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.

Months in advance, we had another company scheduled to move our piano from DC to Silver Spring, MD…read more A few days before, they called and said the owner had a family emergency so they had to reschedule. Unfortunately, they couldn't find a date that worked with our moving schedule, so we had to scramble. Steve with Empire called me back immediately, fit us into his schedule on the original move date, and did it for the same price as the first company had quoted. He completely saved the day. On the day of the move, three guys came, and I could tell by the way they handled the instrument that they had a lot of experience. It's always nerve-wracking watching a piano get moved, especially if there are steps or other challenges. But they were awesome. If we ever have to move a piano again, Empire will be my first call.

Steve and his crews are the best. Have used them in the past and they just moved a baby grand…read moreperfectly as always. Friendly, professional, reliable, and efficient. Highly recommended

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.

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.

Let me start by saying that we have been customer for a few years now. Our kids rented their band…read moreinstruments. from there. We even purchased her cello from there. The staff was always great and helpful. Fast forward a few years, I inherit a handful of guitars from my father. My father is left handed and I am not. To convert the guitars from left to right is a chore, but not overwhelming. i know how to do the work, but chose to treat myself and have an "expert" do it. I dropped them off we had discussed changing the nut only reconfiguring the bridge if necessary. They sold me new strings and I went on my way. I was so excited when they called me and told me they were ready. I was in a rush when I picked them up. I admit it seemed much cheaper than I had expected, but in my rush I wasn't really paying attention. I got home and tried them out. The action seemed OFF. I again was so busy at that time I did not have a chance to really go over the guitars and thought maybe the new strings were still strechting and were amybe affected by the extreme heat we were having. a few weeks later things had calmed down. I took the guitars out and tried playing and then began to look them over, really look then over. The "expert" only restrung the guitar upside down. Did not change the nut. No bridge adjustment. No phone call saying are you sure ofnthe work we need to do. I called the store and in the manner of service I had been accustomed to they told me to bring them back in and they work take care f them. Io dropped them off received the normal apologies, followed up a few days later from their "expert".listing all of the things that needed to happen. I am/was aware of the work needed, but at this point I have lost all faith in this so called "expert" and just asked him to return the guitars to the shop and I would jit take them elsewhere. As I went to pick them up I thought there might have been some discussion or apology for the "misunderstanding". Nothing. That was the last time I will shop there and cannot ever reccomend them again. I would expect this from Guitar Center, but I think their techs would have at least called the first time to say, "Are you sure of this work?" You have lost a family of customers nor can I recommend you to others.

We hired these guys to move a grand piano from Silver Spring, MD to Falls Church VA. They did a…read moregreat job moving the piano quickly without scuffing our walls/floors and kept the piano properly covered to protect it. There was a miscommunication with how many steps were expected at the delivery site but they were accommodating and understanding. The rate was also very reasonable. We'll be using Lewis Piano Movers again in the future, for sure!

Movers were punctual, friendly, and quick at their job. Payment through Venmo was easy ($450 to…read moremove a baby grand between houses five miles apart). Great communication as well, until these messages. I knew they wouldn't have compensated me regardless of whose fault the damage was, but I thought the defensiveness and ghosting were unwarranted. I can see from other reviews that if you're fortunate and nothing gets damaged, they're great. Otherwise you're SOL.

An excellent, historic violin shop, family owned. The Violin House of Weaver is family run,…read morereputable and offer excellent service.

Exactly what I needed in renting a violin for several months! It was very easy to reserve an…read moreinstrument, and I was happy with the quality (a very nice full-sized student violin), and the case and bow were everything I needed. Joey was very professional and responded quickly. I would highly recommend Bethesda Violins if you need to rent a good quality violin or viola.

Amazing luthier and musical tech! I was severely let down by others but this place is by far the…read morebest place to get your instrument set up. He is extremely knowledgeable and skilled. I will never trust anyone else again. He has a nice little shop where you can order gear, customize equipment and get great advice from someone with great hands, eyes and ears! Truly an exceptional find in the area. Worth driving to and avoiding the chain stores for a personal touch! Surprisingly competitive priced with the chain stores too! This place is awesome!

Great work on set-ups and string changes. Cool shop. Friendly staff and a collection of interesting…read moreguitars and basses. I highly recommend!

Potter Violins is the best string shop in the country!! They are very knowledgeable on their fleet…read moreof fine instruments and provide excellent service.

This is purely for customer service since I'm still looking for my unicorn viola bow. I want to…read moregive a shout out to Yan who helped me test several bows. He was super friendly, knowledgeable, and most importantly patient as he took the time to help me try out bows in several price ranges. I now have a better sense of what I'm looking for as my search continues. I'll definitely be checking in with them periodically to see if and when they get new inventory. Thank you, Yan!