Dealing with the folks at Ottawa Pianos has been a very positive experience for me. The piano…read morepurchased (Yamaha GC1) was to be a surprise for my daughter and Lili and Kim were on board for helping to keep it that way. They made sure to advise me of everything I needed to know regarding the piano and even made sure that the movers were advised of the situation. This worked out beautifully as the movers called ahead to make sure the coast was clear (i.e. my daughter was out of the house). They had the piano installed and were gone before she returned so it was a complete shock to her to see the baby grand sitting in her living room. Needless to say, she is overjoyed and so am I. Many thanks to Lili and Kim at Ottawa Pianos and also to the lads at McConville Movers! Mission accomplished!

As an adult learner, returning to piano lessons after many decades, I highly recommend this place…read morefor instruction. I found the Music Director to be professional in presentation, an active listener of my plans and supportive of my hesitancy to return to formal lessons. In order to be paired with 'right' teacher (Harris is fabulous!) I was encouraged to provide a detailed note about myself as a learner, as well as clues about an 'ideal teacher' and goal statement in order to ensure my success with getting started with lessons and remaining engaged. I found the instruction to be encouraging and always flexible - responding to my needs and desires. My experiences with Ottawa Pianos have exceeded expectations.

I have truely enjoyed my group guitar lessons with Rob! The class is paced just at my speed. I have…read morecome away with being able to know the core chords and even play some songs! Highly recommend for beginners!

Purchased an 8 class group introduction to guitar. I made 7 of 8 classes. Can safely say it was…read morethe best deal I have ever had. Great course...our Instructor Robert was a lot of fun. Highly recommend it!

I got home after checking this place out, literally an hour after I wrote this review…read more And overall, I liked the place, the people were nice, I asked one of the guys If I could try out one of the SG/SG-Style guitars, it was fun. This may help me out if I decide to buy an SG, additionally, one of the other workers helped me out with how to figure out the amplifier for distortion and gain, very helpful. Another thing that's interesting is that I didn't necessarily have to them if they could bring one of the guitars down, which I guess is mid, because I was obviously not trying to drop a guitar while trying to be able to try playing it and see what it was like. But otherwise, it was fun, the place was nice and organized, I definitely look forward to coming again.

I would have preferred to give the men at Spaceman 7 stars.(representing perfection) The service…read morehere is incredible and so honest. I was told that the cost of repairing my acoustic guitar would exceed it's value which I agreed. although I did not get the work done, guess what the repairman did anyway? He did two different adjustments @ N/C and I notice that at least it plays better now and I can still enjoy getting some playing time out of it. I have been doing business with Spaceman/Songbird for years and will continue to do so and recommend them whenever and wherever I can. Chris(a happy customer)

Apparently, "new" now means "previously displayed, visibly handled, and tastefully pre-tarnished."…read more I purchased a flute at LM Kanata location that was sold to me as "new". Upon closer inspection at home, however, it had obvious discoloration, tarnishing, and signs of handling. It was, in fact, a display instrument--a minor detail the store apparently considered too unimportant to disclose before taking my money. When I returned it, the response was even more impressive. Rather than acknowledge that a visibly tarnished display instrument should not have been sold as new without disclosure, the sales staff were rude and dismissive. A person who introduced himself as the shop's repair technician decided to join the conversation, only to dismiss the visible marks as "just tarnish." How reassuring. Perhaps scratches are "just scratches," dents are "just dents," and honesty is "just optional." There was no meaningful apology, no acceptance of responsibility, and no apparent understanding of why a customer might object to paying the new-instrument price for a handled and tarnished display model. Instead, I was treated as though noticing the condition of the flute was somehow the real problem. I returned it immediately and left. Buying an expensive musical instrument requires trust, and this store managed to lose mine before I played the first note. Very disappointing, thoroughly unprofessional, and an excellent lesson in why customers should inspect the meaning of the word "new" before shopping here.

I'm certainly not overly impressed. I brought my guitar here…read moreto get fixed and cleaned up. The specific problem is fairly minor, the bone doesn't fit properly in the bridge. (I'm not sure how this can be fixed exactly, but I know it's not right) As a result the bone sits at roughly a 70 degree angle (as opposed to 90 degrees). The sales person suggested a tune-up and they would look at the bone/bridge. And since the had to be taken off I had to buy new strings for them to put on. OK, no big deal. A week later, I go to pick it up. $45 for the tune up (not including $21 for the strings). I seriously have no idea what I paid $45 for because everything is exactly the same. They changed the strings. And from what I can tell that's the only thing they did. They didn't even clean the guitar. It's still full of dust. They didn't change the pins, they didn't wipe the damn thing down, they didn't adjust action (not that it needed it) and most importantly they didn't address the bone/bridge issue. I asked the sales person when picking it up (a different person this time) what was done, and he responded with two things. 1. "it's not actually a bone, it's plastic" (Umm yeah, I know, put that's the name of the part) 2. "I suggest you use an old credit card and cut a piece off to shim the bone". SO WHAT DID I PAY $45 FOR??? I know how to change strings, I could have done that myself, thanks. I know this isn't an expensive guitar but they kept saying things like "so you haven't played in a few years and your getting back into it?" Here's the deal. I have a $5,000 guitar at home. This inexpensive one is the 1st guitar I ever owned, and I want it fixed up so I can play it at my wedding (for nostalgia sake). Not that this should matter, someone with an expensive guitar and someone with a cheap guitar should get the exact same treatment and respect. Am I asking too much here? Just wipe down the guitar? Maybe give me a call and give me options for the issue I have before slapping on strings (that I paid extra for) and giving me a bill? I expected more. And I probably won't go back. There are other music stores in town that would likely appreciate my business (and my repeat business).

I can't say enough about the wonderful customer service and help I had from Joseph (Joe) Fraser. I…read more originally made the mistake of ordering a Bassbreaker 15 head from Amazon, thinking it was the combo, and was helped by Joe to find a suitable speaker cabinet for it. When i got home, I wasn't able to get sound from the setup. Joe first tried helping me troubleshoot on the phone and when nothing helped he suggested I bring the combo in and we'd be sure to get it working. He was so warm and comforting at a time when I was feeling a bit overwhelmed tbh. Well, it turned out there was a problem with the Bassbreaker I ordered from Amazon so understandably, the best L and McQuade could do was send it in for a repair estimate to see if they could repair it and he suggested I also contact Amazon directly to see if they could offer a free repair just to cover all the bases. Joe was so kind and patient and suggested we look at other amp combos in the meantime. As fate would have it, they had just received a used combo amp and speaker that was a great deal and fit my needs perfectly. It was obvious Joe just wanted to be sure I was happy with no pressure. We ended up exchanging the original cabinet he sold me for the great combo setup. I am 75 and it is so much better for me to deal with the combo vs an amp and separate speaker. I have been playing with the used combo I settled on and it sounds amazing Making it even sweeter was that I was given a refund through the exchange. No upselling. It's caring people like Joe Fraser who just want a happy customer that ends up with the best option for their needs that will keep brick and mortar shops operating :). Thanks Joe from the bottom of my heart. A huge shout out to Terry Calder, the repair guy too, who keeps my prized acoustic well maintained each year. I wouldn't trust anyone else. Great team at Hunt Club. That obviously says something about management at this location too for hiring the right people. Thank you :). Myra Bourne Ottawa

I've been dealing with Long & McQuade for over 11 years, mainly with the Kingston, ON store, and…read morehave always been super impressed with their service and professionalism. Unfortunately, my recent experience at the Hunt Club Rd store in Ottawa was the complete opposite. I called ahead about selling a pair of Yorkville EXM Mobile Tower speakers -- only a year old and in great shape. The person on the phone said to bring them in so they could take a look. I drove an hour to get there, only to be ignored for several minutes when I arrived. When someone finally spoke to me, they didn't seem to know what I was talking about. (It's surprising, considering Yorkville is one of the main brands Long & McQuade carries.) After some confusion and checking the computer, I was told, "We already have five of those; we don't want them." That could have easily been said over the phone before I wasted a two-hour round trip. I later called the Hawkesbury store, and even they couldn't understand why the Ottawa location wouldn't take them -- especially since they could easily be used as rentals. If you value your time, avoid the Hunt Club Rd store. I've had nothing but great experiences elsewhere with Long & McQuade, but this location missed the mark completely.

I had a Taylor guitar with action off the charts. It was fixed in just a few days at a great price…read more It plays better than it ever has now. Thanks!

A wonderful relaxed environment, and very knowledgeable staff…read more A great variety of beautiful instruments. I'm delighted with my purchase, well worth a journey into town.

I went there with a friend to purchase a part for her violin. She played professionally and knew…read morewhat she needed. The owners appeared to have come from a former eastern block country. Lots of signs up telling you what you are not allowed to do. A person who appeared to be security appeared. As well a vehicle parks I the alley behind the store had security. Having been in law I for cement it did go unnoticed. STAY AWAY.

I moved to Ottawa in July of 2015. i am a native Montrealer…read more While investigating fun things to do in Ottawa, I happened upon a link to the School of Rock site. What a fantastic concept! They allow kids to learn and play instruments. But, what attracted me was that they also offered what they boot camps for adults. This allows adults to join ad-hoc bands and learn a number of songs and then play them live at a local Pub. I have raw talent on the drums, but I am by no means an experienced drummer. I have never owned a drum kit. Before attending the School of Rock, I must have sat in front of a drum set perhaps somewhere around 15 times. I called up the School of Rock and told them my situation. I was informed that I only needed to be willing to have fun playing. I was in! To date, I have attended about 5 rehearsals with my band and we are having a blast rehearsing our songs in the category Arena Rock (AC/DC, Heart, Peter Frampton, Bad Company, etc.) I never expected that I would be having so much fun learning music and being part of a band. I recommend the School of Rock to anyone that loves music and feels that they might enjoy playing an instrument. They also give lessons on playing guitar, drums and singing.

I attended a piano lesson here with my friend and her daughter (it was the daughter's lesson). I…read morehave to say that as a fellow music teacher, I was extremely impressed with the teaching style. The lesson was well rounded, including games, improvisation and theory, as well as the practical playing aspect. The teacher welcomed us to stay in on the lesson. The prices here are a bit lower than the average in the area and you can tell that the teachers love their jobs. Private or semi-private lessons are offered and available in several languages. There is also an option here to rent keyboards or violins if you don't have your own yet. The owners also perform and are available to provide music for special occasions.

Great experience with the teacher, horrible experience with administration and location. Lack of…read moreresponse from the owners when there are student issues. They are pushy, rude and quick to respond only when it is to their benefit. Definitely not a school for adult students with busy schedules. Make sure to read their whole website before agreeing to attend this school. Disappointing.