Hauer Music

I would like to preface this review by saying that Hauer has a reputation with young musicians in Dayton for being a gamble when it comes to customer service. I have had good experiences, especially with the drum department, and I have had experiences that felt condescending, but my experience yesterday took the cake for the worst I have ever been treated.

My friend and I brought in a 61' reissue Gibson SG in mint condition to see if they were interested in purchasing it. We would have been content with a simple "we are not interested", as we knew previously that Hauer does not carry many Gibsons, but we thought we would check with them since we were in the area. We waited for what I assume was the manager or owner to see the guitar, who proceeded to criticize every feature of the guitar (sideways vibrios, action set for slide).

He told us in a condescending manner that he wouldn't even bother to offer anything when we told him the going price for used versions of these guitars was 2000$. To make matters worse, he abruptly left for around 10 minutes with the intention of proving us wrong by finding reverb listings that were selling the guitar for much less (in an effort to buy the guitar for much less than it's worth) and came back only to prove us right by finding listings higher than we were asking.

We were not disappointed to leave with the guitar, as we had no expectations on making a transaction, but we were very disappointed by how rudely we were treated, and how belittled we felt by the end of the interaction. If you want to feel respected during your shopping experience, especially for high end guitars, Hauer music is not the place for you.

I find this place to be pretentious and a "no fun" zone. They literally have a "do not touch" sign on each of the multitude of instruments on display. Like, 100 guitars, and 100 little signs. If they don't want anyone touching the really expensive stuff, then lock it up. No problem. But to force you to talk to a commissioned salesman just to pick up a $300 beginner guitar is off-putting.

I have been to every guitar store in the Dayton/Springfield area over the years and Hauer is just the only one you should go to. Period. Skip the rest of them and save time. They have an insane collection of Fender guitars (and other brands; I'm just a "Fender guy") and they're priced comparably to online retailers (and Guitar Center. ew!), so you're able to actually look at and play a guitar before you buy it and still come away with the "right" price.

Even better, Jim Hauer is essentially the wizard at the mountaintop when it comes to overall knowledge and skill working with guitars. He knows pretty much everything about the instrument and if you want something done to your guitar, chances are he can do it. He's done neck work for me, electronics overhauls, and more that I can't even remember. Hauer music is very far from where I live and I have used other local music shops' luthier services out of convenience of distance, but either I had to explain to a tech how to do his job (Absolute Music) or had my guitar halfway taken apart before the tech figured out he was over his head and bailed (Kincaid).

I used to live close to Hauer Music when they were downtown and I was there a lot. Then I moved north and they moved south and the distance became significant. That said, I WILL make the 1.5 hour round trip to ensure Jim Hauer is the only one laying hands on my guitars because you can't find anyone better in the area (I dare you to try) and it will simply be right the first time.

I can't speak for other product lines Hauer sells, but if you're a guitar player, skip everyone else and get it done right the first time. Attached is a pic of the latest work he did for me. dropped in an entirely new pickup system and gave the guitar a complete set up with perfect intonation, textbook string height, and the guitar is rock-solid-stable and has zero string buzz.

I highly recommend Hauer for your music needs. This trumpet hasn't had any love and care in the last 24 years. Gary was able to get it looking like new again. They also repaired 1 of the 2 handles for me. Adding a picture of the handle that did not get repaired for reference. The price was very affordable. I will certainly going back for any music needs.

I got on-the-spot guitar repair service. Guitar wizard Jim Hauer tinkered with my Acoustasonic Strat for 10 minutes and got rid of the output jack buzz. He adjusted the neck, fixing the intonation, and getting rid of fret buzz. Now my guitar doesn't buzz.

I have taken lessons here and they were great but I took a Stratocaster in for repairs and had a terrible experience. The repairs were done improperly AND I was overcharged. The man behind the counter was condescending and felt like he was trying to make the job more expensive than it needed to be. I really wanted to love this place. I'll take my business elsewhere from now on.

This place has every musical instrument you can think of and they have lessons for each them. Teachers prices vary but are fair. The staff are very friendly and ready to help. They also fix most each instrument and repair prices are fair Yeah I struggle to find a safe place that I would trust my violin to be fixed that. I took mine in and in two days it was fix and I was more than please with the cost

The sales people are dishonest. I brought in a very nice student violin to trade for a guitar. After I traded it I found out the violin was worth 3 times the price of the guitar, my fault for not researching in advance. I came back to ask for a return of the trade only 2 days later and the salesperson said he already sold the violin, which I highly doubt. The point is I got taken on the value of the violin - unfair instrument valuation for a trade.

I have bought instruments from tom downs from 1983 to present.he is very knowledgeable and honest.jim hauer built me a guitar out of parts I ordered and bought from his store.he did a wonderful job. I am happy with their selection and prices.they have great service too.i recommend them to be your first stop when shopping any instrument

I've been going to Hauer for years now. They have consistently been rude and condescending. However, I chose to give them the benefit of the doubt and be gracious with them. I enjoy supporting local business. I've spent thousands of dollars at this store over the last decade. But nothing has changed. They are still rude and over priced. They've talked down to me about my instruments in an attempt to get me to buy their better instruments. ironically some of the instruments they've talked badly about to me were ones I purchased at Hauer.

They're stingy and don't like letting people test out their instruments. They'd rather play it for you and brag about how good their stuff is compared to everyone else. They over price things. They offer buy 1 get 1 strings. but they charge twice as much for a pack of strings as other local shops and online retailers. so ultimately you are not getting a pack for free. Feels like a scam.

I've been a loyal customer for a decade but after my last visit I won't be returning. The women working there have all been kind. But the men seem cocky and grumpy every visit. They could be a great shop. but in my opinion they care too much about themselves and not enough about their customers. They really should consider changing the way they do business.

I was gonna give them the benefit of the doubt, NOT this time! The service at the front desk is excellent, however, communication with the instructors has really taken a turn. We were trying to adjust our lesson schedule this past winter as a way to organize things for the new year, however my instructor told us that we couldn't, as we would have to refer me to a new instructor.

I was only gonna take two months off, it's not like I couldn't take online video lessons as a way to substitute my progress. On top of paying $200+ max each month for lessons, the instructors don't even show up every week, and try to dictate when they want you to come in for lessons. We already have our own things we stress about. Manipulative instructors, incompetence at its finest. Disappointing.

Had a great experience today at Hauer, we are currently in Dayton for the week touring with Les Miserables and my colleague needed some work on his Yamaha 861, had a literal small hole where his hand rests on the rotors just due to the age of the horn. Gary (the brass tech/repairman) was very attentive and did a fantastic job patching his horn and squeezed him in on the same day and did the repair in just over an hour. Fantastic attention to detail and in terms of his patchwork, it is just as good as any patch I've seen come out of The Landress' shop in NYC and from Ken Pope in Boston and at a fraction of the price. The shop also had a great selection and stock of valve oil and grease- Hetmans, monster, etc. can't recommend this shop enough!

Most expensive music store in the Dayton area. They have a remarkable selection of the exact same instruments you can find at Guitar Center, Sam Ash or any online retailer with about a 40-60% mark up. I was in need of a hardshell case for tour. The case online was between $29-$39. When I arrived at Hauer, the case was priced at $99. This place will only be in business until the 60 year old and over crowd, that can't use the internet, dies off. Hauer should feel ashamed at the way they rip off their customers.

Went to rent a instrument for my son for school and the man was rude, short with us. Refuse to rent to us. Will not go there for anything anymore. Will drive an extra 1/2 an hour to get what we need.