Brief update: they are moving out of their current location at the end of October 2023 (they will be moving to the other side of the same shopping center, but a much smaller store). They're have a giant clearance sale and charitable fundraiser until the end of the month. More details are at the web site. read more

Lafayette Music - Storefront photo. New location November 2023. - Musical Instruments & Teachers Near Me - Lafayette, Colorado

I love this music store. Kim and Mark are kind and always willing to help. My daughter's clarinet needed repairing and she was given a loaner that she likes even better. read more

Do you want to receive damaged goods and just receive passive aggressive emails? Then this is the place. They seem to specialize in doing an abysmal job and then being rude about it. There's a reason why this page is peppered with 1 and 2 star reviews. To echo many others: "If I could give this place negative stars I would.  I have had more than one occasion where I am appalled by the way I was treated." Their online store portal offers attractive prices, but you will not receive carefully packaged product. Music scores, without exception, will arrive damaged. They ship in paper thin card board and are the only music store that does that. I wonder why? Yeah, let's pinch pennies and then let customers live with our poor decision making. That's the next part. Once you ask to replace or refund their awfully packaged goods, good luck! They first make you dance around by sending them multiple photos - as if any of this at all matters to them -, then will write rude emails back that are terse, evasive, and just downright "it's your fault, live with the damage." On top, they impose return conditions on the damaged things you just got that are actually unlawful under Colorado state law. Like: you must pay for our return shipping and if the returned goods have a scratch, we'll knock off money from the refund we give you. That's actually the exact reverse of how seller-buyer law works in Colorado and under all standard online seller platforms like Ebay and Paypal. None of the seller emails seem to be intended to be taken at face value. They are here to deter buyers from going through with a return. Why provide customers service when you don't have to, right? That's the business attitude at Lafayette Music. The seller is on record with Paypal for violating their returns policy too. Stay away. Life is too short to treat with unprofessional and rude sellers. This is not a seller having a bad day, this is a bad seller having his usual day. I pity the employees who work for this guy. read more

Mark Benassi is kind and caring. We forgot to leave an earlier review but we love this music store!

This store is really very nice. A little crowded but then they have a huge collection of music books. if they don't have a book, they order it for you and make at least several reminder calls when the books come in. They are *slow* so don't try to pick up books just before a lesson, plan ahead! That said, they are the only book store in the area! The other one that our music teacher recommends is in Lakewood! read more

This was such a cluster... where do I begin? I went to Lafayette Music to buy a violin for my daughter so she could begin lessons. Here is the cliff's notes version of what happened: 1) They measured my daughter and sold us a violin. I had to fight in order to get them to let me just pay for the darn thing as they kept trying to sell me on their payment plans. Yeesh. 2) We get to lessons to find that the violin was completely the wrong size. 3) I take back the violin and exchange it for one in the correct size, having to go through the third degree from the older lady (owner?) who acted like it was MY fault that we were sold the wrong size violin. Super uncomfortable. 4) We get home and take out the violin - my daughter barely touches one string and it snaps. Not a big deal, just annoying since I'm not thrilled about having to go BACK to the store after my previous experiences. However, when I turned the violin over I saw that there was a crack running down the middle. Seriously. 5) Call the store and the associate on duty assures me that I can go in and they will refund me since at this point I'm done and have ordered a violin from a reputable online retailer. 6) Get to the store where the older lady openly accuses me of breaking the violin (literally - I greeted her and asked if her associate had explained the situation and her response was, "Oh, you mean the violin that YOU BROKE?!) and states that she has cameras in the store and she can show me that we looked at the violin and that it was obviously fine. I said I would love to see that, which just upset her even more. She also said she wouldn't stand behind what the associate said earlier in the day because she can't be responsible for everything that happens in her store. She then continued to keep me standing at the counter and give me the third degree about anything and everything while an older man was in the back , talking on the phone about this violin. They were speaking rudely about me while I'm standing lesson than ten feet away. Eventually (literally twenty minutes of this later) he gets off the phone and says to her that it was a humidity crack and could have been missed. Like a magic wand, suddenly she's willing to refund me, except she keeps criticizing my decision to buy online and repeats over and over again that nothing that happened is their fault. It was a painful experience from start to finish and I will do everything possible to never have to go back there. read more

We went in to get a cork on my clarinet repaired, and the younger guy at the desk was very nice and accommodating. He gave us the slip with the info on it, but had forgotten to put the cost estimate, but called my mom a few minutes after we had left to give us a quote of $20 (which is about what we were expecting). When we went in to pick it up, we found out that the repair was going to be $48 because the repair person had done 2 or 3 extra things that we didn't ask for, consent to, or agree to pay for. When my mom said that we hadn't agreed to pay for this, Mark (the owner) came over and treated us (and his employees, for that matter) horribly. (We later figured out that the reason my clarinet had gotten these extra repairs was because it was written on the slip that my clarinet was insured, in which case these repairs would be paid for, but that was not the case. This was a simple mistake that could have been fixed if the repair person had called us to ask if we wanted these extra repairs, and we could have clarified that we didn't ask for them or need them.) Mark then protested vehemently that a cork replacement would be way more than $20 anyway, so my mom finally offered to pay $25, which Mark bitterly agreed to. It seemed like there was no set price for a cork repair, which there should be, and Mark seemed to just want to get as much money out of my mom as he could. read more

I really want to like this store more. I think the selection is pretty good, but there is a aura of non-friendly customer service. I would recommend craigslist or other venues for finding a used instrument for a beginner. The payment plan is probably a good option if you were planning on spending the cost that the instruments sell for. Just be aware, that it is a payment plan and not a "rental service". As much as I want to support a local business, the music store does not have a friendly vibe that encourages me to return. Personally, if given a choice, I prefer ordering music online. Their new location is definitely an improvement - much more spacious and not nearly as claustrophobic as their previous one. read more

Lafayette Music is a gem of a store. The new location (on the backside of the plaza) is a little hard to find, but just drive around til you get there. We started with Lafayette Music 6 years ago when my daughter asked to play violin in pre-school. Lafayette Music got us started on a rental with no long-term contract. Since then we've been thru a number of violin trade-ins as she's grown; each transaction has been a great experience. A couple years ago, my son began trombone and Lafayette Music was right there with great instruments for fair prices. Every time we've been able to use trade-in credit from previous instruments to help us with the next one. At this point we own a violin and trombone, and are now starting with percussion. The owner, Mark, is honest & fair. I enjoy working with him on the larger transactions. The other staff is helpful too, and there has been multiple occasions when we've needed a string fixed on the same day as a recital, and whoever is at the front desk is able to take care of us with a smile. We've enjoyed the insurance plan too, and have used it on both instruments at different times with positive results. There is no doubt that Lafayette Music is the best local choice for instrument rental and accessories. read more

We're lucky to have such good locally owned music stores in our area. Lafayette Music is a great one. They have an impressively wide selection of print music and instruments for such a small shop. They also offer a wonderfully flexible instrument rental program. As a multi-instrumentalist and teacher, I've been a long-time customer, and they've helped me in so many ways, and have always impressed me with their desire to do right by their community. I think the owners had been through quite an ordeal with their previous landlord situation. The new location is much smaller than their previous store, but I'm glad to see them in a fresh new location with a bright future ahead. read more

If I could give this place negative stars I would. I have had more than one occasion, in person where I am appalled by the way I was treated. Not only me, but my own mother and children. I won't go into all of the details of what happened with the instrument, but I was just trying to figure out a piccolo that wasn't working that was purchased new. It was an expensive instrument and we wanted to figure out the problem so my daughter could audition for All-State orchestra/band and CU Honor Band. My daughter was told it was probably her playing, screamed at her and brought her to complete tears. The man screamed multiple times, "What do you want from me?" He also cursed at us. I remained calm, as I have three older kids' who can attest and my husband who was listening on the phone. I said I'd like for my daughter not to be crying right now. He looked at her and screamed, "Stop crying!" I kept saying I just want to make things right here with an instrument that isn't working. His wife told me that if her husband had another heart attack that I'd be responsible. They wouldn't let us explain ourselves calmly without interrupting and yelling at us again. In the end, we walked out with a different piccolo, and were told there are no returns and they don't ever want to see us again. Obviously people don't know me who are reading this. This is a "their word against mine." The difference is I have three kids on one occasion and my mom on another, who witnessed this. The only reviews I've ever written are places I've loved. I just felt that people should know to stay as far away from this place as possible. read more

I ordered a Peak music stand for iPad online, and received it. Wonderful product, and great customer service. There was a small problem with the box being damaged, but they corrected the problem and made it right. Things always can't go perfectly, but when they don't, excellent customer service and nice folks are really appreciated. I highly recommend Lafayette Music! I would shop there again! Best prices too! read more

Saw a guitar on their website that I wanted. When I called, I was told that they didnt have any in stock. When I explained that I could order it from a number of online sites but I would prefer to spend my money locally, they reluctantly offered to order one, but they would have to wait until they "had a big order". Not very good customer service. I ordered it from an online site. I guess I'll go back for smaller things, but the whole experience left me grumpy. read more

Very poor customer service. Price quoted on the phone totally different from what they said at the store and they were not interested in making it right. Suggested I had called a store in Louisiana by the same name. Please...i think I know a Colorado area code when I see one! I had done my due diligence, calling several denver area stores about the cost of a short term rental. Was quoted two prices by Lafayette music depending on the level of instrument. I drove 15 miles out of my way because they were so reasonable. Besides not trying to work with me or come to some compromise they were exceedingly rude. I would drive out of my way to avoid this store. read more

I came across this store while looking for an authorized Alvarez dealer. There was a new Alvarez guitar that I wanted to try out, but I couldn't find it at Guitar Center or any of the other (closer) stores (I live in Aurora, so this store is quite a distance from me). When I arrived, they had the guitar there as promised, but they had just settled in a new location, a large store, and it seems that they were having trouble maintaining the proper humidity at the new location, as the guitar they had in stock was cracked from dryness, so I didn't buy it. I hated to waste such a long trip though, so I looked at some other guitars, and i came across an expensive Alvarez Yairi (the handmade, high-end Alvarez model line) that I loved. The owner negotiated a deal (including a trade in and a payment plan) that was agreeable to me, and when I needed him to work with me on the scheduled timing of the payments, he was totally cool about it. My experience with them was that while there were some humidity issues that I assume they have since taken care of (this was two years ago, after all, and they were still settling into the location), and they were expensive, they were more than happy to work on the humidity issues (they sent my guitar to their luthier for a thorough inspection, as it was a little dry, and the luthier, some guy in Boulder whose name I forget, was really helpful to me), and while the price for the Yairi was high, they gave me retail value on my trade in despite having some bridge work done on it, and they worked out a payment plan that made the purchase relatively painless, so I would have to say that they were honest and fair with me throughout the entire, two-year buying process. I wouldn't have any qualms about patronizing them again if there were some reason that I couldn't buy what I needed in the Denver area. read more

Buyer Beware. The Owners of Lafayette Music in Lafayette, Colorado do not sell quality instruments. When you are buying your first instrument for your child they count on the fact that you do not know a quality instrument, from a broken instrument. Then if you point out to them that they sold you a broken instrument they will blame you for breaking it. We bought a broken clarinet and when I brought it to their attention they accuse me of breaking it, having it repaired and then bringing it in to have them replace it. Why would I have it repaired if I wanted to return it? That makes no sense at all. Then they yelled at me for accusing them of knowingly selling instruments that were broken and threatened me and told me to leave the store of they would call the police to have me removed. Interesting business practices to say the least. There are many reputable and fine music stores who sell quality instruments. Don't risk getting a defective one from these folks. read more

I can't comment on the quality of their instruments but I can on their total lack of customer service. I came by to check out their clarinets and rental program and the first young man I deal with was like talking to a post, he offered very little information about anything in the store. I was told they run a credit check and I fully know I have poor credit but thought I would try anyways. Then a middle aged gentleman came out to elaborate on how awful my credit was and how in certain situations they work with people but this was not one of those situations. He then said he did not know what else to say to me and I told him he could have just said no. It was only after that when he noticed I was a bit upset did he explain that they may have some used instruments and told me about a few other places to try, I believe he was completely ignorant to the fact that I was upset about how he treated me. Even if I had the money to purchase a used instrument I would not have given them the business. I have found several other stores in the Boulder area that have rental programs that do not include credit c checks. I'm a department manager at a large grocery chain here in Colorado, I work in an area where a lot of people are on government assistance and I can tell you I would never treat anyone the way I was treat at Lafayette Music. I will never recommend them to anyone! read more