John Keal Music Company, Inc.

These guys were recommended by my daughter's school. Please be aware that even though you may provide them with your credit card or your bank information in regards to monthly rental payments, they're still going to do a credit check (even on flute, even though it's worth less than five hundred dollars.) My wife did the paperwork, we were not informed that they would perform a credit check. My wife doesn't have good or bad credit, she just doesn't have any credit. And she was rejected. We decided to buy the instrument instead from another retailer. I would recommend staying away, they are not transparent with how they operate and they will run your credit before renting you a instrument. With our credit card we can rent a $60,000 car or a $30,000 piece of equipment, but apparently not a $500 flute!

Sadly, after 47 years of doing business with Keal, I will no longer do so. I had noticed their repair prices had skyrocketed in recent years, but the quote they last gave me could only be described as outright fraud: My grandson’s Yamaha student trumpet had a 3rd valve hanging up. The quote from the repairman to fix it was $172.80! I questioned the guy at the counter, and he said it included removing the dents in the bell and elsewhere. THERE ARE NO DENTS. Not even a minor “ping.” I took the horn home and discovered the problem was the plastic valve guide. I fixed it myself. It works perfectly. (I had originally thought the alignment had been knocked out somehow.) I know a great many schools in the area use Keal for rentals and school instrument repairs, as I did throughout my teaching career. Ernie is the only one there I know any more, and I respect his work on woodwinds and highly recommend him. Don’t be afraid to question price quotes, and don’t be afraid to ask your teacher(s) for help/advice. I cannot recommend Keal for brass repairs based on this incident and the last 3 times I had expensive top-of-the-line horns serviced there.