New England Violins Inc Paul Dulude

I'm not usted to do this but I think this can be helpful to others. Around a month ago, I was visiting Boston with my wife. We are both profesional cellists. I needed to change the endpin from my cello and I searched on Google the nearest luthier from where I was staying. Since it was a simple job to be done as he said by the phone, I went to New England Violins.

This Paul started to work on my cello and we were very surprised in how he did his work because he treated my cello very careless. The tailpiece and strings were hanging from the cello as he moved, they kept banging everything the touch. I asked him to please stop, but he didnt hear me since he was on the phone the entire time he was working on the cello.

At this point I had to grab the cello from his hands and paid for his awful job and we left. I dont like my instrument to be banged around. I do not recomend this place at all. Be careful. Later I checked there were a los of places much better than this one and they knew this awful luthier. I Added a photo of the transaction so the awful luthier does not try to lie about this.

My daughter needed a shoulder rest for her viola. The owner, Paul, was very courteous and knowledgeable. He helped my daughter pick the best shoulder rest for her.

Paul is knowledgeable and engaging, he helped me find just the right 7/8 cello to fit my small hands! He set me up with a very fine instrument at a fair price and made sure I was happy with the set up before I left. His shop outshines others in the area.

I went to New England Violins to inquire about selling a violin. The owner could not have been nicer, more quick to respond, and above all, totally honest. He gave me a great price and I learned a lot about violins from our chat. I could not recommend more.

I originally came in just to buy a viola mute. Instead, I was treated to a 45 minute adventure in improving my technique, and got to see and try a large exhibit of violas of wildly different shapes and sizes, led by Paul himself. I've been playing for about 4 years, and he fixed my posture and shifting in approximately 15 minutes. I left the store with the mute, a shoulder rest, and a wealth of new knowledge on everything relating to violas. Paul is an amazing and friendly person, and this store is hands-down the best store on string instruments that I've had the pleasure of experiencing.

In search of a new viola my junior year of High School, with a quality sound and price for college auditions, I went to numerous shops around the Albany area. After months of searching for an instrument suiting my tastes, at an affordable price I stumbled upon Dulude's shop. Though it was a far drive to Massachusetts, his selection of instruments far surpassed any shop that I'd been to before.

Such a vast selection of rich sounding instruments, many at great prices. After spending a day at the store I came home with a viola that was just right for me, and my wallet! I felt so welcomed and comfortable trying various instruments for hours. I would not think twice before deciding where to go in search of any instrument needs in the future.

New England Violins has everything a string player could need or want. I look forward to visiting again and I have and would highly recommend this shop to anyone in search of a fine string instrument!

For a few years I had been thinking of trying to locate a better instrument than my current violin. I went to Paul's shop once, tried several instruments, but found none that were of the tone quality I was searching for--and still in my price range. I returned about a year later, and he introduced me to the instrument maker, Pio Montanari of Genova, Italy--and I played on a violin and a viola made by him--in the twenty-first century.

Even without the period of playing-in and aging, so important to an instrument's voice, I could tell these were both excellent instruments, the viola especially so. There was an evenness in the quality of sound produced across all four strings. In particular, I was impressed by the clarity of the sound of the notes produced--as though the harmonics within each note were balanced and speaking clearly.

I bought them both--at extremely fair prices. I have not been back to have the instruments adjusted, though it may be time now, but I have it on good authority from an excellent violist that Paul is a master at setting up and adjusting instruments--a fine, delicate, and not too often talked about art. If you are in the market for a good instrument, definitely take yourself over to New England Violins on Mass Ave.

The shop is beautifully laid out--the perfect place to try out several instruments. Paul offers instruments at many different price levels, but he has a fine ear and a respect for stringed instruments and string players alike, and he doesn't carry something that falls below the mark of being a sound instrument. You'll enjoy your experience of shopping here.