Forsyth Music Shop Reviews 

A very expensive purchase from this iconic music shop and as always the experience was second to none. James knows his guitars and doesn't get in the way of allowing plenty of time to decide, but he is always on hand to give opinion and guide if needed.

Superb experience.

I went online looking for my first guitar, as an adult learner. I used the online question service and promptly received answers to my questions. The responses were polite, friendly, professional and knowledgeable. As a result I purchased my first guitar online. Throughout the order process I was kept informed of the progress of my purchase. Once the item has been received I will be writing another review. This one has focused on the response online - which I thought was excellent.

Since writing the above, the item, a guitar, was delivered. It was ordered on the Saturday and arrived Tuesday - so very speedy delivery, even though I opted for the standard delivery which was free.

The item was in perfect condition, well packed and arrived safely. Very impressed with the accustic guitar for those on a budget. Great sound quality. Very impressed with the service from Forsyth's music shop and would certainly recommend this store to anyone looking for an instrument.

Whilst with my girlfriend who was looking for a new acoustic guitar , the service we encountered was excellent. No hard sell ,the staff were attentive and listened to her requirements and let my girlfriend try a multitude of guitars from all price ranges. Nothing was too much trouble.
The guy who attended to us is called Wes and he was amazing, his knowledge and attentiveness were perfect.Forsyths as a store is incredible and what they don't stock isn't worth having. Anyone after impartial advice and great service on their musical journey should look here.

Excellent purchase of sheet music. Thank you.

Reminded to submit this after seeing F article in Manchester Evening News.
Fond memories of F as I bought all my clarinet stuff here 40 odd years ago.
Went in with my son a couple of years back looking for a foot pedal for his electric guitar.
We enquired with the friendly older assistant on guitars who, after explaining exactly what we were after, advised unfortunately they didn’t make that type anymore. F didn’t sell them and whilst we may be fortunate to source one somewhere in the uk, our best bet was to look into Eastern European websites as they may still stock them.
Cutting to the chase, we walked around the corner to Dawson (now sadly closed) to discover they indeed had one. As a point of fact they had 2 dozen or more in stock, and any number by demand.
Whilst no one rightly expects a shop to sell every item or even have a complete knowledge, surely just admitting that is better than fabricating a tall tale.
No need to reach out to the Russian mafia after all..

Bought my first guitar from you in 1972 my second in 1974. Saw you offering a version of new Martin Guitar in the sale that I have ‘lusted’ after for decades at a price as cheap as one currently on ebay. Rang up to ask you to hold it and travelled over from Scarborough to try it. The lad (every young man under 50 is now a lad to me) I spoke to had it ready. He was very friendly, helpful and knowledgable with no pressure to buy at all. I found out it also came with a subsequent personal ‘set up’ in the price if subsequently required. The shop is as always cornucopia of musical stuff for all levels and the necessary professional advice to inform your purchase and allow you to try before you buy. It’s amazing for a visit, has been there forever and hopefully will continue to be so.
Many thanks Ted

Dear Forsyths,

I just want to praise you for the excellent customer service I received today from your staff on the till on the ground floor.
I firstly spoke to a lovely ( Scottish) woman who was extremely helpful on the phone.
Then I arrived at the shop at about 1:45 and both women on the till were wonderful and an absolute credit to your family and customer focussed business.
Thank you again. I left having spent money and a big heart of appreciation.
Thank you for restoring my faith in excellent customer service! Everyone wins ❤️

Great experience buying a new Yamaha B1 from Forsyths.
Even though I was apprehensive about going to such prestigious organisation with a limited budget Emma was gracious, patient and reassuring.
Forsyths piano movers were punctual, respectful and very efficient.
I would unequivocally recommend the piano department at Forsyths.

great experience shopping online with Forsyth -- great communication and quick postage for my poster

Bought a guitar from these online that was already below retail price. They e-mailed me the day after to let me know while getting it ready that they noticed a small pick mark on it and gave me the choice of a refund or knocking £103 off the price, which I accepted. To be honest I wouldn't have noticed the mark until a long time after. Arrived really well packed.
Would definitely use them again

I was visiting Manchester for the day for work and stumbled across Forsyths. What a great shop! I have been playing guitar and piano for 35 years, and in recent years more music shops are closing than opening. Forsyths is a proper music shop and Emma in the piano store is fantastic. She talked me through the hybrid pianos with such expertise and enthusiasm it was contagious. I would recommend this shop to anyone who wants to find the right instrument for them.

The guitar section was equally as good. Amazing to see rikenbackers up there and the fenders were beautiful.

Great shop!

I'm not a musician, so wouldn't normally venture in, but needed a cover for our church's venerable Bechstein grand piano. Emma was particularly helpful in explaining the different options (and not upselling to a more expensive cover than we need!) and the requirements for measuring and making a template. The cover (vinyl with a fleece lining) was made to measure within the expected delivery time of a couple of weeks, and fits really well. We're highly satisfied with both the cover and the service.

An institution for a reason.

I'm a long-time customer of Forsyth's and can't rate them highly enough. I'm a beginner on some instruments and proficient on others and they've always been able to help me every step of the way. I'm nearly fifty now and I've been a customer since I was ten, and it was a thirty mile journey.

This has been for everything from their fabulous "have a go" days, to instrument set-up and advice, repairs of top-end equipment and sourcing hard-to-find sheet music from around the world.

Although they now carry a fabulous range of instruments of all sorts - greatly expanded on, say, 30 years ago - they have quality choices in all price brackets.

You might find cheaper online, but that goes for everything in the domain of physical retail. But, like everything else, what you're paying for here is experience, expertise and wisdom.

If you play already, you know how important it is to get your hands and ears around the instrument you're trying. Your know how exciting it is to find a surprise in the sheet music section whilst you're looking for something else.

If you're a human, you know how important it is to keep dedicated, talented experts like this in the high street, and help us all retain a sense of pride in our city.

Online won't give you any of that, or the sense of wonder of stepping into 150 years of tradition, run by musicians for musicians, who know what you need.

Go. Hit up the flagship Waterstone's across the street, Katz's deli on the corner for a great bite to eat, then go back to Forsyth's and buy whatever it was you were mooning over. Time is short, life is fleeting. Investing in music will always be the right decision.

Keep the high street alive.

Went into Forsyth shop today (friday 2nd feb) to buy items was kept waiting by a young girl who was very surly then to be told "could not serve me" and "to busy chatting on the phone". I will never grace that shop again. Some other music shop will get my business.

Ordered a Jo-Ral trumpet mute via Forsyths Web page on Tuesday 9th January arrived on 11th January. Great service and kept informed of my order progression.
Only trouble I had was with Royal mail who threw the parcel over our 7 foot rear gate, good job Forsyths packed it well.
Thanks all at Forsyth music

these people will not honour your warranty , I returned a guitar that developed a very loose key after 3 months , they took it from me giving me a receipt stating that they would repair the KEY , later that same day phoned me to tell me the guitar was not faulty as the key was not loose when it was under tension . leave me stuck with having to get it fixed by some one else at my expense , they used to be good shop NOT ANY MORE KEEP AWAY
I am having to replace all the keys and regret ever buying it from them ! once again avoid , you`ve been warned these people do not honour warranties .

Early cello learner. Live on a small island where there is no good luthier to hand. Brought my cello to Manchester on a visit whereupon my bow hair came apart from my bow stick. Forsyth’s staff(James) repaired it while I waited. Different member of staff(Ted) helped me pick a great new bow to complement my cello.
I have not the experience to go it alone in a situation like this. My teacher could not be with me, but Forsyth’s staff supported me and I was able to make good choices that will help my learning journey.
Nice one gentlemen. I will definitely be back.

This company has delayed and delayed my refund on a £1900 guitar bought from them and returned via DPD. I followed Forsyth's return procedures. Unfortunately DPD lost the item. Forsyth's are dragging their feet, first claiming that they cannot guarantee a refund since it was my responsibility to return the item - even though I followed their return procedures and it is THEIR contract with DPD. Now they seem to be delaying on the basis that DPD have not confirmed to them that their investigation into the lost item is complete. I returned the item via DPD on 17th April, so that is more than 2 weeks ago at time of writing. I have had to seek legal advice and will certainly be taking them to court if necessary. Of course, I hope it does not come to that. Hopefully they will see this review and action my refund without further delay. If so I will be happy to amend this review.

Very speedy delivery and great customer service - many thanks!

Forsyth's offer an excellent range of pianos. I was particularly impressed by the Bösendorfer Vienna Concert Grand. Whilst the sound of different pianos and the qualities thereof are completely subjective, for me the Bösendorfer has no equal. The extremely talented member of Forsyth's team performed and demonstrated the most wonderful, emotive sound that the Bösendorfer produces with the right hands on its glorious keys. I thank the sales person for the exceptional demonstration.