Over a year ago I called StringWorks and talked with Evan and expressed after more than 50 years and the COVID pandemic, I desired to rekindle the love of the Violin and planned to take virtual violin lessons. Evan was very encouraging, pleasant and supportive of the idea. I rented a StringWorks Violin and knew that playing the violin during the pandemic was a wonderful art to once again do.The incentive given by StringWorks that if I later decided to purchase the instrument that I could apply a portion of the rental cost to the purchase of owning the instrument. As a gift my nephew surprised me with my personally owned StringWorks instrument which I once rented had now become my own!I live in Michigan and I was so impressed with the telephone conversation and the transaction of renting my instrument and the incentive to become owner of the violin. Two months later, I decided to upgrade my violin playing experience.I travelled more than four hours and would do it again in a couple of years, the experience given by Evan and his assistant was phenomenal and I was A-1 service the showcase room and the selection of instruments and bows was amazing and I was allowed to make a decision based on my hands on and quality of sound that pleased my ears.I was able to apply my gifted violin to the purchase of an upgraded violin and bow and I feel that after more lessons I will be able to apply for the symphony. (please smile).5 Stars to Evan and his assistant, I am truly satisfied with the experience that was afforded me and look forward to seeing you again when I upgrade to another level of beautiful music produced by way of StringWorks Musical Instrument.

We recently went shopping for our son’s first intermediate level cello. We looked at numerous places, both locally and in Chicago. StringWorks is worth a visit. Their instruments are beautiful, both visually and acoustically. Evan helped us on our journey to learn and explore a variety of cellos. His knowledge, patience, and experience made this process comfortable and exciting. His willingness to help us went above and beyond our expectations, including personally dropping off cellos to our house for a home trial. I am thankful this business is part of our town!

Evan was super helpful and very knowledgeable. I went in for a viola bow and case and ended up getting my viola inspected by one of their luthiers as well. Everyone was polite and happy to help me. What a great place!

Very friendly people. Very knowledgeable. We moved from out of state and never had our daughters cello properly set up. It did sound great. They were very friendly over the phone and very helpful. We drove from 55 minutes away. They were very upfront about cost. We had them fix the cello and set it up in just a few day. The cello sounds like a totally different and high end instrument now. Thank you.

Just picked up a beautiful cello here and Im very impressed. The sound and quality is excellent. The staff is personable and friendly; it made me feel like I was a lifelong customer.

Truly one of the best customer experiences I have ever had. From the CEO down, they worked extra to ensure that we received our instrument when we needed it. We bought the base model, which is better quality and richer sound than any one I rented when I played as a child.If we ever so want to move up to a more expensive model, they have a phenomenal upgrade package that credits the full price of our current model towards our first upgrade - not that we will need that any time soon.I couldnt be happier with the instrument or the service from StringWorks - highest recommendation!!

Great customer service!

Just wanted to post an update on the Kallo Bartok I received in January. The tone changes every month. It becomes richer and the overtones on this thing are wonderful. The director of our string group commented give that thing another year and it is going to roar. Please tell Claude his work is phenomenal and the final adjustments completed by Stringworks made an amazing instrument. I may be purchasing a viola from you guys made by him in the near future.

I’m a beginner violinist and Evan, one of the staff members helped me pick out my first violin. He was professional and encouraging. StringWorks builds their own stringed instruments so you are supporting a Geneva locally owned and operated business by shopping here.

What a cool studio/music shop! My son was able to play different cellos and figure out which one was best suited for him. Evan was super helpful and flexible with our appointment time.

The most professional, kind, patient, down to earth people that I think Ive ever come across in a very long time. The prices they charge for rentals are such a blessing and they definately care about their future musicians and not about profit. Thank you a million times over!!!! Youve made my little girls dreams come true for violin lessons!!!!

The people of Stringworks know what they are doing! Every aspect of my experience there was great and they directed me to a cello that far exceeded my expectations. I had purchased my first cello there and they have a wonderful trade-in program that takes all the stress and pressure off of that first purchase. You wont find a better place, or better people, to work with.

StringWorks is a gem. A great place to buy and repair string instruments. The sales staff is very knowledgeable, but not pushy. I am a professional cellist and cello teacher and I recommend this store to all of my students.

Evan is a very resoectful guy, I came in with hundreds of questions from strings to technique.... he took so much time with us and offered much help! He’s a great guy, with lots of knowledge and wonderful to work with!You have to come to this shop!

Great shop. Salesmen.know what theyre talking about. You want to make sure youre buying from a knowledgeable person and these people clearly know the business. As a new violinist it was clear they werent trying to upsell me on anything. I ended up with a good entry level violin with a great bow. Couldnt be happier with the quality. Overall great experience.

When it was time to move on from my rental I did a lot of research. I ended up with Stringworks. Evan is amazingly helpful with advice about the instruments and sound quality. I tried several and purchased a Solo III. Love it. Highly recommended (the Solo and Stringworks).

I was in need of a setup and a few other upgrades/modifications to my bass (2011 Christopher 604T), and I wanted to stay in the suburbs rather than make the trip to Chicago. I had heard some good things about StringWorks, so I decided to give them a shot. I am so glad that I did. Don’t get me wrong, I loved my bass before, but now it is like I have a completely new instrument. I feel like Mark managed to unleash its full potential: the playability is so effortless, and the tone is just phenomenal. He lowered the bridge to get the action just how I wanted it, dressed the fingerboard, installed a New Harmony carbon fiber endpin, modified the wings of the bridge to install a boutique pickup I had purchased a while back from Northern Lutherie, inspected previously repaired cracks to give me piece of mind, rehaired my bow, and filled in a few bad nicks and scratches and touched up the varnish to make my bass look like new again — all for a fair price and on a tight turnaround. I gig just about every weekend and some weeknights too, so I was thrilled to get my bass back in under a week. I highly recommend StringWorks. Evan and Mark are so courteous, respectful and knowledgeable. They listened to my needs and their work exceeded my expectations. The icing on the cake is being greeted by Lily, the sweetest dog ever, each time we stopped into the shop. I am so glad to have a master luthier so close to home, and I know I can count on StringWorks for any work I need done in the future. Thanks so much!-Jeremy (Elgin, IL)

Beautiful instruments! Lovely staff. Very highly recommended!!

Im very glad for the Maestro cello I bought from Stringworks. I had a lot of questions and Evan answered them by email, phone and skype. He knows so much and is patient, kind and professional, so I felt comfortable ordering through the internet and having the instrument shipped halfway around the world. Its superb. Now Im playing every day and am happy to recommend Stringworks.

Evan is so nice ! I love it here .

Nope! I am going to let the pictures speak for themselves. This was supposed to have been worked on by the head luthier, took 3 weeks to arrive, AND cost $1,500! looks like a junior high project that would have gotten a poor grade. I could not ship it back to them fast enough! Utter trash.So very disappointed. I guess they are lucky that I am not reporting them to the BBB.

We purchased the Artist cello (and a bow and bag) from Stringworks and couldnt be happier - Its the best entry level cello I have found out there. Buying a musical instrument online can be stressful as they are expensive, and whether you like it or not is very subjective. Stringworks, however, makes that process much easier and easier on the nerves. Everyone on staff I talked to was a cellist. They are able to find out exactly what it is you are looking for and then act as a personal shopper, so to speak, and select the instrument in their inventory that is the best fit for your budget and needs. On top of that, there is a 14-day money back period if you dont absolutely love your purchase. That really took all of the risk out of it for me.We purchased this cello for our son, a serious middle-schooler taking private lessons. Ive played high end guitars for years and while I know nothing about cellos, i at least understand acoustic instruments, tone woods, etc. After researching cellos online for a couple of weeks, the Stringworks name kept showing up in forum posts and online reviews - all speaking to how great they were. I looked through their website and reached out to ask some questions and was very impressed with the service and attention. They guided us towards the best setup for our budget, and for our sons skill level. The cello we got from Stringworks is first-rate in every regard. Even our sons teachers had nothing but great things to say about it, especially how even and mellow the tone was, without the usual harsh spots or screechy ranges that many beginner/intermediate cellos suffer from. All in all, we couldnt be happier. My son loves playing it and that is evident in his practicing. As the parent spending the money, thats pretty important!Lastly - this particular model is made in China, but dont let that deter you. It is hand crafted by a skilled builder who happens to be in China. Many cheaper imports are mass produced in chinese factories, and there is absolutely no comparison here. In this case, it simply allows them to offer an unusually high-quality instrument for this price point. A single builder can pay careful attention to wood selection and fine-tuning, which makes a much better sounding instrument than what typically comes from a factory. The Artist is all solid tone woods too - absolutely NO plywood. If you choose to buy a cheaper cello through Amazon, Ebay, or one of the big online music stores - you will very likely end up with a plywood instrument and plywood just doesnt resonate - therefore the sound suffers tremendously.