Bucks County Folk Music Shop — Local services in New Britain

I totally agree with Keith, Kirsten and Brian. I drove an hour one way to see about some possible tweaking and/or advice on a 000-18 Larrivee guitar that was buzzing a bit. (FYI, Larrivee suggested Bucks County Music Shop for this). I do know a thing or two about how a guitar works, adjusting the neck, saddle height etc. The owner Karl (I assume) has horrible bedside manner and is much happier talking than listening/interrupting. He took great offense to the fact that I wanted to try to do the work myself and save a 2 hour return round trip drive. He accused me of "just trying to save myself some money". I've got zero problem paying someone for work I am not able to do, or paying them to fix the work I thought I was able to do and found out otherwise. Someone said in a review that he was/is very generous with his knowledge (as to instrument repair). I think not.(maybe for this person though). Anyway, the shop is totally cool with lots of instruments in a variety of price ranges. Very old timey and funky. If my experience would have been more positive, I'm sure I would be back to shop some instruments. Also, I have done business (guitar wise) with people who are or were related to Carl, and the experience was 180 degrees (in the right direction) from my experience with Karl. Bottom line: a two hour round trip for twenty minutes of utter frustration. IN RESPONSE TO YOUR RESPONSE.....You did NOT say that the repair would be done while I waited, THAT may have been a game changer. Your problem is that you are very arrogant and a horrible listener. FOR THE RECORD; I took the saddle off myself and sanded it down to just slightly higher than the recommended acoustic guitar action ( I'm at a hair below 4/32" bass and and a hair below 3/32" treble) and the buzz is gone and I'm happy with the fix. It was quite simple, I just wanted to converse with a knowledgeable repair person before I did that. You sir are skewing the facts. Shame on you. Signed: former potential...

If you've never been, just go. Take the drive - just go. Stop reading this & go. You won't regret it. Took my first trip here today on the long hunt for a good acoustic. I do tons of recording, so finding a guitar covers a lot of particular bases was the mission. I'm very picky about them (that 1k - 1.4k range gets me...ifykyk...). I've played the expensive ones & more affordable ones - couldn't find one & one didn't find me.

After Kim spent 20 or so minutes with me on product knowledge & some important info she was just like John, go for it, so I did. Did it take long to find one? Surprisingly not. Did one find me - yes. I was actually surprised. Like when Harry Potter's wand picked him, that was me today haha. Landed on an Eastman E1D. I was SHOCKED at how much it sang & didn't burn a hole in my ears. I'm not one to get into the weeds TOO much on gear & I've learned in life that things find you for a reason - though the ego would say otherwise.

There was a point when I was playing that E1D that I forgot the big picture as to why I was there - may sound odd, but I was just having fun playing a guitar & it WAS NOT because of the guitar. It was the vibe. I felt a sense of nostalgia & friendliness that was very potent - quite literally like being at my Grandparent's home.

THAT'S THE POINT. BCFMS has soul - it really does. That's the difference. It's not the guitar - it's the heart & soul of the building, the memory of hanging out inside today & getting to meet the owners - those who've worked there for decades & care about what they do.

Kim & Jackie are beautiful people. I'm truly grateful to have met them, learned a lot about guitars & ultimately learned about what I missed in the years they've been open. If you go in & come out unhappy that's a you issue.

BCFMS forever. All the...

As a shop they are certainly well equipped and authentic, with reasonable prices and quality banjos. When it comes to repairs steer clear! I went in with my precious Huber in pristine condition and sounding marvelous. I was preemptively having some frets replaced and decided while it was going to be in the shop I would move up to a taller bridge. Seemed like routine work for a store with 50 years of experience specializing in banjos, I thought my banjo was in good hands, but to my dismay my banjo will never be the same. The craftsmanship was careless to say the least: frets were poorly set, my fretboard was chipped, frets were filed atrociously and the neck binding was chipped and horribly marred resulting in an uneven, unsightly line which once was straight and precise. The bridge setup seemed okay except I realized when I got home that the bridge was setup nearly 1/2 an inch out of place. For the first time in my banjo's existence many of the frets are buzzing and up the neck several frets are completely muted, which is hard to explain considering I now have a taller bridge and higher action! Overall the tone is dramatically disappointing. To make matters worse instead of an apology/refund I was met with uncooperative arrogance and a total lack of ownership for the shoddy work and for devaluing my most prized possession. The pure bliss that was once associated with opening my case, has now been replaced by sadness, and frustration as it pains me to look and hear what has become of my banjo. I'm now $250 dollars in the hole, looking to find a way to repair the "repairs" and an instrument that is...