Wayne Burak & Associates, Inc

As a professional cellist who tours regularly, it’s hard to find local instrument shops that will provide you with a quality instrument (not to mention service with a smile). Nick Burak and his father Wayne went above and beyond in providing me with an exceptional instrument. Their gracious professionalism makes every interaction a true joy. Highly recommended!

This is my fourth year playing violin and my first upgrade. I’m so glad we came here. They were recommended by two orchestra directors and a close friend. We got a high quality, handmade violin for a great price at the beginning of the summer. Now, I play everyday and love the sound of my violin. While there, I also got great tips on how to play better. They’re really nice and honestly want to make it easy for you to find a great instrument.

Very fortunate to have found this place when looking for a new violin for our 14 year old daughter. She have been playing for 3 years and was ready to move up from her beginner violin. We googled for a violin shop around Arlington and came up with Wayne Burak & Associates. From the first time we stepped into their office all the way to their showroom and towards the end when we purchased the violin, we were treated like first class customers. We liked the fact that we get the chance to talk and get to know Wayne first hand, his knowledge on violins and cellos are extensive. Never once were we pressured to buy the most expensive violin we can afford, rather Wayne and his son Nicholas took their time to let our daughter try several of their violins that are within our price range. The whole time our daughter was ecstatic to be there, enjoying different violins with professional input from Wayne and Nich. We came out with a brand new violin for our daughter and we were completely satisfied, not just for the awesome total purchase experience, but also knowing that we had the best deal in getting the best quality violin anywhere.

I have played violin for about 12 years, but have been away from music for around 7 years and am now trying to get back into it. I came here after being told by an orchestra member at my college that Mr. Burak was «the man» and I can’t help but agree with his assessment. Not only was he friendly, as was his assistant (and son) Nicholas, but knowledgable as well. After making an appointment (they operate by appointment only, I think to give personal service to everyone) my wife and I brought in my instrument that I have owned since I began playing, passed down to me by my step-​father. I was looking into how much it would be to get the instrument back up to a functional level, or if this would even be worth the cost. Mr. Burak did not ask any questions about the instrument at first, but after looking at it for maybe 5 seconds and turning it over in his hands, pronounced it to be A. German, B. From the 60’s, and C. A very basic student level instrument. All three of which were dead on. (It was a Karl Hofner violin from 1962) And I had never been fully satisfied with the instrument during my final 3 — 4 years of active practice, so the idea that it is a student level instrument was easily accepted. After an interesting and informative discussion about the make and structure of the violin Nicholas took me and my wife upstairs to the studio where I was shown an assortment of instruments. Both Nicholas and I played several of the violins, and I was wildly impressed by the sound. Basically I was in love. I then asked the question I was dreading. «How much?» When Nicholas responded I think my jaw hit the floor. You have AMAZING sounding violins like this, several under 1 grand?! I told Nicholas thank you and that the wife and I would discuss for a few days, see if we wanted to make the investment. He then surprised me by giving me the carbon fiber bow I had been playing with (That I mentioned I was in love with) and told me that I could use it for a few weeks and that if I didnt end up buying the instrument, that he’d give me a good price on the bow.
Fast forward 4 days, I make another appointment this morning, I go in, and I buy the violin I had been most impressed with. After tax, I barely squeaked above 1k, and the sound rivals that of some friends 3 and 5k instruments. I cannot recommend this shop highly enough. They care about the personal touch and they really go above and beyond for their customers.