5/5!!! I've been taking lessons here for years and I couldn't ask for better people and musicians!!…read moreEveryone is super nice and is always putting the students and customers first.

I visited Music Center to get an instrument for my elementary school student that is taking flute…read morethis year. Mark Minotti greeted us quickly and knew exactly what we were looking for. He explained the different rental options (4 month vs. 10 month) and filled out the appropriate paperwork for the rental agreement. He was extremely enthusiastic and knew how to talk to someone (myself) that knew nothing about musical instruments. This is a home town shop with a little cafe inside. There's a little bit of organized chaos throughout the place but that's what you'd expect and it adds to the charm.

absolutely love school of rock north haven!! the stag is fabulous, my kids are learning so much and…read morethe performances they put on are incredible. I highly recommend!

From the owner: School of Rock is different from traditional music education programs. Our patented and proven…read moreSchool of Rock Method™ has taught hundreds of thousands of students around the world to play music. We combine one-on-one guitar, bass, keyboard, drums and singing instruction with group rehearsals and live performances, teaching students how to play together as a band. Our version of recitals are real rock shows at real venues in front of live audiences. This style of teaching builds lasting musical proficiency, boosts confidence, increases creativity, improves socialization skills, and allows students to work together as a band. When you join School of Rock, not only will you become a musician, but you'll be part of a close-knit community of passionate musicians and music lovers. We welcome students of all ages and experience levels.

I was a piano student at Edgewood from elementary school all the way until my high school…read moregraduation. While I disliked practicing at home, I fully appreciate the valuable lessons learned at Edgewood. Edgewood Music Studio employs extremely talented and knowledgeable teachers who work well in identifying student's weaknesses and develop techniques in order to help improve them. The teachers are extremely flexible in scheduling. In the nine years I went there, I rarely had a canceled lesson, and in the event my teacher could not be there, a suitable substitute was available. The director, Joan (who was also my teacher), holds lessons at her house. In addition to an annual recital, we had regular master classes so we could socialize with other students and hear them play. Joan pushes her students to the best of their abilities (we had to memorize our recital pieces). Joan did a great job in customizing a lesson plan with me. I started off with the Alfred Music books, which were divided into levels (1A/1B through 6). Each level progressively got more challenging. Once the I learned basic concepts in different styles of music, a classical component was introduced, and I was given more chord and note exercises to improve technique (I did Hanon's Virtuoso Pianist in 60 Exercises, which got more challenging each week). Students were also required to complete weekly theory exercises in order to retain new concepts.

This place has turned into my place for drum equipment. A heads-up to Eric, and the rest of the…read moreguys I deal with in the drum area. I'm not the most personalble guy and can come-off as a slight bit antisocial (Just sit me behind a set and I let the drums do the talking, for me!) and the guys handling the drum section know how to interact with people that are even as recluse as me, and that shows an excellence in customer service! Guitar Center, in Southington, should be ashamed, and should take some notes on work ethic from these men.

So I just heard that the 100 year-old Sam Ash chain of stores is closing - and that is what has…read moreprompted this review, I apologize in advance for its length: For over 26 years, my company did business with Sam Ash. Back in the 90's I would walk into the Woodbridge, CT store and be properly and professionally greeted, guided to the salesperson that would help with my purchase and get great advice, information and service from a knowledgeable staff member and most of the time, fellow musician. Who could ask for more? Fast forward to the 2020's and the retail giant is totally unrecognizable - so hearing the news this morning that the chain was closing didn't exactly come as a shock, as I predicted this years ago. The tell-tale signs were everywhere and honestly, I'm surprised it took this long. It doesn't however make this news any less heartbreaking. I say heartbreaking because anytime a brick and mortar establishment closes, every American should stop and tremble. This is the end of another era. Out of tradition or some sort of misplaced loyalty, I've always stopped into Sam Ash to give them yet "Another Chance" to redeem themselves and every time, I left the store empty-handed, disappointed and kicking myself for wasting my time there - again. No greeting at the door. No smiling faces. No staff to help. No knowledgeable staff on hand. So, I stood there and waited and waited. When someone finally decided to acknowledge me, they were useless. Then to add insult to injury, as time went on, they rarely stocked anything I needed. So I just stopped considering them as a supplier. Most of the time, I was there for high-end sound reinforcement for live performances - Large power amps, speakers, sonic maximizers, cabling, wireless mics, mixers, etc. My last visit there about ten years ago. I was shopping for a full-size keyboard to incorporate into my studio. I had specific questions as I'm a guitar player, not a keyboard player, and I got stuck with a salesperson who knew less about keys than I did. So how many time times do professional musicians, engineers, producers and sound people let this scenario play out before we let Jeff Bezos take care of us? And here we are. Towns across America are full of little corner music shops that sell low end everything for the grade school student and beginning musician and that's as it should be, but professionals go to stores like Sam Ash for the performance grade stuff. And when you're dumping two thousand to 12 thousand on a Les Paul or Strat or maybe 5K on a vintage Vibrolux, you want your sales staff to know their stuff. You EXPECT to be treated a certain way. You want to be able to touch, feel, see, hear and play that dream guitar you've been waiting a lifetime to buy. You want to smell that cedar top on that new Classical guitar. Kinda hard to do with an on-line purchase. Imagine buying a new car without the test drive! And THAT is what makes this a sad day in America. It's another sign of the times. Another example of how we've fallen as a Capitalist society. Some people celebrate that I guess. I don't. I'm sad to hear this news. I'm going to miss Sam Ash despite my feelings. I'm going to miss the experience of buying in person. No one wants to see a business fail. This is a part of history we're losing. Someone worked hard to build that business. It was someone's dream. And Sam Ash won't be the last. Guitar Centers is suffering from the exact same issues and collapse of the business model and I say they're next - but will they turn it around? Will their board of directors send out district and regional managers or "secret shoppers" and start fixing the issues before Jeff Bezos takes their dollars too? Will they read reviews like this one and get off their collective asses to turn the Titanic around? Probably not, when you can't find anyone today who really knows what hard work is - how do you fix it? Who's training their staff? There comes a point when the damage is done and it's not salvageable. Goodbye Sam Ash. I take no pleasure in writing this. I'm disgusted. I'm disappointed. I'm sad. I just hope that those in control at the top levels of management of these chain stores, read their reviews and pay attention - take them to heart and make the effort to improve your businesses. I know I'm not the only one who feels this way, it's just that most people won't take the time to write something like this - but I feel better for having said it. Maybe by some miracle, someone will come in and scoop Sam Ash up and right the ship at the last hour. I can dream, can't I? Ron L, Southington , CT

I called here looking for a mandolin but he didn't have any in stock. And then when I called back a…read moresecond time in a pre Christmas shopping frenzy mistake he was very polite and explained that I had just called there. If I ever need a guitar I'll go here first .

Scott at Big Johnson's Guitars is hands down the best (and friendliest) guitar tech I've worked…read morewith. I brought in two electric guitars to get work done - one just a basic set up, and the other several upgrades and a set up. Wow, was I impressed. The entire process was smooth and informative. When I discussed the work with Scott prior to dropping the guitars off, I could immediately tell he knew what I was looking for and how to achieve it. Then, as the work began, Scott sent me dozens of text messages with questions and helpful suggestions. He even included a ton of photos showing the expert level of work he was doing on my guitars. He was very transparent! The work he did was exceptional. He is clearly a master at what he does! Glad to have found a local guitar shop and guitar tech that I can trust!

bought my son his first electric guitar here. Ken was very helpful in choosing something practical…read moreand within my budget. ever since my son has been taking lessons and his progress has been amazing. it's been a wonderful experience and my son looks forward to it weekly. we look forward to adding an acoustic guitar to his collection as his love of music grows with the support and encouragement he receives here.

I took my ten year old Taylor in for a set up. It was at a point where it was unplayable. After…read morecleaning, adjusting the rods and the saddle, along with new strings, it sounds and plays as good as new. Ken is knowledgeable and easy to work with. Nice selection of guitars and accessories. The fees were very reasonable. I will definitely be a repeat customer.

I just bought the Alvarez AG60CE back in January, through Guitar Center, who told me that since I…read moredidn't buy their warranty for this brand new guitar, I had to go to the Alvarez distributor in the country, in St. Louis to have it fixed The problem is, Alvarez is a shitty Guitar, banking on big names like LR Baggs to sell their garbage. The L.R. Baggs electronics were completely shot on this guitar... Even the tuner didn't work. They said they would fix it for me, but I had to pay the $160.01 to ship it to them, first. That's right. Alvarez built me a defective guitar, then made me pay an additional 40% of the price of the guitar to fix their own mistake. If anyone really wants an Alvarez guitar, I highly recommend buying a used one. I wonder how long L.R. Baggs is willing to take a hit in allowing the Alvarez brand to cost them money before pulling out themselves.

Great selection -- probably because nothing is selling. They don't seem to take these reviews…read moreseriously, because the place is a dump. I came in to buy a Gibson SG and sat down to try out five of them. Not a single guitar was in tune -- annoying enough -- but what was worse was how every one of them felt: sticky, sweaty, grimy, like toys at a doctor's office or a McDonald's playground. Every Gibson guitar had way too much neck relief, high action, and tarnished strings. These are $2,000+ instruments, before tax. This isn't just a Guitar Center problem -- it's also a Gibson quality issue, made worse by the store's techs. One Gretsch on the wall had both pickup mounting points broken -- the pickups were literally hanging out of the guitar. Maybe it was used, or maybe it fell off the wall... or was smashed by Pete Townshend (though I doubt it). Couldn't find a pick anywhere. And, of course, the acoustic room had visible mildew or mold -- which seems to be a standard feature at every Guitar Center.