I am aware that there were some negative comments here about the Music Room recently so I wanted to offer some positive feedback from my first visit there last week. I have bought a number of times from their online shop but have never managed to get to the Cleckheaton shop before. There’s a great range of traditional instruments in the shop and I spent a couple of hours going right through the melodeon shelves and was made very welcome. It's easy to find and there's free parking right outside. I didn’t actually buy on this occasion as I really needed to get a feel for the characteristics of different boxes and narrow down the choices, and John was brilliant at explaining the ins and outs of all his stock.
When buying my first box it was easy, I just went for the Music Room’s Pokerwork starter pack online and have been very happy with it, although the disappearing buttons trick on these Hohners is beginning to annoy me. (Yes I know there are helpful fixes on this site but I don’t feel confident that everything would go back in the box if I start undoing screws!) I am now at the stage of considering an upgrade, or a second box more likely, and the chance to try a number of different ones at the Music Room was invaluable and I am hoping to return there fairly soon to do a deal.
It’s still a bit daunting identifying the ‘right’ box however and the importance of taking care over your choice was reinforced by another customer in the shop who wanted to trade back a very recently-bought and expensive three-row box which was undeniably beautiful but had simply proved too heavy for use with a morris side. Ouch. I imagine the loss on trading it in after such a short time may have been as painful as the back ache from a three-row!