I needed to rent an upright bass for a music video shoot with my band in Seattle. I live in San…read moreFrancisco so all communication was done online and over the phone. The sign-up process was super easy, and every staff member I talked to was extremely friendly and helpful. I explained what I was going for, and they were able to pick out a bass that suited my needs perfectly. With this being a short-term rental (3 days), the pick-up and drop-off process was very easy and convenient. Thank you Hammond Ashley for the beautiful instrument! Besides looking great on camera, it sounded amazing and was a dream to play. Highly recommend if you need to rent a classical instrument!

Worth the drive to Issaquah for string instrument rentals! Hammond Ashley has been around for…read moreawhile and while they carry a full range of stringed instruments, they do particularly well with cello and string bass. As a cellist, I appreciate the focus an when I needed a half-sized instrument for my daughter, they had quite a selection. While some stores may carry mass-produced instruments, the ones I tried here were a notch above, and after trying 3 instruments, it was difficult to pick one as all three had good qualities. The staff is friendly and knowledgeable and the store was spacious and well set up for trying out instruments. Highly recommended!

I have studied at Chopin Academy for 5 years. Compared to the other places I studied from in the…read morepast, I can honestly say that this school has given me the best experience. The school itself is very well-kept, and there are many studios with nice pianos. The restrooms are clean and stocked, and the main room is very classy and comfortable for waiting before lessons. All of the instructors that I have met are professional and knowledgeable. The directors are kind and want all of the students in the academy to succeed. My teacher Ms. Tsirkel especially changed the way I felt about piano. She has grown to be a big role model to me, and her skill as a brilliant pianist, along with her gentle way of teaching has caused me to love piano and appreciate classical music.

CAM is a great place to take piano lessons. My teach is Dr Ross Salvosa. He is not only a great…read morepiano teacher but also excellent pianist. He is very detail oriented, and make sure every single note sounds beautifully. Ross has great personality, taking classes with him is really fun. I got professional training when I was young but I never really enjoy practicing piano this much as I am now. Ivona recommended Dr Salvosa to me when I came to CAM the first time. She cares about all her students and she will recommend teachers based on your needs and personality. Very appreciated on that as well. Highly recommend this place!

This was not a great experience for my kid. They didn't allow input from the kids for choosing…read moretheir performance music. The technical teaching was fine, however, the teacher knows best attitude was cloaked in disingenuous "lessons" meant to teach them how the real world of music works. They just didn't really know how to deal with teens.

We love SOR Issaquah! My son is somewhat shy and the exposure he got to playing in a band really…read morehelped him come out of his shell. In addition to playing drums he sang one of the songs at his concert and it did wonders for his confidence. Connor is an amazing instructor and so is Matt. Chad and his staff are extremely helpful and patient. The environment is interactive and hands on, kids are playing instruments day one. Extremely sad we moved or we'd still be there!

This review is for Kaleidoscope Rock Academy, which operates out of Kaleidoscope…read more tl;dr - scheduling nightmare, contract breach, and borderline fraudulent charges. There are better programs out there My son has been a member of a group here for over a year. He came from another group oriented program with firm schedules and weekly rehearsals, so it was an adjustment to have to decrease to one rehearsal a month. Things were okay for that year, despite numerous reschedules. We decided to continue the program this year because something is better than nothing though. This year has unfortunately very disappointing. The new season started in November, and after one month the schedule fell apart. I am a single parent that works full time, and it is extremely important that I can know my son's schedule in advance. Multiple times during this season the director of the band cancelled practice, on one extreme case just an hour before. This translated into my son not being able to attend a practice for over two months. The director stated that it all worked out because he added a practice at time that worked for others in the band, but surprise, didn't work for my son because what I thought was going to be the schedule turned out not to be the schedule. The director seems to think that individual parents are paying for the band, not for their children. I don't think I'm out of line in thinking nobody thinks that way. To add to all this, I told the director two weeks ago that about all my grievances, to which he replied it all balanced out with the additional practice (again, that my child couldn't go to because of all the schedule shuffling). He went so far as to try and tell me only one cancellation had happened despite it having happened multiple times. At this point I was pretty certain scheduling at this organization is a complete and utter mess, and that there was no way my son would have a good experience there. I told the director my son would no longer be participating in the program. What really infuriates me though is that he referred me to a section of the registration agreement that says I am committing to pay tuition for a full year. He very conveniently glosses over this part of the same agreement: Rehearsals, song choices and public performances for the academic year are all highly customized to meet the needs of students who join our rock bands each Fall. The needs of the students 100% covers not rewriting the schedule frequently so that students can't make it to practice. He will claim it's completely out of his hands, but then what the hell are you paying for if not at bare minimum someone to organize and enforce a practice schedule that actually works? And then he charged me tuition for a term I said my son would not take part in two weeks after I pointed out his contract breach. I confronted him again about why he was continuing to charge me, and he pointed out the same agreement that he himself originally violated. It boils my blood to think that someone would try to take advantage of parents like this. To be honest, I hadn't planned to even write this review until he charged me again and continued to act like it was no fault of his for my child's departure. Now I'm having to process a chargeback through my bank, which sucks. There are better group programs out there. Go to one of them and get a better value for your money, and avoid the headaches of not knowing whether or not your child will actually get to use the service.

Joe Polito is a dedicated, versatile and experienced guitar teacher and musician. His guitar…read morelessons are very pleasant and time seems to just fly by when he teaches. He is very approachable, kind, accommodating and patient with his students. Great professional and good-hearted human being. Thank you, Joe!

just stopped by today, the very first time. My son had a new guitar and broke the string and i am…read morenot even at a beginner level, needed help. What i liked the most about the store is, it feels like a reliable, cozy neighborhood shop. Not only they fixed the issue quickly, i had a conversation with staff and they even gave me some suggestion. I guess, this name was Troy Overall, a good business owner we have, and having it in my neighborhood is valuable.

Went in today at around 1:30 pm today only to be ignored by the employees! I received no welcome…read moregreeting or even acknowledged upon walking in. I looked around to see inventory before I turning around to talk to employees for assistance and they actually turned their backs to me to continue their conversation! I hope management will review footage from today so they can verify who they need to retrain on greeting customers and to pause personal conversations when customers are present. I'm guessing they don't work on commission here to explain the lack of service to not care that much about sales. Just going to stick with Guitar Center and Sweetwater for actual service.

THis place is popular. We can't get in and try with an instructor we wanted to try with. Parking…read morelot is small. There are a lot of kiddos here on the weekends. Its about $46 for 30 minutes. Pricey but worth it?

I'll add a small update given Shannon responded publicly here but missed the point. The reason…read moregiven for ending lessons has minimal importance compared to the way Shannon handled the situation. Abruptly ending 2+ years of lessons, via email, with a 6 year old, without prior discussion is unforgivable. Not responding to a request for discussion on this abrasive decision is rude. It is possible to end lessons or deal with challenges with grace, however that requires her to make an effort. Shannon's tactless actions speak louder than her inadequate words. Original review below: Our 6 year old son, Alexander studied with Shannon Keeler at Puget Sounds Piano School for over 2 years. This past week, 2 days after our normal weekly lesson, Shannon unexpectedly terminated the lessons, effective immediately with 0 notice, via email, no goodbyes permitted, stating that we would not be able to study from any instructors at the school. We followed up immediately requesting to discuss since this was such a surprise. At a minimum we wanted to allow Alexander to say goodbye. We never heard back from Shannon. The lack of empathy and professionalism from a teacher dealing with children every day is repugnant! We explained to Alexander that Shannon had become too busy to teach him and that he would not be able to say goodbye to her. Alexander was in tears all night. Shannon broke Alexander's heart by discarding our family like it was a piece of trash. Shannon's reasoning for terminating lessons in the email was that she can't teach Alexander "in her own way". She mentions "You have definite ideas about his studies, and they contradict mine." My wife and I have both taught piano in the past. We mentioned our background to Shannon to assure her we could help at home if necessary given Alexander struggles at school occasionally. We never challenged or contradicted anything Shannon taught. There was no discussion of the challenges Shannon was encountering prior to termination via email. We help Alexander with piano a minimal amount at home; mostly making sure that he spends 10 minutes practicing most days. Our goals for piano lessons are to expose him to music, have fun, pick up some discipline along the way and learn how to work through some of the challenges encountered. I'm not pushing for him to pursue music as a career or to be a virtuoso. Given these goals are incompatible with Shannon's ideas is incredulous. It is clear that she is insecure and intimidated about having a parent who can independently assess and assist with fostering their child's musical growth. Shannon has a pretty standard contract that parents are required to sign which states if we decide to quit we need to give her 2 weeks notice. It also says: "We are very open to hearing your opinions about your or your student's musical experience. Please do not hesitate to contact us with any observations, questions or concerns. We shall attempt to return all calls and emails within 24 hours." Shannon violated each aspect of this contract. If you are still reading this review and are looking for a piano teacher, please contact any of the other 100+ possibilities in the area to minimize the drama Puget Sounds Piano School will possibly have on your family.

I started at the music factory after seeing some of their flyers, and was taking lessons there for…read morearound a year. I really enjoyed my time with the music factory, and I was connected with some awesome people/great musicians and mentors. I was able to explore many new concepts and even a new instrument, and every step of the way was guided by first class musicians. I highly recommend TMF to anyone, but especially adult students who want expert, in-person lessons! I worked specifically on guitar with Blake and drums with Tim, and both of them were really great at gauging where I was at coming in and helping me figure out where I could grow.

This place is wonderful if you haven't been there try it. They're beautiful instruments and it is a…read moregreat place to go. The employees are very helpful. Put music in your life. You'll find joy try this place. You're gonna love it. You'll thank me later.