Brookwood: Overview of the top 17 music shops

Movie didn’t work

Great customer service and I bought 2 trumpets from here and their perfect

I had my daughter’s trumpet cleaned and repaired. Everyone was kind, knowledgeable and courteous to us. The quality of work was great and it only took a couple of days.

Store was sufficient and knowledgeable about music.

Always have a good experience at Arts. They work well with the school programs and if they don’t have what we need they are sure to find it

Big

Nice; they’ll order in for u

Do not, I repeat, DO NOT rent instruments from here. All they want is your $$$. I can’t begin to tell you what a nightmare it had been renting our child’s instrument from them this year for school. I wish I could give negative stars. The breaking point was last week when we returned the instrument but was charged another $90 for the month of June. ITS NOT JUNE yet!!!!!!
Schools have no business partnering with companies like this!

If you drop your instrument off for an estimate get it in writing with a signature from the manager that they will not work on it.

I walked in to pick up my trombone from an estimate, started walking out and was told I owed money. For what? I did not authorize anything.

It’s too bad this shop is the only option in Birmingham. Check out Bailey Brothers to see if they have what you need first.

Was in there for 20 minutes with my kid and wasn’t even acknowledged. Tried to get their attention but employees were in a rather long discussion with each other. We are now at Bailey Brothers which is a block away so we can purchase a bass guitar for my son. Customer service actually exists at Bailey Brothers. It does not at Art’s. Such a disappointment. We had heard good things about them.

I just want to say I am completely blown away by the level of customer service that I received on my last purchase. I didn’t really think about writing a review after the first guitar that I bought there, but now that I have another experience from a major purchase I just had to say something to the public.
Over the years I have also purchased smaller items because it was convenient to me to stop by and get things like cables, picks, capos, and other little odds and ends for guitar and bass that I use. This time I bought a relatively inexpensive guitar there; an epiphone Les Paul special, in the TV yellow color. I even traded another guitar towards it. I thought they were very fair on their trade value and reasonable in their explanation of how that works. The reason I feel like I had an exceptional experience was they treated me very good even though the $ value I was spending wasn’t that high. Looking back I was thinking that I don’t think I could have gotten a better experience even if I had been purchasing a $2,500 Gibson! I felt like a valued customer and they answered all of my quirky questions and help me find a hardshell case that was in my budget and I am very happy with the final price and how the deal worked out.
Please go patronize this business. They deserve it because they work hard for their customers and they let you know if something is within their ability to produce or not. They have my business from now on because of how I was treated on this deal and looking back on other deals too. I think their prices are fair they are better than retail. Overall, I am super excited about my purchase and very happy with my experience with Bailey Brothers music company.

Waylon was a really big help today on helping my son pick the best guitar in my son’s budget. Very nice !
A very pleasant experience !

It was my first time in here recently and I had a pleasant experience. David made sure I felt welcomed and was very helpful in answering any questions I had. Overall they have a great selection and friendly staff.

Usually get good service, but I took my guitar nut to be repaired after my guitar took a spill. I let them know the guitar had fallen and hoped they would fix. The nut was replaced poorly but the guitar had a buzz. Took it back 2 more times. The last visit, the person in charge of the repair (2 weeks later)said I had heavy fingers and raised the stings to a height that made the guitar unplayable. I took to another repair shop and they repaired the nut replaced by Bailey Brothers found a couple of uneven frets repaired the frets adjusted the neck and had to re-setup the guitar from the disaster repair at Bailey Brothers. If in need of repairs I will never return to this store.

good staff well organize not bad products

Helpful and kind! Will be back to see them soon.

No stars really. Not a very good merchant. Let someone use my credit card number without the card! Be careful!

This place is as good as, if not better than, Guitar Center. But this one man that works there is not the friendliest and makes me and my music buddy never wanna come again… I was gonna buy at least $20-$60 of stuff, and my buddy was gonna get his guitar worked on, but we decided against it after our experience today.
My friend and I were playing our guitars together at moderate volumes. No louder than the other customers that passed through. Our volume knobs probably were set around 1. This rude clerk guy came up to us and told us “turn it down, there are customers in here”. When there was maybe 1 other guy in the guitar room at most. What are we, trash? Are we not customers?
Though to be fair, there was a little kid who sat behind us who was louder than both of us combined, and he was tremolo picking the most random nonsensical annoying noise (future shredder?), but he should’ve told the kid to turn down—not us. We both turned our amps off because he was rude the last time we were in the store and we were pretty annoyed at this point. But the kid turned his amp down and continued the random picking and the dude immediately came back and said “hey, okay, turn it off, that’s enough for today” and took the guitar from the kid. The rudest music store clerk we’ve ever encountered. There’s another guy who is super nice that works there who let us turn the volume up—at least 2 or 3 times what we did today—and test every amp in the store. We bought a $2,000 setup from the nice guy in the past, but this rude guy would probably kick us out of the store before we could make a purchase. I didn’t catch his name, but he’s average height, blondish, his hair is thinning, and he had a short beard. A nicer worker told us he’s been there 3 years, though I’m not sure how he’s lasted that long. He’ll probably follow you around like you’re a thief and ask if he can help you 8 times like he did to us the last time we came in the store simply to buy a cable.

I would use profane language, but it would not adequately describe the crap this company pulled. Basically, I took my brother to trade a PRISTINE first-owner amp, and we could prove it, in for a Fender Hot Rod Deluxe, used, which is of equal value….and my brother coughed up $100.

I took off work to take him to initially buy the thing. I took off work to bring it in for repair when we discovered sticky crap on the power tubes, and I ended up working until 10PM thanks to these guys. They wanted me to take off work again, after having spent 5 hours in their store. I basically spoke up and said, he might be the customer, but I’m the wheelman, and I’m furious. I mentioned the fact of the wasted gas, wasted trips, and the at least 6 hours of driving they were expecting of me.

They checked OUR amp out very thoroughly, and even treated my brother like a criminal, saying they are getting his DL in case he stole it. SERIOUSLY people….

I tried to talk some business sense with them, asking them to do something for the trouble, and it would not have taken much. They said no. Then I asked if they can just reverse everything since ALL of the stuff was still in the store…. The guy made up a story of a law, which actually doesn’t exist, then claiming he has to charge extra to reverse it all. Guitar Center evidently doesn’t know about this (fake) law.

Not ONLY that, but the smug, d-bag attitude that the guy gave me when pushing my brother, his CUSTOMER aside to say “you don’t think we’re trying to rip you off do you?” He did this to put me on the spot, and tried to make me look like the bad guy.

In the end, my brother spent another $170 to get a new model. In the end, he got what he wanted, but we are both appalled by how the guy behaved to our faces. Beware, their used gear has NO warranty, but they represented at sale that they would ensure the gear works if something went wrong like the day we get it… Well… it did.

You don’t take someone’s $700 amp + $100 and then give them junk, and not try to do something proper after dragging someone thru hell. That’s the bottom line. I tried more than the guy at this store. You won’t catch us in that place again.

Considering the tens of thousands that my brother spent with other companies, Bailey Brothers missed an opportunity… Not good business. Dishonest, rude, and outright condescending. Smiled at us when we expressed our frustration with the runaround….

Mr. Tedrow was very friendly and helpful! I’ve wanted a concertina for a long time and contacted him about either making or ordering one for me. He set me up with a Clover that he worked on and it’s been great! The store is really nice with lots of practice rooms and he let me use one to try out my new concertina. Mr. Tedrow was very knowledgeable and I will now consider him first when looking for new instruments or repairs.

Bob and Jason having been helping Homewood & Birmingham with musical instruments for so long ! Great place to buy and learn something new

Bob, Jason, Matthew are all incredibly kind humans. Music has been such a big part of my life, my first day of life I was in a music store. They helped me revive that today. Thanks so much guys!!!

Friendly atmosphere and lots of instruments.

Good product, Good service.

I’ve never dealt with someone so rude over the phone. The owner tried to guilt me with sarcasm and acted like victim when I questioned a price. Full story: I asked to order a cello string. All was going well (owner answered questions about speed of shipping and availability of the string), but then he quoted a price ($81) that was far above what other shops charge. I said respectfully that “I’ve purchased the string for $45 at other walk-in shops” and he became sarcastic and argumentative with me, claiming he was “holding my hand” through the process, and said “Well, I have to pay $35 for this string so what do YOU think is fair for ME to make? $15? What is 35 + 15, huh? Ohhh, maybe $50 is more than you can afford?” A simple, “well this is my price” would have been fine as a response from him, but I felt disrespected so I hung up and decided I’m never going to spend a dime Homewood Musical Instrument Co. I advise everyone else to steer clear of this shop and the guy who owns it.

Great shop for used gear and repairs. Owner will work with you on trades.

Great business

Great selection of musical instruments and equipment.

Great selection of guitars. Staff is knowledgeable !!!

Vibey little shop. Some cool vintage gear.

Prices depend on who is working that day.$10.00/$6.95 for percussion sticks.

Let’s just say that my kind ain’t welcome

As a local of BHM I’ve been to Highland Music many times over the last 10 years or so. They’ve always had an interesting selection of gear. You’ll see the usual flow of second-hand gear pass through. It seems like a popular place to sell your guitar or amp on consignment. Highland also has some neat vintage stuff. They have several vintage CBS era Strats hanging out behind the counter. They have always managed to have a few other vintage Fenders too. They even have a literal wall of vintage Fender Champ amps that include tweed, blackface, and silverface era examples. So why the low score you ask?

The problem with Highland music is the people working there consistently give customers a negative experience. These guys are unknowledgeable in the gear they carry-not the biggest deal. That would be easily forgiven if it weren’t for their habit of just making up stuff to sound smart when they don’t have an answer. What’s worse than this is their attitude toward customers. Don’t bother asking to play one of those cool vintage guitars. You will only be met with a snide remark about how you probably can’t afford it. Both myself and friends have experienced this kind of rude talk from Highland Music, and it’s honestly lead to our decision of willfully not spending our money there.

I do not intend on bashing this store. I am not an angry internet troll, and this is not that kind of post. I genuinely want to see Highland Music succeed. Despite the faults I have complained about, I think it is the coolest guitar store we have in BHM. I would love to see these sort of things change.

Tried to get my guitars worked on here multiple times. First time was an 8 string, guy said “I don’t like black guitars they scratch too easily” and then rubbed a cloth with steel wool fibers over it and scratched the guitar. GEE I wonder why! Had a pickup swap done on another guitar, put a scratch on it that went through the paint. Not only that, but he took it upon himself to do a full “set up” when I did not ask him to now I have buzz everywhere and it plays worse than it did before, then charged me for it. Oh and the pickups are also out of phase. Sorry, but that’s it. No more chances. Goodbye.

I went in for some general information and Cory helped me tremendously
5 stars go ellis oiano

The owner and his son as well as all the other staff were kind, considerate and professional with obvious integrity. I enjoyed my visit and would only buy a piano here. I wish more of today’s business owners took this much pride in their work and were as sincere in helping customers!

Great people and great deals

Nice, helpful staff

my experience was questionable. they decide who they want …

The staff was friendly, and they have tons of pianos and other equipment to choose from. The space is enormous, and is fun to just browse. They also do repairs. Call or stop by for any musical needs. Would go again.

Started to buy a more expensive guitar as gift but after owner ask me several questions realized it wasn’t right for my nephew. Got what I needed at a better price and my nephew was elated. Music lessons are customized to age, ability, and what kind of music you like. My nephew was playing a real song after a few lessons.

Nicholas is an exceptionally versatile musician and is extremely dedicated to the musical progression of his students!

If you’re looking for a professional music service in Northwest Alabama, look no further. Nick is knowledgeable, professional and is a fantastic instructor. He has the uncanny ability to listen to, understand and then focus on the goals of you, the student.

I have also taken several instruments to Nick to be worked on, from a string change to a full set up on a new instrument. He has also repaired several that I’ve been a little rough with.

All in all, whether you’re looking for a lesson or just want to find a new piece of gear, this is the place to go!

The music store had the banjo strings I needed.

Jerry’s a great guy. He put me on to a set of drums he was selling on consignment. Further than that, I’ve known Jerry for about 23 years, and consider him a friend. Knew his brother in the 80s, also a great person. I don’t think Jerry would ever attempt to do anyone wrong, and he’s got great instruments for every level of playing.

My daughter and I went in for some help with a used violin. We needed one string, but we weren’t sure what else. Nick helped us with putting the string on, rescuing the bridge that was inside rattling around, and tuning it for us. He educated us a little along the way, too. For our first visit, I highly recommend this business for music needs.

Excelente servicio

Very helpful, friendly employee

Big selection

Good place good guy.

Prices way too high

Old building but new instruments with knowledgeable owner

Fixed my husband’s guitar in less than a week so I could surprise him for our anniversary.

The only place I will go for any musical needs. Friendly and comfortable environment, Great prices, Great service, and they are willing to go above and beyond to take care of customers. It is a small music store without a large selection in stock due to limited space, but don’t let that stop you. They can and will get you anything you need as fast as they can. I highly recommend them.

they had what I wanted. great people. I would visit again

Nice place. Good selection conveniently located.

Large selection!! Beautiful instruments!!

It’s a standard small music store. There aren’t a lot of new high end instruments here, but they are all very nice folks.

Walked in today to look around and from the moment I walked in the door, the older gentleman (I guess the owner?) had his eye on me and was watching me like a hawk, made me feel unwelcome to be there. He asked if I was looking for anything in particular and when I told him very politely he didn’t have what I was looking for he arrogantly told me “I opened this store in 1973 and everything you see in the store is priced the same as you’d get it online” like ok bud I wasn’t complaining about the price you just don’t have what I was looking for. When I told him I wasn’t looking to buy today, and was just looking around he made a sarcastic comment about “well if you’re not buying, we can just put this back on the shelf” ??? I continued to walk around and look at some more product and he continued to watch me like a hawk until I got in my car and pulled out of the parking spot. All of my musician friends have recommended I don’t frequent this store, and I can honestly say, after that experience, I will not and will tell anyone that asks not to either. Lousy excuse for customer service.

I read reviews for this shop and thought it was an honest place to sell my gear. I walked in with an Epiphone AJ 220, with an Epiphone molded hardshell case I bought seperately, and an Epiphone “Snake Pit” 15w practice amp. ALL in like new condition. She plugged the guitar in and it was only the fourth time it had ever been plugged in. I never put the guitar in the case without wiping it down first. Look everything I listed up for yourself, and you’ll see what I lost. I messed up and let the lady know that I was in dire need of money for my family. The old guy asked where I bought it, and when I told him, he said he’d lost alot of business to “places like that”. No. I looked around the shop, and all he had was used gear that had been repaired and put up for sale. Junk. My guitar was the nicest instrument there! The reason he’s losing business is because he’s trying to sell junk and beating people in need out of what their instruments are worth. The lady acted like she was on Pawn Stars! If I hadn’t had needed the money really bad, I would have told her where she could stick her $200! That’s all they gave me for everything I brought in. Look up the items I listed, and you’ll see I did my part to support this business! The reviews I read must have been friends of theirs, because they definately misled me. Not fair at all.

Amazing costumer service

Real music shop with experienced service.

Good people, very nice environment, and great prices!

Nice selection of new and used guitars. Needs a jam space though..

Nice people. Nice selection of guitars and gear. They have a lot of strings to choose from.

Friendly staff they have a few harmonicas

I bought a guitar for $2,875 from this shop online and they listed it as mint condition. I had to take it to a local luthier to have the frets polished because they were so dirty the guitar was unplayable. The shop refused to even split the cost ($50), wow! Incredible.

I will never set foot in this place again. Not that they will care. Thought I would give it another chance after several years. Nothing has changed so now I know for sure.

Accused me of taking out a screw, when all I asked was for the value of what it would cost to fix that. I fixed it myself 16$ out of my own pocket for a new screw, set of strings, and labor on my workbench at home. I thought about going to small claims court, for not selling me a guitar in the condition they claimed on reverb. I’d been looking for this guitar for a while, I didn’t want to just return it. I just wanted it in the condition that I saw it in and felt insulted when they instantly made me out to be at fault even after sending pictures moments after receiving it from UPS and to top it off I even have video of when I first opened it on the CCTV at work. Overall poor online experience.

Great place to learn a musical instrument. Steve is a great person who wants to take care of you or your child’s needs when it comes to music. He even DJs for social events such as weddings across the USA.

Steve Rayborn is a talented artist with the ability to teach beginners to advanced learners, adjusting the experience to fit the individual needs of his pupils. He has been patient, energetic, and flexible to our schedules. My child loves piano lessons with Mr. Steve. He even DJs weddings and other events!

I would highly recommend Steve Rayborn for any of your special events. He was our DJ for our wedding this past weekend, 10/28, and was blown away by his professionalism and knowledge.

Not only a DJ, he can play several different instruments.

Great place to pick up a newly released movie for a dollar

Only downside here is the number of people who refuse to use the app and make everyone wait on them while they look for movies to watch.

Great place to shop and have 2 stores within 3.6 miles.

Don’t have alot of things but the customer service is excellent

Very clean very nice people got just what I needed love that they have Fresh food in there now

Möglich mit Google-pay zuzahlen

This dg is packed 98% of times and struggle to keeppopular products on the shelf.

This store is not closed

Out of a lot of stuff , stock buggies everywhere blocking isle

It’s aite

Rude people

simply the best… most knowledgeable and highest quality fretted instruments…guitars, banjos, mandolins, and more

The most honest and helpful folks for new players. I remember getting six strings for the little money I had. Sometimes it was two for one Monday or Wednesday or Tuesday. I recently bought several used guitars from Cobb County, GA. I planned on selling them to make a few bucks. I wound up giving them all away to young people who just wanted to play.

I’ve been going to see Herb at Fretted Instruments for the past 33 years. Simply put 33 years should tell you something. Herb is straight froward, honest, great banjo player and an all around great human begin. There is absolutely no other shop that comes close to what Herb has to offer. Go there, sit down, chat and pick and grin for a bit. You’ll become part of a family of musicians.