I can't say enough about how great this store is. And now that they're in the new location, it's even better. I've bought, sold, and traded a ton of gear here and it's always been a great experience. The whole staff is very helpful, but not pushy. I often deal with Sam, since we're both guitar pedal aficionados. He's always eager to answer any questions or just talk about gear in general. Their inventory is very impressive, for an independent music store. And their prices are as good as the big online retailers. I don't go as often, since I moved out of the Valley. But whenever I'm out that way, I'm sure to stop by. I haven't been to every music store in Massachusetts, but this is definitely the best one I've been to. Beginner to Boutique, they have it all. read more

AVOID MILL RIVER MUSIC AT ALL COSTS - JON (the owner) HAS AN APPALLING LACK OF ATTENTION TO DETAIL. ADDITIONALLY, HE IS EXTREMELY RUDE AND DISHONEST. In the past 25 years, I have over 2500 transactions on ebay and reverb. I have left negative or neutral feedback less than one 1/2 of 1% of the time. In this case, Jon richly deserved it. Many times over. PayPal glitched my address on a Reverb Payment, resulting in Jon sending my guitar to the wrong address. This was DESPITE me giving the correct information to Julia prior to the sale AND having the correct information on file with Reverb. As soon as I saw the error, I contacted Mill River Music immediately -Julia was not there, so I had to deal with Jon. Jon acknowledged the correct information WAS provided ahead of time, that he did not talk to Julia prior sending, and that he blindly went by what PayPal provided without contacting me first to verify. (Despite my primary address of record on Reverb being the one I had provided to Julia prior.) ALL OF THIS WAS NO BIG DEAL- LIFE HAPPENS-I GET IT. However, when I contacted Jon, instead of apologizing for his oversight, and immediately correcting the situation, he was incredibly rude and insulting many times over. OVER HIS LACK OF ATTENTION TO DETAIL. There is no excuse for this deliberate lack of customer service and accountability. None. He then said he would contact Fed-Ex to reroute my guitar. HE DID NOT. Again, there is no excuse for this deliberate lack of customer service and accountability. None. Jon had several days to contact Fed-Ex prior to delivery and failed to do so. He had time to send me several obnoxious messages, but he couldn't make time to contact Fed-Ex and redirect the guitar prior to delivery. This resulted in the guitar being delivered to a high crime area and left unattended in plain view in a box labeled as a guitar. It is incredibly lucky that the new occupants were honest, retrieved it before it was stolen, held it for Fed-Ex and that Fed-Ex was ultimately able to deliver it correctly. (No thanks to Jon.) Jon never once acknowledged his lack of attention to detail with my valuable instrument, or apologized for mishandling it. IF he had, that would have been the beginning and end of it. Instead, Jon's actions have forced me to leave this review as a warning to potential customers. AVOID AT ALL COSTS. THIS IS NOT SOMEONE WHO TAKES PERSONAL OWNERSHIP, PRIDE, AND RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE GOODS AND SERVICES HE PROVIDES. AVOID AT ALL COSTS. PS: 1. to be absolutely clear, Jon waited TWO days after i reached out before he contacted Fed-Ex. 2. I have screenshots and pdfs of everything. 3. i fully expect that instead of demonstrating basic customer service and simply owning his mistakes and apologizing for them, Jon will reply to this review with more gaslighting and personal attacks. AGAIN, Avoid At ALL Costs! read more

Overpriced Ripoff Central. Worse than Guitar Center. Greedy. This place gives local business a bad name. Tons of items aren't even marked with a price tag, although they have a sale percent discount tag. You have to ask someone for help on each of those items (pedals, amps, etc) , and then that person tries to sell you a used item at New retail price and tries to justify this by saying they "haveto keep the lights on". The list of jacked up things about this store isn't worth the time. Moving on. read more

I love love love this shop. Been going to see these guys when they were at another nearby shop, and have followed them here. Always engaging, friendly and helpful. A great selection of accessories, as well as a good selection of instruments, pedals, and amps. I grabbed some strings today, and immediately fell for a pedal in the case, which they let me try out in the amp room, with a guitar that matched the character of my own rig. (They even had a vintage amp just like my big rig in the amp room to try.) They do repairs, and education here, as well. A great resource for the music community. Thanks Mill River Music! read more

A terrific store--great instruments, good people, excellent service and advice. We've had nothing but outstanding experiences here.

Great shop and staff! They fixed my vintage Silvertone and repaired the finish on my classical. excellent workmanship and customer service. These folks are great. read more

I went in to their store on my way to another reputable store. I did not know that they were there but I was very stoked when I went in. These guys know their stuff. I was greeted right away by the owners wife who asked if I needed help. She put me on to the right person. They are very knowledgeable and helped me out. Every staff member that I spoke with was very nice and attentive. I currently have my electric guitar in the shop for a set up. I plan on bringing my other electric and my Takamine Acoustic in there to have them set up them as well once my first electric is all set. They will be my go to place from now on. read more

visited their store in Oct. 17 tried couple guitars/products wanted to buy was only one in store beside 2 sales men talking shop, had friend filming me testing a guitar was ready to buy then, for half hour staff couldn't step away from shop talk to make a sale because was a female (stereotype discrimination) as left told them thank you since staff to busy talking to selves was taking my money where can get service. They lost over 500 in sales that moment, after 45 yrs in profession will not do business with them or visit store even if gave me the products interested in in as a settlement for this discrimination read more

An intimate and friendly shop with lots of gems to behold! Staff is warm, friendly, and patient. These are people who just get it. Nina was very kind and made me aware of all the options (I was looking for a twelve string acoustic) and I walked away with a very reasonably priced guitar that I absolutely love! If you are looking for an intimate place that loves guitar as much as you do, look no further. Gage and Sam were polite and helpful, and the energy of the place in general was very welcoming. Altogether a great experience! read more

Came in to have my 60s Teisco bass set up with flat wounds and some new electronics. Upon opening it up, we discovered the pick up needed to be replaced to bring it into working condition. Jeff went above and beyond to work with me and find a solution in my budget. Just picked up the bass and it's fantastic-like a whole new instrument. Amazing store-nothing like it in the valley in regards to workmanship, customer service & vibe...would recommend to anyone and everyone. read more

This is a review of my experience with the business's repair service. I took two guitars (one electric, one acoustic) for setups/adjustments, and both times I had issues with their work. The people were friendly and seemed honest, but I want to give a heads up to folks considering taking their guitars there. Summary: I think they botched both jobs, and I won't be returning. I feel bad about it - I really wanted them to be my new go-to outfit. The electric was a straightforward setup (action had gone high during the winter), and I was happy with the result until I got home and heard a new buzzing sound from the headstock area. Turns out one of the screws that holds the small truss rod cover plate was stripped and the screw was loose, allowing the plate to buzz. Looking at the screw hole, I belive it was this way when I picked it up (rather than happening after I got it home). Because it wasn't happening before the work, this unfortunately leads me to believe that the repair person might have stripped it and didn't catch that he did, or didn't take the time to correct it by filling the hole a little. I'm lucky I noticed before the screw was lost. I did the repair myself (a slice of toothpick and a dab of wood glue), and it's good now. To be fair I could have brought it back and given them a chance to make it right, but after the second guitar issue (next paragraph) I decided I was done. So for this repair, I'd say 2/5 stars. The acoustic experience was worse. I took the guitar in because one of the strings was catching at the nut. When I came in to pick it up after their call, I tried it in the store and noticed right away that the problem was still there. Not good. My thinking is they either: 1) didn't know they hadn't fixed it, 2) knew they hadn't fixed it but didn't say anything, or 3) fixed it and then it unfixed itself when in the case waiting for pickup. #3 is the most generous interpretation, but TBH a little hard to believe, for this particular issue. Still, they offered to try again, this time mentioning maybe cutting out the nut, but I decided to take it elsewhere. They were stand up about the cost by not charging me for the work (work that didn't solve the problem, to be fair). 1/5 stars. (Happy ending: there's an expert in Brattleboro that was highly recommended to me - I was initially lazy and didn't want to drive, hence taking it to Mill River - but I took the acoustic to him. He looked at it and asked if I had 10 minutes. Turns out the nut slot just needed a little shaping. $5 later I was out the door, problem solved. No cutting, just competent identifying the problem based on decades of experience and then solving it with little fuss. From now on, I drive Brattleboro for all work.) read more