I have brought 3 guitars to have them set up. 1st my Gibson Hummingbird. Went from playing like a…read moretree to better than my electric. absolutely astounding! second a Jackson mini that kept going out of tune. Solid as a rock afterwards. Last I asked them to fix a 12 string Yamaha, the fret board was so worn out I didn't think it was ever going to be playable again. The team did a fantastic job restoring it to its former glory. I currently have a Shecter Diamond series in for a neck job and I can't wait to see how it turns out. Couldn't be happier. Thank you to Bernard and his team!

A very "neat" place decorated with old guitars and various memorabilia…read more Their acoustic inventory is quite sparse .On occasion you may find a very decent vintage guitar. One thing: there are "regular" "shredders" who come into the shop and start playing every guitar in stock both acoustic and electric, at full volume for 2 hours. I wish the manager would limit that activity, so those of us with less skills could audition potential purchases properly. Their turnover time for basic repairs is somewhat long...

I loved the crew here. Easy to schedule and everyone was super kind. I love the homey feel of the…read morewaiting room and little things they added for the kids.

Extremely disappointed!…read more Called them January 24th about renting an instrument for 5th grade strings. They told me to come in to rent a violin and to try and bring my child with me since we needed to get the correct size. January 26, I bring my kid in. We arrived later than planned because I got lost (my bad) trying to find the store. We arrived at 4:45pm. Despite the store being empty, the guy there was apparently too busy to help us and handed us a paper to order online so it could be shipped to us. He didn't offer a sizing suggestion. I called back again yesterday afternoon because I realized strings starts next week and I wasn't sure if the shipped instrument would get here in time. The guy told me it would take a few days but they had some in stock. I told him I was confused because I was given a paper and told to have it shipped. He said they had multiple sizes in stock, including a size that should work for her given her age (10). We drove all the way back downtown again today and guess what - they don't have any in stock. What a joke and a waste of our time. Will not go to this store again.

I was very impressed with the knowledge and enthusiasm that Will Bright brings to his work. He did…read morea refurbishment and set up for my first guitar a 1964 Kay Galaxie as well as recoiling a corroded pick up for my 1966 Fender Mustang. Amazing job! Thanks so much for taking care of my babies.

Will did a setup on my new MIM Fender Jaguar, which was less than stellar from the factory. It's a…read morenotoriously finicky model, and can be hard to dial in. The before and after difference is dramatic. It's now a pleasure to play, with low action, smooth frets, and a proper bridge height/radius, among other improvements. Smooth communication, fair prices, and a quick turnaround too. Nothing against the big box places, but Will's shop is clearly the workspace of a very talented technician and artisan. Highly recommended.

The other review stated it well, Walker is the best! I was referred to Walker by a few local…read moremusicians when I asked about a quality local guitar tech. I picked up a Gibson Les Paul Classic Lite in "honey burst". I absolutely love the guitar, and it'll be with me for a long time, but wanted larger frets (not railroad tracks, but larger than the stock "medium frets" on there) - it's for playing, not collecting, so didn't care about "de-valuing" the guitar in the eyes of the resale world. Anyway, even though I wanted it done, I was nervous about getting it re-fretted, since a poor job could ruin the guitar. Conversing with Walker was easy and pleasant; we went through what I was looking for, different options, and I felt comfortable bringing the guitar to him for the work to be done. He also put on a new bone nut, slotted my Tonepros bridge, and took care of a strange strap button situation. (It looks like Gibson put a regular size button on the top, and a larger size button on the bottom that used a larger screw, making it so I couldn't put on the Schaller button on the bottom. So Walker took care of that too, filled and drilled so my strap lock buttons could go on) While he had my guitar, he kept in communication with me, and when I went to pick up the guitar, I was floored, the fret work was (/ is) beautiful! I was literally stunned, and was basically at a loss for words. The fretwork is up there with the best fretwork I've seen on any level guitar, and is absolutely the best feeling frets I've ever played. The guitar just sings, it feels, plays, and even sounds better than it did before. The only bad thing is - I thought my fret polishing jobs were pretty decent, but after playing on "Walker's frets", I now realize how much room for improvement I have! hahaha! The setup on the guitar is also excellent! It was setup for E flat tuning. I like the typical string height of "low as possible with no buzzing", which I thought was basically a unicorn of a setup, but he nailed it! Basically, if you can't tell, I'm super stoked with the way the guitar turned out, and although I like to do a lot myself, I will definitely be back to WSV Guitars in the future. Thanks Walker!

Walker is the best! Thanks for pulling a Hail Mary on my guitar! So thankful we have him in…read moreBellingham!

Great service and very reasonable prices. The staff is incredibly knowledgeable too…read more Highly recommend.

Since I moved nearby, I've visited Hugo Helmer several times and have been impressed by the…read moreselection of acoustic guitars and the knowledgeability of the staff. Guitars I've looked at were priced competitively and ranged from beginner instruments to high-end Taylors, Gibsons and the like. I brought my Taylor in for service and was really pleased with the cost, turnaround and quality. These guys clearly know what they're doing, and that's a rare treasure these days. In an age when brick-and-mortar stores are being choked out by online conglomerates and franchises, Helmer's obvious competitive advantage is that you can walk in and get expertise, quality products and service, and the ability to see, touch and hear before you buy.

Diventi is a wonderful, nurturing place. Whether you are a novice or professional musician you will…read morelove this place.. The business was formerly Piper Music and has recently changed its name to Diventi Music Conservatory. Dr. William Brooke is the Director owner and an extremely talented professional musician. I stumbled upon the business last year when I was trying to find a place to rent piano studio time. I was welcomed right away by William and come here as often as I can when we are in Bellingham. He has Knabe, Steinway, Kawai and Yamaha pianos in several of the Conservatory studios. If you are looking to take vocal or piano lessons in Whatcom County, or rent a studio for practice, you will truly love Diventi Conservatory.

My ukulele teacher recommended I visit this music shop to have my G-string restrung to a low G, and…read morejust for the record, I'm NOT talking about undergarments. I was pleasantly surprised to find that the store was open Labor Day weekend, including the Monday holiday. The shop has been moved into the same building as Checkmate Pawn. When you enter the store, take a hard right and head to the very back to find the music section and Checkmate Music counter. Henry assisted me with my request, and provided me with several options. I could buy just the low G string or an entire set of strings. Thankfully, he gave me an honest assessment, and said that my current Aquila strings were in very good condition and didn't need to be replaced at this time. However, he suggested I could buy the whole set and keep the strings as backup. I opted for the single string replacement, which he was kind enough to place on my instrument. He even took the time to show me how it was done. He also recommended I hold onto my existing high G string in case I want to put it back on my instrument at a later date. In general, I don't like to patronage pawn shops because I think they enable thieves to unload stolen goods, but since I didn't know the music store was now tucked into the pawn shop, I ended up doing business there. Fortunately, I had great service which cost me less than $5 and 10 minutes of my time.

Rather rude & online inventory isn't kept up to date with what's actually available. If that's the…read morekind of costumer service you're looking for then by all means this is the place for you.Not a place I would spend my cash.

My husband called and made sure they had a violin in stock for my 5th grader. They did so we headed…read moredowntown. The owner helped us. What a kind and helpful man! The process for renting was quick and painless - we were in and out in under 15 minutes, and that included measuring her for her violin. Would definitely come here again.

First review! I'll preface this with saying - I'm not a…read moreclassical musician myself, but my wife is a cello teacher and plays in various weddings and other events. She wanted to check out the store and I'm glad we stuck around. We were a bit apprehensive at first. When we first walked in, we both got the impression that we were bothering the gentleman running the store (possibly the owner?). As soon as he realized that we were not just there to goof around, he seemed to lighten up and was very friendly. He has a decent selection of stringed instruments (violins, violas, cellos, and a double bass). His music selection is very good for such a small shop and the prices were more than reasonable. The selection of accessories was also decent - cases, rosins, strings, etc. It was also good quality stuff. Overall, it was a very cool store and worth a visit... just show the guy you're serious and you'll be fine!