Luke made the shopping experience great. Spent hours making sure I got the guitar I needed.
I have visited there many times and bought 2 guitars and an amplifier from them the staff are happy to leave you to browse or happy to help. They have a room to try out acoustic guitar or banjo. They sell everything from harmonica to keyboards mixer desks drums guitars and have a selection of quality second user guitars and amplifiers.
Made a small purchase, service was a very good first experience. I will go back to try their repair service. They had good advice and seemed reasonably well stocked with fair prices
Fun place to just pick up instruments and play keyboards, guitars and drums. It’s ok to make a lot of noise, I reccomend go in having an open mind guitar tuner and ear buds with a 1/8 to 1/4 inch adapter that way if someone else is loud you can plug in the ear buds and jam out!
Service was lacking in a big way. Stood in line way too long while other employees seemingly did nothing and left 1 girl at the counter alone while she helped a customer check out. It was taking a long time and we had 1 or 2 people behind us, and it was still not a priority to get anyone else up to a register. Always dread going here, but when the husband needs new strings, this is where we end up..
I had to purchase a guitar last minute and ended up paying about 400 dollars above average cost for the instrument. A taylor 414ce . Next I took in a 700 dollar guitar I loved and had ruined the frets on. The luthier told me it was unrepairable. I ordered about 100 dollars worth of tools and watched 3 youtube videos and changed the frets, leveled them and crowned them in 4 hours. Guitar is still being used no buzz. Lastly I wanted to purchase a used taylor they had. They were charging 1000 over its value and wouldnt budge. They had no idea what model it was ( BTO with 414ce specs) I got on line ti another guitar center and ordered a 614ce for 1000 dollars less which is a guitar that retails for 1500 more than a 414ce and it was a 2017. The guitar they were not wanting to come down on was a 2010. Bottom line shady, not very knowledgeable, not helpful, and very over priced. Fortunately not all guitar centers are this way. 3 strikes is enough for me
Don’t have the guitar technicians here fix up your guitar! I spent $90 on the premier setup, and my guitar’s neck hasn’t been right since. The neck was set with so much relief that the notes fretted out above the 10th fret. The intonation was all out of whack. And the action wasn’t set right to prevent two of the strings from buzzing all up and down the neck.
Spend the extra money, and get your guitar professionally set up elsewhere. I’m out that $90, and I’m looking for another luthier to fix the mess they made.
4. Corson Music
Address: 71 E University Ave, Champaign, IL 61820 , Thomasboro , Illinois , United States
The best music store to hit Champaign. C V Loyd was good but Dyke and the boys always set you up with what you need.
Really great place to buy music instruments in Champaign. Very affordable prices and friendly staff. I’m really happy with the acoustic guitar I bought.
The s place was a big help been to a few other guitar store and they couldn’t help but this place could I’ll be back!!!
Decent selection, comparable prices to the big name stores
Got a bass bag and some strings. Still using the 4 channel mixer/amp I got from them a few years back.
Stinky, dirty place, and not friendly at all.
I called today to ask about get the action lowered on my guitar. Keep in mind that I am a beginner and don’t know a whole lot about this type of stuff. The person who answered the phone was far from helpful. He was condescending and rude and didn’t answer my questions. Instead he just cackled when I asked clarifying questions and responded with sarcastic answers. I will absolutely NOT be taking my business here and did not appreciate the customer service or lack thereof.
Nice products but bad service. The gentleman at the counter obviously didn’t want us in the store even though it was empty.
Tried to make small talk and the guy wasn’t having it.
5. M4LIK Music and Recordings
Address: 2001 N Mattis Ave #8811, Champaign, IL 61826 , Thomasboro , Illinois , United States
Only place I would trust working on my guitars. Great experience every time
Super friendly people there. Felt welcome to try the guitars and many of them are hand crafted and high quality. We went here to buy bass but only three were in the inventory. Overall very pleasant experience.
Really neato place.
Good place to buy guitar stuff in a convenient location.
It’s kind of expensive, I paid $25 for two sets of strings when I go through them like crazy. This being the only place I buy strings nowadays I am now scared to break one!
They have loads of guitars and amps to try out, as well as mandolins, banjos and other stringed instruments, makes it a great place to learn about instruments.
I will purchase my next guitar here for sure.
Very nice store for guitar players. Not a lot of options for bass players. Store is very clean and the store has a very classy look and vibe. Very nice selection of effects pedals. I will go there again. I would like to have seen more high end 5 string basses. But, I think everyone should stop by.
Brought in a broken guitar hoping to fix it. They were quoting me 4 times the value of a new guitar to fix it and kept pushing me to just buy a new one. I ended up leaving and getting the guitar replaced elsewhere
Be forewarned! If you are anything but an accomplished or professional guitar player they may not have the time of day for you! They WILL talk down to you, and make broad assumptions of you. Without asking me any further questions, because I said I traveled a lot, had a sentimental instrument that I didn’t want to see damaged and didn’t presently have a place to store it: the assumptions changed to me being homeless and I couldn’t be pushed out of the store fast enough. Even when I asked about a simple $15 item. Oh and let’s not forget the whole the salesman is talking down to me, he grabbing expensive guitars off the wall just playing them instead of listening to my questions. Nice job Upper Bout
I put a guitar here on consignment that had a synth pickup and they straight up lost the synth. When I came in to pick up my stuff they just shrugged their shoulders like “so what?”
7. Old Delhi Music
Address: Contact, Urbana, IL 61802 , Thomasboro , Illinois , United States
Honestly, the only place to purchase a harmonium in the U.S. Nic not only does an excellent job setting up the instrument–always needed after arriving from India–but is super available for help and trouble shooting even years after initial purchase! More businesses should follow his example!
Amazing, helpful, friendly people. Excellent price on a Sitar case. Very fast shipping. High quality merchandise. I will definitely shop with them again.
Nic was so helpful and patient with me. He helped me order a custom harmonium from India and shipped it to me safe and sound. His team also did an amazing job on tuning the harmonium! I would highly recommend Old Delhi Music
I received a faulty instrument from these people and when I asked to return it they denied my request. Even though it was kept in a hard case which I also purchased from them. They were entirely at fault and chose to steal from me instead of being accountable.
NEVER BUY FROM THESE PEOPLE. They will steal if given the chance.
8. THE NOISE RECORD’S
Address: 1117 W Beardsley Ave, Champaign, IL 61821 , Thomasboro , Illinois , United States
