Where to find the best music shops in Honolulu County? Top-15 options

By far the best customer service I’ve experienced anywhere. The staff is extremely friendly and always willing to answer any questions you may have. You can tell they prioritize satisfying customers over making a sale. They genuinely care about what they do, which is why they are always my go to for all my music needs. Highly recommended, these guys are great.

Always great service with the guys at the pearl city store.

Good selection, in addition to a very smooth transaction thanks to Ethan!

poor advise bad service

Easy Music is my “go to”, I bought my first Ovation 6string acoustic here, staff is always willing to help with a simple question to a major high end musical instrument purchase, there are other similar types of music stores but Easy Music has been around for years and they still are because, of the people who are musically inclined , we trust a place that been around for decades.

Good lineup of equipment and intermediate instruments. Would be 5 stars if they had more headphone models and brands.

Close to early

I ordered a $300 dj controller from this place and it arrived with a broken crossfader. I had a local professional dj look at the item to confirm it wasn’t a software issue and after reached out to return the broken item. I was told that Easy Music Center would not accept a return (you have seven days to return broken items) and that I would have to contact the manufacturer. The manufacturer does not have the unit in stock so basically I paid $300 for a controller that I won’t receive for 3 months. I definitely won’t be ordering anything from this place again. I’m sure they are great if you live in the island but ordering from them by mail is definitely risky. The only reason this review is not one star is because on a personal level I really liked everyone I spoke to at this place. They definitely have a good vibe, and did contact the manufacturer on my behalf to arrange a replacement for the broken unit they sold me in 3 months

I Liked EMC back when they were on keeaumoku or in mapunapuna. Presocialism emc lol

I bought a koa wood ukulele from Ron here and am very happy with it. His knowledge and passion for music is inspiring and the prices are reasonable too. Mahalo, Ron!

Was worth it

Very cool and knowledgeable owner. Aswsome store!!!

Chill guys, good prices. They don’t have a large selection but they do have good quality items. My boyfriend took his guitar in that was totally gutted out and had lots of missing pieces and they fixed it good as new within a week and a half. Great job guys.

Dropped off a friend to purchase a guitar

I like this small independent music store as the owner is very friendly and his prices are reasonable. Will definitely be shopping there again

Awesome place with good staff. Great spot for lessons, replacement parts, and asking questions.

Re-hairing of a bass bow was flawless and quick. Highly recommended.

We had such a great experience here and will definitely be coming back again. The staff was very kind, honest, helpful and super knowledgeable in getting our son resized for a new Viola. I’m beyond impressed with the service they provided.

Very helpful service.

Always has what I’m looking for

Best place to go very helpful and knowlegeable

They don’t buy used instrument

I didnt know you can’t be laughed at cause you didn’t have enough cash on you … How low class can you be ….

An awesome spot for all music makers of any experience level! Friendly and knowledgeable staff will give you recommendations if you’re not sure what you’re looking for. Great family owned alternative to the large conglomerates!

Find everything you want for your musical needs.

First class customer service!

Not the biggest but was equipped with good guitars

I liked the shop.

A lot of options available

If you plan on selling them a guitar understand they will only give you 50% of used retail price. Which means they will make 25% profit off you. While you lose 50% profit. Sell your own gear. 50% lose is too much

Bought a pedal there while holidaying in Hawaii, it occurred to me the next day I should buy a good ol’ American pedal, instead of a Chinese pedal, ecspecially while in the states. The staff didnt feel the same, and seemed that it was a big deal to make an exchange. I wouldn’t go back.

Won’t shop in a place requiring a mask. even though I have bought stuff in there back during the time that covid was new and there were no mask mandates. Sad truth is I try to shop small local stores especially for music equipment but I will not be available to shop here anymor.

Very helpful and informative, lots and lots of quality and high end guitars, looking for amps and pedals ? Yes they have tons of it, I’ll be seeing them again for what i saw my new next pedal, Mahalo so much for help and the Tele i got is such a killer axe

Store is packed full of a variety of instruments and accessories. Dan and Ben are personable, knowledgeable, and professional. Items are reasonably priced, and they really make it a point to deliver quality customer service and products. Needed a last-minute string change and a couple of accessories for my guitar, and I was in and out of the shop super quick. A pleasant experience for sure. Highly recommend Dan’s Guitars.

GREAT PLACE TO BUY GUITARS!!

Awesome guitar store with lots of new and used equipment. There are some fantastic items here, and the staff are very friendly.

Friendly staff and variety of new and used goodies!

Bought 2 carbon fiber guitars here. I have known Dan since the 1980s. He has a lot of instruments, amps, ect. He has new and used music equipment and does some repairs. All the local musicians hang out there. Has some good deals as well. Has a large variety music equipment.

I walked in and asked for a bass tuner. I’m not the most experienced musician. He told me that it doesn’t matter if it’s a bass tuner or a general tuner. Turns out, it very much does matter, and I am now out $20. They will get you in and out quick, but make sure you know your stuff before you walk in or they will take advantage.

Had two patch cables made for 40 bucks while I was here/on the road playing. I’m not sure what was wrong with them but when used on my board my volume was cut in half and none of drive pedals worked properly. I’ve been playing professionally full time for two years and part time for 12. This was discovered that night at the gig in front of 500 people. I called and no answer. Left a message no call back. Messaged on facebook no message back. Emailed no email back. Avoid.

Went in here to get a new guitar so I could start leaning how to play. I decided on a preowned guitar. It was labeled and sold to me as a Fender Stratocaster. After my friend checked it out when they were visiting they discovered that it was actually a squire and worth a fraction of what I paid at the store. I brought it in to talk to a worker about it. I came in asking for it to be verified and if it is found to be a squire scam then I was going to ask for a refund. I explained my dilemma to the worker and was met with what seemed to be a smug attitude. He insisted that it was a genuine strat but said that he would have Dan, the store owner, give it a look. He also explained to me that this was part of a consignment sale which I was not notified at all in store. I came back after Dan had time to give it a look and he agreed with me that it was in fact a squire and whichever employee received it had failed to verify its quality. That employee was the one that sold it to me and the one I had spoken to prior. Dan had then offered to sell it as consignment for me, but that I wouldn’t be able to get near what I paid since it’s not worth that much, or he could give me store credit towards a replacement. I asked for a refund since this was a case of misadvertisement and nearly fraud. He denied this as it was a consignment sale, which I’ll reiterate that I wasn’t notified of that at time of sale. Contrary to his employee, Dan was understanding and I would say he is the only reason to go to the store. He’s obviously passionate about music and spreading that joy to others. I was looking for a fender Stratocaster since I was new and I knew little to nothing about guitars. He showed me a guitar that was at the value of the store credit. He said it was a Japan made Fender Stratocaster. I was grateful and given new breath to learn the instrument. After further inspection it turns out to be an ESP Grassroots. Once again, worth far less than what it was at the store. Now I am out a lot of money and no longer have an interest in learning music. I would prefer to have my money back bur considering how I was treated it seems like scams go over better than legitimacy in the overall of this shop. I hope it gets better.

I came in today to get my ukulele restrung and I was incredibly impressed with the service I received from Lloyd and the staff at Koaloha…the Koa wood used in their line of Ukuleles is incredibly beautiful and sounds very vibrant. Such a fun experience even to just chat with Lloyd, I’ll definitely be back to buy my next Ukulele here! Mucho Mahalos

Great family owned ukulele manufacturers. Personal service and excellent instruments. Happy to say I went home with one.

Excellent ukulele

突然訪問したが商品説明など対応していただき感謝しています。

Unfortunately I couldn’t find my ukulele there. There wasn’t that much choice, but I believe it’s mostly because they are exporting ukuleles. Still I have the feeling that they don’t want to sell. I had to ask for a demo.

economy mentality moved into family product. They outsourced parts of the productions. Now Koaloha produces in Thailand. not all expensive koaloha ukuleles are original made in hawaii. And thats my fault, i linked that brand to hawaii, therefore i bought an ORIGINAL! KOALOHA ukulele, and after receiving i learned
it was made in thailand.

Wanted to do tour. Website said doing them. emailed to make reservation as instructed. No response from them. Tried calling and no one answered. Only recording giving same instructions as website. Went to location to do tour in case just needed to show up. Doors locked. No one there. Note on door saying as of May 2, 2022 no tours and not open due to staff shortage. Would be nice if message on phone had related this or even a note on the website

My friend wanted to buy one from KoAloha, so we stopped by around 12:30 during the weekday. It should be open as posted. But the door was closed and no one answered. There were 3 people waiting ahead of us and waited for few more minutes so ended up not purchasing here.

The people here are THE BEST. I highly recommend booking a tour of the factory before you visit, if you’re serious about buying one of their pieces of musical art.

The sales people will spend as much time with you as needed to fully explain the whole process, the different models, everything.

I personally do not play, but I am interested in learning, and I really thought a real Hawaii made ukelele would be a perfect art piece to return with.

I purchased one with the Hawaiian island inlays, and have it hanging on my wall.

I did have it shipped, since that is much better than tossing it on a plane. The package was well packed, and included a couple of really nice extras.

I visited during my first stay in Hawaii. I am a guitar player and was looking for a great quality 6 strings guitarlele. Zen is a very nice store manager who took a good care of me, guiding through what they had in store. Very well knowledged, a great player as well and he provided me the best offer he could. I ended up buying more expensive one based on his detailed explanation of the difference of wood quality, the look and sound. Thanks so much for a great experience and I became another fan of Kanile’a. After coming back to Japan my life has been changed with this fine gem from Kanile’a. I will work hard, save money and come back soon. Thank you!!

Friendly and knowledgable staff. Great selection of high quality instruments.

We had our Tutu’s 1970’s Kamaka Tenor Uke sent in for full restoration and couldn’t be happier with the outcome. Chris Kamaka Senior and The Kamaka family really delivered. We are so grateful for the beautiful restoration job. This family heirloom will be passed on for generations! Mahalo Nui Loa ❤️. Highly recommend their work.

I don’t know much about making Koa Ukuleles , but I can recognize Craftsmanship when I see it and these Kamaka are by far some of the best. I would highly recommend anybody take the tour before tours are no longer available

Excellent service at Kamaka. Extensive repair of baritone Kamaka ukulele was top notch and it is in mint shape.

Polite and friendly family business. Wouldn’t buy a ukulele anywhere else.

995달러부터 주문제작만 받더라구요. 투어는 월~금 오전만, 주말은 쉬구요..

Un lugar con ukeleles preciosos tanto en diseño como en sonoridada pero muy caros y con una lista de espera muy larga

Higher price point for ukuleles but a beautiful selection with a kind, helpful owner.

The knowledge there is amazing. I have homework to do but this is the place to buy

Really nice time with the young man at the store this evening. He played 3 different ukuleles for me to help me choose. First class store. Top recommendations!,,,

하와이 우쿠렐레 자체가 소리가다름
메이드인치나는어딜가나ㅠㅠ

Very friendly. Got starter kit. Have free lesson

Good selection with a wide range of prices . I am taking one home

This was awful. Everywhere it is constantly advertised that they have free ukulele lessons each day at 10.30 and 4.30. In the picture there are all ages and lots of kids in the ad. My 5 year old daughter was so excited when she saw the store when we arrived in Waikiki (as she has a little ukulele at home) and really wanted to go back and have a lesson.

So I took her there to a 10.30 lesson on Monday, there was 1 other person there, and his wife was sitting to the side watching. I sat down with my daughter on one of the spare seats. At no point upon entering did we receive a smile or a hello – nothing. The man giving the lessons looked at as with a blank face as if to say ‘WTF are you doing here?’

With a big smile I said Hi and asked if we could do a lesson. He said No, as she was too young. I was fine with that so asked if we could sit to watch. He said no cause the lesson was finished! It was only 10.35! They said that he had been playing for ‘ages’ and that it was over.

So we just left, with my daughter in tears. She had been so excited and couldn’t understand why she couldn’t at least see someone play the ukulele.

Absolutely so rude – wouldn’t recommend this place. So stupid of him too, we were keen to learn, experience and shop! Lost customer here and I’ll definitely be spreading the word to avoid this place.

The owner has a great “hook” to get you into this store. I walked in at 2:45pm on Thursday, April 12, 2018. I was the only customer the entire 1/2 hour I was in there…saw no clerk until I got to the back where he was sitting in a corner, bored silly it appeared…no hello, no welcome, no aloha…he just looked at me. I asked about the free Uke lessons, he nodded “yes”. I asked if he had one this afternoon, he nodded “no”. I asked about the instruction books mentioned on the website, he indicated that he didn’t think there were any on the shelf…same for the CD’s supposedly made by the owner. Nor did he get up to look! I browsed thru the Uke books and chose 3, with absolutely no help from the clerk. When checking out, I asked if I needed to make an appointment for the 10:30am lesson tomorrow. He said, “No, just come on in for the 10:30am or the 4:30pm lesson. But it’s not really much…just a 10 minute thing where I show you how to hold the Uke and how to strum. That’s it. You can learn that from these books you’ve chosen.” So I asked again, “So you have one this afternoon at 4:30?” He said, “Yes.” I just walked out amazed. If you’re a beginner at the Uke, my advice…don’t even think about this store!!

Once you want to understand what “Ahola” mean, this place is exact opposite.
Horrible customer service, overpriced items (a lot!). Definitely with proper employees and owner, this place could be “the” spot to learn a lot about ukulele, and also to purchase one. Unfortunately this place is something, what destroy whole aloha spirit and convince you, to forget about ukulele idea in general. HORRIBLE, HORRIBLE, HORRIBLE. Skip this place once you could. Even if you are prepared to spend 5k, they don’t care. In fact, this place should be closed, or owner should be tested for mental health. Please read another reviews, you’ll understand what im talking about…

They helped me greatly in choosing a ukulele for my nephew back in Albany New York. They shipped it to him too.

They have really great customer service! Now the map is tricky, just get straight to Sheraton Hotel and the store is on your right. All of the staff are kind and helpful. Remember to lose your strings before the flight, then tune them back after you get back. I got Kala ukulele which sounds amazing, hope you choose something for yourself there! ❤

Very cool Ukelele store inside the Sheraton Waikiki. This place offers free Ukelele Lessons daily at 4:00 PM. Danny the owner is a really nice guy and could help you find your first Ukelele to purchase and bring some Hawaiian tunes back home!

ウクレレ専門店　ワイキキシェラトン内に有る

ウクレレもいいけど、20ドルのウクレレ柄のアロハは買いです。
高木ブーさんも持ってます。

하와이하면 생각나는 우쿨레레 아직도 악기소리와 특유의 나무냄새가 나는듯하다

Solicitaram a minha saída da aula experimental pois estava com a prancha encostada do lado de fora da loja.

The staff are knowlegable and helpful, but the location is small and it’s difficult to move around if you have extra bags or you’re not going in by yourself. The shop is just within the entrance of the Sheraton hotel and it’s a busy area, making it tough to hear the ukes as you play them. (This is a big minus if you’re planning to drop $1k or more on an instrument.)

I must also relate a particularly bad experience I had. When I visited the store around 5pm on a Monday evening, there was a Japanese television production taking place in the store and I couldn’t get in. This was inconvenient for me as I had visited the store the previous day to look at their instruments and I was returning to make my purchase.

It must be said that there was no signage to indicate the temporary closure during the production, and there was no sign or notice on the previous day when I first visited. (I would have planned accordingly with proper notice.) I would have walked right in, but one of the TV handlers stopped me at the door. I don’t know how long the store was closed, but I was outside at least 10 minutes before I asked the handler and he expected the production to take an additional hour or more.

If you shop here I’d recommend checking The Ukulele Store nearby as well. They have almost as much selection (probably 85 or 90% as many instruments) and they carry other items. There’s space to move around and sit if you like, and best of all it’s q-u-i-e-t. You can really hear the ukes when you play them.

The girl was nice and helpful. The other guy absolutely indifferent to the customer. Decent choice of ukuleles but they are not knowledgeable – or at least not willing to help you.

Great service and a great selection!

Small be excellent store. Fantastic selection on high-end ukes.
Very helpful staff. Definitely worth checking out.

The store owner was very helpful in helping us pick out the right beginning concert ukulele for me and even played some songs on each one he showed us so I could hear the difference, he was very knowledgeable!

Saw this place in the Hawaiian Airlines in-flight magazine, Hana Hou Magazine and had to check it out. The showroom is amazing! Very classy feel with some of the best full custom ukuleles in the world and from builders that I never even knew existed. Professional and friendly service and if you’re in to vintage ukes, this place is better than most museums…

Saw my dream Cornerstone ukulele on their website and couldn’t wait to see it in person. The owner (Shawn) went out of his way to meet me over the weekend and gave me all the time necessary to evaluate the instrument. I felt very welcome and flew back home with my dream ukulele the next day. While I had my mind set on this particular ukulele this place has many custom and one of a kind instruments from the best luthiers in the world. An amazing experience to see and enjoy these instruments first hand.