Down Home Guitars is a true gem of Frankfort, Illinois and the entire Chicago Land area. They serve not only as a high-end acoustic instrument shop, but also as a music school, an intimate music venue, a shop for everyday music items and instruments, and a place where musicians of all levels have the opportunity to play with and for one another at their weekly Jam Sessions and monthly Open Mic Nights. The people are friendly and I always feel welcome when I am there. I attend the Down Home Guitars' concert series regularly. The venue is perfect! The walls are aligned with top of the line hand-crafted, American-made instruments and there is not a bad seat in the house (which holds about 60). It is simply gorgeous. I especially appreciate the complimentary wine, craft beer, and snacks that they have to offer at each show. That really adds a nice touch to the evening. Down Home Guitars is doing it right! Steve and Molly (who run the shop) are the kindest of people and everyone that works there seem to be pretty knowledgeable about music and their instruments. I would definitely recommend this store for anyone who is looking to take music lessons, buy an instrument (high or low end), get a repair done, see a good show, play an open mic, or just to become part of the Down Home music community that they have created and welcome everyone to be a part of. read more

Down home Guitars and the Red Haired owner have introduced myself & my children to some of the best musical resources in the Midwest. Not only is everyone involved in the store a top notch musician they are all approachable & laid back enough to always give you personal help. I have never met an individual as actively involved in the stewardship of the community their business is located than Steve. He is involved in 2 weekly open jam sessions, plays professionally in his rare free time, has brought amazing national & local talent to perform not only in the store concerts but in the annual Frankfort Bluegrass Festival. They have given my children the confidence to perform in public & inspired me to learn a new instrument. The dollars spent on instruments & lessons at this store have been returned to me many times in value and personal attention. I would highly recommend Down Home Guitars to anyone looking for an instrument or instruction at any level from beginner to expert, or just to come & listen to some great music. No pomp & arrogance here just real down to earth people who are passionate about what they do! read more

This is definitely the to go place on the far south-side, if you want an amazing high-end guitar or any stringed instrument. The better guitars are treated like Cuban Cigars and have their own personal walk-in humidor. Very impressive. The owner and staff seem to really care about what they are doing and seem experienced in what they are selling. I do have to admit with another yelper that the staff and owner do not always come across as the most friendly, depending on the day. Try and take this with a grain of salt, as most artists are moody in some sort of way. But the quality of merchandise and expertise is worth a little crabbiness, especially to find this out in the sticks of Frankfort, IL. If you visit, make sure you also check out the up stairs, where they give group and individual lessons. Don't like stairs....take the elevator, the kids love it. Oh' and while you wait for a lesson to end, enjoy the plush sofa, over-sized chairs or a cup of hot tea. One other note, they are quite involved in the community, with free concerts and fundraising events. read more

Down Home Guitars is by far my favorite shop in Frankfort! Steve, Molly, Nate and the whole gang have been extremely kind and helpful to myself and my children. We currently are enrolled in 6 classes a week and that is only three of us. I have three more children that will eventually take lessons when they get a little older. The staff always goes out of their way to treat us kindly. I have bought 3 acoustic guitars and 1 ukelele so far! I plan on buying more and wouldn't go anywhere else. I hope to continue taking lessons for many years to come! I always recommend DHG to my friends and go out of my way to pop in the store just to say "hi" when I am in the Historic Frankfort area. Steve is a hard working man with a passion for guitars and music which resonates throughout the store. I owe Steve a huge thanks for bringing such a warm and wonderful shop to Frankfort! Music cannot be replaced! Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!!! jo ketsios and girls read more

Down Home guitars is hands down my favorite guitar shop, pickin' parlor, and fine guitar/bluegrass, up-close tiny venue. Steve Haberichter and his crew are helpful and knowledgeable. Steve goes out of his way to provide top notch service and stands behind the instruments he sells 100%. I've recommended friends to purchase instruments there and take them there for repairs. I trust Steve's repair techs and his recommendations. Steve is also respectful of the needs of budget conscious musicians like me. I KNOW that I am getting my money's worth and a good deal when I buy something at Down Home Guitars. This shop is as worth the drive (if you don't live nearby) as one to Elderly Music, or any of your favorite music store destinations. And if you like to take a pleasant walk and/or do some shopping, Frankfort has a lovely, old small town shopping district and is right off the Old Plank Road walking trail. read more

I am so impressed with the service we received from Steve yesterday. He so generously gave of his time when we brought in 9 guitars to see their approximate value, as they are part of my brother's estate. He had customers coming and going during the 1 1/2 hours we were there, yet gave us his full attention while painstakingly checking various websites to give us a thorough and accurate idea as to how much each guitar was worth. We knew nothing about guitars when we walked into the store (beautiful, clean, and organized by the way) but had a pretty good idea of what we should look for that determines the value of a guitar by the time we left. If I played guitar I would definitely do business with Down Home Guitars. Molly, too, was very willing to help but she was busy tending to all the customers! read more

Over the past 5+ years, I've had nothing but great experiences with Down Home Guitars in Frankfort. I started by going to their open bluegrass jams (Mondays and Thursday), where everyone (even mediocre players like me) is welcome. The store has a wide variety of stringed instruments, from inexpensive beginning to very high-end; for example, I've bought a $150 ukulele and a $3800 12-string guitar, plus the necessary extras (picks, strings, tuners, capos, etc.). In addition, they have frequent acoustic-music concerts. Their listening room holds about 75 people and has incredible acoustics, and the acts they book in this intimate setting are awesome. The owner/manager Steve is very knowledgeable and helpful about the instruments, a talented musician leading the jams, and a very likeable friendly guy. read more

I have been to this shop many times and have always been treated well and respectfully. I have even been welcomed into the Thursday night Bluegrass sessions with no feeling of embarrassment or shame because of my lack of talent but rather encouraged. I have improved because of their help and patience and will be signing up for formal lessons this winter to further my abilities. I have always encountered a friendly and helpful staff without the pressure of feeling that i had to purchase something just to be able to ask questions. I have also attended the awesome concerts that are held in the shop as well from some top of Bluegrass acts in the country for a very reasonable cost. Down Home Guitars is an asset to the whole South Suburbs and to the entire Chicago area. I highly recommend a visit. read more

I came across this true gem store very serendipitously. I was looking for a boutique acoustic guitar and found something that truly blows my mind. The selection of masterpieces at Down Home Guitars is exceptional. I ended up getting a Bourgeois featured at the 2023 Artisan Guitar Show Collection, a truly unique piece that sound heavenly!! I have to give a big shoot out to Steve. As the selection of pieces was truly exceptional, coming up with a choice that fit my needs required some time. Steve has helped me tremendously and provided me with great advices and helpful considerations. The atmosphere in the show was very relaxed and completely made me feel at ease and very comfortable enjoying very expensive guitars. I cannot recommend Down Home Guitars and Steve enough! read more

I've had nothing but positive experiences with Down Home Guitars since they opened. Steve, Molly, Amanda and the rest of the store staff are friendly, helpful and knowledgeable. The school portion of the business is wonderful, too. My 12-year-old son started taking bass lessons this past summer with Tom Maslowski and absolutely loves it. Tom clearly knows his stuff and is not afraid to hold his students accountable to high standards for practice, but he also has a passion for playing. From the first lesson, my son talked non-stop about how much he loved learning to play bass and how Tom made it fun even when it was hard. That's the sign of a great teacher. Down Home Guitars is right at home in downtown Frankfort, and I'm happy to give them my business. read more

I started by purchasing a Collings F5 mandolin. I relied strictly on photos and the owner's (Steve) description of the instrument. Steve responded quickly and accurately to all of my questions. I purchased the instrument and could not be more pleased. A week later, I drove the 7 hrs from Pittsburgh to the shop to look at a Bourgeois guitar. I got to meet Steve and he spent time answering all of my questions and let me have time by myself to play the guitar - which I purchased. Given that I have a shop in my own backyard who is a dealer for both instruments, why drive 7 hrs? The name of the shop says it all, I truly felt like I was " down home"! No pretentiousness, just friendly folks with whom you want to do business. read more

The third time's the charm! Imagine: exquisite woods gathered on five continents, carefully shaped and joined following traditions begun nearly two centuries ago. Inlays of shell from the waters of New Zealand glisten vividly upon a beautiful amber top finished in the style of the 1930's. Sweet, distinctly Martin OOO tone resonates warmly against the body and tickles the ears with every note and chord. And then there's the promise of even greater rewards with future play ... Wow! Thanks once again to Steve Haberichter and his crew for helping me realize my dream of owning a few wonderful instruments. I'll always be a fan of Down Home Guitars! You guys are the best! read more

My daughter and I have taken lessons there in the past and have always been treated well by the owner and employees. While they do specialize in high end acoustic guitars, they do have a fair amount of entry level ones, too. Certainly none of the sub $100 ones you'll find at a big box store. I know because I looked at them. I went in about a year ago with a particular guitar in mind and Steve, the owner, went out of his way to find it for me. I thought he might try talk me out of it, but he was very supportive of the decision. They carry mandolins from the manufacturer I wanted. The store is fun to just hang out in. LOVE their bluegrass festival every year! read more

Just a quick note to Steve, and the staff at Down Home Guitars. I brought in my Martin acoustic that I've had for quite a while, for pickup installation. This guitar sits on a stand and gets played daily. It played and looked marginal at best. I just picked it up, and after their restring, set up, and cleaning it is like playing a new guitar! Actually, much better than a new guitar! WOW, what a great job these guy's do. Thank you for your advice and recommendations. I now own a cannon, and I can plug it in! Thank you to Molly too, you are very helpful, and knowledgeable. I recommend this place to everyone. Hope you will too!! God Bless. Ron read more

Down Home Guitars is an excellent place to purchase an instrument - the walls are filled with guitars, banjos, mandolins, etc. - all top quality, from starter models to the premier collectables. I have performed in the concert room numerous times and the space provides an excellent listening opportunity for any type of music. All of this in addition to the fact that Steve and his staff are very friendly, helpful and knowledgeable about instruments and sound - and they offer lessons on most string instruments. I feel fortunate to have such a top quality store so close to my home - they always have whatever musical supplies I need. read more

Where do I start??? I cannot say enough about Steve and Molly. While deployed to Afghanistan, I saw they had a Lowden Richard Thompson Signature model at a substantially lower cost than other retailers. We went back and forth with correspondence; I phoned in my deposit and a couple days later the rest of the payment. Steve's and Molly's customer service was wonderful. Down Home Guitars is going to make my homecoming that much more special!! I cannot thank them enough... I look forward to do more business with them in the future! read more

I purchased a guitar straight out of my husband's dreams for his 40th Birthday here. I live out of state and the owner was so helpful and patient. He checked on the delivery to make sure I received it in the same condition that it was in when it left his shop. It's always worrisome to purchase an item like this without seeing it first hand, but I couldn't have asked for better customer service. My husband is overjoyed and I am so grateful for the wonderful service! Thank you so much. read more

I am 60 years old and always have wanted to play guitars. Down Home Guitars has made my dream possible. I started with lessons over a year ago and Molly has been terrific to work with. I have made a ton of progress, and I also love the fact that Down Home Guitars is bringing a musical culture into our area, with shows, demonstrations, etc, which have been very informative and helpful. There are people of all ages learning and playing here. Go get started !! read more

Wow what a great selection of guitars, I'll never buy an acoustic guitar anywhere else. The staff here is extremely knowledgeable and more than helpful, nothing like dealing with people who really care. I was looking for a new acoustic and they definitely put me behind the right guitar. I've never been happier nor has my playing sounded so good. A huge thanks to Steve for pointing me in the right direction! read more