Minstrel Music Ltd

Their service is too slow. It has always been that way. Everything is cheap inside from guitars to amps. I had them do some things for me recently. I got my guitar back with screws missing. It was dirty. It was supposed to be cleaned. Places like this one are why people just go to big corporations like Guitar Center. Just go to Guitar Center. You will get much better service and selection.

Ive been working with these guys for years, always for repair work. No complaints, good people.

I’m a gigging musician. After the previous weekend where I played a gig out of state and found my ’65 Fender Twin not working properly, I was referred to Minstrel Music by a friend who said they were good.
The first thing I sensed when I walked in was the feeling that there was no corporate pressure from above to satisfy Wall Street, and that these guys really care about helping musicians. I talked with John about the problem and he gave me a rough estimate. I asked what the turn around time would be. He told me 3 – 4 weeks. I told him I had a gig coming up and asked if there was anyway to possibly hurry it along. He said he would move it up to to meet my date.
Sure enough he did. When I arrived to pick it up, he had the amp turned on and warmed up, ready for me to try it. The problem was a bad power tube which he replaced, re-​biased the amp and even replaced a broken knob for me. All at a very reasonable price. When I got home and tried it through my rig, my amp sounded better than it has in years.
These guys were great. The service was good. Employees were friendly and informative. I would go back to Minstrel Music in a heartbeat. I highly recommend them.

I brought my amp in and it was there for almost 4 months without them even contacting me for process or pickup. Horrible customer service, beyond slow at their repairs and contacting back for updates. Would never take anything of mine bck there.

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.

These guys are great! I had a photo shoot that I needed a certain type of mic for. I was referred to them by soundman Brian Frost and they came through. I was thinking I might need to purchase this mic but John was like ‘I have a couple of those at home’. He let me borrow them and they were perfect! I cannot recommend these guys highly enough. I will absolutely make the drive up there for any music gear purchases!

These guys are very helpful and cool. Just go in and talk to them.

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 !!!

If it wasn’t for Minstrel Music, I’m not sure what I’d be doing right now. Aside from punk rock, this place has had the biggest influence on me, hands down.
Why? First, there’s no attitude and absolutely no big box guitar store grade «salesmanship.» If you ask a question, regardless of how stupid or obvious it may be, there will be zero attitude. They will answer it as if it was a good question.
Two, had I not gone here when I was 14, I would have never learned how to play the guitar. This was the early 90’s, so most of the teachers had big hair and horrible clothes, but they taught fundamental guitar as opposed to treating classes like a shred-​academy.
Three, John. John is hands down, without an argument the most knowledgeable music store owner ever. You can bring him any problem and he’ll solve it. He’s logged many hours on my gear as I used to play in a fairly equipment-​abusive noise rock band.
Four, sure, «the kids» go in there looking to learn their favorite songs and buy the fancy gear that their favorite rock stars use (and that’s ok), but if you dig a little deeper, you might find an old, used Moog synth. Maybe some obscure FX pedal from the late 70’s. Possibly a Roland Space-​echo. Who knows?
What I’m saying is, Minstrel Music isn’t only a music store, but it’s a taste maker. Kids come in with the latest dopey fashions, but leave learned musicians with solid taste in gear. Regardless of style.
I love this place and I commute from Rogers Park to have my gear fixed. If your tube amp craps out on you, bring it here; you won’t be disappointed.

Been going here since I first started the guitar, which is longer ago than I’m willing to publicly admit. The staff has always been helpful and knowledgable, and the repair work is always top notch. I’m a lifer, and as an added bonus they carry Orange!

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.”