Top-13 of music shops in New London County

The staff is knowledgeable. The luthiers know their craft and they’re straight shooters. Top notch.

I just started playing guitar at Christmas and picked up an inexpensive Martin at Guitar Center, under a grand, to learn on and am taking lessons at Music and Arts. It has been the most fun I have had since I went to law school and am so excited. I really want to buy a pretty Martin that sounds awesome (my Martin DRS-1 sounds great but not awesome, not to mention it looks a bit austere!). The difficulty is I don’t yet deserve another guitar until I improve.

Visual aesthetics are very important. I have gone into five stores around the state and since I am not Slash from G & R, nor aspire to be, I have either been snubbed or, worse yet, ignored.

Contrast Spindrift. I walk in and am immediately welcomed (what a suprise). I explained where I am at and they actually treated me normal and not with the attitude of a rock god granting me an audience and somehow condescending down to my lowly level. Since I can’t play a pentatonic scale behind my neck somehow doesn’t equate to the fact that I can’t purchase, without blinking, a guitar that is worth more than the self professed Rock God makes annually ( and I don’t mean this rudely or in a negative manner / the bad things about facts are that you can’t change them).

When I went Into these other stores, I sort of hoped it would be a supportive environment. If you are looking for that, would suggest you stay away from the “big guys,” unless perhaps you are Bill and Ted or Beavis and Butthead!

Getting back to Spindrift…

They are welcoming.

They are not rude.

They are not judgmental.

They value your business

They spend time with you as requires, they educate you and they accept, without judgment, where you are at in your musical journey.

They are super duper knowledgeable and attentive. Dude! Lol!

They answered every question I had!

They gave honest advice.

Even though I didn’t walk out today with a new guitar, as I was hoping to spend $2,000, they helped me select a HD-28 by Martin, that is modestly more and which I will be back for.

The best advice I received from the Manager or Owner, Corey Williams (who is impressive – period), is maybe wait a few months and get what you really want after what you know your really want! Honestly, he saved me another $2,000 buying something I don’t really want or need.

His explanations were awesome and he took the time required to educate me. At the bare minimum, he help me identify that I need, and want, a Martin HD-28 and may well want something on that body that is a bit ornate.

How many times does someone put YOUR interest ahead of making an immediate sale? Corey did!

Anyway I am blown away. What an experience. At a bare minimum I will be back to buy a HD-28 when I actually make nice sounds (not too far off) out of my current Martin.

Anyone can write a five thousand dollar check. I would like to also be able to play what I purchased in a respectful manner. What great advise – thank you Corey!

Make no mistake – when that happens (As I practice no less than an hour plus a day – I hope it is real soon), I am going to Spindrift Guitars.

You get what you pay for and I am willing to pay for Martin and to support a local business that not only competes with, but blows away the big chains.

FIVE STARS! Period.

Go there today!

These guys are amazingly awesome and great at what they do. Down to earth and good price for all the work they did. I learned a thing or two from the Luther they have there. Very knowledgeable and very kind. Thank you guys for the work you did on my guitar plays way better then I thought it would. Ty guys!

They really know their guitars.

An amazing shop, beautiful selection of instruments and very helpful folks.

Shop owner very helpful with advice on adjusting the action on my mandolin. It is specifically a guitar shop.

I brought in vintage Gibson Les Paul custom for a Re fret and they completely ruined it there was surface scratches ,chips in the fret board the frets were un even and buzzed. After 4 attempts bringing the guitar back to the store with the problems only half way fixed every time or even new problems I just cut my loses and brought my guitar to a real professional if you want it done right I do not recommend bringing your guitar here for major repairs

Friendly and knowledgeable on the phone; Provided a high quality video of our piano after tuning since we were buying from a distance. Piano was delivered exactly as promised and looks and sounds great. A pleasurable experience from start to finish.

Wonderful piano buying experience with the Caruso team – Britt and Larry. Our Yamaha baby grand arrived in Texas in flawless condition. We made the purchase, sight unseen, and the piano looked exactly as represented and sounds glorious. Totally recommend Caruso to anyone looking to buy a quality piano.

What a beautiful experience start to finish. Call ahead for appointment cause they keep odd hours, but once you get one you wont be dissapointed. They treated me like i was buying a 20,000 dollar piano even though i spent a fraction of that on an electric one. Totally class operation here.

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.

Great prices and Chris really knows his stuff.

The owner of the Drum Shop , Chris, is friendly, knowledgeable and goes the length to helping you meet your personal needs. As a family run business it’s a welcome surprise that mom is working along side him . Every time I visit I learn something . The available inventory has never been an issue as everything can be ordered direct from quality suppliers . I’m looking forward to my next visit as I’m sure I’ll be welcomed and certainly never disappointed.

Great local shop. Owner is friendly and knowledgable. Good selection of drum and percussion items. Will stop by again

Enter at your own risk! Maybe the owner, Chris was having a bad day. But, I went there to by a bass drum hoop and I guess I asked one too many questions. He became visibly irritated, slammed down the claw hooks he had in his hands and said he didn’t know what to tell me with a major attitude. I calmly handed him back the bass drum hoop I was going to buy and got out of there. Scary dude! The place itself was tiny with no real inventory. Needless to say I’ll never go back.

Excellent work fair prices. The end.

Nobody has more attention to detail, and delivers such flawless results as Bill. I did all of my own luthiere work for many years before meeting bill and now I won’t let anybody but him touch my stringed instruments.

As a person with much computer knowledge but lacking in the audio department, the team at 1428 has been EXCEPTIONAL with advising and consulting me in the right direction.

Many places will happily let you overspend for something you do not need and I am finding that to be the opposite here.

I’ve been in automotive sales since 2003 and can be very troublesome as a client, I am handled very well here.

The owner is a scam artist. I would be very cautious about letting him work on any equipment that you have put money into.

If you want to take piano lessons you can go wrong by going here. The instructor is talented and is focused on music education not just memorization. We love it!

I went in to buy a ukulele. Margo was friendly and knowledgeable.

My brother bought a guitar here. While he was taking lessons they realized part of the guitar was defective, and exchanged it right on the spot even a few weeks later. Excellent service.

Music instructors are the best.

Good music instructors, great service and great staff.

This store usually has my sax needs.

Be careful about their rental program. They will tell you that you can use the rental music towards an instrument, but the policy on this is excessively restrictive and limited to very few off-brands. Basically, the rental credit is worthless. If you want rentals, they are OK for that, but it is more or less money out the window. We kept an instrument for much longer than we otherwise would have after knowing that our child was going to stick with it with the plans on trading up. After accruing over $800 in credit, they said we could use it towards 2 different no-name brands or $200 of it towards a name brand instrument (which we ended up buying elsewhere for much less than that). You may be better served to rent briefly and return if your kid sticks with it after their 4 month promotion period, or pick a more local place and feel better about your money staying with local musicians and retailers.

No ukulele’s or song books for ukulele’s even thou they advertise that they have them.

I rented an instrument for my son there over a month ago. The instrument was supposed to be delivered directly to the school but never arrived. Over the coarse of 2 weeks I called 3 separate times to inquire when the instrument would be delivered and was told “I don’t know, we will call you back” every time. We never received a call back. When I called today, the woman told me that they ran out of the instrument I ordered and they have no idea when/if they will get more in. They didn’t call or email me to let me know the instrument was back ordered and THEY STILL CHARGED MY CREDIT CARD HUNDREDS OF DOLLARS for the rental that they didn’t/couldn’t fill. Their customer service and transparency needs alot of work.

In the era of impersonal chain stores, it’s a great pleasure to visit a place like Ron’s Guitars. Ron’s reputation is legendary in S.E. Connecticut. His experience and expertise with guitars is unparalleled.

Whether you’re a beginner or expert, Ron’s should be your first stop for all things guitar, both acoustic and electric, and a great variety of accessories.

the best place around! no question about it amazing selection awesome environment.

We had great help at Ron’s guitars we will most definitely be going back

Personal and attentive, knowledgeable and professional. You’re not getting treated like a faceless wallet in a warehouse shop here!

The people here are friendly, knowledgeable, supportive and very helpful. I have been taking bass guitar lessons here and am absolutely amazed with my progress. Besides the one-on-one lessons, I also enjoy their group sessions where we get to learn and practice songs together. I also bought a couple instruments, strings, amplifier and some accessories from them at great prices. If you want to take lessons on any musical instrument, or want to rent or buy any musical instrument, I highly recommend the Music Bureau, conveniently located at Salem Four Corners.

So I have been battleing this in my head for awhile so I just happen to notice this little shop walked in knowing very little, was super friendly, and answered all my questions, by the time I left he had me set to buy one, So today I’m going to go buy it, I. So excited !!!

This business has changed hands a few times. But still has a great selection of core instruments and accessories. Also offer lessons.

This place is exactly what I want to see flourish in New London. Wonderful and helpful owner. Bought my turntable and records here to get back Into vinyl. Please support this wonderful small business with a passion for great music! Keep up the great work of stocking excellent selections! God bless

The best place to start Record Store Day (and the other 364) as well. Great shop and always a joy to visit.

Awesome

Great selection. There isn’t anything like a good old record shop

If you are looking for an old vinyl or CD this is the place.

Cool store, good selection of new, used, and esoteric stuff.

Very rude owner, disorganized and a bad area to park or fell safe in

Had a great selection of used vinyl, but prices are high. I bought 7 Lp’s and some of them where very noisy and a couple skipped. If it wasn’t for the lunch at the Hot Rod Café the day would of been a waste.

Had high hopes after reading the other reviews and took a trip down to visit. Very disappointing. Sure, they had tons of records, old and new but c’mon. The prices were higher than what I pay for at Barnes and Noble or Urban Outfitters! Some weren’t even in great condition. And the service was horrible. Not a “Hello” or “Welcome” when we walked in. Just gave us a look and he went to the back to keep talking to some other guy, not sure if he was also an employee, that was sitting down.

They were vary helpful.

Extremely helpful advice before the sale, great customer service during and after. What a great bunch of people to work with!

Breath taking display of instruments / very knowledgeable staff

I purchased a ply bass that had issues out the door. The geometries where all wrong (e.g., the neck was too thin and was not pitched to the back of the bass) and it had a buzz coming from the fingerboard and bridge setup. They were unable to resolve the buzzing sound and I took it it to a local luthier to have the problem resolved. I ended up donating the bass our school district and purchasing a Shen.
Also do not purchase bows from Upton. I purchased a $2000+ bow made by J.R. Silva, Brazil, which developed a splinter just above the frog within 6 months and Upton would not warrant the bow. I now have a $2000+ paperweight.

Update, 10/28/2023:
… as to your reply, yes, I initially thought this was a great bass until I started using it for rehearsals and the buzzing appeared. I thought it was something I was doing or even due to the new bow. I drove 4 hours one way to your location to have your staff address the buzzing issue and they shaved a high spot on the fingerboard near first position and the buzzing did not appear while I was there. When I returned home and started using the bass again for rehearsals the buzzing reappeared. I wasn’t about to drive an other 8 hours to give your staff a second chance at addressing this. Instead, I took it to a local luthier who fixed the buzzing through a combination of reshaping both the fingerboard and bridge (the bridge was set up for jazz, even though I had told your staff that I play mostly orchestral music). While working on my bass, the luthier pointed out the other issues that I mentioned in my review. I am not a luthier, so I would not have necessarily recognized these issues except that through pro-longed use I might have developed muscular issues.

It also wasn’t until your staff responded last week that they could not help me with the issues with my bow that I decided to post this. I don’t like to post negative comments, but I wanted to warn other potential customers of my experience. Your staff could not even help with how I might get in touch with Mr. Silva. If you sell someone’s product, I would think you would have some form of contact information. I spent a lot of money on this bow ($2000+) and NO I DID NOT CAUSE THIS SPLINTER TO APPEAR. I do not appreciate you implying so by your comment. Had your staff handled things differently, I would not have posted this review.

You, as an owner, could have handled this differently as well. You *could* have contacted me by phone about this, instead of responding to my review in the manner that you did, and I might have considered removing this review. You could have even contacted me directly before I posted this review, as several days had lapsed between my speaking with your staff and my posting this review. At this point, based on the content of your reply, I will not remove this review.