Great local, family-run music shop. Martin is super personable and really knows his stuff -- he can…read moretell you everything about the instruments and gear they carry. Ask if you don't see exactly what you're looking for -- they've got lots of stock that's not on the floor! We bought my son's drum kit at Tempo -- it's a great beginner setup, and they even upgraded the snare to a Taye and threw in an extra cymbal stand at no extra charge. It's nice to feel appreciated as returning customers. My son takes drum lessons and I take guitar lessons here. Sherman is an excellent teacher -- talented, patient, and just an all-around great person. Barry is an awesome drum instructor too; both have decades of experience and have toured with award-winning and famous musicians, which really shows in their playing and teaching. Highly recommend Tempo if you're looking for a friendly, knowledgeable, and down-to-earth place to buy instruments or take lessons.

Just got me Iorio accordion back after over two months…read more The accordion suddenly did not have Bass sound when the Registration button was on. It was sent for repair because Martin the proprietor said he could repair the problem and had all the parts. After two months Martin said it was ready and we travelled to Victoria from Vancouver to collect it. Martin then played on it for about 2 mins and as he said he had to leave by 2.30 I forgot to check if the repair for the Registration Bass was completed. He and his technician said everything was completely checked repaired and it should last another 40 years! And I trusted them. I paid $645 and left to the Ferry for Vancouver and on arriving home and hooking up the accordion found the problem was NOT REPAIRED at all. NO BASS WHEN REGISTRATION BUTTON IS ON. I shall be seeking refund for this and possible legal action if not settled. So please be very careful when dealing with this place.

As someone who wrote themselves off as a musician around the time they quit piano lessons as a kid,…read moreI was a bit nervous about getting into the ukulele at age 41. I needn't have worried. I am seriously impressed with the excellence of instruction I am receiving at South Island Music Studio. I actually enjoy learning music theory and discussing the details of performing and songwriting with my knowledgeable and enthusiastic instructor. Practicing and doing recommended homework is not the chore it once was. You can tell when someone loves what they do, and all of the staff I have met at South Island Studio sincerely love music and teaching. Even when my instructor was sick, the instructor who covered for him held an in-depth conversation with me about the function and meaning of musical timing within a piece. I highly recommend this school for anybody of any age who would like to learn music.

Both of my children really enjoyed their piano lessons at South Island Studio. The instructors were…read morecalm and patient and adjusted their teaching style to the individual characteristics of my kids. My son preferred to play by ear and the teachers at South Island helped him to develop this talent to the point where he now writes and arranges his own music. My daughter, on the other hand, was anxious about the entire idea of taking lessons. Her teacher had such a gentle and fun way about him that after a few weeks of lessons, we never had to remind her to practice and she never wanted to miss a lesson. South Island Studio inspires kids toward a love of music! Now that we have moved away from Victoria we will be hard-pressed to find teachers of this caliber.

After seeing the photos and receiving our complaint message via e-mail, Keith Allison decided to…read morecome to our place to solve the problem himself. The tuning-up task is now complete. It is important to listen to each customer's complaint and try to solve the problem honestly.

I had a terrible experience with Allison Piano recently. I…read moreasked for a complete refinish, and an acoustic refurbishment which they said they would do, but all they did was polish the piano, which I could have done myself, and glue on one small piece of badly-matched veneer. They did replace the keytops as promised, but they replaced the chipped ivorene keys with slippery white plastic instead of with the promised ivorene that was previously on the keyboard. The keys look good, but the feel is slippery and the look is not as nice as the ivorene that was there before. There was a large dent in the front, and they promised they would replace the entire piece of wood. But all they did was badly fill the hole in the front board and then did a very poor job of the finish on top of it, so now it has a very obvious large bumpy mark there, in a different color than the rest of the piano. They promised to work on the sound and key action, and tune it. They said that did this work. However, the keys sounded as dead as the day I requested the work. As well, the keys were all way out of tune. The action was abysmal and when I checked the felts they hadn't even sanded out the grooves, so the keys did not recover as they should. They unhooked the damper pedal and didn't reconnect it. They were supposed to fix the piano bench by replacing the hinge with the proper piano hinge, but they just stuck a wire in the existing hinge. They also actually damaged the bench, it has dents all the way around the top as if they were storing it in some strange way with wires wrapping the top shut and cutting into the wood. They made no attempt to repair the damage. On top of not doing the promised work, they delayed the work constantly. They promised to start work on it within three weeks of the initial estimates, but it took nearly 2 months and several calls before they moved the piano out to work on it. After picking up the piano and saying it would take two weeks and that the work would start in two weeks, the piano didn't get back to me for four months. I would not recommend their services. Just awful. The worst thing was if they had been honest in the first place I might have given them a positive review to say that they were honest that they could not possibly refinish the piano in the way I requested. And then I would have done the work myself or asked someone else to do it. But they led me to believe that they would restore it to top condition just to get the money for doing nothing. Just makes me really sad.