Ken Su Violin – KSV

I have been to Ken Su several times, and have had wonderful experiences. The most recent time, he made some adjustments to my very fine, old viola.
My viola sound so much better now, I’m very happy! The sound has become much more open, resonant and speaks quicker.
Ken Su has always been incredibly friendly and helpful to me, so I don’t understand some of these other reviews.
As a teacher, I send most of my students here and believe the quality of his student instruments is quite good, and considerably better than some of the other music store instruments in the bay area.

Horrible. Save your money and your time. Go anywhere other than here. Worst violin store on the peninsula — and I am a violin teacher!

RUDE!!! Listen Ken Su: There are plenty of violin shops in the Bay Area to choose from. Judging by the comments on your business, you need some coaching on how to treat prospective customers over the phone and in person. I found a place that rents violins in SF
for way cheaper than what you have and they are PROFESSIONAL, PLEASANT, INFORMATIVE AND WELCOMING over the phone!
I am glad you were rude to me over the phone. Now, I don’t ever have to meet your pompous A$$!

Ken Su — fantastic for adjustments, new sound posts, new bridges. He did a fantastic job on my instrument.

Ken replaced and tuned strings on my sons violin quickly and efficiently. His customer service was remarkably friendly and helpful. He seems to be an honest business man. I will go back again if I need anything else.

Ken Su always has EXCELLENT quality student violins. I’m a local violin teacher in the area who is always pleasantly surprised with the service and quality of the rentals i have seen. His prices are comparable to other music stores in the area. I can’t comment about his repairs which seem to be the bulk of the negative reviews, but student rentals are excellent.

I went to Ken Su Violins yesterday to buy new strings. He was extremely knowledgeable about my instrument just from looking at it. He replaced my sound post and my violin sounds so much better. Before the sound was «dead» and wasn’t ringing the way it had before.
I teach violin in San Mateo and always recommend his instruments. They are nice quality instruments for a fair rental price. He also has a rent to own program where the rental money will go towards purchasing an instrument. I highly recommend renting from him because you get great value for your money.
I will be back!

Have now gone to Ken Su for additional repairs on a new instrument that was rather delicate and needed careful repair work done. In addition, it needed a new sound post, bridge, tailpiece, chinrest, and strings. After a very interesting 20 minute discussion of the various changes to be made, I left the violin there. Two days later, Ken called me back and the instrument was good to go. It sounded distinctly better and all the changes appeared to be done correctly and as we agreed.
When I went to pick it up, Ken spent another half-​hour with me, showing me some unusual details of the instrument and pointing out things that in time might need attention. I was impressed both by the repair work, the amount of time he spent showing me unique details that he had uncovered during his repair work, and his clear passion for instrument repair. I’ve gone to him with other violins, and expect to take future instruments to him.

I met Ken Su, violinmaker and repairer about 9 years ago and it has been one lucky day when I did… I bought one of his fine modern violins that he personally made and it has been a great joy to play… I also own an old Italian violin and I have had the good fortune of having Ken Su Violins do various repairs and corrective maintenance over the years. My precious, old Italian instrument is in perfect condition thanks to Ken Su. I have found his pricing most reasonable and I have always been more than satsfied with the performance and service. Ken Su has always lived up to his promise. I also am happy with his rehairing of my French and modern bows. When i come with a violin question or problem, I know i’ll get the right answer/​solution! It is obvious to me that making violins and doing fine repairs is a work of love for Ken Su that goes far beyond just being in business for the business!
CMB

Poor service. After being a loyal customer for over a year, we rented a larger instrument that our teacher felt was way too large for my child. Returned the instrument within one week of rental and they expected me to pay for a full three month rental. After long discussion, finally was charged for one month. We have five string players in our family and would love to continue to frequent this shop that is 5 minutes from our house, but no chance of going back with horrible customer service. Take your business to Ifshin, Kamimoto, or Heaney violins – worth the drives, near been disappointed with these establishments.

Walked in to check out either rental or purchase for our 6 year old. IMHO, guy was very condescending. I’ve read the other reviews; consistent with my experience. Will not go back.

I called a couple of weeks ago to get a quote on how much an appraisal would be. Was quoted $ 35. When I showed up today, and he took a look at my very nice violin, the price jumped from $ 35 to $ 100. After expressing that I was just quoted 2 weeks ago that the price was just $ 35, he told me that was the price then, but he just raised the rate. My guess, when he looked at my violin and saw the maker, is when he decided to raise the price. Not an honest man!!!

I got a old violin that I had it repair elsewhere but couldn’t had it sound right until I brought it to Ken Su Violins, it come back to live.

I have rented a violin from him, the handle of the case was broken about a month after. I was told that either I have to repair it or he charges for $ 25 just for one screw. We have been geting rental violins from different shops from New York to California. This is the worst shop we ever had. I am sure that he did not perform any instrument and case inspection during the renting process. So, rent at your own risk.

Do not rent from this business. I rented a well worn violin and used it once. Upon return of the violin, I was told there was a crack in the violin and now had to purchase it. BTW, the process of renting does not include a scan of the instrument’s condition with the customer. $ 320 later… Rent at you own risk of getting cheated.

Called in regarding and order for quarter sized violins for about 100 kindergartners… told it was okay and to come in the next day… I went there the next day and they told me they had sold them all… right because when you place an order its Sooo O.K. to just give the merchandise to someone else. Completely UNRELIABLE and the man there the day I went to pick up the violins was EXTREMELY RUDE. for better luck try Bronstein’s and B street Music.

Very unprofessional and unreliable. Give yourself some peace of mind and take your business elsewhere.

Simply put: Unorganized and lacking in follow thru.
When placing an order for over a hundred kindergarten students and twenty-​five 3^rd grade students, no call was made to alert a lack of supply. Instead, after arriving on the appointed day, a simple «Oops, sorry» is the only response given.
When you accept a high-​quantity order and acknowledge that you can meet the demand, you are obligated to have the appointed items ready for pickup or to notify that you are unable to complete the request. The way this was handled was completely unacceptable and the apology significantly lacking.

Called on a Sunday expecting to get a machine and instead was told I could come right in. Bow re-​hair — soundboard and bridge replacement a very good deal. Was invited to play some gorgeous instruments, including Ken Su’s own violin and $ 8000 bow. No pressure to buy, just a craftsman sharing his enthusiasm and knowledge. I wish I had grown up with a quality instrument instead of the squeak box that was all I knew as a child/​teen.

We will not go back to this business establishment. We thought he was ok until it was time to return the violin.
My advice to you if your child needs to rent a violin from this establishment:
1. do not go there
2. if you have to go there make sure you have detailed description of the violin you are borrowing, any color changes, even little damages.
3. take pictures of the violin.
The business charged us an extra $ 150.00 for a small crack on the violin when we returned it. I don’t mind paying for the damages that we cause; however we had no idea who made the crack. Was it the previous renter? Was it us? Nobody knew since he did not give us a thorough checkup with detailed description before renting it to us. But the establishment insisted that we did it.
Learn from our bitter experience.