This school is amazing. First of all you are put together with other musicians who are learning how…read moreto play together for the first time live. You practice once a week and at the end of the semester you do an actual performance. They have adult bands and they have kids bands. Everyone sounds absolutely amazing. With each performance everyone gets better and better. Vasili Simmons at the Virginia Beach location is a great teacher. There's also a location in Newport News.

Amy is the only tech touching my saxophones. She almost alway says "…read morebring it on back" and fixes my problem on the spot. Explains what she's doing. Good price and turn around time. Dave and Amy are just nice people!

I knew first from reading previous reviews that David does on the spot trombone repairs and he…read moreconfirmed that when I called him. I took my Bach Stradivarius trombone with F valve there for slide dent repair and he immediately went to work showing me what he was doing like a teacher. I have had dent repair done before but was never allowed to watch. The shop is very pleasant and two other women were there working and all were having a good time. One I gather was Amy working on a saxophone. My wife and I were hungry and we went to lunch at a nearby restaurant suggested by them and David also cleaned and lubricated the tuning slides and the F valve. The F valve works much better and the slide can be held only about 10 degrees below horizontal and it slides freely. It is such a pleasure. The charge for all of this was very reasonable. I hope not to dent the slide again but if I do I certainly know where I will go.

Brian is a butcher. Do not take anything you care about to him…read more In mid-March, I brought my Takamine LTD 2003 Eagle to Brian to refinish. It was designed for the group, The Eagles, and only 500 were made. I bought the guitar new in 2003. The retail at that time was around $2400. It's now a collector. The guitar had a milky haze that had built up from a contaminate in the finish and probably over humidifying on my part. It was in mint condition outside of the hazy finish. Brian sold me on his ability to do the best job of anyone around. I was excited to have my prize guitar looking like new again. He said it would be about 30 days. I knew nothing of guitar repair or refinishing at the time. He thought it might be a nitro finish, but it was poly, which is extremely hard to get off. Every luthier I spoke to on this said you have to scrape it and not to sand it because it's toxic. I asked for progress pictures when he had it stripped. After 30 days, there had been zero communication. Called, no answer. Text, no answer. I dropped in to see if I could get an update. He was in the parking lot. I hadn't said a word and was walking towards him when he said, "Hey, I don't respond well to customers pressuring me!" I was shocked because I hadn't said a word and I told him I wasn't expecting the guitar, but just wanted to see where it was in the process. He told me Covid-19 caused him not to be able to give music lessons and it made him fall behind. (Yeah, I didn't get that either. It should have given him more time on repairs.) He said he figured out the finish was poly and was taking more time than nitro and the neck "was a pain in the ass". He said he'd send me pics and I went on my way. Around 60 days in, I got a pic that showed me that only the back of the body had been sanded. That's it. The "pain in the ass" neck was still attached. At 90 days, not a peep. Several texts and phone call attempts later, he finally responded and said he closed because of the riots at the beach. (He's geographically nowhere close... yeah, another excuse that made no sense.) He said he hadn't done much since the only pic I received with the back sanded. I told him that I felt I'd been pretty patient and I wanted to simply know if he could complete the job and to please give me a reasonable timeframe. He said he thought it best if I found someone else to complete the job. I went to his shop and picked up the guitar. As busy as he said he was, he was just sitting chatting with someone. Explains a lot. I never offered pay and he never asked. I simply just walked out without either of us saying a word. (I recorded the event because I was sure he'd say something.) When I got home, I opened the case and was shocked. I thought he'd only done the back, but half of the front had been sanded up to the Eagle with a power sander. It was evident that the top was thinned. There were 2 deep gashes near the fret extension near the sound hole where he'd used a putty knife or similar and tried to pry the neck off the body. One of the frets had 7 drill holes where he tried unsuccessfully to release the dovetail. (Pics attached) After contacting several other luthiers, every single one said that the neck should not be removed to refinish a guitar. Every one. After seeing the guitar, the word "butcher" was used by at least 2 of them. It was obvious that Brian had no clue how to get the neck off a 2003 Takamine. I think they are both glued and dowelled. I guess that's why he couldn't pry it up! This guy says he teaches others... Sounds like he could use a few more classes himself. He was able to pry half of the fret extension up. That meant the neck now had to come off. Takamine states that the neck should never come off their guitars unless you're doing a neck reset. I found the foremost Takamine expert in the country who does repair in California. The guitar is there now. He's going to let me know if the guitar has basically been destroyed or if he can salvage Brian's butchering. He has informed me that he actually knows the proper procedure for removing and doing a neck reset on that era Takamine, unlike Brian. It should be mentioned that I gave Brian multiple opportunities to both complete the job and also to repair the neck before I sent the guitar to California. I've kept all text correspondence during this entire ordeal. As it stands, you may be asking if I've moved against Brian legally and the answer is no - and further - I won't if the California restoration is able to be completed. It's not worth it. However, if they inform me that the guitar is beyond repair, all options are on the table. I feel I have a duty to warn others considering him for repairs or restoration on their special guitars - Steer clear! I'd hate to see anyone have the same experience. I think he truly is a butcher and definitely a procrastinator. There are better luthiers (Jasper Guitars, Angelico Violins, Music-go-round, and Mark Brumitt in Richmond)

In September 2020, I took the opportunity to take Brian's one week setup/repair class. Prior to…read morethis class, I had always taken my guitars to a local shop in Northern Virginia for setups. My experience level was limited to string changes and I had never even taken a truss rod cover off. Day one, we were out of the shoot breaking down how stringed instruments work and how to make them work properly. During the week, I became proficient in guitar setups, minor repairs, and even wound a set up pickups, which sound absolutely phenomenal. This is truly a course that you will get out of it what you put into it. Brian is an excellent teacher and seemed to cater his teachings to my level of enthusiasm. He breaks down the lesson to where it is easy to understand and put into action. One of the lessons learned that is not part of the class is the actual business of guitar repair. Brian is a great businessman that truly cares about his customers. I watched as he interacted with customers and observed while he handled their instruments. I can guarantee your instrument is in great hands while being repaired by Brian. He is a truly skilled craftsman. One of the most interesting things I noticed while in the shop was his genuine care of people. I specifically watched him with one student and the way that he was giving him lessons that crossed over from stringed instruments, to a lesson of life confidence. This is a little sappy, but nonetheless, speak to the character of Brian Hawkins and Hawkins Guitar. I cannot say enough about my experience in the repair school. I have learned a new skill which I have put into action on my own guitars. They were long days, but awesome days. You will definitely get your money's worth in this class. Brian builds some of the most beautiful guitars I have ever seen. He is a great teacher and a genuinely good person at heart. If you entrust Brian with your instrument or educational opportunity, you can trust you are in good hands!

Very knowledgeable and such a pleasure to work with. My son needed a new violin and Steve made the…read moreentire process stress free. He also identified the cause of a buzzing sound in my son's old violin within about 2 minutes of looking at it. I would definitely recommend to anyone in Hampton Roads.

Steve just performed work on our daughter's violin and we couldn't be more pleased. He also was…read moresuch a wealth of information so that we can improve our daughter's musical education and experience. Everything needed to be done to our violin was completed in a timely manner and at a very reasonable price. Steve took the time to get to know us and figure out what exactly we needed. He also has some great instruments if you would like to upgrade or even learn a new instrument. We also did that and feel like he is very fair with his pricing.

We had a wonderful evening listening to the Galatea Chamber Music . The concert was free but…read moredonations were appreciated to help support their efforts in working with students to continue the love of classical music and string instruments. The Acis String Quartet is outstanding with Violinist Johnathan Spence heading up the group. The music was beautiful and they all performed above and beyond our expectations. The music selection was lively, very entertaining and captivating. We look forward to their next concert in our area. Please go to one of their concerts as you will be thoroughly impressed with their performance!

This is a great music store for bands. There are drums, guitars and keyboards. It's a store for…read moreadults, not quite for kids.

Prices aren't too bad. Not sure why the vibe is so strange though - I walked in to check out some…read morebasses, and just felt like I walked into somebody's house un-invited. I literally checked my face in the mirror when I got back to my car to make sure I didn't have a nosebleed or food on my face or something lol.

I was in their showroom the other day and it was absolutely gorgeous! Ray was extremely helpful and…read moreknowledgeable and the pianos were exceptional! If you're in the market for a piano and want an exceptional experience, this is the place to go!

Jordan Kitts in Virginia Beach knowingly sold us a piano with a defective player. When I called…read moreabout the issue, they referred me back to Yamaha. Be careful about any purchases from this store. Their salespeople are skillful at making you feel good about your purchase, but are willing to misrepresent the condition of their pianos. You may want to check out the annual sales of the Old Dominion University Music Department for discounted pianos.

I don't know where to begin.....which is a first for me! My son has special medical needs but just…read morewants to be a "normal kid". I contacted the owner to see if I was nearby all week for camp and the specifics would my son be able to join the other children that love music. The owner and her team were so warm and receptive to my son's needs. Every single day he came home from camp with a smile on his face and was pooped. Nothing ever poops my son out! Every single morning he woke on his own got showered and dressed and was ready before me so that he could go to camp. He loved the employees there as they made him feel so comfortable. He went on and on every single day about DJing classes and what mixes be was working on and his counting. He even loved the DIY class which took me by surprise. As a parent I love how organized the business was with pickup and drop off. I also love the safety precautions of ensuring all kids and employees are safe as possible from COVID. Thank you Miss Jazz and team for all you do ensuring kids have a safe space to be creative!!!

Staff members will not provide the tax ID number to parents, so unlike any other childcare program,…read moretheir after school and summer camps cannot be deducted from parents' taxes. They do not return phone calls or emails over multiple requests for this information.