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

Also, it should be noted that the rental credit is not only applicable to the instrument rented. For example, if you decide to rent a ¾ violin for 18 months to eventually buy a 4/4 violin, it is entirely possible to use your credit to buy it.  

After returning an instrument or ending a lease with option to purchase, no credit is retained. The lease credit is not refundable under any circumstances if you decide not to purchase an instrument.  

Rental credit does not include the cost of additional protection.

Additional protection is protection that acts as insurance for the rented instrument. You are responsible for loss or damage as determined by Wilder & Davis Étude . You may cover a portion of your liability by selecting our Additional Protection option. Additional Protection covers routine maintenance and accidental damage as determined by WDE. You must be current with all rental payments and other charges due to be eligible for your Additional Protection. Additional Protection does not cover air or overseas travel without WDE's prior consent. Additional Protection does not cover theft or loss of the instrument. Additional 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 have Additional Protection. You must have the instrument repaired, if necessary, by us. If you notice any pre-existing damage to the instrument when you receive it, you must notify us within 24 hours of receipt; Any damage noted after this time will be considered 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 to you. If a second instrument is lost or destroyed, you will be required to pay a damage fee. Fees are due when damage is reported or noted and, if not paid, 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 cost of replacement or repair, as determined by WDE. Rental credit cannot be used toward payment of damage fees .  

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

We have boutiques in Montreal, Banff and Vancouver to serve you in person. If you reside outside of these regions, advisors who are physically in the store and workshop can perfectly serve you by phone or email during opening hours.  

Absolutely. If you wish, you can come to the store, by appointment or not, to try an instrument in your category. If you are a beginner and cannot really try, no problem. An advisor can give you a demonstration on site since our advisors are professional musicians . If you cannot travel , no problem either  !  We can send you videos of the sound of the instrument, photos taken the same day,  as well as making a video conference call with you to advise you during your purchase. We are just as present with you if you wish to purchase 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 them, whether you rent them or own them . First, when you rent or buy your instrument, you will receive it in perfect condition. When you buy it, the first thing to do is to find a room 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 is too dry or the wood from swelling if it is too humid. It is important to avoid sudden changes in temperature (for example, do not leave an instrument in the car for an extended period of time). In addition, whether it is your instrument or a rental instrument, you must make sure that you remove  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 and string change. Cleanings and string changes are not included in the purchase or rental price.

If you do not 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 the video. If you have a teacher, he or she can be of great help in advising you on your instrument. If you receive an instrument size that you had chosen that turns out to be incorrect, it does not matter. We will arrange a return system in the following days, which will make our carrier pick up your instrument from your home, and we will make an exchange. There is no problem in exchanging sizes. In addition, this will not change anything on your invoice or your rental contract.

Yes. At Wilder & Davis, we have instruments from 1/10 for cellos , 1/16 for violins and 11 inches for violas , up to full instruments. If you do not 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 (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, they can be of great help in advising you on your instrument.  

Yes. Our luthiers are present at the workshop, with or without an appointment. For advice regarding 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. This is why prices can vary . However, regardless of the price of the instrument according to its category, you can be sure that the assembly was done by one of our professional luthiers and that the quality of your instrument is impeccable.  

There are several options for delivery costs:  

If you are purchasing an instrument and you 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 promptly at your home or office.  

First, the purchased instrument must be returned within 14 days of your 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, no fees will be charged for the first exchange. If you wish to  return the instrument for a refund , return fees will apply per province (see price table in appendix). In all cases, for returns or exchanges , it is preferable to call our store or write us an email to complete the procedure. You will receive a response from us the business day following your request.  

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

Delivery time may vary between 2 and 5 business days after placing your order. In case of irregularity in the usual waiting time, we will contact you on the next business day following your order.  

For the refund of a purchased instrument , we will proceed to the refund on your credit card when we have received and checked the instrument. If a repair needs to be done, we will deduct the costs from your refund. Do not 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. ATTENTION: it can take up to 30 days before seeing the amount refunded on a credit card.  

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 for the correct size free of charge if you return it within 14 days of receipt of the package.  To do this, contact our advisors at 514-289-0849 or 888-419-9453 (toll-free international line).  Our advisors will show you the easy steps to follow to return your instrument to us . For a return in order to be reimbursed, please refer to the section ''  I WANT TO RETURN MY PURCHASED INSTRUMENT. WHAT SHOULD I DO? ARE THERE RETURN FEES ?

We do our utmost to guarantee you a quality that will ensure you keep your instrument for your entire life. However, mistakes do happen and that is why Wilder & Davis offers a two-year warranty after purchase for any manufacturing defect. In the event that your purchased instrument experiences a manufacturing defect, you must send or bring your instrument to the workshop in person.  

1. Upon receipt of your instrument, a luthier in charge performs a full inspection 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 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 billed on a case-by-case basis , at the sole discretion of the luthiers in charge of the workshop.

In any case , know that these small problems are very rare and that the best way to avoid them is to think about maintaining your instrument. Please feel free to consult our maintenance advice which will explain how to maintain your instrument.  

If you have the additional protection, breakages other than string breakage, loss or theft are covered. If you do not have the additional protection in the contract, breakages are entirely the responsibility of the renter, apart from manufacturing defects. The assessment of breakages occurring during the rental of an instrument is left to the sole judgment of our luthiers. If you are unable to travel to the location to have a repair done, you can contact our team in store to continue the shipping procedure.  

We accept payments by Visa and MasterCard, American Express, bank transfer and check. To make a payment by bank transfer and check, you must contact our advisors in store 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 in order to be able to 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 change size , etc. Renting is very popular and recommended when you start 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. You have never played an instrument and are starting lessons soon? Head to the "beginner" category . You have been playing for several years and you are ready to invest in an instrument  more expensive? 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 your credit card to cover damages. It is up to you to decide what protection you want to adopt on your instrument to cover the related amount of damages in the event of potential breakages.  

When you are connected to a rental contract, 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 assessment 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 rental since 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.  

Rental fees are only 70% cumulative with the rental with option to purchase, up to a maximum of 18 months of rental. The accumulated rental credit allows you to purchase an instrument and is not refundable under any circumstances 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 rosin. By renting, you do not have to buy anything extra to play, except your stand or your shoulder rest. We suggest you buy the Everest shoulder rest , also available on our website, or follow your teacher's advice to make 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.