Exclusive selection: The top 19 music shops of Castelló d’Empúries

I’ve been a patron of the Middlesex Music Academy for over a decade. This is the place. THIS, is the place. If you’re looking for a tutor, repair or an expert opinion/guidance about music, THIS, is the place. You are not going to get the same care or interaction elsewhere; THIS, is the place.

For instances, their “repair guy” Joe Stereo, is the best. I have trusted him with my most beloved gear and he has treated my gear as if it were his own. He is aces. He’s always gone above beyond the call of duty in every conceivable way. Joe has worked on more than a dozen of my
instruments and I have never been dissatisfied in anyway.

Matt, the store proprietor, is a seasoned musician. He and his dedicated staff are generous with their knowledge and willing to work with anyone on any budget or otherwise to achieve their goals. I can’t say enough about this homegrown and beautiful establishment.

The bottom line, if you’re looking for a music store where you can build a lasting and worthwhile relationship with, then look no further than the Middlesex Music Academy. THIS, is the place.

Love the staff and selections of instruments. I’ve gotten repairs done there with my old drums and my guitars and they have the best expertise when it comes to repairing instruments. Bought my first guitar since 2009 from there and I absolutely loved the feel and playing it. Matt and Jim are awesome.

Highly recommend for instrument repairs. Staff was knowledgeable and helpful. Got my sax playing like new again for a very reasonable price in 4 days. I will be back here.

The sales team made it possible for me to afford a piano for my son

I would give Middlesex Music Academy a 0 if I was able to. I called to inquire about a $150 charge when I haven‘t been confirmed by John the guitar teacher. I made a request to Matt that Tuesday was my preference but John was booked so he scheduled Thursday at 6pm. I received a text and email from John yesterday that he had a conflict for Thursday and offered Friday. I responded via text/email that would not work and inquired if this was temporary or permanent to which I did not receive a response. I let John know this may not be a good fit then. I called today to have the charge refunded and Jim proceeded to call me names, saying I was yelling & screaming over the phone and I was being rude. No need to go into the dramatics but Jim needs a lesson in manners, telling the truth and understanding that being a manager does not give him the authority to behave poorly. Never once did I raise my voice but did correct Jim several times throughout the conversation all because i asked for a refund. Extremely unprofessional and a bad look for Middlesex Music all around. I will be taking my business elsewhere. Inexcusable & theater worthy performance by Jim today folks!!!

I paid $80 for a setup on a guitar and got it back with the strings a mile off of the neck and the floyd rose studs so high out of the body I could park a car under it. The bridge pickup was raised until it was practically touching the strings and the neck pickup was lowered to below the pickup ring. The tech then told me that 10-52 strings don’t exist. They’re light top heavy bottom and aren’t even uncommon strings. Every time I go there they give bad advice and clearly don’t know what they’re talking about. My friend tried to buy a tubescreamer (basic overdrive) and they tried to sell him a phaser instead (completely different thing).

I signed up for a piano lesson trial online. Their site is very confusing and it’s not clear if the lesson is in-person and online. I called them, left a message but they never called me back. In the day/time of the lesson, I called them 3 times because I was having problems to contact the teacher. The guy who works there, Jim, clearly doesn’t have any customer service skills. He was rude and unpleasant. He didn’t make any effort to help me, told me a was confused and nobody else had problems. I just canceled the future lessons there. It’s easier just hire a private piano teacher. Hopefully I will never have to deal with this guy again.

Great place for quality guitars.

This is the best location for spec/maintenance in Connecticut Ma and RI I have worked with these guys for years and I’m always blown away by their service and customer support.

Great staff! Walked out with the best guitar I’ve ever played (let alone owned)

Had a guitar cable when I needed it.

No prices listed

Thé Owners are lousy business

Not many mandolins

My daughter loves her piano lessons at Creative Music Center.

Awesome staff and great deals! No surprise they have 5 stars!!!

I love this place, i go in just to look at the product and I always end up buying something.

I just went to this store with my violin wanting the sound post set and to re-hair my bow. When I walked in there were two ladies at the counter. As I opened my case asking the the lady in the white turtle neck with straight brown hair if they re-hair bows? She snapped that they didn’t. The nice girl next to her chimed in as said out loud “She re-hairs bows?” Then the other lady gave a look and said I would need to buy a new one! She then picked up my violin and started to point out things about my only violin that were not good enough for her to re-set my sound post! I then asked “How much to just re-set the sound post?” She refused me service and said “Good Luck!” AVOID THIS PLACE IF YOU CAN! I think I didn’t fit the “type” they prefer to give services to?

Terrible, definitely wouldn’t recommend it to anyone in this planet or another. I originally paid through Groupon just to see if the classes worked out for my son. I paid for 45 mins and they only gave me 30mins classes for my son ,that should of been the 1st red flag. But then they make you sign a paper and they ask you to put a credit card info even though I paid for the 1st month in full. So we tried that 1st month and decided it wasn’t for my son,he didn’t like it.so then I thought I was done with this establishment and they kept charging me even though I was done with them clearly, scammers.terrible customer service!

Poor customer service.

Great staff!

A little bit pricey then other music gear stores.

Needed two items, and both were in stock The young man who helped me was a musician himself, and guided me to exactly what was nèeded..

The people there are very polite and friendly, you can ask questions and they let you try the instrument without annoying you trying to sell.

Guy had a great attitude, was very helpful even though he couldn’t fix my auto amp. He gave me the numbers of people that may. I’d go back.

I gave them a Four (4). You only get one (1) first expression, Sam Ashe, that associate’s expression what great. Thanx.

Great customer service. I often spend at least an hour playing instruments I dont have at home.

My experience with Sam ash music was very bad there service down right sucks there staff is not business oriented what so ever they have no clue in what there looking at I would strongly recommend guitar center because they are the real deal located off RT 1 orange CT thank you

Very, very limited assortiment of MIDI keyboards, and very unhelpful staff

Not what it used to be.

Go there… support local music

Wonderful customer service! I believe it was the owner I was speaking to, said they’ve been a family business for 65 years!!!! And for good reason!!! Knowledgeable, helpful, and very friendly. Grade a experience! Will be back again

I went into this store this week. Sal, the owner is one of the one puff the midst pleasant people I’ve ever met. Great music store.

It’s okay.

Nice guy and great service so far!

My grandma brought two ukuleles here to be repaired before she passed away. They were from the 1940s and held a lot of sentimental value for me, as they were the first instrument I ever learned to play on. After she passed away, a family member went to retrieve them and the store conveniently had “no record” of them. Scammers and low lifes.

Not bad.

terrible repairment

A great store!

Nice Music coming out of MiAnus

The Music Angel in the Pandemic.

The pandemic just started. We left New York City to find space in Connecticut. Everything was closed and we were in a new town My son’s cello string pops. What to do now when you need a cello string in a pinch. I called a number of places either no answer, we can’t do it or we can do it for a big price. Businesses taking the opportunity to gouge at the onset did not sit right with me. I left a voicemail at one store my last try. Next thing I know I receive a text from Joe at Greenwich Music asking for my address. He will have his distributor drop ship it to me. Done. No questions. Seamless. We can’t wait to give Greenwich Music more business. They deserve it. Thank you Joe. You are a class act.

We were kindly helped in the store, but we were buying a guitar for our son and we don’t live in the US. We were having problems with internet so we couldn’t research correctly at the moment, but they assured that the amp could be used in 220 current. We arrived home and we connected the amp and it didn’t work. So the amp was burned. Apart from that the price was a bit higher than the same thing in other stores, it’s not nice to pay 50 dollars more, but that is just business and anyone can charge what they want. It was our fault that we didn’t do a good research before buying. But the very kind person that assured us that it would work because he used to be an electrician, and it only needed a basic adapter, was totally wrong and now we are home and we lost an amp, so we paid extra for the set and it didn’t work. You were very kind indeed, but please if you are not sure about something, don’t sell it. Because we lost money and we can’t go back because we don’t live there.

It’s a nice place! It’s a bit small but otherwise it’s nice.

Their hours aren’t very convenient and I was having a guitar strung and I dropped it off and I didn’t get a call before the store closed and then they were closed the next day Sunday so I didn’t get my guitar until Monday and that was extremely inconvenient. They also have a very small selection of basses.Update, they aren’t even open a couple hours on the 4th of July so I won’t get my guitar till Tuesday I am very upset with this store.

Rudest customer service I have ever encountered. The man I spoke to on the phone yelled and hung up on me. When my daughter went in person to drop off the instrument for repair at the agreed upon time, he remained upset and kicked my daughter out of the store. Strongly encourage anyone looking to have their instruments fixed to look elsewhere. Disappointing experience to say the least.

Terrible customer service. Called and said I would be by in 10 minutes for an emergency repair. Guy was nice on the phone. When I arrived 5 minutes early they had closed up and locked. Super helpful…

Nice shop ! great selection of guitars and bass. owner is very knowledgeable . nice guy as well. support a local business. If you are a guitar player or musician you will like this shop !

Such a nice little store, Owner is very kind and helpful, i really enjoy going there for my guitar needs.

Good service fair rates.

Cool little music shop. Worth going and especially if you need a setup on your instrument.

Ordered a guitar on Reverb and Ken always answered the phone and was very helpful throughout the process. I ordered a Larrivee OM-40 and it was listed as brand new but definitely had a dent and 2 scratches which was disappointing but overall a good experience with the process.

The guitar however has a terrible extreme buzzing noice, especially when playing on the first 7 frets of the 4th, 5th, and 6th strings…even when playing a single note and strum lightly…a terrible buzz. I can’t seem to figure out where it is coming from. I will have to take to a luthier which is unfortunate given that it is a brand new guitar. He did say he sanded the saddle down before shipping to lower the action, suspicious that is the problem.

Update: Took it into a luthier. The saddle had been sanded down, action too low, poor job with the setup. Had to build me a new saddle. New strings, and adjusted trust rod as well. Buzzing gone. Sounds and plays like a dream!

When I can I prefer to spend my money at mom -n- pop businesses and A Sound Choice is a great guitar shop. Knowledgeable and they have a great selection of music making products. The corporate guitar stores don’t always hire staff that even know what a treble clef is so my advice is spend your money here.

Albert and Andre were absolutely amazing and they helped me find the prefect stand for my violin. They let me try it out and showed me several alternatives to help make sure I was satisfied with my purchase!
I highly recommend BMC for all music needs.

Very friendly and knowledgeable personal.

Knowledgeable professional staff and instructors.

Just stopped by quick. Had a great hour. They are the best

Good info from employees

Instrument rentals are great for their prices

A hidden gem UPSTAIRS. Don’t miss it. Dave the owner is great, and talented. Patrick Gill is the PREMIER guitar TECH in the whole northwest CT region. He works miracles at a very fair price. Excellent teachers, Will for piano and keyboards and Mike for guitar and bass. Better check them out. I only trust my guitars to Dave and Patrick. Won’t go anywhere else. Seriously.

Great honest shop here. Had a great online interaction with Dave via email. Want to know why I trust them? Because they talked me out of a purchase. Ha! Thanks again!

Woodbury Music is the best shop around of all of your instrument needs! The shop owner Dave, is both friendly & knowledgeable! I have gotten both common things done (fixing of saxophone keys) as well as unusual things done (fixing of a dulcimer bridge) and everyone has always been great! I have also taken lessons for almost three years now, and my teacher Mike is not only a dedicated teacher, but also a very talented professional. Stop by and check it out!

Just bought a Maton BB1200JH from this wonderful place. Old school customer service in the best way.

I bought a Maton guitar from Blue Bus. Excellent service, excellent product. I am highly satisfied and will go back to them for my future purchases.

I can’t say enough about this place, it really is much, much more than your average music shop.
Owners Sanna and Patrick are kind, thoughtful and very customer focused. I purchased a beautiful Maton guitar and an AER amplifier there and also had Patrick do some work on my old Guild acoustic, and my experiences were extremely positive. Patrick took time with me and really understood what my goals were musically, and all his advice and recommendations were very useful. Sanna was also great, and always got back to me very promptly with any questions or concerns I had along the way.
Blue Bus also has a dedicated team of teachers that I also highly recommend, available to teach people of all skill levels.
They also have an “open mic” evening which has been put on hold because of the pandemic, but I know they want to resume it when things get better (which can’t happen fast enough).
It has been a real pleasure to support this local business, the individualized customer focus from them makes it so worthwhile.
Highly recommend!!

Nice looking small shop with an interesting selection of off brand guitars. I always like when the smaller shops aren’t afraid to stock higher end gear. The selection of acoustic guitars especially. The pedal section could use some fleshing out.

Bought a Maton guitar ….. company doesn’t have a clue on how to set a guitar up….. I have purchased no less then 50 guitars been playing for 50 years…. this company shouldn’t be allowed to sell guitars much less Maton .

Needed one string for my son violin rental. The lady was trying to sell me on a pack of strings that I do not need.

That was likely the most pleasant guitar buying experience I have ever had. I could not recommend patronizing this amazing store more. Thank you so much!!

I’ve never been more comfortable trying out guitars in a shop. I drove over an hour to get here and the customer service made it completely worth it. They have an incredible selection of great sounding instruments and went out of their way to make sure I found the guitar I wanted. Highly recommend this place.

Fantastic service, fast shipping, and competitive pricing.

Great service

I got a great deal on a pre-owned Gibson that was being sold on consignment. Bobby took care of me and the guitar is in FANTASTIC condition, as described. I am very happy with my purchase. Thank you!

Robert Balestra is a gifted luthier repairman for all things with 4, 6 or 12 strings. Johnny Winter, Ace Frehley and Grammy Award winning guitarist/producer Paul Nelson. Great staff & service. Lessons available

Had maintenance work done on my guitar here and Bobby did a fantastic job. Can’t recommend the place more for any guitar work.

Everyone was insanely helpful from who I spoke to on the phone for customer support, to the guy that helped me out when I came to pick up the amp in store. Giuliano’s Music takes care of its customers. Will definitely be returning for anything else I need in the future.

I went needing a pack of guitar strings to find out that they were closed. Their hours online say 12-4 on Saturday. Their door said the same. Lights off no one answered the phone. The time I went you ask? 3:25. EDIT:I have since gone back and they have been very nice and kind. Which has let me to update my rating.

Good service, very nice staff and management!

Provides great teachers and a convenient schedule, as well as instruments, repairs, accessories and advice from the musicians who work there. Take the opportunity to explore something new or study in depth.

Staff is always attentive and polite. Knowledgeable and helpful with any sort of question about an enormous range of instruments. Plus, my favorite, they aren’t just trying to sell you something ! Melanie M helped me and overall the experience was stellar! Thanks Melanie !

Excellent service from Peter. I need to return!

I have condensed my original rant down to the following- we really like our children’s teachers- but the front desk needs saving

Limited retail space, but the staff is helpful and knowledgeable. Music lessons are offered on site.

Yeah it’s good!

Imagine spending your life blowing air into a piece of metal. Unbelievable

Make sure you ask questions. I signed my son up for instrument lessons over the phone and the woman asked me if I preferred West Hartford or East Hartford. I chose the one closest to my home, on the day of the first lesson, I brought my son to the store for the lesson and they tell me its an online lesson. An ONLINE lesson? No one ever said a thing about an online lesson and why would you ask me which store Id like to go to if the lesson was online!?

The worst company in the world!!!! If I can give anyone advice it would be to stay away from this place. Their thief’s and I will never do business with them again.

Awesome place with excellent and knowledgeable assistance from Rick. Have known him and bought and sold guitars through Rick for 20 years. Very highly recommended.

The whole team is great! Rick is the best. Had a issue with a guitars pickups buzzing. He brought it to the back for approximately two minutes, gave it back to me and boom, it worked just like new. Some kind of ground wire was actually missing. I recently ordered a effect pedal from Rick and it got here in half the time it was supposed to!!! Definitely will be going back there. Thsee guys know their stuff. It’s impressive. Great place!!!

A real-deal mom-and-pop guitar shop, not a corporate big box store! Lessons, school band instrument rentals, repairs… Plus a huge selection of acoustic and electric guitars, bass, amps, ukuleles, drums… Guitar Hangar does it all!

owner is arrogant. store is filthy. selection is limited. looks like the music section of a pawn shop.

Horrible service the owner ignored me when I asked to play

Make sure that you buy your merchandise from inside the store !! Do not get it from EBAY because you will end up with trash..

My kids enjoy their piano teachers

Can’t say enough good things about “The Musical Forest Cafe” !!! The food, service & atmosphere are all outstanding. I’m so happy to have such a great cafe right here in North Haven. I most certainly will be returning till I try everything on the menu.
Sincerely, Jan Milo

We’ve been going to the Music Center for years, and the owners are consistently great people. They also have incredibly trained and talented teachers.

Great instructors. Great atmosphere.

Super friendly and knowledgeable staff.

Great place to get music!!

I came in for my introductory ukulele lesson. The place was a mess. The chair I was told to sit on had metal pieces sticking out the side. The AC was not on. The instructor informed me he had been playing uke for about 3 years. I was charged $50 and it was the biggest waste of money. I was highly disappointed.

This is a review for the musical forest cafe. I wish I could have enjoyed the food at this place, but this business is a mess. I came here a month ago on a Tuesday and they were closed out of the blue, so they granted me a 10% discount coupon for my trouble. I decided to give this place a try once again today so I called in advanced, but no one picked up the phone. I then googled their hours and noticed it said they opened at noon (I tried calling at 11:00 a.m.) but that they were opened today. To be completely sure about that, I checked their facebook page that stated, in fact, that they were open. When I arrived to the restaurant the owner greated me and stated that they have been closing on Fridays for the past 9 months and that I should have checked their facebook page prior to coming in here (REALLY?!). After explaining to him that I DID checked facebook he apologized and said he will change the facebook hours for his restaurant and offered to give me another discount coupon. I didn’t even bothered to take the coupon and left very disappointed by the lack of reliability and professionalism of this place and won’t ever be coming back. Places like this just reinforced my belief that going out of business is a conscious effort and wouldn’t be surprised if this happened to this cafe in the near future.

Guitar tech could not look at my guitar because he busy making egg sandwiches.

Kevin is amiable, skilled and reasonably priced. His shop is in historic Erector Square, and visiting is always a pleasure.

He has done repairs on my violins, violas, and cellos. All adjustments and repairs were done with skill and panache.

Kevin and his family have been absolute gems in our lives. His attention to detail, care and love for instruments could not be more clear. He is honest, thoughtful, and genuine in his approach with his clients. I can’t recommend Kevin and his shop enough!

Kevin did a great job fixing my cello!! Would 100% recommend

Nice shop. Repairing cost seemed reasonable.

We found Kevin Chapin’s violin shop because my daughter really needs a set of new violin strings before her senior recital. I visited his workshop, which is amazing, and got the strings. Kevin was really helpful describing the difference between the strings that were available. He is very skilled and knowledgable.

Brought many horns to Tim and he hooks it up. Great tech, great musician, and great guy!

Hd a great time with these folks. Came away pleased.

I have two alto saxes that Tim and the team have worked on over the last year, and I am very happy with the work they have done. Working with them was easy and they communicated well with me about when I could pick up my horn. I will be going back for sure.
Plus they introduced me to my current teacher, and for that alone I am very grateful. Great people.

Very nice and knowledgeable

Piano’s and professional keyboards

Never bought a piano long distance before. Couldnt be happier.

This place is 5 star all the way! I’d give it 10 stars if I could! This was the best piano shopping experience I have ever had. No one tried to sell u, they just let u find which piano speaks to u. I went in multiple times for hours and they never got annoyed with me. Brian is awesome! They’re all extremely knowledgeable and answered all of my questions in depth. I actually learned more about pianos just going in there. I couldn’t be more happy with the Steinway B That I purchased there! My piano sings!!! These guys are great!
Thank u all so much for such a great experience! ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

UPDATE October 5 2018: Richard Caruso promptly called me the day after I posted the review below. He apologized again, and very willingly reimbursed me for my travel expenses. I feel this was the ethical and right thing to do, and am glad that he made things right with me.

Original review: I flew in from Chicago to try out a Steinway B I had on deposit. The staff knew of my travel plans, and were very hospitable and welcoming. The piano, however, was noticeably out of tune on my arrival. While more accomplished pianists might not have seen that as an issue, it completely stopped me from getting excited about the piano. No sale for them, no new Steinway for me.
They were apologetic and realized their mistake when I pointed this out, but were unable to get the piano tuned while I was there.
This is a shop with perhaps good intentions, but they completely dropped the ball in this instance. I’m writing this review because I don’t want this to happen to anyone else.

I went to their store and also called them multiple times showing interest in one of their pianos. Despite the fact I showed interest and called/messaged multiple times on a piano, that piano was sold to an online buyer. There was no follow-up or a courtesy call to let me know that the product I was eyeing was gone or was about to be sold.

Nevertheless, I think that they have a good variety and a great knowledge base on pianos. I wish they were a little bit more responsive and courteous as buying a piano is a big purchase and takes time and thought.

EDIT: After my initial review, Caruso Piano contacted me and let me know that they have not reached out to me due to not getting a piano that was comparable to what I was looking for. Which is understandable. I truly appreciate them reaching out to me. I have to write that I learned a whole lot about piano buying from them when I first went to their store. I wish them good luck and hope they continue to be successful as a local business.

I purchased a used U1 3 years ago from Carusos.

Please be aware: these are GREY MARKET pianos. They were originally built and sold in the Asian market. You will have proof when you remove the knee board and see the holder for the lease agreement. And due to that fact, the wood of the pianos is dried to standards for Asia. Not the U.S. or Northeast U.S.

I do like the piano, BUT I and my piano technician are having a heck of a time keeping the damper pedal from squeaking BADLY.

I had the piano saver system installed almost immediately. It has helped the piano hold tune very well.

But because this instrument was not built to the specifications of an American instrument (or North America) it is expanding very badly from the humidity.

I have a dehumidifier in the room with the piano, no heat or doors or windows near it. And I have my technition here AGAIN trying to shave down the knee board to try and eliminate this terrible groan/squeek.

My opinion? Buy a piano through a local piano tuner/technition or through a referral from a tuner tech. If you are going to purchase one of these grey market instruments bring your tuner with you. Pay them for their time and have them tune the instrument you choose BEFORE you give Carusos your money.