Great service and helpful with options for my pedal board
An excellent and helpful crew of experts were there to answer all my questions.
The staff is exceptional and deliver a great experience for everyone who walks in the door.
Pros:
-small shop and easy to navigate
-great staff
-great selection for any instrument player!
-readily available parking
-discounts of strings/sticks with their club memberships
Cons:
-price can be an issue, however it’s somewhat expected from instruments and audio equipment
-can be hard to find the store since Google maps had the store across the street, South of where it was actually located (although I submitted an edit so hopefully this issue is resolved)
Overall:
It’s a great store for any of your musical needs, and the deals they offer with string and stick club can be a real money saver for any avid musicians! It’s a nice shop with a great feeling to it, one which any current or future musician will love the moment they walk in the door!
The selection here is really strong, as it is at any guitar center. And as it is at any guitar center, your experience could be great or bad depending on who is helping you. The staff is a solid mix of experienced players who know gear and want to help on the one hand and hobbyists who only know what they like and want to sell you something on the other
Great service—but guitar center as a whole isn’t what it used to be….
I miss working near this store – it’s always busy, but not terribly so. Employees seem interested in getting the right stuff in my hands, which I appreciate. Still worth the time to see and touch instruments in person, and there’s no pressure at GC to do just that.
Today was quite the unpleasant experience stopping by Guitar Center. I went out of my way to the Aurora store in hopes of finding customer service. What I found was anything but what I was looking for. I was interested in a sizable guitar purchase but the tax and shipping store to store was a deal breaker. Making several purchases in the past, I continuously receive customer appreciation coupons via email that end up expiring. Instead of giving up on the purchase all together, I figured it would be worth a shot to see if the store would be willing to review my account and possibly revive one of the coupons that they send for free shipping. Walking up to the accessories department, I was met with a younger girl that had seasonal temp written all over her. I explained to the girl that I was interested in a large purchase today but would like to see if they could do anything about the shipping. Instead of a simple NO, I was treated like a bold faced liar and accosted with accusation after accusation and combative inquiries. “Can you tell me the magical code etc. that would give you this FREE MONEY!..” This girl had absolutely no respect for a consumer and more importantly no respect for a musician. I have met a lot of Guitar Center employees in the past that were sales driven and incompetent, but at least they don’t take it out on the customers. I don’t like to write a bad review but this deserved one. There are people that have absolutely no business in a music store and this employee was one of them.
Never been here
Whoaa!
Totally Bogus Customer Service. So lame in fact, I went in to buy something i really wanted just to be turned Away!!
No Way!
Yes Way!!!Dudes!
The fact these selling dudes were going to get the commission from my hard earned Pesos was totally not Excellent. Wanna-be-poser musicians with no futures and narley attitudes run this place, and they certainly have no exquisite knowlege of the harp. They also think Jack White is the Hendrix of our day!Whoaa… Be Weary my Friends. This is where music goes to die. Avoid this hellhole at all costs. This is definatley a most heinous and un-excellent store.
– Ted Theodore Logan
OF
=]WYLLD STtallllionssss!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
6. Music & Arts
Address: 385 Illinois Rte 59, Aurora, IL 60504 , North Aurora , Illinois , United States
Love it here! The workers are always nice and friendly and it’s such a nice place to shop at! 🙂
Great people to work with. Helped our son pick out and test a trigger trombone. Reasonable prices.
Muy amable la persona que nos atendio
Cool little music store with the two most friendly ladies there to help
We did two rent-to-owns through this location, and many instrument cleaning and tune-ups. Our experience has always been positive. My only complaint is that it is expensive, and I’m pretty sure that is just me not liking the reality of the cost of a quality instrument. 😀
I needed oboe reeds and some practice booklets. They had what I needed and have a small variety of instruments available: clarinet, various saxophones, flutes and piccolos, and some stringed instruments.
Not bad and I’m pretty sure they have a website too with a large inventory.
School closed due to COVID 19 , but they charge money from credit card every month and no way to make this cancel.
After 2 weeks of waiting for 2 masks that I ordered for our horn player, I finally called to get the status. I was told it was still being processed! I told them that was unacceptable after 2 weeks and that the order should have been after 2 weeks. I told them to cancel. The first CSR told me that she would cancel it. I asked for a confirmation number or email. Could not provide it. I asked to speak to a supervisor. She said there were none available She hung up on me. Called back again. This CSR told me he would cancel (proves the first request was not made). He also said that he could not provide a confirmation but would have an email sent. Very rude people and non helpful. Do not order from them!
Highway robbery. None of the music stores charge security deposit except this place. And it has been more than a month I am trying to get my security deposit back. Every call they have different story. And you have to wait long time to get customer service representative. Very shady company. It is like you buy something from TV commercial and trying to reach them after you return the item. I don’t suggest this place at all. Check other music stores and go there afterwards.
7. Record Status Ent.
Address: 39 W New York St, Aurora, IL 60506 , North Aurora , Illinois , United States
Great store, friendly employees! Met a nice gentleman named George that was sitting up near the cash register. He seems to love Halloween!
Nice little shop.
This shop is adorable, cozy and full of history~ Shop keeps are very kind & helpful. Would recommend gift shopping here for friends or family that have an inclination for items with history.
I thought this place was great! An eclectic mix of past and present just as the name suggest. I thought the prices were reasonable, the merchandise presented in charming displays.
I believe there was a change in ownership a few years ago, and the people I spoke with during my recent visit were very patient and polite.
There is street parking 1/2 block down as well as 6-8 places in the lot.
VERY worth a trip!
Super cute place to shop! I knocked off a star because of the parking
Very cute shop. Found a close to new bath bench.
PAST & PRESENT SHOPS IS A WASTE OF YOUR TIME, IF YOU ARE LOOKING FOR UNIQUE FINDS, A VARIETY OF ANTIQUES OR COLLLECTIBLES, QUALITY MERCHANDISE OR REASONABLE PRICING. SHOP IS OVER PRICED, FILLED WITH ITEMS THAT YOU MIGHT FIND AT A BAD GARAGE SALE. THE SHOP HAS VERY FEW ANTIQUES AND COLLECTIBLES. DECOR ITEMS ARE ITEMS THAT YOU MIGHT FIND AT HOBBY LOBBY…NOT THE NICER STUFF, BUT THE MERCHANDISE THAT NOBODY WANTED, SELLING AT DEEP DISCOUNTS JUST TO GET RID OF IT… PAST & PRESENTS IS EXTREMELY OVERPRICED, ESPECIALLY IN VIEW OF THE POOR MERCHANDISE SELECTION. SERVICE WAS UNFRIENDLY AND DOWNRIGHT RUDE….. MY NEGATIVE ENCOUNTER WAS WITH MARSHA, ONE OF THE SEVEN STORE OWNERS. ( I FOUND MARSHA TO BE ONE OF THE RUDEST, SELF ABSORBED PERSON THAT I HAVE EVER SPOKE TO.) I WAS ASKING MARSHA SOME QUESTIONS ABOUT THE STORE AND SHE SPOKE TO ME IN A VERY, HATEFUL MANNER. WHEN I WAS SPEAKING TO HER, I MENTIONED TO HER THAT I AM DISABLED AND SUFFERED FROM CHRONIC HEALTH CONDITIONS AND ILLNESS AND THAT DUE TO MY ILLNESS, THERE ARE MANY TIMES THAT I CAN’T GET OUT OF MY HOME. SHE SAID SOME THINGS THAT WERE OUTRIGHT MEAN ABOUT MY ILLNESS. BEING A LONG TIME CUSTOMER OF THE PRIOR SHOP, I CAN NOT UNDERSTAND WHY SOMEONE CONSIDERED AN OWNER IN THIS NEW STORE WOULD INTENTIONALLY TRY TO RUN OFF CUSTOMERS. THEY HAVE VERY LITTLE BUSINESS AS IT IS. THE SHOP HAS ABOUT SIX PARKING SPOTS. WHEN I PASS BY, THERE IS NEVER MORE THAN ONE OR TWO CARS PARKED IN THE LOT. ONE OF THE CARS IS ALWAYS THE PERSON WORKING AT THE STORE. WHEN I WAS AT THE STORE, THERE WERE NO CUSTOMERS BESIDES MYSELF IN THE STORE.
SEVEN INDIVIDUALS LEASE THE STOREFRONT AND ARE CONSIDERED OWNERS. THE STORE IS COMPRISED OF THE SEVEN OWNERS AND SEVERAL OTHER INDIVIDUALS THAT RENT SMALL SPACES. EACH SPACE SELLS THEIR OWN MERCHANDISE WITH NO EMPHASIS ON QUALITY. MANY SPACES WERE VACANT. HAVING SEVEN OWNERS MAKING DECISIONS, NO WONDER THE PLACE IS A DISASTER. PAST & PRESENTS IS A STANDALONE SHOP WITH NO RESTROOM INSIDER AND NONE LOCATED NEARBY….MAKE SURE YOU GO TO THE BATHROOM BEFORE YOU GO THERE. OTHERWISE, YOU WILL HAVE TO DRIVE A DISTANCE TO THE LIBRARY, SHOULD NATURE CALL. THIS SHOP IS IN HIGH NEED OF CLEANING, LOOKS DISORGANIZED, AND LACKS EYE APPEAL. PAST & PRESENTS IS RELATIVELY NEW TO THIS LOCATION. THERE WAS A PRIOR SHOP NAMED “ECCLECTIBLES” THAT WAS IN THAT LOCATION FOR YEARS. I WAS A CUSTOMER OF ECCLECTIBLES FOR YEARS AND SPENT 2 TO 3 HOURS AT A TIME SHOPPING BECAUSE OF THERE VARIETY, QUALITY, AND GOOD PRICES. I WOULD VISIT OFTEN AND ALWAYS END OF BUYING. WHEN I VISITED PAST & PRESENTS, I WAS OUT IN LESS THAN A HALF AN HOUR AND DID NOT FIND ONE THING THAT I WOULD HAVE CONSIDERED BUYING. PAST & PRESENTS IS LOCATED WITHIN A COUPLE OF MILES FROM MY HOME. ECCLECTIBLES MOVED FROM THIS LOCATION TO BATAVIA, WHICH IS 3 OR 4 MILES FURTHER. FYI, ECCLECTIBLE IS LOCATED ON HWY 25 ADJACENT TO WILSON, OVERLOOKING THE FOX VALLEY RIVER. IN THE FUTURE, I WILL DRIVE THE EXTRA DISTANCE TO ECCLECTIBLES…. A SHOP THAT IS WORTH THE TIME AND DRIVE. ( I AM IN NO WAY AFFLIATED WITH ECCLECTIBLES.) EVEN IF THE MERCHANDISE WAS WORTH SHOPPING, I WILL NEVER GIVE PAST & PRESENTS ANOTHER CHANCE TO SEE IF THEY IMPROVE, BASED ON MY ONE EXPERIENCE WITH MARSHA. IF I COULD RATE THIS STORE LESS THAN 1 STAR, IT WOULD BE MINUS 10 STARS……
I’m an avid antique shopper. I absolutely love it but as an African-American woman, I find that I am not always met with kindness in these establishments and am either ignored or followed. When I walked in, I was completely ignored. Looked at and ignored. I thought maybe it was strange but ignored it and walked around. I picked up a few things (the establishment is nothing especially incredible but I found a few cute things) and when I came to the register, the older cashier woman still ignored me. I placed everything on the counter and decided to leave. This is not particularly an establishment I wanted to patronize and will never come back.
This place is goodwill art and crafts but way overpriced.
Got the PRS Silver Sky just as described and pictured. Communication and shipping were quick. It arrived very well packaged both inside and out. Thank you, Jim. Will check what you have for sale on my next purchase!
If you ever need to trade/buy used gear, go here first. Fair prices all the way around.
These guys are awesome, great communication, and the guitar I bought was exactly as advertised/pictured. Also very quick shipping, and the packing was fantastic, not just the box but even inside the case on the guitar, even had a protective styrofoam around the pickup switch, above and beyond. Guitar also had a great setup. You won’t be disappointed!
10. Instrument Exchange
Address: 17 N River St, Batavia, IL 60510 , North Aurora , Illinois , United States
Fantastic place for string and brass and woodwinds Tom was friendly and I had a wonderful time .. School is right around the corner and this is a great place to start!
Such a great store. The family went there for a single trumpet, but we left with more. Owner was such a nice guy and helped my son try out trumpets until he was happy. Also educated us while we went through the different brands. Picked up a used guitar, but will be back for more. A+
Knowledgeable, helpful, patient and friendly
I liked it! I went in with a broken bass we bought there and he let me trade it out for another that wasn’t broken. I think the owners nice and helpful. 4 stars definetly!
I bought a trumpet here a few weeks ago. I tried negotiating on a few trumpets and he said he was ” firm on his prices “. That’s a reasonable answer, so I stopped questioning his prices. I was naive to look up the trumpet I had purchased AFTER my two hour ride home. To my surprise this man made a 100% profit. Yes, he sold it to me for twice its worth as a a new one. That’s IF he bought it new, but he mostly likely bought it off someone for a few hundred dollars and created a bigger profit for himself. He has no shame in selling it to me and ripping me off as he was all smiles when I left the store with the instrument. Horrible place to shop. If you do shop here, look up the instrument you are getting.
Tom the owner really knows nothing about nothing. His prices are way inflated and he does not want to negotiate on his used items….by the way most have issues that have not been resolved prior to him offering them for sale. He acts like he knows everything because he carries around some history book to try to sell people on…..FYI a Bach made in one year does not mean a Bach made in another year is of same quality and/or price.
Went in looking to trade in two instruments, one of which had never been played worth at least 200 dollars and the other at least 300 and he offers me 200 for both. Do not expect to get anything in terms of reasonable amounts of money because this was a joke.
11. PM Music Center
Address: 4411 Fox Valley Center Dr, Aurora, IL 60504 , North Aurora , Illinois , United States
Very friendly staff. Been renting from here and they’re always very professional
I’ve been a customer since 2004. They’ve ALWAYS had my back. Great place.
Great place with very friendly staff members. They’re always willing to help. I used them for instrument rental for a couple of my kids.
Very friendly and welcoming place. Had an issue with a repair but they corrected the problem. Took more than stop to resolve the issue, so 4 out 5 stars. Would still recommend and will continue to shop here.
Good
12. The Vintage Marketplace Company
Address: 211 S Lincolnway St, North Aurora, IL 60542 , North Aurora , Illinois , United States
Love love love this place! Find something every visit. They are always changing it up, new arrivals, etc. Staff very helpful and friendly. Can’t beat the prices for such wonderful finds. I love bringing my daughter and my friends for a shopping spree.
I love the place..
I love the people..
& I love the whole shopping “experience!!”❤
Loved all the holiday decorations
Nice place for vintage stuff
Lotsa stuff. A lot to look at. Needed more time
Nice, tad pricey, fun to go for an hour!
Ordered a custom birdhouse and received some twigs, moss and pebbles hot glued together in what was vaguely shaped as a house. There was seashells included in the exterior decor which i didn’t ask for and didn’t even make sense it’s a bird house not some type of sea life. Several of the rocks that were probably found in someone’s front yard had fallen off exposing the GLOBS of hot glue. The birdhouse was 68% hot glue. I reluctantly hung the “birdhouse” in my tree and when i woke up the next morning my car was COVERED in bird droppings, i don’t think it was move in ready.
I made my first and last visit to Vintage marketplace yesterday. The large space is very clean and houses some interesting items. While this sounds like the beginning of a positive review, the experience was a negative due to the staff’s failure to take covid protocol seriously. I can understand allowing an occasional guest to shop maskless. After all we do allow for medical exemptions but this shop totally ignores the mask mandate. One staff member proudly wore his mask as a chin strap. The store looked very nice but it isn’t worth the risk to me.
DO NOT PARK IN THEIR LOT! You will be TOWED! My mother and I visited here all the time! We’ve gotten many festive items for many holidays and odd things around the house here but never again, I parked my car in their lot because I thought it was a safe place while I did some shopping down the strip, definitely wrong, I was gone for a little over 30 minutes when I came back my car was gone, I went into the shop to talk with the workers to find out what happened that my and the staff was quite rude about it. A younger lady with black rimmed glasses very loudly shouted at me, even if I was to shop in here first and then go somewhere else, they’d still tow me. Don’t waist your money here, there are better shops close by that actually have genuine antiques! Towing one of your guest is probably one of the rudest things, even if someone hasn’t been to your establishment and parks in your lot, that’s good for your business, looks busy and I guarantee you if one of the people that park there don’t go in they sure will tell someone about your business. Sadly today you surely lost mine and my boyfriend’s families business…. shameful.
13. MOKA Coffee
Address: 24 S Lincolnway St, North Aurora, IL 60542 , North Aurora , Illinois , United States
Always excellent coffee. Can’t find nicer people anywhere. A local gem
Always wonderful flavors, fast to go through the drive thru and lovely staff!!!
Has a nice variety of drinks and snacks and the price is better than Starbucks.
First time here today coffee is not strong more like getting a Frappuccino from McDonald’s. It’s ok but I like my coffee to have coffee in it.
Cappacino was good – long lines to order at 10 am Sat though, so plan for that.
Order the mocha, compared to Caribou coffee over priced and not great taste wise.
“You know, there’s a lot of things more important than a cup of coffee.” ~Moka Management
Things you shouldn’t say to customers, as the proprietor of a coffee shop.
Obviously, there are many things more important than a cup of coffee, but to snarkily hiss that at a loyal Moka customer, who was making a joke about how much she’s going to miss your coffee today… cmon man.
Very disappointing.
14. Gremlen Recording Studios
Address: 130 W Downer Pl, Aurora, IL 60506 , North Aurora , Illinois , United States
I’ve been to this studio before, but I recently started attending regularly with engineer Michael Menefee. I’ve never had a bad experience with this man. It’s funny because my genre is very singer/songwriter, sad slow acoustic stuff, and Mike specializes in hip-hop. but he is able to achieve any sound that I describe. The range he has with music production is unlike anything I’ve seen from anyone. Every time I come out of this studio, I have a sound that I only ever hoped I could achieve. It’s truly incredible. I recommend booking a session, no matter your genre or style, Mike will be able to get it done beyond your expectations. He’s incredibly fluid in the way that he works and produces beats, programs drums, engineers vocals, and just about anything else you could need in a recording session. Working with him is always an amazing time, not only is he incredibly skilled engineer, but he’s just a dope dude to spend that creative time with because he truly knows what he’s doing. I always just count down the days until I can go back. He’s also very helpful with stuff you need to know when you’re releasing your songs and beyond. Overall, amazing experience and I already can’t wait to go back and make some more magic with this man. I couldn’t recommend him more. 11/10.
This is my sanctuary. Chris is a phenomenal engineer, and open to all ideas. He even writes and plays parts in your songs if you want him to and he is GOOOOOD
High quality production – Tip my cap to ya’ll
Get it all off your chest
My experience with Gremlen has been unpleasant as of recent. Several tracks that my artist recorded with Gremlen can’t be completed because the engineer used trial versions of plugins on the tracks, while several other songs were lost altogether… Thankfully, the owner gave the artist vouchers to compensate for the lost tracks and corrupted songs, but the vouchers didn’t work several times… And now an entire project is ruined because trial versions of plugins were used, over a year of work has to be redone. An insurmountable amount of times has been lost due to negligence of the engineer.
15. Scott’s Vintage & Antiques
Address: 105 S River St, North Aurora, IL 60542 , North Aurora , Illinois , United States
Very cool place, lots of unique items to choose from. Not your average antique shop.
Cool place with a neat mix of antiques and oddities.
A lot of unique items, some very cool stuff,but also some pretty mundane items mixed in that didn’t really seem to belong. The layout was a bit chaotic, so finding something in particular would be a chore, but the staff was very friendly and willing to help if you need it. Not pushy to sell, which is a definite plus!
Very cozy location. After I looked around for a bit the owner offered assistance to help me find what I was looking for. I wouldn’t have seen this place if the ugly gorilla costume outside didn’t catch my attention.
Definatly an interesting place i like to go to, very special.
I’ve visited plenty of oddity shops. I love them. Came here from Michigan. This place of course holds some unique items but they’re poorly kept. There’s layers of dust over everything. I asked about the two headed fetal skeleton and he said $400, I found it on Etsy for $60.
Hard to find
16. We-R-Music Studios
Address: 52 W Downer Pl #308, Aurora, IL 60506 , North Aurora , Illinois , United States
I was planning a trip to the area on unrelated business and decided to purchase the Zenith while at it. Seller was available on short notice for the hand off. Everything went smooth. Took the radio home and set it in my living room. It sounds great for an 80+ year old radio.
There is not a scratch in the cabinet, it looks great!
Very pleased with Ben’s work. Beautiful restoration! Highly recommend!
The specialty knobs I ordered were outstanding! Once on my radio, I can’t tell the reproduction from the original!
20. Larry Kenzal Pianist
Address: 1110 Newcastle Ln, Aurora, IL 60506 , North Aurora , Illinois , United States
