Review of Martin D35 Guitar, Sweetwater, and Dan's Music Center:…read moreI was a bit apprehensive when I decided to buy my first Martin D35 acoustic guitar online. After reading the posted reviews of the various online guitar stores, I settled on Sweetwater (Fort Wayne, IN). When I called, I got Jesse Duquette. Jesse had previously owned 50 guitars and it was comfortable speaking with him. He answered my questions and opened my eyes to other facts and styles I needed to consider with the guitar. Most important is that Jesse indicated that there is a 2-year warranty on the guitar, and that he and members of the Sweetwater team will be there anytime should I have a concern. When the guitar arrived, I had to wait 24 hours for the package to become acclimated to the temperature and humidity before taking out the guitar. When I finally opened the box, pulled out and tuned the guitar, I was absolutely delighted with the mellifluous sound of the Martin D35. The action was low, which I desired, but I had a vibration when I played the 5th (A) string. Jesse suggested I take the guitar to a luthier who could adjust the truss rod and that Sweetwater would reimburse me for the cost. I took my Martin D35 to Dan's Music Center (Warwick, RI) where I was greeted by Dan Ryder the owner and luthier. Dan was about to have a bite to eat but stopped, so he could assist me. Dan took the time to adjust the truss rod which cleared up the buzzing. Dan charged me nothing to fix the issue for I could tell he understood and respected the quality sound that comes with the Martin D35 guitar. In summary, although I had initial trepidation with the online purchase of my guitar, I was extremely happy with the service I received at Sweetwater (Fort Wayne, IN) and at Dan's Music Center (Warwick, RI) - and would recommend both companies without reservation. I also would highly recommend Jesse Duquette (of Sweetwater) and Dan Ryder - the owner and luthier of Dan's Music Center (Warwick, RI). Finally, thanks to Martin & Co for making my beautiful sounding Martin D35 guitar. Len in RI

This place is the "real deal." Dan is a superlative guitar player in his own right, and does…read morefirst-rate repairs and setups. His prices are excellent and he keeps a stock in the store that combines the expected high-volume (!) items with some lesser known gems. There is a nicely-curated selected of used guitar amps there with some superb treasures for those with a good eye. Dan does a great job listening to what you are looking for, guiding you to the "best fit," even if it is something he doesn't stock or sell -- he has the best interest of the customer in mind. I brought Dan a vintage Fender Jazzmaster (late 1960s) that has great sentimental value for me. One of the pickups had stopped working -- it turned out to be a break in the wire deep in the windings. Instead of doing the quick fix (swapping the pickup out for a new one), he arranged to have Lindy Fralin replace just the windings, keeping it as close to the original "vintage" as possible. Not as profitable for Dan as selling me a new pickup, but it was the right thing to do for the guitar. Like I said, this place is the "real deal"!

Absolute worst customer service. Staff would not even get up from their seat to assist. Very…read moredisappointing especially when I'm planning on spending 4k on PA

My son used to take lessons there but the instructor was more interested in his IG account on his…read morephone & texting with his girlfriend so we quit. Its been a year so we thought we'd go back for lessons again but....the whole masking thing? Nah. 41 states have let the mask mandates end. 3 more are dropping them in a week. When we ALL say NO to the masks & stop supporting them, it ends. So we will never step foot into this store again. We will encourage everyone to go to the new place we found-awesome instructors, no masks and a great environment. The instructor doesn't even have his phone out-imagine that. Freedom & respect....two things you won't find at the Guitar Center!

My husband is a guitar player and so we often go to Guitar Center. The one we regularly visit is…read morethe one in Warwick. My husband often brings in some gear to sell or trade (mainly guitar pedals), and being blind can be a challenge, but everyone is always kind and patients with us. We always have a great interaction with Chip, and last time we also had a great interaction with Cook. Being able to go to a place and feel welcome, particularly as a blind person, is so important for my husband. We love going to guitar center, and appreciate the mix of used and new gear, and if there's not something there, someone can look to see if it's online or in another store. I also love the ease of being able to return an online purchase in store, making it much easier than try to ship back.

Matt with long hair who plays bass taught my husband and I a lot about the different keytars and we…read moreare so happy we came in. Another employee helped us find an adapter. Everyone here is so nice and helpful and I'm glad we have one close to the house!

My go to place for woodwind services. Roberts has maintained my saxophones for several years and…read morethey do a great job. Repairs done on short notice at very reasonable prices. Special shout out to Jamie and the entire staff for my most recent repair and adjustment to my Alto. Plays as good as new. Thank you! Highly recommend there services They go above and beyond any other store I have done business with

I can't say enough about this business. I've had multiple instruments serviced at Roberts and…read morealways get a friendly greeting from all their employees. Going back to when I was a fifth grader all the way to this year when I brought my own children into the store, the vibe is positive and cheerful. Terri was extremely helpful as I placed an order and responsive to all selections I requested. What a value this business presents either to seasoned musicians or newbies alike. Roberts is simply the best!

Well, Just-Off-Of-Main-St-Music…read more.. Great local music store...their teachers are real good with the kids...get your strings and tuneups here! I always feel welcome in here... bluegrass jam on the 3rd thursday of every month!

Great place for guitar lessons (other instruments too). Steve is a funny guy who runs a great…read moreshop. Myself and my daughter have taken lessons there. Nick is a great teacher!

mark and bill helped me get my money back with an accordion i bought that ended up being junk. they…read morewere honest about its worth and mark even took me to the citizens up the street to make a claim :)

This place is great! I've rented and purchased items from this store and every experience and…read moreinteraction I have had here has been truly wonderful. I highly recommend this store to anyone looking to purchase or rent musical instruments!

The Village Drum is AWESOME. I took in a set of Slingerlands…read moreI've been restoring for new heads and tuning. Not only did they do the work meticulously, they let me watch how they tune the drums and gave me plenty of tips on how to tune and maintain them. Their prices are incredibly reasonable; I was expecting to pay more for all that work! One of the hoops was bent so the gave me a hoop to use in the meantime until the ordered part comes in. If you loves drums. percussion, and music in general, this is the place for you. Dave Andrews

A bit out of the way, but always worth the drive. Why? …read more... 1. a treasure trove of drums & equipment 2. knowledgeable staff that can guide you to the best selection based on your needs, budget, skills, aspirations 3. friendly local owners who are passionate about supporting the local music scene 4. supporting a local small business - sure you might get a better deal on Amazon, but factor in items 1-3 and you'll quickly understand why this makes sense They got the beat!!!

I had 4 vintage guitars from my long ago playing days and I wanted to secure a future for them as…read morethey were in decent shape had sentimental value. The staff at Empire Guitars was friendly and professional and provided me with an honest assessment of their condition and value. Thanks to everyone! Mark H.

I brought in my guitar, I've been playing for about a week or two so I obviously don't know much,…read morethey took a look at my guitar and helped me fix it and are just super informative and helpful I also bought some strings and a tuner while I was there and their employees are so amazing and super friendly and it was an amazing experience in general! They also have an amazing selection of guitars, pedals, etc. I definitely will be coming back next time I need something.

Strange instruments can make…read moregreat music Two questions. The first, who is Charlies Ogle? Charlie is a maker and seller of viola da gambas. In fact the largest purveyor of viola da gambas in the country. The second question?, What exactly is a viola da gamba? The viola da gamba is a musical instrument, actually a family of musical instruments that are superficial similar in appearance if not in sound to modern strings. The bass , which is about the size of a cello is the most common and the usual solo instrument but trebles, tenors and the large violone also exist. The gambas showed up in the late 1400's, about the same time as the modern violin and cello but are not an ancestral to the modern strings. The two families seemed to have developed contemporaneously and then for some reason the gamba fell out of favorite around 1750. Some absolutely incredible music was composed for it, music that is now usually performed on modern strings. In spite of the similar appearances some important differences between the two families exist. First of all the gambas have movable frets, the modern cello has no frets. The gambas have six strings, cello four. The bow is held with an underhand grip with the gamba, over hand with the cello. The gamba also use gut strings, cello or violin occasional gut but usually synthetic strings. Gambas were usually played in families during the Renaissance but then during the Baroque the bass became the solo instrument and the smaller instruments become scarce. It's difficult to verbalize sound but the timbre of the gambas tend to be softer, less refined and more transparent than the modern strings. Well suited for the polyphony of early music, the sound becomes extremely obvious once heard. Of course you just can't walk into any music store and get a gamba, you have to find a maker. Charlie not only makes fine gambas but also Baroque violins and cellos and has a workshop in Beijing where he manages to produce fine beginner instruments at a reasonable price. Reasonable at least for a anachronistic musical instrument that virtually nobody plays anymore. Charlie also has books, bows, cases and an endless supply of extremely poor musical jokes on his website. He does not have a store but does occasionally appear at various early music shows throughout the country. I have met him numerous times and he always has been helpful and friendly. Once he spend considerable time with me explaining the best way to adjust, tune and tie the damnable frets. Other times we just talk about technique and interpretation of the the music. I purchased both a treble and tenor gamba from him and once I got over the initial difficulties of adjustment, love both instruments. Charlie is obviously not in it just for the money. So if you like music, history or better yet musical history check out his web site. Music has been around for a long time and did not always sound like it does today. Who knows, you might end up buying a gamba and start exploring the polyphonic world of centuries past. Strange instrument can make great music