McNeela Instruments Reviews 356

From the wonderful selection of instruments, to the reasonable prices, to the responsiveness of the staff, to Padraic’s delightful musical emails — getting my new mandolin from McNeela was a great pleasure. It made its way across the ocean in perfect condition, and I couldn’t be happier with it!

I ordered two whistles back in August 2025. But U.S. tariffs got in the way, and I ended up getting a refund. McNeela always responded so I knew it wasn't their fault. I asked about ordering in March 2026, and they assured me things were worked out with the tariffs. I ordered and got them in about one week. McNeela always responded to my emails the next day. And the whistles are beautiful. Thank you.

I placed an order for a tin whistle for our aging Dad who has been an avid whistle player all his life and has been recently diagnosed with Alzhiemers. Due to a special offer on the website I was worried my order would be delayed & not reach us in time for our celebration. I reached out to the team and they generously ensured my package arrived in time. Thank you so much for making an old sailor very happy

I placed four international orders from McNeela and the last was a real problem. McNeela did THEIR job as usual and got the bodhran to The States in 2- Days (and paid priority shipping and Trumps tariffs!). But FEDEX lost track of it here. Radio silence with FEDEX. The whole time it was stuck in customs for 2 Weeks!. McNeela sent the paperwork correctly but kept in constant contact. They did their job and continued to monitor it and sheperd the product through in spite of US Customs and FEDEX incompetence. I know of no other company that goes to such lengths
as McNeela to be responsible and keep the customer first. Above-and beyond in every way!

I bought the McNeela bouzouki. First of all, I live in the US and they are in Ireland and yet it arrived well packed and wrapped within four days.
The instrument itself is wonderful. It sounds great. I have been an amateur luthier for nearly 20 years and I have to say that it is well made, with no neck or bridge adjustments necessary. It is also lovely to look at. The appointments are simple yet tasteful. I can't wait to learn how to play it well.

I ordered a C and D whistle…..really love the C after always playing a D. Really good quality and feel. My first order went missing and when I contacted McNeela they immediately gave me a choice of a refund or replacement. I opted for replacement as I was really looking to receiving the whistle. It still took close to 4 weeks but not because of them. Really worth the wait. And now I’m enjoying all of the multitude of whistle tones that they send out and the Masterclass.
Sherie

I've never experienced a set of whistles that can hit the upper octave with minimal breath support like the Wild. It's as if you will it, and it does the rest. Thanks McNeela!

I bought the Maestro violin from them back in January when it was discounted but due to tariffs and customs I couldn't get it, so they refunded me the money and then sent me a discount code so I could re-buy it at the same price. I did that and managed to get through customs. It sounds great and their support system is top-notch. They are very responsive and actually helpful.

We bought a beautiful flute for our son. It plays beautifully. He was very happy with it. We need some adjustments done afterwards and customer service was first class.

Warning for UK customers!!! If you spend £135 or more you will spend significant amount on custom charges. When adding items in my shopping basket, estimated costs were £133. However due to currency conversion I ended paying just over £136, this led to a custom charge of £47.17! It would have been good customer service if some warning had been given, but there was non. Item also arrived late, took 10 days. Happy with item itself but would definitely not use McNeela again.

I purchased an electric violin from them, when it arrived, the pickup was terrible and having it turned on within 3 meters of any electronics caused terrible oscillations through any output format. I contacted support, sent them videos went around and around with them, only for them to tell me it's fine and refuse a refund. Not sure how I'm supposed to play an electronic instrument that can't be around electricity, but I won't be ordering from them again.

I ordered a Wild Irish Whistle from McNeela Music in early December 2025, hoping for pre-Christmas delivery. Severe postal delays (they even mentioned a 6-week An Post backlog) made that impossible.
On 22 December, their representative clearly promised in writing: “If you still have not received your order by the 4th of January I will be able to process a full refund for your order.” I cancelled the order on 24 December as it was no longer needed and replaced it locally.
The parcel eventually arrived after 4 January. I immediately followed up THREE times (5th, 8th, and 10th January) politely reminding them of their own refund promise, confirming non-delivery by the agreed date, and asking for the refund to be processed. Every single one of these emails was completely ignored – not a single reply, acknowledgement, or even an automated response for over a week.
Only after my third unanswered message did I finally get a reply on 12 January. They claimed they had “no record” of my January emails (despite them being in the same thread), offered no apology for the silence, and insisted on return before any refund – completely disregarding their own earlier commitment.
The total lack of communication was shocking. Three customer emails over 7 days, all directly referencing their written promise, and zero response. It genuinely feels like they don’t care about their customers at all once the sale is made. This level of disregard turned what should have been a simple refund into a stressful, drawn-out ordeal.
Products might be decent, but the customer service is abysmal – especially the complete failure to respond during a time-sensitive issue they created with their own promise. I now have zero confidence in dealing with them again. Avoid if you value basic communication and respect.

Brand new bodhran gig bag zip slider failed after only two months. Unit replaced with no question and at no cost.

I live in the USA and ordered a Mandolin. McNeela never told me there would be an additional tarif and handling charge of $120, until AFTER I bought the instrument. At that pooint I should've cancelled the order. McNeela's "trusted shippng partner" AnPost screwed up the shipment and sent the Mandolin back to them, and left me hanging with no Mandolin! To be fair, they did refund my purchase, but NEVER offed any help in my getting a refund for tarif and handling charges. Customer service simply told me it was out of their hands and to contact AnPost. Now I am dealing with AnPost, who is ignoring my requests for a refund.
If you live in the USA Don't order from this company.

Bought a violin in the UK and mcneela choose not to tell you you will be charged vat on import. The amount also does not change to reflect vat being added or removed depending on where you buy from or the price. So if you buy from the UK they will charge you the full amount it would usually cost including vat, then you pay vat at customs and they get to pocket the extra. I have tried emailing them about this but for some reason they are choosing to ignore me.

I ordered a tenor banjo and it took almost three weeks to arrive to PA, USA. It apparently needs a professional set up as the tuning/intonation is off. They offered a refund if I wanted to pay the shipping to return it. But they will not refund if set up by someone else. .even during the return window. So if my professional set up doesn’t work, I cannot return it. It took almost a week to get a reply to my email. I wish I would have bought local.

I ordered from McNeela Music for delivery to the UK (Order #124209) and the experience was extremely disappointing due to poor pricing/VAT transparency.

My invoice shows 0% VAT, but UK pricing on the website appears effectively the same as EU VAT-inclusive pricing (e.g. £ vs € at similar exchange rates). So while the invoice says “zero VAT”, the pricing doesn’t reflect VAT being removed.

Then, because it shipped into the UK, I was hit with around £90 extra in VAT and import duty on delivery.

McNeela’s response was basically “we’re compliant and don’t have to reduce UK prices.” That may be true — but it’s not transparent and UK customers end up out of pocket.

Recommendation: buy locally in the UK instead.

Dealt with McNeela Music twice, first bought a low whistle case last summer. Then, in november I ordered a keyed Irish flute. I hoped it would make some of the chromatics in Scandinavian folk music easier than half-holing on my whistles. On receiving the flute, I found that the key layout really would not help me as much as I had hoped.
Jack at customer service was very helpful in the return process. I ended up ordering a Suprema silver flute instead.

I placed my order for 3 whistles (keys of high C, alto A, and alto G) during the night on Thursday and they all arrived this morning, on Saturday...which is less than a 30 hours turnaround time. Now that's what I call efficiency!
The McNeela alto A whistle is my new favourite sounding whistle and it'll take a strong will to put it down.

Outstanding service! We ordered a violin on the 1st of December, and when it hadn’t arrived after almost two weeks, I called as we were traveling abroad on the 19th and needed it beforehand. The gentleman I spoke with was very understanding and kindly offered to change the courier to UPS. Thanks to his efforts, we received the violin just in time.

Excellent service, and the violin is absolutely beautiful.