Contemporary Music Store — Local services in Brattleboro

The proprietor of the store is a very odd, cold, impatient guy. I felt a very strange vibe from the moment I walked into the store. He obviously doesn't want anyone to be there. He didn't greet me when I walked in, and when I touched a guitar (not knowing there were any regulations for touching musical instruments in the time of Covid), he warned me he would call the police. After apologizing profusely (I was genuinely shocked by his bark), trying to get him to refocus on providing information about the guitar I wanted to buy, I touched the neck of the guitar again and he went ballistic - yelling and telling me to leave the store and never come back. He said he was calling the police on my way out - even after I said I would pay cash and leave immediately. No sale. No warmth or assistance. Please...

Ed is incredibly knowledgeable and on top of that, just a nice guy. I'm jumping back into stringed instruments after many years -- I played violin in my teens -- and always wanted to play either guitar or ukelele. This summer I bought a concert uke from Amazon, figuring if I didn't like it I wouldn't feel like I'd spent too much money. I loved it, but with a couple of months of playing I knew I wanted better sound than a sub-$100 laminate uke was going to give me. I stopped in this afternoon for the first time and was really impressed with the selection. Ed helped me find and try out different ukeleles until I found one just right, an Alvarez tenor that my hand fits much more comfortably. I'm super happy with my experience and I highly recommend coming here to purchase...

I've enjoyed my experiences at this music store and with Ed, the owner. He was very helpful in helping me decide on an overdrive vs distortion pedal (I opted for overdrive), and is always friendly and kind when I've gone in for little things (strings, capo, etc.). As I can tell he's a knowledgeable guitar-player himself, which is meaningful to me, as a guitarist.

Sometime in the future I'm going to bring in my Hollowbody Electric Gretsch to see if Ed can set it up a little better, and I look forward to it hopefully staying better in tune!

Hoorah for small, independent...