Forget guitar center, spruce tree music should be every musicians place to go! The owner is knowledgeable,attentive and his experience honest and direct. Iam so glad to have googled this place for a tune-up for my travel guitar! I highly recommend this beautiful music store!!

Been dealing with Will for years. Though Ive moved hours away and have tried other shops, my loyalty remains with Spruce Tree. This summer I stopped by on a whim after a gig in which my Taylor guitar underwhelmed. Sure enough, Will had the exact right, perfect instrument for my needs: a Larrivee 12 fret dreadnought guitar. Remembered my name after having been gone for years. Fair price, no nonsense. 40 years in Madison -- Ill be sad the day its gone. The passing of an era.

Really excellent, knowledgeable people who love stringed instruments! I came looking for a new acoustic guitar, and left really happy spending half my allotted budget! The personal help selecting a guitar, having a place to play was absolutely unique. I’ve been playing strings for about 20 years; guitar only for the last 2. Absolutely recommend Spruce Tree to anyone, all levels!

Really snobby employees. I walked in for a few minutes in search of a new guitar, and one employee barked at me for asking for a certain brand guitar. The other just assumed I wanted the cheapest acoustic possible and said he wasnt sure theyd have any in the few hundred category. All barely with me saying a word. They act like everyone walking in has no idea about instruments.

As a beginning violin student, it is great to have a shop like this in Madison (Pros depend on it also). Its a beautiful shop packed with gorgeous stringed instruments and wonderful, expert staff.MY violin bridge was out of position and beginning to warp . Altho I bought the violin from China and its at the cheap end, the staff kindly helped me get it playable again.This sort of shop (and its neighbor, Bernies Rock Shop) make Madison cool. So grateful Spruce Tree survived COVID and is ready to support our musicians into the future.

This place was recommended to me by my ukulele instructor as a small local business. I got my ukulele from my boyfriend as a present but needed a strap and a case for it. An older gentleman helped me out with drilling a whole to put the strap holder, a new strap and a nice case. All under $60. It was also a plus that I never felt pressured to buy anything that I didnt want or need. If you are unsure if they provide the service or carry the product you need, you could always call ahead and ask. I went there close to their business hour so I called ahead to make sure that they werent busy with other orders and they answered phone right away. I would recommend this place.

Very knowledgeable and experienced shop with great prices and honest staff!

Excellent place to go for stringed instrument repair or getting those hard to find items. Will is a wealth of knowledge and an extremely pleasant individual. My go to place for anything guitar or banjo related. Thanks for being a stable Icon in the Madsion area.

Had work done on a pre war guitar and it was subpart at best. Had strings an octave higher then they should have been. Because of the extra tension I now have to have the neck reset. Apparently there isnt much knowledge of music theory. Music history is not theory and that what this shop lacks. Also staff was rather rude when looking at instruments.

Very helpful in deciding on product. Great price and was recommended by two friends. Thanks again

I couldnt be more pleased with the setup they performed on my new guitar that I purchased elsewhere. They take their time to do the job correctly. So smooth. I am just thrilled with the result. I will absolutely be taking a few more in when time allows.

My experience was greatly improved after a couple years of waiting to go back in. The luthier (owner?) explained in great detail all the things that make guitars different. So many different variables.I tried out all sorts of different guitars, even at almost 10 years of guitar playing I was able to distinguish such big sound differences from guitar to guitar. My baritone guitar was adjusted and I look forward to being able to finally play it again.

Many amazing acoustic instruments in this store and if there has ever been a time to support a local business its now. The owner is an incredible wealth of knowledge which seems more than willing to share. I was also impressed with their COVID precautions.

Wil is a great Luther and treats you like a person and not a number. Very skilled!

Stopped in to pick up strings for my classical guitar and had a great experience. The staff was friendly and knowledgeable and the store has a clean cozy atmosphere. Thanks again and I will be back in the future!

An incredible music shop, they were so kind and welcoming and told me what was best for my violin while offering wonderful pricing. I definitely will be back again and would recommend to anyone.

Charming shop with helpful staff. The staff is very knowledgeable and was able to help with our guitar needs.

I was just here to buy a guitar capo. Right away, they asked me if my guitar was a steel string; I only knew it was acoustic. They grew cold after that, and seemed put off when I rejected their suggestion of the $20 capo.I tried to make small talk, mentioning how many rubber bands Id broken using homemade caps, and then thanked them and wished them a pleasant night on my way out. I didnt get anything back but silence.I think this place is for true blue musicians with money to spend; if youre kind of a clueless beginner, they dont want your money, it seems. Ironic for a folk music place, right?

Gives helpful recommendations without being pushy. Easy to work with, friendly and communicative.

Have been to this store a few different times over the years and will not ever go back. I didnt find it a friendly with any of my visits. Today, he was very abrupt and I will not be giving them another chance.

One of the very best acoustic guitar repair and sales shops I have seen in 50 years of playing. Independently owned, and with wisdom, insight, expertise, commitment, and care. I have both of my guitars from Will, the first over 20 years ago and a beautifully aging instrument. We are so very lucky to have them in Madison.

Small store, giant supply of string instruments.

Great little shop that is packed with stringed instruments of all kinds.Will the owner & Luthier is very knowledgeable & explained the features of each guitar I played to make sure I purchased the guitar I was looking for.I highly recommend Spruce Tree Music & Repair.

They did incredible work on my Taylor- repaired cracking and reset the neck, at a very fair price. Plays like it did 20 years ago!

Super nice and helpful. Nice selection of banjos, acoustic guitars, ukuleles, and mandolins. Staff were very friendly and ready going.

If you want expert service, sales, and advice for your acoustic string instrument, this is one of the best stores in the country.The skills of the techs are second to none and the instruments on the wall sell themselves so there is no pressure. Mr. Bremers reputation in the industry speaks for itself.If youre expecting bubbly sales people and sugar coated opinions, you wont find it here. If you want factual information from experienced professionals, this is the place.The prices are fair and represent market values. You will not find the deal of a lifetime, but you will find great instruments for fair prices.

Ive recently took up playing the ukulele and stopped in here to have a button installed. The gentleman that helped me was very knowledgeable and quick. He installed the button while I waited less than 10 minutes. The store is small but cozy. It definitely has that local Madison vibe in a cute part of town.

Great shop with knowledgeable staff. They do wonderful setup and repair work, and their customer service on instrument sales is second to none.

They have always been helpful no matter what Ive gone in for - repairs, strings, guitar shopping. Even when I left without buying the visit was valuable. They take their time, explain everything and I have never felt talked down to. They value their clients, the instruments they care for and their reputation.

I have been purchasing vintage instruments for over 20 years and this was my first time dealing with Spruce Tree. The customer service I received from Wil was nothing short of exceptional. He truly went above and beyond in making sure I was happy with my purchase. Easily one of the most outstanding customer service experiences I have had. Bravo Wil and Spruce Tree! You just made a customer for life.

Took my damaged guitar to Spruce Tree to fix a crack in the body of my acoustic. They did a great job fixing the crack and another crack in the neck. It plays as good as new. Highly recommended for repairs. They have a great selection of acoustic instruments.

One of my favorite acoustic music stores in the Midwest. The staff are all incredibly knowledgable about the instruments they have in the shop. And Will is just about the most top-shelf repairman you can find. He has talked me and my friends out of getting instruments adjusted when the fix wouldve cost more than the instrument.I bought my mandolin from the shop and though it was from 1985, it was set up like a dream. Will and co also treated me the same when I was buying an instrument, a pack of strings, or just playing a few instruments off the wall. I wont cast aspersions on anyone who said the staff here have been brusque, Ill just say that has never been my experience.

Skilled service delivered by knowledgeable staff. They nearly seamlessly repaired a large crack in my wifes Martin guitar and their prices are very reasonable.

Everyone who works here is so knowledgeable that I wont go anywhere else in the future. They have been in the business for years and years and it shows. Fantastic place.

Dropped off my mandolin for some work. Took a bit longer than estimated (hence four stars) but the work is very well done. The price is better than reasonable. The gentleman who performed the work was obviously both knowledgeable and busy - both good things.I did not encounter any of the negativity or snobbishness that others are complaining of on Yelp and Google.

“Awesome BBQ”First time in Madison. Purchased Groupon for 4 meat platter & 2 Shiners. Pleasantly surprised how much food. Carried out more than half. Barbecue was fantastic!! I recommend the beef brisket.

One of a kind. An impossibly large collection of guitars, banjos, mandolins, fiddles, ukes, harps and more fill this small shop to the rafters! If its an acoustic stringed instrument, they have it. I would love to spend hours playing with all the toys, but they dont cater to browsers. Im glad to support this shop, but I understand comments from others who are put off.

Will is one of the best luthiers in the Midwest. Excellent work and reasonably priced

Got my great grandfathers violin restored to playable condition here. I was very happy with the service, it only took about a week, and learned more about the unique way my violin was made. I would not have trusted taking it anywhere else.

My friend and I have both purchased very fine acoustic guitars from Spruce Tree, and we both experienced incredibly helpful and knowledgeable service. Would recommend to anyone.

Bought my first guitar here and had a wonderful experience. The owner was very knowledgeable and really took the time to ensure I found a guitar that was the right fit for me. I go to them for all my music needs now.

What a cute cool shop. Only bought a capo but they treated me like a valued customer

Wonderful store filled with vintage strings. Not a corporate store, but one where the warmth is apparent when you walk in the door.

What an incredible place to visit! Their knowledge of instruments and music history is unbelievable!

Great little music shop! Friendly service, professional instrument repair, great set-ups, and a wonderful selection of guitars, ukuleles, mandolins, and other wonderful and unusual instruments!

I love this little music shop, Keeping all the old charm it has is beautiful & they do wonderful repair work & sell the most beautiful insterments, Definitely check this place out of you usually go to a big music company store,You will love the charm & It keeps local businesses going, Check it out & there almost always someone jamming out in the store when I have been in there. This is the place to go for strings

Stopped in to buy strings for my mandolin, found a great mandolin and guitar shop and luthier staffed by friendly helpful people

Will was knowledgeable and even though he had other things he was working on, he took the time to explain and discuss the guitar we brought in. Love this place for its personality and expertice!

I’ve never been to a guitar shop and been treated so unwelcome. Two different occasions I was told not to play guitars. I was even denied the chance to see their violins. I am 21 years old and have been playing and studying violin since I was 10 and guitar since I was 12. Never have I experienced at any instrument store where I was made to feel like I was not welcome to freely try out the Intruments. After spending over $100 getting a violin upkept, I was told not to play a guitar unless I was buying it. I guess they don’t understand how to cultivate relationships with customers who are avid instrument players that would potentially come back and purchase instruments and patronize their store. It’s a shame because people should be made to not feel like music is a prestigious thing. I expect much more from people who may be facilitating someone’s first purchase of an instrument.

Aloha I have had Will the owner of Spruce Tree Music repair several old ukuleles for me and every time I am totally amazed at the quality of workmanship. I have a rare Kamaka ukulele that was missing pieces of intricate rope binding and over the past 20 years I have had several luthiers look at it and they all said they where not able to fix it; Will said no problem and he hand mad from scratch a new section of rope binding and when he was done with the repair you could not tell where the repair had been done. For anyone out there that needs a proper repair for an old or new string instrument go to Spruce Tree Music and ask for Will you will not be disappointed. Also he has the most amazing selection of vintage string instruments for sale in the Madison area. Dave

Very Experienced and knowledgeable owner who is very willing to discuss any questions you have about repair or purchase of musical instruments

I went into Spruce Tree with a violin, which I wanted to either sell or repair. The appraiser spent several minutes being brutally honest about what a cheap piece of junk my violin was. I had to interject that I did not in fact make the instrument, and there was no need to go there at all. I simply wanted to know if he could repair the tuning pegs. He said it wouldnt be worth the cost it would take to fix it up. I left saying I guess Ill just throw it in the garbage then. I dont know if it would have been different if he knew my background, but these kinds of music snobs are poisonous to the spirit and I will not be giving Spruce Tree any business in the future.

The staff is very knowledgeable and friendly. I Bought a used Deering Maple Blossom banjo. The setup they did to this instrument before selling it was excellent. I couldnt ask for a better sounding instrument! BIG thanks to the folks at STM.

Best customer service and Mr will always have a answer for anything related to your instrument about price, quality of the instrument, value of the instrument etc ..and fast on repairing your instrument..I personally highly recommend it..

Ok, this guy hates to see a string instrument go to waste. A real craftsman.

A highly specific Madison institution. It hasnt changed much since I was a kid.Its a music store, but a very very specific music store. They deal almost exclusively in high end acoustic string instruments and their repair. Its not where I would go to buy a beginner to intermediate instrument. They have only a very small number of electric guitars/basses/etc, and NO non-string instruments. I am sure they can repair any stringed instrument, but I wouldnt take anything there thats not high end. They will probably tell you why its not worth repairing, or that they dont have the time.That said, youd be hard pressed to find anyone more knowledgeable, and they are more than willing to share their knowledge. Last time I brought something in for repair I got a 30 minute class on what he knew about it, what he didnt know about it, why he wasnt willing to take on the repair, and what my next steps were. They are also more than welcome to allow you to try any of the for sale instruments whether you are in the market or not.Someone else mentioned the dogs-- I didnt see them last time I was in but I remember that. Personally I like shops that have pets, although I am not allergic.

Awesome local music shop. Big selection for such a small place. Have my dulcimer serviced here.

Will is a great luthier! Very honest!

Best music store around. Nothing even comes close

I received a violin as a gift for Christmas. I felt that the bridge was pretty tall and could be cut down a bit to make it easier to play (lower the strings). The violin also came with a cheap shoulder rest which didnt really work for me. I walked into this store and asked if I could get the bridge adjusted on my violin and asked about shoulder rests. A skinny gray haired gentleman was standing at the counter and seemed eager to help initially. He asked me to bring the instrument in. I went out to my car and returned with the violin. It seemed like he was being a little careless with my instrument as he took it out of the case and looked it over. Later that day I did discover a small dent in the top of my violin that probably came from one of the bow frogs, but would not have happened if the violin was handled carefully. I cant say for sure that the dent was the result of the handling at this store, but its possible. I do know that the dent was not there that morning, and it was there that evening after visiting this store and one other. Anyway, he told me that he normally cant do anything with a violin like mine, but on this particular one he could do a setup. He told me that he would start with a new blank for the bridge rather than doing anything to the bridge that it came with. He told me that the setup would cost $250, and then he handed me a $500 violin and asked me how I liked it. I told him that it was nice. With that he took the violin away from me, explained that most of the cost of the violin is in the setup, and went back to his work behind the counter. He was apparently unwilling to help me with the bridge of my violin. Im guessing that $250 would have been more than double what my violin actually cost in the first place. Im sure his $500 violin was far superior to mine, but Im only beginning to learn violin and just wanted it to be a little easier. I wasnt there to shop for a new instrument that cost hundreds of dollars. In hindsight I think that he was probably trying to put me on the right track, but lacked tact. He seemed unwilling to help if I wasnt going to do what he thought that I should (buy a new violin from him). Then the woman behind the counter grabbed my attention. She had a shoulder rest in hand and wanted me to put it on the violin and try it. I placed it on the violin and then rest the violin on my shoulder. She told me that I was doing it wrong. She was probably right, but rather than trying to help I got a disgusted glance from her. I said that the shoulder rest she was offering was much nicer than the one I had, but asked if she had any others that I could look at. Again I received a micro facial expression that seemed to suggest that I was irritating her, but she produced 2 more shoulder rests and explained to me why they were inferior to the one she had offered me in the first place. I thanked her for showing me the other options and purchased the shoulder rest that she had originally presented to me. I noted the DampIts hanging nearby and asked about purchasing one. She sold one to me for $15+. I asked how long the setup that he had mentioned would take if I wanted to go that route. She said at least a couple weeks.After I left this store I went to Ward Brodt and found the same size DampIt for < $10 and the luthier there offered to correct my bridge/string height for $20. When I told the luthier at Wrad Brodt about my experience at Spruce Tree he told me that they were probably just trying to chase me (laugh me) out of there.In conclusion, I dont doubt that the operators of this establishment know their stuff. However, theyre not very skillful with regard to providing excellent customer service, and their accessories are over priced.

Great staff, a bit cramped when its crowded but totally worth traveling here.

Cant beat the instruments, service and prices here. I was super impressed!

Wow, what a beautiful little shop with all the good stuff.

This is a store that Ive wanted very much to like and give my business too, but Im afraid Ive had mostly bad experiences there.1) There is a woman clerk in the employ of this store whom Ive never, to my knowledge, seen but have spoken with several times over the phone She obviously knows very little about music but invariably communicates an air of supercilious hauteur. Her object is clearly not to assist you--or even to make a sale--but to lecture you, and shes pretty much always wrong. Its impossible to talk to her without becoming very aggravated.2) I was once at Spruce Tree sold a cello string which broke immediately. Id brought in the package from my last string, and the clerks there insisted that the one they sold me was comparable in every respect. They didnt furnish me with the package for the one they sold me, so I couldnt discover what it actually was, but whatever it was, it was clearly wrong. I was not refunded. (I eventually bought a replacement from Amazon and it worked fine.)3) I had my cello bow rehaired from this store, and it came back with no rosin whatsoever. This means that when I tried playing it made no sound at all. I called the store back and was told to rub rosin on it, but no matter how much I rubbed nothing happened. I finally resorted to wrapping a lump of rosin in a paper towel, hammering it into powder, then sprinkling it on my bow. I later learned that when you rehair a bow, youre supposed to pre-rosin it. Spruce Tree didnt do this and seemed utterly ignorant of the problem.4) There is another incident not worth going into, but in sum, it seems to me that Spruce Tree is incompetent in all matters having to do with classical music and has at least one thoroughly obnoxious and worthless long-term employee.

Bought my Martin D35 here. Quite happy!

Stop there frequently. Always a lovely experience.

A lovely local treasure

Quality and fast service

Great work!

Staff is very rude and unwelcoming, I would suggest going to Taft violins instead.

Bought my first stringed instrument here and they really knew their stuff. I will buy my next instrument here as well.

Always quality work

Exceptionally friendly, knowledgeable, and helpful.

Awesome service.

Didnt make it. 2 stars for the name.

Friendly service

Acoustic heaven