The no-option rental is a basic rental. It is the least expensive rental, perfect for a beginner musician looking to discover their interest in music and the instrument. By selecting a no purchase option in your shopping cart, you are renting a set; instrument, bow, rosin and case.  

By renting, you don't have to buy anything extra to play, except your stand or shoulder pad. We suggest you buy the Everest shoulder pad, also available on our site, or follow your teacher's advice in making this choice. Some beginner programs may suggest a simple sponge. 

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

There are several advantages to opting for a lease to own. This lease option allows you to accumulate 70% of what you pay each month, for a maximum of 18 months. It allows you to build up 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 applicable only to the instrument rented. For example, if you decide to rent a ¾ size violin for 18 months and eventually buy a 4/4 size violin, it is perfectly possible to use your credit to buy it. 

Once you return an instrument or terminate a rental agreement with a purchase option, no credit is retained. The rental credit is not refundable under any circumstances if you decide not to purchase an instrument.  

The rental credit does not include the cost of additional protection.

Supplementary coverage is coverage that acts as insurance for the rented instrument. You are responsible for loss or damage as determined by Wilder & Davis Study. You can cover a portion of your liability by choosing our Extra Protection option. The extra protection covers routine maintenance and accidental damage as determined by WDE. You must be current with all lease payments and other charges due to qualify for your extra coverage. Supplementary Protection does not cover air or overseas travel without the prior consent of WDE. Supplementary protection does not cover theft or loss of the instrument. The supplementary protection does not cover intentional damage, including breakage of varnish. WDE reserves the right to be the sole judge of the cost of repair or replacement of an instrument and to charge it to the registered credit card if you do not have the additional protection. You must have the instrument repaired, if necessary, by us. If you discover pre-existing damage to the instrument when you receive it, you must notify us within 24 hours of receipt; any damage discovered after that time will be deemed to have occurred in your possession. If an instrument is damaged beyond reasonable repair and this is the first incident, a replacement instrument will be issued. If a second instrument is lost or destroyed, you will be charged a damage fee. The fee is due when the damage is reported or ascertained and, in the event of non-payment, the registered credit card will be charged. Any damage incurred without the additional protection coverage will result in the renter being financially responsible for the cost of replacement or repair, as determined by WDE. The rental credit cannot be used to pay for damage charges. 

Note on replacement of rental ropes: WDE will not replace broken strings. Your strings must be purchased separately. Substitution of string type will be at your expense. No refunds will be issued for strings purchased elsewhere.

A lease credit is the amount of money you will accumulate by taking the lease with purchase option only. The rental credit is calculated as follows; during the months you rent, up to a maximum of 18 months, you accumulate 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 it can also be used for a higher category instrument. When you decide to purchase your instrument and take your rental credit, you can contact a branch advisor. You can also call our advisors at any time to find out how much rental credit you have accumulated to date.

We have shops in Montreal, Banff and Vancouver to serve you in person. If you live outside of these areas, advisors who are physically in the shop and workshop are available to serve you by phone or email during business hours.  

Absolutely. If you want, you can come to the shop, with or without an appointment, to try out an instrument in your category. If you are a beginner and cannot really try out an instrument, no problem. An advisor can give you a demonstration on the spot, as our advisors are professional musicians. If you can't make it to the studio, 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 equally present with you if you wish to purchase your instrument online or in shop. We can guarantee that we will offer you the same kind of support.

Wooden instruments are all very fragile. You will have to take great care of it, whether you rent it or own it. Firstly, when you rent or buy your instrument, you will receive it in perfect condition. The first thing to do when you buy it is to find a room where the instrument will have access to a stable temperature. The humidity level should be between 35% and 70% and remain as constant as possible. This will prevent your instrument from cracking if it is too dry or the wood from swelling if it is too humid. It is important to avoid sudden temperature changes (for example, do not leave an instrument in the car for a long time). Also, whether it is your own instrument or a rental instrument, you should make sure that you remove the excess rosin from your instrument after playing. This will prevent a heavy deposit of resin on your instrument and the varnish will not be damaged. Once a year you may, at your discretion, bring your instrument to Wilder & Davis for a professional cleaning and string change. Cleaning and string changes are not included in the purchase or rental price.

If you don't know your instrument size, you can rely on our video which explains how to measure the arm of the future musician. If you want an instrument for an adult size, you can assume that your size is 4/4 (full). If you are buying or renting for a child, you can rely on our size chart and the video. If you have a teacher, he or she can be a great help in advising you on your instrument. If you receive an instrument size that you have chosen and it turns out to be incorrect, this is no problem. We will arrange a return system within a few days, so that our courier will collect your instrument from you, and we will make an exchange. There is no problem to exchange sizes. Moreover, it will not change your invoice or your rental contract.

Yes, at Wilder & Davis we have instruments from 1/10 for cellos, 1/16 for violins and 11" for violas, 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 size instrument, you can assume that your size is 4/4 (full). If you are buying or renting for a child, you can rely on our size chart and the video. If you have a teacher, he or she can be of great help in advising you on your instrument.

Yes, our luthiers are present in the workshop, with or without appointment. For advice on a request of this kind, you can call our advisors in shop during our opening hours.

The instruments we have at Wilder & Davis come from different workshops and manufacturers. The wooden instruments are small, unique pieces. For this reason, prices may vary. However, regardless of the price of the instrument, you can be sure that it has been assembled by one of our professional luthiers and that the quality of your instrument is impeccable.

There are several ways to pay for delivery:  

If you purchase an instrument and live 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 promptly at your home or office.

Firstly, the purchased instrument must be returned within 14 days of purchase and be in perfect condition when returned. If you wish to return your purchased instrument because it does not suit you, a return label will be in the box when the package arrives. If you wish to make an exchange, there is no charge for the first exchange. If you wish to return the instrument for a refund, a return fee will be charged per province (see attached table for prices). In all cases, for returns or exchanges, it is preferable to call our shop or to write us an email in order to make the procedure. You will receive an answer from us the next business day.

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

The delivery time can vary between 2 and 5 working days after placing your order. If there is any irregularity 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 issue a refund to your credit card once we have received and checked the instrument. If a repair needs to be made, we will deduct the cost from your refund. Don't worry, if something breaks in transit, 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 for a credit card to be refunded.

At Wilder & Davis, you can be sure that our instruments are of excellent quality. The instruments are all made of genuine spruce, maple and 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 reside in Canada, Wilder & Davis offers you the possibility of exchanging your instrument to the right 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 (toll-free international line). Our advisors will tell you how to easily return your instrument to us. For a return for a refund, please refer to the section ''I WANT TO RETURN MY PURCHASED INSTRUMENT. WHAT SHOULD I DO? ARE THERE ANY RETURN SHIPPING COSTS?

We go to great lengths to ensure the quality that will keep your instrument for a lifetime. However, mistakes do happen and that is why Wilder & Davis offers a two year warranty after purchase for any manufacturing defects. In the event that your purchased instrument has a manufacturing defect, you must send or hand-deliver your instrument to the shop. 

1- Upon receipt of your instrument, a luthier in charge of the instrument performs a complete check of the instrument to determine 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 pay for the repair and return the instrument to you after it has been repaired.

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

In any case, you should know that these little 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 advice which will explain how to maintain your instrument.

If you have the extra protection, breakages other than string breakage, loss or theft are covered. If you do not have the extra protection in the contract, the breakages are entirely at the expense of the hirer, apart from manufacturing defects. The assessment of breakages during the rental of an instrument is left to the sole judgement of our luthiers. If you are unable to come to our premises to have a repair made, you can contact our shop team to continue the shipping procedure.

We accept payment by Visa and MasterCard, American Express, bank transfer and cheque. To make a payment by bank transfer and cheque, you must contact our advisors in shop 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, high-quality instrument in your hands so that you can learn, without having to make an immediate purchase. Renting can be useful for a beginner musician who is starting lessons, for a young child who will be changing size, etc. Renting is very popular and recommended when you are starting to play music privately or in a music school.

On the website, we have categorized the instruments by category. You can refer to them according to your level. You have never played an instrument before and will soon be starting lessons? Go to the "beginner" category. Have you been playing for several years and are 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 entirely up to you. Although popular with our instrument rental customers, you may have home insurance or credit card coverage. It is up to you to plan what protection you want on your instrument to cover the related amount of damage in case of potential breakage.

When you are on a rental contract, if you have the extra protection, your bow and rosin can be replaced free of charge when it breaks. If you do not have the extra protection in your contract, you must pay for the breakage of your bow or rosin if it is not a manufacturing defect. Note 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 judgement of the luthiers in charge.

Yes, having a credit card is mandatory for rental as the rental 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 can be accumulated at 70% only with the rental with purchase option, up to a maximum of 18 months rental. The accumulated rental credit can be used to purchase an instrument and is not refundable under any circumstances if the rental period ends and no instrument is purchased.

When you rent an instrument in our shop or through our website, you automatically rent an instrument, case, bow and rosin. When you rent, you don't have to buy anything else to play, except your stand or shoulder rest. We suggest you buy the Everest shoulder rest, also available on our site, or follow your teacher's advice in making this choice. Some beginner programs may 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.