Westbank String Shop

Had a great experience here. Fiance got a violin and I got new cello strings. Todd really cares and explained everything, never seemed rushed, immediately recognized wear issues on my cello and old violin. Highly recommend!

Very rude and condescending man. Poor customer service. He thinks he knows all violinists in town, so what if he doesn't know our violin teacher?

Very rude man. I rent two violins from him and will be canceling my contract this week. No need to have a monthly payment to be treated so disrespectfully in front of customers. If you are looking for professionalism and courtesy, definitely this is not the place. Plenty of violin shops in town.

Impossible to find enough superlatives to describe Westbank String Shop. We obtained our first violin 8 years ago and every one of my four children has been made to feel special when getting their instrument for the first time. Every visit for repairs or tune ups or sizing or upgrades has been a positive one. Todd and crew have made us feel like family. In many ways they remind me of old South Austin. Bonus: every visit I feel like I've entered Gepetto's workshop!

Amazing customer service! Very sweet people, very knowledgeable. Definitely will come back for all my cello needs. You never forget how someone makes you feel and they made me feel welcomed and truly cared about.

Wonderful place! Todd is great, funny, engaged, and very knowledgeable! This is our fifth year renting from them and we have no plans to go anywhere else. When Todd was out of town we spoke with his son who was also super friendly and helpful. Just all around great!

Great customer service and knowledgeable staff! They know what they are doing, they love music and string instruments and it shows. They take the time to help make sure you pick out the right instrument for you, and really work to make you happy, regardless of how much you do or do not purchase.

I was looking for a particular type of strings for my guitar, and I went into this shop for the first time. They were really helpful, really friendly staff, and very knowledgeable. Highly recommended.

Great service! Was able to rent an instrument before a deadline. Todd and Scott were very accommodating and went above and beyond to ensure my daughter had what she needed. Thank you!

I am so glad we went here to get our child's first string instrument. The owner was warm, welcoming, and informative. He made the process easy and educational. He obviously cares a lot about the art and the art of customer service. I highly recommend this place!

I'd highly recommend Westbank String Shop. On my first visit there, I was treated like family, not a transaction. The owner, Todd, is very personable and had plenty of stories and one-liners. It was obvious to me that Todd genuinely cares about the strings community in Austin, especially fostering the next generation of string players.

These folks have always been helpful, kind, and decently priced. We've had to have a couple minor repairs on our hand-me-down violin, and Westbank Strings has always taken good care of us.

I felt like I was in Italy, 16th century getting my Stradivari worked on. Well, OK, it was a cello, but Tom made me feel great about that instrument. Definitely going back again. True Austin musician shop for classical string instruments.

I have had the pleasure of doing business at this store twice, once working with Nicole for a music book and once working with Todd when he looked over my instrument. Both times I was made to feel at home with no pressure as I shopped around. I cannot recommend this store enough if you have a stringed instrument, or are in need of one to rent/buy!

Nicole Taylor is the best luthier in Austin and Todd Sloan is the warmest, funniest shopowner I have ever met. These people make every family that comes to the shop feel completely at home and they take great care of everyone. They're providing such an extraordinary service to the musical community of Austin and I cannot recommend them highly enough.

This place is amazing. My son's double bass fell and the neck snapped off in a really bad way. Dr Sloan went way above and beyond to not just bring it back to life, but make it better than it was with several nice improvements. All done very quickly and for a very affordable price! We'll be bringing all our future string business there for sure!

Dr. Sloan is awesome! We are renting our son's cello from him, and he has held our hands through the very confusing world of first-time orchestra entry. He has provided service going above and beyond; I won't even share details of what he's doing to help us get a last-minute cello repair around the Thanksgiving holiday, because I'd hate to have someone running to him and saying, "But that Yelp review said you did such-and-such for so-and-so!" But I suspect this is just the regular course of business for him, giving incredibly personalized service the old-fashioned way. Thanks, Dr. Sloan!

This shop is a wonderful gem. The man running the shop is patient and personable. We rented a violin for my daughter here and have had to resize it once as she's grown and it's always a pleasure to stop in at this quiet little oasis.

In the past I had been into Westbank String Shop for some work on one of my sons violins. It made a huge difference. I do not believe Phil's story as it just doesn't add up. Why would someone with their experience and ability give some student a hard time about some stickers and an E string.? It makes no sense. From what I saw, they are completely competent and rework a lot of instruments.

There were two different people in and out during our visit who picked up basses who were thrilled with the work. Fixing something minor or major would be within their realm of everyday routine. The reason for our visit was we needed another violin and I went in to look. The selection was excellent and the guy was completely nice absolutely no pressure.

He helped us select a few instruments and then let us take them home to try. They were both great instruments without all the posh hype and mark up that you usually encounter in a string shop. The owner went over and above and helped us take our time selecting a really nice instrument at a good price.

We recently went to Westbank String Shop to rent a cello for my son entering 6th grade. I can't remember the last time I've had such wonderful customer service. The owner was engaging and made a true effort to connect with my son. You can tell that he has worked with kids and knows how to encourage and talk to kids in a way that they will understand. It was also nice to go to a small, locally owned business. You definitely don't get the time, patience and care at the larger rental shops like you get here.

I've been in business with this shop on and off for about 10 years. I have always been pleased. Dr. Sloan and his son who work in the shop are friendly and helpful as always and are willing to help you make things work. I recently visited there in search of a new bow and violin case combo for teaching lessons to young kids, and he was beyond helpful in finding affordable and durable options. I got the current viola I play with through this shop and I have been very please with it so far. He is a great resource.

We went to Westbank String Shop for a violin rental (for private lessons). I'm so glad we found this place. The proprietors are friendly, knowledgable and thorough. They went out of there way to help us with a violin we brought in as well. Also, they have quality instruments at a competitive price and all the accessories and lesson books you need. We were pleasantly surprised after the review we read and glad we didn't pay attention to it. It's a great string shop and very convenient for south Austin.