Baltimore Review 5/Many: I was in the surrounding Mount Vernon neighborhood with others exploring…read morewhen we came across this unique music shop. The inside is filled to the brim with a nice variety of musical instruments, tools, and other items. After a while, one of us spoke with the guys here, both of whom had apparently worked here for a very long time. Apparently, they've been open since 1931, but they were originally in New York City and associated with Juilliard, so it was a bit of a small world. Personally, we didn't make any purchases, but the guy with us said that the prices were good and he liked the tone of the guitar he tried. Support local businesses like this one before they're gone, or eventually you'll have to rely on Amazon or other junk.

I've shopped there in the past. I purchased instruments for my son. I would recommend this place. I…read moreintend on purchasing an instrument for my grandchild.

Killer customer service, really nice guys, and my guitar plays great. definitely recommend.read more

Farrell's--more than just violins! Come here for violins, violas, basses, and 'cellos…read more My dad brought me here back in 4th grade when I first decided to start playing the violin. We teased him because he was only saving $100 by going there versus the other music stores, and it was a bit of a drive for us . . . but it saved a lot more in the long run! They used to have a deal that whatever money you spent while renting went towards your future violin that you would buy. I rented for about 8 years before buying, and I ended up not having to pay for anything except for maybe my case. They will let you play on instrument after instrument, talk to you about them, describe the sounds . . . needless to say, I spent hours here. : ) They do excellent repairs with excellent service, and even though I think they dropped the rental deal, their prices are still good. My violin was valued at somewhere around $1000 there, but it would cost so much more anywhere else. They're not after selling you the most expensive instrument, just the one you like the most. (Of course, the one I liked the most was the one the owner was making, but it was going to sell for $5000--boo!) Bonus throw-in . . . I'm apparently related to Mr. Farrell, and to his nephew who also works/worked there. It's like third/fourth cousin or something, but still random fun!

After retiring, I decided I wanted a Les Paul jr. I knew they'd gone up in price, but $6K for the…read moresame guitar I bought for $100 50 years ago? The other options didn't appeal to me, so I built one. Doug was just the right person to set it up - you get to watch and learn something. In under 30min. I had a great playing LP jr. I will NEVER go to anyone else!! Off topic - building that guitar was great fun, highly recommended. I started with a body&neck from Precision Guitar Kits in Canada from there, just use parts of your choice. Doug even mentioned I did a good job on it!

Lies about what he sells and prosecutes you for your beliefs that differs from his and by doing so,…read morenegates any ongoing warranty you may have...he'll have your best review until he turns on you... BEWARE so you don't get blind sided like I did...

Hamiltone music resides inside an old firehouse in the heart of Hamilton-Lauraville's Main Street…read more The location was renovated with great community assistance and also huge support from the HL Mainstreet Association. It is a business incubator. Terrific work!! Hamiltone is mainly a site fur music lessons which I'm told are great. There are three studio practice rooms for instruction and a small retail business. They also fix guitars. On the retail side it's small. James, the owner, admits it's a work in progress. He has guitar strings, some equipment and a few guitars. Again it's mostly lessons so don't expect a ton...but do expect knowledge!!! He helped my little boy pick a 3/4 guitar and compare it to full size, gave us advice on cases, and was encouraging. Great little shop. I hope he expands.

Hamiltone Music is a wonderful little shop in the heart of Hamilton. James is so knowledgeable and…read moredoes amazing work on guitar repairs. He is a warm instructor who specializes in teaching guitar to all levels. The shop has a lot of fun instruments for sale, as well as any gear you might need for your instrument. It is definitely worth stopping in! If you are looking for guitar lessons, James is your man! And if guitar isn't your thing, they have many other talented teachers and James will pair you with the best!

This place was so great for renting my son's violin. They had a promotion for $20 for 3 months…read more Then the price increases per month but the opening promotion is a great deal to see if my son likes the violin. They also have all the music books available for purchase. You can tell them what school your child is in and they will pretty much take care of the rest.

I purchased a very inexpensive 3/4 scale bass guitar as a gift (along with a much more expensive…read moreguitar), and I even received a brand new model still in the box. The recipient preferred a different color, and Mike - the owner himself - refused to exchange it for a different one, despite the fact that it has been purchased within the last two weeks, was unplayed, and still in the box. You would have lost absolutely nothing to exchange a $200 bronco bass for another color, but now you've lost my business entirely. You can buy a guitar ANYWHERE (like Bill's, Guitar Center, even Music & Arts) - don't give your business to someone who can't honor one of the simplest and most common requests in retail. Edit to respond to the comment: I called, spoke to an employee who took my information down and said he had to ask you, Mike. An entire WEEK later, this kid calls me back and explains that you refused to honor the exchange. So you're right, you haven't even taken the time to speak to me yourself. The situation didn't escalate until you waited a week to tell someone else to tell me "no".

I had a vintage hollow body that needed a re-fret and made the long drive to drop the guitar off…read more The good = the removal of the frets, and re-planing of the fretwork is the cleanest and most conservative I've ever seen. He also pinned the floating bridge in a really neat, clean, and innovative way. The turn time was less than two weeks. The bad = The final charge was over $100 over the estimate, and they didn't inform me of this before hand before I made the long drive to pick it up. The new frets were too high and not crowned properly, so it was painful to play. The frets were squared off and not rounded. I couldn't afford the time and money to make the drive again to have this corrected, so I had to pay somebody else to correct the work (by leveling and re-crowning the frets). I now have to ship my guitars out of state for fretwork since there is nobody good in the DC/Baltimore area aside from a few hobbyist working out of their homes. I've definitely seen worse fret work than this, like I said, I was impressed with the care taken with the removal of the old frets and re-planing the fretboard. But the re-fret felt incomplete to me and the extra unexpected charge was a kick in the gut.

If you ship your guitar to get work done here, be prepared to wait at least half a year to get it…read moreback. No joke. Don't believe them when they say it will be several weeks to a month. I shipped my guitar to Philtone years ago and had them PLEK and set up my guitar years. Didn't hear back for months and didn't want to seem like I was too pushy. After four or five months, I started to get a little anxious so I emailed or called them. They said it would be soon. I ended up getting my guitar six or seven months later. It's known in the guitar community that time management is this place's worst attribute. I've read a number of complaints about not hearing back and waiting forever.