First time I went into Sam Ash I met Rudy, he helped me with getting my guitar appointment set up, quick and easy. He let me try out any guitar i was interested in as well, he was very nice and professional. When i went in to later pick up my guitar i met Franky, who was also a great and easy going guy who helped fnish up my transaction smoothly. My guitar is set up great and i couldn’t be happier!
Great find. Amazing selection and good prices. Jake was very knowledgeable and helpful. Highly recommend.
I purchased a Cannonball saxophone. I spoke with the sale staff many times before I made the decision to buy. They were helpful.
My other half works there.I LOVEE HIiM
Very friendly and helpful staff. Good prices on used gear. Plenty of free parking.
It’s great seeing the store that has been well stocked and I’m not able to get out much with the current setting healthwise but I sure enjoyed getting what I needed and knowing it would be there as a guitar player! It must be really tough right now keeping the doors open so all my best to you at Sam Ash
Well i got scammed out of $1500 when i ordered the Adam a7x bundle. Only the Subwoofer was in the box, i waited months to open the box for a new studio so i guess its my fault but I contacted Nick Palumbo who helped me order it and i guess he does not work there anymore because i can’t contact him at all. Also currently scammed me out of a regent guitar case that was supposedly arriving early May. Speechless, what did i do to you? Nobody has contacted me for anything
If you’re a person of African decent don’t waste your time going here! I was highly disappointed w/ the lack of customer service I received on July 16th last night. The store was FAR FROM BUSY! And I received far below the expectation of standard customer service. I ended up buying online because the guy kept me waiting for 30mintues while he did ABSOLUTELY NOTHING AT THE COUNTER HE WAS AT! And when I finally went back up to him because he was taking forever he said OH, OH let me check on that, well what were you doing this entire time while I watched you, ABSOLUTELY NOTHING! So sad! That will be my last In store visit 🙁 ! Really nice stuff, horrible staff
As for me i can not give this store a good rating..as of jim sutherland an frankie slandering me an lying to me. Call me crazy but wow..my life should of changed..an it still has not..frankie is problblt a decent guy..not to me. .good luck
2. Top Gear Guitar Pro Shop
Address: 7293 University Ave, La Mesa, CA 91942 , Lemon Grove , California , United States
These guys are absolutely phenomenal and the best in San Diego. Dan and Mike went above and beyond to make sure the work they did on my guitar was perfect. Anytime I am off tour I will be dropping my gear off at Top Gear. I am very particular with who I trust with my guitars. I trust both of them with my most prized possessions. If you need any guitar work done. Look no further.
I’ve been taking my vintage amps and guitars to Top Gear for 15+ years. I drive 2.5 hours from Arizona just to have them work on my gear because I know it will be done right. They are definitely masters of their craft and they have always been very fair in their pricing.
Dan, Tim, and Mike are the best.
Jeff
Arizona
real people…
who talk with you..
and listen to your concerns..
and solve those issues
My daughter called the shop and asked if they could change the strings on a Strat if strings were purchased there. The response was the shop will charge $99 to even look at a guitar and “you should just change them yourself, it’s not rocket science” lol….great….thanks top gear…great customer service.
*WARNING* I Took in my brand new Fender for warranty service to the frets. It had several high frest and needed a level, crown, and polish. After two weeks I finally got it back. They partially fixed only one of the bad frets, put a scratch in my guitar, and set the action super high so that I would not be able to tell how bad the frets still were. They took down some of the fret sprouting too, but did not dress or polish the frets at all, so now they are very sharp. They did say that Fender only paid them for an hour of work, and the level/crown/dress would definitely take longer than that. Seems like Fender paid them to tinker around with one of the frets, manhandle my brand new $1,500 guitar, and give it an insane setup to try to hide the issue from me. They should have called me and told me that fender won’t pay for the whole thing so that I could have paid for it. I’m glad I didn’t though they might have completely destroyed my guitar.
3. Mundo Music – drum repair San Diego
Address: 8220 Vista Dr, La Mesa, CA 91941 , Lemon Grove , California , United States
Ignacio is excellent at his craft! Highly recommend for instruments, repairs, and music classes.
I met Ignacio over a decade ago at the infamous Blacks Beach drum circle where he learned to play djembe on this drum. I’ve rebuilt it many times and got it sounding decent but never was happy. His recent complete overhaul with just pulled verticals sounds so crisp and professional that everyone in the circle wants to play it. I almost gave up on it but am super stoked to have a finger tapper of my own.
Ignacio is an excellent guy for repair and sales. I bought my first drum from him and it was one of the best decision I’ve ever made! Smooth business, like James Bond.
4. KP Platinum Sounds Studios
Address: 2741 Lemon Grove Ave UNIT 202, Lemon Grove, CA 91945 , Lemon Grove , California , United States
Best engineer in San Diego, he gets it done quickly and smoothly. Ask for Kogniak! He gotchu be with some great quality tracks!
Parking could be better. Lot is a little small and people could be a little more careful when slamming their door into the side of your car. An apology is always acceptable!!
5. DBlaze Entertainment
Address: 2741 Lemon Grove Ave UNIT 103, Lemon Grove, CA 91945 , Lemon Grove , California , United States
Service is outstanding. First time there. Rented a saxophone for my daughter. They were very patient in explaining the process and offer free classes. My daughter was very happy to take the first class on the spot while they looked for an available sax. Meanwhile the twins wanted to play the drums and they were invited to play the drum set while big sister finished her class. Needless to say, they start their classes this weekend .
Been shopping here for 20 years and never had a bad experience! My family had bought a sax, a trumpet, and a clarinet from here and all were fantastic!
I got my daughter’s cello here. They are a bit unorganized but they do have great customer service. This store will upgrade your instrument to a bigger one for no charge if you buy from them. I’m a satisfied customer 🙂
My kids go here for piano lessons and we’ve had a good experience. We’ve been doing the lessons for 2 years. They’re pretty disorganized, bordering on hoarders and Gentry is forgetful, but I like them and they’re friendly/chatty. The instructor my kids see is nice and gentle and positive and I’ve seen nice progression in their skills.
This is the real deal, musicians running a business. As such you’re gonna get some good along with some bad. they’re not very organized but they love music and they love teaching music. So I guess my real question is do you want your child being taught music by a musician or an accountant?
they rip you off. you sign a rental agreement and the say will deduct a certain amount a month and then do it two times per month, and say they thought you wanted the “buy back” program
One time I forgave, the second time I will proceed with legal action.
these guys are crooks!
It may be cheaper, but the people who work there, especially the main guy, are so oblivious to what’s going on around them. He completely disregards people when they’re asking him anything and he can’t focus on a simple task at hand. They are super unorganized overall. Take your money somewhere else, it’ll be worth it. No thank you.
I took my kids here for lessons and an instrument rental and the owner is very unprofessional. I was a day late on payment he kept calling and said he would come find me. I took my kids out of there.The studio smells musty and not sure if its safe for kids. Scary.
8. Alan’s Music Center Inc
Address: 8510 La Mesa Blvd, La Mesa, CA 91942 , Lemon Grove , California , United States
Great mom and pop music store. They have affordable rentals. We rented our daughter’s violin for a certain amount of time and they mailed us a final receipt saying we owned it! When she out grew it, they allowed us to do a trade and we paid the difference for the bigger/newer one. They could have easily said, oh well, but they didn’t. Great service!
They offer lessons there as well.
Music instructors are first rate, repairs are priced well.
Awesome customer service. Very lively and ever so helpful to all your musical needs. Wouldn’t change this wonderful place…ever…from big name music stores. Alan’s Music Center is family. And, family is love.
I love Alan’s. But had a unpleasant experience last time there. Lady behind the counter was very unfriendly.
Pretty good service. Although I have nothing to compare to .
Good inventory
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!!
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.
9. Moze Guitars
Address: 8415 La Mesa Blvd #1, La Mesa, CA 91942 , Lemon Grove , California , United States
Been coming here since I got my first guitar set-up. Bought a few amps, sold a guitar, repaired and gotten advice numerous times now and I can’t see myself going anywhere else. They are super friendly and helpful to anyone who comes in and they’re honest. Customer for life, love these guys.
Hey Gene, is my guitar done yet 😉
Best guitar shop in town.
Knowledgeable friendly best repair shop that I know of in San Diego. I always get the best choice on new and vintage guitars right here at a great price
Really enjoy talking to the guys that work there. They know their stuff.
I’ve been going to Moze since he was on College Avenue for many years now. Recently however he has some new people working for him that are rude and condescending. They actually damaged my G&L by trying to jam noiseless pick ups into it that it wasn’t designed for. Instead of calling me up they tried to push them in and distorted the pick guard. They also were unable to set the guitar up. The best way I can describe the guys face who took care of me while I was dealing with this was a contemptuous sneer. The bank got my money back but I’ll never go here again.
Took my guitar in to get a rewire because it was out of phase, extremely quiet, and no notes rang out. Made sure it was my guitar that was the problem and nothing else. Took it to Moze and they said they’d fix it. Two and a half weeks go by and I hear nothing. Today I got my guitar back and it’s like they didn’t even touch it. Nothing was re-wired, my guitar is still broken, I was charged $65.
10. Simon’s Loan and Jewelry
Address: 7771 Broadway, Lemon Grove, CA 91945 , Lemon Grove , California , United States
Awesome customer service. Will make business over and over again with them!
I love this place everyone is so friendly, recommended
I highly recommend this shop, because the folks are extremely knowledgeable on items, and have a large inventory of treasured! They are respectfully caring and sensitive to your needs, support , pawns, and purchases. Thank you Simon’s Team
Don’t waste your time
Not very helpful at ALL. I wouldn’t recommend them unless it was absolutely your last choice! Go downtown off of 4th and broadway for better prices and service. Also Your good history with them means nothing. Never again.
11. On-Time Backline
Address: 5960 El Cajon Blvd, San Diego, CA 92115 , Lemon Grove , California , United States
I had a really good experience working with On-Time Backline. I rented a 5-piece maple Ludwig drum kit with cymbals and it was only $150 for a day. The owner of the business is an easygoing guy who’s genuinely trying to get you a good deal. They provided cases for all the drums and a helpful dolly for the hardware bag. Rental process was quick and painless. I definitely recommend them!
I brought in an old MIDI controller that no one in San Diego would work on. Todd fixed it quickly and for a fair price. Definitely will be back for any future needs.
They serviced and repaired my old tube amps and they sound better than ever. They were ready for pick up sooner than expected too. Very satisfied, this is where I’ll be taking my amps from now on.
12. Studio M.I.F Lemon Grove
Address: 7870 Broadway, Lemon Grove, CA 91945 , Lemon Grove , California , United States
Great place for recording music. Marvin was very flexible with scheduling and knowledgeable to work with, great microphone quality in the music studio. Also a great place for videos with both green screen and full curved white backdrop.
13. Guitar Center
Address: 8825 Murray Dr, La Mesa, CA 91942 , Lemon Grove , California , United States
I went there to get a gift card for a friend’s birthday. It was quick and easy.
Bought a Taylor guitar. Their inventory was complete, I got to compare with other premium guitars and to sweeten the deal got a 20% off sale. It is fun to go there and feel all the energy between the customers and sales staff. I was first put off with the big box store but Taylor sticks by their dealers and the dealer came through. Nothing but kudos…
The best place in town to get all my drum needs taken care of!
Staff is helpful and knowledgeable.
Lotsa everything for musicians w attitude.
They ok
Terrible customer service.
It’s a nice place if you are going to sell the equipment to yourself. I’d rather give my money To a music store that actually cares about music, the customer and quality.
Nobody in the store right now knows dj equipment. They have a whole dj section but the guys who know the stuff went home.
14. Thibeault Guitars
Address: 917 Gillespie Dr, Spring Valley, CA 91977 , Lemon Grove , California , United States
7 window tint a on a Corolla for a super reasonable price! 5/5
They were awesome to me! Came in with my 2016 BMW 328I to get it tinted.. Gave them my keys went home for 2 hours came back and they took me to the back and bam Hella good job. Manufacturer quality and they to care of me. Exactly what I wanted. I recommend these guys. Those with bad rankings clearly need to look at yourselves a bit. These guys were exceptional.
Got 3 rear windows tinted on Scion TC, done in 30-45 minutes and looks great!
Quality sounds there
Just make sure you get a clear understanding on what you’re getting and the price and make sure it’s written down. Make sure deal with Andy he’s the owner
Trash
THIEVES !! Crazy scam artist they will highly over charge for equipment and labor. Never go here stay far and clear away.
Horrible experience. Salesman are rude and not trustworthy. These guys overcharge for simple items, then pocket the money refusing to give a receipt.
Avoid this place at all costs.
16. Deering Banjo Company
Address: 3733 Kenora Dr, Spring Valley, CA 91977 , Lemon Grove , California , United States
Decided to surprise my Son with a Banjo for Christmas but I don’t know much about them. So I friend suggested I stop in at Deering since I live local. I arrived at 10:00AM and discovered it was by appointment only. I called, explained I was at their front door and they adjusted their day for me. I was welcomed inside and given a complete explanation of the different styles of banjo, how they are designed and how each part affects the other. Truly a great experience. When I got home I started my research for a entry level banjo that my son will not outgrow (He currently plays guitar, bass, drums, and piano so not a complete novice .) but won’t break the bank of this single income Dad. Website after website listed Deering goodtime banjo’s as top rated and after spending an hour at their company, it is clear why. They make a quality product that will last.
Applied for a job and they were very nice
Just a quick note to say Carol who answers incoming calls was a pleasure to deal with. She went above and beyond to personally resolve my customer service request. Thanks again
Very original.
Not bad, factory could be cleaner
Long history of fame for banjos. Family owned & operated. Friendly. Take time , interest with questions. Tours – call to set up.
Dropped the ball with their customer service. I was informed that i would be receiving a new neck for my banjo back in July. I think i have been left high and dry with no communication on any progress or solution to my Goodtime Artisan Banjo that i bought brand new last year.
I wrote a review but the “confirm e-mail address” on your e-mail to me did not connect me to anything. For what it is worth, here’s what your banjo case handle looks like. Not what I expected for $300+.
17. Music Rental Co & Pawn
Address: 5960 El Cajon Blvd, San Diego, CA 92115 , Lemon Grove , California , United States
These guys are the real deal! Super cool, professional & great service. I am a customer for Life!!!
Awesome service!! Fully honored their money back guarantee when part of the purchase did not meet expectations and they did not have a replacement in stock. 100% class act.
Different from your typical pawn shop. . You don’t need silver and gold to put some money in your pocket. They’re collectibles are so cool. Great spot
Had $900 cash in my pocket and drove to the SD area to hunt for vintage gear. clerk would not let us in the store 12 minutes to closeasked us to leave
Always a poor attitude, never friendly or good business
18. The Grey Brick Recording Studio
Address: 2511 Cypress Ave, Lemon Grove, CA 91945 , Lemon Grove , California , United States
Great studio and great engineer, Peter was more than enough help to finish my project. Very patient and gives great advice, it was definitely what I was looking for. Will return soon to create more sounds.
Peter is a highly skilled recording engineer I would definitely recommend Grey Brick for your project!
