Great experience purchasing my next piano thru Caruso Piano Gallery in New London, CT I could not…read morefind what I was looking for locally, so I began my online research and found it at Caruso. For the first time in my life I would consider purchasing a refurbished 1974 Yamaha 48" U1 Black Satin piano 1900 miles away. WOW. I wasn't sure I could do this, but proceeded after reading many great reviews and the four star reconditioning service with 21 point certification offered by Caruso. This included full cabinet restoration as well in black satin. And, after visiting with Richard Caruso thru phone calls and emails, I was sent a video demonstration made by one of their pianist of two I could choose from. I also chose the Piano Life Saver (humidity control) system to be installed by Caruso as well. So, my choice was made, the LS system installed and piano prepped for shipping. Thus, we started the process of long-haul from New London, CT to Denver, CO. After a delay in trucking service availability from New London to its first destination in Kentucky, the Caruso company decided to deliver a load there themselves. Once in Kentucky, my piano was in storage for a short while before it began its journey to Denver. Once in Denver, Caruso suggested delivery to my city of Colorado Springs using Keyboard Carriers. Working with Brittany Caruso, the whole process was flawless. My piano arrived at Keyboard Carriers in perfect condition and after a short wait they were able to deliver to my home. This was an experience that I would do again and I highly recommend working with the Caruso family. Thank you, CPG! My journey began on June 6, 2022 with delivery to my home on August 2, 2022 (not bad at all for a Summer delivery with long-haul shortages) Photos of my new beauty are below.

Purchasing a piano is, for most people, a once in a lifetime occurrence. So it becomes even more…read moreimportant that the store that you make this buying decision meets all of your needs- an adequate inventory of a variety of pianos, knowledgeable and professional sales staff, and a reputation for years of quality sales and service. Caruso's Piano Gallery meets all of the above criteria! Caruso's has a nice inventory of pianos, both uprights and grands. And most major brands are represented- Steinway, Yamaha, Bosendorfer, Baldwin, etc. They have both new and pre-owned models. The showroom is nicely laid out, and encourages you to sit down and try the pianos out. The sales people are attentive but not intrusive- if you ask for assistance they are more than happy to help, but if you wish to be left alone to experiment, they are just as glad to do that also. They are knowledgeable on the idiosyncrasies of the piano brands, but encourage you to decide which piano suits your taste the best. Pricing is competitive- in fact, it appears that their prices are better than some other stores. They offer financing and flexible payment options. Local delivery is included in the price, and delivery can be scheduled for as little as a few days out. I highly recommend Caruso's if you are looking for a piano. You can be assured that you will receive great service, as well as a great piano!

I recently bought a quality double bass from Gary Upton and I'm in LOVE with it. The reason I'm…read morewriting this review however is to praise the service he provides. I just had an issue with my causing some of the varnish to come off and he was right there, having me come in so it could be repaired like new. Quality work, great group of guys who work there! Bruce Rothschild

I am writing this as a customer once removed, as it is my wife who has had the relationship with…read moreUpton Bass. But I was along for the ride, and she is not a Yelper! She decided about 15 years ago that she wanted to obtain and learn to play the double bass for bluegrass. To start her out, I bought a bass on EBay, believe it or not. I think it was around $500 or a bit more, and we drove to a shipping depot to pick it up. It was an entry level instrument, obviously, something to try while deciding whether to get serious about playing. After a year or more, she decided she wanted to stick with it and get a better quality instrument. We were led to Upton Bass in Mystic, Connecticut. We directed them to build a bass for her, which they did right in house. They asked some questions and fine-tuned what sort of double-bass would suit her needs. They combine high quality with affordable prices. At least once we were there to see her bass in the early stage of being built, and then later picked it up to bring it home. She continued taking lessons and attending bluegrass jam sessions, both at bluegrass festivals and separate jam sessions. She learned to tune it and insisted on carrying it everywhere herself rather than asking me to do it. She enjoyed the experiences for many years. Finally it reached the point where she played it less and less. Back and knee issues made it more difficult for her to play and transport it, until finally she made the tough decision to sell the instrument so that it wouldn't fall into disuse. We had a thought to sell it to one of a few acquaintances who were interested, for a couple thousand dollars. But she checked and found that Upton Bass, still thriving in the business, could not build new basses fast enough for their demand and worked with people like my wife to inspect, evaluate and repair basses they had built to a large group of customers anxious to own an Upton Bass. So she sent pictures and a description and learned that he was sure they could sell the bass for much more than the 2K we had envisioned. We brought the bass down and found them in a new location, in a regular neighborhood in a well built and converted barn. He looked it over and reiterated that he was confident he could sell it so that even with their commission, we would receive much more than the price we had pulled out of thin air. It took a while to go through the sale process, as he likes to make sure the new buyer is serious and then satisfied so that the deal is clean and finished before sending out our check. But my wife had taken care of the instrument over the years, and it did sell for a great price. Who knew the original purchase was also a good investment? Even though it was difficult to let the bass go, it is good to know a serious musician now owns it. Thus our positive 15 year or so relationship with Upton Bass came to a close, and we would recommend them for the purchase (or the sale) of a quality double bass.

Excellent, kind and knowledgeable service. Needed a quick fix for a guitar and they were generous…read morewith their time and talent to help us out. Wonderful place!

I'll never forget the incredible experience I had at this wonderful store almost 3 years ago…read more It was 2020. The pandemic had just started a few months before and was still affecting daily life. During this time, when the anxiety and stress took hold I found the only thing that soothed me was music. As I realized that, I also realized how much I missed playing guitar. I had played when I was younger but gave it up and sadly moved onto other things and sold my guitars. I knew I wanted to buy another one and get back into playing again. One day in August, my mom and I were taking a Sunday drive around Mystic and decided to drive through a side road to avoid the tourist traffic on the main road. As we neared the end of the road, I noticed a building with a sign that said "Alpha Audio Works, Quality Musical Instruments". They probably sell guitars I thought. My mom also noticed the store and asked if I wanted to check it out. I said yes and we parked right in front of the store. It seemed a little dark inside and since alot of businesses were closed due to the pandemic, we thought maybe the store might be closed. I got out of the car to see if the door was open and it was locked. Dissapointed, I walked back to the car. Just as I got in and my mom was about to back out of the parking lot, we both noticed someone from inside open the door. It turns out that the right door was locked but the left one was open and luckily the owner was looking outside and noticed that we wanted to go in. We got out and he kindly introduced himself as the owner and welcomed us in. As I entered, I was so happy to see all of the beautiful guitars and basses on display. The owner Jim asked me some questions about what I was looking to buy and what kind of music I liked. He let me sit and try out a few guitars and let me plug into an amp. After awhile I picked out what I wanted and he let me put it on hold. I later realized that the guitar I picked was way too heavy and I went back a few days after and switched it out for a used black Squier strat that came with a small amp. It was only $150 altogether which was an amazing deal. Due to the pandemic, money was tight so I was elated that I would be able to get both a guitar AND an amp for under $200. I was so happy the day I took my beautiful guitar home and it has been my beauty ever since. I sadly haven't been back in over 2 years but I hope to go back at some point. The kind of customer service that Jim gave me that day was really special and I'll forever be grateful to him for giving me such a sweet deal and taking the time to let me try out so many guitars. Check this place out if you're looking to buy a guitar, bass, amp, drums, accessories for each of the mentioned instruments or audio equipment. They are very kind and knowledgeable and will take the time to help you out and answer all your questions. Thank you again Jim and Randy for my guitar and amp and for all the advice and help!

Very professional and knowledgeable. Piano sounds great after tuning. He was very attentive to the…read morepiano and made recommendations on how to keep it in top condition. Extremely punctual and up front about what he was doing and the prices. Easy to work with and very pleasant. The website makes it easy to book appointments and sends appointment reminders. I take that for granted in many other services, but most other piano services are behind. It was a nice surprise!

Our first piano tuning on our 100 year old Steinert baby grand was phenomenal!…read more Quality - Ben took the time needed to tune the piano and voice the specific hammers making the piano sing again. Almost bringing my wife and I back to the day we purchased the piano last year. As we only knew our piano was partially rebuilt 10 years ago, I also took the time to get Ben's opinion and he seemed really knowledgeable and appreciated the resources the previous owner put into the instrument. Price - Do I wish I could get more bang for my buck? Yes, but that's with everything I buy. After checking with a couple of places I settled with Ben because of the positive reviews along with his price point. Punctuality - I loved his no window appointment. Ben showed up exactly when I booked the appointment. Professionalism - Overall, I got a great understanding of our Steinert and where we want it to be in terms of play-ability in the near future. It was a pleasure to speak with Ben speak with and wished I had more money to have him "go thru" the piano. I did not feel pressured into any additional services which felt great. I honestly can't wait until the next appointment so he can further improve the condition of the piano.

Tom was so prompt getting back to me right away and recommending Greg Cole to do the timing as I…read morethought I needed a big repair done from a recent move before I had the piano tuned. Greg was also prompt-fit me right into his schedule and even showed up early at my request. He quickly and easily fixed what I feared would be a big job and then expertly tuned the piano back to perfect pitch!

The best. Tom is not only an excellent tuner - highly skilled, precise, thorough, and efficient -…read morebut also deeply knowledgeable about piano mechanics, construction, and history. I greatly enjoyed our conversation as he set to work. He completed his standard twice-over tuning in good time. Our piano sounds better than ever.