Top-20 of music shops in Carroll County

Eclectic shop full of dreams and possibilities for your home and gifting needs! Go there! Experience the magic! You will need an hour or more as there is so much to see and shop. From original art and antiques to upcycled gifts and a wide assortment of vinyl for your turntable spinning pleasure! Art and Music are a perfect part of gifting. Gift yourself!

How could you not fall in love with Zengas? One of the true gems of Mount Carroll. I found my most favorite pair of handmade earrings here and can always find a wonderful gift.

This store belongs to a friendly, happy, and courageous soul. Heather has worked in a very wide variety of mediums over the years, and the store has a little bit of everything. The store has a positive energy and is very busy. I think that you could spend days in here and still miss something. The hours vary. You’ll have to catch her or make an appointment. However, I seriously doubt you will regret it when you do. Best wishes!

Seeking that inner peace? Ready to take in some righteous, outta sight and way out local artistry? Want to check out a boss collection of vintage vinyl from a dude that’s in the groove? This is the place.
The people are tight, the prices are right.
So be in the groove, grab the your lady and get bookin’ on down to Zenga’s.

Good place

Very helpful and friendly. Something terribly missing in music stores. Thanks John.

Great place for music equipment

Every time I go in this place no one ever brings me.

I called and he said he was heading out for lunch. Told me to come down at 12:30 he would be back. I sat in my car until 12:45 he still was not back from his lunch so I got stood up.

I’ve personally purchased two guitars from this place and I’m not even sure why… I stopped repping their window cling in my hatchback last year after I got attitude again.. they’re the only music store in the area and they are still somewhat rude to people.
And that’s the only reason I keep going there, they’re the only place in the area. Pretty sad.

Love the vibe in there. Helpful and friendly staff and so much cool stuff

If you’re in the area, definitely stop at this store. They have a little of everything and they are not ridiculously priced as some antique places are.

Great place for bargains. Friendly staff, lots of items not just antiques. Many cosignors will give you a deal on price if you ask!! Open Thur thru Sat 11 to 5 and Sunday 11 to 3 through December.

Okay place, some interesting antiques, small.

Lot’s of stuff

Always helpful and knowledgeable. Great supplies

Wonderful staff and great musical instrument selection.

Great place…Very family oriented…Everyone who works there are very friendly and helpful ..

Lots of guitars. Look up when you enter store or you’ll be startled

Owner is very knowledgeable on his new line of guitars. (Can’t remember the name of them though). Stop in and have him tell you all about them

The service was good, people friendly.

Owner is rude and the amplifier I bought needed recapped but he probably doesn’t know what that means.

Just wow, what can I say. Creepy vibe, guy at the desk spied on me around a corner like I was gonna put a drum kit in my pocket and run. They charged 9 bucks for a 5 dollar set of strings and the clerk literally belched and blew it in my face. Just wow. I will drive to Dubuque or Davenport for a music store even though I work in Clinton. Thought it would be nice to keep it with mom and pop, but even guitar center employees have manners. Yikes

She is beyond kind and her talent matches! Couldn’t ask for better.

Her playing is beautiful couldn’t recommend her more!

Friendly and courteous treatment and fair prices.

Carlene is the Piano Teacher you want to have.
She cares about her students, and her students know it. She is sensitive to the individual goals of her students. She encourages experimentation and exploration. She knows how to motivate her students and loves to see them flourish. Give it a try! You won’t be disappointed. Ines Becerra

It’s the best place to take piano.

Edited because I am dumb and hit the wrong button

First off I wanted to say I LOVE this store. I knew of this store for a while, and went there for a pack of strings back during my first year of high-school. I remember every single detail about me wanting a gig bag for my Lauren LA 125 Acoustic, and asking Jon to play me something on it. I had gotten that guitar at Kidder Music with my Grandmother as my first acoustic of my very own. Back then Ken used to work there as well. Now Jon owns the store. Both of those wonderful people have helped me out with Countless things, from guitar repairs, simple life lessons about waiting and being patient for repairs to be done, Saving money for thing that I really want. They both are amazing people, and Jon and Ken are both my best friends. Also, So is Bloo (Jon’s beautiful puppy)
I have taken so many photos that if I uploaded them all they would take years and years to process and stuff.

Over all 10000/10 would (and will still) recommend
Best music store in my area!

Stopped into on a hope and a pray that I could get immediate help (I knew a full repair was out of the question) for two saxophones with bent upper octive keys. Both were put in a usable condition within minutes. I will be back for a full repair soon!

Besides my daughter’s ukulele, I’ve only gotten minor stuff (strings, picks, sound hole pickup, etc.) here, but prices are good and the guy there is great, friendly and knowledgeable. I’ve recommended Full Staff to friends and will continue to do so.

Excellent customer service and great selection of instruments

Friendly staff and lots of good quality guitars.

For band items, it’s the best way to go!
My favorite part of the store is the rent to own program! I highly recommended this to anyone who is starting out (adult or student!)
For this program, you are given a selection of beginner models and you are able to pay off a part every month. After 30 months, it’s yours!
It’s a great program for anyone who wants an instrument and learn music!
They also sell different things like music memorabilia, sheet music, guitar stuff, cleaning supplies for instruments, and percussion.
The staff is great as well! They’re trained and they’re able to answer any questions!
They also do repairs!

They repaired my husbands instrument the same day.

The staff are knowledgeable and friendly. A very wide selection. Only complaint is the smell of mold throughout. Rip out that carpet and put in wood laminate. Your sales will spike.

Guzzardos is not what it used to be their inventory is weak at best

Well I always liked going to this store. And it was always helpful people in the drum department. And I wanted to make the switch from acoustic to electric (drums) which I obviously bought from gizzardos. And everything was cool until I learned that they had charged me for a roland td1kv while only giving me the td1k. Which no big deal right? Well I didn’t get my mesh snare and it’s a pretty significant difference in price. Needless to say, I won’t be back

As a business owner we hold honesty and integrity at the highest point.
On Nov 19th we dropped off an instrument for a quick look over and assessment. We were advised that it should take approximately 1 to 2 days.
Never received a call from anyone.., on the 26th, after a week we called only to be told it couldn’t be found at the shop and after 30 mins of searching they did find it. We were advised we would receive a call back the following day as the person with information was not there.
Today, on Nov 29th at 10:45am.. still no call. We reached back out and after a 10 min hold someone picked up and stated they had left a message last week and was waiting on our call back. This was a blatant lie and our phone records are well documented as all calls inbound and out are logged, recorded and listed on our weekly call reports.

We expressed our frustration in a calm and professional mannor.. and were honest about feeling we were not being spoken to honestly. And we stated that we understand that mistakes happen however honesty and integrity are paramount.
We were then asked if we wanted to move forward with cleaning and restoration otherwise advised to come pick up the instrument.

As a small business, we feel that honesty is a vital factor in any business and customer service is key to building any relationship and mending any mishaps. If you are blatantly lied to, it is a red flag of a dishonest business.
There were no apologies from the person we spoke with (Gerry). Which solidified this is not a location we wish to do business with.

Please consider this honest and candid review when choosing a location to purchase or repair your musical equipment.

Needed a simple restring on 2 guitars. It’s 9a.m. There were 2 employees in the store. I was told that the guitar tech would not be till later so i had to drop them off. Then they said it take a “couple of days” remember now im in a music store thats slow and empty and between the two employees obviously nothing was going to get done. Fine.
So the next day Saturday i called first thing then i was told that no one had gotten to it and the guitar tech was off on. The weekend. That means i most likely would not get my guitar back til monday possibly tuesday. Why would somebody (spencer) not tell me that? Right from the get go. Also when i did call the employee said “well we have been slow so they put stuff to the side” so i went down and got my guitars back. I will just go somewhere else. This was my visit here unimpressed. I find it funny that no one there could have strung them up since they were so “slow”.
Avoid.

Rockford musicians love it

Excellent experience shopping here! First time going in as my daughter expressed an interest in piano lessons so we found ourselves in need of a piano or keyboard. We felt zero pressure as we looked at their large selection and had all our questions answered. We ended up finding something that we were comfortable with in price and were so excited to have it delivered right away. Honestly could not have had a better shopping experience. We look forward to visiting there again!

Just wanted to say what a great guy Randy is to deal with. I wasn’t sure about a purchase and he was willing to work with me and try to figure something out. This is customer service at it’s best. If you are local make sure you do business with this guy. He deserves your business and won’t pressure you or let you go home with something that you’re not satisfied with.

Well, I purchased a Gibson guitar on line from Randee’s. It came somewhat damaged, but it had to to do with Gibson. The nut on the guitar was bad.

Here is the catch, this was bad from the get go, so the either did not inspect the guitar, or just past the problem to me.

I had to pay 2 in shipping to get the repair. I am waiting to see how good the repair will be.

Yet, to be satisfied.

Very knowledgeable and helpful.

Great place for all of your guitar needs!

In trying to deal with Randee’s online I can sum the experience up like beating your head up against a brick wall. They are fine, I’m sure, if you don’t have any needs outside their “antiquated brick and mortar style policies” but if your needs require tailoring or more flexibility FORGET IT!

I tried working with Aaron at Randy’s around the purchase of a Kamaka Tenor. The discussions and conversations were great when my needs seemed just like everyone else’s. But when it came time to deal with certain implications of delivery [and the rigidity of my wife’s and my busy 3rd shift schedules] there was no spirit of compromise, nor any want to do anything outside their idea of what should and shouldn’t be done. For example, they require a signature on the delivery via FedEx…which, of course, I understand [especially with the transaction happening within paypal] HOWEVER at the value of the instrument, one could select “indirect” signature and allow for someone to accept the package on my behalf. Yet they were not willing to allow for indirect versus direct [and given that we would not be available in the hours that fedex would be here, that just doesn’t work]. Aaron suggested that I drive 30-40 minutes, out of our way, to go to the nearest FedEx hub where I could pick up the instrument…and if I wanted to do that, I would drive 90 minutes, instead, and buy a Kamaka that I could play beforehand, and take it home with me. Which, in this case, sale or no sale, I will…

…All Aaron would say is that, “I drive 30 minutes to work everyday”. First, I don’t know how his personal life relates to a consumer transaction. But, additionally, he doesn’t know the dynamics with which my family functions, nor should I have to explain WHY driving to pick up the instrument doesn’t work. After all, when paying $1,100, and getting “free delivery”, there shouldn’t be additional hoops to jump, or stipulations to meet. Contracts are easy – offer and acceptance.

This is the 21st century. There are a lot of people outside the scope of “black and white” who have need, demands, expectations beyond that of what the normal 9-5 crowd require. I’ve had countless stores I’ve bought from [as we are a very musical family] and these stores have accommodated us by allowing for indirect signatures. Retailers like these, who aren’t willing to be progressive or considerate should just keep their business within the confines of what they are comfortable – within their brick and mortar walls. Leave the practice of “progressive music retailing” to those who recognize the various needs of the market they’re reaching out to.

Extremely rude, I called with just a question and got my call sent to two different people the latter that was rude and was just ushering me off the phone by saying he was busy. Good luck ever getting my business!

Randees has great pianos,however they hire cheap labor to deliver those great pianos! and drag their feet when it’s time to pay the worker!

Well equipped, highly knowledgeable, and good prices, with a friendly staff and owner. Small town but not small time.

5 stars

Recently, I had an issue with the sound chain in my studio setup, and couldn’t figure it out for a week. Finally I called Music Makers, where I bought the USB interface. Dave lent a mic to me, which proved it wasn’t my mic being a problem, and then Steve advised me on checking the drivers. Bingo. Problem solved.

Thing is, they’re all really smart and nice people. They actually care. About you, and about sound. They’ll listen to you.

Stop in to look at guitars and instruments. You’ll find real deals and good advice. I’m so grateful today. Thanks Dave!

It’s ok. Nothing special in regard to service

Great

Good amps but they didn’t get down a guitar i wanted to play

These guys are crooks. Everything they sell is overpriced, and their services are terrible. I went in to install a new bridge pickup for my electric guitar, and they quoted an unreasonable price for the job. Since I was already there I figured whatever, go ahead. They estimated the job would take about 24 hours to complete. Little did I know “24 hours” meant a month and a half to them. I’m not even kidding. Every time I went in to the store to check, they yelled at me and said “there’s a guy who comes in to do the work, but he’s been just swamped lately. He’ll get it done when he gets a chance”. So 1.5 months later I receive a call, and it’s finally done. I go to pick up my guitar, and plug it in to one of their amps to check out how it sounds. It sounded like something was damaged in the guitar. I told them that there was something seriously wrong here, but they said it’s probably their amp and I should go home and check it out. I went home, plugged it in and it was messed up. It literally sounded like metal springs grinding against each other. The strangest noise I’ve ever heard from a guitar.
When I took the guitar back to them, they were incredibly rude and told me it was not their problem and the pickup was broken. So I was out $130, and left with a broken guitar. I ended up having to spend another $200 to get the whole thing back to playing condition.
I learned my lesson, and have warned all my friends against this store.

Got a “better than” feeling in there. Short, unhelpful answers for my 14 year old grandson.

unfortunate, but i’d had a guitar in storage for a year and the fret board was a disaster.they did an excellent job cleaning that, however, they took it upon themselves to badly alter the guitar without asking us despite us being there and only explained what they’d done after it was too late. another thing about these “fixes” was that they didn’t address the problem at all! they said the action was too high the lower you got on the neck so they shaved the frets?? they also took some off the bridge, though only to the top, not where the strings rest in it. i’m a novice so i didn’t catch this in store, just paid for strings and cleaning and alterations for $40. value of guitar negatively impacted & i paid for it! nice and nice sounding 20yr old, semi acoustic fender. such a shame, and as i said before i was in store and they didn’t ask! i would get my strings changed there again, though stressing that nothing else be done without consulting me