Metzler Violin Shop Musical Instrument Repair in Glendale

Metzler Violin Shop, at 604 South Central Avenue in Glendale, is a family-run string shop where a team of trained violin makers repairs violins, violas and cellos and rehairs their bows. The shop keeps Tuesday to Saturday hours of 10 am to 6 pm. A rehair on a violin, viola or cello bow costs $120, and bass bows are $150. For serious musical instrument repair on the violin family just north of downtown Los Angeles, this is a long-established address.

Founder Tom Metzler was a violin major at the University of Iowa in 1972 when he decided to become a violin maker. He moved to Mittenwald, Germany, learned the language while waiting for a place, and graduated from the Bavarian State Trade School for Violin Making in 1976. After a three-year apprenticeship with Hans Weisshaar, he and David Rivinus opened a small shop in a second-floor walk-up in Glendale. In 1983 the shop moved to its present building, and Rivinus soon left to focus on making instruments.

The shop describes itself as family owned and operated and has served the Los Angeles string community since 1979. Tom's daughter Julia now works in sales and customer service; she holds a Master of Music in Opera from UCLA and sings with the L.A. Master Chorale and the L.A. Opera chorus. The repair room is led by Teru, who trained at the Chicago Violin Making School, graduated in 1992 and joined Metzler the same year. The staff page credits him with more than 30 years of restoration work and a local reputation for varnish retouching, which is why scratched and worn instruments end up on his bench. Wesley, a UC Davis graduate and violinist who hopes to make instruments himself, works alongside him on repair and restoration.

The repair page lists the core bench jobs: fingerboard planing, sound post adjustment, bridge repair and replacement, crack repairs and instrument cleaning. The team works on violins, violas and cellos; double basses are not on the list, although bass bows are rehaired. Varnish retouching is a specialty, and the shop warns that it takes time, so plan to leave the instrument for an extended period. The page also states plainly that, because the team is small, the shop may not be able to accept every repair submitted.

Bow work has its own specialist, Shawn, who handles rehairs and bow restoration. Rehairs use Mongolian horsehair in white, chestnut or black, and each one includes a light cleaning of the stick and the metal parts. The staff page gives the key tip: for the fastest service, book your bow appointment in advance, and rehair and repair work is available Tuesday to Saturday. If you only need a basic student rehair and can wait a week, $120 is steep; this is the place for a good bow you want handled carefully.

Repair quotes and bow appointments are requested through a form on the repair page, or by phone. Metzler also writes insurance appraisals for instruments and bows, charging a fee based on the number of items and the complexity of the job. It needs to keep the items for 24 hours or longer and never appraises from photographs. If you are selling, the shop typically consigns instruments valued over $7,500 and bows over $3,000, and it may occasionally buy outright at wholesale after an in-person inspection.

The shop floor is staffed by working string players. The sales team includes a cellist who coaches strings at Granada Hills Charter High School, a violist with degrees from USC Thornton and Eastman who has performed with Kamasi Washington, and a violinist who switched to bluegrass fiddle. Customers range from parents renting a first instrument to professionals trying fine violins from the consignment room. The shop runs long-term and short-term rentals with a rent-to-own option, and it hosts events such as its American Makers Exhibition, coordinated by Emily, a singer who came to Los Angeles from New Zealand to study at UCLA.

The shop's blog is worth a skim before a visit. A post dated October 22, 2026, on why a violin buzzes, notes that it often takes detective work to find the source of a buzz, and tells the story of a cellist who struggled with one. Bring notes on when the noise happens and on which string, since the luthiers will ask. If the buzz turns out to be a loose chinrest or fine tuner, the fix may take minutes; an open seam or a crack is a drop-off job with a quote first.

The building is a handsome adobe-style structure on South Central Avenue, and the contact page notes street parking in front and on the two nearby side streets. Arrive with the instrument in its case and the bow loosened. For repairs, call ahead even within posted hours, because the footer of every page adds the words by appointment after the Tuesday to Saturday schedule.

The shop sits a short walk south of Glendale's main shopping blocks. Walk north on Central Avenue and you reach The Americana at Brand, the open-air centre with its fountain and trolley, and next to it the Glendale Galleria. One block east on Brand Boulevard is the Alex Theatre, the 1925 movie palace with its neon spire. The Glendale Central Library is a few blocks further north and a quiet place to wait out a short repair.

Address: 604 South Central Avenue, Glendale, CA 91204, just north of downtown Los Angeles.
Hours: Tuesday to Saturday, 10 am to 6 pm, by appointment. Closed Sunday and Monday.
Bow rehairs: $120 for violin, viola and cello bows, $150 for bass bows, light cleaning included.
Repairs: violins, violas and cellos; quotes by phone or online form. Varnish retouch takes extra time.
Appraisals: written insurance appraisals for a fee, items held 24 hours or longer, no photo appraisals.
Parking: street parking in front and on two nearby side streets.