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April 2024 by Ryan M.
Lessons with Joe are great! I've been playing the guitar for over 10 years and I found myself in a plateau, playing the same things and not really understanding how music really works. I was hesitant to take lessons since I had made so much progress on my own, through watching YouTube videos and reading tabs online. I decided to give it a shot after a quick conversation at the store one day while buying some strings and man am I happy I did! I had about a million questions for Joe during our first lesson and realized that it would be best to have some regularity to our lessons. The first two were really about getting to know each other, and for Joe to get a read on my experience level. From there, each lesson has been better than the next and I feel myself learning in meaty chunks - a feeling I haven't had in some time with the guitar. We cover both music theory and technique. Joe gives me bite sized riffs and exercise to practice each time we connect. A few lessons in you can start to feel how they connect in his mind and you'll be amazed at how far you've come.
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August 2023 by Nineteen Eightyfour
Pleasant experience, and very nice show room. I found my new guitar place.
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August 2022 by Sam S.
Awfully run store. Dropped off a drum for repair, wasn't told that it would be outsourced to another music store. Was told I'd be given a quote by the end of the week. Never happened. 3 weeks later, called the store and still wasn't given a quote. Finally, roughly a month after I dropped off my drum, I get a call saying the work is complete and it's waiting to be picked up. $90 for a simple throw-off repair. Went to the store during business hours the next day. No one there. Called the store, no answer. Left a message saying to call back when open. Went home after 90 ministers of standing in front of the store. Called the store again 2 hours later. The owner picks up! Amazing. Head to the store again to pick up the drum. Owner smiles and offers 20% discount as a way of apologizing, which is the only reason I gave 1 star instead of zero. There are some really good music stores in Westchester, especially in the river towns. This is not one of them.
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June 2022 by David Whoie
Great guy. Knows the business. Was a pleasure to work for he taught me a lot of guitar chops. Has a great sense of humor.
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March 2022 by Michelle Stangarone
We bought my son a $300 guitar from Sweetwater's online for him to start learning electric guitar. There was a slight buzz. Sweetwater's said we could send it back to them and they would fix and send back. Or we could bring it somewhere and they would cover it up to $100. I liked the idea of using a local business so rather than call Guitar Center I started with Rock Island. I called to see if they could get rid of the buzz for the $100. The woman who answered was very friendly and assured me they could. So the following week we brought it in. There was a gentleman there and he said they would fix along with a set up and it would be $125. I was a little hesitant because the woman had assured me it could be done for the $100 that Sweetwater would reimburse. But this man explained that they would do a set up and fix the buzz and they had the best guitar guy ever who would do the best work ever. He also said he would send me an email telling me about the work they did. I never got the mail. Another week later we got a call that it was ready. My husband and son went to pick it up. The owner was there and told them the cost was $167 plus guitar strings. So they got me on the phone with the owner. I explained we were told $100 on the phone then $125 when we dropped it. Now he was charging $140 plus the tax which was $167 plus $14 for guitar strings. I told him that he should honor the price the employee gave me and not charge for strings because they never disclosed that would be part of the deal. He made excuses like those 2 employees are gone. That is not my problem. His other excuse was that he was so busy having now to work both stores alone. Again not my problem. Then he said he would take 10% off of the $140 and still charge me for strings. I thought he should have charged the original $125 that I was told plus tax and thrown in strings for free. But he wouldn't budge. We brought the guitar home and it plays really well. No complaints there. The biggest problem was the owner not taking responsibility for what his employees told us and making lots of excuses. It was very unprofessional and terrible customer service. We will never go back. It is a shame because I would prefer to use a small business, but next time we will head over to Guitar Center or Sam Ash.
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February 2022 by Andrew Lotti
Have come here a couple times for set ups and work on my guitars. Great people, good service and straight forward with time and prices. Will be returning!
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May 2020 by Alaura Clark
amazing store and lovely music store
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February 2020 by Christian T.
Awesome little music shop in Tarrytown. Was visiting for a long weekend trip and popped in for a guitar cable. Very clean and organized. Helpful and friendly staff. Reasonable prices as well. They even had some old vinyl records for sale! I will be back for sure. Support local businesses! Thanks guys.
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December 2019 by Michelle Franciska
After three years of giving this place my time and business, I fully regret ever coming to Rock Island Sound. I've known the majority of people who worked at the store (all of whom have now quit or were fired for obscene reasons). For the past three years, Paul, the owner, has stopped paying any of the teachers for fully putting together the 3-hour long, end-of-year student recitals themselves. He has had trouble making payroll, and teachers were often left hanging on payday. The rates for lessons are extremely high in comparison to the percentage of it that the teachers end up with. Many told me they had not seen such a low hourly pay rate anywhere else.Please do not give this place your business. Go anywhere else for your repairs and lessons.
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April 2019 by Michelle Fran
After three years of giving this place my time and business, I fully regret ever coming to Rock Island Sound. I've known the majority of people who worked at the store (all of whom have now quit or were fired for obscene reasons). For the past three years, Paul, the owner, has stopped paying any of the teachers for fully putting together the 3-hour long, end-of-year student recitals themselves. He has had trouble making payroll, and teachers were often left hanging on payday. The rates for lessons are extremely high in comparison to the percentage of it that the teachers end up with. Many told me they had not seen such a low hourly pay rate anywhere else.
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March 2018 by Kim Roulias
Great little shop. Very friendly guy in the store. A pretty good selection of instruments.
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February 2018 by Jacob McPherson
Dude working the desk was rude and unfriendly and they're trying to charge absurd amounts for their guitars. Save your money, buy on reverb.
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August 2017 by Paige schafer
Great online Buying Experience
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February 2017 by Peter Agovino
I purchased two guitars from them. Great shop with friendly owner and knowledgable staff. Fun place to check out guitars and ukuleles!
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January 2016 by Anthony Casabianca
Good shop, knowledgeable staff, prices reflect local shopping. Nice selection of guitars, impressive for their size.
