Who in the world opens at 12, and proceeds to only have a 5 hour business day. Fix your hours. Not shopinf here because of convenience. Go to guitar center, at least they are open at normal business hours read more

The clerk helped me to the right section and they had most of anything needed for my student. Only thing was they didn't offer to order something when they had none, but it was almost closing time, so I was ok. read more

Walked in, picked up an acoustic to play alternate tuning, borrowed a tuner, played with it for a few minutes, and bought it. The whole experience was quick and smooth. The person working there was helpful and straight to the point without trying to sell anything. read more

This Issaquah tradition has got it going on. The staff are super-knowledgeable, friendly, and good at reading your level of "browse to questions", making good judgment calls about whether to assist you or to leave you alone. The Issaquah store manager was laid back and a pleasure to talk to when I was in the store recently. Mills Music has been in business since 1972 and has twelve stores in the Puget Sound region, with the original store and company headquarters in Bothell. They offer rentals (rent to own), purchase plans, repair, sheet music, pretty much anything to do with most orchestra- and band-type musical instruments. They have used instruments for sale from time to time and can help you with a sound system if you need that for your upcoming musical event. They can also hook you up with a music teacher, offering on-site instruction in eighteen instruments, ranging from drums to french horn, oboe to mandolin. (Note that the Issaquah store offers in-store lessons in woodwinds, guitar, bass (upright and electric), piano, trumpet, French horn, cello, drums, fiddle, banjo, mandolin, and voice; other instruments are taught at the other Seattle-area locations). I really can't say enough about the service at this place; the collective knowledge and experience in those employees and instructors is just astonishing. You might be able to get an instrument more cheaply somewhere else but you'll be losing access to the great assistance you get from Mills... musical instruments are definitely the kind of purchase that needs tending over time, and I'd rather spend a little more up front while establishing a good relationship with a merchant who is going to support me with trustworthy repair service and availability of parts for the item I've purchased. A family friend routinely uses the Issaquah store to repair her clarinet. She says that nobody else is worth trusting with her performance instrument, especially given her busy concert schedule -- Mills always makes sure it's ready when promised. read more

Music & Arts - Musical Instruments & Teachers Near Me - Issaquah, Washington

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I'm not sure why the guy that answered the phone felt the need to be so rude to me. He was seemingly annoyed that I called with a question about my contract. When he upset me enough, I asked if I could just bring back my kid's instrument and be done with them. That actually seemed to cheer him up as his voice changed to an excited tone when he said "Sure! Any time." I hung up and tried to understand how this behavior is acceptable. I was unsuccessful in determining a rational reason. read more

The staff at this location seem nice enough. They are never able to help with contract or billing issues. The corporate office is not at all helpful or friendly. They double billed me and refused to refund me. The customer service rep refused to give me any kind of ID to trace our Convo back to him and told me if I wanted to talk to any management I would have to wait 2 days. I filed a bbb complaint. read more

I went to Mills Music to have the felt under my step daughter's trumpet keys glued down. I tried the Bellevue location first, but they were three weeks on repairs and suggested that the Issaquah location might be able to handle the repairs on the spot since it wasn't a complicated procedure. I brought the trumpet in and explained the service I needed to have done and I was told that the service would still take three weeks. The clerk then went on a tirade about they were totally backed up because of school starting soon and parents never checking the condition of instruments until school starts, etc. Then he implied that I was one of those parents. I explained that this didn't have to do with school starting, that my step daughter has lessons every two weeks, so we couldn't be without the instrument for three weeks as she wouldn't have it for a lesson. I asked if we could get on a waiting list and bring the trumpet in when they were ready to work on it, so it could still be used during the three weeks and was told no. The staff was extremely rude and made no effort to accommodate our situation. read more

Eric was so helpful! He stayed late to help me, and demonstrate keyboards. We'll definitely be back!

Sold a used "serviced and repaired" clarinet using credit from renting an oboe for several years and paying for a maintenance plan. This was at end of school year. Next school year starts and son finds out from teacher that clarinet has all kinds of problems. M&A wouldn't cover repair work for instrument they falsely sold me as in good condition since it was past 30 days. Never spending another dime here. Buyer beware. They have horrible customer service and staff has no power to make things right. read more

A real "local" feeling music store, offers friendly service, great product selection and prices. I took my guitar to Mills to get set up and my strings changed. The staff was very helpful with helping me select what strings to get. I later checked the prices on the strings I bought with online prices at Musicians Friend and they were similar. The store is spacious with lots of room and even a second room with piano and brass instruments. I inquired about lessons and the staff were very helpful in giving me business cards and their own personal recommendations and styles of teaching for each teacher. The staff told me that they would give me a call when my guitar was ready - I was very appreciative when they followed through and gave me the friendly phone call. When I later came back to pick up my guitar, they had a small difficulty in locating my guitar, and when they finally found it, they only charged me fourteen bucks. I thought this was odd, especially when I came to have it "set up," which usually runs about fourty dollars at other places. I suspect that they probably only changed my strings. Regardless, I still think this is a great shop to go for your musical instrumentation needs. read more

Absolutely brutal experience with the rental office of Music and Arts. Paid for clarinet rental (and loss/damage protection plan, LDW) for two years, and my sons clarinet was stolen at a school event. I had asked specifically about this scenario when renting the clarinet, because sometimes these things happen. I was assured by the sales clerk that loss was covered, so I purchased it from the outset. After the loss/theft, I called Music and Arts, and was told that all I needed to do was file the police report to be covered under the plan, and I'd be good to go. Spent an afternoon getting the police report and submitted it. Was told I'd receive a response over snail mail. Seriously, who still uses that? OK, so I waited nearly a month, but no response. After not hearing anything, and calling multiple times, I was finally told that the LDW didn't cover "mysterious disappearance," and I wasn't covered at all, despite what the clerk had told me, and the language on their website, where it clearly states that loss is covered. Sure enough, the fine print (which I didn't read at the counter before signing) carves out an exception when there are not signs of breaking and entering. My fault for not reading the policy closely at that moment, but I had relied on the clerk and the website language. Even setting that aside, the responsiveness was pitiful. I had to call multiple times and Music and Arts was happy to keep charging me rental, for a clarinet they knew I didn't have, as they strung me along regarding the LDW piece. As a business guy, this is pretty shortsighted by Music and Arts, since now I'm very obviously in the market for a new clarinet (and probably another as he progresses and needs a higher quality, wooden one), both of which I would've certainly bought from them had they treated me halfway decently on this issue. (Don't they know that if you're calling due to a stolen clarinet, that you're clearly still playing, and are a good long-term customer?) Also, my son has decided to double on the tenor sax, so I also need to rent one of those, and probably buy one, and those run multiple times more expensive than a clarinet. By my very conservative math, as a customer, we're easily worth over $5000 just in the next two years. So congrats, Music and Arts. For $373.45 to pay off the stolen clarinet (that you should've covered), you're going to lose a previously satisfied customer and a fairly substantial payment stream. Great business decision. P.S. Here is the complete language about the LDW from the Music and Arts website, in case you're interested: "Liability Damage Waiver (LDW) Most customers include the Liability Damage Waiver (LDW) with their rental. LDW is a protection plan that covers the costs of repairs to the instrument while you are renting. It also protects you in the event of loss of the instrument due to fire or theft. 5 GREAT reasons to include LDW! 1. Even if the student is careful their classmates may not be. Periodic maintenance and adjustments are required on most instruments. 2. Depending on the work that the instrument needs, the cost of the repair can often exceed the cost of a year's worth of LDW. 3. You may cancel the LDW at any time, however it can only be added at the beginning of your rental. 4. Homeowner's insurance does not usually cover the instrument, since you do not own it. Plus, there is NO DEDUCTIBLE with us! 5. Unless you include LDW, you will be financially responsible for loss, theft, damage to or destruction of the instrument." read more

The local office was not bad but the corporate office for Mills Music and Music and Arts were some of the worst so-called customer service I had ever experienced in my life. They seemed to care more about making money than helping kids with music. My son had rented a instrument for multiple years from both companies. Once we sent the instrument for repair with Mills Music and they lost it. The son who took over the business from the parents seemed to have no interest in the business. He later sold it to Music and Arts in Maryland. Even worse. No local concern. It seems like corporate, billing and the local shops were not on the same page. We had been a longtime customer, and they went through a new computer system. No bills came for months due to this. I talked to someone who was in management after I contacted the head of the company. She said I was current payments were current and gave me a credit. It never registered with their billing department. They were the rudest, most unprofessional people I had ever dealt with in my life. They seemed to not care they they were long time customers and had paid our bills on time. They argued with me and said we were late even though the management said I was current and it was an issue with their new computer system. Once I tried to bring up my point, twice I had a collection person hang up on me because I supposedly owe $25. Unprofessional and an awful company. Stay away and deal with anyone but them!!!!!!!!!! read more

Eric is the clarinet master. We take lessons from this store, and had our old clarinet refurbished there. But alas, eleven year olds and clarinets are a hard mix. Our clarinet was broken. We faced a few weeks of rentals and sending the instrument off to be repaired. But, to my great relief, Eric spent 20 minutes with our old clarinet, diagnosed the problem, and quickly repaired it! Whew! Thank you Eric! read more

Brought in a guitar to re string was able to do so in a fast and professional manner. Thank you

I went in to get new strings and Eric was amazing! He restrung my violin for me without charge since I had no idea what I was doing. He's also very knowledgeable about violins and I learned a bunch of new facts. Also Bob Antone is an awesome teacher. I'll definitely be back! read more

An update: I took the same saxophone to Seattle Sound Repair http://www.seattlesoundrepair.com/ They fixed it for $88. So that's not half, that's not one third. That's one seventh of the price that Music and Arts quoted me. Music and Arts wanted seven times more! Hard to believe. Beyond rip off. read more

I found the folks at this shop to be very willing to help, and kind. I made several in-store purchases and had some items shipped, with no trouble at all. Being a smaller shop I expected to pay a little more, but their prices were discounted, reasonable, and competitive for the items I purchased. Their in-stock inventory seems targeted at beginner to beginner/intermediate players, which is what I would expect for a community store. They don't have everything in stock, but it is not a super-store, so I wouldn't expect that - they do have a catalog and will ship direct. I've had no experience w/ rentals or their corporate office, but I am empathetic as normally when someone calls their it is because there is a problem. My experience withe the store and staff exceeded my expectations. read more

We have a long history here and have never had an issue with our rental instruments etc. they have good products. However, we recently signed my son up for guitar lessons because the teacher, Will, was very kind and great with my son. We were going fine until we had to stop lessons for him due to conflicting times for sports practices. After a couple weeks I called back to see if there were any spots left at another time, which they did have another time, which I thought I had said I will think about it and get back with you. Some how there was a miscommunication and I was given that time spot for my son to restart. I wasn't aware of this until I saw a charge in my credit card. I called about it and sure enough they had signed him up. So for 3 weeks he was supposed yo be at the lesson- I was not called, texted or emailed either reminders of the lesson in advance, or that he missed lessons or really anything. ZERO communication on their end. If you sign up for lessons here- you better double and triple check what is going on on their end because their communication doesn't happen. At the same time we signed my son up for lessons here, we signed up my other son for piano lessons at Puget Sound Piano. They have AMAZING communication by texting and emailing reminders. I can communicate with his teacher directly and she is if there will be a day she can't be there or we might need to skip a week if we are sick etc. I also have great communication with the owner who calls and texts me from time to time as needed. The manager of Music and Arts wasn't willing to admit their lack of communication on their end and make it right by either offering me lessons this month that we missed or refunding me. He was only willing to ask the teacher if he would do 2 make up lessons rather than 4 we missed. It's too bad because it wasn't the teacher's fault at all- it is their lack of communication with their student's families that was the issue. I do hope we can end on a good note with them and get 1/2 of the lessons we paid for at least since we have given them business for over 4 years now between rental charges and lessons. I'm very grateful I saw the charge on my credit card statement or we would still be paying this month for lessons he wasn't going to! I hope for their sake they improve their communication with customers about lessons like their competitors down the street do very well. Keeping customers happy and informed is basically how you stay in business in my opinion. read more

Terrible service. I don't need a lecture on why our music teacher is wrong after you sell us a guitar that my son has a hard time using.

Wonderful, clean, well-organized music store! Staff was extremely knowledgeable, kind, and willing to assist. Their selection of piano and voice music is outstanding and their prices are very competitive. I will definitely make the short drive from Maple Valley to shop there again! read more

Our family has rented instruments from Mills Music for over 7yrs without a single problem. Now, a company called Music & Arts took over all Mills rental accounts and lets just say the customer service from the 800 line was the worst I've ever experienced! (and I have Comcast ;) Just a few of my favorite lines to come out of the nasty "customer support" lady Ursula's mouth; "just give me your credit card number" & "what the hell is wrong with this computer now" It was like talking to a old cranky trucker. I get having a bad day but WOW! We will be looking for a new rental company, hopefully I can find a independent store with a local number. The kids that work the Music & Arts store have always been great, unfortunately they don't have any say and cant do much if you have questions about your account. read more

I took a 4th-grade girl scout troop to Music and Arts in Issaquah today for a demonstration of various instruments for their Musician badge. We received incredible hospitality and patience! The staff set up a demonstration for us in the downstairs room, and Eric patiently explained and demonstrated a dozen instruments before answering all of the girls' questions and letting them try any instrument they wanted to. All in all, he spent more than a hour with our girls, and they left excited about music! I will definitely come back here for future music rental and purchase needs. Thanks! read more

This review is for both the Issaquah & Bothell locations. I would not get instruments serviced at Music & Arts. It's fine if you need to purchase something from the store but I would not recommend using their repair service as they don't seem to have an accurate tracking system. The details of what happened is too lengthy so in summary, I'll just share that they seem to have a system/process issue where they don't really know where your instrument is. I was initially told 2 weeks and then when 2 weeks went by with no word, I called and they could not give me the status or location of where it was. They told me to call Bothell which I did, but they weren't sure either. At one point one of the employees in Issaquah gave us a loaner that he was going to donate, because he could tell we were frustrated. Finally, after multiples calls to both locations, after 3 weeks I was able to track it down and drove to Bothell to pick it up. One the managers in Bothell did more than just tell me to call back when the repair team is in and actively looked to help me and found it but prior to that, I kept being bounced from one location to another and each location not able to tell me the status and where exactly our instrument was. read more

My Wife booked me a drum lesson for my birthday. I showed up for the lesson, ready to pay, only to be told I had to commit to an inflexible monthly lesson schedule or pay a 'deposit' to the tune of $90 dollars. Never got to meet the teacher, I wanted to try a (fully paid) lesson before making a commitment, which apparently is not possible. It was a bit bizarre really, I asked what the deposit was for, seeing as I was about to pay the full rate for his time? I guess that so that if you don't come back they get to milk some extra dollars from you. Really strange arrangement & people. read more

Nice store with knowledgeable staff. Right now they have some great flute/piccolo bags on sale . Lots of lesson rooms available.

Arthur and his staff are always accommodating and knowledgeable. I was there on Black Friday, got a great deal on a guitar and lessons, they were just great and the deal was great! read more

SHOCKINGLY RUDE MANAGER (Arthur). So I am long time return customer at this location. I come in and buy guitar strings. After buying them I start to put them on my guitar but before my strings are even removed, "Arthur" (the manager) comes up to me with a really irritated tone and says, "You need to take that outside the store. This place here is for REAL customers." I said - "Wow, this is a first". He then says, "Well, there is a first time for everything." I called him later and he denied saying "real customer" and accused me of putting words in his mouth and further stated that his store is not the place for putting strings on your guitar. In 30 years of buying tens of thousands of dollars of instruments and gear at music stores all over, I have never been treated so bad as a customer. read more

I called Music and Arts in Issaquah and asked if they had Lap Steel Guitars and was told "yes" I asked the price range,. I was put on hold for a brief moment and was told between $150 - $300. I asked to make sure they had what I was looking for in store...was told yes we have a couple of them. I drove to the store and found out they had none!!! The man I talked too ignore my frustration. Another young man worked fast and brought a few on his PC between us I made a choice....then comes the best part. I told them the B-day boy knows nothing about the Lap Steel Guitar and I only knew what I learned on the net. I asked for help to get all the things he (B-day boy) would need; he suggested a battery operated amp and a thing that tunes the Guitar. I made the assumption that the slide and picks would come with the Lap Steel Guitar and went home...then it hit me maybe not...so I called the store the same man that misled me the first time would not let me talk to the young man that helped me; he denied even remembering me...at any rate he looked up my order on the PC and told me no those items do not come with the Lap Steel Guitar!!! He sent me an e-mail with his suggestions and I could order them on my own from there. I went to Amazon got what I need for less money with a guaranteed delivery date. If you want to be a yoyo then deal with these odd people if you want real help find someplace else. read more

Management here is a joke. My brother was trying to rent an upright bass from these people, and not only did they take a month to get it to him when he was promised a week, the manager made a pass at his girlfriend while doing it. Now they're telling him that if he needs to get the top knot fixed from 3mm to 0.5mm (something that should have been set when he first received it), it will take a "week." If you don't want to be cheated out of your time and money, go to the Redmond store. read more

I ordered a guitar stand for a funeral that was a week and a half away. I came in three times to pick up an order that they assured me would be there. It did not!!!!!! Finally they said they would have it for me the day before the funeral , needless to say, I did not believe them and decided to take my business elsewhere. These people's incompetence and lack of concern for my order is staggering. I have bought instruments, music books, and misc items from them over the years. I will never give them a dime ever again. There are plenty of businesses out there that appreciate a persons patronage, I would recommend that if you require music, instruments or anything; that you give your money to a business that appreciates it and not these incompetent, no give-a-crapp dung heads. read more

Solid local music store. I try and avoid chains like guitar center, and Mills has been in the northwest for decades. They've been around for years and carry many different products and have appeal to many music types. Their rental program can be slow and error prone but the staff are friendly and helpful. They went the extra mile to find a specific piece I needed for my guitar and seemed very knowledgeable. read more

Beware, once MM gets their hooks into you, there is no letting go! Their return policies are draconian in this age of customer service, their staff overwhelmed and under experienced. I ask for a specific style of item for my son, they guided me to the product and sold it to me. Unfortunately, I depended on their expertise ( which there was none, come to find out) it was the wrong product, they do not have the correct product in stock or carry it, and I needed it immediately. NO REFUND, and store credit is only for 90 days ( which may be illegal in WA!?) . So, they have my money, I have a product I cannot use, I cannot exchange, and as this is their indebted servitude return policy, I do not want or need a store credit as I will avoid this business in the future. BEWARE MAKE SURE YOU WANT ANYTHING PURCHASED FROM MILL'S MUSIC FOREVER BEFORE YOU HAND THEM YOUR MONEY AS YOU WILL NEVER SEE IT AGAIN.BTW I emailed MM my situation and asked if there was anything they could do to promote good customer service toward me, but alas, no reply. read more