I've been a customer of Ritchie's music for a long time and have seen a lot of changes over the…read moreyears. Yesterday, I decided to stop in to see what they had as I needed as replacement bass and wanted to give my business to a local retailer as opposed to the big box/ online stores. Everyone was friendly and very helpful. The selection of instruments was impressive and having the ability to play them makes a huge difference from the online option of just seeing it on a web page. I did purchase a new bass and will be returning if I need anything else . It was refreshing to deal with knowledgeable professionals. Very happy with the purchase and experience.

Just had 2 seriously neglected instruments repaired at Ritchie's. The den of thieves at my local…read moreguitar store said my Martin Sigma acoustic with a hairline crack was totaled...I might as well buy an equivalent new model. Instead, went to Ritchie's. They braced it up and did fantastic work all over the instrument to make it playable again. It totally shines now. Carlos and his Tech John took hold of my Gibson Les Paul and made it like new...a master restoration. Best news was the many hundreds of bucks I saved and can now invest in a new instrument there. Superior customer service. Ritchie's wins my business every time...HIGHLY recommended!!!

The folks at Finlay + Gage are just fantastic. Helpful, knowledgable and talented, they're exactly…read morewho you'd want to ask for help if you're in the market for any type of musical instrument or services. From rental violins for your budding Suzuki fiddler and a fun variety of ukuleles to gorgeous vintage guitars for daddy and some rockin' amps to plug into, F+G has a wonderfully curated selection of offerings. What I appreciated most was their honesty in evaluating some repairs on an old Fender acoustic dreadnought whose bridge was beginning to separate from the body. After dropping it off for a couple of days, I returned to hear the bad news of how much it would cost to bring back to a proper playable condition and the genuine assessment of how it wasn't quite worth it. Of course, while I was in there, an immaculate used Epiphone SG caught my eye and lingered in my heart until I took the plunge and splurged on my lifelong guitar desire. Therein also lies the danger of stopping in to browse (at least pre-pandemic): You might fall in love with a finely crafted instrument. But then again, that's a risk I'm willing to take!

I waited to write this review as I wanted to spend some time with my guitars after the setup. I've…read morebeen looking for a guitar tech in the Montclair area for awhile (4 or so years.). I've taken chances on other techs in the area and at times received hatchet jobs literally. I noticed Jason had worked for Mandolin Brothers and that immediately gave me hope. I took a couple of guitars in, but was a little nervous about my '71 telecaster with a bigsby. Man I'm excited I found this place. The guitar intonates amazingly and such a quality setup. All the way up the neck. The guitar feels better than it has in a long time. Finally a place you can trust!

Geddy's a good dude and does a good job setting up guitars. Took two acoustics that needed its…read moreaction brought down. One of them had an impossibly high action and I wasn't sure he'd be able to shave the saddle down enough. But he did an excellent job on both and they play beautifully. They were intonated perfectly and without and fret buzz. Price was good--better than what a setup would have cost at Sweetwater, for example, and I liked the fact he's local and can do the setup once I receive the guitar since the shipment process itself can alter how a guitar is set up. Also, as a side note, he also makes candles on the side and will give you a sample.

Excellent service, pricing, and work! I got both an electric and an acoustic set up by Geddy and…read morestill love playing them several months later! I will definitely be going back.

I can't say enough good things about my experience at The Music Shop, and especially about my…read moreinstructor, Dave Wheeler. I'm a 72-year-old saxophonist who picked up the saxophone for the very first time after retiring from a 40-year career in biochemistry spanning academia and research. So yes, I came in knowing enzymes better than eighth notes. Dave has been an absolute gift. He brings a deep well of music theory knowledge, practical musicianship, and real-world experience to every lesson. More importantly, he has remarkable patience and creativity. He listens carefully, identifies where I'm struggling, and then designs clear, effective strategies that make practice both productive and enjoyable between lessons. What I especially value is that Dave doesn't teach from a script. He adapts to the student in front of him--age, background, learning style, and goals included. Thanks to his guidance, I've made steady progress, gained confidence, and genuinely look forward to practicing and improving. If you're considering lessons at The Music Shop -- whether you're 08 or 78 -- I can't recommend Dave Wheeler highly enough. He's the real deal. -- Michael Van Allen, student https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelavanallen/

I'm sharing my experience to help others make an informed decision…read more I brought in a ~1-year-old student flute (purchased on the West Coast) for what I now know were minor adjustments. At the time, I followed the technician's recommendation for a full COA. When the instrument was returned, it played essentially the same as when I dropped it off. I brought it back a second time. It came back slightly improved, but still not properly adjusted. A few weeks later, I visited an independent flute technician in Brooklyn. He immediately identified the issues, charged nearly half the cost, spent over an hour on the instrument, and fixed it correctly. It has remained in excellent playing condition since. Based on this experience, I would not return here for service or purchase. I would strongly encourage others especially parents of student players to seek a second opinions and verify the quality of work.

Superb work at a fair price. I have had Geoff work on Martins, a high end Takamine. He is a…read moregentleman as well.

"Not all Hero's wear capes" Geoff Vella - Strings…read moreinstruments Repair is a Hero..... I brought my Gibson Les Paul to a resource who will remain nameless to simply upgrade my pickups.... After three weeks of excuses additional items I.e. a new saddle, couldn't get the switch to work, etc etc I took my guitar back from this hacker.... I contacted a good friend From Sweetwater who steered me to Geoff.... When I gave my guitar to Geoff and showed him the damage, stripped screws, uneven plates for the wiring he said one thing. 'Ill get your guitar fixed" In less than 10 days, he fixed all the sloppy wiring, cleaned up the wiring housings, repaired the scratches and nicks and did what he said he would... The man is a magician and I will not take any of my guitars anywhere else... Thank You Geoff Charlie Magnifico

The short of it......my Gibson ES-335 was broken in shipping (brand new collector edition) neck was…read moresnapped. I tried a local guy, he tried fixing it, and it let loose while playing within hours. Someone mentioned Bobby so i brought it there.......took a while to get it back, but when it was fixed it looked fantastic!! I needed to wait a few months before writing review this to make sure it was all ok and it worked out. I am super pleased, it was a perfect job!! Thank you so much, +++++

Bobby has done a lot of work on my acoustic and electric guitars such as setups, pickup…read morereplacements, neck adjustments and more. HIs work is excellent, fairly priced and professional even if, like me, you're not a professional. I highly recommend Bobby and Guitar Repair Services.

I brought an Epiphone with several issues to Alpha guitar. Alex's thorough service was great. The…read moreguitar needed a new bridge and some fret work. Alex went above and beyond the normal setup work I have gotten at other shops. The guitar is playing and sounding wonderful. I would recommend Alpha Guitar Works to anyone that needs a very competent luthier.

great service! Alpha Guitars is my new go to guitar shop! everything was explained to me in detail…read moreand was offered options to meet my goals! best shop. very knowledgeable

I purchased a digital piano from Rockaway music a couple years ago and it's still great a great…read moreinstrument today. Andy was extremely helpful and provided excellent customer service. I couldn't recommend Rockaway Music enough

Piano shopping can be tough. How many times in your life are you out shopping for a new piano?…read more Well, it's not that different than buying a car. There are sales people who will lie right to your face to try and get you to buy and then there are honest, knowledgeable people like Andy. Apparently, he's been selling pianos for many years and he was very easy to work with. I went to his store first and then made my rounds to other local places. When faced with making a piano purchase, it's best to educate yourself. Figure out how much you want to spend and learn as much as you can about what's out there. Some stores who carry many brands often are selling "grey market" pianos or "stencil pianos". Look it up and learn the meaning of these two terms. After we did our homework and shopped around, I returned to Rockaway Music. I didn't feel like I was being misinformed there. There was no pressure and I found the environment to be less sales like than other showrooms. You can tell when someone is being sincere, or at least I feel I can. If you are shopping solely based on price and not on quality, you might feel this store is expensive. If you are more worried about getting a quality product and honest answers, you will be happy here. We bought our piano here, the delivery went smoothly. I felt very comfortable and confident purchasing our piano from this store and I would highly recommend it to anyone in the market for a piano. The added bonus, our current piano tuner does work for this store so we didn't have to choose a new tuner. If you need a great tuner, just ask me. The guy we use is the best around with many years of experience.