We like this school very much , I love that my daughter join the group classes and also has her…read moreprivate lessons. She learned a lot and has experienced so many recitals with trophies and certificates that helped her built her confidence in front of a crowd . My daughter has been there for almost 4 years . The teachers are very patient , kind and accommodating when it comes to our schedules . The Director Zoe is very nice and carries herself professionally . My Daughter now can play piano music and is enjoying picking up instruments and enriching her life with music . Thank you for your business.

My daughter has taken lessons here for several years, starting with piano, and we've had mostly…read moregreat experiences with the teachers. When one teacher wasn't the right fit, the staff was flexible and supportive in helping us make a change. The director and front desk are thoughtful, accommodating, and always focused on what's best for the students. Recently, my daughter switched to cello and absolutely loves it--her teacher, Jasper, is genuine, respectful, and makes learning the cello feel relaxed despite its challenges. Recitals are fun, and we're so happy with the program and its affordability that we plan to enroll our other kids in piano group lessons for music theory. We'll update this review then!

I have been friends with Mr. Jensen since he and my family attended church together in the early…read more2000s. He was my piano teacher for a few years since middle school and, deciding to take piano lessons from him again well over a decade later, is my piano teacher now. Since my first experience with Mr. Jensen as a school-aged child to a working adult, Mr. Jensen has proven to be one of the most patient, kind, and knowledgeable teachers I have ever had. I highly recommend Mr. Jensen to all.

Don is kind and gentle, yet extremely knowledgeable and straightforward. He works well with all…read moreages, even teenagers. He is extremely patient, yet has high expectations. He never speaks down to his students, and they rise up to meet him. He is a great piano teacher with fair prices. We also had him tune our spinet piano, which was very fairly priced and made a noticeable difference. An overall great experience that we highly recommend.

Smooth process. Rented a violin for 2 years and will be back for this school year. Very helpful and…read morethey take the time to make sure sizing is correct.

For a few years now, I had been wanting to either get my viola bow re-haired (if possible) or…read morepurchase a new viola bow - and had called a few music stores around for pricing for a possible re-hair of the bow. Since I have had my viola for quite awhile now, it was a first for me since I only played in school orchestras. Been wanting to get back into just practicing, but then the pandemic happened and I just put this thought off to the side. A few weeks ago, I called up a few of the same stores, where I had gotten quotes a few years ago, and my fav one seemed to have closed down during the pandemic. I found contact information again for J. Brown Violin Maker and called to inquire and to reserve a time to come into the store. Debbie picked up the phone and provided lots of valuable information and I quickly set up a time, as I know from personal experience, always better to set up a reservation. Good thing I did as well, because they were in and out for the month of July and were also busy with school instrument repairs. When I arrived to the shop, I did not know there was a small parking lot up front, so I drove around the building (due to the one-way street on the side) and then parked in a "J. Brown Violin Maker" Reserved parking spot. I was a few minutes early, but knocked on the door to announce my arrival. Good thing I made a reservation as 2 more families (without a reservation) came in after me! The second family after me probably had to wait over an hour since I was just a few minutes into my reserved time and the family after me needed to look into renting a viola. Debbie explained and showed me that my current bow was unable to be re-haired and also showed me a few areas where I could "repair" for better sounds and etc. I opted to get new strings along with a new carbon composite bow. Yes, prices online may be cheaper, but I love supporting local businesses! Since they know that they cannot beat online prices, Debbie did restring my viola for me, and even helped lubricate the viola pegs! I learned a lot that day, especially since I have never had private lessons. For one of the families after me, Debbie even said that they had just made the viola for the student's viola teacher the year before. I love how connected they are to the community and I even asked for recs for a piano tuner. The second family after me seemed to have purchased multiple violins from here as well. The store certainly keeps busy, and I hope that they continue to do so, as one does not usually see many Master Luthiers around anymore.

Went there to fix my sons flute and (I didn't catch his name!) but he looked at it real quick, saw…read morethe problem, played a few notes just to make sure it's working properly, and gave it back to me and said no charge. He said a simple fix like this I can't charge for. First time receiving such kind and honest service at a business. I was taken back and insisted on paying but he refused. Thank you to the person that helped me! That was the kindest service I've ever received. definitely will be coming back.

when my husband found his dad's clarinet that hadn't been played since... 1970?! I thought, "this…read moreis a lost cause." but then I remembered Jim Mettler who used to repair our shop's instruments in Pasadena (decades ago). I googled him & lo and behold not only was he still around but he had his own shop! In San Dimas!! I sent pics of the moldy & crusty clarinet thinking I'd be told to take a hike, nope :) they were like, "no problem! bring it in!" they did a great job & the crew that works there is awesome, just awesome. I highly recommend! :D - a couple before & after pics:

I had a great experience at this guitar repair shop. We've taken my son's guitar to Guitar Center…read moremultiple times and paid out of pocket each time, but the issue kept coming back over and over again. When we brought it here, the gentleman took one look at the guitar and immediately knew exactly what was wrong. He fixed it perfectly and took the time to explain what caused the issue and what my son should do moving forward to prevent it from happening again. He was incredibly friendly, patient, and very knowledgeable. You can tell he genuinely cares about helping his customers. The service was excellent from start to finish. Highly recommend this shop to anyone needing guitar repairs or advice--you'll be in great hands!

Unfortunately I have to rescind my 5 star rating after my last experience with Chris…read more I took a 1979 Flying V to him for a refret. After how well he did my previous job, there was no other choice in my head than Chris to do the job. First, the price was PRETTY hefty. $541. Refret, nut, and setup. Usually a set up is thrown in free of charge when you do a nut and refret but whatever. No big deal. I knew from past experience that the job would be done well and it was worth the money. It wasn't. Not in the slightest. First off, the nut is in the slot uneven. It sits further towards the high e string than it should, and it hangs off the fret board slightly. Meaning there's a gap where you can feel the nut slot on the low e side. Annoying since your finger rests there quite a bit. Second, the refret was NOT good. There were still scratches in the top of the frets you could feel when bending strings, there were very sharp fret ends poking out of the side of the fret board, and the fret board was MANGLED on the sides and top. Third, there WAS A MASSIVE spot of damaged finish on the back of the guitar. Obviously the guitar was resting on a rag or something with some kind of solvent on it, and damaged the paint in a 3x5 spot where the nitro finish was cracking and flaking off. Another small thing was that the guitar was missing a tuner mounting screw. I took photos of the guitar before and it was there. Not sure why it was removed or why it went missing but it was an original Grover imperial screw from the late 70s so it's not easy or possible to replace it. One shiny new screw is not highly visible. I was supremely disappointed in the workmanship. It feels like it was done in about 2 hours as fast as possible with at little care and thought for my instrument as possible. When I got it back, I had to knock the fret ends down myself flush with the neck, and I polished the frets from 1500 to 3000g and polished them to how they should have been for almost $600. The guitar is now currently being refinished, because the back of the guitar was just so disappointing to see that giant spot that was just cracking and peeling more and more every day ruining the beautiful 40+ year natural wear. I wrote him a nicely worded email asking for an explanation but got no response. So this is why this review is finally coming out. I have read that Chris has a tendency to get argumentative with customers who have genuinely bad experiences, so you can trust what I say or not. I think my photos speak for themselves. I have no reason to be dishonest. I've sent plenty of people to Chris's guitar shop over the years, but unfortunately I got some real dirty. Now it's costing me a pretty penny.

I had such a great experience at Forte Strings today! The owners are so sweet, and clearly care…read moredeeply about their craft and their business. I've been looking for a place to get my fingerboard taped, and was so relieved when I called and they said that they could help me out! Not only did she help me with this, she also helped me tune my violin and, noticing the bridge was crooked, put it back in place. When I offered to pay, she said it was for free. I was really blown away by this, and insisted on at least buying something. I came home with a ready-to-play violin and a beautiful new rosin! Thank you, Forte Strings, for such a great experience. Really looking forward to my next visit!

A few months back I purchased an intermediate violin. The price was reduced and I got an amazing…read moredeal on such a beautiful instrument. The owners are great people and the quality of bow/violin is just amazing. The more I play "break it in" the better it's sounding. Give this place a try if you're looking to purchase new instruments!

I can't believe I've waited this long to shout out Mr. Goran, who's been an absolute treasure in…read moreinstructing my daughter on the viola. My girl, bless her introverted heart, dipped her toes into viola in middle school in 2021. By the spring of 2022, she wanted to level up her skills, but finding the right teacher was a saga. None of the recommendations from her school panned out, until fate stepped in when I spotted a sign for in-home music lessons, and the rest is history. Two years on, and I couldn't be happier with Mr. Goran's impact. Sure, my daughter's still a bit shy on stage, but behind the scenes, her progress is something to behold. She's heading to high school soon and even talking about auditions for the advanced orchestra - all thanks to Mr. Goran's attention and encouragement. I enjoy listening to her practice and as someone who doesn't read music or play any instruments, I am glad to have Mr. Goran visit every week and amazed at her transformation. What's great about Mr. Goran is his friendly demeanor and stellar communication. He understands kids - especially awkward teens like mine--no fuss, no drama - just pure dedication to his craft and his students. Finally, the fact that he comes to our home to teach the lesson is such a blessing. I have 2 other kids who have other activities so between soccer, volleyball, swimming, and Boys/Girl Scouts.... we don't have a lot of time to drive around because we do that a lot already. This is one less trip! This school's dedication to meeting kids where they are: mentally and physically is a true gem! Seriously, if you're on the hunt for an awesome music teacher, Mr. Goran's your guy - I can't recommend him enough!

I highly recommend Mr Ricky and The Private Lesson School for guitar lessons due to their…read moreexpertise, easy communication and fair pricing! My 10 and 9 year old kids have been taking lessons with Mr Ricky and they really enjoy it! Mr Ricky is very friendly and knowledgeable which makes it fun for my kids to learn. I've already seen their significant progress only after a few months. They're very happy to have Mr Ricky as their teacher and really looking forward to each lesson with him!

Ector was friendly and invited me to his shop where I saw his workspace. I could tell he knew…read moreguitars by the guitars he made and had on his rack, I played a few of them and they were great. He set up my Strat which was about 45 years old. He improved the action and overall feel. He had it back quick. I would definitely recommend Ector and plan to bring my Taylor acoustic to see what he'd charge to fix a crack in the body.

Ector is thee guitar guy too!!! Been to him about 3 times now all for different projects! One for…read moremy Amp, mandolin, and acoustic electric guitar and without a doubt he was able to fix everything! Great prices and has always given me a discount! Super honest guy and local as well!!! Check him out you won't regret it :)