Buckdancer's Choice Music

They have a fabulous selection of guitars, ranging from high end to low end, great selection of Taylors, Martins, Gibson, etc. I'm from the west coast (Portland OR) and have done a lot of guitar shopping, and in this case went with a Portland ME friend who was looking to buy. The service was great. Most places put their high-end Martins in a case or say ask for permission to play. Not here, very friendly and inviting. Portland is lucky to have this shop.

Great selection of electronic music gear solid customer service. So glad to have a local shop in Portland!

Walked in here the other day because I was looking for something and was in the neighborhood. The second I walked in the door, a guy behind the counter shrieked, "mask!" at me, pointing to the oversized mask on his face with his eyes bulging out of his head. I calmly asked him if he was aware that the CDC had dropped its recommendation for masks being worn indoors in Maine. "Ya, but not THIS store!," he exclaimed. Right.because the guys who peddle guitar strings and ukuleles know better than the CDC!

These are the kind of people who've made the pandemic 10 times worse for everyone. For them, it has nothing to do with health and everything to do with self-righteousness and posturing. I walked out. Don't go here. They have a crummy selection and poor customer service. It's also dark and dirty. Don't know how they're still in business. Go to the Guitar Center in South Portland. They have a great selection and act like they appreciate your business.

I was on vacation, visiting Portland, and popped into Buckdancers. I bought a cable. Test-drove some guitars & amps. Really cool vibe. Great staff. If I lived in town I'd buy my gear here.

Went above and beyond to get my amp up to speed and the price was amazing! Estimated turnaround was a week but they had it done in about 24 hours. Super nice people too. I can't recommend them enough!

Buckdancer's is a great local business with a staff that are knowledgeable, friendly and eager to help with selecting the right gear you need. I love to browse their ever changing selection, or stop in just to try a new guitar!

I really appreciate the vibe. I have never felt any pressure from the team to buy anything. I have been a customer for roughly 25 years. I've been a regular for the past 15. They have always been honest with me in any exchange. During COVID they have operated safely. The same great atmosphere and service with some smart precautions. They have been around more than long enough to know the community and their business well. Repairs and modifications are top notch. One of my favorite places to visit.

I've been buying guitars here for 20 years. Always will come back. Also, the older gentleman with the grey beard and ponytail does nice work and would recommend him for neck resets and has a great knowledge of the guitar.

Left my Martin guitar to be fixed. Staff happy to help and they're checking with Martin Co. to see if it's under warranty! Picked up my guitar today Martin Waranty. It didn't cost me a dime! Thank you to the staff at Buckdancers.

This place is a gem! They have some really special guitars in here. It's nice they let you play and give you a chance to check stuff out! 10 out of 10!

Great help before and after the sale. Phinneas really went above and beyond to provide advice and service on a warranty issue of my Little Martin guitar. There is no reason to go anywhere else.

An amazing, cozy, old school music shop in downtown Portland. Owners that know their stuff and can provide great recommendations. Repairs are done quickly and always for a fair price. They have a ton of instruments you can peruse and try out, along with amps and effect boxes. The small but filled synth room has everything from drum machines to synths to modular systems. Play music to your heart's content! Great service and a cool place to spend some time exploring.

I dabble with the ukulele and Buckdancer's has the best ukulele selection in Maine. I love coming here to explore their ukes because they don't just lazily carry the most basic ones -- they go all out and have all different types: Banjoleles Oudleles Bassleles Steeleles Electricleles Waterproof ukuleles Double neck ukuleles And of course all the standard soprano, concert, tenor ukuleles.

Plus the folks are just great. They have everything for those weird people who like playing the oversized ukuleles with 6 strings. walls and walls of them. They've got a great selection of keyboards and midi keyboards for the electronic music lovers.

Went in today looking for a used Banjo for my kid. They had a lot to choose from and the guy confirmed my hunch that the cheapest one, an old used Hondo, would be the best fit for my son. Plenty of ways they could've at least tried to up-sell me, but none of that. I really appreciated it. Beyond that, I would say, they had a great big selection and didn't seem overpriced. Grateful to know they exist in Portland.

I've been a patron of Buckdancer's for years. I've purchased multiple guitars, ukulele's, a merlin, a keyboard, a mic set up and a host of other items like strings, picks, straps, stands, etc. Buckdancer's is the epitome of local and why to buy local. I've never been disappointed by them, on the contrary, always impressed with service, personal attention, effort, selection of great gear and instruments.

I can't imagine shopping elsewhere for instruments, tune ups or the like. Big box competitors have nothing on this place! I can't recommend or support their mission enough! When I work with musicians who need emergency support, I recommend buckdancer's choice!

If you need anything guitar, keyboard, or PA related, go to Bucks. Their no bullshit staff is friendly and on point 100% of the time. They have cultivated the perfect feel of a music instrument store and the prices are always on point. I can't recommend them highly enough!

Our company had rented sound equipment for an event on June 14th, 2019 we picked up the equipment per a discussion with Kevin on Thursday June 13th, and had made verbal arrangements for the client to return the equipment on either Saturday or Sunday since we had a very early flight back to Florida from Maine on Saturday. I spoke with Jim on Sunday and told him the equipment was in route, nothing was ever mentioned about any additional fee's if returned on Sunday but will charge a fee if returned on Monday, equipment was returned by my client on Sunday, I called the store on Monday to make sure all was good and that's when they informed me that they had already charge my credit card an additional day of rental, no phone call to inform me that they would charge my credit card, they did this without my permission or acknowledgement. Looking at my receipt there is nothing stating they would automatically charge the customs credit card nor did they have me sign any disclosure approving this.

The same day I called the store and spoke to the owner PHINEAS MARTIN explaining what had happen he was so very rude, condescending, argumentative and threatening to tell customers not to hire our company because we caused them problems and refused to reverse the charges to my credit card that he was not authorized to charge. I have never been treated so badly by anyone like this owner treated us both and our company has traveled the world. Hands down the worst experience ever and must be desperate to treat anyone like he treated us. PHINEAS you do not deserve the wonderful workers you have in your store.truly they are not a reflection of the owner. Thank you Jim and Kevin.

We stop here every trip we make to Maine for all our music needs. Strings, sheet music, gifts, etc. we know we'll always find what we want. Great service too.

I hear and read all sorts of stories about how incredible Buckdancers is. I went there on the evening of 12.13.18 with the intention of a)looking for a stringed instrument such as a hammered dulcimer, and b)asking more about controllers with midis versus keyboards. Apparently, my Mastercard's aura wasn't bright enough to get any of the 4 employees' attention.

After walking the store and finding nothing similar to a dulcimer, I went into the electronics room and played with a few keyboards. Others came into the store and were offered assistance; possibly, my being in sweats was too offensive for their professionalism. Which is okay. I am going to find a store that has employees glad to explain a few things so I feel satisfied laying down my $500 - $1000 for the electronic gizmo that best suits my changing needs. And if they have, or can get me, a reasonably priced hammered dulcimer, all the better. But it absolutely won't be at Buckdancers.

I have a long story about getting the run around at Guitar Center in Portland after flying up from Florida and needing to rent an acoustic. (I'll keep it short). I received misinformation from more than 1 person on the phone at GC prior to and during my arrival. And their solution was to try and sell me a guitar. Yea."just put it on your credit card." they said.

I could have, (I actually had the cash to easily do it) but I was really unimpressed. Their non-chalance and misinformation put me in a desperate situation. Then they said "drive to our store in Portsmouth." Really? A phone call to Buckdancers and all was well. Plus those guys are super nice, caring and professional. Any time I'm in Maine and need something musical, I'm headed to Buckdancers. Thanks guys.

Went here to pick up a new instrument (no musical talent or knowledge whatsoever) the staff was fun, sweet, encouraging and made the most intimidating part seem super easy. Now I'm ready to hit the stage! Kinda :). Would highly recommend them on courtesy and knowledge

Friendly staff and Tim in the amp repair department is timely, thorough, and honest. Great work.

I'll start by saying that I know nothing about music or instruments. I walked in to purchase my daughter a ukulele for her birthday. I was immediately greeted and helped by a nice fella. I told him what my price range was and whom it was for. He gave me a few options and explained the differences between all of them (that information may have gone in one ear and out the other).

After he played about 5 of them and explained each and every one, he asked what we would be interested in. At this point, we didn't really know because everything sounded the same to us. He gave us his opinion based on the packages they had available. I always fine it to be a relief when employees aren't trying to sell you the most expensive of something so they can make money off of you.

We got a middle of the road ukulele that he said is the biggest bang for our buck. I asked about lessons, he gave me a print out of all available times for the 1 on 1 lessons. Fingers crossed that my daughter thinks he led us to the right ukulele!

Very very displeased with the service. I dropped off an instrument of great importance to me. I advised them that the instrument had been fixed on the same fashion for $50. They asked if I wanted it fixed and I said yes as it was a gift from a deceased relative that I cherish dearly. I was told I'd get a call the next day. After 8 days and 4 calls that were not returned, I walked in to check on it.

They had no even looked at it. The man sitting at the desk told me "do you really want it fixed? It'll be over $100." His time was condescending as he couldn't believe I'd want something that important fixed. At this point, I decided I did want it fixed but not by them. I will not be bringing any services to you establishment again and I strongly discourage anyone else from doing the same. Poor customer service is an understatement.

Awesome music shop! Great selection of a WIDE variety of new and used instruments of all kinds! Guitars - electric & acoustic; bass guitars; ukuleles, mandolins, violins, even a few sitars! I was astonished at the selection. Excellent customer service. I picked up a guitar as a vacation souvenir (thanks to my fantastic husband) and will definitely drop by any time I am passing through!

I am extremely pleased and impressed by the level of service and knowledge displayed by the sales staff and have had amazing experiences with "Repair Technician" Tim Fuller. I have purchased several amps in the last few years. some new and some used. The new ones of course performed with no repairs needed for years. The used ones (which is always a gamble) have performed equally as trouble-free. thanks to the thorough pre-purchase inspection/tune up accomplished by Buckdancer's Choice. That again is Tim Fuller. This is a high-quality operation and I have no need to go anywhere else for my music needs.

As a person with zero musical talent or ability, I knew that I would sound like an idiot coming in here to buy a Ukulele for my wife. To my relief, I was whisked away to the Ukulele section, given a great overview of the options and helped with an additional request for a song book. The gentleman that helped me (forgot your name, sorry) even tuned the ukulele and gave me some tuning, storage and handling tips. Top notch service in my opinion. Portland's musicians are obviously in good hands with these guys.

Here's a story of why the small independent music stores like this one occupy a warm place in my heart. I ordered a $1300 used mandocello from Buckdancer's online via a used instrument marketplace. These are pretty rare instuments, so finding one used - even one of recent vintage - is a real score. I eagerly looked forward to the arrival of my big-ass mandolin.

Every day at work, my fingers drummed the fingerings to Bach Cello Suites on my desk as I anticipated having it in my hands. Sadly, when it arrived the instrument was badly damaged with a multi-directional crack creating a hole in one of the lower bouts. I had asked the shop to detail any damages over the phone before I made the purchase, so unless they had flat-out lied to me (and the ensuing events made it clear that was definitely not the case) something must have gone wrong in shipping.

The shipping box did not appear to have been dropped or damaged in any way, but this is a fragile instrument made of bent and carved wood. Much like an actual cello, a mandocello can be very sensitive to changes in temperature or humidity. So I guessed that the most likely scenario was some kind of environmental shock to the instrument while in transit.

I have to confess to feeling some trepidation as I called up the store to report the damages. I've had a few bad return experiences with big box stores and websites in the past, with their attitude immediately becoming "Well, obviously you must have done something to break it and/or be scamming us." I dreaded the possibility of running into a similar attitude as I tried to return my hoped-for prize addition to my family of musical instruments.

In the end, there was *absolutely* no need for any dread at all. From moment one, the staff at Buckdancer's responded with courtesy and cooperation in every way. They immediately filed a claim with FedEx for the damage, meanwhile reassuring me that **no matter what** my money would be refunded even if FedEx denied the claim. There was never even a single question that even subtly implied I was at fault.

I think I may have said something when I called in about how disappointed I was because I'd really been looking forward to applying my cello skills to the mandocello, and maybe that helped cement their belief that I was legitimately not at fault. But the feeling I got from dealing with them throughout the process is that they would have trusted me anyway.

They seem to be square-dealing folks and to just naturally assume the same of others. When some crossed wires in communication led to FedEx coming to pick up the damaged instrument for return before I had actually been notified to prep it for them, the Buckdancer's crew just rolled with the punches and continued providing their friendly service.

Finally we got the handoff planned correctly, FedEx came and got the package, and soon afterward I had my full refund in my credit card account, shipping costs and all. Even if in the end FedEx was able to cover the loss to ensure both Buckdancer's and I recovered our investment in the instrument, nobody paid their staff for the hours spent in handling the claim and making sure my refund went smoothly.

I may have broken even on the deal in the end, but I am sure these guys took a loss of at least 50 bucks just dealing with the situation. So give them your business, people of Maine! If my transaction is any indication, they will do their best to do right by you. That makes them a rare and wonderful breed in the world of commerce. Please, go and show them appreciation on my behalf.

I walked twenty minutes to get strings. They closed early, just after 7:00 pm. Posted hours are 8:00 pm. Two men were talking by the door and ignored me as I tried to clarify their hours through the glass. I can find strings somewhere else.