The Volkwein's "Tom's Pad" is easily the best drum pad i've ever used, and likely the best in existence. It has the most accurate bounce/feel, and its tone changes when you play on different areas and/or play at different volumes, just as a real drum would. It fits onto a cymbal stand, and is virtually unbreakable. I have not been to this store I feel the need to express that this product is absolutely exceptional because these folks make it. read more

Very knowledgeable and experienced Instrument repair department. Friendly and helpful.

The store is very quiet but there is music playing. We were greeted when we walked in by a lady at the center desk area. There are many instruments and accessories to go along with them. You can probably find whatever you are looking for here. My mother and I had to pick up my sisters instrument from the repair center and they were very kind. He opened the case to show what they needed to fix and asked if I would like to try it out. The workers are sweet and knowledgeable and the selection is huge. read more

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I consider myself an old timer in the field of used quality woodwind instruments. The problem I faced , was the extensive repair I had to incur, in order to have my precious instruments overhauled. All my problems , prayers were answered after I met Mike Hollis. A craftsman, an artisan who blends his technical knowledge, with a high degree of aesthetical standards, for a very reasonable price. I found Volkweins musics prices to be far less expensive than the once I incurred in the Bay Area. read more

Volkwein's is a great place to go for sheet music and instrument sales and rentals. I don't think anyone beats them on their instrument sales in terms of quality and price. They also have options to rent to own. The sheet music is sometimes hard to find, so you may need some help from the staff. There are rows and rows of filing cabinets, and an excellent inventory of music. They are well stocked in terms of accessories, such as strings, mutes, music stands, etc. They have plenty of parking in a private lot. The salespeople are rather helpful and knowledgeable, but sometimes you need to ask for help or advice. It's a large store, and sometimes I've noticed I need to walk up to the desk and ask for help. read more

Fast, friendly and affordable. I was able to get my daughter's violin restrung while I waited for about $5. If you aren't from the area, mapquest directions first. It is tucked way back in an industrial park. Lots of parking when you get there. read more

Volkwein's Music - Musical Instruments & Teachers Near Me - Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Stay far far away. They are rip off artists. They convince you that they will work with you and your kid then shaft you. After you return the instrument they continue to bill incessantly. They are supposed to come to the scool to perform maintenance and for swaps, pickups and etc but regularly did not or refused to. They said they would work with us and have failed on every turn. Disgusted and still being billed over a year later... read more

I play clarinet and I do a student rental through Volkweins. I play and practice a lot so my rental was starting to get damaged. I took my clarinet there and they immediately looked at it. They update all of my info in their system. They checked it out and said there was a lot of repairs needed to be done. But since I was renting, All of the repairs are free. They gave me two options to drop it off now so they could fix it and come back when it was ready or get a new clarinet. I got a new clarinet. It was fast an easy, I only filled out one sheet of paper work and was done. Then I took a look around the store. Some of their merch is expensive, but instrument accessories are reasonable. I ended up get a book with songs from movies, musicals, today's top hits. It has almost 50 songs, and $18 is hard to beat. I am very happy with my trip to Volkweins and will definitely be coming back! read more

Volkwein's Music - Colorful trombones! - Musical Instruments & Teachers Near Me - Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

I asked them to fix a mechanical issue on my instrument. They refused to do anything unless I paid for a full repad ($450). "We can't do anything with this while these pads are on here." The pads do not affect the mechanical issue and I did not ask for a repad. A repairperson should be able to perform any job requested without trying to force the customer into extra repairs. It's unfortunate - the rest of the store seemed decent, but I'll never set foot in this business again. read more

While their repairman may have provided adequate service, I could have done without his condescending attitude. I'm a professional musician currently on tour with a Broadway show, and came in for a simple repair- a stuck mouthpiece. After fixing it, he proceeded to lecture me like a high school student and make assumptions about my playing that were quite insulting. Granted he did not know I was a professional, I don't think any customer should be treated this way upon walking in the door. He actually raised his voice and started yelling at one point in our conversation. This place may be fine for student repairs, but their customer skills are terrible and I would go out of my way to discourage people from coming here. read more

I don't really think there is a better option in the surrounding area than Volkwein's. All of my friends/professors travel almost two hours to get to this location. The repairmen are so knowledgeable and friendly, they completely understand the importance of your instruments. Being a female tuba player, I sometimes don't get respect from people that hold these types of jobs, but I have never encountered that with the guys at Volkweins. Ted does an amazing job and I never want to have to take my horns to anyone else. I got both my CC and F hand finished/maintenanced by Ted before going to grad school and they both feel wonderful! Plus, you always learn something new during drop off, so it's like a free music history lesson every time you get your horn serviced! They also have a wide variety of accessories in stock, from six or seven types of valve oil to silver polish to mouthpieces, if you don't find something in store, they're happy to order things for you. Often, if you're around the main counter someone will ask if you need help with anything, but if you look determined or head straight to the music section they assume you know what you're doing/where to look. I kind of appreciate that instead of constantly being hounded with "can I help you with something?" this doesn't mean however, that they aren't happy to help! All in all, I highly recommend Volkwein's, from repairs, to their stock, to the people, it's a great business for all musicians. read more

Difficult to reach. I needed to set up a new rental agreement. The website was not working. so I attempted to call to start a new agreement over the phone and was on hold for over 1/2 hour trying to reach someone. I was then sent to the IT person who I had to leave a voice message with. Once I was able to reach someone they were very helpful. read more

I have never been treated so poorly. I have NEVER dropped my clarinet and never had to get repairs for my rental which I had for 5 years. After i decided to invest in a clairnet of my own, two years later a strange circular hairline fracture was forming. After it got worst I decided to drive up to volkweins, which is an hour drive from my house, to see what they could do. The first person I talked to thought that i definatley dropped it but as he took a closer look he told me that it was very likely that the cork was too thick and the fracture was caused of stress. In the end the rep I talked to said that all they could do is glue it and make it last for about a year or two; however, the wait was about a month, so I decided to take it to get glued at Johnston Baugh which is a few minutes from my house. Johnston Baugh went over and beyond. Glued it and called the Buffet company explaining the cork issue on my clarinet because they have seen this before. The parts manager at Buffet agreed that a fracture which is circular and forming on such a young clairnet should not be ocuring and they would replace the bell as a warranty item. The only problem was that I had to do the exchange through the retailer I had bought the clarinet from, volkweins. So once again I went all the way back to volkweins with the name of the parts manager at Buffet who agreed to do everything. This is where everything went wrong. This was the most horrible representative I have ever talked to in my life. He wouldn't let me explain anything to him because he kept yelling at me saying that I dropped the clarinet, and it was unabled to be fixed. Let me remind you that at this point my clarinet is functional and glued by the people at Johnston Baugh, and everything is taken care of with the people at Buffet, all this man had to do is talk with them and get my bell. At this point, the man proceeds to tell me that my bell is unfixable, takes it in his hands, and completely RIPS the bell in half!! I didn't know what to do, I just stood in complete disbelief. . I then started to tell him that I would need to take home the mouth piece which he cut me off before I could even finish, threw my mouth piece in a bag and abruptly handed it to me. I am completely dumbfounded at this disrespect. I was in complete shock and in retrospect I wish I had asked to speak with a manager in this moment; however, I will definitely be writing to the store about this interaction, it was appalling. read more

A department store, a warehouse of all things music, from kazoo to string bass. All instruments, every possible accessory and service. I've bought a digital piano, a violin, and piles of sheet music. The piano was helped along by an experienced staff member who took the time to play and compare and offer his personal experience as an musician. Every experience has been good. read more