Best music shop in town! The owner and workers are always very friendly and helpful.

This place has become a staple for me. Kent is an amazing gentleman, plus the whole team is super friendly and EXTREMELY knowledgeable when it comes to their craft. It’s where I purchased my first violin, and Kent takes his time with you to make sure you walk away with the best instrument for you and with as much knowledge as possible about the instrument i.e stringing, care, ect. Just ask and they’ll help! It’s a hodgepodge of folk/string instruments and percussion instruments, if these are your flavor, I highly recommend this shop. I always look forward to my visits to Troubadour Music!

They did a great setup on my mandolin, for a good price.

The gentleman that helped my boyfriend impressed alot with his knowledge and genuine personality. Thumbs up! Didnt have what i was looking for but he called around to the other shops in town to see if he could find it . customer service #1

Always been a haven in this part of the valley. Ive been going here for 20+ years and be hard pressed to find a better shop.

Terrific music store for all your needs. This business has decades of experience and it shows. Superior quality work and information. The staff is friendly and honest, too.

As a luthier, I recognize talent and knowledge about instruments when I see it and Kent and his staff most certainly have these qualities. Kent has decades of experience behind him and is happy to share his expertise with anyone who comes into his store. Beyond that, everyone I have encountered there has exhibited kindness and caring that are rare these days. I cannot recommend them highly enough.

Always a pleasure walking in the door. Troubadour always does a great job! Knowledgeable, helpful great customer service.

I do love Troubadour Music because the people there treat me like a friend and not just another customer. I have experienced great customer service combined with honesty, integrity and a fair price. The picture I have included is of the store owner, Kent Buys, making some expert and insightful repairs to my old guitar which made it play so much better. Just one of the many times that I received excellent service.

Wow! Brought in my violins for some TLC after being in storage for 35 years. Kent was able to name each part by manufacture and my oldest violin that I’ve had since the 5th grade by the exact year. (Stradivarius 1974 replica) They even showed me a feature on my 5th grade violin I didn’t know about. The end post is also a tune to blow into called an, “A Tune”. (I think) If the violin is out of tune, just blow into the A Tune to tune the A string. Super nice staff and great pricing. Great people to work with.

Best setups in town. Kent the owner has told me this more than once: Stay as long as you want, play as much as you want, but please dont feel like you need to buy anything. Marley (Kents apprentice) is helpful, thoughtful, and warm.Dont mind the few unreasonable 1 star ratings and silly comments. If your looking for high quality gear and craftspersonship go to Troubadour.

Awesome people, very knowledgeable and a great selection!

Large selection of classic and unique instruments! Beautiful store, with a great vibe. The shop owner was absolutely fantastic and knowledgeable, eager to make sure we were happy customers! 10/10 wonderful experience. Would love to visit again soon. Not to mention the resident store dog, made our experience even more enjoyable. Thank you for the great trip in.

The owner was very knowledgeable and friendly, and spent about half an hour of his own time talking me through how to make a repair by myself (since I said I wanted to do that), instead of trying to convince me to bring it in. Very reasonable prices for parts too!

They were extremely helpful by taking the time and answering all the questions I had. And the warranty they have on their guitars is outstanding.

Kent is a very knowledgeable craftsman. Several years ago, he repaired a good, but ancient Brazilian guitar I had purchased in Portland; I believe Kent fell in love with it. He painstakingly repaired it and made a crack in the back of the guitar literally disappear. He reinforced the bridge, smoothed the top, which had a few irregularities, and checked the frets. In short, Kent gave a new life to this old instrument. He sincerely loves guitars and has tremendous respect for them. Suzanne Bonnen, who assists him for harp sales, is very gracious and helpful. Early in 2016, she was extremely patient and kind to my sister, who was trying to see if she liked harps and could learn to play. Suzanne encouraged her, and gave my sister her first (and free) lesson; my sister has been studying faithfully ever since. Troubadour is a very good place if you enter this venerable music store with respect and the right attitude.

Owner repaired an old violin for us, assuring us it would be playable. When I tuned it, the end piece crumbled and flew off. We spent hundreds of dollars, and he had it for months. The work was not well done. I will be taking it to a luthier in the Portland area.I will post what the outcome is when I get it.

I have been going to Troubadour for guitar strings and other instruments for years. The owner helped me adjust my guitar so it was more comfortable to play. I have never been disappointed by the service or products. Prices are reasonable but do not expect cheap. There are no cheap instruments here.UPDATE: Purchased a violin today. I was encouraged to look and touch all the violins available. There is a lovely range of violins with different sounds available and I am happy with the one I chose. The sound resonated with me. I was also informed about a violin mute which will let me play in the apartment I live in. I never would have known if I hadnt been told. Searching the internet, I am confident that this violin is worth the price I paid. It is in beautiful shape and the ability to walk in to get it maintained, repaired, or even traded in is invaluable.I love walking around this store as well, beautiful museum pieces and instruments I have never ever seen are on display. There is mostly an emphasis on stringed instruments, but you will also find drums and a few wind instruments as well. Their stock of maintenance items is huge.

Took my guitar in for minor repairs. I was told that it would be ready to go in a couple days. No problem. I had a gig a week and a half out, and figured it would be fine. After calling and getting the runaround for a week, I went in to see what was up. Kent couldnt tell me why it hadnt been looked at yet, but he assured me it would be done within another couple days. I pulled my guitar, and had it repaired the same day at another local shop. In my opinion, the Troubador is a joke. All pretentious talk and no action.

For the instrument I was looking for, this store had higher quality ones than other places I looked. I enjoyed looking at some of their vintage instruments and talking to Ken, the owner, and Marley, the apprentice luthier. Glad that there are still some of these kind of shops around.

I love browsing music stores, and am a musician. Im trying to raise my son with the same appreciation for fine instruments as I have.That said - I took him into this store - he was quiet and respectful, and sat down at a grand piano and was very quietly and gently playing a few notes on it. I was watching him and he was in no way being careless with it - I appreciate musical instruments and am very fussy with treating them with care and respect. I have 13 guitars and every one of them in pristine.The guy I believe to be the owner very grouchily told him to quit playing it and get away from it.He asked my Daddy why did that guy talk so mean to me?Not a good way to encourage a future musician. Maybe hes having a bad day - but my son will remember this always Im sure. What reminded me of this is today we drove past the store, and 2 years later he said Theres the grouchy guy store (My son is now 9)I think they have a fairly nice store - but for this reason I wouldnt buy even a set of strings there.

Kent at the Staff there are very knowledgeable, great service! Beautiful Guitars!

Recognized how economically impoverished I was with mental responsibility and gave me a discount. Person also taught me some basics of guitar and string instrument fabrication and reconstruction in fifteen minutes.

This place is all about instruments with strings- They do a lot of custom repair/refurbishing it looks like, I got a single peg for my acoustic bass instead of having to purchase a set of four. Not the cheapest, not the fastest (very wholesome), but theyll probably be able to help your situation with strings. Theres a selection of pretty obscure percussive instruments too

Came in here to browse. Was approached by Kent the owner. He seemed polite at first but after speaking for a few minutes his character was quickly exposed. He kept talking over me, undermining my knowledge of guitars, and insulted the guitars I have because they arent $6000 custom made almighty luthier approved guitars. I was considering taking my guitar in here for repair but reconsidered the second Kent told me he had never heard of a volute. Youre going to tell me about your years of experience but you dont know what a volute is? Yea no, youre not touching anything I own. Hopefully he passes this business on because it reeks of an old man who refuses to learn anything new or change his business model. Also the selection is basically used budget and middle of the road guitars at retail prices. Dont waste your time.

Walked in with a question, but wasnt even acknowledged. Finally managed to get one guy to eye me suspiciously, but when I went to ask him something, he went back to the conversation he was having with his co-worker. Maybe theyre good, maybe not, but they dont seem interested in customers. Might be better trying somewhere else.

Extremely knowledgeable about all of the instruments, friendly, helpful, and there’s a cute dog! Absolutely recommend!

Mid Willamette Valleys Premier acoustic instrument repairs and sales

I give one star...because you have too.Be careful !!! Get anything in writing. Listen to how much they forget. Watch when they dont write down. They have skills but use deceptive friendliness. Maybe they are just used to bad customers but get a copy of your agreement in writing. Be prepared to be disappointed followed by an offer for further work at a greater price.

Friendly environment that welcomes the community to their diverse shop. The first time I went there I had to wait due to other customers being helped with. I got two free picks out of the deal!!

Trash guitar store....do not go here for repairs. They will present you with a mountain of charges and do very little to show for it. Youd be better off learning hwo to repair your own guitar or by finding a good friend who knows how to do it.

My son knows this as the Grouchy guy store - when he was about 7 we went in there. I keep my instruments pristine and he has been taught well to treat musical instruments carefully and with respect.He was softly playing on a grand piano, and the owner very grouchily told him to get away from that. Way to treat budding musicians and future customers yeah?I commented to him that very thing, and he didnt seem to care. Now I wouldnt buy a guitar pick there, and each time, now 5 years later, each time we pass he says Theres the grouchy guy store.

Really friendly service. We were invited to hang out as long as we wanted, and I really believed that he meant it more than any other guitar store

Hella good dude. 10/10. Very friendly and helpful. Felt like we were the only customers there.

Friendly service, upper price range. Great place for repairs on instruments like guitars and violins.

Stay away from this store if possible, people have already elaborated so you wont get an ear beat from me but -- go to the nice lady at fretboard extension on 2nd street if youre looking for guitar repairs or just good guitars. Lot more options, better people, better prices.

Incredibly knowledgeable staff, its pleasant just to go in and listen to Kent. You could learn so much from him about music, how to maintain or even restore your instruments. If you live in the PNW Troubadour is a must visit.

Staff is very friendly and willing to let you look around and try stuff out. Awesome selection for instruments and awesome people

Great place and the owner helped us. We were thoroughly impressed

Got to say that many of the unfavorable reviews in this string ring true. Ken, the owner is very judgmental. He always gives me suspicious looks when Im at his store. The last time I was there he literally followed me around the store reminding me that if I scratched or broke anything Id be obligated to buy it - Not quite that politely - and then carefully studied each guitar I had touched!! Kind of freaky. He makes an effort to get to know your name, originally I thought he was trying to be friendly but now I think hes just casing you out. Very uncomfortable and unfortunate. Im all about supporting local small businesses, but I can certainly get better prices and selection online and when the owner of a business treats their customers this way... no thank you, Ill take my business elsewhere.

One of the friendliest music stores in town and very knowledgeable staff. They did great work on lowering the action on my guitar, I am very happy with the result; I would recommend this music shop any of my friends.

Not a great experience. The owner makes for a very uncomfortable and unwelcome environment. The stock is overpriced and unremarkable as well.There are better options in Corvallis.

Troubadour has a few things I wish they would change, but there were also some cool things going on there.It is a pretty amazing place to see when you walk in. The atmosphere/vibe of the place is nice and they seemed to put a lot of effort into setting themselves apart from the other stores in the area.As I was checking out the owner came out and introduced himself to me. He kind of came out of nowhere (workshop maybe??) and ended up giving me a lecture on how changing my string gauges affects the action. I was polite and let him quiz me on whether or not I was BSing him, but it was strange and Ive never had that happen before.The owner didnt hesitate to point out how his shop is better than the others in Corvallis. Without naming specific shops, he told me some horror stories about work done at other shops. I went to all the stores in Corvallis and I didnt see anything horrific. With that said, there are definitely jobs that Troubadour is more fit to take on than a lot of other shops around the area.I play electric guitar and I was disappointed in their selection and prices. The setups were decent but some of their used gear had higher prices than Guitar Center. You might be better off buying a new guitar at a guitar shop that has their own tech who does setups. The price will be about the same but you wont have a second hand guitar.Their string selection was ridiculous. They charged me 10$ for DRs, and that was after a 30% discount.The people who should go to this shop are people who need guitars restored, and also for people who have a lot of money and no clue what they are doing when buying gear. Im not trying to talk a bunch of smack here, but there are a lot of people out there who just do not have time/knowledge to do the research on gear. Troubadour will make sure your guitar is setup correct and that it stays that way.3/5 because the added services do not justify the high prices. Even if you can get them to come down on their prices, their string selection is bad enough to knock them down to 3 stars.Good: Atmosphere, acoustic guitar selection, repair servicesBad: Prices, string selection, electric guitar selection, amp selection, strange conversations

Great place and the owner was extremely friendly contrary to other reviews

Cool shop with lots of interesting and odd instruments to see.

Owner is really quite rude. I will not be returning. If you must go to a music shop in Corvallis try Bullfrog.

I cant trust the owner of this establishment. He is a snake oil salesman and will RIP YOU OFF.

They had overpriced electric guitars, and I was kind of disappointed

Great service, very knowledgable

The owner will need to tell you how great they are.... if you are pressed for time it may be a problem!!

Very helpful and knowledgeable staff!

Very talented luthier.

Great selection of ukuleles, super friendly, and very knowledgeable.

Visit! Kent and Buddy are wonderful.

Very friendly and helpful.

I got a guitar from here and a few months later I saw lots of problems with it and now ( a year later ) Im having to put 300$ worth of work into it to fix those problems.

A true gem within Downtown Corvallis