Brought in my guitar to get a basic setup and it came back sounding way worse than when I brought it in. Very disappointing and I will never return. read more

Went to the Tarrytown store just for a peek, being there for a day trip. Found so many great guitar pedals and accessories and amps, I was so glad I stopped. Bought a few pedals (Nobels) and picks I prefer. Paul the owner was beyond helpful and when it came to a service issue with one of the pedals when I got home, he handled it with professional assistance and immediately. So great to have found this gem of a shop. I'll be back and know I can count on them for great customer service as well as equipment selection. Been playing music for over 50 years now. Great personal style shop read more

Rock Island Sound in Tarrytown is really a great store for many of your music needs! I love my new guitar too!!

Walked into this guitar shop today and met Paul (the owner) who was attentive and out going. The place is stocked with anything you could need from tuners to picks to pedals to instruments. You can tell Paul is the real deal and shows his love for his community through rock and roll. The world needs more independent music stores like this. read more

Lessons with Joe are great! I've been playing the guitar for over 10 years and I found myself in a plateau, playing the same things and not really understanding how music really works. I was hesitant to take lessons since I had made so much progress on my own, through watching YouTube videos and reading tabs online. I decided to give it a shot after a quick conversation at the store one day while buying some strings and man am I happy I did! I had about a million questions for Joe during our first lesson and realized that it would be best to have some regularity to our lessons. The first two were really about getting to know each other, and for Joe to get a read on my experience level. From there, each lesson has been better than the next and I feel myself learning in meaty chunks - a feeling I haven't had in some time with the guitar. We cover both music theory and technique. Joe gives me bite sized riffs and exercise to practice each time we connect. A few lessons in you can start to feel how they connect in his mind and you'll be amazed at how far you've come. read more

Awfully run store. Dropped off a drum for repair, wasn't told that it would be outsourced to another music store. Was told I'd be given a quote by the end of the week. Never happened. 3 weeks later, called the store and still wasn't given a quote. Finally, roughly a month after I dropped off my drum, I get a call saying the work is complete and it's waiting to be picked up. $90 for a simple throw-off repair. Went to the store during business hours the next day. No one there. Called the store, no answer. Left a message saying to call back when open. Went home after 90 ministers of standing in front of the store. Called the store again 2 hours later. The owner picks up! Amazing. Head to the store again to pick up the drum. Owner smiles and offers 20% discount as a way of apologizing, which is the only reason I gave 1 star instead of zero. There are some really good music stores in Westchester, especially in the river towns. This is not one of them. read more

great place, the staff is really friendly and it has a big stock of guitars and other instruments, would recommend

a "real" music store, not like the "big box stores". They check their stock before putting it out for sale. not like some places that will try to sell you a warped guitar as new and great sounding. I've had a 1961 Les Paul Jr. and case. new since 1961. as my teacher told me waaaaaaaay back then," buy the best now and it will grow with you,". i'm glad my dad listened and today it still plays and sounds like a 61 Les Paul should. I know the owner and believe me. he will take care of your needs from guitars and cases, down to picks. also, he is up to date on all brands and types of instruments. If you need and suggestions on guitars acoustic to electric E Mail me. Fgent1110@aol.com Thanks, Frank read more

These guys are great. Paul and Sean always offer great customer service and run a great mom and pop music shop in the area. Vin does great guitar repair at a Great rate for the working musician. Since moving back to the area it's really great to have such quality music store nearby. read more

Awesome little music shop in Tarrytown. Was visiting for a long weekend trip and popped in for a guitar cable. Very clean and organized. Helpful and friendly staff. Reasonable prices as well. They even had some old vinyl records for sale! I will be back for sure. Support local businesses! Thanks guys. read more

I always make it a point to check out independent guitar shops when I see them, so, as I was walking by the store one day, I decided to check it out. It's a small store, and they don't have a big collection, but what they have is very nice - very high end and very expensive. The staff is also extremely nice and helpful. They answered a bunch of questions I had for them, and I told them I would come in when I needed something. One of my acoustic guitars that I've had for 3 years has begun to warp. I had been getting it adjusted every few months or so to keep the neck as straight as possible, but decided that, since I was home for the summer, I would have the neck steam pressed like many other guitar repair people have told me to do. I decided to take it to Rock Island because they had told me that their repair guy was incredible and specialized in vintage repairs. That seemed pretty trustworthy to me. I brought in my guitar, told them what the problem was, and they said that, when their repair guy came in over the weekend, they would have him call me. The weekend came and went and I didn't hear from them. When the following Tuesday came around, I decided to call up the shop to see what was up with my guitar. The guy on the phone said that the repair guy couldn't find anything wrong with the guitar, but he gave it a full set up, which I didn't ask for. The guy on the phone told me I could pick it up and pay for it that day. I didn't ask for a set up. I asked for an inspection of a guitar. If "nothing" was wrong with it, then they should not have touched it. Instead, they set it up with the wrong strings (another store would ask what strings I wanted), so it sounds awful, and the neck is still definitely warping. I got away without paying for it, but I need to set up the guitar again with different strings. Maybe if I were going in to buy a new guitar, I'd go here, but definitely never again for a repair. read more

I took my Telecaster Deluxe in to have the wiring sorted -- I had no clue what the problem was, and have minimal electronics skills. They had it fixed fast and cheap, with complete professionalism and no weird guitar-shop attitude. I've got an allergy to Guitar Center-type places, and this is an honest-to-god straight up musician-run shop that does great work and has a lot in stock. Worth crossing the Tap for. And to Matt R the pick guy, that story has to be some weird kind of joke, right? I just don't get how you can break a pick, and then not even care? Would you steal a pick? Same thing, right? That's weird. read more

As a Tarrytown local, I couldn't have been happier when Rock Island Sound moved in ... if only, at the very least, to have a place to buy strings! I have since, however, bought quite a few things there and have had two guitars professionally "set-up" by their guitar tech (he does a nice job). I've gotten to know the owner a little and I can say that he's a good guy. The sales staff is - for the most part - knowledgeable and their instructors (from what I hear) are top-notch. read more

Supposedly they close at 8 pm during the week. I went there twice to drop off my bass for a set up at 6 pm. Both times they were closed with no sign or anything else indicating why they were closed early. I did not think I would attempt to go back a third time, but decided to give them one more chance. I called them in the afternoon, and they assured me that they would be open till 8 pm. Sure enough, I go there later that same day at 6 pm, and no one is there. Unbelievable! Who runs a business like this? No respect for customers. read more

Great Music Shop. Wide variety of services done professionally in a timely matter. Extremely friendly manager. They have an amazing collection of guitars, and other various music equipment. They do a great job setting up and repairing guitars, they give outstanding music lessons on just about any instrument, they offer great prices, and they are simply there to help you with whatever you need. Out of all of the hometown music shops I've been to, I would put rock island sound first. read more

Great teachers and a great studio for music lessons! Both of my sons take guitar lessons here and they love going to the studio at 54 Main St. We also bought guitars for them at the 6 Main St location which has a surprisingly big selection. Really helpful guys at the store helped us and let the boys try out lots of guitars before deciding. read more

This is a small "mom and pop" music shop on Main Street in Tarrytown that I walked into looking for a "deluxe" guitar pick. The owner greeted me with a smile and showed me a box of picks that were about $5.00 each. A typical guitar pick costs about .75 but they can be as much as $25.00 so I was prepared to pay the 5 bucks. I then proceeded to check out a few of the picks. I manipulated them in my fingers to gauge their flexibilty and feel. I came upon one pick and it snapped in half in my fingers. I put it down, shrugged, and kept checking out the picks. Then, to my surprise and dismay, the owner said, "you know you are going to have to pay for that." In my 30 years of playing guitar, a pick has never snapped in half in my fingers. It is quite clear that the pick was defective and all I did was expose a weakness in its contruction. If I had purchased that pick and used it for a few minutes, it would have broke just the same as it did in my fingers. I then proceeded to grab my wallet out of my pocket to pay for the pick, the owner amazingly asked me if I needed anything else, I said no. I paid for the pick and then promptly left the store, never to return again. read more