I have been renting an upright (double) bass for about a year now. I was renting it from Hammond Ashley. This is a lovely store filled with beautiful instruments. They sell, rent and repair all types of viols. They have a program ideal for beginner musicians. The deal is that you rent and then after a year you can use your rental payments towards purchasing the instrument. So just this week I became the proud owner of a lovely double bass. I only owed $771 after all of my rental payments. I couldn't be more happy with the quality of my instrument and the level of customer service that I received from this business.

Dan W. San Diego, CA 3/20/2010 1 Check-in Here I never knew you could rent musical instruments until I was pleasantly surprised here at Hammond Ashley. Store manager Adam was very knowledgeable, explained in detail, and answered every question I had about their violins. At a very affordable $25 per month, one can take a well made (lower to mid-grade) violin complete with all accessories - selection of bow, shoulder pad, rosin, case and cleaning cloth, and Adam threw in a mute as well when I asked for it. No downpayment or deposit was required for the rental, and 100% of 9 months worth of rental cost can be applied towards purchase of any like instrument in the store.

i.e., I use to play the violin in High School and after a 10 year hiatus, I wanted to start playing again. But I didn't want to spend a lot of money buying a violin that I might quit playing in a few months so I decided to rent. Hammond Ashley was $25/month and they will apply 100% of 9 months of rental towards the purchase of a violin - any violin I wanted. There was also an additional $3/month insurance which I got because well, I never know if my dogs might start thinking my violin is a new chew toy. They gave me a great rental violin - it was solid, no cracks, well made and produced good sound. The rental included a very balanced bow, shoulder pad, rosin, case, and cleaning cloth. The guy who helped me was really friendly and funny. The music selection is small. They have a huge selection of string instruments for purchase. Prices for accessories were average. A local favorite, or highly recommended because