I always loved the sound of my 1969 D-35 but I found the action limited my ability to play certain…read moresongs as I moved up the neck, so I started looking for a luthier and found Steve on the Martin website as the warranty repair guy in the DMV. I was shocked that there were only 5 reviews on Yelp but if he was good enough for Martin, he was good enough for me. It turned out that Steve is a great guy and an even greater luthier. At first, he thought it might need a neck reset but wanted to make some adjustments before deciding. After re-fretting and some adjustments, he decided the neck reset was not necessary. I picked up the guitar the other day and I can't believe how easier it is to play - it's like getting a new guitar. Bottom line - Steve is the guy to go to!

The best guitar repair guy in the DC area. He is the one the pros go to. He's the ultimate master…read morewith acoustic guitars. He has a lot of electric guitars around his shop too, so he must be equally good with them too. My experience has only been in very high-end acoustic guitars.

Have to support these small music shops. Victor Litz has a lot to offer from types of instruments,…read moreelectronics, lessons, used gear, you name it. I was especially impressed with their selection of ukuleles. Never have I seen so many in MD in one place! Definitely more than what Guitar center offers. They have an acoustic room in the back to try their acoustic/classical guitars. I had the chance to buy one of their used guitars at an amazing price. I appreciate the staff working with me on the price and even holding the instrument for a day when they could have easily sold it to next customer. Shows that they care about customer satisfaction more than just making a sale. I was able to spend a good amount of time trying out the instrument and they also helped tweak the intonation before I decided to take it home with me. The only few downsides I could see was some of the staff were not particularly knowledgeable about certain guitar models that they were selling, but much better than say Guitar Center. The humidification in the acoustic room basically only controlled by a residential type humidifier, so not very precise. Compared to other small guitar shops in the DMV, I don't think I would feel comfortable getting my guitar worked on here just based on the level of expertise I surmounted from the conversations I had. But a good place to buy gear nonetheless if you know what you are looking for. Parking is just a little challenging since it is in the middle of old town Gaithersburg. But in the past I have come on the weekends and there is some parking across the street at the museum.

I used to be a fairly loyal customer but cannot continue to patronize a store that does not…read moreappreciate and respect ALL of their customers. There are many better options in the area such as Chuck Levins and Bill's Music that are more welcoming and frankly have a much larger selection of instruments. EDIT - Tony, you know exactly what you did. You thought you were being funny but ended up insulting a group of people that you may disagree with, but are still some of your customers or potential customers. I do not feel comfortable doing business with companies that do not treat all of their customers with the same level of respect. I respect your right to have your opinions, but we all have choices.

Ryan was highly recommended to me by the local Guitar Center, which was between guitar techs…read more He answered my questions and even told me what I'd done wrong in my amateur soldering job. He fixed it quickly. I, too, highly recommend him.

I found a Craigslist listing by Washington Guitar Exchange for a lightly used Blackstar ID:CORE…read more10V3 10-Watt Stereo Digital Modeling Electric Guitar Amp. I was looking for this amp or a Roland CUBE to use as a practice amp to supplement other amps that I own. I visited Brad today, tried the amp with one of his guitars, and was pleased with the sound, features, size, and condition. If I were going to buy another guitar (and who knows, I might!), I would definitely look at the guitars that Brad has for sale.

I hired Gregory Butler for his piano technician services. I recently moved to the Gaithersburg, MD…read morearea and was looking for a piano tuner. I found Gregory Butler online at http://www.ptg.org/findATechnician.php the registered piano technicians guild website. Based on his information online and 30+ years of experiences I made my selection. He came and tuned my 1937 Baldwin upright. My piano was in reasonably good conditioned and has been tuned/maintained regularly so its needs were minimal. He was very polite and informative. I expressed an interest in learning about the process and my instrument's needs. He offered to demonstrate information on my piano as he was conducting his service. I felt the quality of the tuning was above my expectations. He was able to bring out the natural sound and quality characteristics of my instrument. I did not get the sense that he was suggesting unnecessary fixes or that I was getting "taken to the pea patch" so to speak. I would recommend Gregory's services to anyone with an instrument of any age. Mine happens to be in good working order but I have confidence that Gregory is capable and experienced enough to trouble shoot even the most neglected of pianos.

I was ISO a Baby grand rental for friend. There many choices, we will be making a choice on the…read morefinal piano soon. They were very helpful.

Make sure to confirm actual tuning expected cost. I was quoted one thing and at time of tuning…read morecharged more due to the fact piano had not been tuned recently. Somehow some additional process (over-tuning? or repeat tuning ) was needed for the tuning and yet it took the same amount of time or less than it usualy took before by others. Price was a little on the high end to begin with and it took off even more. Given the time constraint for an event I had to bite the story and move on.

Excellent lesson program and great retail selection. PRS, Yamaha, Fender, Martin, and much more!read more

Much higher quality and atmosphere compared to guitar center. The choices available at the store no…read morematter what musical category, its quality.

Great service from across the country. They were very helpful with my purchase of an autoharp and…read moreshipping it out to California. They answered all my questions and were very friendly. I just wish I could be there in person to browse what else they have in stock!

Lovely people, lovely instruments. The best place for folk/traditional instruments and musicians in…read moreDC. If you go in, just talk to the guys. They know so much, and love to talk. I guarantee you'll learn something. Also a great place to run into other musicians. They're fair and honest consigners.