RENTAL FAQ

You can see the complete list of instruments available for rental, hear a sample sound and read a brief description with our Instrument Selection Guide. To learn about accessories, maintenance, cleaning, and general guidance, visit Instrument Care Instructions.

Visit your local dealer or shop 24/7 online at ShopNemc.

We offer many brands such as Jupiter, Gemeinhardt, Buffet, Holton and others. All of the brands we offer are educator-approved brands. Unfortunately, you cannot select the brand due to the ever-changing stock in our warehouse.

Yes, all of our rental instruments contain a mouthpiece for the instrument.

Although NEMC generally defers to your child's music teacher to determine the appropriate size of stringed instrument needed, NEMC offers our online video - Stringed Instrument Measurement Guide for Violin and Viola or via a downloadable PDF guide.

New instruments are brand new from the manufacturer and have never been rented. Like-New instruments have been rented before but look and play as new. Previously Rented have been rented a few times and may have a few cosmetic flaws but are refurbished to play as new.

Yes, just click on the " Or Continue without selecting a school" link at the top or bottom of the school list. This will allow you to complete the online rental without selecting a school.

If school delivery is available, that option will be offered during the online rental process. If not, the instrument can be picked up conveniently at the Authorized Dealer’s store or shipped directly to your home. A UPS tracking number will also be emailed for your convenience.

Your instrument will be delivered to the school by an Educational Representative on their next visit day after your order is processed.

Every online rental order confirmation is emailed to you, the NEMC Authorized Dealer and to NEMC's webmaster account. Please contact our Customer Service team at 800-526-4593 or [email protected] if you viewed a confirmation message but did not receive the emailed confirmation.

Your order confirmation email will automatically include the shipping address. An email with the tracking number will be sent to you in a separate email. Please note there is also a UPS tool available when you are first placing your instrument in your shopping cart which will provide the estimated delivery date for you. Please note that the tracking number will become valid once the UPS driver scans the package.

Absolutely! There are several payment options available:

1. EasyPay Monthly Rental Payment Plan - the monthly fee is automatically billed to your credit or debit card monthly.
2. Online Payment Program - log into your Parent Portal account, click on Manage Your Account, then View Account/Make Payment to make a payment.
3. Customers can also opt for Emailed Billing Notices - which will send a payment reminder notice to your Email Inbox one week prior to the payment due date. This option is located under the Your Account section.

Your monthly rental payment consists of the rental amount, the Damage Waiver fee (optional on contracts starting in the Fall) and any applicable sales tax. The balance on your rental account is available online on our parent portal with a user sign into your account.

You can update your payment card online in your Parent Portal account to update your credit or debit card or call NEMC Customer Service at 800-526-4593.

Although we encourage all customers to sign up for the EasyPay, payments by check can be mailed to NEMC, P.O. Box 40145, Newark, NJ 07101. Please include your rental account number or the instrument barcode number in the memo section of your check.

Yes, you can call NEMC Customer Service at 800-526-4593 (M-F 9:00am-5:00pm ET).

On the NEMC website click on "My Rental Account" from the Parents drop down. If you rented online your credentials were set up during the rental process. If you rented using a paper contract and included an email address, there are just three easy steps to set up your account

• Select the "Forgot Username and Password" option
• Enter your email address, click Submit, and a link to reset your password along with your Username will be emailed to you at the address on file
• Login using the password reset link and the username sent to you.

Once set up you will have full access to your account to view details, make payments, update EasyPay payment card information and more.

Account access is based on a common email address for your accounts. If your email address is different than the one used on your first account, our customer service team can help consolidate your accounts.

Stringed instrument can be exchanged to a larger size anytime to the next size instrument. All other instruments can be exchanged once during the first 12 months of the rental for a nominal fee. In both cases, your rental equity will carry to the new instrument account. Please note that an exchange must be for the same student. See our exchange policy here.

To exchange, you will need to visit the local Authorized Dealer where you originally rented your instrument and they will be able to assist you. If you rented at a school or had your instrument shipped to your home, you can contact NEMC's customer service team at 800-526-4593 to help you with the exchange process.

You can return the instrument at any time during the rental and are only obligated for monthly bills that covered the time you had the instrument. If your account is current at the time of return you will have no further obligation.

We encourage every child to keep the instrument over the summer and practice to keep up their skills, especially if they plan on playing the following school year. This also ensures that you won't lose any rental equity you have built up over the course of the school year. Once the instrument is returned the rental equity is lost and cannot be added to a new rental initiated in the fall.

NEMC's initial rental payment is not refundable. If the instrument is returned prior to the end of the trial period, the initial payment is not prorated or refunded. NEMC will consider an exception if there is a note from a medical professional explaining a medical or dental hardship for the student. Please contact NEMC's Customer Service team at 800-526-4593 or [email protected] for consideration.

Return Options

1. NEMC Authorized Dealer: Return to store where it was initially rented, and they will issue you an emailed or written receipt. The emailed receipt option automatically returns the instrument in our system and closes your account.
2. Rented Through School: Contact NEMC's Customer Service team at 800-526-4593 and we will let our Educational Representative know the instrument will be at the school for them to pick-up.
3. Directly through NEMC on Website: You can return the instrument directly to our corporate location at 1110 Centennial Ave, Suite 2, Piscataway, NJ 08854. If this location isn't convenient or we shipped the instrument to your home, please call 800-526-4593 and our customer service team can help you.

Other than the rental amount there is an initial and monthly fee for our optional DW coverage and applicable sales tax. Our reasonably priced Damage Waiver (DW) coverage covers repairs on the instrument, as well as for loss of the instrument due to theft, fire, flood or burglary.

Your NEMC instrument is rented on a Rental Purchase Agreement which does not charge interest and offers exchange, service and return options not available from a traditional instrument purchase. Rental payments accrue equity toward the ownership of your rental instrument and full disclosures are provided in your rental agreement.

You can purchase the instrument you are renting at any time. The monthly rental payments build equity towards the purchase. The total price to purchase an instrument will depend on the instrument brand, model and condition when rented. Purchase price and any applicable discounts can be viewed in your account on the Parent Portal. You can also call NEMC's customer service team at 800-526-4593 and they can look up the early purchase price and verify any applicable discount.

When parents obtain ownership of their rental instrument through the Early Purchase Discount program, Damage Waiver coverage will remain in force for 30 days after the final payment is made. If you are making your final few payments monthly, you will be offered our EC365 coverage a few payments prior to purchase.

Yes, during your rental, you may use rental equity towards the purchase of an intermediate or professional instrument. Once all payments have been made, your rental equity is no longer available for an upgrade. Please contact our Customer Service team with the brand and model of the instrument desired to start this process for you.

Some Authorized Dealers offer buyback programs for sold rental instruments, however NEMC does not purchase back instruments. If you find that your child no longer wishes to play, please consider donating (which also yields a tax write-off) to The Mr. Holland’s Opus Foundation which gives economically-disadvantaged youth access to the many benefits of music education.

1. If you rented your instrument at one of our Authorized Dealers, take your instrument to them for repair.
2. If your rental instrument was shipped to your home, you can call our customer service department at 800-526-4593 and one of our representatives will arrange to have the instrument shipped to our repair shop for immediate service.
3. If you rented your instrument through school, let your teacher know and one of our Educational Representative will pick it for repair on their next visit.

Replacement of expendable accessories such as cases, strings, and reeds, etc. are not covered by the Damage Waiver fee; however, NEMC sometimes makes exceptions based on Issue Date and special circumstances. You can contact NEMC customer service at 800-526-4593 to see if it can be replaced at no cost to you.

If your instrument requires maintenance or repair, contact your local music dealer where you originally rented your instrument, or NEMC's Customer Service team at 800-526-4593.

NEMC Customer Service can be contacted at 800-526-4593 (M-F 9:00am - 5:00pm ET).