Exclusive selection: The top 20 music shops of Chattahoochee Hills

Jonathan was awesome from the moment he answered my inquiry call until we returned the golf cart to him. We took a day trip to Serenbe without a plan, and he was so helpful in pointing us to all the highlights, even printing out a little map. It was a pleasure to rent from him, and I look forward to doing so again.

Jonathan was so polite and accommodating. He helped two different groups that I rented carts with and went the extra mile to make sure that everything was charged and ready for us. Will definitely rent from him when we visit again.

Awesome people, brought the cart right over to our house without us having to ask. You must have a golf cart if you’re visiting Serenbe, especially in the summer! It’s the best way to see the sights and so much fun!

Great local music shop. Guitars, percussion, recording accessories, band instruments. Friendly and knowledgable staff, competitive prices. Also offers repair services.

Love this place have been coming here for well over 20 years

I love the guitar picks. They are like gifts from Eddie Van Halen him self!!!!

Staff is very knowledgeable and friendly.

I only wish there was more of it.

Nice place, but for me, a non-music person, its not “dirt cheap” at all. But what do i know. My husband did make an exchange that he was happy about.

They’re cheap because the have little worth buying. I don’t know about brass, band, school instruments but their guitars, etc. are nothing to get excited about. Even the bigger name stuff is their entry level offerings. Their pricing doesn’t appear to be any cheaper than other stores. Selection is severely limited. You have to ask yourself, who would trade in a Fender or Gibson on a $300.00 junker from who knows where? Also, I’ve been playing over 60 years and, with rare exceptions never go into D.C.M. without getting a lecture from someone. I get the impression that to work there you need to be a frustrated preacher.

They charged me a 10% restocking fee for an M-Audio USB interface that had flaky drivers for Windows 7 64-bit. When I told them about this problem one of the guys asked if I was running SP1 or SP2 for Windows 7. When I told him no service packs are out for Windows 7 he looked it up right in front of me and had the audacity to say that M-Audio had drivers for Win 7 SP2. This guy was totally clueless. So I got charged $36 because M-Audio had bad drivers. I won’t be going back.

It is NOT dirt cheep!

Ms. Terrina is hands down the best piano teacher!! My daughter has been coming for several months and loves her! She has learned so much. Ms. Terrina is so patient and kind to her. I would highly recommend her to anyone.

My daughter has been a student of Ms. Terrina’s since Sept of 22 and has learned so much already! She is sight reading and learning new pieces frequently. Ms. Terrina always takes her time with her and makes sure she feels comfortable with what she will be working on until the next class. She has always been willing to work with us if something came up and we needed to reschedule. My daughter is excited to return week after week and for a 13 yr old that is saying something. Ms Terrina is AWESOME!

Terrina was recommended to us and I couldn’t be more pleased. This is my 8 year olds first time taking piano and Terrina has been so patient and encouraging. My 8 year old loves taking lessons and Terrina. I would recommend her to anyone.

We are so very lucky to have this store in the Atlanta area!!!
When I was interested in buying my first Ukulele, I had done some research online about purchasing a quality instrument and found UKE Republic. I emailed Mike about a few I was interested in and he responded right away. So thankful I can physically go to a store to try a variety of ukuleles. The store is such a joy to go into – so much to look at and play with! Mike (the owner) is extremely helpful and energetic about each ukulele he carries. I love how he knows the history and story of all the companies, luthiers, and woods related to each one. My husband and I enjoy our time getting to talk with him.

Great experience. The staff was knowledgeable and friendly.

Fantastic service, so glad I made the trip to the store. I learned a lot and was able to make a very informed purchase. Highly recommend Uke Republic over going to a big box music store. My son will be thrilled with his new Ukulele.

I had a mixed experience. Through Uke Republic, I was able to get an electric ukulele (which are currently on worldwide backorder). Unfortunately, the one I received had a humbucker that wasn’t correctly attached. Mike sent me some screws to fix it but I’m not familiar enough with ukes to have done it on my own. I ended up paying to have a brand new ukulele fixed. I am sure that if I lived closer, Mike could have fixed this pretty quickly. This is the downside of mail order ukes. Hoping to visit his shop after the pandemic.

I’m sorry to say that I have not had a great experience. I was hesitant to buy online, but after getting assurances from Mike that the Uke would be setup correctly I bought a mid-priced Uke, ($369, not the cheapest on the block.) After receiving it I had the following issues:

1. I broke three 1st strings in the first week.
2. The 1st string tuner was siting so awkwardly in the head that I could hardly turn it.
3. The 3rd string started buzzing as soon as I tried a different set of strings.

Via email, I was advised to sand the nut slot on the 1st string; not something I would have expected to do on a new instrument. Also I unscrewed and adjusted the tuner. Fortunately, that did help with the string breakage. However, I still get a nasty fret buzz no matter what strings I try. In my last email to Mike I asked if I could return the Uke or if he might be willing to reimburse me if I take it to a local tech for work. No reply. Now I’ve spent an additional $45 with my local Tech for nut and fret work. Still buzzing, and the Tech says “it’s the best I can do.” (And this guy knows what he’s doing.)

Frustrating. First and last time I’ll buy an instrument without laying hands on it first.

DISCLAIMER: My initial complaint to them was AFTER the five day return window, but obviously still within the warranty period.

I retuned a Ubass to the store by UPS. I have heard nothing from Uke Republic and they have not credited my account after numerous attempts by email and phone. They may be a great store but customer relations needs serious improvement.

I ordered an Ohana ukulele from Uke Republic back in February. Having only played for about 4 months, I thought I had received a really nice ukulele. However, as my ears became more attuned to what I was hearing during the next couple of months, there was a definite intonation issue – especially when playing the A7 and A9 chords – muddy and awful sounding. The strings were changed on the uke, still the same intonation issue. I contacted Uke Republic, and it was suggested that the humidity and temperature where the uke is stored were too high. WHAT? It is a climate-controlled home, and the uke is stored in a case with a 49% Boveda pack. I was seeking advice on what the issue could be, and after I pointed out that the uke is properly stored, I have heard NOTHING from Uke Republic. They completely brushed me off and will not answer. I do NOT recommend buying from them, as they can not advise on what is wrong with a product they sell. I suspect that they knowingly shipped a problem uke to me.

Edited to add: I took the ukulele to a local luthier, and the action at the nut was way too high. After adjusting that, the weird intonation on the A7 and A9 chords was resolved. (I am offended that it was suggested that it was a humidity issue!) (The action was also lowered at the saddle.) It will have to go back to the luthier because of an intonation issue that has been mapped out on the 6th – 12th frets – the notes are off by 1 to 1 1/2 steps. Frets 1 – 5 sound great and are in tune – the rest are not. Still a problem ukulele, but it will hopefully be fixed soon.

Nouveau artists draw inspiration from both organic and evolving music. Designs that unite the Hip Hop culture in its natural form.

Nice

This was a great place to shop for stuff from my gutari they had great costumer service and they had just what I needed for a cheap price.

The really take time to explain the instrumyou are interested in even if you have no experience but one to pick up a hobbie.

Good price. Good customer service

Great place with a large selection of basses. Prices are a bit steep.

Love this place

Went in today to buy a few picks around 12 this afternoon. After grabbing a few, I went to pay for them. The guy in front of me just bought an amp and left to get his car to load his equipment up. I was standing there waiting to pay for my stuff and the guy behind the counter (without even acknowledging me) just walked away. I can’t imagine he didn’t see me. I’ve shopped there off and on for years and I never go out of my way to leave bad reviews, but this place earned it. I teach guitar and used this place for books, picks, and other things. I’m very understanding towards employees in retail and usually won’t make an issue out of most things. But, I was completely ignored and I won’t refer my students to ever go to this place to pick up anything they may need.

Dusty and disorganized. No temperature room like Guitar Center.

I’ve purchased from several other locations and always dealt with people happy to make a deal and help out on the price, this place, nobody seems to care about customer service or making money. They lost out on upwards of $2000 I was ready to give them TODAY. I hope the owner sees this.

Edit: Was told via a reply to this review to call and ask for Ann. Called THE VERY NEXT DAY to find out she’s on vacation. But the way I was told was “she’s not here” “… do you want to tell me what day I should try again” “she’s on vacation”

I will NEVER spend a dollar at this store that needs to fire their entire staff and start over. Absolutely disgusting customer service

Second edit: Finally got ahold of the owner. Just an absolute lack of customer service or any type of common sense. Lost a customer for life.

This place hates money.

I’ve been shopping here for 15 years at least and Earthshaking never disappoints. They have a little bit of everything and every time I go with an oddball request (today it was specific tuning pegs for a guitar) they have it. What a music store should be- independently owned and all knowledgeable people working there. Also, Eric the guitar tech/repair guy has been hooking me up with setups, refrets, etc on multiple guitars for years and years. He’s great at what he does and has great prices. I cannot recommend this store enough. Please support them, so great they still exist while the big stores are out of touch and carry junk and try and upsell you stupid warranties on guitar cables.

5 STAR customer service. I walked in then asked if they bought used electronics, and whether or not they had any suggestions on microphones. They helped me, rather than tried to hustle me. I appreciate that. I can’t wait to go back and find out the rate they’d pay me for my old MPK kit. Looking forward to it. Andrew was cool, but Charlie was funnier. Maybe to funny for my mom, but not me.

This place is AMAZING. Customer service and supply far exceeds Guitar Center!!!

Solid.

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.

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…

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.

We were looking for a pre-owned Taylor or Martin acoustic guitar. We’re from out of town and had somewhere to be so we only had about 25 minutes to look around. At first everyone was nice while we looked around, both of our kids are involved heavily in music so they spent their time there trying out instruments to which the gentleman attending (I could assume owner) was kind and attentive. Until we turned down sale of a keyboard, at which point he decided to approach my autistic son while on a small drum kit and scream at him for being too big for it. I’m no fan of leaving places in handcuffs, so I didn’t cave in his face, I decided a well deserved poor review and exposure to the public what a peice of trash he is would suffice. Trying Dirt Cheap Music nearby instead.

*update following response from the owner

It is fair to say that your employee had a right to address the issue, but screaming and belittling an autistic child isn’t the way to go about it. Furthermore, my initial feelings of rage as a protective father are quite normal and my decision to take a more appropriate route is not something I am ashamed of in the slightest. Neither of them damaged anything and nothing was kicked or struck with any kind of force by either child. You responded defensively and completely missed the point. To scream at the child in an aggressive manner, autistic or not is unacceptable and the employee could have delivered the exact same message in a better tone and achieved far better results. I honestly can’t imagine any scenario that aggressively yelling at a person in your store achieves any positive results.

Always fast, friendly, knowledgeable service! I am so glad they are close by and that I can trust our guitar to them! They know exactly what needs to be done.

I visited this place to browse guitars. I left with an excellent guitar and renewed inspiration.
Aaron was my guide. His depth of knowledge and passion for music made the entirety of the experience delightful. He evaluated the guitar and made certain it met the highest standard of quality. He was very helpful, genuine, and outright encouraging of my continuing to strum.

I’m a very satisfied customer and will return soon.

I really regret that I didn’t know about them until now. If I had known earlier, I would have bought Musical Instruments from them to support local businesses. They are really willing to help me .I will come next time for my kids instrument, also I know they have music lessons.

Taught my kids to play guitar

Much better store I not been here in a while the past manager was not a music guy or a manger known as a air head I will be back

Good

Wow. Just called Town Center Music. Someone answered. I started asking about a guitar I’m looking for and got cut off mid-sentence by the guy talking loudly to a co-worker. When he stopped talking I said hello? Hello? Nothing. A few seconds later he hangs up.

AVOID AVIOD

High prices not helpful run by a guy who looks 40 and still in a garage band no music
background not open late any place better then here. Manger is clueless.

Went in there a couple days ago. Not a huge fan. Workers aren’t very pleasant people and they come up to you every 10 minutes kind of giving you the hint to leave if you’re not gonna buy anything like you’re in there too long.

Great for beginners I guess. Don’t come in here expecting higher quality equipment and experience. Name of their game is to hook beginners onto cheap equipment (which is totally fine) and get you out. No hanging out in there jamming for an extended time.

Maybe I came in on a bad day.

Bought my Yamaha acoustic there last week, the guy working was friendly and helpful and the guitar plays great. Prices were in line with everywhere else seems like. I’ve been in guitar center and half the guitars on the wall are set up so badly they’re unplayable. Happy to support a local business over them. Will probably be back to buy an electric soon.

Great shop to take lessons and pick up gear. Staff is super knowledgeable and helpful. Gotta love the local homegrown music shops!

Awesome customer service! If you live in or around Decatur you should visit. I got such a great deal I drove over an hour one way to do purchase it. I was in communication with them for multiple days and they helped me pick out exactly what I needed. I look forward to doing business with them again in the future.

This is a pretty good little store. I bought my guitar and amp here

Rip off.go elsewhere. I use to really like bringing my daughter here but they must be under new management. Prices have gotten ridiculous!!!

Great shop and great service! I took a bass drum in for some repairs and modifications and Mike did an amazing job for a fair price. Very knowledgable staff and tons of cool gear in there as well as all the basics a good shop should have. Happy with my experience!

Went to look at it guitar that was listed on craigslist. Owner was a nice guy that helped me find the instrument I was interested in, gave me as much backstory as he knew and did the trade fairly to get me to guitar that I came for. Look forward to a return visit

We have been shopping here for years, always excellent service and even better deals.
100% recommended for anyone with musician in the house.

The repair shop sucks

I found the owner to be very unfriendly. I will shop elsewhere. I don’t like to feel like I am bothering someone when I’m spending my money.

I spoke with the most racist person that I’ve come across in a long time, I think it was the owner. My child called the store on the 4th of July (several times because he is a child and did not realize that businesses are actually closed on the 4th of July). I was unaware that he called so many times. The following day I received a VERY nasty and distasteful message on my voicemail. When I returned the call, I wasn’t even given a chance to speak. He was yelling, using profanity and hung up on me. I will definitely tell everyone I know not do business here and I do not recommend doing business here (especially people of color). I will also post it on my social media pages.There are far too many Music stores that actually respect their customers.

After looking at other reviews, it seems that the owner is just a jerk by nature. I didn’t even see any responses to good reviews, only negative ones. So apparently you enjoy tounge wrestling. I feel sorry for the people that have to deal with you daily. Bless you anyway sir.
Update: Every business was NOT closed. I didn’t call my son did several times. You left a nasty vm on MY phone. And who has no class?? It’s definitely you…