Linda West is terrific. She knows her cellos and knows how to help you choose the cello and "wand" (bow) that work together perfectly. She stays to your price point and explains the differences between instruments clearly and precisely. We can't recommend her highly enough. read more

Recently ordered an endpin setup online from Linda West Cellos' and when my order arrived, realized that I had made an error measuring the endpin opening on my cello. Their representative, Anne was extremely helpful with processing my return and exchange for the endpin with the proper fitting size. Hugely appreciate their customer service! read more

This is the most professional, most patient and reasonable place to get a cello repaired, rent a cello or buy one. Linda and her business partner were responsive and fair. They fit my child with the perfect cello for him. The shop is clean and organized. They set up an appointment immediately. I am so impressed with theor business model which is to find the perfect instrument for you or your child. read more

Amazing service! We live in Newbury Park and drive out to Santa Barbara for all our cello needs. Linda is an expert and is so helpful. Her and her sister have gone out of their way to help my son pick and maintain his cello. We're very happy with the service here. read more

Linda West Cellos - Musical Instrument Services Near Me - Goleta, California

This is my first yelp review. I drove to Santa Barbara from San Diego because no local luthier was willing to repair the broken neck on my cello. I was told the repair was impossible. A local woodworker knew Linda and recommended reaching out to her. I sent Linda a photo of the break and she said confidently she could fix it. After reading her incredible reviews, I made the 4 hour trip. Linda was extremely generous with her time, discussing the repair, sharing her knowledge and answering questions. It seems she gives equal time and respect to all customers, regardless of their skill level. Linda fixed my cello in 2 weeks and for an incredibly reasonable price. It's been 6 months since the repair and the cello is playing great. Do not hesitate to use Linda West for any and all luthier needs. She is a gifted luthier and artist and extremely knowledgeable. I plan to mail her my bow soon for rehairing because I know her work will be stellar and I trust her completely. read more

My son has been playing cello for about a decade, so we've known about Linda West Cellos for some time. We've enjoyed a number of their incredibly helpful case comparison videos and the detailed insight offered on their website product pages. My son needed a new cello case, yet with the supply chain issues, the options available for his oddly-sized instrument were slim to non-existent. LWC sent out an email when they started getting stock in and we jumped on the opportunity to support the company. The process involved Anne going above and beyond to get it to us for Christmas and all communication was prompt and thorough (she even returned my call while she was out hiking!). A+ for personalized customer service and even better - best price too! read more

If you want amazing customer service and a beautiful instrument then visit Linda West. I heard/read great reviews and they didn't disappoint! They even made me "try on" several cellos and bows-- which for me is good because I tend to get excited and buy the first thing I see. We traveled 6 hours from Sacramento and spent a couple hours in her shop with a one on one. I appreciated this so much since I had several questions. The gentleman that works with Linda (Randy) is also great- very helpful and nice. I definitely recommend her shop due to the genuine care of both the customer (myself) and her gorgeous instruments!! read more

Linda West Cellos - I love my cello! - Musical Instrument Services Near Me - Goleta, California

See all

Linda West listed a vintage American Bolander cello bow for $2,500. I was very interested and willing to buy it, but I also knew that an equivalent bow had sold relatively recently at auction for under $1,000. She could not be bothered to respond to my email inquiry but I ultimately decided to buy the bow from her anyway - only to discover it had subsequently been sold. Fortunately for me I almost immediately afterwards found a Bolander bow for sale on the Tarisio auction site which I purchased for $700. So really this is to say thank you to Linda West for blowing me off. You saved me $1,800 and I got the cello bow of my dreams... read more

I have driven from LA to Santa Barbara on several occasions to deal with Linda at her shop, both for repairs and upgrades to my 1880s cello, and to purchase a new "intermediate" cello. I would not dream of going to the trouble of driving up there if not for Linda's exceptional care, attention, knowledge, and fabulous personalized service. While I adore my old cello, it was not helping me learn to play in tune (not quite resonant enough for someone still learning). I made an appointment and drove up, thinking I would spend $X on a new cello, based on her excellent website and my online research. I tried the cellos in my price range,with Linda helping me all along, replacing those I ruled out, offering others in my range (not just leaving me overwhelmed in a room by myself, as other shops I'd been to had done) and then she suggested another cello, which was nice and bright (which I wanted) and super-resonant, and half the price that I planned to spend! Now who does that?!? In addition, after I got home and looked at the cello on her website, I saw that she had given me a nice discount. Now I don't know if that is standard, so please don't count on it. I also saw that the bow that Linda included (again she patiently helped me try many, and made suggestions along the way) was relatively expensive, and I got a beautiful, lightweight case included as well. I came up about 6 months later, as Linda suggested, and she made adjustments due to the playing-in of the cello, included in the original purchase price. Linda is a cellist herself, her daughter is, I believe, a cello performance major, and she specializes in cellos and personalized service, which is not empty rhetoric here...it is REALLY personalized service. She takes obvious pride in her work, and smartly, she wants you to be ecstatic so you will return. Which I do. I hope to one day either play up to my 1880s cello, or to trade in my intermediate for my "forever" cello. (Linda has a generous trade-up policy.). I don't go anywhere else. I will also say that Linda has some violins and perhaps basses. She has high standards for herself and her instruments, which I'm sure extend to those as well. read more

I am so happy I got the chance to work with Linda West Cellos. I was searching for a nice bow, and they sent me four very nice ones to try out. I ended up purchasing a bow and I'm very happy with my choice. I highly recommend Lind West Cellos to anyone looking for a cello or cello bow. read more

We were renting a cello from a more local area, but we kept receiving recommendations to get a higher quality cello from Linda West. We finally made the drive. The service was great and they were very attentive. They fitted my son and took the time to apply tape and watch his technique while playing. It was nice to see my son regain some enthusiasm for his cello, and sure enough he made it to first chair at his school! Thanks Linda West for your professionalism and patience to make sure my son has the best instrument possible for him! read more

Linda did a phenomenal job rehairing my cello bow, but then went above and beyond to do some preventative maintenance (repaired cracked tip, new leather, etc.). It was done at a reasonable price and was quick. She also has a great selection of cellos. Highly recommend read more

I recently purchased a six-pack of 3 inch cello bow tube grips for $22.50, a reasonable price for a specialized product. With priority mail (the cheapest option available) the total bill was $29.65. Today I received six poorly cut slices of surgical tubing (dull scissors maybe?) in a plastic bag (an estimated 50 cent total value). Needless to say LindaWest Cellos made a nice profit for almost nothing on their end. If you are thinking about getting a bow grip from LWC, don't waste your money and simply buy half inch surgical tubing wholesale and cut it yourself. I am whole-heartedly disappointed with my purchase. read more

Linda helped me select a wonderful cello at a reasonable price. I am an intermediate player, and I was looking to "move up" again to cello #3. She provided me with numerous cellos to compare and was patient as I tried several. I'm very happy I made the trip to Santa Barbara to visit Linda West Cellos. read more

This lady is a skilled professional. She is totally honest.

I bought an expensive, carbon fiber cello case from Linda online. It arrived and was damaged in shipping. She was incredibly responsible, thorough and prompt in helping me to return it and get a replacement in a timely manner. She paid attention to the tracking and delivery from start to finish. She also was very helpful in sending me instructions about how to hook up the straps and so forth. I was very impressed with her customer service and will certainly buy from her again. read more

I have never taken the time to write a yelp review, but I received such outstanding, above and beyond service from Linda West, that I felt a need to write. I originally tried to rent a cello online (rentals not available where I live) but they did not have any rentals available for 2 months and I really wanted to get started on my "bucket list" of learning to play the cello. I made the 4+ hours round trip drive to Linda's shop and it was time and money well spent. Linda spent over an hour and a half with me making sure that I had the best quality rental for my needs and taught me important things that I needed to know to get started and care for my instrument. She did not treat me lessor because I was inexperienced...I'm fact, I think she spent more time with me to make sure that this was a good experience for me. She also recommended a local instructor for me and we have connected perfectly. The instructor squeezed me into her busy schedule because of Linda's referral and the quality instrument that Linda rented me. I felt like everything just came together because I took the time to drive to Linda's shop and meet her. She obviously has a great passion for what she does and she cares greatly to help those in their desire to become Cello players. I look forward to many more years of service from Linda, including purchasing a Cello when I feel that I am ready. It's truly a blessing to find genuine outstanding customer these days! read more

If you live in SB you know how hard it is to find instrument stores but this by far was the best experience! Linda is very nice and took the time to explain the difference between each product! Helpful and kind! read more

I brought in my daughters viola for repair. It was repaired within a week and Linda also told us that we had bow bugs. She explained how to get rid of them and care for our instruments to prevent future bugs. I mentioned to Linda that I wanted to purchase a good viola for my daughter since she had been playing for several years. Although Linda sells cellos, she offered to find a great one for my budget. Within a week Linda found a beautiful 15.5" Doetsch with an exceptionally beautiful sound. Needless to say, my daughter fell in love with it and has practiced everyday since. Linda is so amazing at what she does and even took out the time to help my daughter with a chin rest. We have four violins that we bought elsewhere but now we are set on coming back to Linda for all of our music needs. She has great customer service and treated us like she really valued us as people and valued our needs. She even followed up a few days later to see if it was meeting our needs. You can't get that anywhere else. I'm am so grateful that she was recommended to us. You can't go wrong with Linda and we are now lifelong customers. read more