Very helpful. Very reasonable. We are renting a violin from them and my daughter is taking lessons there.

Will never understand how this place stays in business. At the moment it's about the only show in town so I guess local school programs keep it open. Most recently wanted some new thumb picks; sign on door said call for open hours. I left a message saying I could come by most anytime and to please let me know when someone would be there. It's a small purchase and I was trying to be accommodating. No one called me back. I didn't mention that I also wanted to talk about special ordering an upperline Deering banjo that would have gotten them a huge profit. As they didn't want to sell me the picks for it I assumed they wouldn't be interested in selling me the banjo. I had it shipped from the Sam Ash store in Las Vegas. read more

Excellent service! We needed to rent a cello locally for an event and it was so smooth & easy. They are friendly & hassle free. Highly recommend. read more

This is a great local shop! I came here to buy new strings for my ukulele and an employee even strung my instrument for me (for a cost, but still better than I could do myself with youtube videos for guidance!). That happened over two years ago and my instrument is still in good shape and has not needed to be restrung since then. Additionally, I attend the twice-monthly ukulele jams on Monday evenings. This is a wonderful and free jam session! It's so nice that the shop allows us to gather here. These jams bring so much joy to my life, and I'm grateful to High Strung for them. read more

This is a very special shop. I always Yelp Musical Instruments when I am in a different town and this one showed up. I was close by so I stopped in for a look see. I was greeted right away and welcomed to the store. I was also encouraged without my prompting to play whatever I like. So I did, I picked up a few guitars and strummed them. I was impressed because I have not heard of these guitars before. The played excellent and were priced below what I thought they should be for the quality and sound they emitted. I did find out that this is a family owned store and a Luther is on premise for repairs most of the time. I checked out the showcase from Duke University Music Dept of the different instruments they had on display. Very cool ! No electric guitars here just acoustic, that is their niche. Excellent crafted guitar line they carry and you can not beat a family owned business. read more

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This is a super cool shop with truly awesome, dedicated and talented staff! Recently brought in a floor model banjo from Guitar Center with old, dull strings and some buzzing issues. Will fixed it right up and now it sounds wonderful! He was also very helpful in showing me proper bridge placement and tuning. Highly recommend this place! read more

Tucked on the corner of two streets, High Strung is an awesome instrument store. And we almost drove past it on the way to Harris Teeter. Walking in, we were greeted by a friendly desk attendant and an empty store. There was a huge variation of stringed instruments spread across the two main rooms of the store, from basses to violins to ukuleles. It was fun to wander around the store and try playing different instruments. Plus, there was a wide variety of other necessary instrument-related materials such as strings and music books. Definitely a fun store to browse around in the downtown Durham area! read more

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I am now an adult learner of the fiddle thanks to the folks at High Strung who allowed me to hold several instruments. I choose to rent from this shop at least for the first year that I'm learning to play. They allow you to apply your rental up to half the price of a purchase on a new or used instrument. The shop in addition to fully outfitting me with a great instrument has a list of excellent local instructors to choose from. I recommend renting from this shop because you have to opportunity to play a higher quality instrument while learning rather then shell out a ton of money for something you don't know if you will continue to pursue. Most of the instruments are expensive which is typically indicative of this sort of hobby with quality comes cost and this store is worth the cost if you are serious about learning to play. read more

High Strung Violins and Guitars - Guitar Stores Near Me - Durham, North Carolina

Very nice and helpful, plus they do excellent violin repair!

High Strung is the place to go for your string instruments. They are especially essential if you have a child who is just starting to play or taking a class at school and you're not ready to commit big bucks. Their instrument rental pricing is very reasonable, the instruments are quality and you earn credits toward a purchased instrument. The service is personalized and knowledgable and they are always there for you in the best ways. Say that your daughter left her rented violin at school but has a concert offsite on a Saturday--problem solved with a loaner at no charge. We've rented a violin (and later bought a violin) and two violas. read more

A very nice little local store, where you get personal attention, whether you're buying a guitar or just some picks or strings. They do repairs there. They also host a Tuesday "Old Timey Jam" which is a really nice learning experience (although I'm not all that wild about Old Timey music, myself.) I bought my BlueRidge acoustic there, and they've been good about help and advice, and the price was fair. read more

They were very helpful as I was looking for some practice books for the piano after a 15 year hiatus. Not many stores in Durham carry sheet music so this was a lifesaver. read more

Brought my vintage Martin ukelele in today to have the strings replaced. Wil did an amazing job including cleaning up the fret board and scraping the frets with steel wool. He is a true professional who handled my uke as if it was his own. I won't hesitate to use them again as I add to my collection. read more

This is an excellent store! They have quality products and friendly staff. I've never bought an instrument here, but I have gotten several accessories. Every time I've been they've been happy to help me with any questions, and very knowledgeable about the different products and options. I haven't attended a workshop, but I've heard that they're excellent and I'd love to check one out if I ever see one for Mandolin (hint, hint). Overall I think this store is a really great place and a huge asset to the community! My only complaint is that they aren't closer to Raleigh! read more

Thought I would put these folks on the Yelp map. It's a nice little family run business that, as the name would suggest, sells acoustic instuments of the stringed variety. Conventiantly located right next door to the Broad Street Cafe for people who go there for open mics (I being one of those) it offers a wide variety things to pluck and bow: from the cello down to the ukelele. I had my eye on a pinnaple themed uke that was appetizing in more ways than one! The biggest difference between this and chain music werehouses like Guitar Center is that half the store is a repair shoppe, and they personally set up the action on each and every instrument in the store (and believe me, it shows when you start strumming one). And everyone was very knowledgeable to boot, unlike GC employess that are on the verge of fleeing to the back whenever you open your mouth! So I will continue my fight for the independent business by repping High Strung, because it's the kind of place that makes America an interesting place to shop in. read more

I have been going to High Strung for a few years now and they have kindly helped us set the kids on the right track to learning violin. They have been helpful with our needs - from renting to buying instruments (all sizes), to properly fitting the kids (in multiple sessions) and sharing teachers names. They provide outstanding customer service, while treating customers like real people rather than bussinesses ...with warmth and understanding. They are also present at community events with a showcase of curious instruments, and they allow kids to touch and play the instruments on these occasions! read more

High Strung operated the rental and purchase business that my son's school used. I purchased a $700.00 violin after initially renting from them (I still have my receipt). A rental credit was applied which reduced the price to $400.00. Fast forward five years and I'm trying to sell the violin. I go back to High Strung for an appraisal and lo and behold, I actually have a violin with an original msrp of $400.00. Coincidence? I think not. Their answer, "It must have gotten switched at school." Do you still have your receipt? I would advise you to check the instrument against the description on the receipt. read more