Chicago Music Exchange (CME) is massive. There is a lot of ground to cover and many instruments to…read moresee. I accompanied my husband to CME during our weeklong trip to Chicago this summer. We took the L to Paulina, and the music store is a short walk from the train station. So many guitars on the street-level part of the shop. Drums, basses, and the repair shop are found on the lower-level. Aside from all the guitars displayed on the walls, there are also so many canvased photos of musicians and groups who visited CME over the years. There are a number of comfortable spots where you can sit and play. There's also a cushy couch area with Gucci pillows where you can sit, especially if you're waiting for your significant other :)

I used to be able to play a little. Love guitars and amps, everyone should…read more Walking in here: I'm not Worthy. I'm NOT Worthy. Beautiful guitars in many different price ranges. From classic American Fenders, to Paul Reed Smiths, Gibson, and a full fledged acoustic guitar room with beautiful acoustics. The people working there are helpful and not elitists cooler than thou musicians. The folks I encountered were warm and welcoming. Really positive and fun.

I've spent a significant portion of my short life looking back on great guitarists in reverent awe…read more Richards, Page, Hendrix, Townsend, Clapton, Allman and Young are among the masterful deities I continue to look towards for inspiration. My attempt to mimic their craft alone was met with frustration, despair and often failure before finally giving in, as so many aspirational musicians eventually do. It was not until a friend recommended I check out Guitar Chicago that I dusted off my cheap Epiphone to climb back on the Steel Horse (Bon Jovi, what a gifted poet). I met with Jason, who came highly recommended. Jason has the ability to help demystify the guitar with a strong background in Jazz and a firm grip on musical theory. He's equally skilled and comfortable going through chord patterns, technique and odd Jazz rhythms as he is deconstructing a Kiss song. My goal in taking lessons was to make myself comfortable enough to play a few songs without too much butchering. Jason has helped me reach a level of comfort where I can plug my crappy guitar into my less crappy computer and record myself playing. I feel much more comfortable with the instrument than I did only a year ago. The location is great, the scheduling is flexible, online payment takes no time at all and perhaps best of all, you don't need to bring your guitar. I often leave each half hour lesson feeling accomplished and hungry for more guitar. Jason and Guitar Chicago continues to contribute to my early onset of arthritis and I couldn't be happier.

So, I have now been taking lessons for more than 1 1/2 years at Guitar Cities (Chicago), and I love…read moreit more now than I did when I first started! My skill has progressed nicely, and I'm happy and pleasantly surprised at how much I have learned and continue to learn week after week. Jim is an outstanding instructor who offers top-notch skill, patience (much needed in my case), humor, and a lot of encouragement! I couldn't be happier. I love it so much, I am now also adding Ukelele to my repertoire, in addition to acoustic guitar. However, when I took a new job 40 miles away, the commute was literally inducing psychotic levels of road rage. So in an effort to save my sanity, I began to take my lessons over Skype more than a year ago and it has been great! There are absolutely NO issues with taking lessons online vs. in-person, and I have never felt like I wasn't getting as much out of the interaction. Now it doesn't matter where you live, because technology can bridge the gap and make it possible for everyone! I HIGHLY recommend lessons with Guitar Chicago for anyone and everyone...give them a try!!!

Awesome people to do business with. No B.S., Wayne is very dry and straight to the point. I walked…read morein there off the street over 20yrs ago and instantly knew I had stumbled onto a secret Goldmine of guitars and amps. I've bought many many guitars from them over the years at extremely fair prices. Wayne is very fair and doesn't try to compete with CME, or GC, he tells it exactly like it is. It's like walking into an old hardware store or Auto shop. If you come in looking for something or for advice , they'll take care of you and you are welcome to hang out. If you come in with an entitled, woke attitude, go back to GC or BK and have it your way, nobody needs you there to ruin our vibe. Wayne, Tom, and even Rich when he's around have always been nothing but professional to the customers. The instrument selection is exactly as advertised. The best used, affordable instruments around. Dent, dings, yes. Great guitars and amps, absolutely. I currently own 4 Gibson Les Pauls and 2 ES-335's that I got great deals on from Wayne and that I never could afford new or from GC. Check it out for yourself. Ignore the 1 star-3 star crybabies. Actual working musicians, some famous , some not, go there repeatedly. Rant Over! Wayne's the best.

I have known Wayne for over 25 years and he is an absolute gem of a human being. I have bought and…read moresold gear here and now that my son has taken up music, this is where he bought his first electric guitar (J. Mascis Jazzmaster that he adores). There are a few places you will find in life that are magical and special and Midwest is one of them, Wayne's patience, generosity, knowledge and kindness are second to none. Go check it out, you will be glad you did, You may see us there, my son will be trying every single distortion pedal in turn and I will digging through the odds and ends that no one else is interested in, the weirder the better. I absolutely love this place. PS: out of curiosity I read some of the negative reviews. In you younger days (when I had copious free time) I used to hang around the place. The people who were unhappy he would haggle or buy x or y, are being overly sensitive. It is a finite amount of space, he needs to move product, he is alway candid, I bought a drum kit there to sell a few months ago, he was upfront and said he didn't handle them unless they were certain brands or vintage, no hard feelings. I have made him offers on items to have him turn them down, again, never mean or insulting. I have never seen him be anything other than a class act. He isn't going to buy things he can't sell, he isn't a charity, nor is he going to give things away. I have had dozens of friends and family buy instruments and equipment here and all of them left very happy.

I tested several digital pianos and my decision came down between the Roland FP-30X and Yamaha…read moreP255. The Roland won due to its superb key weight which feels exactly like playing a grand piano. In addition, I felt that the Roland's sound is better since its built upon a Steinway grand piano's sound. The P255's sound is built upon Yamaha's CFX grand piano. The P255 sounded a bit muddled in the middle to my ears. Staff is friendly and helpful.

I drove quite a distance to look at a used PA system. Freddy Villagomez was nothing short of…read moreAMAZING. He tested the whole system out channel by channel before the purchase to make sure this used system worked properly. The agreed upon price was very fair. I picked up a couple of speakers stands as well while I was there. Worth the drive for me. I will be back!! Highly recommended!!

Several month ago I had an Elektron Digitakt serviced at this store. There was a small mix up…read moreduring the repair, manager Andrew Marrah went above and beyond to ensure the device was returned to me in perfect working condition. I cannot overstate the professionalism of Andrew Marrah and everyone at Synth City. I would trust this store with anything regarding my gear, they will make sure to treat you well and with respect. 10 out of 10 hands down.

I went into this shop with a friend of mine. He tried out some Les Paul and other fender guitars…read more This place has a nice collection of vintage instruments and equipment.

As a musician and music educator (harp), music education for my girls is one of my top priorities…read more I've worked at many schools from early education to Loyola University and continuing adult education. The staff at Bucktown Music is unbeatable for all ages. The programs offered here are the best in the city with easily applicable curriculum, clear assignments for home, developmentally appropriate challenges, and fun for parents too! My daughters love music class. They are delighted every time we step into the room. From the courtesy at the front desk to the parking options and surrounding activities; the fully stocked bookshelf to the bathroom with diapers available; the clean kitchen to foster community to the shower to support the active staff, they've thought of everything at Bucktown. Thank you for your beautiful resource to our musical city!

Everything about Bucktown Music is fantastic! The people& the program. And the kids LOVE LOVE LOVE…read moreclass so much.

Great local music store for basic music instruments and lessons. Staff is friendly and…read moreaccommodating, just a really great place to have in any community.

Highly recommend. Piano instructor Eric is outstanding. Loads of patience. Figured out exactly what…read moreI was looking for in instructions. Staff, which I'm sure are accomplished musicians in their own right, friendly, helpful and excellent to deal with. I am a senior student ( age, not talent haha). Have taken many lessons over the years. Eric cannot be beat.

We are very happy to find School of Rock. Our son started playing acoustic guitar 8 years ago and…read morelearned to play other instruments. His teacher recommended something more challenging when we found this school. He is SSOOO HAPPY with the band class and the 1:1 guitar class. We strongly recommend School of Rock

This location is exceptional!…read more Super engaged staff, great layout, awesome all around. We take our little guy here for Little Wing class on Saturday mornings. 45 minutes of banging around, singing loud, making music with his little pals. I sit across the street at West Town Bakery quietly secluded from the chaos and return to pick him up, a happy camper. Win/Win. Highly recommended!

Jennifer Becker is amazing no one is better at instrument adjusting. She is sweet, nice and cares…read morethat she gets it just right for you.

Paul Becker seems to me to be an outstanding, honest craftsman with a big ego and poor bedside…read moremanner. Many years ago I practically had to beg him to make a bridge for my modest instrument over his insults directed at the instrument and extremely high quotes engineered to try and scare me away. (Carl Becker bridges are renowned - my violin teacher in Houston would talk lovingly of her own Becker bridge when I was a kid, and I really wanted one.) He did a fantastic job (and charged a fair price for his labor, less than he quoted), and I'm still wowed by the Becker bridge that has adorned that instrument for most of the last decade. He did similarly excellent work replacing the pegs in my instrument a few years after that. Finally, I had a bad crack in my instrument's soundboard at the saddle in line with the bass bar. In this final case, he finally refused outright to do the work. To his credit, in this last case, he solicitously referred me to a lower-brow violin shop in the suburbs (Kenneth Stein Violins in Elmhurst). Kenneth did a very competent and very affordable job fixing the crack the cheap way (from the outside, without taking the top off), and I was back in the running with a violin that sounded and (almost) looked like it had never cracked. Clearly Paul's gruffness was not malicious but more protective of his time and his reputation for extremely high-end violinmaking. The referral seemed on-point to me. Basically, Carl Becker and Son is five stars for the world-renowned work, minus one for the drama. I'd wholeheartedly recommend Paul Becker's repair and tonal adjustment work for an instrument valued at five figures or higher. You might still need some people skills to work with him, though.

After two years of flute lessons and infinite hours of practice (most of it instigated by her…read moreparents) my 12 year old daughter has arrived. She now practices unbidden and sometimes even plays for more than the legal limit of 25 minutes. She even won the coveted first chair in the 6th grade band. So, it was time to follow her teacher's advice and trade in the student flute for a "real," silver model. I suppose the cheapest way to go would have been Craigslist or Ebay, but to get the perfect flute for our little Rampal, we took the El to the Fine Arts Building (an attraction in itself with music wafting from the halls and a real elevator operator) to visit Sam Gordon at Gordon Woodwinds. Mr. Gordon is as kind as he is skilled. He had six flutes ready for our appointment, and treated my daughter as if she were a professional flautist. We spent an hour there, as she played the same passage on each instrument at least twice. He helped her choose the flute that worked best for her. The only bad thing I can say about our transaction is that Stroger made a couple hundred dollars off us that day. Gordon Woodwinds sells and repairs oboes as well as flutes, and only carries brands that are reliable and well made. If you are serious about music, this place is well worth checking out.

Just upgraded my daughter's flute. Cannot get over what a wonderful experience it was dealing with…read moreSam. He's extremely knowledgeable, patient and genuinely concerned to which instrument truly is best suited for you. His interaction with us as well as existing clients was refreshing . His attention to you brought back memories to the "old days" when business owners actually related to their customers. Would definitely return and recommend.