Would much rather spend my money here than an overpriced, over exaggerating, local music shop.
Alot of gear to look at!
Good people working there…. ~10~
Pues toda la mercancía está bien excelente los empleados de ahí pero debe de haber personal bilingüe porque no hay personal así gracias
This past weekend I went to buy drums accessories and equipment. I am starting to get into music and I was excited to expend over $1,000.00 at this location. I got there with my knowledge between drum sets and drum pads, and decided to play fool because I read and heard disappointing comments about this particular location.
The drum kits are filthy, falling apart. They have space to re arrange but it is too much for them.
Chad is an extremely rude, lazy employee. Asked him questions and he said “I do not know” but that he is very knowledgeable of his stuff. He does not take CONSTRUCTIVE feedback at all. He gets upset and leaves you hanging while talking. Definitely I will be giving commission to someone who is happy, friendly, proactive, helpful, and knowledgeable.
Not coming back again here.
Thank you!
Went to the store at 7 am on Black Friday. I wanted to buy a Bose L1 stick (a $2,000 purchase). I spent over an hour demo-ing several configurations. I was told they had the one I wanted in stock. I made up my mind to buy it and then I was told… oh…. sorry… it’s in the back but it is an opened box and we can’t give you the sale price. Then I was told 5 minutes later, actually we only have one of the two pieces and we can’t discount it. I was really bummed…. I live 5 hours away and came to buy something. They had two floor models that were priced $200 below the sale price of the new units. They were both scuffed up and they were unwilling to budge on the price even though I had been there for 3 hours and was told they had what I wanted and then they changed the story. If they would have given me a reasonable price on one I would have bought it and been happy. The guy that helped me was nice and professional and he did what he could but the manager wouldn’t budge. I ended up driving to Palo Alto and bought $2,100 worth of gear direct from Bose. They gave me a better price and discounted a mixer for me that Guitar Center didn’t have. All in all I made out with a better deal and now if anything goes wrong I deal with Bose, not GC. I have bought lots of gear from Guitar Center over the past 20 years. I will never buy anything from them again. By the way… If you want a Bose L1 system…. buy it direct from Bose. They will price match Guitar Center and their customer service is superior. I never leave reviews…. but this experience really turned me off. Shop elsewhere. Sweetwater online, Amazon, Bose, anywhere but Guitar Center.
I ordered online and it was shipped from this store. They emailed me a tracking number that didn’t work. There was a different tracking number on my package. The manager said he would refund me for shipping, he made changes to my purchase history but no refund. I emailed him 7 days later and instantly received the refund. Also lied about the shipping date. I was told it shipped on Wednesday then an employee called saying it shipped on Thursday. Definitely my last purchase with guitar center.
4. B Street Music & Recording
Address: 1745 Adrian Rd #8, Burlingame, CA 94010 , Highlands-Baywood Park , California , United States
Peter was great to work with. He let me try out a hard to find guitar. I highly recommend B Street.
I wouldn’t listen to uncertainty around undermining a small store front…
They have an excellent selection of inventory .
Expert knowledge on audio setup, soundboard, modulations, and a whole lot more.
Thank you so much.
Be well
I called about bringing in my son’s Yamaha MX88 which appeared dead. Gary was so helpful and suggested before we do that to check the power supply. Bingo!!! that was it!! Thank you Gary! You were so kind and knowledgable. I highly recommend these guys. 10 Stars **********
Friendly and they know their stuff.
tiny tiny shop. sad to see they downsized and the people renting musical instruments etc. has declined over the years.
5. Heriz Music & Art
Address: 210 California Dr, Burlingame, CA 94010 , Highlands-Baywood Park , California , United States
Great store, great people. If it can be fixed Margarita will fix it. A good place for lessons.
Amazing service! Very friendly management!
Cozy place, new and used instruments, variety of sheet music, they also suggested cello lessons.
Nice instrument. Closed when sing reads open.
Fraudulent. I rented an instrument for my daughter’s school year then returned it. They continued to charge my card so I called them and they said they would stop charging and refund me. They didn’t and continued to charge me. Then 3 months later ($350 extra in EXTRA rental fees) and I call them and they say they don’t have the instrument! They want me to pay for it! Absolutely insane. Don’t EVER use them.
I came in to sell my 2013 gibson. Right when i walked into the store i was greeted by a lady who worked there who immediately said “sorry, not interested”. She didn’t even take a look at the guitar. I’m a little annoyed that the front of their store says “buy-sell-rentals” but it doesnt seem like they buy anything. Drove all the way here for nothing…
Musical instruments shop with a few sound proofed rooms in the back for lessons. They carry unknown brands and charge a premium for rental, even for elementary students.
6. San Mateo Piano
Address: 1200 S El Camino Real, San Mateo, CA 94402 , Highlands-Baywood Park , California , United States
My coworker at Google purchased a Kawai CA-98 hybrid piano from this store. He recommended me to visit them when I was searching for a piano. I purchased a Kawai NV-10 Novus from Ming Li who made my experience vey pleasant.
excellent experience piano shopping here. fair pricing, fast communication, very professional dealer.
We were shopping around piano stores in San Jose and comparing brands Kawai, Yamaha and other pianos. We found this beautiful store next to Santana Row. The owner spoke to us about pianos and multiple price options. We looked at a Kawai GX-2 after comparing few pianos Yamaha C2, Steinway Model M, we decided to purchase the Kawai GX-2. We are very pleased with the service and happy with our new piano.
Has pianos and lessons.
Bozkurt switched a customer’s Brand NEW piano for a used Floor Model piano and told me “DELIVER IT TO THE COSTUMER AND DONT SAY ANYTHING”… While I was working there as a Delivery Driver I noticed his tricks to get over on customer’s a save money. When ever you buy a piano MAKE A REQUEST FOR THE NEW PIANO SERIAL NUMBER. Dont get Ripped Off.
Not a happy place. After visiting another store, these guys were not as bad as I first thought.
Limited selection of piano and the staff was not rushing customer out even with appointment.
Just called for basic information and was given very helpful tips. Very friendly, and although I didn’t use their services, I will consider using them in the future.
It’s cool
11. Shigeru Kawai Pianos
Address: 1200 S El Camino Real B, San Mateo, CA 94402 , Highlands-Baywood Park , California , United States
After all the shopping we purchased a Kawai piano from this store. The staff is above average and sets them apart from other stores. We were assisted by Louise, she was really professional throughout the process.
Excellent demonstration and patient explanation of the important features of a CA99 and NV5. Helped me immensely in making my next piano purchase.
Great piano store, very helpful and great service.
This place was San Mateo piano and has pianos and lessons.
12. Gelb Music
Address: 722 El Camino Real, Redwood City, CA 94063 , Highlands-Baywood Park , California , United States
Bought my baby at Gelb. 20 years ago. 1965 Fender Jazz. Thank you Gelb Music. I love her more than words can describe.
Knowledgeable staff, wide range of products
Best staff on the Peninsula
Helpful staff. Nice selection of guitars.
Good choice of instruments, not a lot of parking. The staff is not very nice at all.
Selection is really good. Nice instruments, And I like the atmosphere. A classic old store, kinda historic. A little pricey (for this I blame the insanity of real estate in the area, not them). Some music store staff are great. Some are typical.
I have found that music store workers are mostly of two varieties: the typical kind, who tend to have this undercurrent of rather sexist, judgmental pressure, and those who just love to connect people of all kinds to what they need.
Sigh – this place has both.
Unfortunately, there are a LOT of the typical kind in this world, and female (or otherwise not “Rock Star” types) really feel it. It is like they somehow need to prove that they are more knowledgeable than me, or something. Very tiring. I want to tell them, “look, I know you wanted to be a professional performer and it feels degrading to be working in a music store, and that you feel like selling stuff to female musicians makes you feel even further from your standards of your own self-image. But you really need to heal that, not surround yourself with a bubble of asserted wannabe dominance. It is not helping you at all. this is actually a really cool .”
To be fair, I only really got this attitude a little here, and it was pretty subtle (but there). Everyone else has been fine. But even a little makes it hard to want to come back. I think music store owners need to screen this, and train people out of it. Or better yet, hire some good female staff.
But I do come back, because the location is good and they have good stuff and they are historic and small. I like them overall. And it is very rare to find places that do not have that phenomenon. So they are not losing my business any time soon. I just hope that one issue gets fixed. Everywhere.
Walked in and was asked to remove my backpack and place it behind the counter which was kind of stupid and rude. I was actually go ing to go and buy a couple of things easily worth over $400 but for that stupid policy they have, they just lost a valuable customer. Tell me, what am I going to steal? Fit a whole guitar or drum set in my backpack.
As someone who has been going to Gelb since I was a teenager all I have to say is “Please make it go away”.
What was once a well known piece of the music community of the bay area has become totally useless.
What was once a family of musicians active in the local music scene is now the Kmart of music stores, disorganized…impersonal…just another guitar store.
A couple of weeks ago I went there to get a couple of packs of strings and they couldn’t find them???
Today I went in to see if they had a couple of guitar boxes to ship a guitar I was selling, in the past the response was sure how many do you need, today the response was “We sell them for $15”, if they had said 5$ sure but $15? what exactly am I paying for? your stellar customer service?
Since the change this place has steadily gone downhill, please just let it go, make it go away, or at least change the name so you aren’t tarnishing the name of what was once an institution of the bay area music scene.
I bought a speaker from these guys back in June and it failed after 2 uses. They wouldn’t lift a finger to help me even though it was less than 30 days old so I had to send it back myself. Its now the middle of December and I still don’t have a speaker to use.
Long story short don’t waste your money here. They clearly are only in business to make a buck and could care less about their customers.
13. Happy Mozart Music School
Address: 800 S B St #400, San Mateo, CA 94401 , Highlands-Baywood Park , California , United States
All I can say is Great teachers and an even BETTER Music Director Geoff Quinn!!!. The admin assistant, Rachel Kardos is awesome. These people really take pride in, and they truly ENJOY teaching.
My two boys have been taking lessons at School of Rock since last year. One takes vocals and the other drums. They both see Patrick. He is amazing and has taught them so much. My younger son is in Rock Band now performing Woodstock. It’s been a great experience overall!
My son LOVES Jimmy and the drum kit instructions and music recommendations he receives from Jimmy. My son has not been this enthusiastic about drumming in a few years — it is wonderful to see!
15. Pianissimo
Address: 1200 S El Camino Real Suite 2, San Mateo, CA 94402 , Highlands-Baywood Park , California , United States
Jeff did a great set up on my Squire Fender Strat set up,it plays 100 times better than when I brought it in, and thanks to everybody else that works at Bronstein Music very professional.
I’ve been going to Bronstein Music for a long time and they continue to do excellent work I highly recommend them.
My daughter needed a 1/4 violin. Unfortunately the center where she takes her lessons at did not have any available. I googled around and the top result was Bronstein Music. It took me less than 5 minutes to submit the rental request form. Staff were very helpful and informative. My daughter was so happy to get the violin and play it.
This place is the perfect place for repairing instruments also they have instruments rental.
This guys are very kind.
[Repair flute
Rentals and all else was spot on.
Customer service could get much better, it’s good to be polite and considerate to all customers.
Fair pricing and quick turnaround time on repairs.
I went to replace a bow that they said was fine, I thought they wouldn’t replace the bow but they did. They told me they would give me a bow with the same weight and pretty much the same bow. But they gave me a fiberglass bow instead of a carbo fiber bow, that is heavier then the old one. I’m second chair in an orchestra and a concert is coming soon. I’m not sure want to do, I don’t have anyone to bring me back to the store.
Poor selection of strings for cello, took 30 minutes to buy 2 strings, they came loose in a paper bag with no product information. Had to ask to ecwn learn that they were steel core nickel wound. Strings were very low quality for the price.
17. Gradus Ad Parnassum Music Academy
Address: 1527-1529 S B St, San Mateo, CA 94402 , Highlands-Baywood Park , California , United States
Irina, who teaches piano, finds a way to approach kids with different personalities – even the young active and impatient ones end up striving for quality sound, not just hitting the notes at the right time.
Excellent piano instruction. Irina is a rare, inspirational teacher with a lot of patience, skill, and motivation
Great school close to downtown San Mateo! Excellent teachers covering beginner to advanced levels.
My son had lessons before visiting Leon. But in no time at all, I noticed a marked improvement. Leon is a skilled teacher, and a nice person all around.
My son (11 years) took piano class for a month in Burlingame Rec Center, and the teacher there was great to introduce Piano to Nolan. But when I signed him up for the 2nd month, it was not the same teacher, and it didn’t go well (as my son said, the 1st teacher was way better). Then we signed him up with another piano teacher from another organization. Didn’t work out.
So as parents, we spent quite some time and efforts to find “THE” piano teacher for our son. Then we found Leon in San Mateo. Our son took a trail lesson for free with Leon, and he told me and his Mom that he wanted this teacher.
It’s been almost a year now, and we are all so happy to have Leon guiding our son’s journey in piano! Leon is a talented artist and talented teacher! He is student-oriented rather than book-oriented, which is so important for beginners. I have introduced Leon to my friend, and her daughter enjoys the classes with Leon as well. I would recommend Leon to any parents looking for piano teachers for their kids (and Leon teaches other instruments as well)!
Leon is the consummate instructor because he isn’t going to teach to simply get a paycheck to support his own musical endeavors. He does it because he genuinely loves teaching and watching his students progress. That said, don’t expect Leon to have the magic dust to sprinkle on your student. It’s still incumbent upon every student to practice, but if the student is committed, Leon will make them exponentially better. Leon explains the fundamentals in smart ways, while keeping it fun. On occasion, he can be firm with the student if they are neglecting their part of the program. He is open to questions (even online if you are practicing at home and confused.} If you really want to learn, you’ll find that’s his intention too, and why he makes it the best for the money (yes, it is a bit pricey, but justified) and everyone’s time. He’s a talented artist, with a fun personality, and a great love of music. I know Leon takes newbies, (like me) but he also works with students at every level. If they are showing signs of promise and enthusiasm, Leon will make them exponentially better. He is willing to teach theory, while also mixing in fun songs the student just wants to learn how to play. I took a handful of lessons, having never played piano before (I play some other string instruments) and learned a lot. My daughter had been to other instructors and was inching along, but lessons with Leon prompted a new level of attention to the fundamentals and the output of her lessons has been notably more satisfying than other teachers. For the reasons mentioned, he’s a busy/popular teacher, so don’t expect a lot of open slots for timing.
20. Manor Music
Address: 460 Manor Plaza, Pacifica, CA 94044 , Highlands-Baywood Park , California , United States
great place great instruments great instruments I love it can’t wait to go back staff are super helpful too
I love this place has the BEST used Stuff!!!
Very nice people , lots of guitars , worth a trip for an interesting music store.
This weekend I came into Manor to pick up some sheet music for inspiration. I picked up a few older books from the back of the store, and I was surprised that they charged the original cover print price (~$20 per book) on books printed in 1995.. I should have spoken up at the time, but the more I thought about it the more I wanted to know if this was a mistake? !
They have a wide range of instruments, just not very good quality ones. Most of the inventory is probably best suited for beginning musicians. As far as guitars go, the best one I saw was a mid-range Seagull. Most are just plywood guitars. I constantly wonder how they stay in business. Staff members seem to be friendly.
Nice little place. When we visited, the person working didn’t seem very knowledgeable about the instruments. But the store itself was very cute
Terrible attitude. Not helpful. Never go back again!
