I cant tell you how many times I drove by this place not knowing what was inside. I thought they just dealt with school band instruments. I had my bass go sideways on me the night before a gig and was in a tight spot. The staff here was all booked for setups but offered to help me get taken care of none the less. I actually opted to come in and take a look at their Yamaha stock. WOW! I was blown away by the set up in the back room. It seriously rivals the likes of Chicago Music Exchange etc. 20 min later I walked out with my new Yamaha TRBX 504 ready to get back to gigging. Staff was friendly, knowledgable, and extremely helpful. The facilities are next level. Go check this place out for any and all things musical. I will for sure be going back for parts and tune ups.

Theyre great folks. When they learned I was leaving for college today instead of tomorrow, they immediately called up their technician and worked to get my guitar to me ASAP (after having previously offered to get me a discount on shipping if we had to ship it off to me). I was a little frustrated that they didnt call me with an estimate, which they said they would do, but I dont blame them considering that the technician had to get a medical procedure done. Tremendously grateful they were able to get my guitar to me within a couple hours of calling (and with a reasonably priced cleanup for it too!). Will definitely be coming back here to get my guitar fixed up in the future.

Amazing customer service! Took my sousaphone to get some parts fixed along with a clean up and it sounds amazing after the clean up! Will def be coming back and recommending to all my music colleagues!

We are extremely grateful for the genuine care, professionalism, and authenticity of everyone at Kagan and Gaines! Whenever we stop by, we learn something new about our daughter’s instrument (violin) and they always find a way to connect with her and encourage her as a musician. Thank you!

The place to go in the area as an upright bass player, or really any musician in general. Its very clear that they genuinely care about their customers and will go out of their way to make sure you are happy. I was on a tight budget for a midrange bass and they went out of their way to make sure I was getting exactly what I wanted at an extremely fair price, including setting up multiple basses with my preferred string and letting me keep one at home for awhile before paying. They also let me take it back a few times to make adjustments to make sure the setup perfectly tailored my needs. I expected to just get a decent plywood but ended up with a caved top romanian bass I love due to their helpfulness and flexibility.Don’t go to Guitar Center or play russian roulette buying online, go support this local shop. I’m 45 minutes out and it’s well worth it.

I hate to agree with the user below who complained of a dishonest experience, but we are going through the same. I’ve read all of the other 5 star reviews and notice a pattern: it seems that for violin and stringed instruments, this is a great place. For renting brass/woodwind instruments via their monopoly with the school districts, they are subpar and dishonest. We should have just purchase a used instrument which would have resulted in us obtaining a superior instrument at, I am not exaggerating, 1/4 the total cost. We just had to call them to stop processing our credit card when we noticed we had been paying an abnormally long time on my daughter’s VERY USED, VERY DENTED saxophone (4 years!). We were “reassured” that, coincidentally, they were just going to call us as well as our payments happened to be completed. Yet they have no records of all the payments that we made, and are asking us to provide payment records going back to 2017 to “prove” how much we have paid in total. Luckily for us, we can easily provide them as they have all been made on the same credit card for years. We are also disputing the amount owed as our daughter’s original “nicer” model saxophone broke, was taken in for repairs, and she was given a loaner, student-model, older and dented sax. Her other one was never repaired and instead she’s just had this one forever. We were told at the time it would be “worked out.” Now they want us to pay the same amount as they were going to charge for the initial instrument to keep this replacement instrument permanently, as they also claim to have NO record that any switch was ever made or that the original saxophone was ever brought in for repairs. Typically, I endeavor to support neighborhood shops, but not when their record keeping is straight out of Mayberry. This is taking a lot of our time and energy to sort out, and we’ve ultimately laid out over $2300 to own an instrument that I have found at multiple music stores online for around $600 and under. We understand that renting the own is typically more expensive, but this feels like being swindled in every way. Extremely disappointed. My husband has been playing music for over 40 years - he also used to play saxophone - and his mother is a professional classical musician. He is used to dealing with all sorts of music shops and has never had an experience like this one.

I needed an audio cable and was going to go to Wmart and Im grateful to have found Kagan and Gaines on my way there. Thr sales rep was extremely helpful and friendly. The kind of service that a consumer wants. All questions answered and the prices were good compared to other audio / instrument chains. The store was clean and well organized. I will definitely buy from them again.

Best customer service! Having no experience at all, I wanted to pick up an instrument. I was provided one on one customer service. Jesse found the perfect parlor guitar for me and made sure I had everything to become successful. Will definitely be recommending Kagan & Gaines to friends and family. Will be back!

Had a lovely tour of the store yesterday with Jesse. Amazing stuff, great staff, friendly and welcoming vibe. I shall definitely be back!

Customer service was above and beyond. Took my mandolin to get set up, the gentleman behind the counter (sorry never got his name) said I didnt need to do that, fixed the bridge, tuned it up, give me some tips and it plays great. Been stopping by for years now I know why I keep coming back.

I’ve had two different instruments setup here and both were done extremely well. Highly recommended.

I am always impressed by the customer service and knowledge in this music store. They are very helpful for beginners too.

Fantastic music store with fantastic customer service. The administrative assistant is also very polite and knowledgeable! 5/5 would recommend for any of your musical needs.

I didnt know they carried a whole selection of cables for audio production. I popped in on my lunch break and they had a whole wall of product for studio/live work. Definitely going back to support a local business when I need more cabling.

Quick and painless guitar repair for less $ than i thought i was going to spend. will definitely be back for other stuff...

Wonderful, accomodating staff.Music teachers are EXTREMELY patient and encouraging.

Discovered this store two years ago. Have taken my bass for set ups and have taken my friends to check out their nice selection in bass amps. Today I purchased a beautiful upright bass. Always great, friendly, honest service and product. Im a happy customer.

I have been going to Kagan and Gaines for over ten years. They are always ready to help and even ready to pull strings to make things happen. They gave me a discount on a new pair of cello strings. They even replaced the strings there and then instead of a few days later.

Best music retailer in the area, bar none!Instruments (especially violins & all string instruments) new, used and serviced, band, guitars/basses, keyboards, percussion and sound systems...whatever you need, plus books, accessories - and the most accomplished teachers and instructors you’ll find anywhere.All that, along with classes and workshops...Great place!

The opposite of the Guitar Center.

I love my new Yamaha guitar! Jesse is helpful and straightforward. Helped me pick a guitar that I love to play. Dont go to the big box store. Get a guitar that is professionally set up and plays great for the same price. You will be glad you bought your guitar here.

Ive been Kagan and Gaines customer for the past 4 months but couple of weeks back I decided to buy a new violin, Jesse was super helpful with providing me with everything that I need without me being in store because of quarantine. after deciding which violin I want to buy Jesse walked me through a virtual tour through the shop to pick a case and then the owner gave me a good discount to have everything fit my budget. great customer service from this place and they have high quality instruments and accessories.

Two weeks before my daughter had an important audition, the bridge of her violin started to fail. Kagan and Gaines came to the rescue and promptly replaced the bridge and adjusted the instrument for her. We are so grateful for the excellent service that K & G provided. Thank you for helping my daughter have a successful audition!

The staff was so great! Brought my sons violin for tuning. They came out to get it, waited about 5mins and done! They made sure to follow all the guidelines for social distancing even sanitized the violin before handing it back over. So happy I brought it there. Will definitely come back!!

I was so glad to find this place when I moved to the area 7 years ago. As a violinist who teaches and performs, I know I can send my students here to get quality rentals, accessories, and instruments. I love knowing I can stop in to grab a book or accessory I need for a lesson or performance last minute. They are always so great about helping you find the right instrument for your needs and have a beautiful show room. Everyone I’ve talked to there is attentive, accommodating, and friendly as well!

We called Kagan and Gaines when we needed a drum set for one of our children who wanted to be able to continue drum lessons online. The customer service was fantastic, and Kagan and Gaines was able to deliver a drum set to us within a few hours! Our son LOVES the new drum set. Thank you, Kagan and Gaines!

Beautiful store and friendly staff, fixed my guitar immediately!!

I play the guitar and I was indeed of new strings so I stop by. They have great prices and the staff was friendly & very helpful. Its now my go to place for all music instrument supplies. I recommend you try this place. -Orlando

This place is the best. The staff couldnt be any more service orientated, they always go above and beyond to help there customers out. They were very patient with me ( a non musician) on a problem with my childs violin. I cant recommend Kagan and Gaines highly enough for all your music needs.

Always a pleasure doing business with K&G! So helpful and tremendous quality of instruments!

Ive been shopping at Kagan and Gaines for over five years. When I need new cables, strings for my bass, or something as big as a sound mixer, there is no other place to go. The people that work here know their stuff, and always have sound advice on how to take care of and select a serious piece of equipment.My budget for music production is that of a hobbyist and not a professional, but the people here never treat me with any less respect. Ive always gotten pitch perfect service, and everything I have from here has served me well through the years. Amazing quality and service, the best place for music equipment anywhere in all of Cook County.

Ive been renting a bass from these guys for years. The quality of the instrument is excellent and the Rent-to-Buy option is probably the best deal out there.Customer service overall is excellent. Staff is very friendly and knowledgeable, and very willing to take time to troubleshoot issues and talk through decisions.Cannot recommend these guys enough.

I have had great success with Kagan.& Gaines..Since my daughter started Violin back in 2006They were able to help me with a 1/2 size, a 3/4 violin and now my daughter is in a full size French made violin.Excellent service and knowledge of violins.They have helped my daughter become the great young violinist she is, as this is where it all started for my Alexis.Having a great selection of violins to choose from.

My daughter won GOLD again at her school solo thanks to the help from Eric. He is a great instructor and helped my daughter prepare for this very important performance for her. This is the second year we reached out to Kagan and Gaines for help and they sure make a difference with their lessons. Thank you again and see you soon for more lessons.

I gave this place a bad review after dealing with a younger employee But when the manager was alerted to the situation (A few days later) it was dealt with fairly. Kagan and Gains has a long time reputation in their neighborhood of being the first choice for musical lessons of any instrument and Fair pricing on instruments and accessories. It may not be the best place to shop for a new guitar But they can handle all your needs afterwords. I recommend them for all your strings, Guitar cases, Band instruments, ect. You will find all of them are of good quality and pricing.

Horrible customer service & dishonest people!We rented an instrument for our daughter through her elementary school. She decided to quit the program after four months. We informed the instructor & assumed she relayed the information to K & G. When we discovered they were still charging us monthly, we called and discussed the situation with a staff member named Alex. He informed us that we would be reimbursed for the charges for the months the instrument wasn’t in use and to simply return it. Upon returning it, the Manager, Jessie, informed us that he couldn’t honor that decision and we wouldn’t be reimbursed. I told him this was extremely unethical. I wouldn’t recommend doing business with this company.

Always ready to help a customer with any repair, sale, or music lessons. Great, friendly atmosphere!

Top shelf repair, sales and service. I send my students here and have made many purchases here over the years. I recommend them without reservation.

Went there and purchased a trumpet for my son. Jessie was a great help. Highly recommended.

Top notch repair, great customer service. they treat your guitar like its your baby. and they treat their customers with respect.

Very professional place

Very clean an friendly

Good luck