SchwÄn Violins

We found Schwans violins to be a convenient alternative to the local school issued violins. Schwans made repairs and provided help as needed. The violin was in better shape than what the schools offers and worked out well as a rental.

My dear sister was looking around for violin options and I came across Schwans Violin. Without any hesitation, I told my sister about this store. Reason being that I love the fact that it is a specialty store that offer custom made violin and rentals.
We came in today, and were very impressed with the selection and service provided. The knowledgable owner, Bill was very patient and realistic to our needs.
We ended up buying a full sized violin for my sister’s daughter. She was the happiest kid at the end of the day.
Since my sister’s son is still growing, we are starting with rental.
This is a THUMBS UP specialty store for any parents who wants to expose their kids to violin!!!

Bill the luthier /​violin maker is highly professional. I didn’t check Unilocal before going so I had no expectations. I had a great time and so when I came back to look it up, I was very surprised by the few poor reviews. You can’t believe everything you read, but here are my two cents based on my own experience:
My preschooler broke the bow, hair, and a tuning peg off of my wife’s violin!
It’s a very nice instrument so I wanted it fixed and afterwards hidden away from my preschooler. I called up music stores that do instrument repairs like for guitars and band instruments, but I did not get the impression that they could handle this violin properly. Luckily I found SchwAn Violins who has a shop that also makes their own instruments. My wife had bought her violin from such a shop so I felt confident going in.
I went into the store and met Bill, a reserved and polite craftsman. He inspected the violin thoroughly and found a few places that needed glue besides replacing the broken tuning peg. The hair and strings were over 20 years old so it was time to replace them anyway. Bill gave me a quote for the repair fee and time, and then I left the shop.
When I came to pick it up a week later, the work was all done with nice new strings and hair. The violin was from the 1920s so it needed a new hard-​to-​find tuning peg to match the same shape and style of the existing ones on the violin. Bill played a few bars for me on the violin and it sounded great!
I felt that Bill was very straight-​forward and honest. If you ever want a decent instrument, buy from a violin maker’s shop!

For years, numerous violin shops have looked at my violin bow without any specific comment. But after visiting to SchwAn Violins, he pointed out right away that my bow frog is actually a viola frog!
After the change, I feel the balance and coordination of my bow has greatly increased!

Be careful while returning your instrument and take a picture of your rental receipt. Owner took my copy of the rental receipt and kept it away.
His copy had the «deposit» amount canceled out and had «management fee» written over it. When I claimed mine showed no such thing, he would not give my copy of the receipt back to me. Kept claiming it indeed was so and that «deposit» now was non-​refundable, making me doubt my own sanity.
After challenging the validity of the shady move — unilaterally changing a contract after it had been signed– he changed his tune to say they have stocking expenses, accountant said it was mandatory to change etc. etc. and tried to continue to keep the deposit.
He then proceeded to make a show of examining the instrument very very carefully and kept claiming that most people do not maintain their instrument, return it damaged, parts changed out etc.(despite me having bought their damage insurance, periodic tune-up’s and all other up sells)
My returned rental instrument was in perfect condition and I had preserved a copy of my receipt, so very reluctantly I got my deposit back. But it left a distasteful taste in my mouth.
PUSD may recommend it strongly as a local source for renting kids musical instruments, but I would be wary with going with that recommendation.
I dread to think of the people who may not have bought their «damage insurance» and gotten bilked or not kept a copy of their original rental receipt (and thus would have no recourse). Overall an un-​pleasant experience.

5÷16÷2016
I want to let everyone know about this honest review:
I entered his store with our guitar in hand I asked if the owner could fix a small lift on the corner of our «Martin guitar» realizing this was a «violin shop» but hoping with such exquisite violins this could be a simple and after the owner assured us after looking the small lift at it and letting both my daughter and I he could repair by using a wood glue it, and clam it until the glue dried. He originally quoted $ 50 then it said he was busy so $ 100. I asked him why and after haggling he agreed to $ 65 for the repair. We dropped it off on a Wednesday and I was told to pick it up first thing the upcoming «Monday morning no later than 10:30; as he needs to leave to a doctors appointment. I arrived at the shop on Monday morning at 9:50am and waited and waited… and then left give messages on his phone by 10:45 I asked his neighbors for a piece of paper to leave a note on his door but while writing it up to let him know I was there waiting he drives up and says „you are here for the guitar. I have it but the paint is cracked; so go by Michaels Craft store and find paint to match. I took the guitar to look it over only to find that the small lift on the one side of the guitar which was only about 2“ in lengthy had been glued but the black paint was faded and then noticed the other end now had a crack that looked as if it cracked during his repair! I was amazed and told him it was now cracked on both ends. (During his initial review of the guitar he held and inspected it very closely and kept a close eye on the entire guitar saying he normally works on much more expensive violins and that this would be easy but because he was so busy he’d wanted to charge us more to do it. We All knew that he was use to working on violins but he insisted he could handle the job. There was only one 2» lift on the side corner left…) he took the guitar from me and said $ 65 was what we agreed in and I was forced to pay him. I took it home to my husband we both agreed he had done s horrible job on the repair so I swung it by my daughters school and shown it to her; and after a few tears she cried I decided to call him and let him know although his specialty was violins, he took the job, ruined the guitar (which is a Martin$$$$) and was very frustrated. Acoustic guitar people know they are not cheep, very well made and wonderful to play.
In conclusion, knowing he was wrong he apologized and offered me a refund. I drove back to the store and he promptly returned my money asking I give him a good review and that he really was sorry.
In short. In the end he was very professional and I was given an apology with a refund.
I’m sure he expected five stars but only in good faith can I give him 3 .5 because of the refund and he apologized but now I need to find or send off to the manufacturing company my daughters guitar which will take weeks but at least I have complete faith in them knowing what they are doing and won’t be put through the mess of the morning: afternoon I had this past Monday.
I do appreciate and «Thank you for being honest and sincere» ~in the end.
Advice: If you play only violins he has some of the prettiest wood I’ve seen on his instruments in his store. my mother plays violin so I am aware of the quality he has within his store. BUT «Don’t take any other «acoustic musical instrument» YOU WILL BE SORRY… for repair.
This is an honest review. I told the experience in full detail. Thank you for reading it entirely.
Note: 5÷18÷2016 @ 12:52pm, 12:53, 12:55.he called my phone over and over. I was on the other line but had him in my contacts and knew it was his number redialing over and over then left a long very frazzled voicemail message «telling me to call him back!»
I did, and what started off with me explaining that I left my honest review ALSO indicated I appreciate his professional manner and the refund, but never told him that after his «repair» I will now have to loose more time sending it out to the Martin Manufacturing company and his damage caused more cost to the repair. He continued to try to talk over me yelling that I must take down my review. OMG!
NOTE: Ok, due to his harassment on his repeat calling and also the harsh tone left on my voice mail and personal conversation; I do not endorse this company. I won’t take it down and/​or take away any stars. ***Unless Bill, the owner or anyone from his relationship continues to harass me.
Bill you should of read the review in it’s entirety.
If I based it off our last conversation.
You should know better than that. It’s a review, my honest review. My opinion.
Advise: Bill keep it, learn from it (~as we did the hard way; «timely more costly way») Sometimes you just need to keep it shut

Rented a very nice violin. Very knowledgeable craftsman. Return violin with no issues. My experience was positive and I would return here if my other child needed a violin in the future.

It was a great shop with many string instruments. The man helping us was very nice and helpful. He rented a viola to my daughter and it was in perfect shape.

We had a very pleasant experience with Schwan Violins. My daughter wanted to try out cello, and I happened to find this place online. We started with ½ size and and have graduated to the full size and decided to purchase one from the same place. The owner is skillful and very helpful whenever we have questions or problems. The string was broken once by accident, and the owner replaced it and tune the cello thoroughly with the cost of string only. We also got the rental payment for the past years as deduction on the cello purchase without any issues. One of our friends got their kid’s violin bow rehaired in Schwan Violins and was also happy with the job done by the shop as well. I would recommend the shop to anyone who needs string instruments.

So, here I am, to write a review for this place again. My previous review was removed. I don’t know why? It is important, I think, that it is known how I was treated. I rented a violin for my daughter from Schwan’s, for six months. We had to change three strings because they broke. When I went to return the violin, the owner asked me if I bought a new violin. My answer was «Yes.» Then he proceeded to tell me that he didn’t believe me that the strings broke and accused me for taking his strings and putting them on a our new violin. I never felt so insulted in my life. He wouldn’t give me my rental agreement back and went on and on about this subject, the way I described above. Finally he wrote «VOID» on our agreement and said that we were done, not even giving me a copy of it. I left very upset. All in all I had the worst experience in that store and I would never go back over there. The facts stated here are exactly as they happened.

I rented a ½ violin there from Sept last year. Later on, there was an upgrade to ¾ since the kid grew and the violin teacher recommended me purchased one. Then I came back to return the rented one. The one year contract ended by Sept and I was expecting at least the deposit back. The experience of returning or ending the contract is kind of painful. The old man kept persuading me to keep the renting one but I really could not keep both. Then he started to tell me there is no refund and no deposit back by picking things here and there. I did not argue too much just left the violin and left. Not a pleasant experience at all.

Great place to rent an instrument for your child. Easy to work with and very fair. Also, they are always willing to fix your instrument, tune it or replace anything if you need them to.

This is the best string store in this area! I stopped by to ask about the cello for my little girl, and I had zero idea what to look for. The owner was patient, kind and knowledgeable, and it turned out she is a professional cellist! We ended up buying a new cello and signed up for a cello lesson too!

This is a place I wont step foot into again. I was in the area because I had a vet appointment to which I was a bit early for. I tied my dogs leash to the pole outside the store and walked in. The response I got upon entering was a very judgemental and snotty «Yes ?» Not hello or even may I help you. Is this the way you welcome your customers? While I am in healthcare now; many years ago I managed retail jewelry stores and was aghast at how poor this woman’s attitude and approach was. Had she been even slightly polite I would have inquired upon the availability of left handed violins. I have struggled to find a stringed instrument I am able to play having injured my left arm as a child. I also would have inquired about electric violins and various playing styles. Instead I turned around and walked out. My former neighbor is a violin teacher and I will be sure to pass this review along so that he doesn’t send students there.
NO THANKS

I didn’t know about Schwan Violins until we were walking down Main Street collecting donations for our elementary school fundraiser. The shop is a hidden gem and the owners were generous with a donation. We will definitely be supporting schwan violin in the future as our kids get older and get more involved in music. Thank you!

I had driven past this shop, tucked in the back of a small shopping lot in scenic downtown pleasanton many times, always wanting to go in. Finally, for Christmas, my husband offered to buy me a new violin — the old one I have had for over a decade and had been wanting to upgrade for some time.
My experience was excellent! It is a very well organized, small, intimate little shop. I believe the gentleman that sold me my instrument may have made it himself, though I’m not certain… He certainly acted as if he had — the back of the shop was somewhat visible and I saw several instruments in states of partial completion anyway.
Very professional and kind, and I almost felt a if I was purchasing something akin to a child, the way I was subtlely asked about what my needs were, how I would be using the instrument, how long I have been playing… as if to make sure I wouldn’t hurt it. It was very endearing!
In the end, I came away with a new bow, a new instrument, and a new case, for a very reasonable price. They also have a policy in which you can return the instrument in good condition for 70% of the purchase price if you upgrade to another, more expensive version of their instruments. That’s a great deal!
Overall, I am VERY satisfied with my purchases and my experience! I will be heading back there to see if there is anything they can do to help me repair my poor, worn old school violin from my haydays, to see if I can donate it to a worthy child at my old middle school :)
I’d highly reccomend Schwan if you want a great instrument!