Discover the top 20 music shops in Calhoun County

Great place. Good for lessons

This place is way better than any other shop around here. Really friendly staff as well, and killer variety of stuff.

My family has been doing business with Swing City Music for years. They have been able to meet every single one of our musical needs. Great, knowledgeable, dedicated people there.

It’s a really good place. Sorry, we were the ones that crashed intk the building

A good old school music store.

When renting a violin be prepared to purchase the moment you go to a full size otherwise you loose all credit built up over the years. Such a RIP off

My experiences their have been very bad. Only 2 people in the store know anything. The owner who name is Art is a complete and total jerk!!! Don’t expect him to respect you unless you are spending loads of Cash. His workers are nice. The store though just feels dusty everytime I walk in their. This has been my experience. Use to like them now Im just fed up with customer service. They do have rare gear tho. Which for me is why I liked visiting their.

This place is so bad I’d rather go to guitar center and I hate guitar center. They are fine if you’re just going for lesson but if you’re doing any type of business seriously save yourself the trouble and go to any other local store or guitar center.

Nice Guys

I love Mojo’s Music. I take guitar lessons weekly, have my guitars professionally adjusted/maintained/repaired by Turk and I periodically purchase equipment. Good knowledgeable people, no hassle, great locally owned and operated. I highly recommend Mojo’s Music on Main Street in downtown Edwardsville, IL.

Since Thomas has taken over ownership of the store, it’s been a joy to come in and have a welcoming experience. The store carries a lot of high end gear, but also provides instruments for beginners and intermediate musicians as well. Lessons are available as well, a nice touch. Do not hesitate to stop in if you’re in the market for a new instrument! UPDATE…Thomas has a handful of new super sweet PRS guitars in stock. Stop in for some killer deals.

Lots of inventory and they are willing to deal

Fun shop for sure! Eye candy hanging on all the surrounding walls. The shop’s main focus is guitars so it’s definitely the place to go if that’s your go to instrument. Workers are knowledgeable and always very helpful. It’s no breaking news that guitar shops tend to give off awkward, intimidating vibes (understandably so when you visit any shop with high pricetagged merch) and I do have to try and hide my feelings of squirminess while there, but I enjoy going and will continue to.

I went in to get my guitar repaired, the staff members sat at the counter and talked and ignored me for several minutes. Then after they finally looked at my guitar it turned out to be a very expensive repair so I decided to just buy a new guitar. One would think this would be cue to start selling a guitar, instead they ignored me some more and made me feel awkward for playing any guitar they had. So I went to swing city music right down the road and they instantly came to help and found a guitar that was right for me.

After years of taking time off from playing music, band break up really made me step away, I’ve decided to look around for a new guitar and rig, have gone to Mojo’s, have purchase three terrific instruments from them in the past 15 years, never had a bad experience, today, however, was not the same. I walked into a store deflated of its prior pulse, I was seen and ignored, walked around looking for what would be my next stage guitar. Two employees, yet no time to greet, or attempt to make a sale, to show products, I even made an attempt by asking what’s new, even then not a singular spark of interest in my affairs with them was of significance. I walked out of there for the last time, sad to see such a place become so cold and uninviting.

Ive been using Yda Beats for years and let me tell you. I still don’t know why, ion think he know either. But besides that beat have gotten better and better. very reliable source. right now im only getting beats from Yda Beats. until further notice I’m waiting on the next beat.

I love how seamlessly he worked. I was able to purchase his beats swiftly and efficiently.

A Mastermind When It Comes To His Artistry

YDA Beat is a unique and creative talent in the producer market! Competitive pricing, professional skill set and lighting fast turnaround!

Has mixed and master one of my projects super happy with the outcome for what it was worth. Used his beats in my YouTube videos and in my video campaigns. Totally worth purchasing and great to work with!

Had 2 cornets repaired and serviced. Pricing was more than reasonable, and turn-around time was great. Awesome folks that know their stuff.

Very friendly staff. Cleaning and repairs done just in time as promise.

Friendly knowledgeable staff that is willing to listen to your needs and works hard to meet them. If you need something and they don’t have it they can order it and will do so. This is my go-to shop for music supplies and repairs.

They have what you need but if you need to do a payment plan on any instruments, just be aware they run a credit check. If you’re credit isn’t the greatest, you’ll have to pay full price for it. Also, the prices listed on the card they give you for the instrument are the prices WITH the discount already applied.

Not very friendly, wouldn’t really answer any questions I had, as my oldest now going into band I have questions as I was never in band and still know as much as I did before I went in there. She was rude and dismissive. First time band parents I recommend finding a different company that can help you with out being rude to people who are just trying to learn.

Didn’t seem like they wanted to help me. They also ran a hard credit inquiry against my credit to rent a good/used (lowest level) saxophone for $45/ month without warning they were running a hard inquiry. Hard inquiries stay on your credit report for 2 years. Definitely DO NOT RECOMMEND.The other music stores I called confirmed, they do NOT run Hard Inquiries on their customers credit reports. Steve you literally only said 4 words to me which were, fill out this form. I don’t need a discount. My review isn’t about my payment amount. It’s about the experience I had. I simply wanted honest communication with a basic level of consideration. The store clerk should not be asking customers to sign a blank financial contract before they are given any pricing. Also, if you run a credit check the store clerk should be telling your customers they are running a HARD credit check that remains on their credit report for 2 years, prior to telling them to sign and date a blank financial contract, not afterwards. The other music stores I called do not run hard credit checks on their customers credit. It’s not my misunderstanding for how it was you who didn’t seem to want to work with me, which is fine I’m simply giving my honest review. I do not need a call. There are many parents in this town and they should be told of the hard credit check you are doing and that it’s not a soft credit check you run for a good/used student instrument. I don’t mind the time frame it took, so let’s not twist it. I was not given pricing options or told of a credit check until after I was told to sign and date a blank financial contract. Once I was given pricing options, I was asked which option I wanted. I chose the middle level, then told afterwards a credit check needs to be run, then told I couldn’t have better/used only good/used, but in NO way was I told it would be a HARD inquiry check on my credit. My review is pretty fair and accurate of my experience.

Very rude., dismissive and those rental agreements aren’t for everyone. Brought in a cosigner and that wasn’t good enough BC it wasn’t my kids grandparent. Not everyone has their ideal family structure. And upon trying to explain they told me I could simply buy outright but we can’t afford to do that. Guess poor kids don’t get to be in band thru them. Luckily I went to the next towns music store got what I needed and extra and great customer service and lower monthly payments

Fantastic instructors

They have a great selection of accessories, strings, picks, ect. The prices are very competitive with the big Center stores, which is really nice to see. Went in to buy some strings for my guitar, and walked out with a new practice amp at a great price. Thanks John.

You might have to go into Saint Louis for high end or vintage gear but for mid level or budget great they’re a solid choice. Staff is friendly and helpful. I’ve mostly purchased strings and boxes from them.

Nice staff, not much selection for piano/keyboards

Nice place..

Good selection of acustic guitars

Evie lacks compassion for the children. She fired my 12 year old daughter because we were out of town (which we told her we would be) and she missed a session. She literally sent me a text and told me to ask for another teacher. Too bad she can’t be the one to explain that to a devastated 12 year old little girl. My heart is broken at how this was handled.

This what not explained to me. I was handed a piece of paper and told that I had to pay. I asked that Evie call me and she refused to do so. Instead she sent a very abrupt and quite frankly rude text message. It is very unprofessional to text message someone that has asked for a phone call. You yourself, did not take the time to explain to me the same way that you crafted this response. It only leads me to believe that the only reason you care about my daughter is because of the negative review. I stand behind my comments, this was not handled well. You should instruct your teachers that text messages are very unprofessional and something of this nature deserves a phone call. I understand that you have been in business for 23 years. However, you will never again receive my business or any of my friends or relatives business based simply on how this was handled. A lot can be said for how a business handles adversity.

I went in to hoping to buy D’Addario XL Chromes size 10-48, which they didn’t have available. They did have them in size 11-50, but I would have preferred the tens. I asked if they ever stocked them, and the guy behind the counter said they don’t. However, he suggested Ernie Ball Slinky Cobalts, size 10. I asked him whether they were smooth like the Chromes, because I didn’t want the ridges from the wind around the strings – I dislike the sound they make as my fingers move up and down the neck. He said that they were smooth, so I purchased them.

When I opened them to restring my guitar, I checked the low E string and it wasn’t smooth like the Chromes. I figured their clerk made an honest mistake, so I returned to the store hoping to exchange them. I’d rather have the Chromes in size eleven than ridged strings in size 10. The guy took a look at the package and said he wouldn’t exchange it since it was already open – this is the same guy that told me only an hour earlier that these were smooth wound. I reminded him that he’s the one who said they were the same thing, and he replied ‘well no, they’re not flats like the chromes’.
‘So if you won’t exchange them, what can you do?’
‘Well I can sell you the Chromes we have, but I can’t take the others in exchange’.
‘And there are no other options?’
‘No’.

So I decided not to buy the 11 Chromes either, and left.

I’m looking at the receipt, which indicates “No cash refunds, exchange/store credit only”, so I’m disappointed that the exchange wasn’t an option, but more so because the guy behind the counter is the one who suggested them. It’s not as if I just picked a random set to try out – I was taking his advice. I didn’t even take them out of the paper sleeves. The size 11 chromes they had were marked $13, compared to the Ernie Balls at $8.75, so it would have been a bigger sale.

Amazon has the Extra Light Gauge 10 Chromes for $11.79, so I’ll go that route. I would rather have supported a local store, and normally I don’t mind a slightly higher price for the convenience.

My girlfriend purchased a banjo on December 3 2015 for Christmas to gift me. Upon purchasing the banjo she asked if I did not like the instrument could we return it. The people selling to her said that she could return the banjo as long as it had everything it came with, but only for in store credit. Perfect. Fast Forward to Christmas day.

I receive the banjo as a Christmas gift, December 25 2015. The very next day we go to the music store, December 26 2015, to purchase metal finger picks for the banjo. Upon entering my girlfriend spots the exact same banjo marked down because it’s used. We ask if we can return the brand new banjo with everything it came with (including the price still attached to the instrument by string, I never took it off) and instead purchase the used one. Unfortunately, those returns could not be handled by anyone other than the manager, John. They informed me I would have to contact him today, December 28 2015.

I called the Mid Rivers Music store and asked to speak to the manager. He got on the phone and introduced himself. I explained to him what had happened and that we’d like to get the used banjo instead, returning the new one with everything it came with for in store credit. He asked if we had the receipt. Yes, we do. He then asked if we had the box it came in. I explained to him, there was no box that the banjo came in. It only came with a case and a pipe tuner. Otherwise, my girlfriend would have wrapped the box instead of wrapping the banjo case (she told me this was annoying, but she did it for me).

John then tells me he cannot take the banjo back unless we agree to a 20% stocking fee because we don’t have the box they never gave us! After going round and round, I told him I would be contacting the BBB, and taking further actions if necessary. This is literally robbing us of 20% of our purchase, returning the new banjo in new condition with everything it came with.

Needless to say, after reading another review that seem to have a similar issue (albeit with a much less price) I will not be conducting business with this place again unless this issue is resolved.

Love this store. Owner is very helpful and doesn’t just try and sell u stuff you don’t need. Been doing business here for over a year and I look forward to more to come.

Been coming here for 18+ years! Loyal. I will not go elsewhere. If they don’t have what you need, they can and will help you to find it. Best music shop around! A+ customer service.

Miller Music has a nice selection of music, pianos, and other instruments. Come, check them out. They are friendly, helpful, and prices are very reasonable.

They appear to no longer be in business.

I took my niece to Miller Music to see about having an issue fixed with her flute. The guy working looked at it for a few seconds and said he didn’t notice any issues (leaks) visible to the eye. I then asked if it would be okay for her to play the instrument for him so that he could listen, and hopefully make a diagnosis that way. He responded with, “Yeah, hurry up.” Needless to say, the instrument is still having an issue. When we purchased the couple of instruments we have, he was polite. Now that there’s an issue, “Mr. Nice Guy” left the building. I’d never recommend anyone to buy anything else from them again.

The owners were rude and condescending. I got the impression that not EVERYONE was welcome in their store. They may have a large selection of music, but I’ll take my money and my dignity to other music stores.

Simply call to find out the brand of acoustic guitars they sold when I mentioned name brands the lady was set off very rude on the phone and hung up on me her name was Sharon

Nathaniel and his team are great to work with when searching for and buying guitar & bass equipment! They offer top-notch products and service!

Caleb fixed my guitar strings for free and we had a fun conversation! It really brightened my day

Clean store, great lessons

My children enjoy their lessons. As a non music person, I am very much impressed with just how much they have improved.

This is the worst place ever to get an instrument repaired. They will say “on average it takes about 2 weeks”; however, a month later you will still be waiting on the instrument without any updates. When you call for an update, you will learn they ship out the instrument and don’t repair in-house. Then, they will offer to call the shop for a status update and call you back but then they won’t ever call you back. I will NEVER take an instrument to get repaired here again.

I normally wouldn’t take the time to write a review but felt I needed to due to the experience.
I had music lessons here and the instructor was always 10 to 15 or more minutes late for a 30 minute lesson and I always felt rushed through the lesson.
I finally decided to cancel the lessons and had already paid up front for the month with 2 lessons left at the end of the month and asked if they could refund the last 2 lessons back to my card.
He said that the system wasn’t set up to do so and would get back to me once he looked into it…needless to say I never received a return call or a refund.
Very unprofessional.

Absolutely horrible they have a 3rd party you are paying so if your son or daughter is “thinking” about joining and you pay the full price after trails. Expect zero refund. They just say their system won’t let them. Told me they would “try” to get me a refund of my sessions. Haven’t heard anything since. This was back in Nov2022.

AMAZING

Great store, seems larger & has better selection than South City location, though both are good. Lot of nice and appealing guitars, especially electric guitar & bass and pedals. Didn’t think prices in general are nearly as good as at So. City, where I do a lot of business, tho there were some good bargains. I flip guitars & saw no profit in the inventory in St. Charles. Prices run fair to high. Lots of quirky stuff impossible to find at GC or other stores. Really nice cats, check it out.
I’m a guitar guy, can’t really comment on other sectors like keyboards and drums tho’ they had all these things. I did not see much in the way of brass or other wind instruments, just a few.

Great Store with inventory that is always changing! Staff and customer service is always spot on! Thanks!

Good prices friendly people

A little pricey

There isn’t too many places that you can find affordable used gear and lots of it, so I choose to shop at the store. I hate buying anything online because I don’t like making decisions based on reviews and Google searches, I prefer see the product in person, touch the product, test the product out and fall in love with it. The staff was wonderfully accommodating, knowledgeable and friendly. Plus I just love used gear! Thank you Jerry and staff!!!!!

Awesome selection of used equipment!

Initially I found the store owner fair-minded making this store far less the mercenary greed of the St. Louis store. They have a fair amount of intermediate instruments and some high end. Since opened I purchased several of both here but now it appears the owner’s gotten a little big for his briches, making the buying experience unpleasant. Most know these stores (Guitar Center, Music-Go-Round, etc) pay on average 40% street value for used gear. That gives them a lot of room when you factor people are getting 40% value trading in on a 100% price of their purchase so the store makes it on both ends.

Of recent a couple pieces caught my eye but upon dealing directly with the owner cash in hand he was not flexible or even reasonable. I felt I was dealing with some little snot at Guitar Center. No denying these stores have to make money…not denying that nor should they cave on disgusting lowball offers but when a repeat buyer comes in and offers just a bit South of their asking price on a used item, especially a brand few have heard of and are told only if it’s still there in 3 months will they consider $20 less you might as well be dealing with Guitar Center. Best to just go deal with Reverb and eBay from private sellers and not give these stores your money as well as paying tax for the privilege. During the pandemic these brick and mortar stores should appreciate and respect buyers coming in to deal with them again, especially those that have the money in hand and have purchased from them before.

Always friendly professional

Will offer you 30% or less of your gears value so if you’re into that go for it. Also the more items you try to trade the lower in price value they offer. Store inventory is usually wiped out and what they do have is C grade $200 to $400 guitars marked up 80% so again if you’re interested in that stuff go for it. Predatory sales practices. edit* response to owners : yep those numbers are made up alright off the top of your head straight from your horses mouth. I call balls & strikes right down the middle. Everyone in town knows you guys scam honest musicians. All for the almighty buck. Merry xmas. $.02

It took a minute to get here with the numerous storms etc but the quality of the violin was beautiful for my beginner! Mr Matthews stayed in touch and kept me in the loop on what was happening. I’d recommend him!

DJMatthews Music was extremely prompt to respond, helpful and insightful about questions and prompt and professional about transaction, tracking and delivery! We received our package several days sooner than expected. Follow up questions were handled promptly as well, even after sale was made. Good company, and DJ is a good human to work with. Highly recommend doing business with him/them!! peace

DJ is a good soul with good intentions. And his music shows that.

Great customer service! Personalized attention and service!

Shannon and the guys take great care of our instruments. They are kind and caring. They work hard to be accommodating and helpful.

I have a Bach bass trumpet that I bought brand new more than 50 years ago. It’s a great horn, but lately the valves have been giving me fits that I wasn’t able to fix. I took it to Carl’s because I had heard such glowing reports and have to say that they’re well deserved. Travis did the work and I’m very very happy. He also took out 50 years worth of dents. Kudos to Travis! Thank you so very much. I highly recommend Carl’s Pro Band for ANY of your instrument issues. I will definitely use them again if the need arises!

Super helpful and upfront with tactful explanation of options for the work needing done

Very knowledgeable very friendly. They treat us beginners with the same respect concert veterans

Had questions on selling a guitar and a Chinese musical instrument. Was very well taken care of. If you are looking to sell or buy check this place out.

ABSOLUTELY FABULOUS!!!!

Great place, it seems I show up at Pete’s place right when they get some great Vintage stuff. So far they’ve been some of the best instruments I’ve ever had.

Awesome people, selection, & service

Driftwood Music is a cool spot to check out. However I tried to get them to help with professional setup and possibly lessons on my banjo and they weren’t any help at all. I tried soliciting their help via a couple of emails as well as going to their location to speak with them in person. I received no response from the emails and I when I spoke with an associate in person he told me that he wasn’t able to help me but he would pass on my information to the correct person. This was months ago and still no response so I will be bringing my business elsewhere.

Update: the folks at Driftwood Music have since reached out to me and I’m going back soon to get help setting up my instrument.

Nice employees.reasonable prices

John and The Music House staff are some of the Most Awesome ppl ever. I’ve been doing business and buying Tambourines from him for years. Great prices and products. I recommend Music House to EVERYONE!!

Best place to learn

John is great. Facility needs up grading

Currently taking cello lessons with John. He is patient and very knowledgeable. Really enjoying this musical learning experience.

Nice place to go ..

Up and coming venue. It has a great staff who are committed to making your visit a memorable experience . It’s a combination sports bar and casual dining. Good drink specials.

Really relaxed place, nice people, and no upselling, as well as good explanations on why what happened happened
( repairs)

Really friendly staff, knowledgeable and helpful with a great selection of instruments and gear.

Rene repaired my 47 year old Alvarez acoustic, he’s a magician in my book. Extremely knowledgeable, really knows his craft. Everyone I dealt with really knew what they were talking about. A welcoming atmosphere, friendly people. The only place I’ll go to for music needs.

I wish I had received an email stating when the violin had shipped or when to expect it to arrive. I received nothing but a receipt for the purchase. That is my only complaint though. Price for renting a violin was very affordable and the violin provided was beautiful. The website was also very easy to use and they were able to send me the appropriate beginner essentials book for my child’s school as they had it registered already.

I utilized Palen to rent instrument for my son’s band class. There was plenty of miscommunication with returning the instrument but management took every step to rectify my concerns. Randy is a great asset to the Palen Family & I appreciate his professionalism.

This was our first visit to Palen Music Center. Caleb was very helpful and kind. He took the time to go through the list of things we needed for my son’s band class.

Very disappointed. We ordered our instrument and the other kids received theirs and we are still waiting on ours. I have a very sad kid who gets to sit and watch.

Accessories such as cleaning kits at instrument night were far to over priced, but you kid wants it right then so you have to buy it. I would never pay that much, Amazon sells the same kit for 1/3 less.

These guys make it way too tempting to buy a guitar. I’ve been in there just to look around and come out with a guitar more than I’d care to admit!

Always a pleasure doing business with Mayberry Music & Sound. They are always welcoming and genuinely seem to be happy to see you…as if you’re an old friend stopping in. Very informative and helpful.

Great selection! More than to be expected from a small music store!

Buy guitars and strings there sometime.

I am definitely a fan of Mayberry Music And Sound. As a banjo player, I do want to say that they are quite a bit over priced on their banjos and their banjos are not set up correctly. So I would not recommend getting a banjo set up there. Other than that, they are very good if your buyingan instrument from them.

I really enjoyed the customer service. Employees were really helpful and professional

I brought in a new guitar for warranty work, as they are a licensed dealer of this particular brand. They refused to perform the work because it “wasn’t worth the headache”. This was a guitar that I ordered thru them. I’ll take my business elsewhere, and you’d be well advised to do the same.

Mayberry is all you could ask for except a good customer experience. Massive selection but all prices are at the higher end and there is very little wiggle room even when trading up. You may find what you need but if you’re looking for some good conversation and a great shopping experience look elsewhere.

The employees here are very satisfied with themselves and have a “cork sniffer” vibe from their precious pedestals. They are all too happy to correct you when talking about instruments and there is a complete lack of a warm one-on-one personal experience. With Amazon’s prices there’s little reason to go here unless you can’t wait or need something immediately.

I have been consistently disappointed with the attitude of and experience from Mayberry’s over the years and recommend taking an extra thirty minutes to go elsewhere or use it as a showroom to purchase on Amazon. It’s just not a very fun experience and fun and music shops I thought were supposed to go hand in hand.

Really bad customer service and overpriced.

I highly recommend this place to everyone interested in learning to play an instrument or purchasing one.

Very helpful staff! Helped me find what I needed within my price range. Will definitely be back for my music needs!

We always get good service. They even showed us how to use the tuner we bought.

We get all of my kids music things from here. Good prices and very helpful staff.

The front of the store customer service sucks but the teachers are great especially NICK!

I would give zero stars if possible! I never once got the school “discount” I was promised by the school. Also I asked for a receipt to show how much I’ve paid over the year (for a court case) and they would not email paperwork. I will tell the judge I was refused this service by this company

Starting off the price changed after the first month.. called in for a refund because my son no longer needed there instrument. Was told by one rep that I could get a refund on nice it’s returned and when I called back after the return (which was the berry next day) was told something different by another rep. On top of that I couldn’t understand anything that she was saying and she had an attitude about it. Like are there any notes being put in the system on what’s told to the customers…

If you ever need to make changes to your account, calling customer service is the worst experience I have ever had with any customer service department! The language barrier is a challenge and the lack of assistance is very disrespectful. I would not recommend Music & Arts.