About Rainbow Music Shop

First time here? Then, a little history about us is in order. . .

For more than 50+(!) years, nestled into the Seaway city of Cornwall, Ontario, along the scenic St. Lawrence River, Rainbow Music Shop has become one of Eastern Ontario's leading music shops.

Started in 1972 as an "offshoot" from a long established electronics sales & repair shop his father had begun and operated since "the dawn of time", Gilles Grignon learned all he could from his smart old dad about tubes, tube amps, solid state amps (and how to repair 'em).

All while still going to school (and probably spending way too much time in shop class), the "offshoot" evolved into a separate music shop,built literally on service first, as retail sales were added later.As time went on, he taught him-self how to play drums, guitar, keyboards & bass (with varying degress of success, his friends would claim).This helped tremendously,when it came time to troubleshooting, repairing and customizing "the stuff", since he now had the player's perspective in mind.

More & more players came from near & far to get their gear "finally fixed right" by somebody who knew what he was talking about.

Gilles started out customizing & tweaking guitars ,adding little trick switches and wiring mods, to get their maximum potential for his friends. Ironically, Rainbow Music was a "custom shop" long before it became a fashionable marketing term.

The retail part started initially with sales of , lots of drumsticks at reasonable prices (sticks were overpriced everywhere in those 1972 days!),

Gilles gradually kept adding more products to keep up with customer requests. To give you an idea; those were the days when the Dimarzio brothers whole product line consisted of ONE replacement pickup, echo units still used a tape , the only thing close to a two channel amp was a Fender Twin and, CD stood for Cash Deposit…

Rainbow Music Shop has moved twice since those humble beginnings on 15th street, but always a five minute drive from either location to our present 1418 Pitt Street location.Being located across from three schools back then didn't hurt either, to build up a "future" clientele!

We have always been located in this infamous city's north end, "just doing our thing" for now,over 50(!!) years, without changing ownership, being bought out ,or being "fronted" by silent partners that call the shots and second guess every move that's made.

What started out as an extension of "good old dad's" established electronics shop with about 200 sq. feet has led us today, to our own building (expanded to seven times it's original size) housing several show-rooms for guitars, sound re-inforcement, lighting, rentals, lesson studio, ware-housing, several tech reference library sections and a service shop equipped with a pro-level test-repair bench and LOADS of parts to keep you and your gear "happy".

What we sell, we service, what we sell. Our aim: NOT to be "the cheapest" but the better deal, now AND in the long run.Any bonehead can choose to lose money to get a quick sale.That's their business - just not for long. We've been in this for the long haul, outlasting most of our competitors (and unfortunately many suppliers)over the course of these 50+years,and we're STILL here because "we take care of it". Customers keep buying their gear & dealing with us, year after year, because they know - "we take care of it" They can pick our brains about it,because we literally know the stuff the inside out.

We like to offer choices. Many music stores,and pretty much all the "discount chain" stores are playing it safe these last few years by just stocking & churning out the same old run-of-the-mill,brand names & products.Yeah,same old,same old.

Take a walk thru most stores in a dozen different cities and other than a storefront sign,they ALL seem to have the same,garden variety gear.What a drag.

So much for stepping ahead & trying to innovate by bringing something new to players. Most stores stock maybe two guitar lines,possibly two guitar amp lines,ONE fx pedal line('cause it's the one that's recognized the most),ALL simply because it's "easier" to order from one or two catalogs.Geeeez.

Well...If you're looking for something different,if you want something unique that's NOT run of the mill,like everything else out there,drop by and talk to us.We offer an amazing range of choices unheard of,for a "small town" music store.

Folks want value for their money.

That "value" has to include service.The biggest mistake a consumer can make is to confuse the lowest price with being the same as the best deal.This logic may apply to hamburger chains or stores that deal with guitars like they were hamburgers ,but getting the cheapest price on a particular instrument means very little if one has to invest another substantial chunk of bucks to make it playable & reliable.

If the only thing many of our competitors can offer is the "cheapest price around" ,whether it's perceived or actual,this should give you an idea you should ask a fewmore questions.As time goes on,the oft repeated phrase " You get what you pay for" seems to be taking on a whole new meaning when it relates to music stores as well as,"long after the price is forgotten,the service(or lack of)never is...."

Why deal with so many of the "other' stores that only sell gear,when you could be dealing with a real guitarshop that actually services what it sells and makes sure every guitar it sells doesn't just play adequately,but superbly.