Our rental programme (available from both of our branches ( Kensington or Barbican) provides budding young musicians with instruments, including strings, woodwind and brass. The programme is highly regarded, and has received praise in the London Portrait magazine:

"Isn't it always the way that children want to play an instrument until just after you've bought it - and then announce that they want to play something different! That's why we adore Chimes; they have a hire service available for children, so they can try an instrument for a few months before buying".

We offer a range of student model string instruments, woodwind and brass. This enables your child to try out an instrument without the commitment (or expense) of buying it outright initially. Our staff assess the correct size of instrument for your child. You can change the size of your child's rental instrument at any point during the contract.

All instruments come fitted with standard student strings. They can be fitted with a professional quality set of strings (for example: Dominant, Jargar, Pirastro) at an additional cost. A discount of 20% will be given on the normal retail price of a full set.

More information on string rentals

More information on woodwind rentals and brass rentals .

Terms of rental

Chimes rents all instruments on a rolling three month contract. An initial payment is payable of three months for violins and six months for all other instruments.

We are currently only able to rent out instruments for children. The following terms and conditions (in addition to those in the contract are applicable).

You may buy your rental instrument at any time. Please contact the branch you are renting from to see what the price would be.  Whilst the contracts are rental contracts only, we do offer discount for customers when purchasing an instrument. We offer six months rental off the purchase price of any instrument, and this discount can be put towards the instrument you are renting from us or a different one. Please be aware that we are unable to take back purchased instruments as part-payment on a larger size or more expensive model.

Please note that the parent (or legal guardian) of the child (or children) must sign all rental contracts, and you must bring two forms of identification in order to complete the contract, one form of photographic identification (e.g. passport or driving license) and one other item which acts as proof of address (e.g. council tax bill, bank statement etc). We are currently only able to rent out instruments for children.

If you are after a specific model and/or size, it is advisable to phone ahead (Barbican  or  Kensington) to check availability and reserve.

Rental payments are non-refundable and the first quarterly payment is taken in the shop on the day you take the instrument. We set up a direct debit to go at 3 months or at 6 months (depending on the instrument) and it will go every three months thereafter. If you encounter any problems with your instrument, please get in touch with the shop you are renting from (Barbican or Kensington) and we will either repair or replace the instrument. Should the problem require being sent away to a professional, we will endeavour to provide you with a like-for-like replacement in the meantime. Please note that this service is subject to availability, and we would recommend phoning ahead.

Insurance

If your instrument is damaged beyond repair, lost, or stolen whilst you are renting from us, you are financially responsible for bearing the replacement cost of the instrument. Instruments whilst rented to customers are NOT insured by Chimes. The value of your instrument will be given to you at the point of renting and can be found on your contract. If you are at all unsure, please contact the shop you rented from. For customers who may already have home contents insurance, we recommend that you check your individual policy as your rental instrument may be covered under your own insurance.  If it isn't covered, we recommend Lark Music as they specialise in musical instrument insurance at a reasonable cost. You can choose not to insure your instrument but to be aware if something were to happen to it.  When an instrument is damaged and can be repaired, we will will ask our professional repairers to repair it and you would have to bear the cost of this.

Replacement Strings & Reeds 

Please note that many instruments have wearable elements, such as strings or reeds, which are your responsibility to replace as needed. There is a 20% discount when buying a full set of strings or a full box of reeds from Chimes- please note that this offer is available in both branches only and not online currently. You can also buy individual strings or reeds as needed.

Discount for Rental customers

We offer a 10% discount on sheet music and accessories to all of our rental customers. This discount is also available online. Once you have created an online Chimes account and you'll just need to email [email protected] to verify eligibility. Future orders will then be discounted on your account.

Navigation