Baron and TCM instruments are hardly even worth it to use just as decor items, let alone serviceable musical instruments. Kind of sad rly. owners are pretty rude as well and are quick to kick pok out if they think you're just browsing... read more

I am writing this review from an experience I had 14 years ago at this place. I was just a middle school child who needed a flute for class. The old guy (I think the owner) lashed out at my parents and threatened us with the big dog at the front entrance. I recall he was shouting some pretty racist remarks... we're of Asian ethnicity. Horrible service and it seems like others have had similar problems with the old guy with him screaming and threatening etc. read more

Looks great from the street, with the long line of windows filled with assorted guitars - so naturally I was forced to stop and go in. Initial walk thru the door brought a greeting...good, good. A walk down the aisl to look at instruments revealed assorted snarky signs: Customers are not permitted to use cell phones in the store. If you want to play and instrument for more than 5 minutes, you must get approval from a sales person. A sign about them suing the Better Business Bureau. A sign about how they don't carry Gorrilla equipment as they aren't in monky business. You are not permitted to note models and pricing. Hmm. Mightly unfriendly. Not service oriented. Must feel threatened by good old compettion. I also noticed that the staff did not look happy. Only one person approached us - I'm thinking it was the owner, but not sure - and pointed out how today there was a 50% off sale on anything in the store! Wow - really? Today only? Then why is the sign so grimy? Please give me more credit as a consumer, and provide me with good honest pricing and great customer service. Would I recommend: No. Would I return: No. read more

I'll make this very short; read the DOZENS of "hidden" reviews and believe every word AND MORE!. At the time of this review there are 45 of these reviews hidden - but to see the you have to scroll to the bottom and look for, "other reviews that are not currently recommended" then click the pull-down triangle on the right to allow you to see them. First YELP will offer you a video that basically says we hid them because they didn't write enough reviews. Skip it and start reading - you'll be amazed. What's truly sad is that YELP says, "Your trust is our top concern, so businesses can't pay to alter or remove their reviews"! Heck, they don't need to when Yelp hides them automatically by some poorly thought-out software algorithm. The old guy referred to, in many of other peoples reviews, actually screamed obscenities at my 12 year old and scared her so much she ran out of the store crying and that after I had bought a French Horn from him! I still feel guilty for taking her there she was so traumatized and as if that wasn't bad enough when she went for lessons to learn to play, It turned out the horn was a cheap knock-off that had a fake brand name added on it but it was only worth a tiny fraction of what I paid. And that brings me to their honesty: they do have a no-refunds policy even when they're lying through their teeth about what you're getting. Think about this: there's only one review above one star - does that tell you anything about that reviewer? (Salvatore G.) I actually thought of launching a class-action suit against the wicked old man(owner?) but there are so many scams going on here at once, it'd be an impossible task to prove them all. My only question is why does Yelp hide the obviously true reviews and promote the obviously false one? It certainly lowers my opinion of YELP! read more

I was in this store looking at pianos and electric pianos a few years ago. This store stands out in my mind because of how terrible the customer service was. The vendors were reluctant to let us play any of the instruments, and were not very helpful at all, only pushy. They expected customers to buy right away...which doesn't make any sense since most people need to do well-informed research and try different brands/models first. Not to mention the poor selection and very dated models available. As the other legitimate filtered reviews (read them!) have stated, yes, the owner did run out after another customer and I left the store without buying something and made obscene gestures while yelling at us from the front door. Bizarre!! I am actually astounded that this music store is still in business. read more

Agree with other posters. Just weird. It is clearly run by an old guy who has been screwed over more than a few times, so I sympathize, but you still have to have at least semi-modern business practices to survive. I thought I had lost a portable music stand, so ran in there on the way home from work to grab a new one for a rehearsal. Turned out when I got home that I found the old one, so I wanted to take the new stand back. The thing was in a box, sealed, unopened and unused, but only on arrival back at the store the following week did I see the No returns/Refunds signs plastered all over the walls. I was in a pretty big hurry when I was in there so wasn't paying attention (for things I had no reason to expect...), and at no point during the sale did anyone make me aware of this policy. In any case, approached them with the item and was rebuffed, told that in this business there are a lot of dishonest people (the implication being, I guess, that I was one of them) and told that I could resell it if I wanted to but I was not getting my money back. So I got kinda mad and said he wouldn't be seeing me again, and then the old guy got mad and said he didn't need "people like me in his store" (which struck me as false, because both times I was there I was the only one in the store, so he kinda does, need people like me in his store that is) and I walked out with him ranting away (swearing, I think) at me unintelligibly. Enough music stores in Ottawa that you can easily avoid this one and save yourself an unpleasant experience. read more

Intercontinental Music is a great music store and has been in business for more then 50 years. Before I start my review I would like to state that due to an online guitar forum a bunch of people who have never been to the store/live in Canada have been running a prank by writing bad reviews of the store as some sort of joke. Please keep that in mind when reading. I am a professional musician and have been playing guitar, bass and drums for over 35 years. Intercontinental Music has everything that the gigging musician needs at rock bottom prices. Many of the brands on the floor are store-only brands and these are mainly medium quality and sold to other retailers where they sell for the MSRP. Since IM is the importer, you can get a much better price (35%-60% off depending) what is changed at other retailers. The treasure trove at IM is the basement. Being in business for 50 years, they have a serious vintage guitar and drum parts selection. While the upstairs is full of little known brands, the basement has some great parts. Last time I was there I bought a few body guards for Fender Jazzmaster guitars, some great never sold RCA 6L6 tubes and an old Maestro Fuzz pedal. If you are into old drums they have just about anypart for Ludwig and Gretsch down there. The upstairs is by invite only and is probably one of the best vintage guitar collections in Canada. While the owner (Gio) is slightly rough around the edges when you meet him when you get to know him he is a sweet man who is loved for his endless charity work at the Ottawa Cancer Centre. He also has done many outreach trips to the Philipines to help people. He probably would never talk about these things, but is also a decorated vetren and I have heard from family friends that he saw heavy action and that is why he is a little off sometimes. My first time playing a 55 Goldtop was at this shop. If you like great old gear and need that hard to find part IM is a great store. Their parts are affordable, the vintage stuff is pretty much market. The house brands are nice and quality but more in line with Epiphone. read more

My brother and I once formed a band and spent some time ruining the hearing of audiences of our friends. Well, my brother moved away and I moved overseas and our musical dreams had to go on hold. But, years later, my brother and I were reunited in Ottawa and are now trying to get our band off the ground again. First thing though, we need equipment. I have been keeping my eyes open for a music store and then, one night as I drove up Bank Street, I spotted Intercontinental Music on a side street. They have an incredible number of guitars and other instruments hanging in their windows. Now, once inside, I noticed that the selection wasn't top of the line but lesser, less pricey products - most of the names I didn't really recognize. But, they carry everything a beginner band needs at middle-of-the-road prices. Check it out. read more

Intercontinental Music - Musical Instruments & Teachers Near Me - Ottawa, Ontario

I had a similar experience to some of the other people who wrote reviews. On Saturday, we made a special trip out to Intercontinental Music to price out a few items (both of our kids play instruments). As we walked in we were immediately greeted by an older gentleman. He asked what we were looking for and we indicated that we were going to have a quick look around (he didn't respond). After walking around for several minutes and admiring some of the guitars, the gentleman asked if he could help me find something. I indicated that we were still browsing (it's a fairly big store) and he responded by saying that he's in the business of selling things. Initially I laughed, because I thought he was joking, until he turned his back to me and walked away while muttering something else. Aside from my strange interaction with what could have been the owner, I was very confused because there were sale signs everywhere but nothing outlined exactly what was on sale. Also, the price tags on some the equipment seemed very inflated for items that we've seen in other music shops. After our abrupt interaction, my teenage son pointed out the signs saying no use of cell phones, and the notice posted about suing the BBB (as the previous reviewer pointed out). For all of the reasons above I would never return to this business. read more

We thought this store looked cool from the street but when we got in there were tons of signs about how they can kick you out and that cell phones were not permitted. The instruments were no name and priced way too high. The owner told us to buy or leave. And then pointed to te door and told us to leave when we said we were just looking. Terrible terrible terrible. DO NOT GO! read more

I do not understand how this store can stay in business. I had a similar experience today as most of the other reviewers have had. My boyfriend and I went in to browse, and we didn't really care for the Baron brand of guitars--never heard of them before--but there was an Epiphone SG that had been traded in that we liked and were thinking of purchasing. The owner talked to us for a few minutes, but his pushy sales pitch was a real turn-off. He also ended up yelling at a female employee while we were browsing. We decided not to buy the guitar, and as we were leaving, the owner chased after us to the door and said, "We don't need people like you in here." I'm sorry? We get berated because we weren't ready to plunk down $300 right away? Maybe we were going to think about it and come back for it tomorrow? Unbelievable. I will never spend a penny at Intercontinental Music. Edited to add: While the owner was talking to us, he went on a bizarre anti-BBB rant, claiming that the BBB was telling consumers that another music store in the area was better. Honestly, after being subjected to his abuse, I can understand why another music store--any of them, really--would be viewed as "better". Once I got home this evening, I checked out his business on the BBB site, and sure enough, the store's rating is D-, and its accreditation was revoked in October of last year. read more

This is a very, very weird music store. I bought my first ever electric guitar from them some 28 years ago. A "Sanox" Strat copy. As the song goes, "I played it 'till my fingers bled"...even though it wouldn't stay in tune. This week I went back because I needed something simple. I've avoided the store because of their sketchy brands and prices. One of their sales persons once told me "the owner orders instruments to his exact specifications from foreign manufacturers". Give me Fender and Gibson any day, thank you very much. Anyway, I went in thinking I might find what I was looking for. I need a male 1/4" to male XLR cable to hook our laptop up to our snake. The owner told me such a thing did not exist. When I noticed a box of cables behind the counter, I asked him if I could look through them. He let me. I found what I was looking for...but it was a duct taped, soldered improvisation. He sold it to me for $10.00. It did the trick. After reading all these reviews, I can say I get where you are coming from. I saw the crazy signs, and sensed that the owner, despite 50 years experience, didn't really know how to listen to a customer. I guess I got him in a good mood because I didn't for a moment think I was irritating him in anyway. He wasn't talkative, but he wasn't defensive or threatening as others found him. read more

Intercontinental Music - Donald Street If it were possible, I would rate this store a zero - my experience was that dreadful. I stopped by this store hoping to check out the instruments that they carry. It's been a fixture on the corner of Donald and St. Laurent for many years. After the experience I had, I am amazed that it hasn't gone under years ago. Except for the owner and his wife/daugher the store was completely empty when I arrived. After greeting the owner, I proceeded to look around. 5 minutes into my visit the owner walked up to me and in an extremely brusque fashion inquired "What do you want to buy today ?" I informed him that I was simply browsing at this point in time, that I already owned a piano and that he had some lovely inventory." At that point in time the owner proceeded to tell me (very rudely) to get out of the store, that time was money and that window shoppers/browsers were not welcome. Wow. To the owner: work on remembering your A-B-C's - Always Be Courteous - especially when you're a salesman. I have frequented many different stores in and around the Ottawa area. (Long and McQuade, Domenics Music, St. John's Music) I have browsed their inventory - and purchased instruments and supplies - from all of them. I have never been made to feel unwelcome or that I was wasting anyone's time. It would appear that the owner of Intercontinental does not understand that if he would like to sell some of the instruments in his shop, it will require more than a 75% off sign in the window, a poster refuting the current claim(s) against him/his business that was filed with the Better Business Bureau and a cash register. I wouldn't purchase so much as a guitar pick from this outfit.Take your business where it will be appreciated. read more

Instruments are generally relabelled instruments from Korean factories. That's not terrible in itself, since many brand name guitars are built in Korean factories. But there are no real deals If you were to buy the brand-name versions of these guitars, you'd probably pay about the same, or even less. But because they are rebranded they have essentially no resale value. And logos they put o these relabelled instruments are -- kinda ugly. Customer service can only be characterized as hostile. They don't seem to want you to play the instruments before you buy them I've bought one instrument from them. I would not buy here again. . read more

This is the worse shop I have been. I wish I had read the reviews earlier. I visited the shop to buy a guitar capo and guitar strings which they said would be in store Wednesday July 3, 2019 - a bit bizarre as the shop is supposedly closing-down. The old man is soooo ABUSIVE. I was speaking to my friend and he said "Stop the chit-chat in my store". I was taken by surprise and thought I better buy the guitar strings. He gave me a set with a different sound to what I wanted and said they were at a good price and I could have them at 1/2 price and it's a good deal. I explained that the strings had too much of a jazzy sound and he shouted "There's the door, get the hell out of my shop". read more

Picks and strings are available, buy the instruments are dried out, non quantity and the owners/staff or clear pr!cks... worst music store in the city. read more

There is nothing good about this store. Advertising practices are dishonest: tag prices are clearly set high so that the owner can present a pseudo-sale. The brands are mysterious and over-priced. The owner bullies his customers and kicks you out if you're not willing to fall in love with the instrument right there and buy it that day. read more

I have never been mistreated in a music store until today, upon arrival to the store me and my friend were greeted by two cute friendly golden retrievers. I was in the store looking for 5 1ft peddle cords, the old man who was helping me told me he only had 1 of the cords I needed. I told him I would not purchase just 1 cord and would just look for the other equipment I needed that day, when he discovered I would not be buying this cable today he then aggressively kicked me and my friend out of his shop. I'm sorry am I not allowed to want matching cables? I found a shop downtown that not only had 5 cables but treats their costumer well. ps: Salvatore g. nice fake review man you are the only one to give them over 2 stars read more

Shopping for a guitar? Stay away! There are two things that a newbie guitar buyer should see in a store. 1: Recognizable brands (Brands with their own manufacturers website.) 2: Friendly and helpful sales people. Intercontinental has neither. This place sells guitar brands like Baron, TCM and Intex. Never heard of them? That's because the owner imports these low quality guitars directly for his business. You won't find Baron, TCM or Intex guitars sold anywhere else. Google and you won't find a "Baron" guitar manufacturer. It has a pushy and rude (yes freakin rude to his customers!) proprietor. "Rough around the edges" does not begin to describe him. He operates like a circus carny. Doesn't give you chance to think. Doesn't let you look too closely or play an instrument very long. And if you don't play by his rules, watch out. I have never been told to get out of a real music store. But he told me. I was stunned, but he'll only have to tell me once. What you do see is signs for "50% off" and "75% off" the "regular price". Think about this. He imports the guitars himself. He owns the store. Who do you think sets the "regular price"? Yep, he sets the "regular price" way high and then "discounts" the price to make you think it's a deal. It's old school snake-oil salesmanship. There's a positive review here by someone who claims to be a gigging musician. He even goes so far as to disparage other reviewers comments. I don't pretend to know who wrote it, but I can tell you that every working musician I know will either laugh or frown when Intercontinental music is mentioned. Don't go there. Long & Mcquade and Steve's music are two of the larger music stores. Great selection, friendly people, and stuff in all price ranges. read more

Run, don't walk away from this store. Read Ellen C's report. She is right. The salespeople will say anything to get the sale. Since I've had a bad experience with them, I've since learned that this store is just a front for a distribution company (Intex) who sell to other stores. They import no name chinese brands that don't seem to have any manufacturer warranty. In the store they put the price real high so they can cut the prices so they can close the sale. That's why they have 50% sales all the time. I bought a 100 Watt bass amp marked at $899. I got it at $350 including tax. I'm sorry I did. Before buying I told the salesman that I was looking at a Fender with a 5 year warranty. He said "oh yes, this one too. " I bought the amp and took it home. Inside the box is some chinese paper that is made to look like a warranty but is nothing at all. I did hours of research on the brand and I did not get one single hit. The very next day I went back to store to ask about my warranty. (As I walked in, the salesman was throwing out and insulting two twenty year olds who were asking questions about the brands they've never heard of. ) Re my amp warranty, the salesman said I must have been an misunderstanding and that the store provides a 1 year warranty. No refund, go away, good luck. I'm a music teacher and play in a few bands so I am spreading the word. You don't want to shop there. read more

If it is possible to give this store 0 stars I would. My father in law was in town this weekend and he was looking to buy some guitar strings so I recommended Intercontinental Music. I've purchased from this store before but never again. The older gentleman at the desk wasn't very welcoming, he was very pushy and when I told him I wasn't interested in a new violin he told us to stop wasting his time and to get out. As we were walking out, I said "that's not very professional", a gentleman (I assume was his son) told us to **** off. Worst customer service ever. Oh and if the old guy tried to sell you 75% off, it's probably not worth much to begin with. read more

Went to the store with a friend one day to buy my first electric guitar (have been playing keyboards and acoustic guitar for 15 years) - first, I wanted to try a couple of nice ones, and then noticed the signs on the wall stating that the try was limited to 5 minutes ... well okay, perhaps the owner had bad experiences, whatever... Then we asked for some information about the brand (mostly "Baron") that I never heard about but that's okay as it was for my first electric guitar, and the guy just showed another sign stating something like "it's not because you don't know a brand that's it's bad" or something like that ... then he took us in the basement to show us his stock (huge stock of unsold guitars piling up on every corner of the basement). Then we went back up, and we stood at the counter, the old salesman asked us "so what are you buying today" - I hesitated and then he started to yell at us to "go OUT ! get OUT ! FAST !" and "we don't need monkeys like you !" ... Even if we're big guys, we were shocked ! Apparently this guy does the same to anyone who don't buy or who are hesitating or start to ask too many questions ... I am surprised this business is still up and running given the other similar experiences the last 5 years ... the BBB has been notified, but well ... so either this guy won to the lottery or has other running businesses, but this "cover" store is definitely not one that is tempting a lot of customers... read more

I am very suspicious about the previous review. I don't believe for a second that "people have been running a prank by writing bad reviews". I've been in this store three times. I have even brought people in to experience just how horrible it is. Words can't even begin to express how terrible the customer service and business is. I got kicked out of the store for asking too many questions about a piano that I was looking at. A friend of mine got kicked out of the store because he did not purchase a guitar that he tried out. The owner said "Get out, don't come back". He sells extremely cheap guitars and very high prices, he knows absolutely nothing about his products and is a miserable old man just trying to rip people off. I can't say enough bad things about this store. It's just brutal. Please do yourselves a favour and avoid walking in. It's a joke. read more

My family and I had the worst customer service experience ever at Intercontinental Music on October 24, 2009. We went in to look at pianos. We asked for help and a man who appeared to be in his 70s came to help. On our way to the pianos, he began to speak with a customer he apparently was serving before us. He was so engrossed in the conversation that he forgot about us. We waited for about 10 minutes and then decided to leave. When going past the service counter, he saw us and decided to help us. We went back to the pianos and seeing that the new pianos were $5000-$7000, we thought we'd look at a used piano. As soon as my wife said that we were just starting to look, he immediately left us! We were dumbfounded!! On our way out, I spoke to a woman behind the service counter and told her that I have never been treated so poorly to which she replied, "That's just the way he is." I could not believe her response. I said that I thought that kind of service deserved an apology and that I would tell everyone I could not to shop at Intercontinental Music. I emailed the store addressing a letter to the owner and have not received a reply...no surprise there! By the way, the parking lot was strewn with cardboard boxes. The ironic part to this story is that we went to another piano store later that same day, found a used piano we liked, and bought it. So, to all those sales people who don't take the time with shoppers who say they are just 'starting to look', they are cutting off their nose, to spite their face! read more

Absolute Biatch at the front desk. Called for some information on the construction of a guitar my friend had purchased last YEAR. beauitiful looking guitar by Intex. She's so rude," what do you want" were her words, nice ??!! Whatever happened to" can I help you "? She had no idea what the guitar was made of after providing the model # . She said she'd have someone call me. Waited a week and called again. Same rude greeting from the same Biatch, told her I'd like some information on a guitar, gave her the model #. Again she rudely asked, what do want to know? What it's made out of? She rudely replies, "call back back next Tuesday, salesman not here and he's the only one that hanldes that stuff? What the hell is that from a music shop?? Here to sell but have know clue what it is were selling ????!! Nice!!!? That's it for me. read more

I bought some strings, then the owner came in and asked if I was looking for anything. I said I was mostly browsing, but interested in basses. He directed me to them, then followed me over and told me to take one down from the wall so he could check the price. And went on to show the 'sticker' price, the 'sale' price, and said he'd take 50% off. Today only, of course, and he'd throw in a hardshell case with it. What a pitch. I said I'd think about it (mostly because I've never heard of Baron or any other brand there). Seems like a reasonable response. But, he threw his arms into the air, said "get out," went on a brief rant including lines like "if you're not ready for this deal now, you never will be" and "everyone who says that doesn't buy. I'm not interested if you don't buy," and walked away. And he continued to rant/yell at me as I walked out of the store. With other customers present (including a father with his young son). If it wasn't for my desire to escape the ranting, I would've returned those strings. Definitely not somewhere I'd buy from again or recommend to anyone. read more

I wish I'd read the reviews and done an online search before purchasing the piano keyboard here. The prices on the instruments are grossly over-inflated so their sale prices are still way more than other more reputable ones. Didn't notice until I got home and looked more closely at my bill that they have a no return policy. They made out like I was getting a deal, but they were the ones getting the unbelievable deal. Learn from my lesson. BUYER BEWARE! read more

Terrible store. I am here to buy two speakers. They have some brands I do not recognized. I took my smartphone out to read about the brand The manager with an East European accent kicked me out. I am not allowed to read reviews before purchasing. Also the store was full of "errand" dogs. read more

Absolutely do not consider purchasing from this place. There has not been a new instrument shipped to the store in decades. I went in with my student's mother after she purchased a violin with faulty strings and terrible bow. We wanted to replace the bow, and actually purchase new strings. As I disagreed with him once, he immediately told me he knew more than me. When I strongly disagreed about that, he then threatened to call the police to have me escorted out of the store. Naturally, I left, but I have never in my life been treated with this much disrespect as a customer, where this man was yelling and throwing me out of his store, after I was unhappy with the service and products he provided my student. read more

I had driven by this store but had not dropped in until yesterday. I met the man who I assume is the proprietor and he underwhelmed me with his lack of charm. He asked what I was looking for and I said I wanted to look around. He mentioned not wasting his time. He pointed out their "for sale" signs - 50% off. That had potential. When I inquired about Hohner harmonicas his price was $79.99 dropped down to $ 59.99 but he would give it to me for $50. That was still way over the going rate. I told him I'll pass, to which he told me not to waste his time. I just laughed. the harmonica prices were not competitive. read more

This is the absolute worse store I've ever walked into. Words can't explain how horrible I feel. Lets just say I was chased out of the store for asking too many questions about a particular instrument. If you look around the store there are signs that read "You are not allowed to take picture or write down prices" and my favourite "if we catch you talking to another customer for more than 2 minutes we have the right to ask you to leave". Just a horrible, horrible place. Do not go. read more

I strongly recommend people not waste their time in this store. The owner of the store, an old man, is extremely rude and bizarre. I went to Intercontinental music in Ottawa to look at acoustic guitars only to be harassed and ridiculed by an old man. I would consider myself to be an advanced finger style player and know a fair amount about acoustic guitars. I didn't recognise any of the guitars in the store but decided to try a few of them out. After trying 4 guitars out I was greeted by an old man who pointed to one of the many signs in the store which stated you are not allowed to play for longer than 5 min. I found this to be odd but went along with it. Another sign said you were not allowed to write down model names and prices. I thought it was a joke and asked him about it. He insisted that customers are not allowed to take any information about the instruments which makes me think he is hiding something. His rebuttals were bizarre and left me feeling concerned. As a guitar player, when purchasing an instrument, you must try a lot of guitars so you can find which one feels right for you. He argued this. I can generally tell how much a guitar costs by the materials used and the way it's built. The guitars in there were way over priced for the quality of build. This gentleman was looking for confrontation and was beginning to make me feel uneasy. As I began to move towards the exit of the store, the old man yelled at me, telling me to get the hell out of his store. I was completely blindsided by his behaviour as i didn't see it coming at all. He continued to scream at me as I walked out. Very bizarre man and am surprised the store is still in business. read more

The service here was awful. We might as well have been kicked out, and the store is very overpriced for their cheap instruments. The employee in the store at the time was terribly rude and probably should not be working in a musical environment. My suggestion: Avoid. read more

Terrible customer service. I wanted to check out their selection of guitars, and the sales person was very rude and in a nutshell, told me to either buy something or leave. I'll never go back to that store. read more

Stay Away from the disrespectful bizarre old man Here is the most bizarre shopping experience I ever lived. Stay away from that store. The owner is aggressive and disrespectful to consumers. Here is my story : and after reading the other reviews, I am not the only one who had a bizarre experience at that place. I went to the store on the 27 on November to buy a electric bass guitar for my son. I entered the store asking the lady at the counter if they were selling used musical instruments. She told me no... but that the owner will take care of me in a few minutes (he took care of me for shure). I started looking around and he finally came to me and asked me what was I looking for. I told him I was looking for a electric bass guitar for my 13 year old son. I told him " He wants to learn to play the bass, but I am not sure if he will like it. So for that reason, I want to buy a bottom of the line guitar". The guy showed me a nice guitar at $199 but told me that he would lowered the price to $149. I tough it was a fair price. But suddenly I realized that I didn't know if my son was right or left handed. So, I told politely to the old man that I will have to confirm and comeback. He told me that the offer was only valid on the spot. I told him that I want to make sure what side my son is playing before buying. The guy started to shout at me to leave the store right away over and over inn a crazy way... and he escorted me the front door. How come that guy still is business after treating future customer that way ? He has no respect for nobody. The only thing he is interested in is your money. You are nothing to him. p.s. I put one star because because you have to put at least one. They don't deserve it. read more

I was looking for a cello a month ago for my child in this store. I was asked to pay first as we agreed price, about $600, then he led me to the basement to get a new one from a box but with unknown brand, then he quickly installed it. it had so bad quality and sound. I had to go back to exchange to another one, but it still sounds bad. I had to ask other technician to replace the strings and bowl to make it sounds better. but in the second week, it was totally broke when my child fell down with it. By looking those broken pieces, it seems that was put together by glue. The store refused to repair it even though it has 1 year warranty. I spend $800 in total in one week just got a piece of junk.The whole time I have been treated so much disrespectful by the aged man (owner). I feel it was a scam. The reason I did not make a complain, I really don,t want to see that man again. If anyone wants to visit the store, please think about it carefully. I am quite sure it will be closed for good pretty soon. I would rate negative -100 stars if there is one. read more

A Joke of a store. I decided to check it out because of their anniversary 50% off everything no tax blowout! Too good to be true?! Correct. IF YOU ARE GOING TO READ ANY OF THIS PLEASE READ THE LAST PARAGRAPH YOU WILL LAUGH, THEN WONDER HOW THE STORE STILL EXISTS Anyways, I came in looking for a snare stand and a drum head. Observing the equipment for sale, Everything was extremely overpriced. No name double bass pedal selling for 350 when i got my pearl full price for 280. A whole bunch of no name brands and makes selling for what would be the full price of a zildjian cymbal or a pearl or tama set. Only an idiot would buy what they are selling, but yet I could not resist the sale! Looking around they only had 3 different snare stands, all peices of crap, top one selling for 100. The owner then came over and urged me to buy one, showing off how it can stand up and open. Asking if he had any too fit a 13 inch snare he says, yes they are all adjustable! Nooopee. NOne. The owner was full of crap, knew nothing, and was trying to sell me everything i laid eyes on. Throughout the hour i was browsing he kept urgently reminding me that everything was half off and showing me posters and flyers of the campaign. I decided to screw the stand, and look at the heads. I was greeted by a whole selection of 4 heads. Once again, all overpriced. But remo, so a decent brand for a change. I decided getting one for half price would still be a deal, so i went to pay. HERE IS WHERE IT GETS GOOD. The owner then tries to charge me full price. I stop him and say, I thought everything was half price? After the entire time of urging me to buy everything because it was all half price, he says, not everything! Realising now that I could get better selection and price at any old music store, I told him I was just going to buy it somewhere else, and apologized. He instantly DROPS the skin, points to the door, and says "YOU SEE THE DOOR?! GGET THE FUCK OUT! WE DONT WANT YOUR KIND IN HERE." He continued to cuss and yell at me all the way to the door, at one point calling me a stoner, other points just sounding like mario on crack (I didnt mention his hilariously stereotypical Italian Accent. The owner is BAT SHIT insane. Brands are crap, and overpriced. Good place to go for a good laugh. Bad place to shop. Reading other reviews makes it seem like this really is not a rare occurence, so go and pretend to buy something, or browse for a while and leave. Do it while you can, Because I have a feeling you wont have much longer. read more

I went into the store today looking to buy either a clarinet or saxophone. The owner showed me three clarinets. Then, I asked if he could show me some saxophones. He told me that he was there to sell, not to show instruments. He said that if I only wanted to see them that I could wait for his sales person "who makes peanuts". I explained that I needed to see the instruments and know their prices before making a decision. He pointed at one saxophone on the wall and said: "There's the price, $1100". Before I could say anything else, he told me that I was wasting his time and to get out. read more

Intercontinental Music is the worst music store in Ottawa. The old guy who I presume is the owner is completely off his rocker. Do not go here unless you want to be belittled and and then asked to leave for asking simple questions about his guitars. AVOID! read more

I stopped by the store the other day. I had read the reviews online and thought that the negative reviews might have been off by some disgruntled patrons. I have been past this store hundreds of times over the last few years. The fellow that runs this store was in when I happened in. I was just nosing around to see what is there. I am in the market for a new Strat. He happened to show me a few different guitars. I asked if he had any Fender Guitars. Didn't recognize the ones that he had. He told me that I didn't want a Strat that Fender guitars are overpriced and that he would give me a better deal than I would get for a Fender. He handed me a Baron off the hanger in the Window. Big crack across the body. He told me that it was cosmetic and wouldn't be noticed. Oh and by the way.. My lucky day!! Half off and only today. I asked about the basement collection that I have heard about. Apparently that is only used for empty boxes now. I left knowing that this was just a fun way to waste 1/2 hour. This must be a front for something as there is no way that this store could be profitable. read more