Great staff, top work, clean shop, timely response, and professional environment. Good price for…read morehigh quality results. Highly recommended! I had to set up my acoustic and replace pickups on my electric. They took the time to discuss options and explain the work.

I've been here twice. Great results both times. One was warranty repair on a fender p-bass. The…read moretone knob didn't work right and the overall bass wasn't that great. After they rewired it it sounds great and is now maybe my favorite sounding bass. Next job was that I had a music man bass that the batteries wouldn't stay connected in. They refashioned a battery holder for it even carving a new rear battery plate. It works great now. Highly recommend.

Still want my guitar back please leave it at 6506 W Imlay St. I wonder how insane a business owner…read morecan be to not give a client back a guitar after holding on to it for years. It was never worked on and I just want it back.

Excellent work on the setup and strings for my guitar not to mention a friendly staff and clean…read morestore.

I came here after renting a clarinet from Quinlan & Fabish because I wanted to get a real…read moremouthpiece and not use the crappy stock mouthpiece that came with the rental. I got here 15 minutes before they closed on a Saturday, but never felt rushed. Bea showed me the new mouthpiece they have but also asked if I was interested in used. (That grosses me out a bit, but I was assured they're sanitzed). I looked through the mouthpiece drawer and actually saw 2 Larry Combs mouthpieces. That's what I played on the entire time I played clarinet as a kid/teen, and what I originally wanted to buy (only to find out they stopped making them years ago, so they're hard to find). I have no idea if I had an LC1 or LC3 back then, but they had both in the shop. I didn't want to try it out that day since I had literally never touched a clarinet in 23 years and didn't want my first time trying it to be where other people could hear me (lol), plus it was closing time. But I came back on Monday and was able to go down to their practice room and try out both mouthpieces, and ended up buying one for $50. Not too shabby. Both the guy (I didn't catch his name) who got me set up in the practice room and Bea (who helped me check out afterward) were super nice. Bea was a gem helping me both times. PM Woodwind also has my old ligature for sale so I may go back to buy one once I decide if I want to actually keep this hobby going long-term. They also have reeds for comparable prices to Amazon, and I'd rather support them than Bezos, so I'll happily come back here once I figure out what strength reed I need these days.

I've had 3 experiences with this shop. They're highly recommended, but unfortunately they're 0-3…read morefor me. Twice I took my horn in, and I never seemed to get even a fair level of customer service that I felt I should. I certainly am not a professional player which maybe would put me in front of the line, but commitments made were never met. I continually had to call it was one delay after another. I then years later was interested in a used horn they had on their website. $4,500+ horn. I received a quick response to my email interest, but EVERYTHING then has to go through Paul and he's TERRIBLE with any attempt at a timely response. He's ALWAYS going to give me a call TOMORROW. The employees there are careful in what they say, but it's obvious during my conversations with several of them, that they, too, are frustrated with Paul's lack of timely attention. I waited 2 months for answers to simple questions and finally gave up. I don't need to put myself through such unprofessionalism. I checked 3 months after my initial inquiry and it was still for sale. My original questions were simple due diligence questions. I would've easily bought the horn, but I guess they aren't too motivated to sell it. Bottom line? It's Paul's store and he can do whatever he wants, but I don't have to tolerate it.

We've been here a few times when we were passing through the area. Playing a show somewhere near…read more We haven't bought much, but we like the store, and this is why. Great inventory, friendly, informative staff. There are always a couple of astonishingly cool instruments up on the wall. This is what a good guitar store should be. The perfect example this week. I'm playing an octave mandolin, and one of the guys there walks over to see if I need any help, and to chat. We talk about guitars, and he says I have to try one. He puts this amazing acoustic in my hands. First of all, it weighs a ton. And the sound. The lower register practically hits me in the chest. It was the most amazing instrument I have ever played. And a teensy bit out of my price range at 12k. Yeah, the guy put that in my hands, he knew I'd like it. He probably does that with a fair amount of people, most of us could never afford it. But that is the sort of place it is. Here, play this amazing instrument. That's a good store.

Update 08/01/26. I…read morereceived a mail blast email today from the owner's mailbot informing me that the store was closing. Good riddance. Since my initial review (see below), I've spent over $40k on instruments and gear and Guitar Works received not one single penny. Their "I don't give a shit" attitude when I went there--on all three occasions I tried to give them my business--cost them. I'm surprised they lasted as long as they did. One of the reasons the owner gave for closing the store was "the outrageously increased costs of property taxes". Taxes are the price of admission to a civilized society, my friend. Looks like the owner's attitude was what filtered down to the employees when I went there.

I bought a 1983 Hamer Bass.The pictures that they displayed did not show the cracks (checking) to…read morethe extent that the was on the guitar.I understand that it is a 43 year old guitar and the description said minor checking but i feel they should have taken pictures to show the condition of the bass.In the pictures you could see a few minor cracks around the headstock but when it arrived it had cracks the entire length of the body on front and back.This checking on the front and back did not show in the pictures.I have bought from this store before and the Thunderbird bass i bought from them was exactly what the pictures showed. I would have bartered a lot more had the real condition of the Bass was displayed.

Chicago Music Exchange (CME) is massive. There is a lot of ground to cover and many instruments to…read moresee. I accompanied my husband to CME during our weeklong trip to Chicago this summer. We took the L to Paulina, and the music store is a short walk from the train station. So many guitars on the street-level part of the shop. Drums, basses, and the repair shop are found on the lower-level. Aside from all the guitars displayed on the walls, there are also so many canvased photos of musicians and groups who visited CME over the years. There are a number of comfortable spots where you can sit and play. There's also a cushy couch area with Gucci pillows where you can sit, especially if you're waiting for your significant other :)

Team at Horn Stash made it easy to buy a new tenor sax. They had a great selection of new/used…read morehorns by several brands and price points that you dont find together at a single store. They gave my son a room and lots of time to try 10 horns. Price was great too.

This is an unassuming business with great customer service and a nice range of instruments. They…read morehave a separate room you can try out instruments which is a very nice space. Also Nigel the shop cat makes it really fun. Many spare reeds, cleaning kits, mouthpieces etc. We live a good distance and is worth the drive

Wow, this place is a hidden gem. Actually, it's not hidden at all as it's right out front with a…read morebig storefront on very visible Oakton St but passing through this area quite frequently, it is hidden from the mind when not thinking of stringed instruments. We came here to see if we could salvage my daughter's 30 year old violin for a grand-darling who plans to start up next year. We were greeted by Ben Arnett, one of the talented violin makers here. He looked it over and provided a detailed and very reasonable sounding quote to restring it, rehair the bow, and do some other optional work to further improve the quality. Overall, the instrument was in quite fine shape we were told. It was a very nice and fun visit and more than we hoped for. As many of the reviews state, we were treated very courteously and very professionally and Ben had a knowledgeable ear for our needs and any concerns (we were only looking for minimal fix-ups and he nicely provided that along with various options and considerations). So, we went with a minimal scope for now of a restring ($35) and a bow rehair for $76. Other scope of about $280 can be done to the full size violin when it fits the little one in a few years. They have a great culture here and I can believe that they value and respect every customer whether you're a total novice or a professional musician. Ben even gave us a personal tour of the shop when I mentioned what a cool place this was. I had no idea the shop was as large, and that they work on many stringed instruments (cellos, violas, and guitars) and not just violins, and that they also build violins from scratch here. Also interestingly, they have a performance room with a capacity of about 60 and have cozy and intimate concerts maybe once per month (admission fee of about $25) and it's a BYOB event. The concerts sound wonderful and we will try to attend one one day. Many of the staff are graduates of the Chicago School of Violin Making (one of only 3 such schools in the entire country!) just down the street on Oakton St and are like a family. We came in on a Saturday and it was a busy place with musicians and instruments visiting in a steady stream. Another interesting side note for our visit is that Ben actually found my name in their customer records. I did not even know or remember that we were customers but back in 1995, we apparently rented a student violin from them for my daughter. We only lived 1/2 mile from this store for 14 years from 1982 - 1995. Great business with a long history and with great staff and I highly recommend!

We had a wonderful visit to Seman Violins. We were purchasing our son's first violin. Noah was…read moreextremely helpful and helped us find lots of options in our price range. We had previously rented a violin with Seman Violins, which was also a great experience.

Several month ago I had an Elektron Digitakt serviced at this store. There was a small mix up…read moreduring the repair, manager Andrew Marrah went above and beyond to ensure the device was returned to me in perfect working condition. I cannot overstate the professionalism of Andrew Marrah and everyone at Synth City. I would trust this store with anything regarding my gear, they will make sure to treat you well and with respect. 10 out of 10 hands down.

I went into this shop with a friend of mine. He tried out some Les Paul and other fender guitars…read more This place has a nice collection of vintage instruments and equipment.