Simply the best concert pianist I’ve ever heard. I’m excited her music site is up. I just played a download in my car on a trip down the coast. Fantastic.
Robie takes great care in the repairs he makes on all of my fractional size instruments I give to kids I work with in SLV. He also really know his fiddles and made some modifications to two instruments that made then sound 10× better.
Robie’s Fiddle and Banjo Shop is the only place to go in the Santa Cruz Mountains for expert handcrafted repairs and to purchase beautifully refurbished instruments.
7. Hill Guitar Co
Address: 7362 Hwy 9, Felton, CA 95018 , Felton , California , United States
Matt is a super kind and patient trained professional. He has repaired multiple instruments for me and has always been fair and has great communication. I have dealt with other repair shops in the past that can turn into a black hole with regards to your instruments and Matt’s shop is not one of those, you always know what is going on. I have had him rehair a bow, fix my violin and other instruments and his work is impeccable. I would highly recommend Matt for your repair work, I trusted him with family heirloom instruments and he did an amazing job restoring them to their former glory. Thank you Matt!
Matt is an awesome bass tech. I’ve had work done previously and each time he’s very professional.
Matt did an outstanding job resetting my cracked neck and realigning my bridge. Give him a call – this essential shop is open for business!
9. Rivendell Music Academy
Address: 6116 CA-9 Suite 4B, Felton, CA 95018 , Felton , California , United States
My daughter has been learning how to play the piano with Dylan for little over a year now. Dylan is a kind, patient, flexible and a talented music teacher and she really enjoys learning from him. He has the ability to connect to the child at their level which makes the teacher-child bond really strong IMO. The fact that I don’t have to hear “I don’t want to do this class today” is a big + in my books which tells me that she really enjoys learning. Thank you Dylan!
My sons love going to guitar lessons with Dylan. They really like him and think he is the best music teacher ever. They like the fact that they get to play cool songs that they recognize. They told me that they want to play as well as him someday. Dylan is a kind, fun and patient music teacher who makes learning a new instrument exciting. It’s clear that he really enjoys teaching. He is an excellent musician and is an inspiration to my boys. We really appreciate him!
After just four lessons with Dylan my guitar playing and confidence with the instrument has improved dramatically. Learning by yourself through youtube lessons can only take you so far. Dylan will take you the rest of the way by teaching good learning habits and providing a wealth of great resources. Whether you’ve hit a wall in your progress of learning your instrument or are just starting fresh.
I highly recommend Rivendell Music Academy and look forward to more lessons in the future.
11. Felton Music Hall
Address: 6275 Hwy 9, Felton, CA 95018 , Felton , California , United States
I’ve seen Soohan here so many times I’ve lost count
Great place to see a show! Parking is limited. Beers are pricey, food was good for the price!
Everything was fine, not superior and not inferior.
Had a very fun time listening to Elvin Bishop with my wife and friends.
I would not recommend this place to someone visiting the area like myself.
Not a great place. The music hall is completely separate from the bar. Can’t hear the music when you are getting a drink, can’t get a drink while listening to the music. Large pours, though.
Most nerve wracking experience I have ever had!! It was with great anticipation that we attended the venue on July 3, 2019. Paul Thorn an d the other musicians were STELLAR!! However, the place was filled beyond capacity, standing room only, I was bumped and knocked and stepped on the entire night. We were packed in like sardines, NOT a pleasant experience! What was pleasant was the staff, I would give them 5 stars. Felton Music Hall has a learning curve right now to create an intimate safe venue. Think of the people attending and not the money and the business will succeed.
12. Mountain salvage
Address: 5901 CA-9, Felton, CA 95018 , Felton , California , United States
Good local shop! We stayed down the road and came into town each morning to grab coffee here.
Lots of good pastries and food options! They even have an acoustic guitar and ukulele to play around with!
I would definitely recommend.
Very homey, very sweet. Coffee is solid. Not too much parking.
Ordered two coffees and two bagels left $3 tip coffee’s came out. It was really busy so I knew the bagels would take a little while stuck around waited 10 minutes asked if my bagels were still coming they said yes stuck around waited 10 more minutes few other people got their food orders and bagels ask again they said it’s coming waited another 5 minutes went to the front to buy a book asked about my bagels they said oh yeah sorry it’s been busy we never started them I got a refund. Really not cool waiting around half an hour they never even started my food. I feel betrayed never coming back.
The coffee was good. However, it took forever to get it and even longer for them to reheat a mediocre breakfast burrito. The baristas were not very friendly either.
Very unorganized, slow, lots of confusion, and seemed a bit dirty. Chai was very weak, not really a specialty chai cafe. The food/bakery was really good though.
Mostly my friend liked it and they seem to have a big collection of guitars and amplifiers of all kinds, some I have not seen before.
Also an isolated room where you can sit and play the guitars you found.
They do have a weird bag policy where you can’t go around with a bag in the shop so they request that you leave the bag behind the counter. Just put cameras in the shop to avoid this…
Good ole starving Musician…what can i say. Gone are the good old days of aggressive wheeling and dealing like its former occupant Union Grove music. The staff is nice and the vibe is chill. The inventory is severely lacking its not their fault tho. With covid and Amazon its almost impossible to compete. I am glad Starving musician is there as its a last reminder that was once was
Great place to pickup / find used gear. They have a decent collection of entry level instruments and equipment too. A great place if you’re on a budget, as the name may suggest, and with knowledgeable and friendly staff.
OUT OF BUSINESS! This was a regular stop for me for years, whenever I would be in Santa Cruz (4-6 times a year). I see a mention of “Guitar Center” (?) on this thread….ugh! “Another one bites the dust” 🙁
Used selection is not like it was in the 90’s….
Decent selection, knowledgeable folk, calm environment. However, when looking at the effects pedals, I overheard an employee trash talking (I’m censoring myself) another employee who wasn’t even there to defend himself to a customer. Personally, I won’t/don’t put up with that. If you have a problem with someone, take it to your manager, not the customers. Very unprofessional. Ended up going to Guitar Showcase instead and purchased my new player series there.
I won’t be back. I do not accept dealing with craptastic folk like that. I recommend training your employees properly rather.
18. Sylvan Music
Address: 1521 Mission St, Santa Cruz, CA 95060 , Felton , California , United States
This is my favorite guitar/music store in the whole wide world!
Sylvan is a great guitar store if you love beautiful guitars. I go in to get my Dean Markley mini jumbo set up and cleaned every year or two but I go in for my 2 for $18 deal on Martin medium gauge strings not because I couldn’t buy them cheaper online which is pretty close. But I get to play for 15 or 20 minutes some of the most unique acoustic guitars from both local builders in Santa Cruz area but they have chosen excellent classical guitars from companies that I would put against the best made out there. If you like Taylor and Martin guitars they have them as well. If you have a guitar and want to pass it onto your son or daughter but haven’t played it since college, I suggest taking it in to have the strings changed and check to make sure the neck is straight. I’ve been playing for 35 years and still have them change my strings from time to time.
Best guitar store in town.
Its a good place to get strings… Cost a little much for me
Super nice and my violin looks great with jts new strings
I rented a trombone here, it was a really nice name brand and worked very well. I never had to bring it in to repair, and over all an okay rental price. There was great customer service and I suggest going here.
overpriced instruments and bad service!
Purchased a guitar online. They say they made a mistake and instead of owning up to their mistake they stole my guitar and refunded the money. Then they offered to sell it back to me at their original offer. This is akin to them ripping it out of my hands and throwing my money at me saying this doesn’t count as I attempt to leave the store. I don’t care about the money, this was just a donor body for a build I’m making. The real problem is that if they make a mistake it will be you that has to deal with it. I would recommend supporting a different shop with integrity.
The worst customer service!! take your business somewhere else. I went there today they were rude, I waited and went over few guitars couple of times to buy one. Everyone ignored me and told me to be careful with the guitars! I played guitar for 10 years.. this is the worst guitar shop I ever been to!
Reply to owner’s response:
Sure! a customer with a toddler in store will rebuff help or assistance?
I never heard of this before ! ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
I mentioned that I was looking for a guitar to my son’s size (he is 5, not a toddler), he even spoke to you asking for assistance, you were rude! another customer walked in after me, you chose to help him instead.
By banging guitars, you mean putting them back to it’s place but happen to bump in the next guitar or wall?!
Take a look at previous customer reviews they complained about the same thing, if you don’t want us to touch many guitars in the store, you could help by showing suitable ones for purchase.
How can we support local business if they refuse to help us?
I didn’t storm out, I just felt unwelcomed as no one tried to help me, just yelling from behind the counter to be careful instead of assisting customers.
Owner’s response:
This person rebuffed our attempts for assistance then she and her toddler proceeded to carelessly mishandle instruments and bang them into each other. Several times! When we kindly asked that they be more careful, they stormed off as if we were making a completely unreasonable request. Oh well, I guess you can’t please all people all the time. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
19. Slow Rick Drums
Address: 160 Kipling Ave, Ben Lomond, CA 95005 , Felton , California , United States
