I had a wonderful experience at Voss Violins. Everyone who works there was so helpful and patient as I took my time making the decision of which instrument was the right one for me, and what sound adjustments would be appropriate to customize it.
Got My Beginner Violin from here and it sounds amazing! The staff is very helpful and knowledgeable, and they even did repairs on an antique instrument I had, even though most would call the instrument worthless.
Great experience! Stephanie and her staff are very knowledgable and patient. Immense experience with music instruments of all kinds.
I don’t write bad reviews but this has stuck with me and truly bothered me.
I set an appointment 2 weeks out which is fair enough they are busy etc, my appointment was at 1 in the afternoon, I ended up coming 15 mins early, it was starting to rain so I tried turning the doorknob to see if I would be able to put my cello case inside, S. Voss then opens the door and from word one she is unbelievably rude to me for the whole time I was there. I told her I knew I was early and I was happy to wait, but she had to tell me I interrupted her lunch, where I said again very kindly I would be happy to wait as I knew I was early , “Why are you here?” She said. I told her I had a cello she had worked on about 20 years ago with a crack that had opened. There are so many things I would like to say here, but she tells me my cello is worthless and she is “ ethically “ opposed to working or fixing the cello at all … the cello is from the mid to late 1600’s and is an amazing cello, and very worth saving. There is no bass bar crack, no sound post crack, the crack that had open was later fixed with a much kinder luthier and was not a huge deal to fix. My cello is doing great now etc, however when I was talking to Voss I said “ I’m a recording artist and I still record with this.” She then asked me “Why” in a extremely condescending / rude way. The hubris, snobbery and rudeness was unbelievable. I have been to the higher end shops all over the US, nyc , Chicago , etc etc. I have never been treated like this, I know I don’t look like I have money, or your typical cello player, but I do make music professionally, and I will say I remained kind the entire appointment. Leaving feeling awful. There is no reason to treat people that unkind. Especially from a shop that more or less looks like it’s in a collage apartment, honestly any other string shop in the atlanta area is nicer, not only in aesthetics, but in temperament. I dare say this appointment was borderline abusive. We should not support shops that do not treat people equally.
8. Earthshaking Music
Address: 648 McDonough Blvd SE, Atlanta, GA 30315 , Atlanta , Georgia , United States
Went here looking for my first electric guitar and still a little self conscious about my skill level. They were so helpful and nice. They hooked me up to an amp and just closed the door to the guitar room, letting me play whatever struck my eye. A year and at least 5 visits later, there is no question, THIS is the best music shop in Atlanta.
My keyboard stopped turning on so I gave these guys a call and they said to take it in whenever and they could take a look and pass it along to their keyboard repair team if needed. When I went in, they were so helpful and friendly. The guy plugged in my keyboard and it worked right away so I didn’t end up having to get it serviced but they were very nice and friendly about the whole situation. Just got very good vibes and found out that they’ve been there since 1994. A great local music shop to support. They had a ton of instruments and other supplies and seemed quite knowledgeable, so I will definitely be back in the future. Highly recommend!!
Amazing gem in a really interesting location. Everyone I’ve ever met there has been wonderfully nice, helpful, and accommodating. The store has a FANTASTIC selection, and everything is affordable and appropriately priced. This store is great- please patronize it and build our local economies while lifting up small businesses!
Friendly and knowledgeable staff, great instrument options for guitars and percussion. The location is not the best part of town; otherwise, I would have given it 5 stars.
Solid.
There is a lot I like about this place, but there is definitely a problem with sexism here. The staff seems to be entirely white and male, and one staff member in particular has consistently been very patronizing to me. Without any prior familiarity with me, he consistently assumed I lack any knowledge or expertise. He told me things about my own gear as if I couldn’t possibly understand it on my own. He told me that I would be able to settle on one type of guitar I liked once I had “some experience.” At one point, while trying out a guitar, I noted it was out of tune. I was about to tune it when he quickly took it from me, saying he would be able to tune it faster than I could. (This did not turn out to be true. He actually seemed to have some trouble with the amp’s tuner.) This particular employee has been there the last few times I’ve been in, and from other employees I’ve experienced a remote surliness. I understand this is the traditional culture of music stores, but I personally am not interested in participating anymore. It’s a shame, because I think the store has a good selection and good prices, and it’s in my neighborhood. But until the culture at the store changes, I’ll unfortunately be using ebay.
I called on a Saturday to see if a kick drum could be repaired. The gentleman I was speaking with informed the drum specialist won’t be in until Tuesday to take a look at it. Perfectly understandable. I asked how long could the repair could possibly take, which seemed like a reasonable question, but the guy I was speaking with had an entire meltdown! Started talking aggressively and rudely. I told him to relax because it was a simple question. I won’t ever do business with this company. If this is how you react to and treat people for asking simple questions, I can’t imagine the level of service would be any better.
Overpaid for a guitar setup only to receive my guitar back without cleaning, sounding horrible and the cheapest strings on the market…as has just been verified by a Guitar Center tech…
9. CMO Blue Star Music Group
Address: Atlanta, GA 30318 , Atlanta , Georgia , United States
This place caught me by surprise. I saw a review that they are pricey. 100% not true. I got 4 CD’s for less than $35 and only 1 was used. U can’t beat that.
Very cool spot nestled in the heart of the eclectic Little 5 Points area of Atlanta. It has a wide variety of vinyl records, vintage music, T-shirts and other aparrel. Also check out the best non-dairy ice cream shop located in the back of this record store, First Batch Artesan Foods.
I went into this store as I heard there was a vegan bakery inside. Unfortunately it was closed in that day. We looked around the store and it had some great things in there. From wooden earrings to cd’s and clothing. They have some great items for little people too. I will be back to pick up a few things. Keep up with the great job.
Very cool place. My go to for house mix cd’s.
Nice stop and great vibe.
I paid $35 for Jazzy nights to see jazz singer Jasmine. Supposedly it included a glass of wine – which I never received. She could really sing but she came out and sang ONE song and said im going to give everyone their money back! The show was listed at starting at 7pm bit didn’t start until 8:30 ( that would have been a good time to serve wine while we waited for an hour and a half. I’m still waiting for my $35 back! Don’t go!!!
Unfortunately I have to share my negative experience with moods music as a vendor. I too had been a patron of Moods Music since the early 2000’s so late last year when Moods offered small vendors a pop up shop opportunity I jumped at the chance. Mr. Daryl states that he loved my product and offered me a consignment opportunity which I eagerly accepted. Shortly there after as I began to do business Mr. Daryl’s tone, presence and treatment of me declined and became increasingly disrespectful. On several occasions his behavior was rude and curt. I have and was always respectful to Mr. Daryl but I’m not sure what the issue was. If you are an independent vendor I suggest not doing a consignment agreement with this this establishment. You are better off creating mutual business partnerships with genuine and respectful business owners. Unfortunately he isn’t one. I wish the store all the success and best in business moving forward but Mr. Daryl’s selective treatment of individuals is and was very offensive.
I had the absolute worst experience at Moods Music Yesterday.
I typically do not leave negative reviews but I was so disgusted by my experience.
Yesterday I was with my husband and newborn in Moods. We walk in and start to look around. When walking through the store there was a sweatshirt placed neatly on the couch. The store sells clothes so I assumed that it was merchandise the store sells. Upon picking it up and showing my husband a gentleman walks past me who I now know is the owner of the store and says “ that I should know better than to touch things that don’t belong to me” I quickly apologized and told him that I thought it was for sale. He continued to yell at me and my husband as I tried to explain I thought it was for Sale. as my husband and I are leaving the store he continued to be rude and make comments.
As an owner of a store that is not how you should treat your customers. This was a clear misunderstanding and I was apologetic but he was determined to create a problem.
This was a nice store but unfortunately I will not be ever going back there.
13. Big House Guitars
Address: 2323 Cheshire Bridge Rd NE, Atlanta, GA 30324 , Atlanta , Georgia , United States
Wide selection of instruments, great customer service. The place also had a very cool aesthetic, and was full of nice people.
Awesome collection! Something for everybody and make sure you check out what’s downstairs, you won’t be disappointed. Also the owner and the staff are super friendly and very well educated on guitars. Love this place, Atlanta needed a place like this.
Hands down the best guitar shop in Atlanta. I popped in on a whim and was floored by their selection and the quality of the gear inside. The owner is incredibly friendly and was greatly accommodating and encouraged me to play anything and everything in the store. I’d have stayed all day if I could have. I walked out with a fantastic new bass and I’m a guitar player… I’ll be back for more guitars in the future. They also do work on guitars and they’re the guys I’m gonna start going to for repairs and set ups. This is the guitar store Atlanta desperately needed and you will not be disappointed.
The staff was very friendly and very attentive. All the gear seems to be in great condition, but overall the prices are a too high for this musician’s budget. Watch out for that undisclosed “checkout fee” 😉
Beautiful collection of guitars on sale and consignment, plus a pretty decent record shop!
Had a lot of records that haven’t been put out or put in sections.
Went to Big House for son’s 24th birthday present: his first ever guitar. Unfortunately this is not the place for that. If you’re not an experienced guitarist, expect to get dropped like a hot potato.
I can’t say that I have been in this place, and most likely will not ever visit, since the owners think it’s appropriate to use FOUL LANGUAGE in their Craigslist postings. My kids like to peruse the musical instruments ads on Craigslist, and I for one do not appreciate them being exposed to that kind of language on a public and FREE classifieds board. I am currently pursuing the matter with CL.
I don’t like writing negative reviews and try to work it out in good faith before. I spent a LARGE sum of money on instruments at Big House Guitars and got burnt. Upon the inspection I (luckily!!) requested, the $$$$$ vintage Les Paul turned out not to be true to representation (only 1 PAF pickup instead of two … oops, sorry for the mix up!). I still decided to proceed and worked out a deal including several trade in instruments. They simply didn’t honor it: I received one guitar with cracks, which they half-assedly tried to pin on UPS before telling me it was like that when I tried it… Nice! They never took my guitars agreed as trade-ins, leaving me on the hook for selling them… I called Russ the store owner many times, who ghosted me, leaving me to receiv lip service by email from the crew. VERY disappointed. It’s a cool shop and the guys seem friendly. But sadly, I wouldn’t buy anything ever again from them. BUYER BEWARE.
14. Guitar Center
Address: 2480 Briarcliff Rd NE Suite 13, Atlanta, GA 30329 , Atlanta , Georgia , United States
Great place to visit and share the love for music. You can spend time playing with incredibly talented folks, listening and meeting working musicians. Sometimes even celebrities. Sales people do work off of commission so sometimes they will encourage you to buy the pricier item. Just do your research, ask questions, and they will give you honest answers.
Staff is friendly, knowledgeable, and they always strive to answer any questions you may have. My main music supply store.
Even though this is a chain, this location is spot-on. The staff is very knowledgeable and patient, as well as laid-back but professional. The prices may be a little high for some items, but the staff’s knowledge is well worth the visit.
Guitar Center is the big box music store. However, Covid has hit them hard. First, because there are fewer costumers, it’s louder than it was. Second, they’ve diminished inventory. Third, though proper, you can see the staff just doesn’t have their heart in it unless you’re making a big purchase. Fewer permanent it’s tough for commission based folk.
It is wheelchair accessible and fully staffed, but call ahead to make sure what you need is in stock.
I will say I am glad for what Guitar Center has become. When I was a teenager and I just wanted to play instruments touch drums touch guitars and get my hands on things, I would always be scolded by the staff. And if I was not scolded I was constantly hounded about what i was buying… However this Guitar Center does not do that, as much… My friend and I visited this place and played multiple instruments throughout the store and had loads of fun. After about a couple hours of not buying anything and playing very loud no one really cared.. I will say what kind of suck though was when I had questions about things, the Bearded chunky white guy didn’t really care at all as if I’m a nobody. And we did end up buying 400 dollars of stuff. However they let you play now and it’s the Toys “R” Us for musicians!
This place is great and is my go to for everything I need for my electric and bass guitars. That goes for any other music related instruments also. I can spend hours here trying out all the instruments.
They are just hustling for a check. Don’t really care about the customers needs.
Went in on 12-26 to get some help with an audio interface. I was able to grab the attention of someone who was near the audio section, but he clearly did not seem very interested in helping me.
I found what I needed, but when I went to check out there were two guys completely overwhelmed, didn’t acknowledge me. One walked off. I figured I would place my order online instead.
Placed an online order for pick up at 2:00. Called for an update around 6:00 pm, was put on hold for 30 min. Called back and said it was not ready yet. It’s 8:00 pm and nothing yet.
Online said they were open n got there around 2 pm and was closed!! Never will I go there again
15. Triple Gold Mine Records
Address: Atlanta, GA 30303 , Atlanta , Georgia , United States
Talk about a legit studio… Such a good experience recording and have now been taking some lessons from a few of their teachers! Couldn’t help but write a good review!
My son loves the guitar lessons.
I signed my daughter up for piano lessons and my son up for drum lessons and they absolutely love it! I can’t give enough praise to this place. About three times a week, my son asks if it’s “drum lesson day.” This is a big deal since he normally doesn’t stick with something for more than a month. They love the instructor, Mark and look forward to lessons every week. If I could buy you a month’s worth of lessons just to try it out, I would!
Had a rocky start do to unforeseen circumstances, however Mark fixed everything and we are all good now. Studio equipment is a 8 out of 10, Mark was patient through the whole process, communication could have been a little better though.
Unbelievably rude. Look elsewhere for your business.
Matthieu Clave is a excellent music teacher. As an advanced student, I studied with him for five years. Matthieu has a unique background combining training at French conservatories with post graduate studies with American teachers. This dual training enables him to share with his students the best aspects of French and American approaches to playing flute. As a private studio teacher, Matthieu provides a well-rounded curriculum that maintains a balance between musical expression and technical development. Every lesson includes a few skill building exercises, an etude, and a solo piece. Matthieu’s approach works well with a broad range of ages. Assuming a a student does his part and prepares for lessons, Matthieu coaches, rather than criticizes, turning his students into better players with an encouraging, positive approach.
Matthieu Clavé has been an incredible flute instructor for our daughter. She expressed desire to learn the flute at age 6, and Matthieu was happy to take her on in spite of her young age (her school does not start lessons typically until age 7). We were astounded by her progress and her enjoyment of the flute! Matthieu connected with her from the start. He is a talented musician and is a thoughtful, skilled, and kind instructor. We are so glad that we found him. We also appreciate his flexibility in scheduling both times and locations for the lessons. Highly recommended!
18. Beatlab
Address: 464 Moreland Ave NE, Atlanta, GA 30307 , Atlanta , Georgia , United States
Was there for about 2 hours! If you have time tou will find treasures on vinyl
Called the store looking for a power supply for a midi controller. I had a beat set in a couple of hours. The guy who answered the phone was Nope, no thanks. Money spent somewhere else.
They were closed when it said they are open on Google.
on this 12/11/2017 I never felt so disrespected and lied to I called in before with the correct item and verified over over and now upon arrival the price is $$$$ extremely high I rather purchase on amazon better yet eBay
19. Y2 Music & Records
Address: 1919 Metropolitan Pkwy SW, Atlanta, GA 30315 , Atlanta , Georgia , United States
Nick’s lessons have made me a better musician, and a better performer. He’s got a way of taking the pressure off of yourself to be/sound “perfect”, so that you can let your brain learn how to play the guitar without any borders or walls up.
Their staff is very knowledgeable and are very patient with customers, which is important because the investment you make needs to be a good one that you can be happy with. I don’t know of any other music shops in the area, but even if I found one, I doubt I’d do business there. This place has all of my needs and I’m always satisfied, every time I visit.
I was searching for online piano lessons for my two children whose previous piano teacher moved out of state during the latter part of covid and 88 keys was so accommodating. They are very professional and responsive. My children are being taught by Ms Grace who is a very talented musician herself. She’s patient, encouraging and teaches excellent technique. I’m very impressed
