Put my violin on consignment with Jose in 2019 and after a couple years of it not selling I repeatedly contacted him to get it back as that was our agreement. I told him I was happy to pay for any repairs he did on the instrument or storage/shelving fees his business may have. Needless to say I have been trying to contact him over the course of the last 3 years with only a sporadic response with some excuse brushing me off for a few more days. Really didn't want to write a review but my phone calls won't go through to him anymore and I feel scammed. read more

I had an amazing experience with the amazingly talented and patient Jose Cruz, the luthier at Cremona. Background story is that I bought a fine Jan Sclachtowski cello in 2007 and always had a difficult time getting great sound from the instrument. After taking it to a large, well known, and elegant string shop - they recommended that I save any money I would spend on getting it setup to buy a new instrument, and that my cello wasn't worth anything. Which, after saving for years and taking out student loans to acquire the instrument, was quite unsettling. Finally, just this past summer I took it in to Jose Cruz. He sat with me and asked me to play the cello - to understand my style and relationship with the instrument. Then he spent an hour and a half refitting my soundpost, carving two additional soundposts, swapping them out, adjusting, and listening to me play. And we did this until my cello sounded like the powerful, concert-level instrument that it is. I literally heard my cello sing for the first time - and it was beautiful. He recommended a different brand of strings than the typical Spirocore/Larsen set-up and now it has a really distinctive voice. That said, this is a humble shop - don't go there with an ego, and don't expect the finest-looking establishment. But, after having been to several of fancy string shops, this is the place that had the most patient and craftsmen luthier. read more

Extremely helpful and nice people. One of the guys even offered to stay later jsut so I can make it in to have my violin restrung. And the old man who works there is no fuss, and straightfoward. When I first went in I wanted to get some rosin, and I had just recently started playing. I asked him which one I should get and he showed me the cheapest one, saying, "You won't notice the difference yet, so there's no point in spending actual money." It cost one dollar and I was prepared to spend loads more. A friend of mine plays the cello and she went in to get some string and they let her played a half million dollar cello for a long time--knowing fully well she could never afford it. That's how cool they are. They're honest and old-fashioned. Highly recommended. read more

I tried going here a couple of weeks ago and pouted on the inside for awhile when i couldn't find it. Then I googled them to see if there was info about them closing. Nothing. Then I called the phone number I found for them. Several times. No answer, but the answering machine said cremona violins. I left a message. No reply. Ever. I found Reed L.'s review and discovered the secret! I went back the next weekend, followed instructions and got in! I asked them about it and they said they do it on purpose. It makes sense that a violin maker wants serious buyers. They even ask you what you want when you buzz them so be prepared (#002 on the keypad). You have to know the code and you have to have a solid idea of what you want. If you care to and they have time to take you into the area where they work on instruments you'll be fascinated. The man that works there is super knowledgeable...and blunt in a good way. I left adoring him. He threw in complimentary bass rosin and gave me a discount on a part. Nash. read more

The place was a little hard to find because the only sign over the door is for Child's Legal Services but I dialed #002 on the intercom and the woman buzzed me in. I looked around a little bit and will definitely go back again - to get a new bow and to continue exploring - but the guy was very friendly and nice, even though all I was buying was a D string for my violin. Let's keep these guys in business! read more

I just worked with Jose at Cremona over my newly broken violin and he was great. Apparently my student violin which was a gift had the glue give out on the neck and the fingerboard was wresting directly on the face of my violin. Not good at all. Jose gave me some options. The first was to fix the neck on my violin was $160. Which when I'm just starting out is a lot of money. I know for many higher end violins it is a deal, but my violin was a student starter and they cost more than the violin I had. The second option was buy a previous owners violin at $100. After searching around the city the closest I could find was $259 at another shop so to me this was a deal and a easy sell. So far I've been very happy with the service and will be coming back to Jose at Cremona for my needs in the future. read more

CLOSED as of 1/31/12. I just called. I went here years ago to buy a new violin bow; I just remember a grumpy old man being extremely critical of my abilities and said I didn't deserve such a nice bow because I wasn't good enough. Think I ended up buying one anyways. They did a great job with a bow rehair. Extremely knowledgeable. Extremely sketchy area. read more

Do not give this crook your money He charged me $75 to rehair my bow on the 1st of September. The website says that a violin bow rehair service is $60. He assured me that the website was being fixed. It still has not been updated to $75 to this day. Not only did he use very cheap hair, the minute I got home to play, the frog completely popped off with broken parts inside. I have had this bow rehaired before and nothing has been broken before. I told him the frog came off and he finally had time to fix it the next Tuesday the 8th. When he saw the bow he began to say that he had no idea that this is what happened. He continued by complaining that the break was not his fault and that the bow was cheap and he hates this type of bow. He was very very wrong about the value of the bow and said that I should take it back to my teacher who I bought it from to get a replacement. I bought it in 2009 and that was not a possibility. He continued to tell me that the bow was not at all good quality and laughed in my face when I assured him that my teacher knows what she was talking about with this bow. read more

Jose is kind and responsive. He is always available to re-hair my bow on short notice with an extremely quick turn around. Thankful to have found this gem of a shop. read more

I'm sorry to report that I have lost several valuable instruments and bows in this shop. I am finally filing criminal charges against Jose Cruz with the San Francisco Police. It's too bad but Jose is such a nice guy and a family man that one can easily be won over. Despite repeated denials he promises to repay me but something always comes up and he kicks the can down the road another few months. His favorite trick is to refuse to answer my phone calls for weeks or even months at a time. He knows I live too far to make a special trip to town without talking to him first. That's how I lost my Pistucci violin, left temporarily for repairs. When I finally caught up to Cruz he promised that he would get me the money "soon". That was over a year ago. read more

I love this place. It's really like stepping back in time. I've only been here twice to have bows rehaired. Both times it was a good experience. read more

CALL FIRST [and this is not a review] If you've heard of the Tenderloin you'd know not to make unnecessary trips there. Despite the "open" label on Yelp, place was closed when I got there. And because you have to dial the security code and wait for an answer, you're essentially on complete alert (or should be) for all the nomads around you. I'll try again, but found this a bit frustrating. So wanted to let it be known: please change your Yelp hours to 'call first' or 'by appointment only'. Thanks! read more

I have got a put in a word about this place. I have just gotten home after picking up my cello from there. I am a beginning cellist with a low-end instrument I picked up used. My instructor had tried it, approved of its basic sound, but told me the action was much too high. I could tell! Going down the neck had a forced feel to it. On top of it, my bridge began to warp, and the previous owner had put a hole in its side. I brought it here. The old gentleman here picked up on my instrument's flaws and explained to me what I was dealing with. I was willing to put money into it to fix it all around, but he showed me the quality of the wood was like, what the downsides to my instrument were, what it still had going for it - namely, a nice bridge that could be repaired. Then he showed me a nice cello to save my money for, rather than fix up a cheap plywood thing with painted flames on the wood with misfit tuning knobs. You know what? It was an education. I learned how better to distinguish a nice instrument. What I got back was an instrument that felt and played like something new. The gentleman made a silk purse out of a sow's ear. At my level, I have further to go before I drop money on a better cello, but the setup it has now handles beautifully. This was not easy for him. My cello is a real crank to tune. I wasn't a bit surprised when he told me he'd broken the D string - sure enough, it looked new. That wasn't cheap. I sat and finished the tuning, because he was already set to make no money on me. When I was done, I wanted to pay credit, but he took cash - and I gave him all I had to furnish him a tip. He more than deserved it. I had a wonderful experience here, and I think San Francisco's cello community would do well to support someone who puts so much into his work. Cremona is fabulous! read more

Jose the luthier fixed up my 1918 J.B. Collin-Mezzin with care. He retouched the varnish on one corner that was starting to wear away from the previous owner's poor maintenance, changed my strings, adjusted my bassbar and re-fitted my bridge. He also made recommendations and gave me a really good deal on other repairs - such as filing my fingerboard, chalking up my pegs, and fixing a crack under the frog on my bow. i completely trust him with my violin. The old man at the counter also gave me a deal on my dark rosin - a $12 product, he was just like "give me what cash you have" and gave it to me for $7. read more

These guys have been around since the 50's apparently, and the loveable old man (nash) who helped me restring the old violin I inherited knew that it was a 1900's european number just by looking at it (no brand on it). It needed a new peg and he gave me a basket of them to look through till i found one that worked. no charge. Basically they're the kind of people that you're not sure how they stay in business while being so nice. He gave me Rossin, I declined and he insisted. Go check them out, and give them some money. read more

I was fortunate to get to know Jose and his shop with a college professor's referral. I am a serious buyer and Jose did everything he could to help me find an affordable and fine Italian violin for my daughter. Thank you so much, Jose! I know whom I can trust and seek help from when it's time to upgrade our next violin. read more

Called a day before to set an appointment for bow a rehair, only to find out at the door that the one who will do it got sick and is not available. Cremona should have gotten some contact info from customers in order to notify us ASAP about these kinds of situations. My whole day is wasted and Im not coming back again read more

Jose is great, very professional and easy to work with, and he knows his violins. Good spot for repairs or acquiring one or its accoutrements. read more

RIP Nash! May you continue to create beautiful instruments in heaven! Thanks for the decades of wonderful instruments & great repair work!

About 1-1/2 years ago I gave Jose Cruz my 2 old violins for him to refurbish and then sell. (When he was in Benicia). about 6 months later he did sell one. The other one I haven't heard about. 2 months ago he told me to email him, which I did, then I tried to call, leave a message on the site and call again several times. They do not answer or return my calls. And they still have one of my violins and bows. Stupid me didn't get all this in writing, so I'm thinking I'm out of luck. Very frustrated! read more

good luck getting them to answer the phone or the door. if you can get past that hurdle, it's probably a great place.