Exclusive selection: The top 10 music shops of Lake Barrington

I bought a trumpet from PJLA Music a PHAETON Trumpet PHT-2040 Black Chrome Onyx plated finish with 24 K Gold Plated finger buttons, top/bottom caps & water keys. I have been playing trumpet for 40 years and I have never had a better horn then this. I got it and starting playing and it played freely and was open and the horn allowed me to do as i wished with it and truly went over the top with its performance.. Thank you for my Horn!

I think I’ve purchased five guitars from Jeff and Consolidated Music. The service is top-notch and Jeff couldn’t be a nicer, more honest person. My only complaint is, the guitars sound so much better when someone else is playing it. I get a lot of requests when I play but I continue to play anyway.

Love these guys! Great service and very friendly staff. Highly recommend.

For almost five decades, Consolidated Music under its owner Jeff has provided everything customers want in a serious local music shop: a solid variety of instruments and equipment for rent or purchase, with an exceptional guitar section; a knowledgeable staff of working musicians; private music and voice lessons; attentive familiarity with its clients; and so much more, always with an air of genuine professionalism.

For six years, before our son headed off to study at the Berklee College of Music in Boston, Consolidated Music was his second family. During his years at one of the finest music schools in the country, our son still traveled home to purchase his guitar needs from Jeff, instead of across the street from school at the Guitar Center on Massachusetts Avenue. Our son is still in touch with his longtime guitar teacher, although neither of them still lives in Barrington—one on the East Coast, one on the West Coast.

Our son met another of that same teacher’s students at a local songwriters’ circle hosted by Consolidated. Years ago, that young girl moved to Nashville, where she pursues her singing career, yet she too remains in touch—they continue to collaborate on projects and produce music together.

Over the years, we have recommended Consolidated Music to many of our friends whose sons exhibit a special interest in playing guitar or working with a band. Consolidated Music has always been much more than a local music shop—it serves as an artistic space, a gathering place for budding musicians.

Very cool little place. Had a guitar set up by them. Service was fast, fair and clean. Awesome people work there make you feel very welcome. Love the room full of wornstar products. Strongly recommend this place for your music needs.

I love Offbeat I go very often and they always make sure I get the best deal possible. They are very friendly and they know a lot about musical instruments and such. They have a variety of unique items such as “Tank Drums” which are very cool and they have just about everything you could want musically. Go check it out!

Friendly service. Went in for instrument repair and walked out with vinyl. They have instruments and music lessons.

Support your local music shop.

Friendly people

Music store with a nice selection of instruments. Some vinyl and CDs too, although it has very few, if any, hidden treasures. 2 stars removed because the one employee and 2 of the customers were not wearing masks when I visited. I would have spent more time and money here if they were. Stay safe, everyone.

I was very dissatisfied with this location as they don’t offer any instruments that would allow the user to produce the sounds of Echolocation

Our son loves learning from Stephanie! She is patient with him and he is making great progress on the piano!

Stephanie is so patient and she keeps our daughter engaged. We have been taking piano lessons for years now from a beginner and our daughter looks forward to her lessons every week! (though practice is still another story 🙂 )

Stephanie is an excellent instructor. Both my girls, ages 12 and 13, have taken lessons with Stephanie for a couple years. They are inspired by her musical ability and love for music. They have reached a skill level where they enjoy practice – I don’t need to harp on them to get in their piano time. Throughout the day the piano calls to them and I hear them practicing new and old pieces they’ve learned. Stephanie has helped make piano fun while challenging them to grow their abilities.

Been dealing with Shel and Alan for 13 years.
Hands down the best distributor I’ve ever worked with.
By far, the highest margins for the retailer in the business.
I used to buy a lot of smalls from Musicorp (doesn’t everybody?).
Increased my margins substantially by switching to Perfektion.
Same quality products for much, much less.
Credit terms are flexible and available. All you have to do is keep your word and pay, and the possibilities are endless.
I’d give Perfektion 6 stars if I could.

Awesome store! Would visit again!

I have been dealing with Black Mountain Music for over 4 years now and I guess Scott Johnson the owner of Black Mountain Music closed and switched over to Perfektion Music as a representative at some time last year. And now I guess Scott Johnson is no longer representing Perfektion Music either. Now the truth is that I have never dealt with Perfektion Music directly and I understand if they do not know me nor my store. I guess the strange part of this is that when I asked if I could get a 30 day net. payment plan like I had with Black Mountain I was told they couldn’t find where I had done business with Scott Johnson before. Then the person on the phone asked me if I could call his grandfather in Texas as he is down there for the Winter. I find it strange that a company would need me to call their grandfather, who essentially is on vacation to find out if I can get credit with them. I would think they would have denied me or had me fill out some paperwork. I am not sure I want to do business with a company that has no one at the helm on a regular basis and has to ask a customer to call someone not on the premises. I would think they would have at least called the grandfather himself and had him call me, but it sounded more like he wanted me to ask permission for him to do business with me. Interesting!!!

I’ve taken several electric guitars to Buddy for setup and maintenance. They do great work and are a pleasure doing business with. Highly recommend.

What a great friendly place! There is always music floating through the air as you walk in. Sean Shiel is a great mandolin teacher. Always patient and looking for new ways for me to understand what we are studying. Travel from Harvard to Dr. Woods to learn those slides and hammers. Is well worth the trip!

Dr Wood’s Guitar Emporium in Fox River Grove is a fabulous family run neighborhood music store. Their customer service is second to none, and the owner Buddy Wiegelmann has years of experience, not only as a music store operator, but has a touring rock and blues guitarist. He is a great teacher for guitar players of all ages and levels of experience. His vast knowledge and unassuming personality is a wonderful combination. I recently had my expensive custom built guitars worked on there, and I couldn’t be more pleased. I definitely recommend them to everyone!

Very friendly, asked for advice on a project gave great direction. I will definitly come back to give them my business.

A very helpful and knowledgeable staff. A relaxed atmosphere with some really great looking guitars.

Buddy is an expert musician. His advice, insights, and customer service are worth the visit. I support this local shop because they offer value that I can’t get from the web or a large chain.

I called 45 minutes before they closed and was there about 25 to 30 minutes before they closed to get a guitar pick the lady with a dog looked at me walking out locked the door and got into her car and left mind you there was still about like I said 25 to 30 minutes left so if you’re gonna close at 8:30 put it on your page on Google that closing is at 8:30 and I’m still gonna buy a pick tomorrow because you’re the closest but that will probably be the last time I’m there and I will be returning the saxophone either Friday or the third

Its a long story. In the end it was a bad experience.

I think if I didn’t check up with them things could have been much worst.

I’m not doing any business with them and advise the same.

I debated posting a review or not, but I think I should if it’ll keep someone from having a bad experience. First off, the employees are super kind people. Couldn’t be happier with the staff. But unfortunately the work I received on my guitar was really poor. Took a guitar there, first time bringing them one of my instruments. Was told I could expect a turnaround in under a week. Ended up waiting almost 2 months. Honestly not a big deal, happens a lot with instrument repair. Got the guitar back. Took it out to play it and the truss rod cover is missing. Find it in the case and put it on. Turn the volume knob, it falls off. Have to spread the top of the pot and reinstall it. Start playing and there’s a weird oscillating noise from the amp. Find the output jack totally loose, have to take off the cover and tighten it. Screws for the cover are stripped in the body. This is a new guitar by the way. Notice the G string sits higher off the neck than all the others, very noticeably. Figured they would fix this when doing a setup but I guess not. Had to file the saddles out myself. Should have just done the job myself at this point. Ended up taking the guitar apart to make sure the wiring wasn’t as bad as the assembly and setup. Got it playing good now, but after paying for someone else to do it and then having to do it myself, it wasn’t worth it. I figured the extra time taken would have meant it was 100% ready to go when they called but apparently not. This was a mid range guitar so I’m not terribly upset about it, but if it was something really nice I would have definitely been upset. Take this into consideration before dropping off your favorite axe. Hope they learn to slow down and do quality work.

We have gone to Knight Music Academy for 6 years and we absolutely love it. Laura is wonderful with my kids and it makes me so happy to not only have my kids develop such a love for music, but also to have an excellent musical education. We highly recommend this music school.

My both children has been going to Knight Music Academy for last six years and we had nothing but great experience. Academy has wonderful, Knowledgable, and experienced teachers.

I cannot emphasize five stars enough when I talk about Knight Music Academy. We have been a KMA family since my daughter was 2 and my son was a newborn (we are nearly celebrating 7 years at KMA). Because of Laura Knight and her incredibly warm teaching style and commitment to providing the best educational experience possible for all KMA students, both of my children have grown to have a deep and genuine love of music and feel proud to be guitarists. I have also watched in awe as Laura has helped to foster within them a sense of self-discipline, respect for themselves, their classmates, and their instruments. Moreover, both of my kids feel a sense of confidence as performers that I never had growing up with music lessons. The skills that they have learned at KMA transfer to their attitudes towards learning in many other environments as well. KMA offers far more than just music education, it’s an excellent investment in your child’s development overall. As a parent, watching my children thrive in such an enriching and nurturing environment is an incredible feeling. I am so grateful to Laura and all the KMA teachers for providing such a wonderful home for music education. Every family I have referred to KMA (and there have been quite a few) have marveled at how incredible the experience is–way better than anything they had tried elsewhere. If you’re searching for a place to teach your child to love music–look no further. KMA is the absolute best!

Disappointing Experience for my Child

I enrolled my 6-year-old child at Knight Music Academy with high hopes for a positive learning experience. Unfortunately, my experience with the owner, and the piano instructor, left much to be desired.

On multiple occasions, I observed displaying rudeness and impatience towards both students and parents. This behavior created a tense atmosphere that was far from conducive to a productive learning environment.

Moreover, demonstrated a lack of patience when working with my child. Instead of providing gentle guidance and encouragement, there were instances where my child felt discouraged and hesitant to continue with lessons.

These experiences had a notable impact on my child’s enthusiasm for learning piano. What should have been a joyful exploration of music turned into a source of anxiety and reluctance.

Expectations vs. Reality
When I initially enrolled my child, I anticipated a nurturing and supportive environment where a love for music would flourish. Unfortunately, the reality fell far short of these expectations.

Suggestions for Improvement:
I strongly recommend that Knight Music Academy invest in training for their staff, particularly in areas of effective communication, patience, and professionalism. Creating a positive and encouraging atmosphere should be a priority.

Conclusion
In sum, my experience at Knight Music Academy was disappointing, primarily due to the demeanor of the owner and instructor. While there may be positive aspects to the school, they were overshadowed by these significant shortcomings.

Sign Off:
Thank you for taking the time to consider my feedback. I hope this review serves as constructive feedback for Knight Music Academy to improve and provide a better experience for future students.

Great place like a diamond in the ruff… Highly recommended and well worth a visit!

Great record shop… Good selection, knowledgeable & personable owner, & fair prices.. Now, all I want to know is, WHERE ARE THE WOMENS CLOTHES?!?!?!?!?

Great selelection of classic vinyl

Nice old school record store

Gotta say it looked good from the window, open Saturdays only. To be updated with in store experience

Great little vinyl shop! Took my daughter (15 yrs old) to let her browse and she found a couple Christmas albums she bought. Wonderful vibe and a place you can’t just hang out.

– Lots of product
– Super clean store.
– Unfortunately this place has a very boutique feel to it, and that includes the prices. Used records are definitely over priced.
– Could benefit from more proper/accurate labeling/organization
– Lady at the counter was more interested in her phone than anything else.

I used to go to Rainbow Records often and Loved It!!! John was incredibly knowledgeable, friendly and the place exuded the love of music. Scratched Vinyl doesn’t have that vibe; it’s more of an overpriced music boutique than a true “record store;” selling good condition used vinyl at the price you could find it new and playing music that once would expect to hear in a trendy clothing store. I really think it’s a shame that Rainbow Records’ legacy wasn’t carried on with the new ownership and location but all good things must come to an end.