The Music Emporium — Attraction in Lexington

I got one of the nicest looking and finest Kamaka HF-2D (Deluxe Concert) ukuleles from Music Emporium. Whether good fortune or a favored Mainland dealer, I do not know, but I found a truly top one. I also give them credit for doing a great job on set-up (setting action at 2.75 mm at the 12th fret) accurately as part of the purchase, without (often added) additional charge. It was also delivered to me REALLY well packed and timely (as I recall, 2 or 3 days after purchase).

My reason for 4 stars versus 5 has to do with the installation of a LR Baggs 5.0 pickup. Mechanically, the installation was done fine. But, in doing the installation, they placed the battery housing (attached with a REALLY GUMMY adhesive pad) ON TOP of the “date of build” stamp (stamped on the block at the base of the neck inside the soundhole) that is an iconic and important part of every Kamaka built over the last 115 years.

When I called to point this out, the folks at Music Exchange were of their own opinion that laying gummy adhesive over the date stamp (which essentially guarantees some damage to the date stamp) was “no big deal” (rather callous), and in follow-up (where I asked for a replacement pad, as I wanted to remove the negligently-placed one), they at first did not respond to any of my e-mails, and only after a later follow-up phone call, did they send the replacement adhesive pad.

I was able to remove the (very) gummy adhesive that was pasted over the date stamp, and it turned out better than I feared — but it was clear that it was a bit dulled (comparing to three other Kamaka ukuleles I have).

I offer this as a good review — I totally love the HF-2D I now have, and Music Exchange was great on the purchase.

But I offer the detail on their choice, at least for me, to downplay their damaging mistake made in the way the pickup was installed. I was able to minimize the damage, but it did happen. My message to them was “Don’t do this again.” I got no response.

I hope that, despite no response, it was taken to heart and will be now noted as a “don’t do that.”

Again, I absolutely LOVE the Kamaka HF-2D I got from The Music Exchange. I just wish it had owned up to...

I was in the shop yesterday and traded an amp I wasn't in love with for a Used Carr Sportsman. I gotta say it was the best guitar shop experience I have had in my 20+ years of playing and buying guitars. Dan, Andrew and Steven were all so lovely and helpful.

I have had a lot of negative and borderline unfriendly experiences in guitar shops over the years; there can be an almost gate-keeper-ish testing quality to a lot of shops I have been in. However, when Andrew approached me to see if I needed anything and I told him about the amp I was thinking of trading and what I was looking for he gave me some sound direction on amps to look at and put me in touch with Dan to appraise my amp and then put me in separate room by myself with a bunch of amps to play as loud as I liked in private. Steven was over there taking pictures and didn’t seem to mind my noodling.

Ultimately, I fell in love with the amp I walked out with and was super happy and grateful for the whole experience. In a time of online retail and AI, the team at music emporium seems to have created a space that is the perfect antidote to the impersonal turn the world seems to be taking. I may still buy or sell the occasion piece on reverb or Facebook marketplace but I’m probably stop by the Music Emporium first. I have been playing the Sportsman all day through all my guitars and pickup configurations and have yet to find a sound I don’t like on it. In other cool news, the amp ended up being a 10 inch speaker model which was the opposite of what I wanted, intellectually. Had I done this operation online I would’ve gotten the other speaker configuration, which again, is a solid lesson on how much more worth it is to trust your hands and ears in the real world rather than reading about things online and deciding on gear that way. Highly...

I bought a lovely sunburst Collings D2HA T from the fine folks at The Music Emporium. I actually stumbled upon this guitar on their website and I had been looking for that exact model for awhile so I was immediately interested. I called and had a lengthy conversation with Andy who shared all the details on this guitar in an un rushed fashion which I very much appreciated. Initially I was quite trepidate about a purchase from a store that I had never dealt with before, but my conversation with Andy imbued me with the needed confidence to pull the trigger. I have owned 2 Collings guitars and played countless other ones in music stores so I was quite confident that the build quality would be impeccable. The guitar was very well packed and arrived completely unscathed, much to my delight! The most important part was assessing it's sound which didn't disappoint! This is my first guitar with a torrified Adirondack top and I must say it was a bit of a revelation. I had read several things online by top luthiers discussing the merits of torrified wood. But I have never personally played a torrified top before so all of this was new to me. I can say that it does have a sonic impact that is subtle but definitely real. It seems to impart a dry woodier tone that older guitars eventually acquire. The top seemed a bit more lively with lots of harmonic information that was quite pleasing to my ear. It also seemed to tame the glassiness that can be dominant on new guitars. All in all a very good thing! So, I can say that my experience with The Music Emporium was indeed a pleasant one and I ended up with a special instrument that will be loved and played for many years to come! It will be quite interesting to see how this guitar matures and changes over the...