Mike Berryman

Review of Long & McQuade Music

I have mixed reviews about this location.

I have mixed reviews about this location.

On one hand, the people are friendly and knowledgeable and it s a store that does not scare you off w their pretentiousness or aggressive sales tactics.

On the other hand, the guitar repair shop is a whole different story.

I brought my Les Paul in for a basic set up. The guitar was returned to me 5 days later damaged. A 2 cm chip down through the blue translucent finish and into the maple body on the face of the guitar. Also, 2 black marks around the saddle. I was told these were sharpie marks although they couldn t tell me why a sharpie was used to mark the guitar. The pick guard was also very loose. My guitar was stored in a quality hard shell case before and after the service, so it s clear to me that something (a tool) was either dropped on my guitar, or my guitar was dropped during this service.

Now, I was not even told of the damage upon pick up...I noticed it myself when I walked to work across the street and pulled out my guitar to test it out. I promptly returned it (within 10 minutes) and they expressed surprise and embarrassment and claimed they would send it out for repair with an approximate 4 week wait time. I was given a used Les Paul loaner to use during this time.

I received my guitar back about 3 weeks later and brought it home to discover awful fret buzz on the top E string. This especially surprised me considering it was a set up that they were suppose to do on my guitar originally. Also, the pick guard still had not been repaired as it was as loose as it was when I dropped it off. And to top it off, I noticed that the Ernie Ball Heavy Bottoms back up strings that were in my case were used despite me paying for a restring.

I contacted the store and the managers during this fiasco to ask what sort of compensation I would be receiving in return. I expected my money back at minimum and this is exactly what they offered. I was also in the market for a new guitar at the time and I told them that out of principal I would not be buying it at their store unless they made it worth my while. I did my best to indicate that I was not trying to extort the shop, but instead to imply that I am buying the guitar either way and they have exactly one chance to keep me as a customer. The managers felt that repairing my guitar free of charge and returning the $100 set up fee was the best they could do. This was their prerogative and I do not fault them on it however in doing so, they lost the sale of a $1600 guitar (that I did in fact purchase elsewhere) and all future sales. I m confused by their handling of this considering that even an extra $100 off would have been enough to keep me buying from them and a continuing customer.

I now finally have my guitar and I can sleep somewhat soundly at night knowing that I don t have to worry about the treatment it s getting at the Bloor Street Long + McQuade. A fine place to buy instruments, but do not get guitar work done here. They are either sloppy or don t know what their doing, but either way...you do not want them repairing your instruments.