Rockley Music Center

Excellent work! I brought in two lap steels and a vintage ampeg Jupiter for Chris to fix up. He rewound and fixed the broken p90, replaced the crappy tail piece with a Gibson stop tail bar and refurbished the electronics to perfect working order. The other lap steel had its pickup replaced and coil tapped, again perfect work, and both steels were set up and tuned. And he’ll even accept gear as payment! I’m eagerly awaiting to see what Chris can do with my Ampeg Jupiter. If you need guitar or amp work done, this is the place to go!

Very large music store with a good selection.
I Came in to inquire about a cello bow. Unfortunately they have really rude old pompous music snob staff that don’t care what your interested in nor due they care to help you with very simple requests. They would rather you leave the store so they can sit there on you tube in piece
Don’t waste your time coming here, go find a smaller music store run by friendly people who want to help you.

I’d been in and out of Rockley’s over the 20 years since college to pick up sheet music and it was generally an average type of experience. However, this spring we stopped by to look at pianos and electric pianos for our practice room. While my partner was very respectfully playing one, the salesman came over from the far side of the showroom and asked him to please stop playing «unless you are going to buy one… that would be different.» We hadn’t been there 20 minutes total. His tone was incredibly condescending. Maybe he assumed we didn’t have money, maybe he just doesn’t approve of our lifestyle. Whatever the reason, neither of us has any interest in being disrespected by a bitter, past-​his-​prime piano salesman.
It’s been about 6 months and we’ve never gone back. After much additional research we DID HOWEVER buy one, online, from another retailer. I’d have preferred to support a local business with a multi-​thousand dollar purchase, but frankly the audacity of their salesman has insured that we’ll never set foot in there again.
TIP: If you want to look at their pianos, wear a suit and carry an attaché stuffed with hundreds so that they know you’re serious.

Very, very helpful staff. If for some reason they can’t help you, they will find someone who can.

This week I went in to Rockley music to find guitar tablature for some Rolling Stones songs. I was greeted by a young twenty-​something who seemed very nice. When I asked her about the Rolling Stones tablature she replied «Who are they?» I was shocked and speechless! I tried to figure out if she was pulling my leg and she said that she had never heard of them. Seriously? Who hasn’t heard of the Rolling Stones? Just to be sure, I asked her if she had heard of the Beatles. Yes, she had. Anyhow, I was feeling very out of time and place but I eventually found what I was looking for. I don’t expect someone working at a music store to have a degree in music, but a base line understanding of what their customers might want doesn’t seem like too much to ask for.

Stopped in to Rockley Music Center yesterday for some guitar picks and a little chat.
It was my first time and I was impressed with the huge piano show room and floor space.
Dennis was very helpful and friendly and gave me a ton of information about their guitar lessons.
I definitely look forward to a return visit and maybe even some lessons in the near future.

I wasn’t expecting the store to be so big – it was almost overwhelming! The store featured a wide selection of instruments, sheet music, supplies, and instructional materials. As far as I could tell, everything was reasonably priced. I learned that Rockley’s offers music lessons, which were much less than I would have expected. They also sponsor local community events, including recitals and an upcoming musical revue of Broadway show tunes.

2012 Review #271: This a review from a teacher’s point of view. I see a lot, and I do mean a lot, of instruments. I see instruments ordered from the deepest, darkest depths of the internet. I see instruments from WalMart, and from China, and from the back of grandma’s closet. I also see instruments from many local businesses that rent instruments to students. Should these instruments be of professional, or even outstanding, quality? No. However, I don’t think the instruments I’ve seen from Rockley compare evenly to other rental options in this area.
Because I do not teach in Lakewood, I don’t see many Rockley’s instruments. However, my encounters with them have not been extremely positive. One student had an instrument so incapable of staying in tune I thought they ordered it off the internet. The pegs didn’t seem to fit and the bridge didn’t seem like it matched the instrument. Compared to other local resources this didn’t seem to add up, but the rental prices are about the same.
My other interaction with a Rockley’s instrument was with a student bow. New bows will lose some hair as they are played, as rosin is applied, and through general use. I could see 5 – 10 hairs, 10 at most, through vigorous play within the first week or so. This student’s bow lost almost 30 hairs spontaneously, but without sign of anything wrong actually happening to explain it. It was like the bow had alopecia. The reaction that the family, who paid to rent the bow and instrument, got from a Rockley’s employee was «that’s normal. Too bad.» This is after they drove 30 miles to get there. Not surprisingly, they/​I insisted on a new bow, which they got, and not surprisingly this «normal» issue didn’t happen with another new bow. I have a feeling this was an employee of Rockley, not actually an owner or manager, so I give them the benefit of the doubt on that one.
There are lots of music stores in the metro area, and I can think of several within 5 miles that I would probably go to first, but if I needed a basic and mass-​produced supply like strings, rosin, etc. I would still give Rockley’s my business. However, look out for prices– a very basic shoulder rest and some very basic rosin had a pretty impressive markup here.

To be fair, my review might not be valid to you if you play guitar or piano. I play the Viola, which is essentially a larger Violin with a C string. Either way. Their accessories are way overpriced, and give you very little option. You can either get a crappy shoulder rest for 20 bucks, or get a decent one for 50. In all reality, you can get an awesome shoulder rest for around 25 bucks, and for 50? Your getting a professional shoulder rest. When my bridge broke they made it practically sound like they would have to take a trip to Brazil to get the bloody thing. They said it would take hours to install. Completely untrue. Again, this is not valid if you play guitar or Piano.
They do however, get 4 stars from me for this reason: They have an AMAZING sheet music department. I play the Viola, and, if you do (or have even ever tried to find Viola sheet music) you know its next to impossible to get anything decent for the instrument. The people at the sheet music department are so helpful, they take you to their computer and show you some stuff they have online. They actually will order it for you too. They helped me find some perfect music.
Furthermore they have some very nice and helpful employees. They certainly do go above and beyond what a lot of people do. They also don’t pressure you to buy stuff, which is a huge plus.
Overall, The high prices on accessories is easily solved by going somewhere online like Shar music, and get your sheet music (and rosin) here.

I called to check availability and price of Elixir Nanoweb Phosphor Bronze strings. Nice person helped me, and then told me the ridiculous price of $ 32.00 for a set… but he would give me a 25% discount… can buy all day long at 15.99…wouldn’t stop there on a bet.

I had to come in here to pick up a Christmas gift for my friend last year, and going in without a clue what to look for, found salesman and repair guy, Chris Thomas to be very helpful, well educated and never once did I feel pressured into an upsale. I firmly stated my budget and found that he found many options within that range to choose from. I know Guitar Center can appeal with there cut throat prices, but if we do not support the family run guys like this, then we will have a monopoly on our hands folks!
This is where I will take my dollars, folks!

Rockley’s has the most unhelpful and unfriendly print music staff I have ever encountered. Instead of trying to help me find the book I was looking for, they just insulted me for even looking for it. Rude, snooty, and unhelpful. Rarely does a business make me want to shop at some nameless, faceless internet retailer, but Rockley’s does. Amazon, please take my money, because Rockley’s does not want it.

The Red Violin. 76 trombones. Bill’s saxophone. The magic flute. This place has it all for Denver’s band geeks.
I’m a musician on the side and my girlfriend does it for a living so I’ve found myself wandering through the aisles of pianos and guitars several times. For anyone who likes to tickle the ivories or strings, or wants to see how musical instruments work, or just stand in awe of all that fuckin’ auditory potential, this is a treat. One room each dedicated to strings, guitars, pianos, and sheet music.
The piano gallery alone is a sight to behold. Unlike some piano stores, no one even blinked or gave me the evil eye when I sat down on the grands to rehearse. In fact, when I chatted with the salesman, he didn’t even try to throw me a sales pitch – instead we proceeded to shoot the shit about his friend in NYC who slept on top of his grand piano every night in a studio apartment. They have at least two conversation-​piece pianos, 1) an impecabbly maintained Baldwin grand that used to be tuned every week by the pros while residing at the Kennedy Center, and 2) a Lichtenstein concert grand with what looks to be gold lining whose price tag would probably rival that of a private jet.
For singers and sight readers, you can order individual sheet music from popular books from their database and get it printed in a jiffy. Random instrumental accessories abound. Referrals provided to local music teachers. I’m pretty sure they offer tuning and repairs as well. The myriad humidifiers across the building indicate that they mean quality business.
Musicians, don’t miss!