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3.1

Average

TrustScore 3 out of 5

11 reviews

5-star
4-star
3-star
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1-star

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3.1

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(11)

4 reviews in the last 12 months

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Rated 1 out of 5 stars

AVOID AT ALL COSTS

We’ve recently purchased a sthor cello from Caswells Strings and within the first 2 months there was a problem. A crack appeared in the body, we informed Caswells straight away and asked for either a refund or a replacement. They refused both saying that they would repair it as they assumed it had been dropped.

We had an independent assessment from a Luthier who assessed that the damage was caused by an ill fitted sound post. We informed Caswells of this and sent the full report over. Again, they still refused a replacement or refund and denied that this was the problem when they had only seen photographs of the crack and continued to insist on a repair.

As we assumed the repair would be done by the same person who had caused the issue initially we refused the repair.

This leaves us now with an unusable cello and with an estimated repair cost of £1000. Which works out at more than the cost of the cello.

We would recommend to stay away from this company Caswells strings.

May 26, 2026
Unprompted review
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Reply from Caswells Strings

Despite offering to collect, assess and repair this cello the customer decided otherwise based on their own assumptions.

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Rated 4 out of 5 stars

My tailpiece for the A and E fine tuner…

My tailpiece for the A and E fine tuner pegs broke within 14 days of purchasing a stentor II.
On sending an email to Stentor advising of the situation and recommending a different tailpiece that can tune individual strings as per my teachers advise, their response was 'they've sold thousands of Stentors and this has never happened before. Did anyone try to tune it".

I responded that no one tuned it. They have not responded. Bearing in mind that they have a workshop onsite, and as a new customer you would have thought that they would respond favourably.

Avoid at all cost!!!

Caswell Strings sent an email on 5th June advising that they’ll send out a new tail piece. This was after I logged this review.

The tailpiece was received.

I’ll update my star review - this was given based on the initial correspondence from Caswell when I notified them of the issue.

June 1, 2026
Unprompted review
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Reply from Caswells Strings

This review is somewhat misleading. We responded to the customer a number of times working through the issue. The customer had Wittner finetune pegs fitted (as well as the violin having an integrated tailpiece). It is quite true that it is very unusual for the tuners on a tailpiece to snap and our strong suspicion is the geared pegs were tuned as normal pegs putting the tailpiece under immense pressure. That said we offered to collect the violin and fix it but settled on sending a new tailpiece free of charge which the customer received. It was never acknowledged but as far as we’re concerned the issue was resolved so giving 1 star is somewhat unfair and a misrepresentation of the situation.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

Caswells have been amazing

Caswells have been amazing! I couldn't make it into the store due to distance, so Lance helped me via email and sampled some violins for me to meet my needs. He sent me three recommendations within my budget, and helped me choose a shoulder rest. The violin I chose has just arrived and it's beautiful! It sounds incredible, is a joy to hold and I can't wait to continue my learning journey with it.

I noticed that some of the negative reviews mentioned long dispatch times. Caswells specifically say that they set up and check over all instruments prior to shipping, which means that there can be a 3-7 working day delay on the order being shipped. I received my violin 1 week after ordering, with the knowledge that this was expected. I'm super glad that they provide such a great service with setting the instruments up, as I've had poorly set up instruments from other stores arrive in the past.

Great communication, great service, great products.

January 19, 2026
Unprompted review
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Reply from Caswells Strings

Thank you for the great review. Appreciate you mentioning the slightly longer lead time - we're not just box shifters, it does take time through the workshop

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

Damaged my instrument.

Setup the bridge in a wrong place, put the strange liquid drop under the fingerboard, gladly I found it just few hours later but it had already damaged the top board surface. Not reliable like before. Don't take customers seriously any more. Really disappointed!

June 10, 2025
Unprompted review
Rated 5 out of 5 stars

fantastic service

I cannot recommend caswell strings highly enough. Emma went above and beyond to help me find the perfect case for my 3/4 cello. She looked at every option for me, offered excellent advice, and was always friendly and profesional. The case arrived, which is a perfect fit and excellent quality

April 29, 2025
Unprompted review
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Rated 1 out of 5 stars

Just avoid Caswell’s Strings


We usually purchase instruments and music accessories from Gear4music, but this time, based on my son’s violin teacher’s recommendation, we decided to buy a violin bow from Caswell’s Strings. Unfortunately, they sent us a faulty bow. After returning it and being assured that we would receive a refund, over a month has passed, and we still haven’t received it. To make matters worse, we had to cover the £9 return shipping cost ourselves because they didn’t provide a return label.

I would strongly advise avoiding Caswell’s Strings based on this experience.

November 20, 2024
Unprompted review
Rated 5 out of 5 stars

Great experience with viola

I ordered a medium range Viola from Caswells. Customer service from beginning to end has been impeccable.
Before deciding on an instrument I had some questions which I emailed to customer service. My questions were replied within couple of hours. When I finally decided on an instrument and ordered it, everything went smooth. As I had a tight due date due to travelling abroad, they were understanding and ensured it arrived by the due date.
Unfortunately they didn't have the shoulder support in stock to be shipped with rest of the order, but have agreed to ship it separately when it arrives without any extra expense, to ensure I got the viola on time. They have been very flexible and adjusted to my requirements. Also the viola is excellently set up and as described, to allow easy start to play. I couldn't be happier with the experience and would recommend Caswells to anyone thinking of string instruments

June 28, 2024
Unprompted review
Rated 1 out of 5 stars

I received an invoice email from this…

I received an invoice email from this company. However I have never known this company and I did not order any items.
Also they wrote wrong name the email as well.
How do they discover my email address?
Is this new type of scam?
I’m too scare to contact them.

May 20, 2024
Unprompted review
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Reply from Caswells Strings

This is not a review. You could have had this from anyone in a similar name or there could easily have been a mistake. We don't just send out random invoices! Please can you remove this and/or get in touch so we can get to the bottom of it

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

Money for nothing.. so far

I bought a guitar from this website 11 days ago. Received nothing so far. Have emailed twice, called twice and so far been fobbed off. Frankly not worth the hassle. I have requested a refund and will update on how that goes.

April 16, 2024
Unprompted review
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Rated 1 out of 5 stars

A curved soprano saxophone which is not checked properly

I bought a curved soprano saxophone from this company. When the instrument arrived, I could see that they had not done a good job of checking the saxophone before shipping. The Octave key is not working properly. The columns to the octave key are wobbly. The screws were put in the wrong way around so the neck will not tighten. I am just a player, not a repair person and I can see what is wrong. emailed Caswell Strings and called them but no answer from customer service or anyone. Hence this review.

February 15, 2024
Unprompted review
Rated 5 out of 5 stars

Great experience buying an instrument online

I recently bought an electric violin through Caswell's and was impressed by how simple and straightforward it all was. While it felt like a bit of a gamble to buy an instrument online, I trusted in the company's ability to deliver and they didn't disappoint.

They seem to have a good range of both traditional and electric instruments available, along with various accessories. It's also the same base pricing as buying directly from brands like Yamaha etc, so you're not spending more than you need to be.

In terms of delivery, it took around 10 days for the order to be shipped, but they warn you beforehand to expect it as they need the time to check over the instruments and set them up before they can be shipped.

Delivery was made via DPD, which I consider to be the most reliable courier for personal deliveries. So I didn't worry at all about having even a string instrument shipped to me!

I'll definitely consider buying from Caswell's again when I want an upgrade.

November 6, 2023
Unprompted review

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