I called AMS to see if they would match a competitor’s price on an item. After about 20 minutes of being on and off of hold while the salesperson checked to see what they could do, I got a price that was close enough to the competition that I went ahead and ordered over the phone.  
 
A few hours later I thought I would check the order status and the order was listed under my account—but at the full online price, not the price I was promised. So, I called AMS and spoke to a CS rep who assured me that the price would be fixed before the item shipped. This seemed like an odd way to do things, so although I was doubtful I said fine, hung up, and called my credit card company. Sure enough, there was a charge to my card for the full amount of the item.  
 
I called AMS back and spoke to a different person who saw the order and said that I would be charged the full price that is listed online (which was quite a bit more than the competition). I explained to him that I had been offered a better price, and he offered to see if he could speak to a supervisor and get me the same price that I was originally offered. I told him I already had an incorrect charge of over $400.00 (from AMS) on my card, which I wanted to see removed before I ordered anything else from them. He apologized and said that they have been having some issues with their phone orders. I would say so.  
 
So, although I was offered one price, I was charged a higher price. When I initially called to inquire, I was lied to and was told that it would be “fixed” before shipping, although my credit card had already been charged the full amount. Now I have to wait for a refund on my credit card for an item that never even shipped.  
I guess this is what I get for trying to give a new (to me) place my business. I suppose I’ll stick with my usual retailer from now on.  
 
Anyway, I cannot recommend this retailer.  

I am so impressed with this retailer! Their prices are competitive with the other major online instrument dealers, but when I found an even lower price from an obscure online seller (but wanted to buy from AMS due to the positive customer feedback), AMS price-matched it within an hour. It was shipped ground (free), and I literally recieved the instrument the next day! The other component of my order (a cheap gig bag) was sent from the west coast warehouse, so it took about a week to arrive. When it did, the interior smelled like paint thinner (obviously from the factory, not AMS). I called AMS to see what could be done, and they just said, "How strange! We'll send you out another tomorrow, no need to return the original." No fuss, fast shipping, great service - very satisfied!

So far so good for a seller I stumbled upon...  
 
My second purchase from this store took place several days ago, and I received my order today (the 10th)! Well packaged, and the shipping was fast.  
 
My first order (back at the beginning of the year), had free ground shipping, and that was handled/packaged with the same amount of care.  
 
Prices at AMS are competitive, and considering their sales, overall selections, and reliability, I'd happily pick this company other similar others anyday.  
 
Highly recommended.

Very satisfied with this American Musical Supply. My factory sealed amplifier arrived a couple of days after I placed the order and it works perfectly. I will give first consideration to AMS on my next musical supply order.

12/26/08 The midi keyboard that I ordered from American Musical Supply 2 days before Christmas was promised to arrive in about a week. It ARRIVED THE NEXT DAY on Christmas Eve in excellent condition.

I ordered products on a Monday afternoon (standard shipping) and they were at my house on Thursday. AMS is outstanding and I would definitely purchase from them again.

I shop American Musical Supply all the time. Fast delivery, attentive customer service and the ability to pay over time with a credit card interest free are the main reasons. I did have one interesting pre-order problem thought. I wanted to buy a Novation Remote 61SL controller, and checked competitors prices. 8th Street were selling it for about $70 less than AMS or Zzounds. AMS denied to price match it, claiming it was a 'sale' price at 8th Street (I checked, it wasn't - it was their regular price for the item) and Zzounds not only matched the price, but beat it! So I bought from Zzounds. I learned a few days later the AMS bought Zzounds! So AMS sometimes do price matching, sometimes not. But the company they own, Zzounds, ALWAYS price matches in my experience.

Over the past four years, I've placed over ten orders through AMS. Not once have I had a single problem with them. The customer service desk is great, and when they started doing the no interest split payments on items, they snagged me (I used to be torn between these guys and their rivals, MF) for life. The last item that I ordered through AMS was a Randall Half Stack. I used the 5-payment plan, again, interest-free, and paid with VISA. That was on a Thursday. The equipment arrived the following Monday. That was quick, fast, and in a hurry. Everything, as usual, was in perfect working order. The next thing I have my sights set on is an ESP LTD EC-500 or a Dean Razorback Shards. Hard choices. Thank you AMS! Without you guys, it wouldn't be loud enough!

1. Products and Payment options  
 
AmericanMusical has a massive selection and the no credit check payment options are excellent. I did notice they put a charge on my card for the price of the item after purchasing my item though. When you're on a budget, you can't beat the options they have to offer.  
 
2. Customer Service  
AmericanMusical has provided me excellent customer service. Over e-mail or on the phone, they know what their doing. I had to return my product because it was defective.. everything went well.  
 
3. Shipping  
I was kind of surprised when I saw the Tork Xponent alone in it's box in a larger box with absolutely no padding or nothing. I'm lucky my UPS driver doesn't like to throw things.  
 
All in all definitely a positive experience, I will buy from this company again in the future.

I bought two Hohner S32 melodicas from AMS. The ordering process is quick and easy, they e-mail you an order confirmation then provide a tracking number once your items have shipped.  
 
I think I ordered over the weekend and they shipped it on Monday, had it at my doorstep at the end of the week.  
 
Well one of the melodicas broke the day I received it, there's a button that opens up a vent to release any moisture, and it's held into place by a tiny tab that's maybe 1/16" thick and made of plastic when it should be metal. The plastic tab cracked right at its joint so the button now sits loose and the vent is always open making it either very difficult to produce sound on some keys, or impossible on others. Not AMS's fault, just a cheap product by Hohner, it's something very minute, but enough to ruin the entire instrument. I suspect the only reason the other one hasn't broken yet is because I gave it to my little sister and never explained the moisture vent to her. So anyways, I filled out the RMA form and got a response back saying there was nothing they could do about it, and was given the phone number to Hohner.  
 
I was aware when I placed the order that "returns" weren't allowed, but I had no idea that included exchanges. If you walk into any store and go to the customer service desk they'll ask you, do you want to return or exchange? It's pretty well established that return means refund and exchange means exchange, but apparently to AMS non-returnable means they never want to see it again.  
 
I glanced at the list of exclusions in their return policy and saw that "Personal use items that are used in the mouth or in the ear cannot be returned once opened due to health laws." Again, the word return is used so I assume that means no refunds, which I can understand because you can't sell something that's already been in somebody's mouth. But I can't understand why a broken item can't be replaced with a new one regardless of whether somebody has put their mouth on it or not.  
 
So I e-mail them again confused asking whether to them returns and exchanges are the same thing, and I went back and read through the entire exclusion list and found this: "Certain items must be exchanged directly through the manufacturer if they are found to be defective. This includes tubes, strings, pickups, replacement speakers, raw speakers, drum heads, drumsticks, cymbals, cowbells, and harmonicas."  
 
So I guess technically it's my fault for not reading through every word of the policy, I suppose they expect all their customers to read it before placing any order. I just dropped it and went to Hohner, who I still haven't heard back from by the way, and I don't blame them cause if every manufacturer had to deal with each individual user that had a problem with a product, rather than dealing with it in bulk through retailers (which is how probably every business other than AMS operates), it'd be chaos.  
 
Some time later a package arrived at my doorstep when I hadn't ordered anything, checked the label and it was from AMS, and inside was a brand new S32. I stopped checking my e-mail after I just assumed they weren't going to help me out any, so the new melodica arrived without me even knowing it was on the way.  
 
The last e-mail I received said something along the lines of, I don't know about you, but I wouldn't want to put my mouth on something somebody else has already used, and to answer your question, I wouldn't want to either, but why would you have to? Do you need to double check whether an item stated as non working really is? What would be the point of going through the trouble to pay for shipping and return an item that works perfectly fine for an identical one?  
 
Well, all said and done I thank the folks at AMS for circumventing their return policy and replacing my broken item with a new one. A previous reviewer called AMS the Newegg of musical supplies. Well in my experience Newegg has a completely hassle free RMA service, and if an item is only warranted directly through the manufacturer, they clearly state it in the item description and don't make the customer jump through hoops or read a wordy return policy to find that out. They'd still replace it either way if you simply asked though.  
 
I wouldn't hesitate to order from AMS again, but I would hesitate to order certain items from them. I think it'd do them a lot of good to do a little updating to some of their descriptions rather than slapping everything together into one long list and adding a small hyperlink.

I've only placed two orders with this company, both within the last three weeks, but based on my experience I consider these folks "the Newegg of the musical merchandise online sellers."  
 
By that I mean items are in stock; they're shipped same day (or next if you order too late in the day for them to process, package and get in FedEx); their site has order progress info; a tracking number is provided immediately; there's no problems with credit cards or anything else; and everything arrives well packaged and as expected.  
 
PLUS free shipping on orders of $49.95 or more, and that's easy enough to do.  
 
I highly recommend this seller for what it's worth.  
 

Very pleased with this online musical instrument dealer. Prompt delivery and email updates with tracking #s. Well packed and absolutely no problems at all. I wish all of the "big guy" online music sites would look at how this company does business and learn a thing or two. I'm currently involved with an order from Music123 and so far I've found them to be pretty clueless about everything involved in an online purchase. They did manage to charge my CC immediately though insuring that they get their money for an item that they still have not shipped after one week...Sorry to mix this good review for American Musical with a bad one for Music123 but I feel a need to warn others about them. I did make the mistake of not checking Music123's ratings here before placing the order. After looking at other's experiences I see that I never should have ordered from Music123.  
 
Just so there is no confusion let me sum up by saying American Musical - Good................Music123 - Bad

This review was modified by its author, 1955dave, on 3/29/07 7:36 PM.

I couldn't be happier with American Musical Supply. I ordered a Crate GLX212 amp for $200 less than every other seller. They offer an "easy payment plan" option on purchases over $250 so your credit card is billed in 3 or 5 (depending on price) monthly payments.  
There was a $9 shipping fee (most items ship free) because it is big and weighs 60lb which I think is very reasonable. It was shipped the next day and arrived double boxed and in perfect condition. Shipping was fast because they have locations in NJ and NV.  
I will DEFINITELY buy from them again!

This review was modified by its author, shutterpuck, on 3/26/07 4:56 PM.

I cannot recommend American Musical Supply highly enough!  
 
Even though their store is located on the other side of the country from Washington State, they have a shipping warehouse in Nevada, so items almost always arrive here within 3 business days.  
 
They ship fast! My orders are always processed by the end of the next business day if I order late, and usually the same day if I order early.  
 
Aside from all that, their customer service is INCREDIBLE. I've been buying from them for years. I ordered a guitar from them that had the wrongs specs posted on their site, and they paid for return shipping and refunded my entire balance. They've always been happy to accept returns without needing an excuse, and always cross-shipped exchanges.  
 
Every item I've ordered, and I've ordered a lot from them over the years, has been perfectly and expertly packed with additional boxes and cushioning in addition to the manufacturer's packaging.  
 
Best of all THEY HAVE NEVER SHIPPED ME OPEN-BOX, USED OR "B STOCK" advertised as new product. Every product I've ordered has come factory sealed! I can't tell you how many times I've ordered "new" product from other online music stores and received open-box, returns, demo product, and similar B-stock.  
 
The 45-day return policy rocks! Also, with most products they give you an extra year of extended warranty coverage in addition to the manufacturer's warranty -- be sure and check when you order. That is so kewl!  
 
The prices are pretty much the same everywhere with online musical instruments, since manufacturers usually contractually require dealers to abide by "MAP" (Manufacturer's Advertised Pricing) pricing. As everyone pretty much knows "list" pricing is meaningless for musical instruments, but the MAP pricing is the same everywhere. So aside from shipping charges, which are usually free on orders over $50 or $100 depending on the dealer and time of year, the main difference is in the service.  
 
Great return policy, delivery of factory-sealed merchandise when advertised as new, quick shipping and tracking, excellent packing, plus usually extra warranty, fantastic customer service, make American Musical Supply a total winner.  
 
I've tried 'em all: Musician's Friend, Sweetwater, zZounds (bad bad bad), 8thstreet (the absolute worst -- terrible customer service, constant shipping of B-stock advertised as "new," and insulting when you want to return something). Sam Ash, Music 123, Sameday Music (I think these might all be essentially the same company) have all been good.  
 
I like samedaymusic too, BTW: Quick shipping and 60-day return policy.  
 
American Musical Supply has 'em all beat for me though. Their great customer service, nearby shipping warehouse, free extra warranty, consistent delivery of factory-sealed product, expert packing, and 45-day return policy, adds up American Musical Supply always being my first choice!

This review was modified by its author, Chickenhead, on 2/16/07 1:22 PM.

Ordered my Yamaha keyboard (PSRE-303) on Monday, item shipped on Tuesday (free ground shipping, by the way), package arrived on Thursday.  
 
Overall, the price of the keyboard was very good, and combined with the free shipping and the "Survival Pack" that was included (had an AC adapter, foot pedal, extended warranty), it was one of the best deals that I could find. The transaction went through smoothly, I received my package in excellent condition and I'm very satisfied with my order.