Steve’s Music Store

ive never had a chance to go here, but i have tried to request some quotes over email, which have garnered no response back. so im not sure what the issue is, but extremely disrespectful to ignore a customer asking for a quote.

THE music instrument store in Montréal where vintage is king!
As a beginning musician, it is definitely not the best store, because as in most music stores, they aim at the professionals or the advanced amateurs. However, my experience at Steve’s was less friendly and courteous than anywhere else.
Staff were either playing or discussing with each other and my request for trying certain guitars was badly met. I wanted a versatile guitar for jazz and rock and they showed me a metal guitar before one of them began to play it for five minutes. It’s okay to show me how the guitar sounds like in more expert hands, but I want to try it for myself.
When the staff felt that I was not interested by the guitar they showed me, they became unresponsive. It was an example of bad customer service.
However, I give the store a three star rating because going to Steve’s is an experience in itself. It looks like the music shops of the 1980s and the smell is somewhat special to put it bluntly… Just listening to customers trying the gear and moving from a department to another (it looks like a collection of small music stores around one block) is something!
If you are a pro or willing to spend a lot, you will certainly love your visit to Steve’s, but if you are more of a casual musician, only go there for sightseeing, as you will get better service elsewhere…

Je suis allé trois ou quatre fois chez Steve’s et j’ai été assez agréablement surpris.
Le magasin est un peu intimidant. Assez vieux, avec un choix monumental, il est clairement peuplé de bons musiciens et techniciens (tant les vendeurs que les clients). En étant débutant, ça peut impressionner.
La première fois, c’était il y a environ trois ans pour acheter un clavier Yamaha d’entrée de gamme. J’ai appelé, il me l’ont mis de côté et je suis passé le prendre. Service rapide et efficace.
Depuis, j’y suis retourné quelques fois pour faire arranger ma guitare, acheter un ou deux accessoires. J’en ai profité pour leur poser des questions sur la guitare, étant néophyte en la matière. J’ai été très bien servi à chaque fois.
Lors de l’achat d’un adaptateur USB pour ma guitare, le vendeur m’a bien orienté et m’en a vendu un moins cher que celui que j’avais repéré car, selon lui il était de meilleure qualité, avec moins d’options à la noix dont je n’avais pas besoin. Il avait raison, j’en suis très satisfait.
Quand j’ai amené ma guitare pour une révision, ils ont fait un excellent travail, rapidement (un jour et demi) et m’ont bien expliqué ce qui avait été fait.
Donc, jusque-​là, un parcours impeccable.

Big store like Italemelodie. Free parking in the back if you buy something. Price are competitive.
I had bad experiences when I was young but now no problem with the services. If you need help avoid Saturdays. It is closed on Sunday (Competition is not).

I needed to buy a new acoustic guitar and my friend just wanted a some kind of guitar, so I knew about Steve’s Music Store down near the Old Port. We make our way down there. From the outside you wouldn’t expect much on the inside based upon looks, wrought iron windows, etc.
Anyway, once inside they have the store broken up into different areas. One area for acoustic guitars, one for electric, others for other instruments. Each section has a dedicated staff member who is supposed to be an expert on the goods.
We first stopped in the electric guitar section because my friend wasn’t sure which guitar to get. The staff member was knowledgeable about the different types of guitars and what kinds of sounds each produced. We decided to check out the acoustic section next.
Again, same sort of service was provided by the staff there. In the end we both ended up with acoustic guitars, with the help from the staff members who didn’t exude a pretentious attitude.
Check it out if you are looking at getting either acoustic or electric guitars.

Les choses né changent pas beaucoup chez Steve’s Music. Je né viens pas ici souvent, mais j’ai l’impression que les choses sont pareilles ici que la fois précédente, même après 10 ans. Bön, l’équipement évolu, il y a plus d’accessoires et de logiciels pour ordinateur, les consoles sont moins chères, mais pour le reste, le décor, l’organisation, le service, c’est pareil!
J’ai eu une expérience que je pourrais qualifié de «mixte». Au rayon de la sonorisation, des gens qui écoutent mes besoins, me font des recommandations et me laissent le temps de tester les équipements. Au département de l’enregistrement, un vieux vendeur qui pense qu’il connaît tout et que le client est un crétin.
Reste que c’est un bon endroit pour acheter des équipements de musique ou audio à prix raisonnable quand on veut obtenir la chose sans attendre.

I have sent my AKG K 271 MK II headphones for repair at the store. I had to pay around 35 $ for the «depot». Finally, it wasn’t repaired and I get told that it was not worth repairing because the mecanism is now too fragile since it is broken.
I decided to try to do the job myself and just got them repaired today. It was only a loosen wired needed to be soldered.
$$ in trash. Thanks Steve’s music!

I’ve heard mixed opinions about Steve’s in Montréal. I have heard that they are snobby, service isn’t great, if you don’t wave money in front of their face they ignore you. Through all of this I decided to go anyways, mostly because I know they have a great selection to try out.
I was very pleasantly surprised when I was greeted in the acoustic guitar area, then the guy just made sure I knew where to look and what my options were, (based on a couple questions he asked). He checked in on me as I tried a few, but for the most part left me alone to mess around a bit in private, which was what I wanted.
What I was even more impressed with was that when my decision came down to two guitars, and a fairly substantial price difference between the two, he did not push the more expensive one. He simply told me why it was more, pointed out the differences, and then also made sure to point out that in the price range I was initially going for, the one I picked is the best option and assured me that I’d be happy with it. I ended up going home, thinking, came back the next day and bought the more expensive one based on the facts he gave me, not the pressure. To me, a great sales person.
He even went to get a second one of the same so I can play them both and decide which one I like better. He could have easily told me that was the last one, or just not bothered offering the choice. The store was quite busy that day.
All in all I am giving it 5 stars for service, selection, and even price. I shopped this guitar around on line and he even beat the price from a US distributor that is generally the cheapest out there.

Full disclosure: I am not a musician. I couldn’t carry a tune if John Lennon came back to life and told me that to bring world peace, all I had to do was hum the notes to Imagine on key. I can’t tell you the difference between a GIbson and a Les Paul, but I can tell you that Steve’s carries both and can school you on the musical advantages of each guitar.
Patchwork flooring that is definitely original to the building adds to the worn in comfort of the place, even if you might worry about falling through if you take one wrong step. The walls are lined floor to ceiling with beautiful instruments. An almost weird grouping of rooms keeps the instruments organized from electric, acoustic, and other, so there is some kind of organization amidst the beautiful chaos.
If you’re looking for something special for the musician in your life, this is definitely the place to check out. It is full of history, and also full with musicians on both sides of the counter willing to give you a bit of advice.
The only thing is, the staff was a little intimidating from a non-musician’s perspective. They were nice enough when you looked past the flannel sweaters, ripped jeans, and heavy metal band t-​shirts, but I couldn’t help but feel a little judged as I tentatively browsed the aisles. I definitely felt out of place, like an intruder stumbling into some secret club’s ritual ground. Steve’s is so full of musical history that it just might be.

Qui sait ce que serait devenu l’identité culturelle et musicale de Montréal sans Steve’s Music? Les musiciens sont débrouillards, ils auraient sans doute trouvé un autre endroit où s’approvisionner à bons prix, mais il faut tout de même reconnaître que cet oblong magasin leur a donné un bon coup de main, moi inclus.
Premièrement, il faut dire que le centre est plus gros qu’il n’y paraît! Étendu sur le long, Steve’s Music a carrément monopolisé un établissement, se répartissant ainsi en plusieurs compartiments dont chacun est spécialisé au type d’instrument recherché. Qualité et variété font ici bon ménage. Tous les instruments de musique conventionnels y figurent sous plusieurs marques. Il y a même un étalage exhaustifs d’harmonicas… Les choix des cordes de guitares est aussi à rendre fou. J’ai souvent poireauté longtemps avant de me fixer… L’ambiance est agréable; les planchers craquent comme ça né se peut pas, et l’on entend un peu partout des musiciens essayer la marchandise. C’est parfois même sujet à des découvertes de vrais virtuoses…
Un vaste volet est consacré à l’électronique (consoles, amplificateurs, micros, cartes de son, etc.) et il est possible de faire réparer son instrument sur place (j’y ai moi-​même fait fixer la soudure de la prise de ma guitare électrique). Rapide et efficace.
C’est là que j’ai acheté mon amplificateur pour guitares électriques, un Bandit 112 transtube, extrêmement performant. Bien-​sûr ai-​je pu l’essayer sur place. Le service est très courtois, qualifié et sait proposer du matériel en fonction du talent et des besoins du musicien, ce qui, à mon sens est gage d’honnêteté… Je me souviens, lorsque j’y ai acheté ma première guitare classique, que l’on m’avait proposé un instrument de base correct (guitare classique La Patrie) qui correspondait à mes attentes de débutant, rien qui né fût inutilement coûteux.
Enfin bref, l’on pourrait aisément résumer la boutique par leur slogan: «Si nous né l’avons pas… vous n’en avez pas besoin…»

Great place to buy guitars in Montréal. Great choice, good prices.