Great service but unfortunately they are no longer in business.
PROFESSIONAL COURTEOUS & VARIOUS SELECTION
very happy with the price, quality of work, and customer service. he knew right away what i was asking for which was very impressive given the breadth of his offerings
I hope they read this review. Their voice mail is full and I can’t get through to leave a message.
0 stars. They kept my vintage synthesizer for 6 months with no contact, when I finally called them they had not yet touched it and had excuses about how they had computer problems. They had it another four months, charged me $125, and not only did they fail to fix the problem, when it got back to me it was in even worse condition and completely unusable. These guys are a bunch of overpriced hacks, I’m not sure of anyone else in San Diego who does this kind of work, but you are better off driving to LA than dealing with these people.
edit: Of course they respond with lies and even more excuses. Never was I offered my money back, the fact that they refused to refund my money after effectively destroying the synth was the entire reason I wrote this review chronicling my experience. This place is a scam and I hope they are out of business by now and the incompetent geezer running the place off to a place where he can’t steal from anyone else.
Have emailed and called for an appointment to have my synthesizer looked at/repaired for about 3 weeks. No return call after leaving voicemail messages or email response that was entered online. Not sure this business is still open or not. Was linked to Jarvis Music, when I searched Korg service and repair, but came up Keyboard Service. I hope to get a response soon.
No response to my voicemails. Perhaps out of business?
Purchased my beautiful guitar from the owners here. They were kind and considerate. Let me take my time trying out anything I wanted. When I heard this guitar’s sound, I knew she was mine but I was enjoying my visit so much I lingered in the ambiance a while and enjoyed the company before I told them I’d take her. They moved heaven and earth (boxes and bins) to find a case that fit her since she is a traveling size, not full size. I bought her months ago and still remembered fondly how well I was treated. I just had to come find them and make a point to let others know. Please go see them if you are interested in guitars, guitar anything.
What a breath of fresh air to walk into a music store and not feel pressure to buy. These owners have a great passion for music and people. If your in the market for an instrument or just want to play or talk music this is the place. I highly recommend it and will be back when I’m in the area.
This place rocks, pun absolutely intended. The owners are a great duo knowledgeable about all things guitars and beyond. My brief, spontaneous stop at their shop became a joyful hour-long excursion in my day. If you have the time, are a music fan, and are in the area, I highly recommend a stop here.
4. Anderson Music Of San Diego
Address: 1357 Bitterbush Ln, El Cajon, CA 92019 , Granite Hills , California , United States
Great people! Very good service and extremely knowledgeable. Prices are good too.
My husband remembered this place from when he was a kid. Came here last weekend to purchase a harmonica for our 7 year old. He was with us, but we still wanted to surprise him. The staff here was really helpful and they caught our drift as far as keeping the purchase on the DL! We will be back for sure.
The building and interior is showing it’s age, but the staff is extremely friendly and helpful. Probably the best place to get school-band instruments, and it’s the ONLY place I know that has a wide variety of sheet music. They don’t really have any high quality guitars or baseses, though.
I’ve been going here for music lessons for years. It’s a very small and quiet place. Not sure about all the instruments they have, but they seem to have a large selection. The building is quite old, so it doesn’t have a current feel to it.
I love Alan’s. But had a unpleasant experience last time there. Lady behind the counter was very unfriendly.
The staff always seems bothered when you come in. Also over priced.
Alan’s has been our one-stop-shop for music, instrument rentals and instrument repair since our daughters started taking piano lessons 18 years ago. In the years since, we’ve taken flutes, saxes and a trombone in for repair. Often, Bob would do it on the spot – and would refuse payment. Most times it was quick, professional and fairly priced. And, I’ve posted appropriately complimentary reviews at that time. Our girls are away at college now, so we haven’t been there in quite a while, but this week’s experience was markedly different. Last Wednesday, I joined a community concert band (first ensemble in nearly 40 years). On Thursday, I took two flutes in for adjustment. On Friday, I called – as directed. Bob advised that he hadn’t even looked at them yet, but said that he would call me back. Today – Tuesday, I called and was informed that I was “moving up the list”. I understand (now) that they have more work than they can handle, and I don’t begrudge them that. But, it would have been nice if they would have said, “We won’t be able to get to your instruments for a week, or a month, or until 2019”, rather than leading me to believe that I should expect the same service as I’d always received in the past. And, when I picked up the instruments this morning, I asked for a recommendation to another shop that might not be as busy. But instead of extending that professional courtesy, they said they didn’t know, since several shops had closed. The 2 stars is for that. So, I guess it’s not surprising afterall, that no one in my section had ever heard of Alan’s Music. I will take my leaky flute into tomorrow’s rehearsal and ask where my fellow musicians recommend I take it for repair.
Walked in today and the whole upstairs smelled like sewage!! I used to love this place. Please, please fix this. I cannot come back with that smell!!
8. Mariachi Estrella de JoseLuis Cisneros
Address: 1918 Greenfield Dr, El Cajon, CA 92019 , Granite Hills , California , United States
Friendly spot, we visit often, my son likes to try the drums and never had any issues. We’ve bought many items from them and it’s never crowded.
Knowledgeable staff
Love it here!
With five or six associates working, the customer service was lacking. If you are coming here don’t expect anyone to wait on you, but when someone did finally ask us if we needed help, they did not have a bad attitude, and they were very helpful. The only thing was that he was also helping three other people at the same time. We found exactly what we were looking for and they are always well stocked. The bathrooms were open and they were clean. Everything is open shelved, which made it very hard to get lost, as long as you know what you’re looking for. This store is not for new and inexperienced musicians. Bring a friend to help guide you because the employees are busy helping other people or talking on the phone.
You can find pretty much anything you want pertaining to audio here. One stop super shop.
The remodeled space is much more efficient than it used to be. The acoustic guitar space is certainly much better. I feel like they’ve spent some more time catering to the high end custom shop gear at the same time they’ve upped their used gear section.
Bought tons of stuff there. sometimes you get excellent help, other times a grudging old hair metal dude finds you a guitar cable. I’m not a fan of warranties, so I NEVER get it. And I love the 30 day trial period and use it. Returned many guitar pedals that didn’t get the job done and kept a few that did. Unfortunately, like Amazon, they’ve knocked smaller stores out of business, but not all. For repairs, I recommend Moze in La Mesa. They absolutely rock.
Nobody in the store right now knows dj equipment. They have a whole dj section but the guys who know the stuff went home.
This dude waited 30 min to check me out as I stood there and I only needed to buy strings
I bought a ukulele without fully checking the details of it, and it turned out to not be what I needed. I asked for a return, and they had no problem with that. They even gave me a return label for much cheaper than I could have gotten one. Mind you, I was returning this because technically I didn’t do my due diligence. They didn’t have to do squat for me, but they went the extra mile anyway. I wish I’d of known about Terry Carter years ago. They are straight shooters, and you should check them out!
Picked up some Worth Flourocarbon brown strings thru Terry Carter music store. Was impressed w/ his youtube video reviewing these strings, and I’m very happy w/ them- mellow and lively. They gave good service addressing my questions and the strings came quickly.
Received faster than I expected & I love it!
Cool place to go look at music instruments
I ordered some heavy, Herco, guitar thumb picks. They are just what I needed and wanted. However, the ad made it sound like I would get a pack that included several picks, with different colors. I was very disappointed when they arrived and it was only 1 pack with 3 picks. I think $7.99 is pretty expensive for just 3 picks.
Ukulele arrived packaged well and on time.
it has been 6 days and I still have not received my strings I will never buy another thing from you I EVEN HAD TO PAY FOR SHIPPING! ! !
The shop is overpriced and the owner is shady as hell. If you even do the most basic of comparison shopping, you’ll see how much he’s trying to take advantage of ukulele players.
Carter’s NOT the only game in town and uke players deserve better.
Well product said ukelele humidification system and ended up just humidification pouches that are way too big for ukelele sound hole only able to put in case with instrument wasn’t really what I was looking for thought they’d be smaller I’ll use till I find something better like Dadario guitar type with humidity pouches shipping was kinda slow also I guess their a bit smaller than guitar ones not much though
11. BlackWav. Studios
Address: 1283 E Main St Suite 202, El Cajon, CA 92021 , Granite Hills , California , United States
Love the environment. Love the engineers. Clean, well kept studio. The variety of instruments available are a super plus. Highly recommend.
Excellent studio!! 2 rooms both are great
This studio is a gem !!! It’s my favorite place to record for many reasons . The energy created by the owner is welcoming to all styles of music and people alike. The sound and ambiance coming from this studio is second to none. I would recommend anyone to record here at any stage of their creative process
We love VIP!!! We had our 6 year old with special needs in another popular music school and we weren’t seeing progress or excitement to go to lessons each week. Since starting at VIP he has shown so much progress, has been able to be introduced to multiple instruments, and is excited to go to lessons and perform. Maria has so much patience and works with our son at his level and is just as excited to celebrate his successes as we do. It takes a special kind of person to work with children of all different abilities. So glad we found VIP!!! I recommend to anyone of all ages and ability levels.
My son decided he didn’t want to play soccer or basketball anymore and wanted to learn to play the drums. VIP School of Music has filled the role that AYSO and sports clubs used to fill for our son. He has group percussion classes that end with VIP School of Music hosting concerts. He also has enrolled in individual drum lessons. I am very happy we found VIP School of music.
My daughter has been attending Vip School Of Music for around five years now. She has never not wanted to practice. I’ve actually never had to push her to play her instruments, she wants to! Maria and her team make it fun and the kids want to be a part of all of the performances and it shows! They make the students feel comfortable, cared for and important! It’s such a special place. Music is such a critical part of education and strengthens focus. I feel blessed to have found this place and be apart of this community. I’ve seen tremendous growth in my daughter throughout these years and it truly is amazing.
Good
We met in this park for watching kids show. Kids waiting and, its getting cold and bunch of adults keep singing. They should go with kids first so they can finish and adult can go after. This is so cheap trick to force them to listen. I dont wanna listen retired adult band. They are not even good. It’s ridiculous.
Update: Based of their answer, I dont know why I cant reply. Their responding like why I didn’t join till end of event which is not true. This picture was before the last performance. Last group was basically was all child did sing for closing event, and we couldnt left until this event finished because they put this adults performance almost 1 hour long between last child group performances. Also this show was only organized for childs. How I know because our child were participating this show. That reason I joined and have to stay until finish. So stop lying to people and be more professional. Everyone knows what happened in that day. Also I can see in last 24 hour they did spam 21 fake reviews for increase their rating, so funny. If you check their reviews date you can see they didnt even this much review since they established their business.
15. Mark’s Guitar Exchange
Address: 3233 Midway Dr, San Diego, CA 92110 , Granite Hills , California , United States
I went into Mark’s and had a wonderful experience shopping for a new guitar. Liam was so friendly, helpful, and knowledgeable. The guitar is great and I will definitely be back here!
Great guitar shop with helpful young musicians behind the counter and the owner Mark who is a super knowledgable small business owner. I owned a small business for a decade and it was the hardest thing i’ve done. Marks been doing it for almost 40 years. He’s doing something right. Give them a look.
I love this place and would give it 5 stars, but it’s no-dog policy really made things difficult for a pedestrian whose pet is the Houdini of dogs. 😉
Seriously, it’s a great guitar store. I just hope that it reconsiders its no-dog policy.
Told me it would be about 20 to file the nut on my strat. I came in to pick it up and they charged me 6 bucks. The know what theyre doing.
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I want to share my personal experience visiting this place. I’m a guitarist and was always curious to take a look inside this small business in Point Loma. First you ring a bell and they let you in. I walk in and try to make eye contact with the person behind the counter who I assume is “Mark”, the guy completely ignores me while he keeps talking to another customer already in there about a product. So I keep looking at all the guitars and equipment they have which most of them are very nice. After about 5 minutes I try to make eye contact again and smile. This time he also completely ignores me and continues his conversation. I wasn’t expecting to be helped right away but at least “thanks for coming in, feel free after to look around, I’ll be with you ASAP”. But nothing! After another 2-3 minutes I walk out. What an awful guy and customer experience! I’ve spent thousands of dollars on equipment at many other places where they have care to provide me with good service and attention. Not sure if he profiled me or just didn’t care. Maybe both. I don’t recommend this place unless you’re friends with this guy or something.
I was gonna buy a bass, so I started to play a cheap 300 dollar one unplugged and they told me to stop so “they can keep the guitars new.” I went to guitar center and got a better deal for a bass at 200 dollars. People who work here are worthless. Everything the sell you can’t get for half the price on reverb or at guitar center like I did. Hope they close this place down soon. Mark you’re lame and you need to get the stick outta your bum.
The employees were rather rude and treated me like I knew nothing about guitars. They did not allow demos unless I planned on buying a guitar. Even though I was the only customer inside, they barely talked to me. If they were talking to me, it was a sales pitch. Treated me like a paycheck as opposed to a person. I will never recommend this place to anyone.
I highly recommend TR Music & Voice for anyone looking to learn an instrument or improve their skills. The instructors are knowledgeable and passionate about music, and it shows in their teaching.
This hands-on instructor guides students in the exploration of guitar building. From understanding different types of woods to assembling and setting up a guitar, students gain practical knowledge about the construction and maintenance of their instruments.
She carefully crafts an individualized program holistically centered around your mind, body and soul– all with the purpose of helping your voice progress to it’s next level of excellence. She is brilliant in the technical training aspect as she can identify areas of growth most pertinent to your unique voice and has ALWAYS has a strategy, tool, activity ready to go.
The teachers are very good guitar players but it would be more helpful if tabs were included in their lessons.
19. Santee Music Academy
Address: 9225 Carlton Hills Blvd UNIT 3, Santee, CA 92071 , Granite Hills , California , United States
My kids have been attending the Santee Music Academy for about 2 years now and they absolutely love it! The instructors are very patient. My kids are excelling musically!
My daughter has been attending SMA for ukulele lessons for about three months. SMA has exceeded all of our expectations, and we look forward to our weekly visits. The front office staff is always very welcoming and helpful, they communicate with me weekly to remind me of my upcoming lesson; very conveniently through text message communication. The director Brandon is very knowledgeable and truly cares about his customers and their experiences. Lastly, our instructor Jasmine is FANTASTIC with my seven-year-old daughter. She is so very talented, and my daughter leaves every week with new skills. We are so happy with SMA and would recommend their services to anyone.
I love this local business! My daughter started ukulele lessons over the summer and it has just been nothing but a pleasant experience. In a COVID time, where my daughter couldn’t play sports this really saved her. She has learned a lot and looks forward to moving to a new instrument soon. I love how nice and accommodating the staff is, and couldn’t ask for anything more than what this business provides!
20. Granite Hills
Address: Granite Hills Dr, El Cajon, CA 92019 , Granite Hills , California , United States
