Benning Violins

This place is great for cellos. They have many high end cellos made in the 18^th century. Great service. Cellos sound great but my only regret is that the old instruments are not equipped with a bent endpin. Besides that one regret, everything is top of the line.

Everyone at Benning Violins was extremely helpful and accommodating throughout my search for a new bow. Their inventory was fantastic and I ended up finding exactly what I needed. There was no pressure to speed through the process or even make a purchase. They allowed me time to do my due diligence. I’m grateful to have found the shop! I highly recommend visiting their shop when you’re in LA!

One of the best experiences I’ve ever had in a strings shop, hands down :) the people at Benning are informed, honest and incredibly kind. I rented a cello from them for performing 10 days in LA. They gave me a great cello that did the job beautifully. What a relief! I’m very grateful to Benning for making my stay and work in LA a positive experience and for making me feel at home far away from home. Highly recommended.

I had a wonderful experience at Benning Violins. I needed a beginner ½ size violin for my daughter. I gave them my price range which isn’t very big (less than $ 1000) but within an hour they have set out about 8 wonderful violins for me to choose. I am not a violinist but understand good tone and sound when I hear one. I had also visited another well known violin/​viola shop prior to Benning. I must say not only they find me the best sounding violin in my price range. They make me feel special of picking out the right instrument for my daughter. Ms. Nancy Benning demonstrated each one by herself. I left the shop with a violin for trial and 2 from previous shop. Both my daughter and her teacher agreed the Benning violin had a much better tone and sweeter sound. Excellent customer service and quality instrument. Also, Brian and Hans were very nice and patience with us. We just love everyone here, their #1 goal is for you to find your Best violin. Thank you. My daughter loves every min she plays on her violin.

I cannot say enough good things about this place. I’ve taken a cello there for repair and setup, as well as bow rehair. They did an excellent job for a lot less than I expected. They were respectful and almost reverent about the instrument I brought in, though it had no «name.» I felt fully taken care of. A year later, I went in to try some cellos. Per Lisa F’s review, I was impressed by the care they took of me. The staff (I’m sorry I can’t remember her name) is so responsive, available, and accommodating. I was brought about 8 cellos in my price range to try, given a private room, and left alone to explore. The process of signing out the cello for trial was fluid and shame-​free (no credit check, driver’s license, etc). The trust goes both ways. I would fly across the country (which I did!) to explore Benning’s inventory. Thank you for the amazing service you provide us musicians, and for the incredible work you do for the kids in Mexico!!!

LOVE Benning Violins!
Last week, I stepped in to Benning Violins for the first time in my life. I was looking to purchase a cello in the $ 5000-​$ 8000 price range, and within minutes of arriving at the shop, I was set up in the side room with 6 beautiful cellos.
It’s important to note that I am a professional oboist not a cellist — I just recently started taking cello lessons — so I was expecting I would be shuffled in and out of the shop as quickly as possible. This was absolutely NOT the case! I was given as much attention and care by everyone involved with this process as any lifetime string player could have expected.
As I played my simple scales on each of the cellos, I was checked on with great frequency to find out my impressions and to bring in even more cellos. Not once did I feel like they were holding out on good instruments; cello after cello of the highest quality passed through the room. It’s also important to note that each and every cello was already tuned, so I had to do nothing but put bow to string.
At the end of an hour, I had chosen a cello (or rather, it had chosen me) and was told that I could take it home for a week on trial. In fact, they offered to let me take home my second choice, too. I only declined the 2^nd cello because my car isn’t big enough for two! I was amazed as they set me up with a great bow (how the bow was chosen for me was absolute voodoo because it was a perfect fit for me and this cello!) to take home as well.
As I waited for the cello to be loaded into the case, Hans Benning came out of the workshop to talk to my husband and I. He is a deep a thinking artist as I’ve ever met, telling us how buildings have no personality, they’re just squares. True architecture is hard to find. It’s clear why he does what he does in life.
One week later (today) I returned to Benning Violins to purchase the cello. This is where the real magic happened! Nancy herself took care of us, talking and laughing with me about how intoxicating playing the cello is, and I heard a wonderful story from her about her days as an apprentice luthier. She took me aside to show me the selection of cases available. My heart has been set on the mint green ProTec NewTech case since the moment I laid eyes on one. But when we walked over, she turned over the price tag and said, «Oh no, that’s too expensive! I can’t sell you that!» and she disappeared in to the back. She returned a few minutes later pulling a Vivo Case, mint green, for ¼ of the price.
The opportunity to upsell me right there and then came and went, and she won my heart forever with this thoughtfulness.
My cello was sent back into the workshop with Hans who gave the cello the once over, as well as put on an wolf inhibitor. He came out to show me how to find the wolf and then how to adjust the inhibitor. I was *very* nervous to play in front of him, even if it just was sliding to the F to hear the wolf! He then talked to me about laying the case on it’s side when the cello is inside.
Nancy continued to load me up with all kinds of goodies to go with my new cello. Their niece, I’m sorry her name escapes me, was such a delight to deal with as well. Also a new string player, we had plenty to talk about!
I suppose this is my very very longwinded way of saying that Benning Violins is all that it promises to be. If we were just talking about beautiful instruments and great prices, that would be simple. But Benning is more than that. It’s a family. It’s an experience. It’s expertise. I’m honored to have been invited in.

The best violin shop in Los Angeles. I love that the establishment has been around for over 60 years belonging to the same family. They really understand the art of music, the importance of customer service and the magic of instrument making. Sometimes when I go in I see three generations of Bennings hard at work in the shop!
They go above and beyond in every aspect of their work. I had an old violin at home that I wanted to get touched up. I brought it to Eric and he returned it to me sounding better than it ever had.
Another day, I was looking to purchase a new instrument and called the store to let them know what I was looking for and what my price range was. When I arrived about 20 minutes later Brian had set up a table in this beautiful room with about 15 violins for me to try. I was able to spend as much time as I wanted with the instruments and Brian even played a little on my top 3 picks so I could hear them being played exquisitely.
I recommend anyone with violin, viola, or cello needs to visit Benning Violins. You will walk away feeling enriched and well taken care of!

Always come here to get your repair quote first — May I clarify that… ALWAYS.
Bennings does superior work, as they are a true shop as well as master instrument makers as well as offer good prices. (They beat the competition by hundreds of dollars and do great masterful work!)
In addition to their skilled work and fair prices they are a family run business with some of the most delightful and wonderful people in LA!
They have a great selection of student instruments including rentals as well as a wide range finer strings and bows. I love how generous they are with allowing you to try out bows and instruments before purchasing… and speaking of purchasing… their inventory of fine instruments has had me dreaming and scheming for months!
Why go anywhere else?

My friend told me about this place and I was not disappointed! It was amazing! My daughter bought her first violin for $ 60.00 online. For her 16^th birthday my Husband Jeff and I surprised our daughter by taking her to this place to pick out a brand new violin. We were asked about our price range so they could help and stay within our budget. They took several violins to a nice closed off room for our daughter to play and test out. Everyone was so helpful, patient and amazing to work with!

Great string shop. We rented a cello for our 9-​year old– good instrument, very reasonable price. Highly recommended.

Amazing violin shop — they did a great job on my violin, love the rehair and the prices were very good too. The shop itself is incredibly cute, the atmosphere is so friendly and all of the staff people are wonderful. I will definitely come back when I’m in the area again. So far best violin shop experience in LA!

Great all around experience. Highest quality craftsmanship and service. Wish every store I went to had such integrity.

My family and I have been customers since 1956. We have bought instruments from them, had instruments repaired by them, and referred many students. I am very impressed by their expertise and craftsmanship and trust them implicitly. The family maintains a very warm, friendly, and inviting shop that really helps the customer feel comfortable and makes the experience pleasurable. I highly recommend them for all your string needs!

Quite a lovely place. Warm, friendly service for even a music-​novice know-​nothing like me. They are helpful and knowledgeable. They are violin pros with a depth that you feel upon entering the building. Their family has fostered musicality here and abroad and they are an institution within the culture of classical music. Benning Violins is a true treasure for the Los Angeles area and we are as lucky to have them as they us. I plan to return to say hello or browse their wares any time I am permitted.

The staff are nice, but whoever is re-​hairing the violin bows has done a horrible job on my bows for years. I stopped going there because of it, this year. At the recommendation of another Unilocaler, I found another shop on the west side (not Robert Cauer Violins, by the way). The horsehair just kept breaking over and over again and at first I thought it was due to humidity or just the hair not liking my bow. There aren’t many other shops around, and I live fairly close by, so I basically just gave up and said «well, ok, I’ll just have to get it re-​haired every 4 – 5 months.» The other Unilocaler said «There’s no way that horsehair doesn’t like a certain bow, and it’s not due to humidity. They’re using cheap hair and that’s why it’s breaking. I used to have the same problem. But, when [other violin shop] did it, I never had a problem.» So, I gave that other shop a try and lo and behold, the problem was gone. I might add, they charged me $ 18 less than I had been paying to Benning. When I discussed the problem, several times in fact, with Eric, his reply was always «Hm, that shouldn’t be happening… that’s just the way it goes i guess, it could be any number of factors or you might just need to look at getting another bow.» Sorrryyyyy… I know Benning’s has a good reputation — even Jascha Heifetz, the greatest of the great, used to go there. I’m sorry I can’t give them any more of my business. They need to start using hair that won’t break, or perhaps find someone else to re-​hair the bows.

A pleasant break from the hustle-&-bustle of los angeles county would be a way to describe the environment you encounter when entering Benning Violins. Immediately after you come into the shop, a wave tranquility and an escape to tradition and brick&mortar craftsmanship takes over, and then you are greeted warmly by their staff. Now, its important (and the polite thing to do if not expected) to call in advance and make an appointment, so they can help find what you need/​help with repairs/​etc the best they can.
I am a very picky consumer when it comes to violin-​family instrument needs (im a cellist but also play violin), and they’ve been so courteous and patient with me, and i’ve always left a happy customer.

I love these guys. I’m an amateur cellist with a pretty lousy instrument, but they’ve set me up pretty well over the years. From cutting a new bridge and planing the fingerboard to lower the action to installing a weapons-​grade endpin, they always treat me with respect and offer me lower-​cost options when they’re available. I also purchased a new bow from them and was able to spend a couple of hours comparing and contrasting. The bow that sounded the best with my instrument was not anywhere near the most expensive in the shop.
In the near future I’m hoping to upgrade to a cello that’s not half made of plywood with plastic scroll ears, but that will cost less than a Honda Accord. This is the first place I will try!

I teach, perform, and play with my violins, and I love coming here because of how friendly and helpful they are. One of my students needed to replace the bow from a violin set I was renting to her, and I ended up buying one from Benning Violins within the first few minutes I was there.
With a bit of chitchat, I also got a tool to fix a chinrest I was worried about, free of charge. It was such a friendly gesture!

We have purchased three violins from this shop. They have consistently great instruments, well set up, for good competitive prices. They were very patient with us, gave an honest opinion, and let us take our time without feeling pressured. We are willing to travel a good distance to come here and will return for future needs.
Each violin we have purchased from them was a great instrument. They did some repair work as well and were reasonable and efficient.

This is a followup on my previous posting.
He did a fantastic job on my violin, and it sounds and looks better than I thought it would after a major repair of violin top crack and varnish damage. I waited a half a year to confirm how I felt, and am comfortable writing this.
Mr. Benning’s manner was fairly cool (formal) towards myself, but I’ve heard from friends that he is quite warm towards them. His staff was helpful and friendly when I talked to them. I gather that they are family members, reception and repair staff included.
I left violin with him for about a week, and he gave me an estimate for the total price and timeframe of what my violin needed. He finished within that timeframe and again, result was better than I expected.
I know two musicians that play his cellos and they sound and look fantastic.
I recommend this shop for anybody with a nice instrument that needs repairs.