Premium music shops of Prairie Grove: Our Top-20 selection

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!

Very good service, did a modification for very nice price, friendly folks know their onions.

Very easy to fix a problem I was having with my guitar. Very knowledgeable and friendly staff.

first time at a sam ash store very impressed the selection was outstanding everything neat and orderly was like a kid in a candy store was helped by Mathew young man very helpful and energetic and friendly ended up leaving with a beautiful epiphone sg pro in cherry a beatiful guitar for the money and also purchased a amp they had used for a great price my wife and I left having a great time thanks to Mathew and sam ash will shop there again

The store seems to always be in disarray. Every time I go there, the place is a mess, and I can’t tell if I’m looking at new or used items. The prices are usually reasonable on most things.

Love the friendly cashiers. What I don’t like is the long wait for EVERY transaction….each time we are there it takes about 5-10 just to check out, and there is rarely a line…

It was good, all staff were friendly and professional.

I called ahead of time for a product. The associate assured me they had it and reserved one. When I got there, they apparently “sold the kit reserved for me” and I had to spend more money than I had budgeted. there was no discount offered or anything. I am thinking they said that just so they could get me to spend more money.

High prices. One of the managers was rude and lied to me on purpose.

I’ve always had a super good experience with Sam Ash specifically this one at Buffalo Grove. I’ve taken/ sold multiple instruments here throughout the years after upgrading and wanting to get rid of my used equipment. I’ve never had any problems (until now) and the staff had always been kind and had always taken care of me. Today I came in to potentially sell one of those said instruments, when I was immediately degraded by management. Not only was I told that the make and model of my bass was not correct information, I was also told that my price range was off and that I needed to do research before trying to sell my instrument…….
I have been playing bass for 18 years now, so to have someone who doesn’t even play, or know anything about basses (he straight up told me he was a drummer and didn’t know a lot about bass) tell me that I am wrong about my own instrument was completely degrading and frankly insulting. He even made a point to tell me that he’s been working in the instrument retail industry for years now, and would know if my bass should be priced higher. I made several attempts to correct him about my instrument, all of which he did not listen too and didn’t even make the attempt to validate. It’s really hard as it is to be a woman in music, so to come here today and be completely degraded and treated as if I had no idea what I was talking about by the staff, was just so beyond insulting and aggravating.

Highly recommend Pearl Street Music. I’ve taken lessons here and bought a guitar. Very helpful and knowledgeable staff. I take my acoustic here for new strings and adjustment, and they always do a great job. Feels like a new guitar!

Dave is awesome and always helpful.

You helped me fix my mothers guitar and did an amazing job. Pearl Street music is my top 3 places i love to visit in McHenry. Thx again ❤

good prices on used drum gear. would like to talk to the owner who’s a drummer. the young man that works only on Friday isn’t knowledgeable about all the inventory. don’t pop in if you’re in a hurry. nice place.

Only been at the store 3 times. 1st visit was ok. 2nd I asked for a guitar cable to try out an amp. The owner refused to provide one even though I said I would keep the volume down. 3rd time I was allowed to play a guitar for a while at low volumes, then the owner rudely placed his hand on the guitar and said “You need to leave.” What’s the point of having a business if you don’t allow customers to try out your instruments? I will never do business with them again and will happily give my money to another music store.

Brought my new guitar in for a set up. Assured that it would be done right in 2 weeks. Called after 2 weeks and was told they hadn’t even started on it. Will never shop here again. Couldn’t be more disappointed.

I had a music lesson scheduled for 1/8/20 at 6:30pm I had a morning Dr.s appointment in Milwaukee The original scheduling would have allowed me plenty of time to got to the store. unfortunately The Doc found something worrisome and need me to stay for tests that is when I called to try and reschedule and this saga began. This store literally stole 3 lessons worth of my money with out remorse…because I had a medical emergency!

It is very unfortunate that this store is not run like a local business servicing their neighbors. I have been going to Pearl Street for years. I have bought several instruments and accessories, including a previous owners personal guitar. I nave taught myself a bit and can play a bit but I decided to get some polish with lessons. I bought 5 lessons and took one that night is was great. The teacher was awesome. The following week I had an appointment in Milwaukee but was scheduled to be home for my lesson. Well the Doc found some stuff that need further attention. I called The store to reschedule my appointment but the told me I would be charged full price. I explained to deaf ears about the issue, nope, you lose the lesson, You can start back up with your remaining lessons next week. I don’t care about the money but when a small, local business is this inflexible with it’s neighbors then would rather go big box and get the pricing.

So I got a call from the store and The owner tells me there is no refund or reschedule. I had asked him to refund the remaining balance on my account he said that I have to give 2 weeks notice. so he now has taken 3 lessons fees for absolutely no services rendered. In the Us code it is defined as theft.
Please see attached voicemail transcript to see how this store treats a medical emergency.

Here is the voice mail transcript from ken the owner (I believe).
“Hi this message is for Gary this is Ken Pearl Street music um on the oil over here and _⁠_ signed up for lessons with Nate and then um we paid for the month and then you didn’t show up today I heard you want to refund because you were upset um about um our policy um but we have a contract that you signed so I mean you know about _⁠_⁠_ policy it says it on the contract right on the contract it says anytime student _⁠_⁠_⁠_⁠_⁠_⁠_ _ lesson then um you don’t get a refund for that lesson iMessage within 24 hours and um yeah that’s just how that works um it’s in the contract we can email you the contract that you signed _⁠_⁠_⁠_ that says that that’s fine if you want um and if you wanna refund um for the rest of the lessons for the month um it also says on your contract that you need to put in a two week notice when you wanna quit so you would always for two more lessons anyway so I would say why don’t you just finish out the month and if you want to put in your two week notice um starting today that’s fine um but yeah he signed a contract um that you’re fine with canceling the same day and not getting credit for it and _⁠_⁠_ also signed a contract I said you have to give it two _⁠_⁠_⁠_ notice before you quit so um yeah those are store policies if you can give us a call back or you can email me Pearl Street music at att.net if you have any other questions or concerns um if I have your email um I’ll look and see if I have your email I can just email you the contract that you signed OK and we’ll talk then thank you bye-bye…”

You lack the charm of a neighborhood business.

Ok

Both gentlemen were helpful and courteous while getting my daughter her instrument.

Excellent instrument repair service. Accurate problem diagnosis. Repairs hold up. And Mike’s prices are more than fair. Worth the one hour drive from Chicago.

Myself and my cousin have both bought guitars here, and the serves is great! Knowledge and appreciative of their customers. I would highly recommend them to any musician.

You would of thought they would be more customer oriented. They didn’t seem interested that we even came in.

Mike did an amazing job restoring my 20+ year old alto sax that I let sit idle for 10 years. Now it plays just like I remembered and it didn’t cost me a fortune to restore. Thanks Mike!

Very helpful

We went to fix, my trumpet, they didnt, they actually made it lead to a broken trumpet, now we need a new trumpet, and we dont know where to go!

Hoffman Strings….the best luthier around for miles and miles! I have been a customer for over 20 years. Bill Hoffman has always, and I mean always stands by his work. When I used to rent violins (I now have 2 grown daughters) they were given to me in pristine condition. Even the cases were incredibly clean! I now own my own violin and I saw Bill today to “clean up/make adjustments. I just had to post this review. Hoffman Strings is the best.

I would highly recommend this place. Hoffmann has been working on my violin for many years and I know I leave it great hands every time. I have a very priceless family violin and I wouldn’t trust anyone else.

We have rented two instruments from Hoffman Strings. They are great to work with – very easy rental process and the instruments were delivered to the school. One of my kids also had an accident with his instrument and it was replaced right away. They could not have been nicer about it!

Staff is knowledgeable about music instruments and have implemented good safety measures in this COVID-19 era. Requirement of providing SSN on top of Credit Card seems unnecessary and risky in today’s time.

Extremely helpful

Update: Stopped by a few days ago for a fingerboard that broke on one of the instruments due to being dropped. Service was prompt and insurance experience was hassle free. Greatly appreciate it.

————————————-
We stopped by to rent multiple instruments. I appreciated history of the store and how long its been in the community. The team member we were originally working with was pleasant work with. I was happy to support a small business.

One of the kids was super excited about getting very first instrument as he was beginning orchestra but the other team member was very rude to the child. Given that they work primarily with schools and families renting for kids in elementary & middle school, I was very disappointed to see that attitude. I am hoping its only because everyone has bad days once in a while and not a recurrence.

Mr Hoffman you should really thank God that I am not complaining about you to police because the way you behaved and talked to my son,any other parents action would be the first one to call 911
P.S. I am one of those parents who tells kid to take care of their stuff and don’t encourage when they are wrong. Here my kid wasn’t at fault at all,check your documents, your viola had a mark already. Secondly I am paying for the insurance for the last 2 years and never even misused the instrument.
Learn how to speak well with others kids. You have no right to show finger and give lecture to anyone’s child.
Also you have 2 months of extra payment from us so get your instrument fixed and hopefully you will realize in your life that talking like that to a kid impacts his emotion.

Terrible customer service experience—was made to feel like an ignorant annoyance. I will not return nor recommend this business to anyone in the north shore community.

I special ordered about $100 worth of drum heads, which I unfortunately needed to return due to unexpected circumstances. Even though it was unlikely that others may need these special sizes, they allowed me to return them for a full refund. It’s great to have a local music store that can understand customer needs and has the flexibility to accommodate.

Great service great equipment great music lessons

The owner is chill and knows how to fit an instrument to the player. Good atmosphere and knowledgeable staff. Be prepared though, this isn’t guitar center – only quality guitars on hand. If you’re a beginner, come here for lessons, not an instrument.

sad to have to change my review but after having dealt with this store more it seemed necessary

A week and a half later, I’m waiting on a repair that was supposed to take two days. They called on the day it was supposed to be done to say they just started working on it. Two days after that they called again to say it will be done in a week (or maybe less) due to a problem with the instrument that requires additional work. Today (a week later) they said it will be ready two weeks from the day I brought it in. While I can’t comment on the quality of the work because I still haven’t received it yet, I am disappointed with the service so far. I dislike dishonesty, excuses, and false promises. I can only hope that my instrument isn’t being butchered. I hope I’ll get it back and be able to add a positive update to this review. Unfortunately since they lied to me, I can’t trust them, so I’ll have to take it somewhere else to get it checked out after I get it back.

Update: I got the guitar back and had it checked out by a friend’s technician. He said it was in good shape, so I’ve decided to raise my rating by two stars. I won’t forget the bad communication and lack of transparency, so I don’t think I would bring an instrument here for repair a second time.

Reviews show that they are open but I cannot seem to find the correct times they are open I tried stopping in on a Saturday around 3 website and google said they were open. But they weren’t too

Bought an over priced patch cable to find out it doesn’t work.

Store staff are incompetent. Ordered books and instruments accessories for me but instead of holding behind the counter they just put them on the shelf for others to buy. Waited two weeks and when I got there only one of the three things I ordered was available. There is a reason mom-and-pop shops like this are going out of business. They have no customer service. Added to which the staff were rude and had a lack of knowledge that was sad.

Was looking for a specific pair of drumsticks that I needed. I walked in and took a look at the selection they had, and they didn’t have what I needed. I asked a staff member if they could help me out and he helped me figure out what pair I needed. He happened to be the drum instructor. While trying to find the specific pair, my mother who was with me told me that he made her feel uncomfortable because of the way he acted towards her. When they “ordered” it for me and they said it’ll be here in a week.

One week later, I called to see if it had arrived. They said no. I stopped by the next day to see if it arrived and the same instructor said they’ll stop by tomorrow and pick it up for me. (From whatever warehouse they get their stuff from). The next day, guess what? THEY DIDN’T HAVE IT.

Unbelievable service. Waste of time and effort. I ended up going to A-Major Music in Gurnee. Trust me, it is worth the drive and they are MUCH more friendlier and helpful there.

I have used them for 12 years. Great one on one customer service. Their guitars and amps are high end, not over produced guitars like Guitar Center sells. Every person who works there is a guitar player, instructor and they know their stuff. Highly recommended.

LISTEN UP , I HAVE SHOPPED IN THE HIGH END BOUTIQUE STORES DOWNTOWN
THE BIG BOX STORES – FOR GUITARS AND AMPS
THIS IS THE BEST IN THE BURBS PERIOD !!!!!!!!!!
THE OWNER GENERALLY CARES
CONCERNED WITH CUSTOMERS AND WANTS TO MAKE YOU HAPPY
AND THEY ARE THE BEST PRICED IN THE CHICAGO AREA !!!!
I HAD TO LEAVE THIS REVIEW BECAUSE I READ THE OTHERS .
THEY SEEMED FRUSTRATED WITH THE WAITING TO OPEN
THERE MUST OF BEEN AN ISSUE
FOR A BUSINESS OWNER NOT TO BE THERE TO BE OPEN – SOMETHING NOT RIGHT
BUT I HAVE BEEN IN STORE AT 10 PM WHEN IT CLOSED AT 9
AND THEY WERE GLAD TO TAKE CARE OF ME AT MY SPEED
NOT RUSH ME OUT OF DOOR ………
BE SMART HERE AND CHECK THIS PLACE OUT YOURSELF

If you are interested in guitars this is your store. Great products, competitive pricing and everyone there is knowledgeable and friendly.

A gem in the middle of suburbia. There aren’t many mom and pop guitar stores around any more these days, and the few that are out there cater mainly to nubes, offering only cheap guitars and small combo amps.

This place is not one of those. They carry a decent selection of pedals, medium and high end guitars (like PRS), and many amps (both head/cab and combos).

Definitely a place worth checking out, and handy to visit if your band is playing a gig next door at Chicago Loop Sports ;).

Two words. Good time.

This is not a music store it’s a guitar store

good place if it opens in time. 12 pm don’t hold your breath maybe 1pm maybe 2pm

Certainly not what you’d expect you’d paid for.
I had brought two guitars there. One was an Anniversary Edition SG with a Min-ETune (Tronical) robotic tuner on it. I bought it used and intended to keep it as a collector’s item. The other was a brand new Diamond Series C1 Schecter which will be a second issue.
I didn’t know what had been done previously to the SG, so I wanted a full setup. My strings, moving from 10s to 9s, action, intonation… the works. I’d do it myself but I don’t have the time. So I chose to pay to have it done. My regular guy was a 40 minute drive away and had retired, so I was looking for a new relationship with someone else that would do a nice job on my guitars and would treat them as if they were their own.
I specifically asked if they were familiar with the Min-ETune and how to string it. Of course they did! Bottom line is I got it back and thought I had bought a piece of junk because it just would not stay in tune. The action was fine so I cased it and put it away for safe keeping. I recently pulled it out as I do to clean, tune and maintain my guitars and reassessed what was causing it to not stay in tune. The E string popped out of the tuning post. It was not wrapped and locked correctly. Neither was the D string and this after I was told they knew all about the Mini-ETune and how to string it. So I restrung it myself. I cleaned the fret board as is standard procedure in a setup and found the neck was filthy. There were string scars on several frets I had to properly clean as well. See the picture. “Seriously?” They didn’t even clean it.
After I did it myself it stays in tune perfectly as I expected it would. I’m not even going to bother checking intonation on it. I’m sure it isn’t there.
They were nice to me and all but must have made the assumption that I was not any kind of musician or guitar tech and that I would not recognize that there was no true setup done on this at all.
I would have taken it back to them, and I’m sure they would have fixed the issue. I’m sure that is what they would rather I do. But then nobody else would know the experience I had there or what to expect.
The Schecter? It’s brand new. Same BS. I’m not concerned about cleaning, it is brand new. 10s to 9s. Action is fine, intonation is way off. Only one string was almost there and the rest were not even close. I guess I will have to do that one myself too after paying to have it done.
Bottom line is that you pay for a setup and all you get is a stringing and action setting. Hmmm. In my opinion, not worth the price I paid.
Hey, they have a nice quick turn-around though. I can see why.
Sorry guys, but get your $#!* together if you want a bunch of return customers. These are a musician’s tools and expected to be in top condition. Honestly, I would not go back and would rather wait for it to be completed at Guitar Center.

Edit:
I know you would have done something had I brought it back. Should I really have to bring it back? Should I really feel the need to check the work that was to be done? Didn’t I avoid doing all that by bringing it somewhere? Should I pick it up to play it and everything above open is flat? I’ll admit being harsh about it.
Put yourself in my shoes and work on your guitar. Do you tweak the intonation or say that it is within 5 cents so that’s good enough? I really don’t care to take my guitars out in the elements unless absolutely necessary and wasting time and gas driving it back and forth is unacceptable to me.
Perhaps I should have just brought my tools with me and checked it before it even left the counter. Perhaps a white glove to see if the fret board had truly been cleaned and conditioned. But I didn’t expect I would need to.
I know that you guys have the ability and that if you have guitars of your own that they are tweaked right on after 25 years of doing this. I’ve been playing for over 40 years and I only get better at it.
If all the things claimed to be done were done, why did I find them to not be done?

Not friendly. First guitar store I left from offended. Guitar Center has better prices and service.

Update:
We were asking if you a did trade in so you knew we were serious. It is not the policy it was the way were approached. He should not have put his foot on an amp but he did not see the sign. Either way it is what it is.

Thanks.

Charming shop with pleasant people provided all our violin needs. Competitive prices, many levels of instruments, bows, cases etc. for the beginner or the pro. Music making is affordable at Austin’s … and fun.

My son loved this company. The do very high quality customer service. Theirs instruments are very high quality.

Love Austin’s! They are so professional and knowledgeable. Just bought my daughter her first violin and they ordered her case because they didn’t have the color she wanted! And they are going to deliver it right to her school! Highly recommend if you are looking for any instrument.

Always a pleasure at Tobias

My mandolin is beautiful, it arrived quickly and was well packaged to prevent damage.

Tobias Music…. AWESOME!!!! I recently bought a pre-owned Eastman MD515 Mandolin from Tobias Music using Reverb. The mandolin is fantastic, was priced fairly, and came EXACTLY as described. Communications with Paul Tobias were prompt and extremely courteous. Shipping was great with excellent packaging to protect my purchase. I would 100% buy from Tobias again – even sight unseen. (Note: On Reverb I gave my 5-star rating, but clicked away before adding my supporting comments. D’oh. So I’m using other platforms now to get the word out about Tobias Music).

***EDIT***
So, I am knocking down my review from five stars to three; due to my most recent experience a couple months after the first one. So I reached backout to buy another guitar (place order) as I really wanted an AD22e or another model I can’t remember, but after confirming they could place the order I let them know that I wanted the AD22e and to provide me the full price so we could close the deal and they went silent, mind you I didn’t even get a copy of the receipt from my AD27e that never came which I had also requested from the last conversation.

I did finally get my guitar ordered but I had a national retailer place the order. I was disappointed I didn’t hear back from Tobias Music about completing the purchase and obtaining a copy of the receipt for my AD27e that never came.

** original **

Just bought an AD27e (Taylor) from them after finding it for sale online. it was a great buying experience. I’m a lefty, buying guitars online is the norm, and most of the time guitars I buy take a day or two to pack and ship. we had a few emails back and forth and they were quick to respond and very professional. These guys had it packed and shipped the same day, and I didn’t place my order until after lunch; that’s service.

They also took the time to dial the guitar in; it came with the action set and was tuned ready to play out of the box. Paul did a great job and really made this buying experience easy, and hassle free. I’ll have to check back often to see what other lefty guitar they get in. If I have the chance, I will buy from them again.

They are more of a acoustic guitar place not really a place for bass players .

Very helpful with new cell phone purchase and price was great.

Fast and smooth service for pick up.

Went looking for a case and customer service help me out. Great place

Ok

I wish that the salespeople were less pushy.

OK

Waited 5 minutes while a customer service person talked with his girlfriend on the phone. I’ll buy online Ebay from now on.

Totally rude Magnolia rep tried helping me in a different department. He didnt know anything and seemed annoyed that i wanted help and had questions. When another rep came and made a suggestion he abruptly told her “I know. I got it.” He finally said i should go on the internet and walked away from me. He should not be in customer service.

They didn’t have the phone I wanted in stock and the staff was useless.

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.

Great place to take guitar, drums or bass lessons! My Son’s been in 3 sessions here and has progressed immensely.

Highly recommend! Alejandro went out of his way to accommodate us and it is much appreciated. So nice to deal with a music shop that is not corporate, wonderful to have someone who is proud of his craft and supportive of the community as well as their love of music!!!

Stop reading reviews and book Felix & Fingers for your wedding! When I first asked my fiancé about booking F&F, I was told no because she was unsure of dueling pianos…about a month later, after spending countless hours searching for a different music option, I continued to stumble on F&F everywhere online and asked her to reconsider. She said yes the second time around and we both wish we hadn’t wasted so much time looking for a music option. Duncan and Jim put on a fantastic show. They made everything effortless on our part the day of the wedding. Felix & Fingers will be your favorite vendor and remembered by all of your family and friends.

The Felix and Fingers team made our wedding reception an event that many people will remember for years to come. They offered a unique experience that got everyone up to the dance floor singing along and dancing. They also had no problem fulfilling all our special requests and playing our last song live for a private last dance. We are very thankful to have had them play such a big part of our big day and we loved every second of it.

Our experience with Felix & Fingers was outstanding. Good communication throughout and responsive to all of our questions. Mike Sherman did a great job as MC of our event and the music & singing were wonderful. Our guests as well as us enjoyed the entire show. Would definitely recommend F&F!

We contracted Felix and Fingers for our corporate January Holiday Party in 2020 and again in 2023. The performers are extremely talented and they always do a great job of maintaining fun and high energy.

That being said, we had the same issue come up in 2020 and again in 2023. We had a phone conference a week in advance of each party, and each time the agreement was that the dueling pianos performers would provide live entertainment from 7:30pm – 10:30pm. During our party in 2020, the performers ended the live entertainment and started packing up their equipment at 9:30pm.

I mentioned this during our conference call before the 2023 party, and I was assured that the performers wouldn’t end the live performance until 10:30. Great! Then at the 2023 party, the performers ended the live entertainment and started packing up their equipment at 9:30. When I discussed the end time with the performers during the 2023 party, I was told that they do not perform live music for more than two hours and they apologize for the miscommunication.

It was very clear during both phone conference calls that live entertainment would take place from 7:30 – 10:30. The first time could have been a miscommunication, but for it to happen again twice in a row seems like an unprofessional bait-and-switch.

I used Felix and Fingers for my wedding. While the performance was good and the guests liked the unique idea, the planning process was a bit frustrating. The questionnaire for the wedding day was very intense and there were multiple points of contact throughout the process. I think this lead to issues with communication which did not make things run smoothly. In addition, we had a few hiccups on the wedding day that I think would have been avoidable if there was a single point of contact throughout the process. For example, the venue managers mentioned to one of the points of contact that all music should be downloaded in advance in case unexpected WiFi issues occur. This was also indicated in the questionnaire. From what I was told, this was not done and there were WiFi issues during the ceremony which caused the music to cut out and not play for a portion of the processional.

Fun energy, listened to our requests and concerns to make the best playlist for our event, and recommended when to have live vs. DJ to ensure quality of performance.

Very nice performers, but not the show I asked for. The name says it all…Dueling Pianos, but there never was a duel between the 2. I have been to shows were they duel, so I know someone can do it. Felt as if something was missing. You can hire anyone to just sing and take requests. I expected more for the money.

At Arlington the freaking worst musical performance ever experienced! Embarrassing!!

Saw them at Arlington racetrack on 3 Jul 17. They were the filler act between the races and fireworks. I was having a wonderful time until these jokers played. Worst act I have ever seen, I could have sang karaoke better. I hope Arlington didn’t pay them too much.

Repaired my daughters guitar very quickly. Thank you guys very much.

Very friendly staff – not only changed strings for best price I’ve seen, but did it right away !!

As a teenager growing up in Lombard learning to play guitar Perry’s Music Center was my 2nd home. I would go there for hours and play on the guitars and amps.

I got a little better as time went on and started a band and Perry’s Music Center supported us in everything we did.

I moved to the Plainfield, IL area in 1999 and have not been to Perry’s Music Center until Sunday 04/30/2017 as I was in the area for a death in the family.

I went into the acoustic room and played on a few guitars – my mind and heart were flooded with so many good memories from the years past. It was a bit choked up , truth be told.

I went back today and bought an acoustic for my son and got to talk with my friend Rob. Still the same great guy from so many years ago.

As always, great customer service and attention to detail.

Perry’s Music Center survived the Guitar Center invasion of the Chicago area. That in itself should tell you a lot about Perry’s Music Center.

Thanks for all the great memories Rob.

Your friend always.

Robbie Lewis of 1313

Great shop for musical instruments and parts. Music lessons offered.

Very helpful and friendly guys here. Banjo setup took only a couple of days. Owner Rob Gurka and Jim Kraus gave me their undivided personal attention. I kinda wish I had more of an excuse to hang out and explore this place. I’ll be back.

has new and use equipment also offers lessons. Great place to start

Never open for business.

Wish I could leave a lower rating. We brought a guitar here to have some minor repairs done. Right off the bat it was an uncomfortable experience. We asked if he knew anything about the brand, he said no. We asked if, in his opinion, it was a nicely made or cheaply made guitar.. he said both.?? Then proceeded to tell us it was defective, even though he knew nothing about it, but he was more than happy to still charge us to do the repairs. He told us it would be ready in a couple days. Never called us. We finally called and were told, again, couple days. We went to pick it up and they had broken one of the pegs. Rather than replacing the whole set, or finding a matching one – since THEY broke a perfectly good peg – they decided the better idea would be to drill a new hole and put a completely different peg there. Even a different color. AND THEN CHARGED US FOR IT!! I wish we never stepped foot in that store. I’m writing this to try and prevent this from happening to anyone else. Oh, and the guitar was 10x better before we brought it in! Stay away from these guys!! I will say though, the kid behind the counter was very nice.

They have an ample variety of guitar choices. Staff are very courteous and friendly.

From school band and community band needs to guitars, percussion and instrumental lessons…..Players Bench provides quality merchandise and knowledgeable personnel to help you with your musical needs.

I rented a Sax and they were outstanding on customer service! I would most definitely recommend this place for beginners and pros for all their music needs.

Decent selection, knowledgeable staff. Bit too pricey

Good place but looks like it went out of business. Phone is disconnected and website is gone. Too bad…..Covid 19 is really doing a number on small business

Stop inside and play some of the instruments

My kids bought a 10 string Quarto from them for my father’s day gift a few years back. About a year later , the bridge came off. I brought it in and they reattached it. Later , the same thing happened. As a professional woodworker myself , I can tell you that it was not a care issue on my part as I am fully aware of climate effects on wood and store my instruments carefully. I bought a $1,000 Alvarez and quite a few other things from them. I wanted them to replace it as they have others there if the same make and model ( washburn ) but , sadly , I could not find the receipt. They acknowledge that I purchased it there , ( they know me ).. but they are under new ownership and ” that’s their policy”.. as it stands now , the instrument us still in their service Sept ( for many , many months now ) and they are trying to ” figure out how to fix it “. I will never buy from them again unless they make this right. Bad business. I buy a lot of things musically as I am a performing musician. Tough luck for me , tough luck for them. Don’t buy stuff here.

I loved this store when joe owned it. Miss the old gang and I miss when the store was exciting to shop at, not to mention my best friend and drum instructor Bob. The new store/owner has nothing to offer.

No answer at this phone number