Lashof Violins

That was such a great experience! My daughter has never played violin before, and Jen (maybe Genevive) was incredibly patient, kind, and thorough.

Wonderful. We were attended to by Iris who helped my daughter select her first ½ violin. She fell in love with it instantly. Great customer service with useful recommendations. The rent to own program is better than purchasing a violin for us, due to the fact that my daughter may quickly outgrow the half violin and need the adult size sooner than we think.
The store offers everything you need to play your instrument, along with a great selection of beginner books.
What I appreciated the most was the thorough Q&A provided by Iris.

By any reasonable standard, I am considered an advanced non-​professional violinist and violist and have played for over 60 years…55 of them in college or adult community orchestras. I have four instruments two violins, two violas… collectively valued at about the price of a modest luxury automobile. I trust Lashof’s staff do do all the work on my instruments. I play a lot in public and before I had multiple instruments and when needed, Lashof saved the situation in emergencies for me. (I try not to push this) but their turnaround time is amazing for minor repair and bow rehairing. They once saved a rather valuable bow with a masterful carbon fiber insert and restored its playability — worth far more to me than the monetary value of the bow. I am exacting and know what I want and the Lashof staff has never failed me.

I inherited a cello that had been sitting in its case, unused for the last five years. Not being a cellist myself (yet), I took it straight to Lashof when I got home, and asked them to assess the damage. The staff were honest and straight forward about what needed to be done to get the cello back to working order, and a few things that could be done that would make it work a little better than before. In the end, they fixed three cracks on the face, and along the seem between the face and the sides, replaced the bridge, adjusted the nut, replaced the tuning pegs and put a set of new strings on. All for a VERY reasonable price, in my opinion, and in less time than they had originally estimated. I am beyond grateful to have found Lashof Violins, and for the work they did to refurbish my grandfathers cello.

HELPFUL STAFFS AND GREAT SERVICES!
My daughter was ready for her 1^st full size violin. We selected 2 violins and 3 bows to try out for a week. The teacher didn’t like any of the selections. We returned all items to the store. The store owner was very helpful and polite all the time. Very professional.
We visited again to buy shoulder rest. The store staff was very patience and helped my daughter to try out a dozen shoulder rests. She was able to find the best fit.
The store makes Precipitube® Humidifiers, which we will try it out soon.
We have been a happy customer of this store in the past 8 years for violin services like fractional violin rental, bow re-​hair, violin restring, etc. We feel that we are welcomed, and helped every time. Prices are fair too.

Lovely people, reasonably-​priced rentals. Flexible hours. LOTS of parking. Dont drive to Bethesda for a violin rental. This is much easier.

I’ve been to Lashof Violins twice to get advice and some work done on my instrument, and both times the staff were extremely helpful. I’m moving out of the country shortly, and on my most recent visit needed some advice as far as shipping my violin and getting it ready for transport, as well as some work done on the sound peg.
The girl who greeted me when I came in was very pleasant and cheerful and had great, well-​informed advice with regard to traveling with my instrument. She took a look at my violin and quickly assessed what they needed to do in terms of adjustments; I had expected to have to leave the instrument there at least overnight, but she said they could take care of it straight away if I didn’t mind waiting ten or fifteen minutes. I think the repairs actually took less time than that; she had adjusted my sound peg a bit and also saw that my tuning pegs needed a bit of work, which she took care of, as well. The price of the repairs was extremely reasonable (less than I’d anticipated, actually), and she also suggested getting my violin’s bridge replaced, but said she hadn’t done that because it didn’t make sense to do the work when the bridge could warp during my move, so I’d be better off getting it looked at once I arrived. So great advice plus not doing unnecessary/​potentially wasteful work on my violin.
Lashof’s also carries various gear for violinists and other string players; there’s some sheet music, a wide selection of shoulder rests, music stands and so on. I picked up a new music stand and a blanket for my violin while I was there this time and a new shoulder rest last time, and as with repairs, their prices are very reasonable. Their website is also very informative and has a schedule of prices for common repairs, which I found refreshing, after having some sticker shock with other luthiers who don’t have ballpark price figures available before they’ve looked at the instrument. I assume that price will depend somewhat on the instrument in question, but even having starting figures is helpful, I think. The only thing preventing me from rating Lashof’s as «inexpensive» is that repairing a violin is a delicate process involving potentially expensive instruments, so you’re going to pay a price for anything major that needs doing. In any case, I highly recommend Lashof Violins for anyone who needs work done on their instrument; friendly staff, reasonable prices and quick service make this a win for me!