CK Violins

My family and I have been with CK Violins for over 7 years now and they have been literally instrumental in getting me and my brothers started and most importantly enjoying playing our string instruments. They have made sure that all our needs are met and have gone out of their way to make sure we can keep playing! The service is exceptional and I definitely recommend CK Violins to anyone of any string playing ability.

The owner here is so nice and knowledgeable! My wife and I started coming here a year ago and both got our beautiful violins from here. Anytime we had an issue or wanted to change out our bow, chin rest, or shoulder rest he always accommodated us to make sure our violin experience was impeccable. This man is a blessing and should be the first and only violin shop you go to!

Nicholas was very knowledgeable about any string instrument. Very talented musician as well. Picking a violin was a fairly easy process. He also helped me with some of the fingerings for "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star". Nicholas also replies fairly quickly. Customer service was superb! Glad to have purchased my violin from CK Violins. Nicholas was also nice enough to give me a starter pack for the violin, case, rosin, and bow. He also gave recommendations on schools to check ouusician books to study and read. Thank you Nicholas and CK Violins for the amazing experience!

I've been with CK for several years now and I am very happy. They provide very good private lessons with very experienced private teachers. The teacher is very patient and very kind. The cello I recently bought from them used is very good quality and sounds great! I am happy with my experiends with CK!

I bought both my violin and viola at CK violins 4 and 3 years ago respectively. I recently broke my friend's instrument made by some other place and buying an instrument at CK allowed me to get his violin fixed for free! CK violin connections are real and I really love all the instruments at CK. The owner is super nice too! Great Customer Service!

We purchased my daughters cello from CK 8 years ago. After setting a price range, Nicholas introduced my daughter to several cellos. She found her favorite and named it Lemon Cello. She was home for a family emergency and needed to practice, and inquired about a rental. They do not offer rentals, but after recognizing us from previous visits, he graciously lent us a cello. Nicholas was so amazing and kind in the time that we needed some tender care. I am so appreciative of his kindness. Thank you Nicholas. Good bless you.

Phenomenal store and phenomenal service. We drove down from Wahiawa and it took less than 15 minutes for him to swap out a part and charge us out. We didn't pay for parking because it was validated and he was so efficient. Lots of beautiful instruments in stock. Clearly a person that values their craft. WELL WORTH THE DRIVE!

I purchased a full size cello here before middle school and I have been consistently pleased with the quality of the instrument. The cello is absolutely gorgeous both in appearance and sound-I can hear that it is well made. Being a high school senior now, I am pleased to say that I will be sticking with this cello for life! Appreciate it Uncle Nicholas!

Would highly recommend to anyone looking to buy a great quality instrument for a good price. Customer service was wonderful, and everyone there is so friendly and helpful! I purchased my viola about a year ago, and yesterday I went in to get my strings changed (free of charge!) and hopefully get a new bow. I walked out with not one, but two amazing sounding bows.

My younger brother, who is planning to start the violin, was fitted for a half size violin to rent. You can clearly see that they love what they do. Thank you to Nicholas, Keiko, and everyone else working at CK Violins. You truly sweeten the experience for me and many other musicians!

We bought a cello for my daughter 4 years ago from Nicholas at CK Violins. He was so nice and helpful. She loves her cello and it has given her such a sense of confidence because of the beautiful sound it made. Just had to do a repair and he did it at no charge. I highly recommend his shop! Thank you Nicholas!

CK Violins has been amazing to us. Our son started cello lessons about 4 months ago & we needed to rent a cello & his instructor suggested CK Violins so we just walked in not knowing anything about instruments or this location. Nicholas was so quick to help us even though he was assisting another family when we walked in but he made sure to check in with us & let us know that he would help as soon as he was done. Nicholas was absolutely helpful & even went out his way to help our son get fitted for the right size cello & show him how to sit properly with it.

Fast forward 3 months, one of the strings came off & we call Nicholas & because we were renting from him, he was able to have us quickly stop in before our son's lesson & get a new string put on with no fee to the rental. We are waiting for our son to grow into the largest size & purchase from Nicholas. Beyond thrilled with this place & would recommend it to anyone!

I've been coming here for over ten years, since I first started the violin. Since then, Nicholas has helped me pick violins to rent, and finally to own. He has been very supportive and enjoys hearing the progress in my playing. I have brought my current violin back to him a few times for checkups. Nicholas always remembers me and my violin, and catches things that I miss on my violin too. I go to CK for all my violin needs, and I am extremely happy to do so.

CK Violins is simply terrific! We started going to the shop 4 years ago, when my daughter needed to upsize from a 3/4 cello to a 4/4, and both the school's orchestra program teachers and my daughter's cello teacher recommended this establishment. Nicholas Zou, the personable, kind proprietor, provides superlative professional service. Can't make the normal store hours?

Just call to make an appointment. You can also email him and expect a prompt, specific reply. A professional musician and string player himself, Nicholas provides sage advice, has the best selection of orchestral string instruments on the island, and also sells other musical supplies: rosin, replacement strings, cello donuts, hard-shell cases etc. CK Violins also has an in-house luthier, in the event that your instrument needs mechanical overhauling, tweaking, or repairs or you need your bow rehaired or repaired. Nicholas is also an honest soul--if he thinks you can get a better product somewhere else, or find a better price, he'll let you know that information too!

When daughter upgraded to a full-size cello, Nicholas bought our 3/4 cello and applied the price to the new instrument. He asked what we desired in an instrument, including the cost range, and provided a private room and a number of cellos to "test-drive." My daughter and her teacher were able to test the instruments at their leisure, in a pressure-free environment.

He also gifted daughter with new rosin. A few weeks ago, we bought strings off of Amazon and visited CK for cello string replacement. We were expecting to get charged, but Nicholas restrung the cello for free, showed my husband how to restring the instrument, and taught him a few tricks of the trade to make the process easier, should we ever want to restring the cello ourselves.

He also advised us to keep our old strings as backup, since, in his estimation, they were still good. CK Violins is located in the Waikiki Landmark. Ample validated parking can be found in the basement parking lot below the Landmark, marked for Retail Shops. Highly recommended!

Nicholas, owner of CK Violins, is amazing! He has shared his expertise over the past 14 years, helping my daughters since they were 4 & 5 years old find instruments they loved that were perfect for them and us! He has so many beautiful-sounding instruments from which to choose and is so responsive to our needs. We are so fortunate to have him as a string music resource right here on Oahu. Beginners through advanced musicians should check out CK Violins!

Same AMAZING service after 20+ years. Came to the shop to have Nicholas check out the Cello's I had bought from him 20+ years ago. Felt like time had never passed.

The manager that helped me gave me a great deal and was very nice and helpful. i love my viola and i really recommend this place if you want an affordable good quality stringed instrument.

Since starting my studies on the violin back in 2007 Nick has taken care of me and my needs. Even now I have transitioned to playing the viola, I have received professional level services. Lately one other shop has been trying desperately making claims about this shop being bad in its business tactics and so on. Honestly you as the customer have a choice of four shops on island you can visit and test out their instruments.

Please do your research on each shop and see what they have. And better yet, if you have a friend or two who can play the instrument, have them try out the instruments too and get their opinion. When I upgraded my viola, I asked five different musicians not affiliated with CK and got their opinions. Excuse my language, one of my friends said, "you'll be an idiot if you don't get this instrument." Honestly when I first played the instrument, it felt right for me, but getting extra opinions on the instrument reaffirmed my belief that the instrument I had was of high quality. To conclude this review, please do your research. Bring a few people who can play the instrument and get their input on the instrument.

I don't play the violin but bought one from here for my daughter. I like how he does business. If you want to trade up, he will discount the price you paid for your original one. He will fix any of his violins and help to replace strings too (he said, "you sit on it, your fault. It break you no sit on it, I fix"). The sound quality of the violin I bought was so beautiful. Hoping it lasts my daughter another 4-5 years do we can trade up.

Every time we go there Nicholas is too notch in his expertise and customer service. Does the little things free of charge to help us with our violins. Would recommend to anyone!

Fast responses and friendly staff! I have purchased instruments and accessories from Nicholas, growing up from beginner to advanced level.

Nicholas has been extremely helpful, CK violins has the best customer service! We bought two cellos from CK violins and they have the best upgrade options especially when your kids are growing! If you are looking to rent or buy violins/cellos, this is the place to come!

My son asked for a violin because that's the instrument he chose to play in school. I asked him where do we pick up a violin? He said my teacher told him to go to CK Violins. I said ok let's go. When we got there the sales person greeted us an asked if we were looking for something in particular. I said we're here looking for a violin for my son.

He sat us in a room an brought 3 different violins. He told my son to play all 3. He did so, then said Dad this is the one. I asked the price? $800 he replied. So I said ok. He then brought in another violin to try. So my son did. He was sold on the first one he chosen. The person told me so listen to the sound as he played couple songs. I told him that the second one sounded way more better then the one my son had chose.

My son agreed. We left the store with a $1500 investment and till this day I'm not disappointed. I'm not a person who plays any instrument but listening to the tune of a violin is music to my ears. The best part about owning a violin form this store is that the violin doesn't lose its value and I can upgrade to a newer one and just pay the difference. Thank you CK Violin for the best experience.

Nicholas, the Manager, is so kind and offers us great customer service anytime when we visit him! My daughter and all her friends are renting or buying violins from here. When my daughter started renting a violin, I was a little nervous to enter the store and to touch violin itself because I had an image of strict and quiet classical music to violin. However, he blew that image away from my mind! Whenever we have a trouble on our violins, he quickly fixes it. So skillful and knowledgeable! CK

Great service and first time violin buying experience. Nicholas really helped my daughter find what she was looking for and gave us the time to try out violins at our leisure. Location was easy to get to and parking is validated.

Very friendly and knowledgeable. The owner takes his time with each customer. He helped our 6 year old find a violin to fit her. He did suggest a team tap but we went ahead and just bought one. He was nice enough to throw in a few extra items. Would defiantly recommend this location to others.

Nicholas at CK was the nicest, most professional and most helpful I've met in the state of Hawaii. I had to send my bow for a frog repair and I've seldom felt so confident with sending my bow to Oahu.and then SO happy with the results.

Just had my second service done at CK Violins (sound post re-install), the first time I went was to have my bow rehaired. The staff are friendly, knowledgeable, efficient, helpful, and they really care about music. The shop is elegant but also comfortable. I'm not in the market for a new violin but when I am, I'll look here first. Awesome place. P.S.

The public (validated) parking entrance is on the mauka side of the building. With the one-way streets and such, it can be tricky to navigate on your first visit. If you go McCully St towards Waikiki, turn right on Ala Wai Blvd (there's two lanes to turn right, take the one closest to the building) and then the public parking entrance comes up quick on the left.

Great location, products, and customer service! I absolutely enjoyed watching my son get his first violin from here. Everyone was helpful, knowledgeable, and kind to us. Pricing was great and you cannot beat their buyback program for when your child is ready for a bigger instrument. Highly recommend you give them a try; you will become a regular for all of your violin needs.

CK Violins sells many high quality instruments, from Violins to cellos and violas. My cello has great sound and is very high quality and was a reasonable price. My siblings' violins are awesome, and so much better than violins they previously bought at other stores. My school orchestra also gets the instruments repaired at CK, and Mr Nicholas is always quick to help. 10/10 would recommend.

If you have ANY questions about orchestral strings, Nicholas has the answers. He's very friendly and knowledgeable and if he can't help you, then there's probably no one on the island that can. His new shop in the Waikiki Landmark is gorgeous. So much so that I never even considered his shop when buying my first violin because I thought I wouldn't be able to afford it.

His prices are very reasonable, but don't go in expecting to get anything for less than $500. He takes pride in all the instruments he carries, which include a few that are made for his shop. I had previously owned a violin that was from another local shop and Nicholas was generous enough to give me about 80% of what it was worth toward my trade, which was SUPER generous.

I wasn't even planning on leaving the shop with a new violin, but after he told me how much he'd give me, I didn't have to think too much about it. Parking is surprisingly easy and not too expensive at $1 per hour in the landmark. It's prepaid so make sure you know how long you're going to take. One thing to really remember is that he's only open for 24 hours a WEEK. Monday through Saturday 1p to 5p, but you can always call to schedule an appointment.

The strict hours would usually turn me off, but for the quality of service you receive, I'm willing to find time. Overall, Nicholas will definitely be my go to man for servicing my violin and I would highly recommend him to any string player regardless of playing level.