Classical Strings Inc.

John is a fantastic violin maker and explained a lot of things to us when we visited him. It was my daughter's first violin and he was very informative and gave us great advice. Highly recommend him for instruments. We purchased several cheap violins previously on Amazon and they don't even compare. Pay a bit more and get a beautifully hand made violin.

Here's the one sentence review: if you're looking for an instrument, make this your first stop as it'll also end up your last.
I've been a customer since a decade ago, and often have to drive 2+ hours to get to this shop. I've been to most shops in both SD and LA, and can confidently say that this is the best in terms of both quality and price (and it's not close). First, John Wu's practical skills and knowledge are first rate. He's got magical hands. Seriously. Even my pegs won't go out after he puts in new strings (I touch them at most once a year). Second, everything is made of quality. You can ask him as many questions, and he'll answer them all for you in a straight forward manner. Unlike a lot of shops, you know what you are buying (where each PART was made, by whom, when, wood source, years, etc). Lastly, just pricing. He calls it "fair" but honestly I'd choose one of his cellos and bows over most that are priced 50% higher at other shops.

Nearly 10 years ago, I found out this place because of their good instrument that my student was playing on. Even though we moved to Arizona, it’s my top go to shop for me and my students. Their instruments not only have helped us to win auditions, competitions, but also have brought us tremendous joy and passion for playing music.

So if you, your student, or your children love and are serious about playing music, I highly recommend Classical Strings Inc. because of:
1. Great quality of instrument at all levels.
2. Decent price.
3. Awesome customer care.
4. Luthier John Wu.

The owners are very nice, patient, and helpful. I went to buy my first violin and Mr. Wu took his time to explain everything I need to know to decide on my purchase. The violins are also amazing, they look and sound beautiful.

It was such a pleasant experience choosing our son's first violin from Mr. Wu today. He spent quite some time patiently educating us. We were touched by his great knowledge and his cheerful personality. Actually both my son and I were a bit nervous before we arrived because we were not sure what to look for. But Mr. Wu made the whole process simple and used the language that we could understand, from selecting the right size of violin to explaining every part of the violin, even showed us how to take care of our violin. I felt that we not only bought a violin but also took violin class today. I would definitely recommend to anyone who likes to purchase string instrument.