Great experience ! Upgraded from a LUMIN T2 to a T3 quickly. Friendly & effective – I’ll definitely look to Quintessence for my next purchase.
great place to do business bought two cables and will be back great advice and price.Mick and David are great, places like this give true blue service .Support your brick and mortar stores like this for expertise.Thanks again you guys. William
Cool place for true audio efficiana
Not a great customer service experience. Called today to discuss a used item they’re selling online. I asked how old the item was and how long they had owned it. The gentleman who answered the phone was pretty condescending. I guess some clients may interpret snobbery as authenticity in this kind of establishment, I just see it as rude. Two stars because it was a short conversation and I’ll chalk it up to a bad day on the part of the sales rep.
if i could give them a lower than a 1 star, i would. not impressed at all with this place. would never do business there and not why others have in the past.
I was looking for a piano teacher who would come to our home and teach my son pop songs along with sight-reading and piano technique and we found a great fit with Greg Jacks at House Call music. Greg is an excellent piano player himself and immediately welcomed the idea of teaching my son using chord charts. It’s been great!
After a disappointing experience with a different music teacher, we gave House Call a try. We LOVE them! Diana has instilled a love of violin in our son. He practices without complaint and truly loves learning something new each week!
We love House Call Music! We have done both in-person (pre-pandemic) and virtual lessons and the switch to virtual was seamless. My daughters’ violin instructor, Diana, is an amazing musician who knows how to keep young children interested and engaged. My girls have thrived under her tutelage!
8. Seman Violins
Address: 4447 Oakton St, Skokie, IL 60076 , Morton Grove , Illinois , United States
Staff is very helpful and willing to assist in many ways to make the customer satisfied. I’ve gotten great book suggestions for teaching various subjects, great help with instrument rentals, and got an old horn that was unplayable fixed in a jiffy within a day. I recommend them to all my students looking to rent or buy books/music.
Great prices, excellent quality instruments, with knowledgeable, informative and kind employees. The owner, Kerry, tells me he played for the CSO, sold instruments to Wynton Marsalis, worked at a a prestigious brass manufacturing company and has been around all types of instruments since a young kid. He has decades of experience and is a great man. Can’t go wrong with dealing with this company.
I went here to rent a trumpet and the price for a rental was surprisingly low. I think the reason some people gave this place one star is because they are too sensitive to talk to a blunt person. So what if an employee speaks their mind, the service is good.
Very friendly and alwaus willing to help
I always come here for all of my musical needs. I even bought my first trombone here and I’ve been coming here ever since. It’s a great place to get whatever you need for your musical instruments.
The place is kind of a highly popular place to get ypur horn fits
Can you believe that after this tragic PANDEMIC they had the audacity to run my card with no notice or reaching out to inform me that the store is even open(keep in mind all businesses were closed for over 3 mths aside essentials). Mind you we didnt even have possession of the instrument it was still at the school til just 2 weeks ago. Then when i call and talk to JIM who says he is the manager. He attempts to not only talk over me but demand i return the instrument before he can refund what they took (without my permission and earlier than i agreed ) Even after i called them earlier this year to stop auto pay before because they took the payment earlier than authorized as well. No Customer or Common Courtesy at all….NEVER AGAIN!
I paid $68 by check January 8 to rent a flute for 3 months (J, F, M). The check cleared January 10. I gave them a credit card number at their request which I did not mind doing. I returned the flute early on March 9 in the same good condition: well before the 3 months rental was up on April 8. On March28 , they charged my credit card for $68. I called when I noticed it on my April statement and requested a refund on my cc. The owner apologized sheepishly and offered an excuse, but did credit my card $68 on April 30. Then he charged my card again (!) on May 1. I have requested another refund. He charged me three times for $68 and credited me once. In other words he tried to steal money from me. Avoid.
Just visited the store and have never been treated so rudely in my life. A taller and older gentleman working there was sarcastic and unprofessional and I hope to never meet again as long as I live. To think that that person might train children in the arts of music is horrid to imagine. I would not board my dog there. Avoid at all costs
10. Twelve Tone Music School
Address: 1742 Glenview Rd, Glenview, IL 60025 , Morton Grove , Illinois , United States
It’s the Rock House! Great coffee / beer hang out place. Music Lessons!
Really cool, laid back place with super nice workers. They brew their own coffee and have a ton of tea options. They also have some food choices. I just made my own grilled cheese. Will be back again soon.
Smoothies here are really good. Check them out!
Comfortable space. Good smoothies. Lots of child musicians, so not great if you want quiet. Or if you want to listen to something on headphones. No complaints.
Good coffee, especially iced coffee/mochas. Friendly staff. Love that they have gluten free options for sandwiches and clean the little grill. Get anything and everything to go. Most days it’s slow, evil murder on the ears. Some nights it gets worse. Three words: live kid karaoke. Never have I wanted something so “live” to be so “dead”. I know kids gotta start somewhere and build their confidence, but not in my ears and not in the tender, gentle night! Only other issue is that they are closed way too early too often against their posted hours. Went on a Friday night with earplugs at the ready and they were closed 45 minutes earlier than scheduled…again. I’m guessing an employee couldn’t deal with a third hour of butchered Katy Perry covers.:)
Summation: Get the coffee to go, tip the haggered employees really well, then run like hell!
Great sandwiches and live music. Decent coffee. Would personally avoid Family Karaoke night, but other than that it’s great.
11. Family Piano Co
Address: 267 Golf Mill Center, Niles, IL 60714 , Morton Grove , Illinois , United States
E-mailed Family Piano Co from another state with some questions about a particular piano and Max was kind enough to answer all my questions with a very thorough and detailed response; it’s obvious this family-owned business is very passionate about music and the piano market in general. Would not hesitate to do business with them…
Sincerely,
Charles
San Diego, CA
Family Piano Co., and Drew in particular, is a great place to do business with. Great customer service and communication, and they do exactly what they promise to do. I am very happy with my purchase. Thanks Drew, Bob.
I wasn’t expecting to find a Piano store in the mall but I did and I went in because I’ve always wanted to learn how to play, They have pianos that range from keyboard to grand pianos the staff was so informative and even allowed me to play they went as far as giving a mini lesson. Great experience and I’m definitely considering purchasing a piano in the near future
The family piano co service is very good for us and help me find out good instruments . But rental areas the piano teacher not well so older .she doesn’t nicely to kids and always talks to students about except teach content . Almost never demonstrate how to play the piano Alway use the most .the kids everytime back to home need go to YouTube find out how is play the song . I lots of time thinking about her waste of money and time to do her pension.doesn’t let kids grow up .learn few year doesn’t learn anything.if someone wants to not keeping up with the times kids go there learn to piano need clean eyes and check it . I think the older teacher is older ideas ,not keeping up with the times
Great place to take guitar, drums or bass lessons! My Son’s been in 3 sessions here and has progressed immensely.
This is an awesome place to improve your skills in music. The owner really knows his stuff and the staff is always helpful when it comes to rescheduling lessons. Can’t recommend enough.
My 13 year-old son has been taking drum lessons at North Shore Music for 2 years. He’s also in the studio’s band camp which places him with other students to form a rock band. They perform in public around Wilmette. He absolutely loves it and so do we parents. Alejandro and his staff are terrific!
14. Flatts and Sharpe Music Co.
Address: 6139 N Northwest Hwy, Chicago, IL 60631 , Morton Grove , Illinois , United States
These folks are dedicated to the community and to providing quality music education along with everything else.
Flatts and Sharpe has been an amazing experience for our daughter! The recent concert was amazing! We are so proud of her and thankful to the entire staff! Ricky you ROCK!!!
Great music store with lessons, sheet music and instruments. My daughter has really bonded with her piano teacher
15. Make’n Music
Address: 780 W Frontage Rd, Northfield, IL 60093 , Morton Grove , Illinois , United States
Knowledgeable staff, friendly, lots of cool gear you won’t find at Guitar Center.
High end amps, guitars and lessons.
Thay have been a loyal friend to me since the 70’s. And they love my dog Ariel…
Great people. Real nice, know what they’re talking about. Take their gear over the local competition because they just know it better, even if it isn’t spooky. Their techs are very likely great but weren’t in-site available when I visited. It’s still a beautiful shop.
check em out
Great store. Middle of nowhere. And definitely not the shop pictured. They had Les Pauls. But would not sell them. What’s up with that.? Very small selection in unless all you want is Airline guitars. No one said much. Just some people hanging out. Not clean and shiny like pictured. I believe they must have downsized big time. Not impressed. oh well. Ive been to the place pictured years ago. Impressive. What happened?
I was in the market for an American made Telecaster and they had nothing to show me. I had my brother n law tell me he wanted to take up bass and they don’t carry basses. I don’t understand what their market is? Another example of how bad the Chicago area music stores are.
Store is really different from the earlier locations off Milwaukee Ave., Ohio St., and Artesian. Even the store off Hubbard – after the move from Artesian – had far more inventory.
Though I could be wrong, it seems as though the days of finding tons of high-end boutique, FCS, GCS and PRS guitars hanging on the walls is gone. Also gone are the days of 8-10 really cool high-end amp makers being represented, including several products on the floor from builders like Elmwood, Bogner, Matchless, Victoria, Fuchs and on and on. The effects offerings are also a small portion of what they used to be.
Not quite sure what happened to the store the past couple/few years. Used to be, far and away, the finest boutique shop in the country (used to get regular visits from cats like Billy Gibbons, Keith Richards and many others that would fly in just to buy gear).
I wish the current guys the best of luck. And hope they have a long and healthy ride. Would be cool to see the store return to its former glory years, when it was The Grand Daddy of cool gear.
It is always closed. Make sure you check its web site to see if it is open.
16. Hip Cat Records & Music Videos
Address: 3540 Lake Ave, Wilmette, IL 60091 , Morton Grove , Illinois , United States
Nice little ma ‘n pa record store. He seems to specialize in classic rock, and he knows the things that add or detract value right off the top of his head.
These go in his “collectibles” section. For example, I got a 1st edition Simon & Garfunkel Sounds of Silence LP for $16, because the record, jacket, and label were ‘right.’ On the other hand, I got a copy of Parsley, Sage, Rosemary & Thyme for $1, because the jacket was messed up, the previous owner wrote his name all over it, and it wasn’t a 1st edition.
If you’re into something that isn’t classic rock, you can probably get a screamin’ deal. I bought several LPs of classic music with top performers and in good shape for $1 ea. Got a few free classical LPs from lesser known performers.
The other LPs are considered ‘value’ records, and are generally quite reasonable.
He also has CDs, a few cassettes, 45 RPM singles, and even a stack of old 78s.
Owner so knowledgeable and a pleasure to talk to. Looking for an oldie, look here. Fun place to browse.
I just sold my last batch of vintage vinyl albums that I’ve had sitting around for the last 50 years… Jim ( the owner) Is a very interesting guy and knows his business…. I received a fair price… No drama
Nice selection
Neat little spot with lots of rock / prog rock on sale. Found some great deals in the used racks. Has a great sale spot, bunch of new vinyl, CDs and the owner keeps pricing and putting out new stuff.
Definitely heading back to find a few missed gems.
Tiny little space. Most of the inventory is new editions of LPs. Also has a lot of CDs. There are quite a few $1.00 or less bargains but not much of a variety. The sales guy is very friendly and very knowledgeable but if you want something specific he’d have to special order it for you.
Small store, ok selection for the size. Owner talked on the phone the entire time we were in the store. So, not impressed with the customer service. Hope he wasn’t too offended by the money a “scary” republican spent in his store.
I’ve stopped at this store twice now and it has been closed both times when Google indicates it is open until 6 PM. Pretty frustrating, adjust your hours if your not going to be here please.
17. Five Hands Studio
Address: 5200 Mulford St, Skokie, IL 60077 , Morton Grove , Illinois , United States
My 10 year old has been taking lessons for about 2 years and the progression has been amazing. We just signed our 6 year old up to start in the fall. I highly recommend Five Hands Studio.
I have 2 kids learning to play the piano at Five Hands and it has been wonderful. My children had no prior experience playing musical instruments, so we decided to look for something around our house. They started in Sep of ’19.
Rick and his staff have been wonderful introducing the piano and other musicals concepts to my kids. They do not have to be taken kicking and screaming. My kids really enjoy going to their weekly lessons.
I definitely recommend Five Hands for parents looking to get their kids introduced to a musical instrument.
One of our neighbors recommended Five Hands, and we couldn’t have made.a better choice! Our daughter’s piano teacher is gentle, firm, encouraging, challenging, and understanding all at the same time. The studio owner is great at talking with kids (and parents) about problems that arise in practicing—playing through frustration, dealing with boredom, striking a balance between note reading and playing by ear. A sense of joy about music has entered our household. Our younger child is now asking “when will I be old enough to start piano lessons?”
Instructors are very knowledgeable and experienced and patient…..
Good studio. The teachers and staff are quite capable and great with the students. Progressive lesson plans. Also has programs with area music competition/achievment groups. They also do a recital 2x a year. Good for all skill levels.
18. Chicago Percussion Rental
Address: 1552 Tulip Tree Ct, Glenview, IL 60025 , Morton Grove , Illinois , United States
I needed to rent a cajon for a performance in Chicago. I had to reach out to this company multiple times leading up to the performance in order to understand logistics for rental (price, delivery options, dates, payment options, etc.). They were definitely not forthcoming with information and I had to email several times to get the information I wanted, often with vague responses. Finally I was able to get through over the phone and made a booking. I was given a delivery location, date and time, and payment details but was never told explicitly that I had to pay in advance. I planned to pay on delivery but my cajon was never delivered and when I called to inquire, I was informed (rather rudely) by telephone that my order was cancelled due to non-payment. I understand if this is company policy but I was never informed of this, and was not told of my cancellation so I was left to scramble for a cajon last minute. On top of it, the owner was very unprofessional on the phone and yelled at me for not making the booking correctly. And the cherry on top of the cake was that I was able to buy a used cajon from guitar center for the same price as the rental fee was going to be. Would not recommend doing business with this company as I was treated very poorly.
Ross is a horribly rude and unorganized person to deal with. I’ve had the misfortune to have worked with him on numerous occasions. Most recently, I was contracted to play percussion on a gig that he was contracted to provide gear for. He was very snippy with the musicians and mgmt. and quite simply, performed his job inadequately.
He was hired to deliver and setup instruments for the concert yet had no idea what the stage plot or what the venue layout was supposed to be….it turned out that our venue layout was radically different than what we rehearsed in, and so we needed time to figure out how we would adjust and what needed to go where. Ross decided to blame and chastise the hired percussionists because he was running late and didn’t have the patience to work under pressure. While the producers should have provided a stage plot to him and the orchestra, it’s on him to have reached out as well if he had a deadline to meet. We were forced to help him with setup and he was extremely condescending. Hopefully will never work with this company again.
19. The Local Fish Store
Address: 6014 Dempster St, Morton Grove, IL 60053 , Morton Grove , Illinois , United States
I took music lessons while growing up, love the talented teachers and want to continue to support their mission with teaching kids to be multi instrumentalists!
Coolest music school EVER. They also have the coolest manager. Can’t wait to come back!
I tried virtual lessons for the first time and was very pleased with what my child was learning through their piano instructor.
