A couple of Wednesdays ago, I was in the Bloor-Ossington area. I had parked in front of this Long &…read moreMcQuade for a couple of hours. I like backstories. I saw a heritage sign on Long & McQuade's building. It used to be the Concord Tavern. This tavern was open from 1948 till 1983. Back in the day, it was the hip location for artists and music lovers. The Concord hosted a bunch of talented musicians, jam sessions, and cool performances. Ronnie Hawkins and his band, which was later shortened to The Band, performed up to seven days a week at the Concord during the 1960's. Eventually, The Band joined Bob Dylan as his backing band and later became stars themselves. Pretty cool! Jack Long, a member of the Jack Long Trio, was the founder of Long & McQuade Musical Instruments. To date, it is Canada's biggest music store. He started his business in a small Toronto house on Carlton Street in 1956 and expanded to more than 90 locations in all ten provinces. Through a bit of research, I found out that Long had passed on September 4, 2024 at the age of 95. He was a jazz lover. He played the trumpet. He was appointed to the Order of Canada in 2014. Drummer Jack McQuade of this trio, who left the business in 1965, passed away in the 1970's from cancer. I don't know who the third member of this trio was. When the Concord Tavern closed down in 1983, an Irish pub took over, but eventually closed down. Long & McQuade's moved into its current location in 1988. It's fitting that a music store gave this site a new musical life. It has a massive assortment of instruments, sheet music, accessories, and more. I looked through the window. I didn't go in because I'd be there for hours and would likely buy an instrument to attempt to play. I grew up with a lot of music. We had a local music store in the Beaches that is now gone for good. My parents got me a ukelele in grade 3. When I was in grade 9, they got me a clarinet and I played it all through high school. This massive music store is my kryptonite. From guitars, to trombones, the selection of musical instruments looked impressive. I saw a girl lugging her trumpet into the store. My guess was that she was there for lessons. I don't miss hours of practicing various musical instruments growing up and likely annoying everyone who lived in my apartment building. I'm sure that they are stronger for it... haha! This store does have a few parking spots, but they are limited. It's probably best to parking on the street and shell out of parking. Maybe when I strike it rich, you'll see me getting an electric guitar from this store. I imagine annoying my neighbours in Markham playing it. (376)

Today, I created a rental account with a clerk who was perfectly helpful in getting me all the…read moreequipment I needed. The manager who approved my account application, however, left me feeling patronized. This manager asked me for the reason for my rental, where the equipment would be kept, and if I understood that my employer wont be responsible if anything goes wrong - all in what came off as a condescending tone. My partner, who has rented from this L&M on many occasions, told me that he's never been asked any of those questions any time he's been at that very same counter, even when renting far more expensive equipment than what I got today. My expectation was that, as the only other woman in the room, this manager would have offered me a bit of kindness as another woman in such a male dominated space. Instead, I was made to feel infantilized and out of place.

Gian and Johnny are two incredibly sweet guys. I've learned that finding a good luthier is like…read morefinding a good car mechanic. Difficult and highly reliant on word-of-mouth. Also, if you're female, f*cking forget it. They'll treat you like shit and you won't want to go back, ever. I had my Jazzmaster "setup" (SNARK) at two different shops and wasn't happy. I didn't want to go back to either and deal with them, either. See previous sentence about being female and blahblah. I did a bunch of reading on different guitar forums, including Guitars Canada and decided to give Gian a visit. When I brought my JM in, Johnny was working and we must have talked for about 15-20 min about the problems I was having. Constant fret buzz, the G string sounded dead and dull and too high action. He immediately found a problem others missed: frets that were too high and needed to be re-seated. My guitar was there for a little over a week. I spoke to Gian on the phone who was extremely polite, soft-spoken and chill. He explained everything that was wrong in a very non-condescending manner and because I'd done my research extensively, I knew what he was talking about, and he talked to me LIKE AN EQUAL. IMAGINE THAT. I picked up my guitar and played it in the shop for about 30 min. I had Gian tweak it a bit more that day and took it home, EXTREMELY happy with it. It was a whole new guitar! About a week later, it was exhibiting problems again, so I brought it back. Gian tweaked it at no charge to me, again! I won't bother going anywhere else and frankly, neither should you!

I brought my Strat in for a fret levelling, after about a week they call me to come in and pick it…read moreup, I give it a once over and my maple fretboard is covered in scratches! They took steel wool to my frets without even putting tape on the fretboard protect it- either he got a completely unqualified employee to do it or he did it himself and just didn't care. The weirdest part is that when I pointed it out and asked him about all these scratches on my fretboard, he denied that they even existed- then went through a strange theatrical display where he kept inputting the wrong price into the register, like 4 or 5 times, then proceeded to act so flustered and unable to deal with the situation that he told me the job was free. Amateur place, definitely avoid.

Always loved shopping here. The inventory was great and the service from the staff even better…read more Going to miss it. Bought my Yamaha electric piano and my Keytar here!

Personally I think this is one of the best first time experience of me entering a music store.. I…read morewas nervous and shy, I didnt know how to approach someone, I was just standing there for minutes looking at the guitars on the wall, suddenly a staff told me if I needed anything hes there, so yeah I had no choice so I approached him and asked if I can try out some electric guitar! I wont forget him haha he was so kind and polite, even gave me a free pick, honestly if i have thoughts on going to music shops id pick this shop everyday.. I recommend people to go here.

Just love the store, great finds, reasonable prices, and wonderful people - a Jewel in Kensington!…read more Mike G.

Sure they're nice but they're terrible at fixing guitars. They were able to give my Ibanez a…read morestandard setup and replace one of the pickups no problem but when I brought my bass in, they did basically nothing to fix it. I asked them to see if they could fix the buzzing that was happening every time I played it and fix both of the knobs which would just spin around and do nothing. When I got it back the buzz was almost worse and one of the knobs completely just screwed off (wasn't doing that before) would not recommend this place if you're wanting more than just a set up. Waste of $120.

KAOS is excellent. Extremely knowledgeable staff and they will provide solid guidance. Talk to Lou…read moreor Jay.

They did a great job restringing my 1994 Seagull guitar. Friendly and helpful. I would recommend…read morethem.

I came here recently to get my bow rehaired. I arrived around 10am on a Tuesday and the store was…read morebusy. Based on my interaction with the staff on a different day, Tuesday morning is the busiest. I mentioned that I needed my bow rehaired, so they called David down to consult. David asked if I was going anywhere soon with the bow, I assume to ensure that it's adjusted for both climates. He then asked when I needed it back. I didn't need it back for a week, but he said it would be ready in a few days. Amazing! David does the bow rehair in-house. The other luthiers that I visited in the past outsource the bow rehair and it takes a week at best to get it back. I received a call from David on Thursday asking if there was anything else that needed to be done on the bow. I mentioned that the stick has a bit of rosin dust on it and he said he usually cleans it and that the bow should be ready on Friday. I dropped by on Friday and it was ready. The bow was rehaired and the stick was clean. Bow rehairs cost $77 + tax and I thought the price was well worth the service. I also browsed through their selection of violin cases since I'm in the market. Their sales staff was very friendly and knowledgeable of the various options. I appreciated that they asked about my budget first. Unfortunately, I didn't find one that had all of the features that I was looking for in a violin case. But I appreciated that they helped out this indecisive shopper even when they were busy.

When I inherited a collection of stringed instruments I invited about 1/2 dozen experts to see the…read morecollection intending to sell all. The owner of the Sound Post came to my home to see the collection. I made a nice lamb dinner for him as I did for all the others. He was interested in some of the instruments and offered to ship containers (without my requesting them) so he could better study them. When I saw that his estimates were consistently lower than other dealers, I sold the instruments elsewhere. There was one antique Czech cello ( a Lantner) he had not seen. I inquired whether or not to ship it to him. He wanted to see it, and I shipped it off in one of the containers he had sent. Cost of shipping was not discussed. Ultimately, he was not interested in the Lantner cello and refused to return it until I paid him over $225 for shipping costs. He even threatened to charge storage fees for the instrument if I did not pay. I sent a check for the requested amount. When the cello arrived, it had been stripped off all unattached parts ( foot, bridge, strings, pegs, etc.). When I got in touch to ask for the parts, he said he would look for them. Several emails later he mentioned seeing a bag of parts in the storage room but was uncertain that they were mine. Ultimately, he has not responded to my emails and I still do not have the parts of the cello originally shipped. As to the collection, all the other antique instruments were sold to reputable dealers and musicians for higher prices than had been offered by the Sound Post. This was by far the most unpleasant experience I have ever had in dealing with a business.

I ordered a duet collection from Remenyi six months ago, which turned out to be out of print…read more Remenyi continually informed me when it was expected to arrive. I was so grateful not to be forgotten and delighted when it finally arrived. Merrilee Brand

Oh, Remenyi. How you were so good to mi! How impressed I…read morewas to comm via text (thanks again, Katie & team!) on my sitch of a score I wrongly purchased online. Then you offer to hand-deliver the correct Bach by an amiable staffer at my home, as Mike (ty!) would be nearby. Whuuut? So pleased and grateful for excellent, tech-fuelled AND human experience. Allegro to the double line. Bravi! Rick

Great repair shop. I've had all my basses set up here for years. They always sound killer. Zak is…read morevery cool and will get the job done right and quickly.

This has been my go to spot for Guitar and Amp repair. I've brought guitars and basses here to be…read moreset up and have had bass heads repaired here with new caps and switches. Zak (guitar tech) is always extremely nice and willing to help each time I've been in. The only issue I've had here is my gear might get put on the backburner, but that's only because this place gets really busy. I would suggest calling ahead to make sure they can fix your guitar or amp issues.

I have been using Paul Hahn ever since I moved to Toronto 12 years ago. Excellent service…read moremaintaining my piano. They have great technicians and they are very professional. Pricing for moving and tuning are very reasonable for such high quality work. I am glad to give them a positive review. Rest assured they are the best in the biz! Ron Sheldrick Toronto

we bought a used vintage piano here. We were told certain parts had to be restored, but I don't see…read moreany odd seams. It might as well be considered new. Piano is in good condition and makes beautiful sounds as it was originally intended. Tuning and a number of adjustment services are provided, and they can even come at night. The piano is handled by professionals who understand these instruments and know how to get beautiful sounds out of them.