I have been taking guitar lessons with John for almost a year and it has been a great experience…read more Besides that the staff are kind and knowledgeable and aren't pushy about upselling/selling junk. The luthier is also very knowledgeable and I plan to use his service for some nut slot filing.

Just bought a digital piano (Roland F107) from Hilton Music store in Colonie Center and could not…read morebe more pleased! As a total piano novice and with limited space in my house, I wanted something compact but with full functionality - 88 key weighted keyboard, etc., and this fit the bill perfectly. Owner Bob Hilton worked with me and was terrific - pleasant, knowledgeable, and not pushy. We asked about delivery and turns out he lives not far from us so he delivered it himself on his way home that very same evening! Also very impressed with the sturdiness of the "console" that comes with the keyboard. I have it free-standing in a room (not enough wall space) and was concerned that my rambunctious cats would jump on it and knock it over - no worries after putting it together with the cover closed over the keyboard.

Everything you need in one place!! Lessons, instruments and supplies, repairs and recording and…read moremastering!! Scott Apicelli has done a great service to the community and for keeping music alive!

I met the owner when I wandered in looking for sheet music. Had such a nice time I ended up buying…read morethree instruments! We also brought three instruments donated to a music scholarship I was working on. They took the time to estimate the value and what each instrument needed. No charge. Will always go to them from now on - even though it's about an hour north of us.

The local store manager is very helpful and knowledgeable. Many great experiences over the years in…read moredealing with John Keal.

Michael in the Clifton Park store has been very professional, polite, helpful and kind. He is never…read morerushed and seems to be able to handle each customer as if they are the only one in the store. He is knowledgeable about the music journey and genuinely interested in your journey. I met Michael in the Albany store when I was looking for a trumpet mouthpiece. Since that purchase I have purchased 2 trumpets (one in Albany and one in Clifton Park) sheet music, instruction books and some new mutes. Michael and the entire Keal music staff are very helpful and genuine. I would recommend Michael and Keal to anyone who wants a first class experience. My experiences exceeded all expectations.

I had my daughter's violin service by Frank. He was professional, timely, experienced, and helpful…read more I would most certainly utilize this violin shop again.

Very professional and helpful. Frank is experienced and a real craftsman. He repaired our old…read morefamily violin to our satisfaction.

When I went there, I drove by several times because it is LITERALLY in a guy's garage. Don't let…read morethat throw you off. This shop is wonderful. TONS of bargain prices, and the owner is extremely friendly and helpful. He also repairs vintage equipment, and repairs and rents out vintage juke boxes. My daughter and I left this great shop with two arm loads of great old vinyl. Highly recommended!

In my fairly long experience, there are only two types of music stores…read more Type A, you walk in and you're looked at like you're a perp. If you look like you might even start thinking about taking an instrument down from the walls, you'll get a lecture about not touching the merchandise and a series of inquiries about whether you're a serious buyer or not. The staff may be knowledgeable, but they'll talk to you as if you're a mentally-challenged space alien who has never heard of a major chord or a scale and is need of being spoken to like a slow-witted dog. The prices are fixed, as if Moses had passed them down on an extra set of tablets from the mountain top, and any discussion of same is an apostasy that will quickly get you invited to get serious or get out. Type B, you walk in and the staff are already playing something. They check to see if you need help but will leave you alone to look if you say you're just looking. If you have a passing question about something, instead of answering it they'll pull down an instrument, give you a demonstration, and ask you to try it out. They'll talk to you frankly about the best place to buy X, Y, or Z and may point out the good features of what they have but are trying to match you up to whatever it is you need or are at the right stage for. They love music, maybe just a bit too much, but they love musicians even more, and they really love aspiring musicians. Hermie's is firmly in the Type B camp, and are going to be Cool about just about everything you can imagine. They know the scene, the area, the schools, the teachers, the bands, and they know their stuff. Prices are going to vary quite a bit, like they do at any instrument-oriented store, but as a working musician's place this is incredibly friendly towards the amateur and the student. The staff took time today to show my young musician a bunch of things he hadn't seen before on the guitar and lit a fire on inspiration in him. Honestly, I can't tell you whether you will get a good deal on X or Y here, relative to all the good deals in the universe. It's a small store, and they have more at the Albany location. It's a bit out of the way on the Jay walk in downtown Schenectady. But I've seen so many ***ho*es in the music business over the year I know by now how to tell what's what with the stores. Hermie's is good people.

I called Hermies with a single outrageous question "Would you be able to fit me in for a single…read moremusic lesson today?" I travel full time. I had one day in Schenectady. My boyfriend had taken his bass guitar on the road when he learned I had played cello as a kid. "It's really similar" he said. But I found myself unable to remember anything from playing music. 3 years of cello, a few months of trombone & piano, and 12 years of choir...but my brain seemed as good as having never done anything musical. Larry answered the phone and was both welcoming and confident that he could give me enough info to get me started. "Stop by anytime before 8pm". Around 2pm, I entered the shop and Larry greeted me just as warmly as on the phone. He checked out my travel bass & tuned it for me. I watched as his fingers whirled around the strings moving from fret to fret. I heard a little voice say "there's no way you're going to be able to do this again". I felt lost. Larry handed me the bass & walked me through a set of scales. I fumbled and hit the wrong string, or both strings at once, but I made it through. I went forward and then backward through the scales. It was awkward, but I did it. We'd chat a moment, he'd teach me something else about the bass, and like a good instructor "show me your scales again" and I would run through them forward & backward again. For fun, he taught me the bass line for Louie Louie. How can you not get tickled playing Louie Louie? That lesson was what I needed to get started and believe maybe I "can" learn this instrument. The previous review raved about Hermies. I'm a fan too. This is a must stop if you are thinking of picking up any instrument. Violin, Guitar, Cello, Bass, Flute or Sax. This is the place to go!

Decent Selection for a suburban Jewelry Store…read more Nice enough people, nice inside. They did tell us to research a jeweler they carry online but then we found you couldn't access their site.

Great interactive website tools like the ring builder and 4C's diamond education…read more Great family run business since 1989 who specialize in making custom pieces.

Wow, were they ever helpful! Not only did they help me find a baptism gift for my great niece, they…read morewrapped it for me and assured me if she got anything else like it they would take it back and order something else for her. They were so friendly and spoke to me the minute I walked in the door. I like that kind of service. She even told me where to go close by to get a card since she knew I was pressed for time. I'll definitely be back, maybe this time I'll pick up something for myself!

I brought a pearl to the store to ask if a match could be made. The incredibly rude lady at the…read morecounter told me I had to take it back to the jeweler that made it. When I explained that the jeweler was long since closed, she said, " we wouldn't make something like that!" in a very dismissive tone. She never offered to show me anything in the case. I went Mayfair Jewelers, they were welcoming, understanding and professional. If you need jewelry, skip the rude folks at Northeast and go straight to Mayfair!!!