This place has turned into my place for drum equipment. A heads-up to Eric, and the rest of the…read moreguys I deal with in the drum area. I'm not the most personalble guy and can come-off as a slight bit antisocial (Just sit me behind a set and I let the drums do the talking, for me!) and the guys handling the drum section know how to interact with people that are even as recluse as me, and that shows an excellence in customer service! Guitar Center, in Southington, should be ashamed, and should take some notes on work ethic from these men.

So I just heard that the 100 year-old Sam Ash chain of stores is closing - and that is what has…read moreprompted this review, I apologize in advance for its length: For over 26 years, my company did business with Sam Ash. Back in the 90's I would walk into the Woodbridge, CT store and be properly and professionally greeted, guided to the salesperson that would help with my purchase and get great advice, information and service from a knowledgeable staff member and most of the time, fellow musician. Who could ask for more? Fast forward to the 2020's and the retail giant is totally unrecognizable - so hearing the news this morning that the chain was closing didn't exactly come as a shock, as I predicted this years ago. The tell-tale signs were everywhere and honestly, I'm surprised it took this long. It doesn't however make this news any less heartbreaking. I say heartbreaking because anytime a brick and mortar establishment closes, every American should stop and tremble. This is the end of another era. Out of tradition or some sort of misplaced loyalty, I've always stopped into Sam Ash to give them yet "Another Chance" to redeem themselves and every time, I left the store empty-handed, disappointed and kicking myself for wasting my time there - again. No greeting at the door. No smiling faces. No staff to help. No knowledgeable staff on hand. So, I stood there and waited and waited. When someone finally decided to acknowledge me, they were useless. Then to add insult to injury, as time went on, they rarely stocked anything I needed. So I just stopped considering them as a supplier. Most of the time, I was there for high-end sound reinforcement for live performances - Large power amps, speakers, sonic maximizers, cabling, wireless mics, mixers, etc. My last visit there about ten years ago. I was shopping for a full-size keyboard to incorporate into my studio. I had specific questions as I'm a guitar player, not a keyboard player, and I got stuck with a salesperson who knew less about keys than I did. So how many time times do professional musicians, engineers, producers and sound people let this scenario play out before we let Jeff Bezos take care of us? And here we are. Towns across America are full of little corner music shops that sell low end everything for the grade school student and beginning musician and that's as it should be, but professionals go to stores like Sam Ash for the performance grade stuff. And when you're dumping two thousand to 12 thousand on a Les Paul or Strat or maybe 5K on a vintage Vibrolux, you want your sales staff to know their stuff. You EXPECT to be treated a certain way. You want to be able to touch, feel, see, hear and play that dream guitar you've been waiting a lifetime to buy. You want to smell that cedar top on that new Classical guitar. Kinda hard to do with an on-line purchase. Imagine buying a new car without the test drive! And THAT is what makes this a sad day in America. It's another sign of the times. Another example of how we've fallen as a Capitalist society. Some people celebrate that I guess. I don't. I'm sad to hear this news. I'm going to miss Sam Ash despite my feelings. I'm going to miss the experience of buying in person. No one wants to see a business fail. This is a part of history we're losing. Someone worked hard to build that business. It was someone's dream. And Sam Ash won't be the last. Guitar Centers is suffering from the exact same issues and collapse of the business model and I say they're next - but will they turn it around? Will their board of directors send out district and regional managers or "secret shoppers" and start fixing the issues before Jeff Bezos takes their dollars too? Will they read reviews like this one and get off their collective asses to turn the Titanic around? Probably not, when you can't find anyone today who really knows what hard work is - how do you fix it? Who's training their staff? There comes a point when the damage is done and it's not salvageable. Goodbye Sam Ash. I take no pleasure in writing this. I'm disgusted. I'm disappointed. I'm sad. I just hope that those in control at the top levels of management of these chain stores, read their reviews and pay attention - take them to heart and make the effort to improve your businesses. I know I'm not the only one who feels this way, it's just that most people won't take the time to write something like this - but I feel better for having said it. Maybe by some miracle, someone will come in and scoop Sam Ash up and right the ship at the last hour. I can dream, can't I? Ron L, Southington , CT

This shop is a gem for anyone with musical needs. It's hidden in a strip mall on Rt 1, near one of…read morethe best cannoli bakeries on the shoreline, so there's an extra bonus! My daughter rents her school instrument here, and repairs or maintenance have always been handled quickly and without hassle. The owner is welcoming, patient, and happy to answer even my most clueless questions. On many occasions, he's gone above and beyond - offering extra resources, making thoughtful recommendations, and taking the time to help our daughter deepen her love and understanding of music.

I started my journey with classical guitar many years ago but life got in the way but swore I would…read moreget back into it. Fast forward forty years. I retired and moved to Connecticut to be near my son and his children. I immediately started looking for a teacher. There are lots of teachers, players out there. Some are great teachers not such good players. Some are good are great players not such good teachers. Some say they teach and play classical but can't. I searched for four years and came up short. Finally by luck it was suggested that I talk to Neal. I scheduled a trial appointment and was immediately impressed. Neal plays anything with strings and frets, not well but extremely well! He teaches and plays all styles. His method of teaching matches your pace and style while making it fun with enough progress not to get discouraged. So if you play, want to play or have kids just starting out I would suggest talking to Neal. I promise you will thank yourself. Randy Potts

I've had about 5 different guitar teachers over the years. Neil is the best of all. Some seemed…read morelike they were just following a book where as Neil's lessons were suited to what I needed and wanted to get better at the guitar. Neil is patient and interesting. I look forward to every lesson. John Fiengo.

Joe was an incredible piano teacher to our 3 children. Our youngest child (5) could be a little…read moretough in school so, I worried about his maturity level to begin lessons. Joe amazed me how he was able to creatively teach him by adapting to his unique learning style. Our 6 and 13 year old flourished working with Joe and learned a lot quickly. We are sadly moving away and will miss the opportunity for our children to continue learning piano from such a talented instructor.

Joe has worked with all 3 of my kids. He is an excellent piano teacher, very patient, very…read moremeasured, and teaches in a way that is very relatable. He was able to accommodate us during COVID quarantine with remote lessons, so the kids didn't skip a beat. Highly recommend!

Having been an on and off adult guitar player with limited time, I went through a series of guitar…read moreteachers before landing on MTN. I can't say enough about Scott Hargus and his bevy of instructors. He customizes his instruction to his students and knows how to tap into their misunderstandings regarding theory to practice. Other teachers I experienced had very set methods that were not adaptable nor inspiring students to play more. Scott's approach is both. I come out of sessions knowing what to work on and why. As an added bonus, he periodically schedules gigs for his students to play live. I had this opportunity to play out with him and Norm @ Twisted Vine. Pretty inspiring indeed. Great teacher and worth every penny!

I took lessons from MTN and worked my way up from a novice. They gave me the tools i needed and…read morewith steady practice , Im out playing in bands. They made learning fun and gave me the info i needed.

Great prices, fast delivery and very helpful. Give them a…read morecall and talk to Frank for your musical needs.

This guy really knows his stuff. Spent over an hour on a Yamaha upright. Offered lots of advice…read moreabout maintenance. The fact that a key wasn't working a couple of days later might have more to do with children.

Great piano tuner, highly recommended…read more I hired Eric to begin working on my newly acquired 1890s Steinway upright. The piano is a little problematic because of its age and I purchased it knowing there would be a certain amount of rebuilding work required over time. I hired Eric to give the piano its first tuning in my house, perform some preliminary voicing and fix a few issues with the action. I was also looking to set up a plan to improve the piano over time and bring it into optimal playing condition. Ultimately, I am looking to have a reliable partner whose advice I trust and whose quality of work will give my piano the best sound and feel. Eric is exactly what you would hope for in any service provider: He has consistently been responsive to my requests, shows up early or on time and stays in touch for follow up work that was required. He is up-front about his pricing and holds himself to a high standard for the work he provides. The integrity he brings to both the service side and the business side of his work is admirable. From a quality of work perspective, Eric exceeds my expectations. He has a great ear and blends traditional ear-tuning techniques and the latest technology to get the optimal result. The quality of the work he does is excellent and just as importantly for me, he is able to explain the sources of the issues and the remaining work he recommends clearly and in non-technical language I can understand. He works hard to get to know the specific instrument he is working on and procures and installs high-quality parts that are most appropriate for it. He has an extensive network in the area and makes strong recommendations on service-providers for additional work my piano requires. I highly recommend Eric and will continue to work with him.

absolutely love school of rock north haven!! the stag is fabulous, my kids are learning so much and…read morethe performances they put on are incredible. I highly recommend!