5 Best Music Stores in Ottawa
Before you stand on that stage, you will need the right equipment. Luckily for you, Ottawa is rich with music stores catering to both amateurs and professionals alike.
Whether you need to pluck it, string it, or bang it, you can find everything that you need in the city. If you’re ready, let’s check out the best music stores in Ottawa.
How Much Do Musical Instruments Cost in Ottawa
The Canadian music store market is constantly growing at a steady pace. We are expecting it to grow annually by 8.40%.
As much as we want to include a full list of music instrument costs in Ottawa, we can only provide a rough price estimate of basic instruments, accessories, repair, and rental services. This is due to the wide range of different types of instruments, accessories, gear, and brands.
Best Music Stores in Ottawa
The best music stores offer more than the instrument that you want to buy. Here are the standards we followed in choosing the stores on our lists:
1. Lauzon Music
| Criteria | Ratings |
|---|---|
| Range of Products and Services | ★★★★★ (5/5) |
| Customer Support | ★★★★★ (5/5) |
| Availability | ★★★★☆ (4/5) |
Ottawa’s musicians have had their hearts stolen by Lauson Music since 1945. We’re very impressed since it’s a family-owned establishment and has been with them for more than three generations.
Lauson Music pride itself on being a destination for high-quality instruments and uncompromising service. We like how they provide instrument restoration and appraisal.
Despite having a no return policy, Lauzon Music inspects its products upon shipment, delivery, or pick-up meticulously. They also offer outstanding repair services.
Lauzon Music’s expert luthier repair technician really caught our attention. Their technicians have over 25 years of experience in repairing guitars.
We love how Lauzon Music’s service department can cater to all aspects of guitar repairs. May it be just basic setups, restorations, fret work, or electronics.
We’re impressed with how Lauzon Music is an authorized dealer for the world-famous Seiler pianos of Germany too. Thus, they’re proud of having the most skilled service staff for pianos in the region.
We also like the long list of classic piano and guitar brands in Lauzon Music. Customers will surely enjoy their pre-order services so they can get their hands on the latest instruments of your favorite brands.
Aspiring artists will surely appreciate Lauzon Music’s in-store music lessons. You can hone your skills and you can also rent out the concert pianos.
Pros
- Great service department
- Preorder services
Cons
- Long waiting list
- No return policy
Customer Review:
Customer service was exceptional
“Best music store I’ve visited in years – my new favourite. The customer service was exceptional, and the staff went out of their way to make sure we were happy with our purchase when an issue did occur. Great atmosphere, love that everything was accessible for visitors to try!” – Kurt Schmidtke
First-class operation
“Absolutely Fabulous. I recently bought an Electronic Piano after a relaxed and informative presentation of the different models. When I assembled the unit at home, there was a small problem. Everything looked perfect but the keyboard cover would not open on one side. The first thing I was told was not to worry, all would be repaired. A day later, I was told to just bring it in and that I could exchange mine for the floor model if I wanted to. Before I could, I was contacted again and asked if I had a van. No, I don’t. They offered to simply deliver the new one and pick up the “old” one so no disassembly is required. 30 minutes later…problem solved. I also take my guitar here. Is a first-class operation.” – Ray Groebner
2. Spaceman Music
| Criteria | Ratings |
| Range of Products and Services | ★★★★★ (5/5) |
| Customer Support | ★★★★★ (5/5) |
| Availability | ★★★★★ (5/5) |
If you’re looking for gear, then you’re lucky we have included a store that specializes in it. Spaceman Music has been all about gear tracing back to 1986.
Spaceman Music’s real, live brick-and-mortar storefront that screams classic rock music caught our attention. We dig the whole vibe of the store and there is something really endearing with it wherever we pass by Glasstone Avenue.
We like how we walk in and Spaceman Music’s staff greet us with warmth. They have a staff of 8 with an on-site service department to help you get your amplifier or guitar back on track.
Although Spaceman Music has a longer turnaround time for electronic repairs, their team can solve any tricky wiring and busted effect pedals. Customers will appreciate how dedicated they are to find ways to fix their instruments.
We love how Spaceman Music takes in trades, consignments, and buys used musical instruments. The staff ensures that they will find a new home that will value it the way you did.
What we love most are Spaceman Music’s vintage musical instruments for sale that go along with their exterior look. Vintage music collectors will surely love to browse their items.
Spaceman Music is also proud of having guitars of all kinds ranging from $100 to thousands of dollars. We love how they have amps for every instrument, recording gears, PA system, keyboards, and microphones.
Customers would appreciate how they try to get all of their inventory up on their website as well. However, it may lack some listings of new arrivals in their store.
Pros
- Open throughout the week
- Vintage Instruments & Repairs
Cons
- Not all items are found in their store
- Longer turnaround time for electronic repairs
Customer Reviews
Great place
“This is Ottawa’s best Music Instrument store. Always a great selection of quality used gear. Great place to consign your unwanted instruments. Staff helpful, knowledgeable, and down to earth.” – Christopher Landry
Always fairly priced
“Fantastic vintage music store! Great service and knowledge of all things vintage with a great selection of new pedals. Items are always fairly priced. This is an Ottawa gem!” – Richard Silva
3. Long & McQuade Musical Instruments
| Criteria | Ratings |
| Range of Products and Services | ★★★★★ (5/5) |
| Customer Support | ★★★★★ (5/5) |
| Availability | ★★★★★ (5/5) |
We think that Long & McQuade Musical Instruments has an inspiring story. Both founders were simple musicians who set up a music store in 1957 and became the largest chain of musical instrument retailers in Canada.
It’s very impressive to think that Long & McQuade Musical Instruments has over 80 stores. You can find them situated from British Columbia all the way to Newfoundland.
Musicians on tour will enjoy Long & McQuade Musical Instruments the benefit of dealing with a familiar store wherever in Canada. All of their music stores boast consistent sales, supplies and service.
Long & McQuade Musical Instruments caught our attention with their music lessons that cover piano, guitar, and voice. We like how comfortable their studios are and how affordable it is for all levels, styles, and ages.
Overseas customers will also love Long & McQuade Musical Instruments’ free shipping for orders above $99. However, some items may not be eligible for that promo due to their size and weight.
Despite having non-refundable shipping insurance, customers will enjoy a hassle-free return policy. If they are still in their original condition, you can exchange or return any item for a full refund within 30 days of the purchase date/shipping date.
Pros
- Free shipping for orders above $99
- Hassle-free return policy
Cons
- Not all items will be eligible to free shipping
- Shipping insurance is non-refundable
Customer Review
Above and beyond
“Skylar at this location went above and beyond to help me find a bunch of gear to dive into music fully. He offered sensible solutions to my needs and found my equipment at great prices that not only matched my budget but exceeded my expectations in performance. AMAZING SERVICE” – Michael Reid
Knowledgeable and extremely helpful
I have been a long-time customer of Long & McQuade from the Hunt Club store and the Kanata store. My experiences have been stellar with the staff and management of both stores. I have purchased guitars, amplifiers, drums and electrical drums. The staff are knowledgeable and extremely helpful. – Ray Smith
4. Metro Music Ottawa
| Criteria | Ratings |
|---|---|
| Range of Products and Services | ★★★★★ (5/5) |
| Customer Support | ★★★★★ (5/5) |
| Availability | ★★★★☆ (4/5) |
Metro Music Ottawa touched our hearts with its romantic back story. It was originally a guitar studio in 1960 where the owner fell in love with one of the students until they got married, turned the studio into a music store and now their daughter runs the business.
The music store is small and sells mostly guitars. However, we like how they’re very well-stocked.
Despite recurring complaints of having expensive products, Metro Music Ottawa is proud to feature Canadian-made brands. Their collection includes Godin, Simon & Patrick, and Art & Lutherie.
We also love Metro Music Ottawa’s selection of accessories, books, small sound systems, and ukuleles. They also have cool items on sale in consignments for both musical and artisanal purposes.
Guitarists near the area will enjoy Metro Music Ottawa’s repairs services too. They’re pretty much experts in maintenance and repairs for guitars since that’s what they mostly sell.
Aspiring musicians would love Metro Music Ottawa’s guitar, drums, and piano lessons too. Their teachers each have more than 10 years of experience and can cater to beginner and advanced lessons.
Metro Music Ottawa’s students enjoy a tailored curriculum based on their abilities. Most of them cater to one-on-one lessons to make sure the students will learn quickly.
Pros
- Great music teachers
- Canadian-made guitars
Cons
- Limited musical instruments for sale
- Recurring complaints of expensive products
Customer Review
Super efficient
“I placed an order for an item yesterday from Toronto. Danielle was very friendly and helpful. She packaged it up the same day and, incredibly, I have the item the next day! Super efficient and a pleasure to deal with! Highly recommended.” – David Hope
Fantastic service
“I was interested in a guitar they had for sale and inquired how I could try it out even though there was a COVID19 lockdown. I don’t live far away, so Danielle offered to drop off the guitar and let me try it out while she did some errands. I would highly recommend checking out the store. They have a nice selection of instruments and pretty fantastic service!” – Murray Weeks
5. Fleet ProSound & Lighting
| Criteria | Ratings |
|---|---|
| Range of Products and Services | ★★★★★ (5/5) |
| Customer Support | ★★★★★ (5/5) |
| Availability | ★★★★☆ (4/5) |
We love Fleet ProSound & Lighting’s wide selection of products. They’re selling over 500 different product lines of drums, keyboards, professional guitars, basses, sound, video, lighting, staging, special effects, and accessories.
Customers will enjoy Fleet ProSound & Lighting’s competitive prices too. Their website makes it easier for you to browse all special deals and discounted products.
Fleet ProSound & Lighting boasts of having an unsurpassed after-sale service. We love how their policy for a 100% customer satisfaction rate.
What caught our eyes is Fleet ProSound & Lighting’s rental department. They are always available to help keep their customers’ shows running.
Despite having a longer waiting time to receive service estimates, Fleet ProSound & Lighting’s repair services are outstanding. Their 100% customer satisfaction rate policy ensures that they have top technicians to fix your instruments close to perfection.
We also love their experienced and very knowledgeable staff. They can provide the information that you need and their on-site service team can keep your equipment in top shape for incoming years.
Bands and musicians will definitely love and enjoy their lights and sound products. Fleet ProSound & Lighting aims to be a one-stop-shop for all your gig’s needs.
We like Fleet ProSound & Lighting’s price match guarantee where they boast to beat any price. Aspiring musicians on a budget would really appreciate this since it’s eligible for every single item.
Pros
- Free shipping for orders above $199
- Low price guarantee
Cons
- Restocking and refund fee
- 2 week wait time for service estimates
Customer Reviews:
These guys are a great independently-owned business. They made sure I was happy with my purchase and that’s the way you do business. They have my business for life! – Brandun Sheard
Nice people who know their stuff, plenty of good equipment for sale, they carry good brands like Ibanzed Spector Fender Yamaha – Patrick G
FAQs about Music Stores in Ottawa
Got a guitar already but still don’t know how to play to your heart’s content yet? Check out our blog about the Best Schools for Guitar Lessons in Ottawa.