Frequently Asked Questions
ABOUT STUDENT BAND INSTRUMENT RENT TO OWN, PURCHASE, ETC.

We use these terms interchangeably. All of our "rentals" or "rent to own" plans are on a month-to-month basis and can be returned at any time but do also apply some of the rental payment toward eventual ownership of the instrument should you wish to continue renting. "Rent-to-own" is just a little wordy so it gets shortened to "rental", but they are the same thing.

Band instrument rentals include the instrument along with the supplies typically needed for a new band student in school band. This includes a folding music stand, lesson book, care kit with cleaning supplies, reeds, slide lubricant/valve oil/cork grease, reeds.

All instruments rented from Sleister Music come with the repair and maintenance plan as well, which costs an extra $6/month* and covers any accidental damage, routine repairs, and annual cleaning/maintenance.

*Percussion kit repair and maintenance plan is only $3/month

Please note that short term rentals do NOT come with these supplies, complementary accessories are only for rent-to-own contracts.

For student band instrument rent-to-own contracts, the default length is 36 months if not specified otherwise. Each month, your rental payment pays for the temporary use of the instrument for that month and also pays off 1/36th of the purchase price of that particular instrument. Should you switch instruments during the rent to own period this equity will transfer over to your next instrument too!

We also have 36-month rent-to-own plans for intermediate and professional instruments- same terms here with each month paying 1/36th of the purchase price.

Sleister Music rents brand-new, like-new, and used condition instruments. We generally say that like-new instruments have over 99% of the original finish and that used instruments have 85-99% of the original finish intact. So, with used instruments, you may expect some cosmetic wear. However, all of our instruments regardless of condition have been run through our repair shop to ensure they are in excellent playing condition.

Yes! For $6 per month, you can subscribe to our repair and maintenance plan, which covers routine maintenance and accidental damage that may happen to your rental instrument. This covers 100% of any repair expense, so long as the damage is not deliberate. The details of everything that is and is not covered by the R&M plan are available for your reading pleasure in our Rental Agreement at https://www.sleistermusic.com/terms.

During the rental contract, it is required to have repair and maintenance coverage. This ensures that a rented instrument from Sleister Music will be maintained in great playing order.

Instruments purchased from Sleister Music are also eligible to add-on repair and maintenance plan coverage, as are instruments you have acquired elsewhere that have recently been returned to good playing condition by our repair shop. Please note that for recently repaired instruments, the repair and maintenance plan will not cover the initial repair, only future service needs, as the wear we are repairing did not occur during a covered period of time.

Note- for school percussion kits, the Repair and Maintenance plan is $3 per month instead.

Sleister Music’s rent-to-own program understands that sometimes a student will start out playing one instrument but later change his/her mind and play another instrument. You are able to do this with our rental program, and we will apply 100% of the equity built up toward the new instrument. When you switch rental instruments, you will only have to purchase new accessories since the accessories we give with the rental are free-of-charge only for a new rental contract. For example, if you switch from a rent-to-own plan on a new trombone to a new clarinet, your monthly rental rate and day would be unchanged, but you would be responsible for purchasing the reeds, cork grease, silk swab, and lesson book that you will need for the clarinet.

Another advantage of Sleister Music’s rent-to-own program is that you can apply 100% of the equity built toward an intermediate or professional model instrument! You can see a current list of our intermediate and professional instruments here.

No! Our rent-to-own plan is a month-to-month contract, so you are only committed to the first month's payment. Once you return the instrument, no further payments are owed so long as the prior monthly payments were made on time. The rent-to-own plan is designed to give the flexibility to try band with a quality instrument without committing to any length of time.

To rent an instrument, you store payment information (credit card or bank account) with our processor, and the billing will run each month on the same day. For example, if you set up an account on the 5th of the month, future months will also bill on the 5th.

To return a rental instrument from Sleister Music to Cedar Valley Instrument Repair, you will either coordinate a return to the Cedar Valley repair shop OR coordinate the return through your child's school band director to Cedar Valley Instrument Repair.

If you have a music stand that was provided with the instrument, it can be returned, but other "consumable" accessories (i.e. reeds or a written-in lesson book) we do not need back.