A: Cases and instruments include free shipping. Any items shipped with a case or instrument will not be charged additional shipping. String only orders carry a $5 shipping charge. Other items carry a shipping charge of $10.

A: Evolutionary Music was created specifically to serve needs of Canadians involved in the music world, especially since the items we carry had no Canadian distribution channels when we signed our partnership agreements. Since the USA has one or more distribution channels there is less need for our services to US Customers. Should we receive a sizable number of requests from the USA we will review pricing and shipping options available to us. At the moment we are happy to refer people with US shipping address to resellers in the USA.

A: There are 16 measurements that are required for Karura to prepare a new case for a guitar. It is also recommended that you provide a tracing of your lower body, neck and headstock as Karura may want them to verify the measurements provided. Tracings must be physically mailed to us. There are unfortunately no computer scanners large enough in the conventional market nor an electronic format Karura will consider reliable at this time. Evolutionary Music is currently engaged in research with its partner, Evolve IT, to find a way to simplify this process with the use of electronic scanning tools.

A: When dealing with high end instruments, while there are general guide lines to a standard guitar, hand made instruments have size variations which may be small to the player but substantial in a case. Every Karura case is custom padded to maximize protection provided. A Karura case is not a small investment and both Karura and Evolutionary Music want to be absolutely sure every case is measured to fit the instrument for which it is made.

A: You can call us at (416) 898-7719 for assistance in obtaining your measurements. If you live in the Toronto area we can measure your instrument personally and do tracings. We are working to arrange agents in Montreal to do measurements for guitars whose owners require assistance.

A: We recommend a Karura Case for any guitar that is of exceptional value to the owner. Although we do our upmost to charge the lowest possible price it is still an investment of at least $1000 CAD. Generally if you don't feel your guitar has a market value of at least $3000 CAD or of exceptional value historically it may be better to explore other options which we will gladly recommend. We would love to be able to say that Karura Cases but given the price point, it wouldn't make sense to buy a case that costs more replacing your instrument with one of the same caliber.

A: Absolutely! Our president has personally invested a significant amount of time and money testing over 20 different brands (plus tension levels) on a variety of concert quality guitars. What's more, strings that made one instrument sound phenomenal, would give lackluster performance on another instrument of similar value. Guitars can be very demanding partners when it comes to strings. Choosing strings is like finding a marriage partner: you have to find the right fit or something is lost. For example, we discovered that the best sound on one guitar came from Extra Hard Tension Dogal bass strings and Medium High Tension Hannabach trebles (Blue Label). Another guitar fell in love with strings from Hense. One guitar loved a set of strings costing $30 CAD for a set, but those same strings sounded dead on another instrument. We are trying to create a matrix of ideal matches for guitars and strings but it is a long process. While we can make recommendations, the ears of our president may not agree with yours. In the end its up to the musician to find what works for them, but we intend to publish our president's opinions in the hopes of saving our customers considerable time and money in find the ideal string combination for your instrument.

A: Our president has gotten his hands on a number of tuners including Rogers, Graf, Gilbert and Fustero. Rogers are overall the most expensive and the hardest to get but they are amazing tuners and worth the money. When we tried a set of tuners by Graf we were shocked to find they really were smoother as well as less expensive to buy. Bringing functionality and value to Canada is our passion at Evolutionary Music and we are convinced for top quality of function and value in guitar tuners, Graf's at the top of the list.

A: We are not ready to publish volume pricing but since volume orders save on shipping and import costs we are willing to discuss pricing on volume orders on a case by case basis depending on the items, quantities and shipping location within Canada.

A: The items we sell are all top of the line products with a limited number of customers who recognize their value. Selling directly from our warehouse to the customer through the Internet reduces overhead costs that can result in higher prices. Also bear in mind we are more than just a store: We give personalized service on our products, especially the Karura Cases. Our business model allows us to get our products to you at the lowest possible cost.