilled professional. The store offers great beginner and intermediate violins for rental and sale at reasonable pricing. He provides lessons and repair services as well.
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January 2022 by Vincent C.
I worked as craig's apprentice for a little I hope someday I can again! Great guy stand up hard worker solid and patient teacher both for music and for woodworking and instrument care!
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November 2021 by Lavanya Bipin
Have been going to Mr.Craig for all orchestra needs over the last 8yrs. He is extremely friendly, honest and skilled professional. The store offers great beginner and intermediate violins for rental and sale at reasonable pricing. He provides lessons and repair services as well.
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October 2021 by Ken Vaught
Craig is always upbeat, always happy, always encouraging. He cares for people, for their well being. If more people were like Craig, this would be a better world.
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October 2021 by P H
Absolutely amazing service & support
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May 2021 by manzzz with the planzzz
I worked as craig's apprentice for a little I hope someday I can again! Great guy stand up hard worker solid and patient teacher both for music and for woodworking and instrument care!
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November 2020 by Ross C.
I contacted Craig when I decided to tackle Upright Bass. Craig set up a rental, including a non-contact delivery. He even asked me what type of music I was planning to play so he could set up the Bass with the ideal strings and string height. Never once did I feel like Craig was trying to close a sale. He was putting his all into having a satisfied customer. I have now purchased the Bass and I love it! Craig's Violins was my First Choice when I needed a Stringed Instrument. I STRONGLY recommend you make it yours as well! Ross Bee Cave
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October 2019 by Dorothy
The summary is that if you have a beginner, or especially an intermediate instrument, there is NO OTHER PLACE to take your violin in Austin in my experience that you can trust more to tell you the truth and give you a reasonable price.
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October 2019 by Dorothy H.
The summary is that if you have a beginner, or especially an intermediate instrument, there is NO OTHER PLACE to take your violin in Austin that you can trust more to tell you the truth and give you a reasonable price. I gave up the violin for 30 years. My violin is from the 1800's and is worth a few grand. 8 years ago I decided to get my violin fixed up again as a possible retirement hobby. I brought it to a major violin store in Austin. They looked up how much it was worth and THEN told me that it would cost me $1,000. They said they had to remove the top. I knew better and besides, if I had to spend that kind of money, forget about that hobby! I brought it to another violin store and they didn't even have a real luthier on site. Then we went to Craig (back then he was fixing violins as a hobby from his house). He was such a nice guy and said he could do everything and more for only $100. Now I could at least SEE if I could or wanted to play again. I was very happy. After some years I decided I wanted to get serious with playing but needed the violin to sound better to do that so in the last years I brought my violin to a luthier with a little shop that I think knows what he's doing but he obviously wanted me to ditch the idea of trying to get it to sound better and to buy another one. He was honest, but seemed used to fine violins. Then I went to another big violin store and luthier in Austin. This one told me that it would cost $700 because the top had to be taken off and that the seams were coming off in four places! What?! He said there were multiple cracks that would come unglued again in a year if the top didn't come off. I went home and tapped all around and could not find one open seam. I saw just one of the 5 cracks that Craig glued 8 years ago had come undone. I figured that I should go back to Craig for the truth and maybe he's been learned even more in 8 years. He has! I asked him if there were any loose seams and he said there were none. He said he would fix up the crack that came loose but that there were no others that he could see. He was willing to carve the bridge I brought in. I asked him to adjust the sound post and that bridge until we got my sweet violin back. When I went to pickup I told him that it needed to be better. He had made me a new sound post and while I waited he patiently adjusted it again and it was soooo much better! He listened so carefully to what I wanted. The whole thing cost me $60. But he also told me that the bow was having a big effect and I believed him! He didn't just want to sell me something. I tried out the bows he had and one clicked like a puzzle piece and totally changed the sound of the instrument and felt like butter. He let me trade in my old bows so that I got the RIGHT bow for almost nothing. There are a few new minor scratches on my old violin from the work... but the sound! I am so very happy now. If I hadn't found Craig I couldn't have afforded to even TRY to get my beloved violin with me again at all and now because of Craig I have it performing like I need it to in order to finally get really good at it! I'm deeply grateful to him every day when I pick up my violin to play. I've been to every luthier in the Austin area. If you aren't a professional and aren't in the know about violins... DON'T GO ANYWHERE ELSE OTHER THAN TO CRAIG! No one else is going to be as HONEST and real and kind and work with you like Craig will.
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May 2019 by Emma Beard
I take lessons for violin here. Craig is a very nice person and an amazing teacher.
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December 2018 by Mark Anthony
Excellent Music instruction and on time. Good people !
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December 2017 by Minsik Cho
Good instrument
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August 2017 by keith mallow
Great guy, great space!
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January 2017 by Lisa Treweek
Craig is awesome. Got our violin fixed and tuned right up. Thanks very much for your help.
