I visited this place a month or two ago while up in Evanston. It's a great little shop! As James…read moresaid, it feels like a place that you would find in a small town. They have a love of real folk music. They carry a fantatsic selection of guitars, and are glad to let you have a test run. A friend plays the hammered dulcimer, and they let him play for at least a half hour, trying out the instrument and different hammers. The store mainly caters to instrumentalists, though there is also a few folios of vocal music. I was able to find a nice collection of great Christmas carols, some well-known and some a little less popular. If you love music and are curious about music and instruments that the common people would play, this is a great store to explore.

I had the owner set up an older used Larivee that I bought from another Evanston guitar shop where…read moreI was told it couldn't be set better than it was. Hogseye turned a good guitar into a great one for relatively little money.

Our 9-year-old had a great time taking lessons here. The staff have always been enthusiastic and…read morewelcoming. The guitar instructor, Andrew, is really great at teaching to our child and getting our kid excited about music. Would recommend!

I work at Evanston Rocks, where School of Rock performs a lot. I just wanted to let everyone know…read morethat it brings me such joy to see younger people playing instruments and the music from generations before even I was born. I tried really hard not to cry through out the whole performance, but the closing solo during Hotel California got me. Keep on Rocking!

We've been here a few times when we were passing through the area. Playing a show somewhere near…read more We haven't bought much, but we like the store, and this is why. Great inventory, friendly, informative staff. There are always a couple of astonishingly cool instruments up on the wall. This is what a good guitar store should be. The perfect example this week. I'm playing an octave mandolin, and one of the guys there walks over to see if I need any help, and to chat. We talk about guitars, and he says I have to try one. He puts this amazing acoustic in my hands. First of all, it weighs a ton. And the sound. The lower register practically hits me in the chest. It was the most amazing instrument I have ever played. And a teensy bit out of my price range at 12k. Yeah, the guy put that in my hands, he knew I'd like it. He probably does that with a fair amount of people, most of us could never afford it. But that is the sort of place it is. Here, play this amazing instrument. That's a good store.

Update 08/01/26. I…read morereceived a mail blast email today from the owner's mailbot informing me that the store was closing. Good riddance. Since my initial review (see below), I've spent over $40k on instruments and gear and Guitar Works received not one single penny. Their "I don't give a shit" attitude when I went there--on all three occasions I tried to give them my business--cost them. I'm surprised they lasted as long as they did. One of the reasons the owner gave for closing the store was "the outrageously increased costs of property taxes". Taxes are the price of admission to a civilized society, my friend. Looks like the owner's attitude was what filtered down to the employees when I went there.

I came here after renting a clarinet from Quinlan & Fabish because I wanted to get a real…read moremouthpiece and not use the crappy stock mouthpiece that came with the rental. I got here 15 minutes before they closed on a Saturday, but never felt rushed. Bea showed me the new mouthpiece they have but also asked if I was interested in used. (That grosses me out a bit, but I was assured they're sanitzed). I looked through the mouthpiece drawer and actually saw 2 Larry Combs mouthpieces. That's what I played on the entire time I played clarinet as a kid/teen, and what I originally wanted to buy (only to find out they stopped making them years ago, so they're hard to find). I have no idea if I had an LC1 or LC3 back then, but they had both in the shop. I didn't want to try it out that day since I had literally never touched a clarinet in 23 years and didn't want my first time trying it to be where other people could hear me (lol), plus it was closing time. But I came back on Monday and was able to go down to their practice room and try out both mouthpieces, and ended up buying one for $50. Not too shabby. Both the guy (I didn't catch his name) who got me set up in the practice room and Bea (who helped me check out afterward) were super nice. Bea was a gem helping me both times. PM Woodwind also has my old ligature for sale so I may go back to buy one once I decide if I want to actually keep this hobby going long-term. They also have reeds for comparable prices to Amazon, and I'd rather support them than Bezos, so I'll happily come back here once I figure out what strength reed I need these days.

I've had 3 experiences with this shop. They're highly recommended, but unfortunately they're 0-3…read morefor me. Twice I took my horn in, and I never seemed to get even a fair level of customer service that I felt I should. I certainly am not a professional player which maybe would put me in front of the line, but commitments made were never met. I continually had to call it was one delay after another. I then years later was interested in a used horn they had on their website. $4,500+ horn. I received a quick response to my email interest, but EVERYTHING then has to go through Paul and he's TERRIBLE with any attempt at a timely response. He's ALWAYS going to give me a call TOMORROW. The employees there are careful in what they say, but it's obvious during my conversations with several of them, that they, too, are frustrated with Paul's lack of timely attention. I waited 2 months for answers to simple questions and finally gave up. I don't need to put myself through such unprofessionalism. I checked 3 months after my initial inquiry and it was still for sale. My original questions were simple due diligence questions. I would've easily bought the horn, but I guess they aren't too motivated to sell it. Bottom line? It's Paul's store and he can do whatever he wants, but I don't have to tolerate it.

We are truly loving working with Martin Metzger. Our 12-year old son looks forward to his lessons…read moreand is excited to play the music he and Martin choose together. Martin strongly believes in allowing kids to follow their interests, and has the talent, interest, and patience to help them do so in a wide range of genres. Martin is knowledgeable and dedicated both as a musician and as an educator. We travel a bit of a distance for lessons and are convinced it's well worth our time. We recommend him highly to anyone at any age looking for a great guitar instructor.

Choosing the Metzger Music Studio has truly been one of the best decisions of my and my wife's…read morelives! Our daughter goes to Martin for guitar lessons and I fear I may not be able to convey here just how amazing he is and what his instruction has meant for our daughter as a musician! I would recommend Martin and his crew any day! We wanted to get our girl started on guitar very early, only because she was exhibiting an affinity toward music and guitar that got us thinking it wouldn't hurt to try her at guitar, so we contacted Martin. He readily welcomed the notion of trialing and the rest is history. Besides being a phenomenal guitarist, his being an amazing person and having a Masters in Education have both manifested in the amazing way in which Martin teaches our girl to play the guitar. He works with her at her own pace, taking cues from how she learns in order to tailor his instructions to suit her learning, all the while making the lessons equal parts guitar and fun, entertaining our girl's every whim to be jovial and enjoy learning the guitar. He shows her the utmost respect and teaches her in a way that has inspired her to look up to flamenco legends. For her age, that level of aspiration itself is awe-inspiring and the credit goes to Martin. He doubles down on skills that our girl is good at while helping her elevate those she needs more work on, from strumming to chords to rhythms to percussion to improvising. We love his holistic approach of teaching the pupil to actually feel music and rhythm rather than just to learn to play the guitar. His methods have resulted in wonders! We have been fortunate to witness moments of our girl's performance that have impressed even Martin. That is the level of quality of instruction one can expect from Martin. He stresses on practicing, practicing and practicing some more. He also encourages playing at recitals that he arranges for his students, which is a great way for the student to be inspired and be audience-ready. He has also started our girl on sight reading, which is helping her to learn to play the guitar while reading music. I would characterize Martin's overall approach as informed (no unnecessary attachments to old or new methods just for the sake of it), inspiring, feedback-loop-based, very disciplined and simply amazing! And his guitar skills? Incredible! Let me put it this way, we have considered migrating to a warmer climate and one of the top considerations that have kept us in Chicago is that we don't want to lose Martin as our friend and our daughter's guitar teacher. And he's been a great friend to our daughter too. There are great guitar teachers everywhere, but there's only one Martin. Our girl's weekly guitar lesson is one of the highlights of her week that she looks forward to. It is a joy to see her learn to play the guitar and have the time of her life while at it! As for the rest of his studio, Martin has 16 teachers on every instrument (and even voice) who travel to people's homes for lessons, which is convenient for many families. The teachers are well-educated, passionate about their instruments and art, and they are wonderful with children. As I alluded to earlier, the studio also puts on three recitals free of charge every year! I only give online reviews when I feel the recipient absolutely deserves it and reviewing Martin and his studio was a no-brainer! I wholeheartedly recommend the Metzger Music Studio for any potential student interested in developing a lifetime love for learning music!

My 11-year-old daughter has been taking lessons with Nikki for the past 4+ years. My daughter…read morestarted with the ukulele, progressed to acoustic guitar, and is now focused on the electric guitar with Nikki as her teacher. Nikki is genuinely passionate about ukulele and guitar and it shows in her style of teaching. She prepares ahead of time, demonstrates the methods and techniques she is teaching, and asks for suggestions from her students and parents as well to keep the learning process fun. Nikki always exudes a positive attitude and is encouraging as a teacher. These attributes have been instrumental in my daughter continuing to play an instrument after several years. My daughter now takes music lessons via video conference, and Nikki provides music and/or demonstration videos in advance of the lesson to complement the online learning process. Nikki is excellent about confirming class times and notifying us in advance of any schedule changes. She is the quintessential professional. We highly recommend Nikki as a ukulele, acoustic guitar, and electric guitar teacher. She's the best!

Nikki is great! Skilled and intuitive. Every lesson I feel the improvement. She knows how to…read morechallenge you...it feels like you just had a good workout. My mom always said that anybody can learn anything with the right teacher. I've found the right teacher.

DO NOT RENT FROM THIS BUSINESS -- TERRIBLE CUSTOMER SERVICE…read more I have never experienced such poor customer service over something that should have been so simple. We rented a baritone saxophone (Bari sax) for our child to use for school. The first instrument they sent us was extremely old and had the keys arranged differently, making it unusable for what our child needed. We contacted the business, and rather than immediately resolving the issue, we were told to keep the instrument while they searched for a newer one. After waiting several weeks, they found another instrument. Unfortunately, that instrument was also incorrect and unusable. We immediately notified them and returned it. Here is the part that is absolutely unacceptable: we were charged $264 for a three-month rental even though we never received a usable instrument and did not have the instrument for the rental period. I was completely reasonable and even offered to pay for the few days we actually had the second instrument. I wasn't asking for anything unreasonable -- I simply didn't believe we should be charged $264 for three months of an instrument we could not use and did not have. They ghosted my communications for months and then refused to refund the three-month rental charge. So to be clear: they failed to provide the correct, usable instrument, we promptly communicated the problem and returned it, and they still kept the full three-month rental payment. The way a business handles a problem says a lot about its customer service. In this case, they had an opportunity to do the right thing and work with a customer who was being completely reasonable. Instead, they chose to keep the money. I strongly recommend looking elsewhere if you need to rent a school instrument. We certainly will not be doing business with this company again.

Never use these guys! They basically STOLE my deceased husbands Vintage Selmer Alto and Soprano…read moresaxophones and mouthpieces which I entrusted with them to sell for me. They kept saying they were out for tryout. I gave them ample time to find buyers then I wanted them back. He said he couldn't find them and implied that they were probably taken by a former employee. He gave me no offer of recompense. I may not have a legal standing since there was not paperwork only verbal and email communication. DON'T GET BURNED BY THEM!

I have been taking classes with Eric for a few months now, and in that short time I've learned so…read moremuch. For being such an accomplished finger style guitarist, he is extremely patient and more than willing to take the time to really teach me. I've gained so much knowledge from him, and I would highly recommend taking classes with him if you are looking for someone to teach you finger style guitar.

From the owner: I am a fingerstyle guitarist, song writer. I taught at the Old Town School Of Folk Music for 25…read moreyears, giving private instruction and classes in fingerstyle guitar. I teach and perform all around the world and write for music publications. I am available for private parties, weddings and house concerts. I also teach privately and give SKYPE lessons.

Excellent work on the setup and strings for my guitar not to mention a friendly staff and clean…read morestore.

Still want my guitar back please leave it at 6506 W Imlay St. I wonder how insane a business owner…read morecan be to not give a client back a guitar after holding on to it for years. It was never worked on and I just want it back.

We are so fortunate to have found etc music school!! Mike O'Mara is a phenomenal teacher. My…read moredaughter takes private lessons and is also in the choir. The school community is wonderful. My daughter absolutely loves the other kids. In her words: "They are welcoming and open." I personally love the choir because they tackle incredible music. Mike does terrific arrangements of a variety of music from modern to classical. When I pick up my daughter after choir practice the room is alive...there's a buzz in the air. We are a family of musicians and we have nothing but the upmost respect for Mike and his establishment. Top notch.

From the owner: etc. Music School is a new kind of music and theatrical training experience dedicated to…read morecollaboration, team-learning, and confidence-building through affirming, creative training that respects and celebrates each student! In addition to offering theater classes for students of all ages, etc. also offers private lessons in Piano, Flute, Voice, Violin, Viola, Guitar, and Music Composition.