FAQ

Lease without an option to purchase is a basic lease. It is the least expensive rental, perfect for a beginner musician who is looking to discover their interest in music and the instrument. By selecting a rental without a purchase option in your shopping cart, you are directly renting a set; instrument, bow, rosin, and case.  

By renting, you don't have to buy anything extra to play with, except for your stand or shoulder pad. We suggest that you buy the Everest shoulder rest, also available on our website, or follow your teacher's advice to make this choice. Some beginner programs might suggest a simple sponge. 

With the lease without an option to buy, no credit can be accumulated to buy an instrument. When you return your instrument, the contract ends on the date of return. If you decide to purchase it, you will be charged the full price of the instrument.

There are several advantages to opting for leasing with an option to buy. This leasing option allows you to earn 70% of what you pay each month, for a maximum of 18 months. It therefore allows you to accumulate what is called a rental credit. This option is perfect for a musician who eventually wants to buy an instrument. 

In addition, it should be noted that the rental credit is not only applicable to the leased instrument. For example, if you decide to rent a 3/4 violin for 18 months to eventually buy a 4/4 violin, it is quite possible to use your credit to buy it. 

After returning an instrument or terminating a rent-to-own agreement, no credit is retained. The rental credit is not refundable in any way if you decide not to purchase an instrument.  

Rental credit does not include the cost of additional protection.

Supplementary coverage is coverage that acts as insurance for the rented device. You are responsible for the loss or damage determined by Wilder & Davis Study. You can cover part of your liability by choosing our additional protection option. Additional protection covers routine maintenance and accidental damage as determined by WDE. You must be up to date with all lease payments and other charges due to be eligible for your additional protection. The additional protection does not cover air or overseas travel without WDE's prior consent. The additional protection does not cover theft and loss of the instrument. Supplemental protection does not cover intentional damage, including varnish breakage. WDE reserves the right to be the sole judge of the cost of repairing or replacing an instrument and to charge the credit card on file if you do not receive the additional protection. You must have the instrument repaired, if necessary, by us. If you notice any pre-existing damage to the device when you receive it, you must notify us within 24 hours of receiving it; Any damage found after this time will be considered to have occurred in your possession. If a device is damaged beyond reasonable repair and this is the first incident, a replacement device will be issued to you. If a second instrument is lost or destroyed, you will have to pay a damage fee. Charges are due when damage is reported or found and, in the event of non-payment, the credit card on file will be charged. Any damage incurred without the additional protection coverage will result in the Renter being financially responsible for the costs of replacement or repair, as determined by WDE. The rental credit cannot be used for the payment of damage costs. 

* Note on replacing Strings leased: WDE will not replace Strings Broken. Your Strings must be purchased separately. Substitution of the type of Strings will be at your expense. No refunds will be issued for Strings bought elsewhere.

A lease credit is the amount you will accumulate by renting with an option to purchase only. The rental credit is calculated as follows; During the months you rent, up to a maximum of 18 months, you earn 70% of the amount you pay. At any time during your rental, you can decide to use your credit to purchase an instrument. The rental credit can be used to purchase the instrument you are renting, but can also be used for a higher category. When you decide to purchase your instrument and take out your rental credit, you can contact an advisor at the branch. You can also call our advisors at any time to find out the amount of rental credit accumulated to date.

We have a boutique in Montreal to serve you in person. If you live outside of Montreal, advisors who are physically in the store and workshop can serve you perfectly by phone or email during business hours. 

Absolutely. If you wish, you can come to the store, by making an appointment or not, to try an instrument in your category. If you're a beginner and can't really try, no problem. An advisor can give you a demonstration on site since our advisors are professional musicians. If you can't make it, no problem either! We can send you videos of the sound of the instrument, photos taken on the day, as well as make a video conference call with you to advise you on your purchase. We are also present with you if you want to buy your instrument online or in store. We can guarantee that we will offer you the same type of support.

Wooden instruments are all very fragile. You will have to take great care of it, whether it is rented or you are the owner. First, when you rent or buy your instrument, you will receive it in perfect condition. When you buy, the first thing to do is to find a part where the instrument will have access to a stable temperature. The humidity level should vary between 35% and 70% and remain constant as much as possible. This will prevent your instrument from cracking if it's too dry or the wood from swelling if it's too wet. It is important to avoid sudden temperature changes (e.g. do not leave an instrument in the car for an extended period of time). Also, whether it's your instrument or a rental instrument, you need to make sure that you remove the excess rosin on your instrument after playing. This will prevent a large deposit of resin on your instrument and the varnish will not be damaged. Once a year, you can, at your discretion, bring your instrument to Wilder & Davis for a professional cleaning, as well as a change of Strings. Cleanings and changes of Strings are not included in the purchase or lease price.

If you don't know your instrument size, you can rely on our video that explains how to measure the arm of the future musician. If you want an adult-sized instrument, you can assume that your size is 4/4 (whole). If you are buying or renting for a child, you can rely on our size chart and video. If you have a teacher, he can be of great help to advise you on your instrument. If you receive an instrument size that you chose turns out to be incorrect, that's okay. We will arrange a return system in the following days, which will have our carrier pick up your instrument from you, and make an exchange for us. There is no problem with making size exchanges. In addition, it will not change your bill or rental agreement.

Yes. At Wilder & Davis, we have instruments from 1/10 for cellos, 1/16 for violins and 11 inches for violas, all the way up to full instruments. If you don't know your instrument size, you can rely on our video that explains how to measure the arm. If you want an adult-sized instrument, you can assume that your size is 4/4 (whole). If you are buying or renting for a child, you can rely on our size chart and video. If you have a teacher, he can be of great help to advise you on your instrument.

Yes. Our luthiers are present at the workshop, with or without an appointment. For advice on such a request, you can call our in-store advisors during our opening hours.

The instruments we have at Wilder & Davis come from different workshops and different manufacturers. Wooden instruments are small, unique pieces. For this reason, prices can vary. However, regardless of the price of the instrument according to its category, you can be sure that the assembly has been done by one of our professional luthiers and that the quality of your instrument is irreproachable.

There are several terms and conditions for delivery costs:  

If you purchase an instrument and reside in Canada, delivery to your home is free. You will receive a tracking number within the next business day regarding your delivery and you can track it yourself. You will receive the package quickly at your home or office.

Firstly, the purchased instrument must be returned within 14 days of your purchase and be in perfect condition at the time of return. If you wish to return your purchased instrument since it does not suit you, a return label will be in the box when the package arrives. If you wish to make an exchange, you will not be charged a fee for the first exchange. If you wish to return the instrument for a refund, return fees will be applicable by province (see table price in the appendix). In any case, for returns or exchanges, it is best to call our store or write us an email to do the procedure. You will receive a response from us within the next business day of your request.

If you wish to return a rental instrument and have completed one year of rental with the instrument, no fee is charged. If you have chosen the other rental terms (1 month, 3 months, 6 months), return shipping costs will be charged depending on the province (see price in the table in the appendix). 

The delivery time may vary between 2 and 5 business days after you place your order. In the event of any irregularities in the usual waiting time, we will contact you on the next working day following your order.

For a refund of a purchased instrument, we will process the refund to your credit card once we have received and verified the instrument. If a repair needs to be made, we will deduct the fee from your refund. Don't worry, if a breakage occurs during transport, we have expert luthiers who can categorize all types of breakage. We will refund you the next business day after receiving your instrument. PLEASE NOTE: It may take up to 30 days before the amount is refunded to a credit card.

At Wilder & Davis, you can make sure that our instruments are of excellent quality. The instruments are all made of spruce, maple and real ebony. Although the instruments are not made directly in the workshop, we assure you that our luthiers leave nothing to chance when it comes to the quality of the instruments. 

If you live in Canada, Wilder & Davis offers you the opportunity to exchange your instrument to the correct size free of charge if you return it within 14 days of receiving the package. To do so, contact our advisors at 514-289-0849 or 888-419-9453 (international toll-free line). Our advisors will tell you the easy process to follow to return your instrument to us. For a return to be refunded, please refer to the ''I WANT TO RETURN MY PURCHASED INSTRUMENT' section. WHAT MUST I DO? ARE THERE ANY RETURN FEES?''

We do our best to guarantee you a quality that will ensure you keep your instrument for a lifetime. However, the error exists and that is why Wilder & Davis offers a two-year warranty after purchase for any manufacturing defect. In the event that your purchased instrument breaks down, you must send or hand deliver your instrument to the workshop. 

1- Upon receipt of your instrument, a luthier in charge carries out a total inspection of the instrument to know the source of the problem.

2 - If it is a manufacturing defect and your instrument was purchased less than two years ago, the warranty applies and we will take care of the repair and we will return the instrument to you after repairing it.

3 - If it is a lack of maintenance or negligence on the part of the customer, we can repair the instrument, but the warranty no longer applies and the repair will be invoiced on a case-by-case basis, at the sole judgment of the luthiers in charge of the workshop.

In any case, you should know that these small problems are very rare and that the best way to avoid them is to think about maintaining your instrument. Do not hesitate to consult our maintenance tips which will explain how to maintain your instrument.

If you have the additional protection, breakages outside of the breakage of Strings, loss or theft are covered. If you do not have the additional protection in the contract, the breakage is entirely at the expense of the tenant, apart from manufacturing defects. The evaluation of breakages that occur during the rental of an instrument is left to the sole judgment of our luthiers. If you are unable to come to the site to have a repair done, you can contact our team in store to continue the shipping procedure.

We accept payment by Visa and MasterCard, American Express, bank transfer and check. To make a payment by bank transfer and cheque, you must contact our in-store advisors during opening hours. A simple procedure will be sent to you.

Renting is advantageous if you are not necessarily ready to buy an instrument. It allows you to have an excellent instrument of very good quality in your hands so that you can learn, without having to make an immediate acquisition. Renting can be useful for a beginner musician who is starting lessons, for a young child who will change size, etc. Renting is very popular and recommended when you are starting music privately or in a music school.

On the website, we have categorized the instruments by category. You can refer to it according to your level. Have you never played an instrument before and are starting lessons soon? Head to the "beginner" category. Have you been playing for several years and are you ready to invest in a more expensive instrument? Go to the "intermediate/advanced" category. 

You can choose between minimum periods of one month, three (3) months, six (6) months and one (1) year.

The choice of additional protection is totally up to you. While popular with our instrument rental customers, it's possible that you have home insurance or your credit card covers damages. It is up to you to plan what coverage you want to adopt on your instrument to cover the related amount of damage in the event of potential breakage.

When you are connected to a rental agreement, if you have the additional protection, your bow and rosin can be replaced free of charge when there is a breakage. If you do not have the additional protection in your contract, you must pay for the breakage of your bow or rosin if it is not a manufacturing defect. It should be noted that the bow and rosin are new when you start renting an instrument. The evaluation of a type of breakage on a bow is left to the sole judgment of the luthiers in charge.

Yes. Having a credit card is mandatory for the rental since lease renewal payments are made automatically, in a secure online system. It is therefore necessary to have a valid credit card for an instrument rental. 

The rental fee is only 70% cumulative with the lease with purchase option, up to a maximum of 18 months of rental. The accumulated rental credit is used to purchase an instrument and is not refundable if the rental ends and no instrument is purchased.

When you rent an instrument in store or through our website, you automatically rent an instrument, a case, a bow and a rosin. By renting, you don't have to buy anything extra to play with, except for your stand or shoulder pad. We suggest that you buy the Everest shoulder rest, also available on our website, or follow your teacher's advice to make this choice. Some beginner programs might suggest a simple sponge. For rental, beginner and intermediate instruments come with a complete set. However, when purchasing an intermediate instrument, the bow and case are sold separately.