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Antonio Strad Violin Learning violin or any stringed instrument can be difficult and takes practice to master. When your instrument's sound quality is amazing, you'll practice more, and the more you play, the better you'll get. There are plenty of things in life that you can skimp on, but your instrument is NOT one of them. See how you can benefit from playing music on a beautifully handcrafted instrument with unmatched sound quality. As a parent that knows next to nothing about violins this was the best buying experience I have ever had.
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Founded over two decades ago by violinist and luthier Guolian Zhou and music professor Mary Zhang, Antonio Strad quickly grew to become one of the largest string instrument shops in Texas. Their love of fine stringed instruments and their knowledge of quality has created a selection dubbed a "Texas Treasure" in the state.
For a beginner, violins with ease of play and a clean, quality sound are best. If a beginner instrument sounds great and provides no obstacles to playing and learning, you'll want to play more, and the more you play the better you'll get! Finding a handmade instrument should be your priority. Handmade violins are of higher quality and therefore sound better than factory-made instruments.
A quality advanced violin should promote continued growth from its player. This means you want an instrument with a more complex voice and can handle the nuanced technique that sets an intermediate violinist apart from a beginner. Being handmade is going to be a violin's most important quality, especially at the advanced level.
At the professional level, a violin should have a rich voice and be able to carry a wide range of techniques and styles, but you probably knew that already. All the professional violins in our catalog are high-quality, capable, and masterful handmade instruments. The differences between them are a matter of personal preference, so please browse our selection or contact us so you can get a professional violin that best fits your needs.
Reviews (13)
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Peter White
Jun 18, 2022
While I work as a violin maker at Antonio Strad, I am not a paid employee. I make my own violins there. This review concerns the sales and rentals of student level violins. The staff is very responsive to everyone's needs, and the are knowledgeable sales people, violinists, or repair and restoration experts. I have worked in shops all over the world but I find the work, the honesty and the product at Antonio Strad to be among the best in the violin business for both beginners and more advanced players.

School systems will find the manager and owner to be ready and able to supply the right string instruments for your situation. I strongly recommend Antonio Strad violin for your musical needs. People all over Texas are discovering this shop, and the products and services there. Please stop by.
Stacey B.
Jan 26, 2022
Bad place to get a rental from. I canceled my agreement 4 days prior to the automatic withdrawal and they didn't cancel it nor refund my money. They didn't inform me when my purchase price had been met so I ended up with a $1000 overpayment on the violin I rented. Both the owner and manger refused to contact me, never returning my phone calls.
April Dickson
Aug 13, 2021
Unfortunately, after years of renting, repairing, and buying instruments from Antonio Strad we cannot recommend them. We have four student musicians and have had too many bad and costly experiences over the years to be able to recommend them. We have lost thousands of dollars. We strongly recommend looking into other options.
Amy
Apr 10, 2021
I am a very satisfied customer who purchased from the other end of Texas. During pandemic, it is hard to physically go around to buy an instrument and so I shopped around online. I happened to find Antonio Strad and Mr. Fabian Valdez assisted me in purchasing the violin for my daughter. He was very kind and the violin, bow and the case arrived well packaged and arrived in 2 days.

I had a little issue with the bow but he did resolve it quickly. The violin (MJZ 903) we purchased sounds beautiful and my daughter's teacher also likes the sound and thinks I made the good purchase. I definitely recommend this violin store.
St S'More
Mar 17, 2021
I have limited experience with them, but when I bought my strings there they strung my instrument for me (I tune it myself, though) and gave me a free rosin. maybe that's just standard violin service in this life, but they were friendly and I had a good time with it. So, all the stars.
Jodie Geiss
Jan 10, 2021
We had been renting from Strad for awhile until our daughter needed a full sized violin, which we recently purchased. They were fabulous to work with, being very professional and explaining the accrued rental credits and how they could be used. The staff wasn't pushy at all and gave our daughter time to try several violins. They were very generous with their time and expertise! All in all, I'd recommend them!
Jenn Estrada
Nov 10, 2020
Purchased a cello for our daughter last week. The gentleman that helped us was well knowledged but not very friendly. We made sure not to burden the salesman with many questions since we've purchased other instruments for our other daughters. We couldn't have made it any easier for them. Upon checking out and paying cash for the cello a lady came out from the back of the store and stared rudely at us while leaning against the counter just inches in front of us.

My wife and I don't know what that was about. After purchasing the cello we realized that we should have left but had already spent a couple of hours letting our daughter try various cellos. I do recommend their cellos but I would recommend a different location because of their service. One star is all they get from us for their customer service after Purchasing a professional cello there.
Darryl
Apr 25, 2020
Good selection of instruments for professionals to beginners and pretty competitive pricing. Good selections of accessories but lacking a bit in in store string selections. Have some students from my middle school and elementary schools renting from them an the rentals are good. Only downer is the string replacement is when strings break if they go false it doesn't seem like they'll replace them. Staff fairly knowledgeable but when it comes to new instrument merchandise\accessories and strings a bit behind.
Jason E.
Jan 27, 2020
Atrocious service and product. They lied about adjustable capos on an extension, packed it poorly, it arrived broken, and it's been weeks without a refund. By far the worst people I've done business with in the string world. Thank god I used paypal, because there's no way they're competent enough to issue a refund. Edit- they finally refunded me and responded to me when they saw this review and I sent my credit card company after them.
Andrew H.
May 30, 2018
Don't take lessons from Antonio Strad. We have been customers for years and signed a contract for lessons when we first signed up. Apparently, whenever they change their contract, it magically changes the one you signed and the can ignore the reality of the original agreement. Their staff is rude and inconsiderate. Our contract required 24 hours notice of a cancellation to get a credit, and we were actually giving 48 hours notice because they said the contract had changed. However, they just decided to stop giving credit for cancelled lessons regardless of how much notice we gave.

They didn't even have an issue with throwing their own instructors under the bus. It seems there is little commitment to customers and total commitment to the bottom line. We cancelled our lessons and all instrument rentals as there are more affordable places in town the don't treat customers like garbage. They can afford to lose two weekly lessons and three instrument rentals, so business must be booming.
Lead Pie
Mar 03, 2018
I got my bass here And i love the bass and the place I also like the layout with several rooms for differing instruments and the 20th century and below violins with basses in between. And when i needed a wheel for my bass, they grinded off the stopper preventing the end pin from going out and even gave us the different price options Great place
Jasmin M.
Sep 20, 2017
Today my daughter and I went to this location for the rental of a cello. Unfortunately due to work I got there 15 mins before they closed. I have to say their customer service is EXCELLENT. They had a line of customers waiting and they helped each of them in the same matter. They didn't turn us away and provided all the information that was needed.

My daughter has never played an instrument and the owner took the time to show her how to hold the cello and basic care and carry instructions. Best of all they even offer free classes which we signed up for along with a groupon that gave us a $45 savings on the spot. Highly recommend!
Jalyn T.
Sep 28, 2014
I needed a violin to rent for my son's orchestra class. I chose this store based on their main location's yelp reviews and the groupon that was currently being sold. The new location itself is easy to get to. There was no getting lost! The store itself is small but all needs are met. I spoke to 2 different guys while there and both were extremely knowledgeable in violins.

These experts never spoke down to me regarding what I wasn't sure of or didn't know. Not the case at another music store I tried first. For that, I was appreciative. The one guy that helped me with the paperwork was patient, answered all of my questions respectfully and went the extra mile in being willing to make changes for me "if I wanted to".

Their prices are about the same as other stores I called or went to but the customer service here puts them at the top for me! They know what they were talking about and have great manners. I was very happy with my experience here and would recommend them to anyone!