I visited this place a month or two ago while up in Evanston. It's a great little shop! As James…read moresaid, it feels like a place that you would find in a small town. They have a love of real folk music. They carry a fantatsic selection of guitars, and are glad to let you have a test run. A friend plays the hammered dulcimer, and they let him play for at least a half hour, trying out the instrument and different hammers. The store mainly caters to instrumentalists, though there is also a few folios of vocal music. I was able to find a nice collection of great Christmas carols, some well-known and some a little less popular. If you love music and are curious about music and instruments that the common people would play, this is a great store to explore.

I had the owner set up an older used Larivee that I bought from another Evanston guitar shop where…read moreI was told it couldn't be set better than it was. Hogseye turned a good guitar into a great one for relatively little money.

We are so fortunate to have found etc music school!! Mike O'Mara is a phenomenal teacher. My…read moredaughter takes private lessons and is also in the choir. The school community is wonderful. My daughter absolutely loves the other kids. In her words: "They are welcoming and open." I personally love the choir because they tackle incredible music. Mike does terrific arrangements of a variety of music from modern to classical. When I pick up my daughter after choir practice the room is alive...there's a buzz in the air. We are a family of musicians and we have nothing but the upmost respect for Mike and his establishment. Top notch.

From the owner: etc. Music School is a new kind of music and theatrical training experience dedicated to…read morecollaboration, team-learning, and confidence-building through affirming, creative training that respects and celebrates each student! In addition to offering theater classes for students of all ages, etc. also offers private lessons in Piano, Flute, Voice, Violin, Viola, Guitar, and Music Composition.

Our 9-year-old had a great time taking lessons here. The staff have always been enthusiastic and…read morewelcoming. The guitar instructor, Andrew, is really great at teaching to our child and getting our kid excited about music. Would recommend!

I work at Evanston Rocks, where School of Rock performs a lot. I just wanted to let everyone know…read morethat it brings me such joy to see younger people playing instruments and the music from generations before even I was born. I tried really hard not to cry through out the whole performance, but the closing solo during Hotel California got me. Keep on Rocking!

It's my luck to have found Dave to become my jazz guitar teacher. He's friendly and resourceful,…read moreand very easy to work with. Dave is both a great listener and instructor. He cares about what I'm interested in and what I want to achieve. He took efforts to learn about me, and customized the lesson based on my strength and weakness to foster my growth in guitar playing. Dave has consistently been able to give me valuable advises in each class. He delivers his ideas clearly and right to the point. His demonstration is succinct but powerful. I have never seen him indulged in his own playing during our session. During my study with Dave, I have built a strong foundation on fretboard knowledge, ear training, and techniques which eventually led me to become able to improvise. The most valuable thing I have learned from Dave is to keep developing my ear. As a pro, David Dorsett has built a great musicianship in his career. His lesson reflects that, and it has a huge impact on me. He illustrated to me what a person with a killer relative pitch can do, and MAN!, how enjoyable it is! Now that I'm advancing and getting faster at discerning chords and intervals, I'm not only getting better at playing, I can also hear more complicated melodies singing in my inner ear all the time. And surprisingly, the joy of listening to jazz or classical music (or any other high information music) explodes as my ear and brain can process more subtleties on the fly. Besides teaching, Dave is such a great friend I have made. I found Dave through Yelp, which redirected me to his personal website. The first time I saw Dave's profile image, I was a little bit nervous to call, because he seems, meh, kinda serious on the image -- and you know, the mustache... But heck no, he's so nice in real person, and has always made me feel at home. He's so kind that he even offers to drop me off to the nearest Purple Line station when he is available. Surprisingly, Dave even knows a little bit about Chinese language and culture, and we talk about food a lot. I'm glad that I have chosen Dave as my guitar teacher.

I am a songwriter who leads an indie rock band in the Chicago area, and wanted to improve my guitar…read moreplaying (I'm a solid rhythm guitarist, but wanted to step up my playing). Dave was recommended to me by a couple of folks in Evanston, where I live. Dave is one of the more knowledgeable guitar teachers you will find. He is proficient in several styles, and is a master tactician who actually knows how to teach. He's also very well versed in theory, and knows how to communicate it clearly. Whether you are a beginner, or have some experience and want to improve, I would highly recommend Dave Dorsett.

I took violin lessons here for about ten years. I'm surprised this place is still around. They've…read morebeen in business a very long time. I met a lot of cool and talented people here. Mr Trombone was the owner and I think he still is. Fitting his name.. right! I had the same teacher for most of that decade. Man, she was a bitch. Mean and wicked. Middle aged Russian lady. Used to talk shit to me constantly, tell me my fingers were too fat for the Violin. Shit. She was fat, too fat to sit properly in a folding chair. Aside from 1/2 hour practice sessions with that fat old bitch, I looked forward to the group practice sessions. Kind of like a mini orchestra. I think Mr Trombone headed those. They were a lot of fun. You are wondering why I give this place four stars and also bitch hunted my old teacher? All the other experiences at the Music house were fun. When that bitch was ill or out of town, I got to have the nurturing teachers that taught with respect . Occasionally I think I got lessons from Mr Trombone, he was a nice guy. It was the lesson training here that prompted my success in H.S. I went on to play Concert Orch for a few more years. The Music house is a great place to get you started. Parents if you are reading this. Do me a favor. 30 minutes of daily practice is enough. Especially if you are making your kid go for "their benefit." When I was in elementary school, Music House offered practice sessions available during your kids lunch break at their elementary school. DON'T ruin their lunch with more practice! How many games of kick ball missed, just to sit with that rude teacher I had. (Oh yeah, listen to your kids. Some teachers are awesome at their trade, they can really help your kid excel. While few other teachers are assholes. Some use negative treatment hoping it will make your kid better. It doesn't) The Music House offers sales on musical equipment and their accessories. As well as lessons. Whether you need lessons or not, you can also choose to rent an instrument instead of buying.

I recommend Music House for singers of all abilities & ages. I'm a senior who has been singing &…read moreperforming most of my life. I've studied voice with 2 other wonderful teachers. My Music House teacher - Ms. Lily - is a gem! She is always patient & encouraging. She has a way of explaining vocal technique that is easy to understand & follow. When I bring in songs that I'm working on elsewhere, she always breathes new life into my practice. If you want to begin or advance your singing, I very much recommend Music House.

We are truly loving working with Martin Metzger. Our 12-year old son looks forward to his lessons…read moreand is excited to play the music he and Martin choose together. Martin strongly believes in allowing kids to follow their interests, and has the talent, interest, and patience to help them do so in a wide range of genres. Martin is knowledgeable and dedicated both as a musician and as an educator. We travel a bit of a distance for lessons and are convinced it's well worth our time. We recommend him highly to anyone at any age looking for a great guitar instructor.

Choosing the Metzger Music Studio has truly been one of the best decisions of my and my wife's…read morelives! Our daughter goes to Martin for guitar lessons and I fear I may not be able to convey here just how amazing he is and what his instruction has meant for our daughter as a musician! I would recommend Martin and his crew any day! We wanted to get our girl started on guitar very early, only because she was exhibiting an affinity toward music and guitar that got us thinking it wouldn't hurt to try her at guitar, so we contacted Martin. He readily welcomed the notion of trialing and the rest is history. Besides being a phenomenal guitarist, his being an amazing person and having a Masters in Education have both manifested in the amazing way in which Martin teaches our girl to play the guitar. He works with her at her own pace, taking cues from how she learns in order to tailor his instructions to suit her learning, all the while making the lessons equal parts guitar and fun, entertaining our girl's every whim to be jovial and enjoy learning the guitar. He shows her the utmost respect and teaches her in a way that has inspired her to look up to flamenco legends. For her age, that level of aspiration itself is awe-inspiring and the credit goes to Martin. He doubles down on skills that our girl is good at while helping her elevate those she needs more work on, from strumming to chords to rhythms to percussion to improvising. We love his holistic approach of teaching the pupil to actually feel music and rhythm rather than just to learn to play the guitar. His methods have resulted in wonders! We have been fortunate to witness moments of our girl's performance that have impressed even Martin. That is the level of quality of instruction one can expect from Martin. He stresses on practicing, practicing and practicing some more. He also encourages playing at recitals that he arranges for his students, which is a great way for the student to be inspired and be audience-ready. He has also started our girl on sight reading, which is helping her to learn to play the guitar while reading music. I would characterize Martin's overall approach as informed (no unnecessary attachments to old or new methods just for the sake of it), inspiring, feedback-loop-based, very disciplined and simply amazing! And his guitar skills? Incredible! Let me put it this way, we have considered migrating to a warmer climate and one of the top considerations that have kept us in Chicago is that we don't want to lose Martin as our friend and our daughter's guitar teacher. And he's been a great friend to our daughter too. There are great guitar teachers everywhere, but there's only one Martin. Our girl's weekly guitar lesson is one of the highlights of her week that she looks forward to. It is a joy to see her learn to play the guitar and have the time of her life while at it! As for the rest of his studio, Martin has 16 teachers on every instrument (and even voice) who travel to people's homes for lessons, which is convenient for many families. The teachers are well-educated, passionate about their instruments and art, and they are wonderful with children. As I alluded to earlier, the studio also puts on three recitals free of charge every year! I only give online reviews when I feel the recipient absolutely deserves it and reviewing Martin and his studio was a no-brainer! I wholeheartedly recommend the Metzger Music Studio for any potential student interested in developing a lifetime love for learning music!

I'm going to give them a great review…read more As with service providers that are used over a period of time, results are uneven. What I value is a record of quality service on the overall. That's actually ahead of the game in this world. I initially found them looking for a shop that would route a guitar for a Floyd. They must be one of the few in the US who actually do the service. That's how I came to know of the business. Over time I have brought maybe...7? jobs to them. I use different guitar repair stores in the Milwaukee area for different things. I am very picky, so the "tougher" jobs end up with Third Coast. The most involved were having an old HM Strat Plek'd and a Dean V routed for a Floyd. They even transformed my LP Custom from a guitar that didn't stay in tune, to one that stays remarkably in tune. I would say the Owner Chris is confident and opinionated. AKA is knowledgeable. All great service providers are like this in my opinion. I have had much better luck going with people who do things the way they know how to do, them instead of chasing too much to please. He has also been very openly informative and has said a couple of key things that I have used going forward. I really have a very high recommendation for these guys. If it's a big job, this isn't Amazon. There are wait times. It's just part of the deal. I have had a few one day turn arounds. And the Floyd route took a while. But it was done right to spec. Dead on. The staff is excellent. I have had different guys work on different things to great results. They know what the F they're doing. It's why I drive down from the northern Milwaukee suburbs.

Thanks guys for my Peavy guitar amp repair! I've been a past customer and now that I'm back in the…read morearea I'll have a great repair shop to take care of all my musical equipment needs and servicing. And friendly staff too!

the very best guitar shop I have ever dealt with ! and I've been around and had many other places…read moreto compare to. Paul and his people are superb. I couldn't be happier. honest people with fair prices and perfect service. you can't say more than that. Susan from Prescott Az

If you are looking for a Taylor or Martin guitar, you will not need to shop anywhere else! The…read moreprices are comparable to other shops, and the guitar selection is optimal! What stands out is the customer service. You will not find better assistance than what the Tobias gentlemen will give you here! You are never pressured to buy anything. It's quite the opposite, they help you find out which guitar is a fit for you! I stopped here to help a friend choose a guitar, and I ended up going home with a Tobias exclusive Taylor American Dream! There is a nice selection of Martin's here as well, but the Taylor room feels like you are in Valhalla! If you like Taylor guitars, you will not be able to resist trying out a guitar in this room! If you are just shopping and are new to guitars, stop in. Mr Tobias will be more than happy to answer anything you throw at him! The assistant, Taylor, is very friendly and can help as well! I highly recommend stopping in on your guitar journey!