Minstrel Music

Really good place to bring your gear. They fixed my half stack and are really insightful especially when I decided to solder dual tone pot coil splits myself for the very first time. It came out great btw but now im too far down the rabbit hole of tone and im doomed to search for this shape shifting sound for eternity.

Love this store. When you enter you may feel that it looks messy but don't let that distract you. This is because of all the repairs that they do in a very small space. John is a very knowledgeable, friendly and professional person. Its like getting your own personal consultant to help you decide. You will love talking to him. I was looking for a guitar and he took so much time explaining things about guitar, his recommendations, how to tune and many more.

He spent time playing the guitar and letting us make a wise decision. This is one thing you cannot get when you buy online: Personal advice. If there are issues they fix musical instruments at this store as well. If you need additional parts you can buy it here as well. There are music lessons offered at this store. Highly recommend this store for your music needs.

Two words. Top Notch! Friendly, informative, honest and very knowledgeable. A quality staple in the NW suburbs as well as the entire Midwest! A gem, thumbs way up! The main man there (John) ROCKS!

Had already picked up several items at a bigger, chain music store and wanted to support a smaller place. found Minstrel and it was even closer to home than I expected. I only needed one item, but it was a critical piece that i almost forgot about. spoke with the folks inside the shop for a few minutes and they were super helpful, sold me what I needed and it's not only 'Made in USA' but apparently right here in Illinois.

I checked the item with musician friend and they said it was a great pick and price. cannot speak to their instruments or lessons. I should mention that I would take off half a star for the seeming clutter in their space -- they have a lot of stock and instruments and it seems like it would be hard to walk around, but it's such a nit-pick that I left my review at 5 stars.

John is a class act and incredible amp tech. I've been going there since the 1980s and never had an issue with Jim, his staff, or anything. 2 thumbs up

I have to say NOONE can beat my review. I had a very wonderful experience here. Needed a guitar fixed to give to my daughter for Christmas. Called and spoke with John. Happened to be open very late tonight. Excellent for me because I had the worst first day off in ages and could not catch up with stuff. Went in. He is like a whiz kid. He seemed to just look at the instruments I saw him dealing with and within seconds figured stuff out and then went to the next.

Like Edward Scissorhands as a hair dresser or MacGyer in music! Some of his old time buddies dropped in to pick up stuff or hang out there or work there. It was like being in a super chill, comforting environment. Like "home." He is so honest and kind. Very helpful and knowledgeable. You can tell he has long term clients. I think he has been in this business 40 years.

A kind family man. A wonderful music enthusiast. He is truly loving his job. What I loved was he had some special tricks to fix things which save tons of money. Doesn't in any way try to sell unnecessary purchases. He uses things he's created to make things better. They also restore things and can figure out ways to fix many items that may seem hopeless.

I can not recommend this business any higher than I have because I had a lousy day and left here feeling like I'd been renewed with the positive vibes. I've got to pass it forward. Thanks John and Minstrel Music Ltd.

My old '70s Fender Champ was cutting out intermittently. I thought it was the power cable, which was changed from two prong to three prong decades ago. When it went out, I would jiggle the cable, and it would come back on. I called a local shop and they said that I could bring it in, but it would take 2 to 4 weeks to get it back, and they were going to charge me $50 bench fee just for bringing it in.

I was told by several, very reputable amp guys I know to call John at Minstrel. When I did, he told me to bring it in any time. When I did, he looked it over, and did a quick repair on the plug. When that didn't do it, he checked the fuse and noticed it had blown. He replaced that, and it worked momentarily, but the fuse blew again. He instantly diagnosed the problem as the rectifier tube.

He replaced it, and all is well again in Champland. For all this, he charged less than the other place wanted just for showing up, tube and fuse included. These guys are amazing at what they do, and they clearly do it because they love it. This is how things should be, and I'm thankful for the guys at Minstrel. They will get all my amp and guitar repair business from now on.

Just discovered Minstrel Music while looking for strings for an old 12 string guitar. John said, "$10.97, same price as it was when I was 14." That's about how I remembered it, some 50+ years ago. As I waited for him to finish repairing, restringing or tuning an instrument in the back, I looked around. Used turn tables, amplifiers, sound mixers, guitars, keyboards, accessories, a treasure trove.

The visible prices were reasonable. My curiosity ran rampant. But that will be for another day with more time when John's skills are not demanding in the back or he has some assistance on the "retail " side. A signed ZZ Top electric guitar for under $500 was a chance discovery.

John is an expert tech with a wealth of knowledge and experience. He is also a really nice, down-to-earth guy, with a crowd of long-time customers, friends, and fans. He is a good musician. The cover band he is in also includes teachers from the store. All are solid, reliable, talented players. Maybe you will get a chance to see them? #Killr Knockoffz (It's what they play.)

Found minstrel music & John online today and stopped in with my "dead" electric guitar. What a mind blowing experience. He grabbed my guitar tested it out, opened it up and expertly repaired it on the spot. This is a "one of a kind" place.

This is a really great place to get your gear serviced. I have nothing but wonderful things to say about Minstrel Music and John's work. He serviced my Gibson LP Custom with new pickups, pull knobs and a fantastic setup. He was able to fix a neck issue along with the setup that another shop deamed severe and quoted me $300+ to repair. The warranty given by John puts my mind at ease that I can bring my guitar back and have it looked at again if any issues should arise. Very knowledgeable staff that has my trust.

Hands down the best music/guitar shop I've been to in a long time. Haven't had such a good time in years! Haha! Thanks John and Dean for the excellent service, great pricing and laughs. You've got my business from now on. Take care guys. see ya soon.

Great oldschool shop. Tech in the back, teachers in the hall for lessons. Always fun stuff to see. If you need lessons or repairs it's a good place to go. For a 2019 update I'll just say this store is still pretty awesome. Great place to get parts and amps repaired as well as guitars

Great small local store, super friendly guys who can hold a great conversation, helped me no questions or money asked when I had an issue with my guitar.

Came here to get a setup for my electric guitars and was very pleased with the quality and care they put into them. After years of being untouched they sounded brand new, and for a reasonable price! I will say that I had to wait quite a bit when I was picking them up because one of the employees (can't remember the name exactly) got a phone call from another customer and started helping them out before getting back to me and seemed overall a little distracted the whole time I was there. But I won't let that stop me from coming back for any other maintenance needs I may have!

Nope! Buyer beware! No customer service! Repair services unreliable. Amp repair was brought in beginning of October, picked it up end of November Never repaired! Amp was still on the sales floor for 2 months. Frustrating

I have been guitar classes with George for the past 2 years. Great instructor, really affordable for a 1 on1 class for 30 minutes. Caters to your skill and what you want to play. John and staff are super knowledge and regulars there share awesome stories from days past.

This is not your typical music store! It's something more which is really hard to describe, you've got to go there, spend some time and talk with John the owner and the people who work there. This place is phenomenal! It's more like a shrine where some very knowledgeable and dedicated people worship the ancient Greek God of music Apollo and his 9 Muses following the steps of his disciple Orpheus! Highly recommended, but don't take my word for that, you've got to see it and feel it on your own, to fully appreciate!

Love this place. Guitar repairs? Bring it here, amp repairs BRING it here, very friendly and knowledgeable people here. Very laid back and relaxed feel here. No rush rush no push push. ask a question and it'll be answered, they have lessons too, I recommend this place to musicians any day.

Minstrel Music has vintage and hard to find musical items. It is a small music store with guitars, amps and excellent repair service. John the owner is helpful and gives great personal friendly service. I am very glad that a music store like this still exists - a neighborhood music store with lessons and repairs, as well as strings, picks, accessories, guitars, amps, and more.

My family has been going here for years. It's been close to 20 years since I've been here but I just bought my first guitar from here and I got a great guitar and case at a phenomenal price. Excellent service, knowledgeable staff, beautiful instruments.

What a nice place. Guy spent half an hour restringing my guitar and only charged me for the strings. I Like being able to patronize a small business rather than a big chain. Just a pleasant experience.

I'm very happy. My 7yr old daughter wanted to learn how to play the piano and I am impressed. The location doesn't have to be extravagant or fancy, I look at the quality and this is a truly a musicians gem. My daughter loves coming here and rushes to get here. If she likes this place, I'm sold.

I love Ash's drawings! they're always so vibrant and stunning. She's not afraid to take liberties with her commissions, but still manages to give the client exactly what they want. Ash Wilson always makes her pieces incredibly detailed to the last little speck. She delivers amazing quality with incredible speed and always does it with a smile on her face.

My only complaint is that she doesnt have a good retail store, she works best through her twitter https://twitter.com/Ashandstuff but that doesnt stop her from making incredible art. In Conclusion, Ash Wilson is the best commission artist I've had the pleasure of working with in the past 43 years of my life.

Friendly knowledgeable staff makes guitar service easy and painless. Brought my old axe in and was happy to see it brought back from the grave. The staff here is helpful and competent and I will absolutely be returning to have my amps repaired here as well. Fair pricing as well.

This place is wonderful. About 8 years ago, I brought a combo bass amp in to fix an input jack. John at Minstrel took great care of me then.doing it right on the spot and charging a very reasonable price for the bench time. Now, fast-forward to yesterday where I called and asked if they could do similar for a different bass amp.sure enough: "sure, bring her right in" and "I'll do it now.do you want to watch?". Unbelievable. Awesome, comfortable, friendly, quick customer service.both a long time ago and completely unchanged today. Any time I've got any guitar / bass / keys / amp / speaker / recording gear / etc maintenance, this place is where I'm going. No doubt.

I just wanted to follow up about the quality of not only WHAT they sell, but the people who do the selling. John, Nick and Mikey are the best at what they do, and as far as I'm concerned, NO ONE is better than Dean Tremont and Kurt Wilson. Forget over priced, over rated Geoff Benge. Dean wins hands down. No attitude either. Dean's work is great, he remembers what you like and don't like and the turn around time is very very reasonable. Minstrel Music is worth a drive from ANYWHERE to get work done.

Excellent service! Repairs on guitars and amps (tube or solid state). The guitar repair man is Dean. He builds his own awesome guitars, so he knows how to fix guitars the right way. As for amps they can fix anything. The owner has an awesome vintage amp collection and he knows how to work on them too. If you've got an old amp that needs fixin' bring it there! Sales floor isn't too special but every now and then something awesome can come in on trade or new for cheap. Go there now!

It's been a long time since I been to Minstrel, and yes back in the day I was a basement rock star in zebra spandex --- oh yeah such fond memories. ok maybe too much info. So, I need some sound equipment for a recent project and Minstrel came to mind. The guys there were really helpful and got me going in the right direction even though they didn't carry the specific item I needed they went out of their way to help me find it.

Unlike other Music stores the "kiddies" testing out guitars are given private rooms instead of torturing others with the three cords they learned (and no, just because you can play Guitar Hero doesn't mean you can actually play guitar) If you're a musician note that I said "musician", it's definitely worth the drive to go check them out. Pros: Decent of selection, fair prices, used equipment Cons: Parking Cost: $$ of 5 Overall Rating: 4 of 5 Recommendation: Worthwhile

A great place for guitars of all shapes and sizes. Some are a little pricey. Their focus is on acoustic steel string guitars. They have many accessories as well. One killer feature here is the sound proof practice room where you can sample of their "axes" before you buy, but please."NO STAIRWAY TO HEAVEN."