Feb 15, 2012

The Find: 1976 Fender Starcaster Bass Prototype
The staff of CME didn't have to go hunting to bag this beast. "This was acquired in one of those incredible moments when a random person walked into a guitar show with a large and odd case. We bought it off of him without knowing any details of its rarity."

Feb 15, 2012

Six-String Central
Professional and amateur guitarists alike know that the place to go for an incomparable instrument is the Chicago Music Exchange. Guitars possess seductive powers. ­Maybe it’s their curves. Maybe it’s their dazzling array of colors. Perhaps it’s their long, graceful necks. Whatever it is, they beckon to lovers, who become helplessly entranced and hopelessly smitten.

Dec 24, 2011

CEO of Chicago Music Exchange gives a tour of his Roscoe Village retail guitar store
David Kalt sees his Roscoe Village retail guitar center as more an art gallery than a store."(The store) literally is 20 years of slaving to get these guitars, so it really has become an institution because of that," said Kalt, owner and chief executive of The Chicago Music Exchange on Lincoln Avenue. "I'm sort of like the curator. I just want to keep it alive."

Dec 13, 2011

The Five Best Vintage Guitar Deals
Here’s some market insight: you might find a great buy this season in vintage guitars. According to “The 42 Guitar Index” put out each October by Vintage Guitar Magazine, American-made collectable guitars have taken a beating. The index, which is the total value of 42 guitars from three top brands, is at $750,800. That’s 23% off its October 2007 peak of $976,200. (The S&P 500 is down about 20%.)...

July 15, 2011

Why Service Still Matters
Chicago Music Exchange, located in the Lakeview neighborhood, has gained a national reputation for a used and vintage guitar selection that rivals even the big-boxes. According to owner David Kalt, his company has struck the ultimate balance of selection and service...

April 7, 2011

This place is truly Guitar Nirvana! Visiting CME is a not-to-be missed experience for the guitar aficionado. It boasts a staggering collection of the very finest vintage guitars as well as new and used instruments, and stands as one of the most impressive operations of its kind in the world. For almost 20 years...

February 3, 2011

Premier Guitar readers have spoken! Chicago Music Exchange is being featured among the "20 Coolest Guitar Shops in the US" as voted by PG readers (in no particular order.)

January 30, 2011

Somewhere between ogling the eye-candy, and digging into some fine guitars musical instruments, ABC's 190 North crew took the opportunity to talk to the staff about the store, and the most important things about getting into your next instrument.  We also may have reenacted some classic movie scenes while we were at it.

January 12, 2011

Chicago Music Exchange owner David Kalt and store manager George Coutretsis stopped by the WGNTV studio in Chicago to talk with Midday Fix about "How to Buy a Guitar."  See the video segment and read the story by clicking the link below.

January 10, 2011

David Kalt was a successful serial entrepreneur before the age of 40. He sold his first company, a software maker for the travel industry called Third Party Solutions, in 1999 and took his second business, online options brokerage optionsXpress, public in 2005 with a market cap of more than $1 billion...

November 15, 2010

OptionsXpress Inc. founder David Kalt is transforming the Chicago Music Exhange, the renowned vintage guitar store in Lakeview that he recently purchased for more than $5 million. The entrepreneur with a passion for music is...

July 29, 2010

Reverb Music, LLC has finalized its acquisition of Chicago Music Exchange, a retailer specializing in new/used and vintage guitars and amplifiers, in a private transaction. Following the acquisition, Chicago Music Exchange will continue to...

March 26, 2009

Best Guitar Shop: Chicago Music Exchange
A strange sort of masochism seems to drive broke-ass musicians to take two buses and a train across town just to stew in unrequited gear lust at Chicago Music Exchange, where most...