POLK AUDIO, INC Reviews

It's definitely not like Sam Ash or Guitar Center, but this place is pretty good. You can order just about whatever you need, and they buy/trade used gear at prices way better than GC.

Wish they carried marching band equipment and more drum stuff

It was a pleasure connecting with Bill and working with Brian to complete the sale. It was also a value-added to be able to get cash for the sale. I look forward to continued dealings with Bill's Music.

You've been very good to me for the past 20 years. I plan on purchasing a black JZ alto sax in the near future !

It went amazingly well. What a fantastically friendly and professional place this is. It is music stores like this that need and deserve your business and your support. Stay away from big box bad business places!!!

Looked all over my local area for a Blueridge guitar, and saw that Bill's had them available on-line. I wasn't sure if there were any BR160 CE's in stock so I called. They had 2, sent one out immediately. It was easily the best price I could find, and I was able to talk to real person for the order. Mick took a picture of it before sending it my way. BUT - tragedy struck and UPS damaged the unit beyond repair en route. The folks at Bill's stuck with me, understood how disappointed I was and made sure that I got another new unit sent to me as soon as possible. Now that's it been set up by my local guitar tech, the thing is awesome! Great sound both acoustic and plugged in. And - great help from the team at Bill's!

Very impressed with Bill's Music, and BA, who waited on us! These guys know their stuff and are very nice! Great customer service!

I ve been taking my kids here for piano lessons and it s been a lovely experience. I also got an upright bass here, which was dope. Overall we re here all the time and love every minute of it

Family owned and operated in Catonsville for over 50 years. Good people and good deals.

Recently purchased a Rickenbacker 330 12 string guitar. It had been there about 3 years, unsold. Got it home and as I expected it needed some adjustment. Out of tune up near the nut

Took it in for the free setup and got it back in 4 days. Sounds perfect. Adjusted the neck and lowered the nut.

This is my 4th guitar from there. Not the least expensive but an excellent selection.

I was looking for a hard-to-find Parker Fly Deluxe, so when I found an eBay listing for a '99 that happened to be nearby - at Bill's - I was relieved to have the choice to buy from a trusted, local store with a great used gear warranty and in-house shop. Leni from online sales was responsive and helpful with answering my initial questions about the listing, and both Mick and Leni were great to deal with when I came by to see it in person.

This is legit the most excited I've ever been about a guitar - the moment I first picked it up, my mind went blank. No licks, no shredding; I just sat there with trembling fingers, giggling to myself as I eked out just enough notes to ensure all the switches and pots worked.

Thank you Bill's for helping me bring home a marvelous guitar that I've daydreamed about for 20 years! It's everything I'd hoped for.

I am very thankful to have a full service, locally-owned music store nearby. While maybe a little more than online prices, I feel it is worth something to keep local stores in business. Plus if you are serious about purchasing, I am sure they will price match. What I like best is that they will leave you alone to browse, or give you help at your request. That is why I purchased my last guitar there. .

Actually, whenever I come to Balto, I hope to always stop by Bill's because you folks are the best. Want my simple proof, so far you've outlived all the major gigantron box music stores in the Metropolitan area. What can I say to add to this except, Bill's does something right. I'll leave that secret up to you to keep, lest someone try to out do you and the lemmings follow down that slippery slope too.
Hope to spend time with your sound man. Need a new 4-6 digital tracking recorder and saw the Fostex. As ever, thanks and my best to all at Bill's Music.

There is never a dull moment at this place. I absolutely love that you can play the instruments, for hours, even if youre not purchasing anything. You can find whatever musical instruments you are looking for..at a reasonable price. I have been going there for years, and i can find everything im looking for. I love this place. Friendly, courteous and knowledgeable staff.5 stars

Excellent customer service, so many instruments to choose from

Congratulations on your induction into the Maryland Music Hall Of Fame !!! You have served your customers well over the years and we all have come to know & trust everyone there. We hope you will be around for many profitable and wonderful years to come.

thanks Bill, i've been coming to you guys for a few years now and you and your staff always take care of me and really know your stuff. as a result my band played a show last night and it was fantastic thanks to the gear i got from your establishment. ill see you all again soon!

Thank you for greeting me and making me feel at home. I always enjoy visiting your store. Your store is my musical home. Your selection is great as is your staff.

Nice shop with a good variety of ukulele (we bought a few of ours from here in the past) and other musical items. We picked up some piano books today. Lots of friendly folks willing to help us find what we were looking for. It's always nice to be able to shop local as well!

You both have done top- notch work on all the equipment I have brought in for repairs! Please, keep up the great work!

Went in to buy an electric guitar. Great selection. Super knowledgeable staff, and ample time to try oit as many as I wanted. I bought a used guitar and it is in excellent condition. Will 100% return

I will have to Admit that It was Enjoyable to Visit at Bill's Music that I had Not Visited in some Time....You were Helpful with Finding me the Stylus/Needle that I needed for My Technics Turntable where NOW I can Play my Drums Along with Music to my Records..

Nino was most helpful and was a delight to work with.

I brought my bass guitar in after buying it new off the shelf at Bills. Signal was cutting out and I wasn t sure what it was. Turns out it was the 9V battery, which I could easily replace myself in 5 minutes. I was charged about $60 of labor to replace the battery and clean the electronics. That s a lot for replacing the battery, which was wore out while the bass was played in store. I also usually have Bills setup my Floyd rose bridge guitars and they charge me close to $100. I called Guitar Center after I saw the price of this repair and was quoted $49 for the same service. I will never set foot in Bills again.

I will just provide feedback that my sales associate Pj was really helpful and I had a good time buying a guitar from the store with his help

Not a bad store. Most of the guitars are behind glass, which can be a little frustrating if you want to play something. Overall good customer service.

Love the staff here. The lessons and teachers are great. Everyone cares more about making music rather than just about making sales.

I needed a compact "portable" sound system for my synagogue. I went to Bill's. The salesman met me at the door. I told him what I was looking for and what my budget was. He guided me through all the options, plugging them in and letting me test them with various microphones. We put together exactly what I needed, at the price I could afford. No overselling. Great experience. Great store. Nice, friendly staff.

A little on the expensive side for things. Good place for lessons.

Thank you for all your help today and finding the LAST Shure Beta 52A. That meant the world to me. I always appreciate being able to come to Bills rather than having to go to any other music store. I love the customer service there. Thank you again, Lou.

Bill's Music is the Baltimore area's best guitar shop.

Don't sell your gear here. I was lowballed and decided to go to Guitar Center instead and received almost $200 more than the offer PJ gave me. After giving me the offer and me turning it down, he quickly began jumping up on his price so I knew that he was lowballing me.

I have always loved shopping at Bills. They made me and Beth as part of their family. I will always be a customer at Bill's. Thank you for treating me and Beth the way you did. Beth said she now knows why I come to you for my needs.

One of the best music stores in the area. Good balance of new and used instruments with a great variety of brands to choose from. They also do repairs and other work at reasonable rates.

PJ is just Awesome!! For Years I've been a Bills Music Customer and EVERY TIME I come in it's because of the Great Customer service that I receive from PJ. He's a True Asset to Bills Music. He is always on point to answer all of my questions and he is very knowledgeable regarding the new gear or equipment that I am interested in purchasing. I've been a Professional Musician for about 20 years now . So I have trusted and valued his opinion when up grading my equipment. As you can imagine, I've purchased thousands of dollars worth of gear from PJ over the years and he has never stirred me in the wrong direction. Not once. So Great Job PJ, please keep up the Great Customer service as some of us really appreciate that part it Bills Music. I just wished you had more employees who understood that one component of Business.. Sincerely, Vance Wilkerson a very satisfied customer.

The service, as always, was great. They were a great help. I was looking for a semi-hollow electric and they were very responsive.

the supertune you did on my green airline twintone guitar is outstanding! WOW! I am so happy I about this experience!!!!!!!

Been a customer since the late 70s, when I began playing the guitar.

Thank you so much Lee for taking time to get my son s trumpet done in such a quick turnaround.

Yes indeed sir, my Steinberger guitar that you fixed has never sounded so good! I always get compliments on how good it sounds now. Thank you!You guys are second-to-none.

In the heart of Catonsville, Maryland. Need a big music store to drool in? This is the place, new and used equipment.

I recently became the proud owner of a used record player, and the guy who sold it to me personally recommended that I come to your store to purchase a new cartridge and anything else I may need. Your service representative Brian was very pleasant and helped me find what I needed right away. The parts that I bought for my player were easy enough to assemble and they work very well. I thought that the store as a whole had a really great vibe, and when I have some time I will definitely be back to look around, especially since I also play guitar. Thanks so much for great service

I buy all my string instruments here. Great selection and there's always new products coming it. They also have high-quality pre-owned instruments. The people who work there are friendly, helpful, and accommodating. Most of the guitars are within reach and can be handled without a sales associate (only the very expensive ones are in glass cases). There's a range of prices and even more guitars in the back room so if you don't see what you like, just ask! A Baltimore gem!

Support a local mainstay by getting your music fix here. The staff is knowledgeable and willing to help you get just what you are looking for.

JP knows his instruments. I went to have my guitar appraised for a trade in. Although we were not able to come to an accord this time, JP was very patient with me while I tried out, what seemed like, every guitar in the joint.

When your looking for an instrument I would highly recommend Bill's. Knowledgeable staff and a wide selection makes this your first, and most likely your only, stop on your journey towards the next best instrument.

Wonderful curbside pickup experience! With the recent extra time I have picked up learning the guitar which I bought years ago -- but now I couldn't find some parts I wanted. Used the cart on the website and selected curbside pickup this morning and within hours of opening the store had a capo, extra strings and a gigbag ready for me. The staff was super helpful and friendly and quickly loaded me up with my goodies. Thanks!

Not the best price place but you will find just about everything you're looking for I went in there for records and I was not happy about that the record selection was poor and damaged but the store is clean the staff is friendly I would definitely go back and I definitely would recommend

I rely on Ron and Gibb for ALL my repair needs and not only are they reasonable, but good. Now that Debbie and I are back in Baltimore City it is easier to get to all of you. In fact I am dropping off an amp head hopefully later today.

It had been a while since I visited the store, maybe over 10 years. I still received excellent customer service and Jason took his time to assisted me with my purchase. I recommend anyone and everyone to Bill's Music. I also enjoyed the in house guitarist play as Jason assisted me. I wanted to stay longer just to hear him strum the guitar. It was a great experience. Thanks

Friendly and knowledgeable staff. Good service. A large range of instruments are supported and for sale.

The usual great service I've enjoyed over the years from Bill's.

Lousy acoustic guitar selection, even lousier service. Not helpful.

Bill's Music is a wonderful music store. I wish I lived nearby because I would get to thank their team in person for their excellent customer service.
I got a killer deal on a lightly used Korg SV-1 from Bill's Music and I was so excited when it arrived in the mail. Unfortunately, UPS must have dropped the keyboard and damaged several of the keys. I was so bummed! After waiting for a couple of days for UPS to pick up and inspect the package, I got a call from PJ saying that they would send me out a brand new keyboard. They shipped it for free and didn't even charge me any more than I paid for the used one. I was in disbelief.
Needless to say, I LOVE the keyboard and I've been so busy playing it that it's taken me a few days to write this review.
If I every pass through Catonsville, MD I'm going to drop in with a case of beer and fresh baked cookies!

I'm excited to find your store, so then I can get some LOCAL sound gear requirements as they crop up, my always changing cabling needs, audio odds and ends, and the like. I'll keep in touch--and I look forward to a longer in-depth visit next time, very much real soon!

Much better off avoiding this place. Go there and try out what you want and then buy it online from Musicians Friend. I was cheated.

I had a great time during my recent visit, as I always do when I come to Bill's. It's like a toy store for guitar players. I am thrilled with my purchase!! Jason was very knowledgeable and helpful, and provided excellent customer service. I will definitely shop there again. I love your selection of guitars and your prices are very competitive.

Great place to purchase instruments and music lessons

December 30, 2014

I would like to take a moment to say thank you to Bill s Music for making the experience of buying a bass guitar so enjoyable.
I originally went into Bill s to bring in an old 5 string Washburn that I had that needed a tune-up. Mr. Ron was the consummate gentleman with a keen eye to my bass needed. When I left the repair department, I was in such a positive way that I could not help but to be taken with a Dean Tiger s-Eye 4 string. I did not get the names of the three different people that helped pull it down, plug it in and allowed me the time to check it out but all were well versed in the equipment that they sold. After a short time I realized that it needed to come home.
When the sale was completed I took the bass by repairs to show Mr. Ron my new toy. He put down the guitar he was working on, went over the Dean with a fine tooth comb and showed me many things that I did not know. I was amazed by how fast and accurate he was.
In many ways Bills sets itself as the music bar for sales that others try to meet. I and many other musicians from the Metropolitan area know that this is true but when it comes to repairs, no one will ever hold a candle to you.
Sincerely,
G.W. Hall III
(esquire)

Staff stared at me as if I didn't belong there, and I wasn't even the primary customer. I had gone in there with a friend to have his synth repaired and got directed to 2 guys before getting the actual person to check him in. We asked several people about cables, one person didn't have a clue where or what we were talking about. The STUFF inside is nice and organized, but the STAFF can be more welcoming and educated. Visit once.

Jared was very helpful without being high pressure.

They repaired my geetar a fee times and made it worse. Its an hd35. Wtf

Best audio place ive ever been. Beats chuck levins and guitar center. Chuck might have more pro audio and high end stuff but the staff at bills are FAR better. They took me into their basement to look at used cases and the guy helped me pick one out he used to own himself actually. Months later I am very happy and will definitely come back to bills soon just for fun.

Great selection, good prices and super nice employees. What more can you really ask for?

Thank you for checking in with me. The BB King us brilliant and the Strat fells perfect but is a bit tough to dial in; perhaps the Gibson is just that full and rich. Perhaps the pots aneed to be replaced in the Strat. Love then both. The Strat feels the best I've had and once I compared it to another Strat, there was little difficulty with the sound. Really, that Gibson is the best guitar, ok, it shares the top spot among two other amazing guitars. But I love the Gibson, best.

I'll be back to Bills once I make. Few bills to spend.

I've had to go here on another number of times to have the kids instruments tuned up or repaired or to pick up something that they needed.

I just want to take a moment again to thank you for everything you have done for me over the years as being a customer. I could not think of a better place to buy my drum kits, parts, or anything else I need with the exception of sticks which I buy out here. Your family has treated me like a member of family, and this holds true, because I have enjoyed every moment being a customer of Bills Music House, and every time I walk in there I am welcomed with open arms. Lou you have taken every phone call, and are always pleasant to talk to, and to deal with buying my drum needs. I bought my very first kit from you, and hope that this kit last the rest of my drumming career, so it started with you, and it will end as far as buying drum kits anyway. I will always come to you if I need any additional parts, or add ons. I love being a part of your history, and the history of the stores as a family member, and a great customer if I say so myself. I have always had confidence in Bills way of doing business, and making customers happy, and content. I for one will never go any place else to buy my equipment, and as my band gets bigger Bill, Lou, and Tracy will enjoy the ride too. No matter how my band does, we will always support you, and your company. My band wants to break it big, and some of our songs have a chance at least that's what Tom Tateman says, and he produces Stone Sour, Slipknot, and Korn.

I have a special place in my heart for the family who adopted me 30 years ago this month. It was July 8th, 1983 that I bought my Tama Impialstar kit.

Had my first Bill's Music experience this past week! The customer service was excellent. I went there looking to buy my son his first electric guitar for his birthday. My husband was in a band growing up as the lead guitarist and it looks like my son wants to follow in his footsteps! Nino and Mikey did an amazing job helping me find the right guitar. The only downside was that it took awhile when I was getting rung up. Looks like the computer system is running a little slow!

Awesome store! I got a brand new guitar for under $300 dollars! Amazing staff too. Best music store in Maryland!

Vita is a weave professional! My appointment was scheduled for 2pm and she greeted me promptly at 1:59pm (after just finishing up a previous client). I normally bring lots of reading material when booking hair appointments because a 2pm appointment for a weave can easily turn into a 4pm appointment, which is a huge waste of time. So let me just say I was completely shocked when my appointment started on time. Prior to me booking my appointment, I asked the duration of the style I wanted. I was quoted 2hrs but thought it was complete bs. In all my days of weave wearing, no style ever took 2hrs or less. At 4pm (which I was unaware of the time because of our reality tv discussion) she said okay,"You're all done," I was completely blown away. It's now been two weeks and 1 wash later and my hair is amazing. Vita does not braid tight and makes sure your are comfortable through the braiding process. She is about 30miles from me but the tolls and gas are worth a great hairdo that is completed within two hours. I'm sold!!!

Great spot with wide selection and helpful staff. Got a sweet mandolin today, and they gave the best offer on a used amp i was selling too. Glad i went there!