I've bought several instruments here over the years including a piano, guitars and several ukuleles…read moreas well as several mics and mixers. The staff are knowledgeable and friendly. They are always getting new gear and have quite a few instructors on staff. I've been in quite a few instrument stores in various parts of the country and Sound Source is one of my favorites.

The staff were incredibly patronizing, and seemed like they didn't really want to sell anything…read more The prices were high, anyway. You can find much better deals elsewhere.

Never been in the shop and I'm not a musician; however, my grandson wanted a guitar for his…read morebirthday. I entered and was amazed with the amount of stock they carried in what seemed to be such a little store. I told the man, my grandson will be 10 and wants a guitar. I don't want to buy a "toy", but I also don't want to invest a large amount of money until I'm sure he wants to pursue this path. He led me to the perfect guitar for him, and it was reasonably priced. I'm very happy with the purchase and hope my grandson becomes the next Keith Urban! ;)

Owner was nice but the little short fat guy behind the counter was a real jerk. Like little man…read moresyndrome he said crap under his breath but clear enough for me to hear . I went to return to use pedal that I needed in a pinch to play at church and he told me it wasn't Walmart. I won't be back and I'll buy my things from Sweetwater or guitar center or any other place in the world.

My Daughter & I popped into the store on a whim on February 21st, 2026. The store looks quite a bit…read moredifferent than when I last saw it 5 years ago. There was a varied selection of instruments, but we spent all of our time this time looking at the electric guitars. We were quickly greeted by their tech, Derrick, and another salesman that made frequent check-ins to see how things were going. Derrick did tell me that their selection of guitars had recently gone up quite a bit. We ended up making an unplanned guitar purchase and we left happy. I saw the old reviews, and I would suggest that people give The Music Shoppe another look because things change, sometimes for the better.

Top notch customer service and great selection at good prices…read more My daughter plays trumpet and has been taking lessons with Chris Moors at the Music Shoppe for a couple years now - it's really paid off and we've seen her develop her skills and perform with confidence in band and in jazz band! Every time we visit the shop for something or need help with her trumpet they have the parts and service that we need - a couple years ago I lost a small important part for the trumpet and when we went to the store to ask for help they went above and beyond and gave us the part we needed for free. We didn't even buy her trumpet there so this was awesome customer service. They carry a complete selection of musical instruments, sheet music, accessories, and offer music lessons for all ages of students. I highly recommend this store!

Accidentally walked past the entrance while looking for it and an employee came outside to call me…read moreover which I'm very thankful for! I called beforehand and they were very professional. They replaced my guitar strings in no time and now my guitar sounds amazing again. The staff was very nice and the shop was well kept and hospitable.

Love this place! Very knowledgeable and reasonable prices! Very happy with my Epiphone Explorer…read more They have also set up an acoustic-electric bass that I bought secondhand, and it sounds perfect after having been neglected for years.

FYI. Linda retired. This shop has been closed for several years. They were good though.read more

I can't say enough good....GREAT things about this music store and the people who work there !!…read moreHugh,in particular is a friend,a great guy,a musician and a VERY knowledgeable gentleman !! I highly recommend this wonderful place to anyone who desires top notch gear and service !!

I have been wanting to buy my first guitar after practicing on a borrowed for some time now. I have…read morebeen researching guitars online and thought I had figured out what I wanted, but after spending some time in the store I realized I was way off base! From the moment I walked in, Aaron was very helpful. I explained my situation and he listened patiently (like I am sure he does with every new player) before walking me over to the acoustic room. Aaron started pulling guitars off the wall and left me to play on my own (good for me as my only audience has ever been my dogs, even the wife won't stay in the room for more than 5min). Aaron would come back every once in awhile to check on me and pull some more down to try out (including what seemed to be the most expensive guitars in the acoustic room). Before going in I thought I needed to buy a Martin and spend at least $600 to get a guitar I would like, but all I can think about after being there is the $250 Yamaha that sounded great to my ears. Who knew spending some time in a store could save you money. Thanks for the help Aaron! Hope this review is fair trade for not buying anything. Though I wish I had bought that pic you let me use - that was definitely a new experience.

Just had a great visit here. Had to take my guitar in to deal with a small problem and was afraid…read morethey'd recommend a set up, which can be pretty expensive. Instead, the technician (Geoff) said he'd take a look at it and fix it free of charge. On top of that, he was friendly, knowledgeable, and just a nice guy.

We purchased my dream piano here about a decade ago after two years of shopping between Chicago and…read moreCarmel. In the following years, Northside has proved they have no desire to maintain quality service, hold to any professionalism or attention to detail, nor any attempt at remedying serious flaws even after my rather pointed Google review, which added up more likes than over 1000 other reviews I've done; seems to me this place takes full advantage of customers. This is too obvious in Northside getting most of their negative Google reviews removed. How could any business go for ignoring legitimate complaints rather than responding and proving their goals to improve? It is beyond me. But I digress. We paid very handsomely for a Kawaii K50E Anniversary Edition studio upright. It is still a beauty! Cannot fault the Japanese as the world's greatest craftsman but I certainly can Northside for their full failure to keep to any warranty needs and hilarious mess in tuning services. The first winter as the air dried out, two treble clef keys started making quite audible strained cracking noises during play. I took to Northside's polite pawn sent over still went behind the ears. After she did things and worked the other keys, she admitted she did not know how to fix the issues. Well maybe I'm too aggressive for basic customer support on expensive goods but it felt odd to pay for an incomplete job yet we did, reminded Northside to please send out a capable human for the next tune to sort out the odd tink noises. To this day I can't fathom why you'd rave about what an amazing piano you just sold me and months later send out your tuning tyke who is not trained for the very piano you championed! Here's where it gets good, we were informed we could not use another tuning service in order to maintain the factory warranty through Northside. At the same time, they mentioned then would, then never did use the warranty when the gold finish rubbed off on a pedal. I believe what happened there was good ole fashioned blackmail: you casually threaten loss of services for which there's no intention to provide anyway. The next tuning, guess who showed up? Another high schooler. Finally the third time the actual owner partner guy appears and ruffles all his feathers talking nonstop and spouting salesman's odes to intellect: still did not fix the issues. The next winter my keys were super annoying again which can be heard in my YouTube videos. Let's take a break, because there might be some excuse for my woes if the store experience offered any redeeming charm. Yet take a stop by this State Street downtown house store with the forever "sale" sign stuck out front, trot up the steps and note there's a regulated entry. It is locked. Ring the bell and wait, sometimes quite a while, the maid eventually opens the door. I was actually asked one time "what do you want?" Like really? "Oh I'm sorry I'd like a Strawberry Frosty! Wait, isn't this Wendy's?" What a joke. I can confirm the afforementioned deleted negative reviews are still true. The people here do not seem in touch with general consumer moods or willing to provide experienced responses. Need a keyboard or piano? Try any other store, eBay, Meridian Music, Craigslist, Facebook marketplace, all easier to deal with than Northside. It feels a little guilty putting down a local business; but after a decade of sneaky games and pompous nonsense this feels right on. I highly recommend Kevin Cooney for tuning. He showed up and diagnosed my troubled treble keys and mended them without any obnoxious attitude. I waited for Northside to fix their own piano they sold me for a decade and some local guy named Kevin did it in forty minutes.

I called northside music co. to remove a piano I got saddled with by the previous tenant of our…read morehome. The movers they sent were very professional and careful of the walls and floors, leaving no damage. They were available when I needed them and were reasonably priced. I would call them again.

I am an adult learner who decided to take ukele lessons. Bill Kirby has been my instructor and he…read morehas been amazing. The half hour lesson flies by! Bill is great at finding music I enjoy playing. I couldn't be happier with my choice to take lessons here at Champaign School of music!

My son has been taking guitar here for, gosh, at least two years. His progress has been great, and…read morejust as importantly, my son likes going to lessons very much. Bob, his teacher, is a mellow and talented guy, happy to follow my son's lead. Consequently, they started out learning different riffs and songs, and gradually Bob got my son to appreciate the importance of scales. So now I also hear him playing scales. It's a real joy to hear him playing his electric guitar even late into the night because it sounds so good.

I called today to ask about get the action on my guitar lowered. Keep in mind that I am a beginner…read moreand know very little about this stuff. The person who answered the phone was far from helpful. He was condescending and rude and ultimately did not answer my questions. Instead, he cackled when I asked clarifying questions and responded with sarcastic answers. I will NOT be taking my business here and did not appreciate the customer service or lack thereof.

I love Corson Music! The staff is always friendly and helpful. I've bought two guitars from this…read morelocation and two from the location in Champaign, my experience has always been great! Their prices are very competetive- matching the big online music retailers. They have a very good variety of instruments and a pretty decent variety of accessories and amps. My only complaint is that they don't have much in the way of sheet music/song books. If you're looking to pick up a guitar or bass I strongly recommend checking out Corson!

I've been a member for 5 years and was told I needed to pay an additional $25 to renew my…read moremembership because my membership was past due by 12 days. I happened to be out of town. I was told no exceptions. so I walked away from this so called "family place" and they walked away from over $700.00. Think twice before donating ANY money to this "non-profit". maybe the YMCA doesn't believe in being profitable because they don't have to worry about the bottom line. In addition, the turnover in their childcare area is puzzling. My child's 3 favorite young female employees were let go or quit. Be careful who is watching your children. What a sad, sad place.

I have been a member of the Refinery for several years, however my mother convinced me to try out a…read moregroup workout class at the y. In order to use the gym I had to sign a waiver and i understand why. The group workout class was so humid, not only was it uncomfortable, the floor was slick. Apparently it's been like that for weeks and the y does not intend to fix the problem. Seems like a nice facility, but for group workouts, I recommend Refinery!