Claire Givens Violins

When I was a young student, my family bought my first good cello from Givens Violins. Even though I was about 12 at the time, I still clearly remember the kindness and care Claire took to make sure I had the right instrument. I stopped in the shop over the next ten years whenever I was in Minneapolis to buy supplies or see what was available. One day, Claire called me out of the blue. She told me they had just rebuilt an old English cello that she thought would be perfect for me. I drove to Minneapolis, tried it, and fell instantly in love. Claire was spot on!
That cello was my professional instrument for my entire career as a cellist. It served me well as soloist, chamber musician, and orchestral player. Many people often remarked on its physical beauty and its amazing sound.
Claire also shipped bows to me to try when I was in an emergency situation and needed one right away. Again, she provided an excellent selection perfectly suited to my needs.
Over the years, I also bought cases, strings, rosin, etc, and got repairs and advice from Givens Violins. I always, always found everyone there friendly and helpful and everything I ever bought there was fantastic, and every repair was extremely well done.
I have frequented other violin shops on the East and West Coast and Europe, and never found any that combined the top-​rate professionalism with the friendliness and excellent customer service that Givens Violins provides.

I had a great experience in finding my new bow. I was given a number of excellent bows within my price range to try out in the store, with no hard sell or pressure to buy. I was able to take a few home to try for the week and found a great match for the price. This will be a good experience if you have an idea of what you are looking for when you walk through the door.