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 think this studio is awesome... I wanted to start learning to play the piano again for awhile,…read moreand I thought it would be hard to get back into it - but surprisingly it wasn't that bad. I looked at a few schools prior to finding this one, Five Hands did a good job making me feel comfortable right from the start. Rick made it very easy to get registered and is very accessible, although the studio is geared for a younger audience, it offers everything for an adult student. It has professional yet down to earth teachers, good challenging coursework which is not overwhelming and a comfortably informal environment. I would highly recommend anyone to this studio to reignite your love for playing music.

My 10 year old started piano lessons about 2 years ago and he loves them. They make it challenging…read moreand rewarding. The no stress recitals are so fun for the kids and it's really great for them to see all the different levels of progression. Another wonderful perk is the fantastic pool party Rick throws each summer.

Amanda puts her heart and soul into everything she does. Wonderful program. Varied group ages and…read moregenders

Teacher dan was always great to us and the kids. He makes the classes fun and engaging. They are…read moresuper accommodating with payment we had already made when we had to move across country. We are grateful and I'd recommend their classes to anyone with little kiddos!

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.

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!

We had a wonderful visit to Seman Violins. We were purchasing our son's first violin. Noah was…read moreextremely helpful and helped us find lots of options in our price range. We had previously rented a violin with Seman Violins, which was also a great experience.

Wow, this place is a hidden gem. Actually, it's not hidden at all as it's right out front with a…read morebig storefront on very visible Oakton St but passing through this area quite frequently, it is hidden from the mind when not thinking of stringed instruments. We came here to see if we could salvage my daughter's 30 year old violin for a grand-darling who plans to start up next year. We were greeted by Ben Arnett, one of the talented violin makers here. He looked it over and provided a detailed and very reasonable sounding quote to restring it, rehair the bow, and do some other optional work to further improve the quality. Overall, the instrument was in quite fine shape we were told. It was a very nice and fun visit and more than we hoped for. As many of the reviews state, we were treated very courteously and very professionally and Ben had a knowledgeable ear for our needs and any concerns (we were only looking for minimal fix-ups and he nicely provided that along with various options and considerations). So, we went with a minimal scope for now of a restring ($35) and a bow rehair for $76. Other scope of about $280 can be done to the full size violin when it fits the little one in a few years. They have a great culture here and I can believe that they value and respect every customer whether you're a total novice or a professional musician. Ben even gave us a personal tour of the shop when I mentioned what a cool place this was. I had no idea the shop was as large, and that they work on many stringed instruments (cellos, violas, and guitars) and not just violins, and that they also build violins from scratch here. Also interestingly, they have a performance room with a capacity of about 60 and have cozy and intimate concerts maybe once per month (admission fee of about $25) and it's a BYOB event. The concerts sound wonderful and we will try to attend one one day. Many of the staff are graduates of the Chicago School of Violin Making (one of only 3 such schools in the entire country!) just down the street on Oakton St and are like a family. We came in on a Saturday and it was a busy place with musicians and instruments visiting in a steady stream. Another interesting side note for our visit is that Ben actually found my name in their customer records. I did not even know or remember that we were customers but back in 1995, we apparently rented a student violin from them for my daughter. We only lived 1/2 mile from this store for 14 years from 1982 - 1995. Great business with a long history and with great staff and I highly recommend!

Great local music store for basic music instruments and lessons. Staff is friendly and…read moreaccommodating, just a really great place to have in any community.

Highly recommend. Piano instructor Eric is outstanding. Loads of patience. Figured out exactly what…read moreI was looking for in instructions. Staff, which I'm sure are accomplished musicians in their own right, friendly, helpful and excellent to deal with. I am a senior student ( age, not talent haha). Have taken many lessons over the years. Eric cannot be beat.

This music school is absolutely a dream: from the very involved teachers to the convenient location…read more( I never had to worry about parking). My son starter taking individual violin classes since he was almost 5 years old and his progress is amazing. Alin, the owner is very reliable and approcheable, the teacher is really devoted and puts her heart and soul to make the best of the 30 min that she spends with my son. The comunication between the teachers and the parents is always on point and the overall atmosphere is fantastic. I highly recommend it to all the music lovers out there !

My son has been taking piano lessons as Northside Music Academy for more than a year and we have…read morebeen so pleased with his progress! While my son was hesitant to start, the warm atmosphere and personal attention at NMA have really helped his confidence and ability. I would highly recommend them to anyone looking for lessons.

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 cannot enough good things about this establishment. Jeff belongs to the rare breed of a skilled…read morepiano technician who is also a personable and helpful guide for entering into the world of choosing a perfect personal piano. Above all his prices are the best you will ever find. It is worth traveling far to get your piano from him. You will not go wrong. The piano I found would have been three times the price somewhere else. If you don't believe me, go and see for yourself!

I'm pretty used to being ignored or not taken seriously when shopping for a big ticket item without…read morea husband or some other man around. But here, I felt very disrespected. Came in several weeks ago, having done my research, looking for Yamaha piano. I had narrowed it down to 2 models. The salesperson wasn't helpful when I asked questions about the specs, and certain pricing. "Just look at the Yamaha website," he said. I told him I already had, and the pricing wasn't there. I asked about delivery timelines, since I wanted to buy a piano within a month. The sales manager or lead sales guy decides to tell me a story about labor shortages in Japan, meaning it could take a year to deliver certain models. Does this guy even want to sell a piano? "Come back when you're serious about buying," says the first guy. I am very much serious! I said this explicitly. Needless to say, I took my business elsewhere. Made an appointment with another authorized Yamaha dealer. Showed up, tried several pianos, and bought one within an hour, and for a much better price than what Grand Piano Haus listed in their showroom. Like I said, I was serious about buying a piano. These guys lost a sale, and all future business from me .