Chicago Music Exchange Reviews

I recently moved to Chicago after spending four years in NY . I moved to NY from South Africa and was so exited to be plugged in to the NY scene , the NY scene is dead and gone. The guitar stores are filled with staff that are rude and unqualified . So how happy am I to have moved to Chicago and find the CME !!!! The most, and I mean the MOST outstanding guitar collection I have ever seen and staff that makes you feel welcome and will go out of their way to find what you want or need. I love this place .

We drive from out of state to go here and it is always worth it. The staff and selection are equally amazing. They also take trade-ins, the staff is dedicated to get you the guitar of your dreams with a budget that works for you.

These folks are the great. Awesome service - pleasant and knowledgeable, and treat you with respect no matter who you are and whether you are buying or just browsing.

Prices are fair, as well as exremely fair offers on trade-ins. Highly recommended.

CME is the stuff. I've purchased multiple items from them online, and I love stopping through when I'm in Chicago to see what they have in store. Pretty amazing selection of guitars,
Amps, effects, and be sure to check out the bass-ment. (You should follow them on IG) Tons of cool stuff, great staff, and did I mention they have tons of cool stuff?

Recently sold a number of guitars and amps to CME. The entire transaction was handled extremely professionally. Initiated the sale through their website and was responded to quickly. I live within a reasonable driving distance and opted to deliver the gear myself. The staff was helpful and very considerate. Additionally, CME s offer was extremely fair - if not more than fair. My alternative was to sell the gear myself and incur the hassle that goes along with that - something I did not want to do. CME is a well run business and I look forward to both buying all selling to them in then future.

The place makes you feel like home. If you are there checkin out the guitars for a long time, it feels like you own them all. Overall, great store. Choose them over Guitar Center. All they offer here is quality. I love the store and the ppl in it.

Super helpful and friendly. Wasn't made to feel bad about asking to play more than 10 guitars from the top row, which required many trips up and down the ladder. Have a guitar on hold and will likely pull the trigger. Happy to have stopped in and had such a good experience.

So disappointed. I literally never write reviews, but I had to for this... Overall, the customer service/correspondence and online order fulfilment of CME are LACKING. At least in my experience.

I made what I thought to be an early online order on November 6 thinking I'd at least get my item by early or even mid December (Christmas gift). After a couple inconclusive calls to check up on it, I finally get an email in regards to it ON DECEMBER 23RD, and if that wasn't already depressing, the email was in regards to my item being damaged??? I understand delays/issues because of the holidays, but with a whole month and a half's notice? What went wrong? And how? Should I have made my order 3 months ago? 4?

Awesome music store. Those who say it's expensive are somewhat right, but for the wrong reasons. Yes, much of the gear is expensive but it's because the guitars are either vintage, or top lines of their brands. If you want cheap, go to guitar center and get a cheap low quality guitar. If you're serious about good quality gear, go here. They do financing through PayPal so you can pay off the gear with no interest for 6 months. That's how I afforded my bass from them. In essence, if you're a serious musician looking for serious and top quality gear, this is the place for you. I am somewhat intimidated trying to play the gear, as I feel they don't like it if people do, but given the price of the gear, I understand.

Amazing place, just incredible. There are thousands of reasonably priced guitars and the employees are helpful.

Best Guitar shop I've ever been to. And I've visited quite a few. Staff is super cool and helpful, the shop itself is amazing and the variety of gear is great. I got here my 1972 Es 355 for a really good price(although the frets needed a little work and the case had seen better days) . Honestly awesome, must check it out.

To go crazy. Great variety of guitars. A wonderful deal with the store staff. I recommend this place if you want to buy a guitar in Chicago

The store is excellent. The Les Paul wall is beautiful.

Always a great experience. Just picked up a Taylor 214e-SG LTD. CME always gives me a fair price on trade-in's when I'm upgrading to better guitars.

Legendary as the CME may be, their drum store was severely lacking. Small and cramped, we were told to wait until a photo shoot was done for a Ludwig kit, and then given mediocre service at best. Though I more than understand as a Reverb seller that attractive inventory documentation is important, you'd think they would have a better location to go about it. As for service, the staff was oddly standoffish, and only helped when I directly asked for specific items. I'm sure that of all of the wonderful experiences there that mine was a fluke, but I was looking forward to the Mecca of music stores, and instead was served with a cheap televangelist special.

This place is amazing. It's a little pricey but the guitars are amazing. I was able to place whatever I wanted. It was a comfortable environment. I love taking my friends here.

I bought a few guitars already and I have to say sales stuffs are incredible. Dave helped me on my recent purchase and he will go extra miles. I am happy that I can actually go and visit this store. Chicago town's gem!

Service is awesome, and response to emails are quick. Best music store I have ever been to.

Fantasic store - lots to see and do, friendly staff and great guitars and wide choice of pedals

Brought in my guitar for an input jack repair (found out you re supposed to make an appointment for repairs) but they saw me anyway. Guy made time to fix the problem for me right away by cleaning it and didn t even charge me. What a sweetheart. Then Tristan found me the exact pedal I wanted by just having me describe it to him. 10/10 great place, will return

It's LIGHTYEARS beyond Guitar Center. Not even in the same league.

Their customer service is great. They had the guitar I was looking for to get my wife as a wedding gift. Seeing as how the guitar was koa wood each varied in wood pattern. They were great and sent me several photos of options they had in stock. I received the guitar in Louisiana within a week. She loves it!
Fast friendly service!

One of the best guitar shops I've ever been to. The place has so much great stuff that it is overwhelming. If you're looking for a great guitar or bass, come to CME and make sure to plan on spending the day there

Awesome place, really fun to visit and look at beautiful guitars

Hands down, my favorite place to buy a guitar. Their selection is top notch and an overall great environment. What really stood out to me about CME is the service provided. The staff is knowledgeable, patient and genuinely want you to find a perfect fit for your needs. I worked with Geoff Tinta. He helped me find a new PRS electric guitar. At no time did I feel pressured or out of place. Geoff is down to earth, easy going, and you can tell he is passionate about what he does.

If you go to CME, you'll be in good hands! Good luck!

Wonderful staff, the guy at the front counter is really friendly, I think his name is Fhil. This place had basically every guitar you could imagine, in vintage, used, or new condition. Highly recommend if you're in the neighborhood.

Placed online order over a week ago and it still hasn't shipped. I've been told repeatedly that the delay is due to a computer error and that the order would ship this or that day. Here I am however, still without the pedal I ordered last Thursday. In the mean time, CME has wasted no time in blowing my e-mail up with spammy ads. Will take my business else where in the future.

First things first, places that aren't the "Wallmart of Guitars" don't stay in business competing with them on cheap import garbage. That's not a bad thing, you just have to realize pricing is effected by focus. Folks that stop in CME are looking to scratch an itch that you can't at most big chain music stores, so some items are competitive... some can be on the expensive side. However, they HAVE THEM; in a physical place where you can touch them, have access to knowledgeable staff, and not deal with online gear Russian roulette. Guitar and Bass (and now drum) lovers in the city/visiting owe it to themselves to stop by. Parents of or beginning musicans over their "I'm going to stick with this" guitar looking for a new or used premium instrument, (that one they will still have 10 years from now) owe themselves a visit as well.

I just wanted to say Thank you to Chicago Music Exchange . I bought a Taylor acoustic and the shipping was " next day " . The package was shipped very professionally and I simply love the guitar . Chicago Music Exchange is a very professional music store . They care about their customers and sell the finest musical instruments in the World . Before you buy a musical instrument , please check out The Chicago Music Exchange before all others . Thank you Chicago Music Exchange for my beautiful Taylor guitar ,
Sonny Combs
Dayton, Ohio

Karl was great in helping understand the different options I had when looking for a new acoustic guitar

Trade in policy is bait and switch. Talk on the phone they say X%, go to the store and then they say Y%. You would be better off going to Guitar Center.

This place rocks! The staff is super cool and they'll let you crank guitars and amps you'll never be able to afford. Would visit again 100%

If ever there were a set of princes among thieves it would be at this shop. My entire process of choosing, questioning, purchasing, and shipping glided by without me having to do any of the work. The people at CME are truly the gold standard. I highly suggest you purchase from them and I will definitely be buying from them in the future. Thanks for the excellent care you took, CME!

The best guitar store I have ever visited. How many times have you gone to a chain music store and been completely underwhelmed? Not at CME! First, it's loaded with the best gear. The new pieces are well thought out. No loss-leader axes here. If you want high end, they got it--all of it. Friedman amps in the wild, ready to be played! Second, the store is well organized, clean and bright. No Fender promo carpets with bong water stains here. It's comfortable and I wanted to stay all day. And the staff! They're friendly. Really friendly. There's no snobbery going on here. If you have a budget, let them know and they will find you the best gear in your price range. If you need help or a full education, they will take time to help you. I can't wait to get back to Chicago for another visit.

Amazing selection of guitars and drums with a very friendly and knowledgeable staff!

Excellent place to choose your musical instruments. I went to the Drums section. Multiple brands. Everything on percussion. Choose your instrument and if you live in Chicago they will send it to your house if by chance it is not in Stock. They also gave me 15% on my Mienl brand bongos. A marvel of passage. Go over there. There is easy parking as there is public parking. Lincoln Ave. In the Lakeview area. Also the boys are attentive.

Great selection of gear and really knowledgeable staff!

Great selection of musical instruments and you will be sure to hear Stairway to Heaven played at least once while you are visiting.

Staff very friendly, and huge collection of vintage and new guitars. Very cool place. Repair shop does good work.

If you need anything guitar or ukulele related, this is the place to go

Probably the best vintage guitar store that exists. Large amount of stock and varied. Vintage instruments of large brands fully available to try them by the customer (without locks or similar). Very attentive staff. Reasonable prices. The location of the store is a bit far from the loop, but close to a subway stop (brown line - Paulina).

Went here while visiting Chicago over spring break a couple of months ago. From the outside it looks small, but is really, really big inside. There is a very wide range of electrics, everything from Fenders all the way down to Rickenbacker. A seperate section for acoustics is nice for acoustic players. On some of the walls you can find pictures of musicians like Brad Paisley and Tom Petty visiting the store. Downstairs is their bass guitar selection, which is nice for bassists. Staff was helpful and knew lots. There were some rooms that you can use to try out the instruments. The only gripe I had was that there is a limited selection for lefties like me, but that is expected for us lefties. Thankfully there are more lefty guitars on their website. Great experience!

Huge space. So, a big selection of guitars available. Biggest I've ever seen.

Great place to shop for all guitar, amp, or effects needs. Wide variety of instruments and effects. It is a little difficult to shop for amps as they are spread around the whole store and practice rooms. The store is usually busy and you may need to wait a few minutes to wait for someone to help or answer a question. However, the excellent selection and staff expertise is more than worth the wait.

Came in recently ready to spend money, I knew exactly what I wanted, but just had a few questions and wanted to talk about the guitar with someone who I am to assume knows a little something about the particular guitar in question. Instead of listening to me, or asking me what I wanted, or what I was there looking for...the sale person was very mans-plainy to me, and instead of showing me what I wanted, just showed me what HE liked. So I left, and I took my money with me. As much as I want to love this place, I consistently have a hard time either getting anyone to acknowledge me, or get people assuming I don t know what I m talking about or actually listening to what I want or why I m there. I m a middle aged woman so I don t look like a rock and roll dude, I get it....but over all just very disappointing.

This place is what guitar dreams are made of. Mark is the bassment is the man!

Great venue for live acts. Lots of beautiful guitars hanging on the walls.

Was interested in getting some repair work done on my 72 Gibson SGII.Told repair rep. Phil that I didn't mind shipping from Florida and that I could pick up the guitar after repairs at my family home 150 miles away from the shop. He told me to send pics via e-mail and he would reply within the week...that was over a month ago. Guessing the guitar and I aren't worth the courtesy or the 2 minutes it would have taken to respond to my request. Disappointed.

Best guitar store in Chicago and it isn't close. If you love music // play guitar, do yourself a favor and pay this store a visit.

This place has awesome customer service!!!! My online order had an issue (my fault) and a lady emailed me and took care of everything with great pleasure. I also received everything super quick!

David A. was INCREDIBLY HELPFUL with the buying process every single step of the way. I live in California, and so we only communicated via email, but he was super patient with all my questions and concerns. He sent pictures of the guitar I wanted to buy, on a Sunday!

They packaged the guitar extremely well, and it survived the long journey in a week in perfect condition.

All-in-all, this was by far my best music purchase experience ever, and this is now going to be my most prized guitar (it's a Taylor!). Super excited, and super grateful for the amazing customer service that Chicago Music Exchange did... I'm a fan for life!

I love this place. Huge selection of incredible gear and the staff has always been super friendly and helpful....it seems like the kinda place that could have an "attitude" with all the high end gear around but I've found it to be the exact opposite and it's one of the most welcoming shops I've been to. Was down this past weekend for a pedal builder even they had and it was a really fun event. I live a couple hours away and do business with them mostly online but I like to make it down to shop in person on occasion as well, it's worth the trip every time. Customer service has always been great even when I need to return an online purchase, never a hassle at all. Have picked up a couple nice amps, a very nice guitar, and more pedals than I'd like to admit....never a hassle. They've even sent me a couple of free t-shirts for shopping with them.

Nice customer service. And finally someone who has dream cymbals!!!!

Nice selection of gear. If they don't have it they can get it in for you. All of the staff and especially. The luthiers are extremely helpful. They set up my acoustic and threw in a free set of strings !

Hands down the best guitar store you'll ever be in. Dedicated walls of Les Pauls, es-335's, teles, taylors, anything you can think of. You get treated like a friend; they'll let you try out anything in the store. Thanks Drew and Shelby for my Cordoba C45 and Fender 68' reverb amp.

This place is all right to go look at some guitars! But I wouldn't buy a guitar there they're too overpriced! And nobody's in a hurry to help you!

DO NOT TAKE ANYTHING HERE FOR REPAIRS!!!

Came in with my amp head because it was having volume issues. I gave it to the guys to repair it. They told me they'd have to replace the tubes and that was $60. I got it picked up for me when I was out of town. When I got it back, it still had audio issues AND they ripped some of the vinyl on the outside.
I took it to Chicago Fretworks and while more expensive, they correctly diagnosed the issue as a corroded cable. In fact, they said the tubes in the amp were a complete mismatch and were going to cause audio issues.

The techs here have no idea what they're doing and they ripped up the exterior of my amp head. Thanks a lot.

I called CME about a vintage Strat and Alex Latus answered the phone. I was blown away by how great this guy was! He went out of his way to help me with this purchase and I couldn't be happier. I ended up calling him a few weeks later to purchase a CS Strat. Super happy with Alex and my experience with CME. I will be back for future gear needs.

It's the best music store ever, great experience. The employees are the best and very kind. Great walls of guitars, gibson, fender, epiphone, Martin, etc... It's a little bit far from the loop but when you get there you'll know that it was worth it.

Great service and a very cool store to see and visit!

This is the famous music store if you play any six strong guitar, four string, or percussion. You have the app called Reverb. This is the place. Thousands of guitars and friendly knowledge staff make this the perfect music store.

I had my eyes on a used Taylor and Geoff was more than helpful in answering many of my annoying questions regarding the guitar's condition. When that instrument sold, I decided to buy a new one. Karl was awesome handling my order. Overall I couldn't have asked for a better experience from once the order was placed, to the guitar's setup, to delivery. When I noted to Karl that I was unable to select 'pickup' as an option over delivery, and that I couldn't wait to get my hands on the guitar, Karl actually offered to pick the instrument up from the warehouse so I could pickup at the store later that day. An absolutely top-tier purchasing experience, to say the least, which is what you want when you're investing a few thousand in an instrument. I've purchased several guitars from CME, and they consistently deliver on a phenomenal experience. I'd recommend purchasing here over elsewhere, every time.

They have cool gear if you're a guitarist or bassist. Not really drummer friendly but they got some gear if you really need it. Can't realistically test out drums here.

Very good equipment. Ready to help staff. But a little expensive. In fact, very expensive. But i know that I'm getting my money's worth when I buy from there. Love the huge number of new and vintage basses, as I am a bassist. The private practice rooms are also wonderful to use. Love this place.

Well stocked. I like when staff gives me room to explore but it does feel like they go an extra step into not caring territory or prejudging what you can afford

Husband bought guitar of his dreams. Prices are competitive even with eBay. Lots of assistance if you need it but they mostly leave you be. Gave us a great deal on this Taylor.

Purchased a Lakland. What a pleasant experience ! If your a player this place is a must see and stop by in Chicago.

My favorite olace to buy guitars. They always give me awesome deals and take care of me very well. A must visit if you in Illinois or visiting. A few pics of the awesome guitars I have bought from them over the year.

Professional staff. Outstanding selection and service. AS GOOD AS IT GETS.

Excellent!! far better than I expected cleanest 20 year old bass I have ever seen and excellent price..awesome experience

Friendly service, bass strings kind of high though. I'll go back.

Has a large selection of guitars and plenty of staff members for help. Is a really cool place

Long story short, there was a system mess up with my order and these folks made it right. They went out of their way to help me. I ended up with a beautiful instrument that was shipped with the utmost of care and in perfect condition when it arrived. I'll be back for sure.

This is one of the best stores in the whole country. So much variety, great top of the line instruments and accessories, but my favorite part is the drum section. They have the best drum sets I've ever seen, awesome cymbals and a great used stuff section. I LOVE IT

My god! Such a beautiful store with an amazing selection. Staff are also very helpful. This is the place to buy something special.

What's not to love? The staff is friendly and accommodating. Prices are slightly higher but that is due to the quality of service between access of testing anything and everything and the knowledge the employees have of their products. The establishment itself is beautifully designed and spacious for large crowds.