Great people to deal with. I would highly recommend for anything musician related.
Great teachers and engagement with students – across many musical instruments. Broad selection on store side – instruments and sheet music.
Arkansas Music Works is my go-to source for all of my electric guitar projects!
The carry quality parts at great prices and their shipping speed and packaging is great!
Sam G.
McMinnville TN
Mixed bag. Some employees are great, others rude and condescending. Rude enough I’d rather go to a pawn shop than do further business here, which is a pity.
Nice place the staff was really helpful. A little small.
Friendly staff, but the pricing has always been consistently to high.
The manager/owner with the flat cap and black/grey beard couldn’t care less about customer satisfaction. He tries to rush customers into buying equipment, and is extremely rude to you if you don’t buy something right off the bat. I’ve witnessed this every time I’ve been in the store. I would highly recommend seeking a different music store with a competent manager that doesn’t solely care about taking your money. He is unpleasant to be around and lacks simple business concepts. Bottom line, there are plenty other music stores in NW Arkansas that will prioritize your satisfaction — don’t waste your time here.
I thought I would take a chance on them, and bought an AllParts p90 spacer kit. Simple enough, most p90’s dogear covers are the same or very close. The All Parts one is WAY too big for Gibson, Epi, Lindy Fralin, and most dogear p90’s. Had they adequately given the measurements on their ad I would have bought elsewhere. They will refund, but with a %15 restocking fee because I opened it to see if I could make do with it, but it is almost 1/4″ too wide and 1/8 too long. What a waste of time. I went to a nearby autoparts store and bought a set of gasket materials and cut out my own in 15 minutes. Don’t buy the ALL PARTS p90 spacer kit. Or any of the others for that matter get a gasket kit and cut your own for $11, any height you want.
Brought my guitar into get work done on it. Neck reset and put new strings on it. They ship it out to the luthier who gives it back in worse condition than I gave it to them in. DO NOT USE!
2. Quattlebaum Music Center
Address: 101 W Arch Ave, Searcy, AR 72143 , Benasque , Arkansas , United States
Decent selection for a smaller store. Good prices! I’ve bought and rented equipment from them for years. Friendly service!!
Lots of instruments. Decent prices.
Went there today. He has some great deals and he does layaway 6 month layaway if needed
They are selling stolen property.
Very rude to my wife and all she did was ask a queston please don’t do business with these people we don’t need rude people in this town.
I’ve purchased things from here before, but today, I felt as though my business was not wanted. I took a violin in due to having issues tuning it and the bridge popping off. Was told what I need to do. Told them thank you and asked my daughter if she wanted to look around. Was told to have a nice day. Was not asked if I needed help with anything else. Employee just walked away
3. Guitar Center
Address: 160 E Joyce Blvd, Fayetteville, AR 72703 , Benasque , Arkansas , United States
Always have what I need. Guitar Center always stands behind what they sell.
Very satisfied with the service, amazing store.
Great selection of guitars in that nice soulless corporate way. Guitar store employees shouldn’t have to wear uniforms in my opinion.
Way overpriced. Good service.
I went to pick up an item I bought online, and I was using their contact less curbside pickup option. I checked in that I was parked and started a chat. I waited for about 10 minutes for either a response or someone to come outside with the item, before I decided to go inside and see what was going on. In their defense they were pretty busy, but an employee was just coming to the door with my item, so I walked out to the car with him. He explained that the chat feature doesn’t work on their end, which made me think they should find another way to handle contactless pickup. Either way, it was pleasant, but not as good as I would’ve liked.
I drove over an hour to GC with cash in pocket fully prepared to purchase an electric drum kit. Sadly, GC was so understaffed that nobody had time to assist me or answer a few simple questions…… You guys missed a good sale…… Thats a bummer for both of us.
Fun people. But the sales they have are so specific and expensive. SPEND 1 THOUSAND DOLLARS AND GET NO INTREST FOR 1 YEAR. must apply for our credit card, must __ and ___ and ____. My friend had nearly an 800 credit score and got declined for just a bass guitar at $299. Waste of time unless your paying for it all in one go.
Today not good
4. Arkansas School Band Service Inc
Address: 508 Lillian, Benton, AR 72015 , Benasque , Arkansas , United States
Lovely and very friendly staff. They are so welling and happy to help you with anything you need or may have questions about. Definitely recomend going here. Only reason didnt give them 5 stars, is some of the items/parts are pricey compared to online. But if you need it immediately or just cant find it online then go here. I’d also recommend comparing their price for what you need before making the decision. They have things on sale.
Very nice place
Very friendly staff!
The lady that works in here, is like you are bothering her when you come inside the store, like really? Anyways after coming back in to make a payment as my wife had forgotten to one time, she didn’t mind being nice once she knew she getting money. Flute is almost paid for, and will never come back if we need another item.
Jason is extremely knowledgeable and is very helpful
Jason is a great guy and great player
The most honest, knowledge, helpful, and kind music guy you can find! He knows his and your stuff!
I would like to give more Stars.however it is very small and only a handful of merchandise.they didn’t even have nylon strings.
Sry guys music store ? Not
7. Meteor Guitar Gallery
Address: 128 W Central Ave, Bentonville, AR 72712 , Benasque , Arkansas , United States
They have live music all the time. Great bands. Great guitars. The people that work here are so cool. And there is usually a dog to pet.
Nice little gem in the heart of Bentonville. Not just a typical guitar shop. Host to various style bands, movies during the Bentonville film festival, comedy shows, etc. They’ve made significant improvements to the place since my last visit. Every music lover should check it out.
Great collection of guitars,, but it’s not really a museum. It’s a performance space built in an old theater. I did not have the pleasure of witnessing a performance, but I tried the sight lines of every seat and was highly impressed.
Enjoy the venue every event!
Rating as a venue, nice intimate place.
Canceled concert and never got refund
Worst experience with a music store ever! Lack of knowledge. Limited amount of guitar strings. Just terrible experience first and last time there!
8. Palmer Music Company
Address: 1131 Front St, Conway, AR 72032 , Benasque , Arkansas , United States
Had a 92 Martin HD 28 with the binding broken off and had it repaired here it came out FANTASTIC!
They rule!!
I was looking at electric guitars and they didn’t offer to let me plug any of them in. How are you truly going to know if you like one or not if you can’t hear the sound.
Talked to Joey in the store today. He took some time to help me plan for an upcoming purchase for our church. They have a large selection of all kinds of musical instruments and they do lessons, as well. Knowledgeable and helpful staff. Highly recommended! Thanks, Joey!
Usually busy because they’re good at what they do!
Went in expecting to buy a new guitar on 01/26/2023. The man behind the counter was very unfriendly & unhelpful.
I found one I wanted to buy but I just didn’t really want to give my money to a person who didn’t know how to smile.
Another employee walked by and was even more emotionless than the other guy. I left feeling very unwelcome.
I will not be back.
Go to GUITAR CENTER instead (you can actually have FUN there).
9. Renown Music
Address: 104 W F Ave, North Little Rock, AR 72116 , Benasque , Arkansas , United States
Don’t let anybody else touch your guitar. This spot is Arkansas’ top spot for instrument repair and music lessons!!!! Would have gave 100 stars if I could have!!
The best service and quality of work!!! Brandon is awesome!!
I brought my Fender CD60 in to repair the finish. Brandon did EXCELLENT work on my guitar…it looks like new!
10. Arkansas School Band Services Inc
Address: 806 W Main St, Cabot, AR 72023 , Benasque , Arkansas , United States
My husband took my grandmothers guitar to this place to get fixed and it was ready super quick and he did an AMAZING job. I’d give this place 10 stars if that was an option great work! I will definitely recommend this store to anyone and everyone I know.
Stopped in today and showed him my old mandolin, and he gave a great price for repair. Couldn’t recommend Little Rock frets more.
Owner is knowledgeable about all makes of any guitar, will fix just about anything broken.
Great spot, super amount of knowledge and experience with repairs among other services. Same problem everybody else has with out of stock items here and there.
Nice, friendly environment. This guys is experienced in his craft and genuine in the way he conducts business. A rare find these days.
I took my 2001 Les Paul to Bryon and Dave in February 2019 for a basic set up. I bought it new and always stored it in the case and very rarely had it out. Very careful with it. The guitar only had one very small blemish on the front. When I got it back it had several deep dents on top edge close to the back and a couple dents in the back itself. They swear they did not damage it but I know for a fact it wasn’t damaged when I dropped it off. I had just polished it before I took it there. Bryon had promised it would be ready Saturday the 23RD and it was not. He then told me it would be ready the following Monday which it was. I’m not sure if they just got in a hurry or what exactly happened but they pointed to the paperwork stating they were not responsible for any damage…. Not a good way to run a business. I should have inspected it and made note of any defect with them before dropping it off. Lesson learned!!!
After many attempts trying to visit this place because it has been closed. I finally went into the store today and found the guy Dave not to be very friendly or welcoming. So I only stayed a few minutes. I won’t ever be back!
Dishonest and lazy. He has earned that distinction with me after implying that I attempt to make and sell a counterfeit guitar on the market. His boundaries are not clear. He should have refused the work order instead of hemming and hawing trying to teach me a lesson in trademark infringement. I also hired him to put Seymour Duncans in a Squire. When I called him for progress report he said he was “working on it now”. I go back 2 weeks later and the Seymour Duncans hadn’t even arrived yet. I have no trust in dishonest and lazy people. Oh, and Bryon, please dont call me about this post. If you’re a good luthier, I suggest you keep your nose in the workshop out of site from the customers.
12. Ben Jones Music School
Address: 220 Towson Ave, Fort Smith, AR 72901 , Benasque , Arkansas , United States
The people were kind and incredibly knowledgeable/helpful. They were able to get me figured out pretty easily. plus they can fix a broad spectrum of instruments instead of only guitars and drums.
Ben runs a nice little music store. He offers instruments for sale, repair services, and lessons.
Great people , good buys , I enjoy it there very much . I’m taking lessons too. Great teachers .
The people are great. Having a repair capability is surprising. Having both new and used equipment to purchase is nice. I will continue going back – even so, a few pieces (albeit they were used) have underperformed.
Ben and staff were very personable. It’s cool to be in a music store where you can look over the counter and see a guitar being built from scratch. They have a nice array of inexpensive instruments. They have the brand of guitar strings that I always had to go to guitar center (Fayetteville) and get. They have more than one gauge of banjo strings, and the knowledge to tell me why.
Bought some gear. Didn’t use it. Asked if I could return it or get store credit. I had inadvertently put a cord in the wrong sleeve. Even though I had the receipt, which the guy wouldnt look at, He rudely accused me of being a crook trying to get a refund for merchandise I hadn’t bought there. The return policy is not posted, nor is it on the receipt, so I asked. Never been treated so inappropriately. Don’t recommend. Won’t return.
Would give zero stars if I could.
Absolutely will never do any business here again. I ask my wife to take something in for repair and the guy was rude, disrespectful, and a total jerk to her.
13. Houck Music Co
Address: 806 W Main St, Cabot, AR 72023 , Benasque , Arkansas , United States
I love guitar center wonderful workers and customer service
Es una tienda q atienden de lo mejor muy buen servicio
Nice store for guitars and drums!!
You still love going to guitar center it was like going to Disneyland for me. But now since kovid I went yesterday for the first time in years and so you have to wait outside of course six feet apart and there was only three of us in line and I think I waited there for about 20 minutes maybe probably about 20 minutes yeah for one person in front of me to go and then there’s one person behind me and so I’ll go in there and get patch cords and they sell me the wrong kind I mean they work but they’re not for what I want but I’m keeping the money to every kind of cable but I would have given a five still if it had been different but it was just based on having to wait outside and the it was so hot wearing that mask but I agree we should be wearing them in public and I wish everybody would and I’m glad they’re doing their part it’s just wasn’t that good of a day for me.
It’s Guitar Center.
If you need picks and cables….. it’s Guitar Center.
Not the most organized staff…..it’s Guitar Center.
Great
Horrible experience. Horrible management. Refuses to do the right thing with its customers.
They have fake deals in the online store. I found a good deal for an amp. I bough it and received the purchase confirmation email. Five days later they sent me an email cancelling the purchase with no explanations. Called customer service and sent emails complaining but got zero responses. Fake deals and no customer service. Very disappointing
15. Guido’s Hot Springs Music
Address: National Park, 812 Higdon Ferry Rd, Hot Springs, AR 71913 , Benasque , Arkansas , United States
Very helpful. Came over hooked up an amp, and a pair of pedals for me so I could try out the effects SRV uses, and also showed me how to replace the nut on the guitar. Awesome store for hot springs, excellent location, and just an overall cool environment to look for instruments, or browse through accessories. Thanks!
If unique or vintage guitars and gear are your thing, give the folks at Guido’s a call. I’ve known Anthony for several years and he always has a great selection of vintage and used gear. And he’s always good for a memorable story or two! Pay them a visit and check out their inventory. You won’t be disappointed!
I’ve been going to Guido’s for years. He always has a huge selection of guitars and musical equipment. Great guy to shoot the breeze with and has a tremendous knowledge about music.
Great service and reasonable prices.
I bought a 1949 Gibson LG3 from Guido at the Arlington Guitar Show this past weekend that he stated to be all original. Within 24 hours I discovered the bridge had been replaced which effects its value greatly. I asked for some compensation for this change & Guido refused to give me a break on price & refused to take it back. He stated “I should give him back money from our last transaction or he would do nothing for me”. Is this how you want to be treated by a so called expert ? There was no offer ever made to buy back both guitars back from me at all. Never again will I be burned by Guido !
Never been in the shop, only phone conversation. Was not helpful at all, and cut me very short. Moving on…
I drove from Benton to look at a guitar I called about for my son. This has been several months ago but it left such a bad taste in my mouth I found myself thinking about how bad it was and decided I should warn others so they won’t be disappointed by a similar experience.
The guitar was beat up pretty bad but straight otherwise. The owner (the tall heavy set gentlemanwith longish gray hair) was asking $125 for the guitar and was the only person working. The guitar is $145 new (Ibanez Mikro) and was on sale new for $125 @ guitar center. I offered him $100 (way more than I should have). He didn’t bother to look up and said no. I asked would he budge. Again he answered no while hardly acknowledging me. I showed him that it was in sale for the same price new. He told me I should by the new one because he wasn’t budging on his price. I took his advice and that’s what I did. It seemed as if he didn’t care if he sold anything or not. I’ll never shop there again. I previously bought a MIM strat and nice amp from one of the other sales men. I mentioned to him that I was a repeat customer, he just didn’t care. Very disappointed. I wish I were writing g a glowing review about the great deal and excellent service I received. Unfortunately it was a bad experience from the time I stepped in and hardly acknowledged to the time I left. I notice that someone has an excuse for every negative review. I’m anxious to see what the excuse is for my experience considering I was hardly spoken to. I think you have to be friends with the owner for him to care you are even there.
– The person who replied to this made my pint for me. If the guitar came with a case why wasn’t that mentioned to my wife and I. We questioned why a guitar with dings and scratches was priced the same as new one. Wouldn’t that have been a great time to explain that it came with a $75 hard case. It should be no mystery why you can’t make a deal with everyone with these sales tactics. Take some responsibility for you actions and stop blaming your customers. You have accused them of stealing, damaging your equipment confusing you with a pawn shop. Lol!! I would bet every excuse you’ve replied with is a lie to excuse your actions and blame your customer. There are tons of guitars for sale on craigslist, in pawnshops, online I suggest anyone thinking of shopping with you use one of these other options. Have a nice day.
16. Palmer Violin Shop
Address: 1043 W Walnut St, Rogers, AR 72756 , Benasque , Arkansas , United States
Very nice people looking forward to getting my bow back
Best there is in NW AR. Expert at cello, viola, violin, one stop shop.
Good rental prices
Billing issues on return violin but was promptly corrected with great costumer service
I only logged on to ask if this music store sells or had violins for sale. Can anyone answer this for me ? This is the closest music store but also an hour away and I don’t want to drive there for no reason. So I’d appreciate if someone could give a response and lmk if they do have violins. If not then anything close to a violin such as a viola. Thank you. (:
17. Independent Music Services Inc
Address: 9851 Brockington Rd #6, Sherwood, AR 72120 , Benasque , Arkansas , United States
I have always had a great experience with this instrument repair service. Friendly staff and quality repair is just a basic reason why I give this place 5 stars. If I ever need an instrument repair, I would first go to Independent and trust them with their services. If you want to spend your money on getting your instrument repaired, please use Independent!
THESE GUYS ARE OFF THE HOOK AWESOME!
I won an auction on E-Bay for a Jupiter Alto Saxophone when I got it really look like it was in rather good condition excepting for a few of the keys did not work correctly. So, I brought it two Independent Music. They said it would be about $90.00 to fix it which to me seems like a good deal. Took them about a week to get to me. I called On a Wednesday and they surprisingly called me back on Friday and they told me it was done. I went there after work to pick it up. When I got there I looked at the sax and the keys that weren’t working were fixed, it look shiny and brand new, and the Gentlemen checking me out said they had also replaced the pads and straightened the Bell out, I was pleased.
After looking over the sax, I handed him my card to pay for it he handed back the card, I signed the invoice and he stapled the receipt to it – right at that time he handed me the receipt and he closed the lid on the saxophone – he seemed A little rushed and I then realized it was closing time for that so I grab the receipt and I grab the saxophone handle and turned to go out. At that precise moment the lid opened up and everything in the case went flying and smashing down to the floor when I looked at the saxophone it looked pretty bad hit the floor very hard had a big dent in the bottom about the size of the golf ball and several of the keys didn’t work anymore it broke my heart.
I left the saxophone there or them to look it over and tell me how much it will cost to fix it. The really great deal I got on this sax started to look like it was not so good after all. All weekend I played it out in my head over and over again not knowing what the verdict will be. I imagine the worst thinking they will come back and say they cannot fix it, or it is not worth the cost to fix it or something like that.
When Monday morning came I called them first thing, and the guy who answered the phone told me he would look it over and give me a call – all day I was on pins and needles finally towards the end of the day I decided to call let’s see what’s up – the gentleman who answered told me it should be fixed and two or three days and he was gonna do it pro bono. Surprise the, you know what out of me.
The heavy burden I was carrying around for three days suddenly melted away. And when I went to fix the sax it was like brand new – like it had never happened.
That’s why I say that these guys are off the hook awesome – I’ll never take any of my instruments to anyone else if I could give them 100 stars I would do it and I recommend them to anybody who needs a musical instrument fixed.
Great place for horn repair. Fast and friendly service
Very helpful and informative
Did excellent work on my old trombone, very nice people!
I came in with a horn to have repairs done to it. I needed to have my saxophone’s neck recorked. I needed additional repairs, but above all needed the recorking. The repairman came up, looked at the instrument brand and said he could do nothing for me because if he broke something, he would have to make a part. I thanked him and walked out. I thought by the ratings that this would be a location with skilled craftsmen, but instead feel like it’s people prone to mistakes so they can only work on standard brands and not all instruments. I’d consider calling before coming. They are the only place around for quite a distance and driving over 60 miles to be treated like this felt very awful!
18. Shuffield Music Company
Address: 610 Main St, Arkadelphia, AR 71923 , Benasque , Arkansas , United States
Very helpful staff. First time in, and I will not go anywhere else.
Good variety. Little bit of everything
Nice people. A little pricey. Mainly for band students but they do have some sound equipment, just not a huge selection.
Knowledgeable and amazing service!
The absolute worst store ive ever been in will not be back
A few months ago, I visited Saied Music’s North Little Rock location to look into used flutes (online flutes are too hit-or-miss, I discovered, so I wanted to be able to try one before buying). Not wanting to spend a small fortune on an instrument I wasn’t sure I’d stick with, I figured used would be a safe bet.
The gentleman who was working that day showed me a Jupiter flute that had a price tag of $380 or $385 (I just distinctly remember it being in the $380 range). It had a head joint with a gold-plated lip plate that I found rather garish, but for the price, I was willing to consider it once I tried it and realized it played fairly easily. So, I went home to think on it, but I ultimately put off getting a flute for awhile.
Yesterday, I returned, and lo and behold, they had the same flute still in stock. However, this time a different guy brought it out, and the price had been removed, leaving only a partial green tag with some text on it. The man made a fairly loud show of talking to the other guy, who had originally showed it to me the first time I saw it, saying that, since it had a green tag, he could sell it for below the “book price.” He thumbed through a binder, ran his finger down a list of prices, and landed on $480. Then, he quoted me $450, saying that price was $30 below list.
I immediately thought of the scene in Legally Blonde when the clothing boutique worker pulls a tag off a dress from last season and tries to sell it to Elle for a huge mark-up, believing her to be too uninformed to know any better.
I closed the case without taking another look, then left the store without saying another word.
I lost all trust in Saied Music in that instant, and I will not return.
Not very much guitar stuff. Didn’t even have strap studs.
20. Randy’s Music
Address: 146 E Main St, Batesville, AR 72501 , Benasque , Arkansas , United States
If you are looking to learn to play guitar, look no further. Randy is the guy to see. He is very informative and shares his knowledge with his students. His shop is filled with all kinds of guitars,banjos,ukuleles. Stop by and check it out
Randy is very talented! He’s very patient, and great at teaching beginning musicians!
Randy was awesome. Knew exactly what I needed and didn’t try to sell me anything I didn’t want or need. Fantastic. Will be back for sure.
Not a super big store with lots of options but they have the things I need
Great store
Selection consists of mainly guitars, basses and a few country oriented instruments. Limited selection.
Biggest piece of trash you’ll ever meet in your life.
