Lincoln County: Overview of the top 20 music shops

Great people, great guitars! I love my Mullen pedal steel!

Maravilhosa Pedal Steel Guitar! Comprei um modelo Royal Precision e estou extremamente satisfeito!

Enjoyed seeing where the Mullen guitar is made.

Great place to get your music needs filled , gifts and Cundy is very helpful.
You can also find JNM music items at the Junction 50 Galleria in LaJunta and Vendors Gallery in Lamar.

Good customer service

Great customer service, they seem happy to help and answer any questions.

Great place for all your local music needs. Great price on rentals, very knowledgeable staff.

Very organized and setup for great support if local kids school instruments needs. Rebuilt my old clarinet and it was very professional.

Good selection of disney and movie music

Courteous helpful staff, good selection

Less than one star. Don’t waste your time. I went it to buy something, but they didn’t have in stock, but did have it at another local location. The person I spoke to assured me they would have it there by 11 30 the following morning for me.
So I go back at noon the following day and he clerk said “oh I saw it it the box I was supposed to bring, but something happened it’s not in there, I must have taken it out. Didn’t apologise for wasting my time. Did not make arrangements for someone to bring it right then. She then resumed talking to her friend on her cell. I will never shop there again.

For a music store, not many options for accessories for electric guitars

Was just there planning on buying a new instrument. Had a few hundred dollars in my pocket and walking in I wasn’t even looked at by the lady at the register. Upon playing the stringed instruments for about 15 minutes (mind you half that time I was tuning them all for them) I was told I had 5 minutes to buy something or I’d be asked to leave. It’s a shame I had my eye on a Washburn electric mandolin, strings, cables and rosin… could have been a 400 dollar sale but with that kind of rudeness I’ll take my business to one of the stores I frequent. BYE

This is THE go-to place for trading music gear in Colorado Springs!

We needed a guitar for our daughter to begin lessons, and we got everything we needed at an extremely reasonable price. They were also very helpful in helping us make the right selection and find everything we needed.

Great selection and friendly staff. I get almost all of my equipment here.

It’s fare

Decent little shop that will generally take care of your basic needs. Don’t expect a giant selection of goods or rarities, but do expect friendly service, and that is worth much more than the value of other similar stores.

Good selection of really cool guitars and other musical equipment. The young fellas helping me could use a little customer service training but otherwise a hidden gem of a store.

Rude service.

Staff seems ok

This place is kinda over priced but they have a decent selection of used guitars

Just like so many other reviews prior, I’ll second them. Nate & Jason were incredibly helpful and met my needs and expectations perfectly. I did my due diligence prior to going in and they then educated me way beyond! It’s absolutely clear that they want you to walk out with the right tools rather than pushing things you don’t need. Thanks, even though I live up in NE Denver I will always do my best to get back down there for my musical needs. Rock on, amigos…

Have yet to have an experience that was other than very supportive, friendly and informative. Have bought and traded quite a bit and have only positive things to say. Thanks Guys! RaWk

Great place to check out an array of used equipment. Staff is friendly and knowledgeable!

Its usually great. Had a terrible staff that I hadn’t seen before last time I went. I won’t go back.

Great shop! You can expect to pay a little more than average for used fear here, but they are VERY thorough with inspections before they buy. You can trust you will get good gear. Use as a last resort for selling though. They will give you next to nothing for your used gear. They have to make money right. Overall, staff is very friendly and helpful and new gear rolls in pretty consistently which is good and bad news for those of us with incorrigible G.A.S.

Musical Go Round is a great place to find certain used gear at a decent price if you know what you are looking for. It is a fun place to look around. I have bought guitars, sound and drum gear over there. I like the fact that they have a variety of instruments / other gear there too. They also do guitar set ups here too. I have to give Doug props for making my old Squire Affinity play nice again.

Just leaving the store now! I was trying to get some more information on a couple different things in the store but despite their not being a lot of people in the store for staff did their best to not make eye contact or help me oh well!

Was just in the store upgrading my daughters amp not realizing you close at 4pm. Innocently thought you were open till 5 atleast like most places. Besides the miss understanding with hours. You don’t turn off the lights on your customers while they’re about to make a purchase. I come here alot and have always been treated with respect. But turning the lights out on us was a pretty low and rude move. Basically felt like you were all saying FU to us!
If you can play or sing in front of an audience you should atleast have the confidence to make an announcement that you’re about to close ahholes!

Do not buy anything used. The warranty is only good for sore credit. They sell you something broken or on the edge of broken and then you can only get store credit. The staff is very friendly and helpful but the used products are poor quality and worthless. I lost $200 to this store. The USB midi port did not work at all, wouldn’t even turn on. The akai mpk-25 controller stopped working properly after one month. I took very good care of these items. I would not waste your time on this scamming “must-be struggling” establishment. Especially if you are serious about music.

Very helpful! Got my first guitar here years ago! WILL DICKSON and JAGUAR JAKE are juts ignorant and mad! THE WORLD DOESNT REVOLVE AROUND YOU insignifiCUNTS!!

Closed when it says 24 hours and store is a mess

Been going here many years. Owner Mike is a great guy. Personal touch. Great repairs.

Amazing customer service with my repairs and my purchases!

Awesome local music shop!
Excellent repairs

Fun music store….. unique classic place

Classic hometown music store. Big plus is luthiers on site. I love the clutter, too.

Really nice man who’ll help you with anything owns this place. Been in Pueblo forever!

Music store is very messy with a poor selection of instruments. Repair shop is questionable.

I called, and inquired as to whether he purchased instruments at his location. I am new to the area. He responded “that’s why I have a music store, to buy and sell instruments”. When I gave him my instrument model (custom Ibanez in wonderful condition), he responded again by changing his statement. He said “I have too many instruments, I only want to sell”. I don’t leave reviews often, but this seemed necessary for future shoppers here.

I visited this music store with my cousin as his banjo was fixed and ready to be paid and taken home, Also with intent to buy their Luna electric but 5 minutes after entering the store and testing the poorly tuned guitars and tuning them for the store i was told by Mike that we’re too poor and can’t buy anything so I need to leave the store as they are busy and they don’t want to have to clean the guitars anymore from people touching them, (there was no business even going on except for them walking around and watching me or sitting down waiting for a customer.) So my cousin and I promptly left without a word, came back with the cash to pay off the repairs and I told them they lost our business.

If you would like to be treated like a clumsy, dirt poor fool while looking for a new guitar then this is the place for you! Otherwise steer clear of this rude and hateful establishment!

I like this shop ! Lots of unique gear and a friendly staff ! I’ll be back

I’ve been in here 3 times, every time i’m pleasantly surprised. each guitar is set up beautifully without regard to price or manufacturer, if you need an instrument or pedal; it’s the best option i’ve seen in the area. they take a focused approach to guitars/basses/amps/pedals and they do it extremely well. they stock an astounding quantity of different pedals, and they’re helpful and personable, and they stay busy.

Brought my son in today to Flip Side for the first time to get a few items. He is beginner guitar player. The guy working in there was so kind and informative we really appreciate the Service we received and the Store has a Decent selection of Instruments and Accessories. Definitely will be our go to place from now on

First Visit. Nice small shop, great pedal selection and some nice guitar brands (Reverend, G&L among others). Really friendly folks.

Pretty good store with decent prices

Great place

Overly expensive and also lots of homeless people hanging outside on the street near by. It’s a dump.

I have had excellent service for some years. I got a free sticker for a new instrument case. They have also repaired my clarinet plenty of times. These repairs have lasted for years.

Went in to get a new cello bow. The man there was very helpful and nice, and even gave me a $17 discount as the bow I chose was a little older therefore it had a bit of wear and tear on it. Definately would go there again and I would recommend it to anyone 🙂 Very nice and educated people.

Andy and Kim are so kind and helpful. Ive come to Flesher since I was a kid and now so do my kids.
Can’t imagine going anywhere else.

The people employees are professional, knowledgeable, and ready to help!
As with any store like this, you can expect them to be salesmen, though they don’t push too hard and don’t avoid helping you find the lowest priced items.
The technicians are great, but I wish they had a bit more enthusiasm.
If you are testing out brass instruments or such, the practice room they put me in had too much reverb to get accurate samples, even with a recording device. I have yet to ask if they had a more acoustically dry room.
They can order sheet music and products, and have all the basics and many accessories for band musicians.

Like always the services people were just great.

There’s parking at the new location. Really reasonably priced supplies. Not the best selection for buying instruments though. Since their relocation, seems they’re putting more emphasis on instrument repair. Still probably the best music supply shop in the area

Went in to check out acoustic guitars earlier today. Got an important call as I was about to tune a guitar I was checking out and the guy behind the counter just starts blowing into some sort of wind instrument seemingly deliberately because taking a quick phone call. So I hung up the guitar and just walked out.
But the guy who welcomed me when I walked in seemed nice.

Just terrible experience! Purchased a new wood clarinet 5 months ago. Found out it was cracking, unfortunately happens if not taken care of, but not in the first 5 months.

Took 2+ months to fix, when we finally picked it up, some old guy in the store started telling my 16 year old daughter about keeping it greased every six months- lecturing her because it was so dried out! Finally stepped in and told him…we bought it here less than 5 months ago…in other words, you sold an old dried out clarinet for $2000.00. Will never ever step foot in this store again d/t the service dept.

Got a guitar for my son and these guys were great. Best music store in town.

Done business with Prosound for years.

Richard not only knows his stuff but is professional & personable with me. I first brought him a guitar that the ” big box center” guy repaired poorly & damaged. He explained what was needed for my guitar without talking down to me. I’ve since brought him several instruments for work as well as bought a new bass from him. I’d rather work with him than any other luthier in the Springs or Denver.

Always good to go in and see my old bandmates Howie and Richard! Prices are great and selection is awesome!

Yay

Awesome staff! Extremely helpful to beginners and experts. If you ever dreamed of jamming out on guitar or drums, go for it. Nothing better than trying before buying. Prices reasonable.

Aweful! Just awful. My husband used to work there, went to them when he passed away from Cancer to resell some of his gear he left us, the offered WAY less than market value. Don’t sell your gear there.

The quote only covered 10 pieces, didn’t account for the rest. NOT ok. Felt scammed.

And if that wasn’t enough, the manager raised his voice to me when I said no to the offer. The other guys there were incredibly helpful though in unloading and loading the two car fulls of equipment. I think that was the straw that broke the camel’s back. I’ll never ever go back! Not ever.

If you want to give away your money then go here. They can’t figure out our rental agreement to save there life. Bu the time they figured out how much longer we had on our rental we had the onstrument paid off and they kept charging us even after that. What a hastle.

The men in this place don’t seem that interested in helping women who come in to their establishment; we were completely ignored. I would recommend trying to find a place that doesn’t discriminate.

The best little antique shop I’ve visited yet! There are plenty of treasures to be found. When you walk in there lies a pull up bar offering malts and hot coffee. Would definitely suggest this to all of my friends as a must see when driving through Hugo!

Amazing prices. Great merchandise. Lovely experience.

Enjoyed my treasure hunt in this very unique shop. Shop owner was very nice and helpful, if you are in the area stop in and find your own treasure.

Great shop with lots of goodies; however, they do not wear or enforce wearing masks as mandated by state law.

Just stopped at your store – disappointed not open – no hours posted – no phone message – no way to reach you – NO HOURS POSTED ON GOOGLE EITHER – guess you just patron to locals!!

Music&Arts are amazing they fix my son trumpet in just 2 minutes thank you very much..!

Knowledgeable staff and GREAT teachers!

My granddaughter’s violin was given to ger for Christmas and was not put together. So when we took it to them to get strung she was great n tried but unfortunately the bridge was not the right one. But we appreciate the effort to try to make it work. Thanks again

Organized and clean nice staff they don’t buy instruments

I am a music teacher. This is my go to for lesson books for my students.

Was able to buy a great violin

Walked in, no hello, no what can I help you with. Walk over to case where violins are which is right in front of the 2 men and I guess I must have been a ghost because I wasn’t acknowledged. So not even going to waste my time.

This place is a total rip off. When we rented this at my son’s old school, we asked if we could return it and get a different instrument next year if he changes his mind. We were told YES. I’m here now needing to do an even EXCHANGE and because its not an ORCHESTRA instrument that is offered at his new school we can’t exchange it. So we LOST all the money we already put into it.. Nothing but LIARS at this place. Do yourself a favor and DON’T RENT FROM HERE. There are PLENTY of other places that will not lie to you just to get your money..

The person that restrung my guitar did the whole thing wrong and he was saying he knew how to do it and we spent $30 on this and it wasn’t even done correctly he said he knew how to work on guitars but he didn’t even know which way to turn the tuning knobs

One of the best sounding guitars I have ever played.

Highly recommend. Louis is a super nice guy and really knows Guitars. Very helpful and great service.

Fun place

If I could turn back time, I would. Hand made guitars is thrown out there loosely by Louis… mostly CNC like the big Coorporate names. I was drawn to this Company because I read five 5 Star Reviews… huge regret after getting what I got from them. A 3 month project turned to a 6 month nightmare. Original plan was going to end with me driving down there on a weekend to personally pick up this “Handmade” Guitar which was going to make it that much more special. Received a couple of phone calls in between the 6 months to inform me about why this Build was taking longer than usual. I kept my cool thinking it would add to the experience on having to wait longer for “High Quality Top Notch Product”. The day finally came when I was asked to pay the second payment in full before shipping it to me. I did… I paid and waited. 2 days later, I received a text from UPS stating that my guitar had just been dropped off at the front door. “No Signature Required”… just left at the front door for the world to see. Being a busy busy single parent with work and everything in between, it took me about 3-4 days to finally Crack open that case with a sloppy stenciled spray painted logo to find a beautiful guitar with a handful of flaws. I reached out to Mr. Scutti but started making excuses about the Delivery Driver having dropped it during shipping blah blah blah. Long story short… I paid almost 3K for a horrible experience and having to make final adjustments to be able to play this man’s Guitar. I don’t even consider it. I played it a couple of times and got absolute ZERO inspiration. I have planned on taking the electronics and transferring them into a 30 Dollar Squier Tele I just got at the Pawn Shop and leave the 3K dollar nightmare hanging on the wall to serve as a reminder that there are still great salesmen out there. No hard feelings, only stating the facts.

Great place for repairs and lessons! Mike Townes is a stud of you want to learn how to play.

I walked by…..never entered

Great guitar shop Batman. Very nice. Excellent selection.

I don’t know anything about picking parlor but I must say Olde Town has potential to be great. But…. they tear down way to many old interesting buildings that should be preserved and keep the Olde Town real. And I have to rate downtown a 3 with all the cigarette butts that are littered throughout the entire town! It is DISGUSTING!!!

Great little shop offering guitars, mandolins, banjos and a huge variety of stringed instruments both for sale and/or repair. A fun shop to visit, and if you play to try out the various instruments.

Friendly service, knowledgeable quantity inventory!

I can’t wait to be back in Denver

Take pictures of your equipment before you drop it off. They’ll upcharge you like a dirty car salesman.

Give this place a pass if you’re looking for violin or fiddle things. Not much selection and the main dude at the counter seemed very offput when I asked about them. The other guy working was really nice though.

Staff wasn’t interested in helping us, they seemed preoccupied with more important things…

A beloved music store and luthier among the local musicians here. Don’t expect same-day service as Don’s work is in high demand. He is very knowledgeable and loves to share what he knows with his customers. Great selection of gear and accessories, great lesson programs, and has sponsored some awesome workshops as well.

I always love coming in to Jensen’s. They carry unique brands of guitars and have used items for great prices. They also set up the guitars very well and have great consumer service.

My favorite guitar store experience. a friendly and knowledgeable atmosphere with a staff that promotes great conversation.

We love this place. Kids do lessons here and the teachers are great. Friendly staff.

Bought the tool I need next in my grand plan. 5 string Bass. It’s a pretty beauty.

They have more than just guitars they also sell wind instruments and string instruments

They didn’t communicate with me and made me wait a month for a simple violin repair. The repair also wasn’t done well and had to be brought back days later to have bridge fixed again. Days later it only broke yet again……

Don can be a bit rude and condescending. I want to support the small business local guys, but just a little more respect would go a long way.

Great place if you are looking for a cheap jangly Chinese made guitar. Spend a few minutes with the owner so he can brag about his skills and insult your intelligence!

Good selection of lower end guitars and amps.

Staff was very helpful and polite.

Staff is great and very helpful. I have used this store for 2 large purchases and have been impressed every time! 5 stars hands down!

Excellent staff!! Lots of toys. Wish it didn’t have such a “big box store” feel. That’s why I took off a star. But the staff is great!!!

Friendly people and they have a great selection.

Great selection of instruments. Not only guitars, but also keeuboards, drums, percussion, and other assorted items. Prices were comparable on most items with a few items way cheaper then other stores, more so with strings and accessories. While so e of there guitar prices were on the proud side. All instruments are prices fairly just some higher then others which is normal.

Super small guitar selection weird if you ask me super expensive selection too. I won’t be back but that’s just me. The star is for the store quality not the employees just to be clear they helped my in a most appreciated way. I had to through that in.

Called ahead to verify the availability of a guitar and that they would price match their sister company musicians friend. I was assured that they had the guitar there in stock and that they could match the price. I drove 50 minutes to the store, played the guitar, went to check out and was told they could NOT match the price. I then got to waste another 50 minutes driving back home to order it online. Last time ill visit this store for anything substantial. May as well buy online.

Continue issues with guitar center. Scheduled a 2pm drum evaluation for potential drum lessons, instructor decided to not show.

Asked if i wanted to reschedule, but hate to waste time with no shows, so no I will be looking for another instructor.

This place is a great little independent rock band type instrument store. They aren’t as big as a Guitar Center, but they a packed with guitars. They have a lot different guitars than I am used to seeing. They have a lot of nice stuff, but they carry lower-end acoustic guitars because of the extreme dryness in Denver. They carry a lot of Schecter brand guitars. The staff and owner are really nice and ​helpful, and they have a really good guitar tech there. They have a great website so you can check out their inventory and even buy stuff from them online. I rebooked checking it out.

The best place to go for your music gear hands down! They have ten times the selection of any of the big music stores and their buildings only a third of the size!

Friendly people

Great place for drummers & guitarists. Has options of new & used. Friendly & helpful. Does special orders. Staff knowledgeable & experienced with merchandise.

Great store. Knowledgeable staff. Shop here, not corporate monster stores.

They have some really sweet guitars and a friendly knowledable staff. Got some bongos and a uke to start an annoying hipster band. Look out world!

I ordered an item online that was in stock that the time of ordering. I even called in the store to confirm. I received an email A WEEK LATER saying my order was canceled because the item was out of stock. First and last time I ever buy from this store.

I came in a few times for a cocktail drum purchase and didn’t find prices that fit my budget (which is fine, it was nice equipment and they’re a used store!). I came back to try and trade things in for accessories instead (bass pedal/Hi-Hat stand) but the trade in value was changed when I got there if I didn’t buy multiple items. Again fair enough, it’s a used shop and they need to make money.

I came yesterday to grab a floor Tom ring and Tim was pretty short with me a bit immature saying “Hey, we finally sold you something!” tried to upsell me on a bass drum head for my new kick and when I was said goodbye, he ignored me while walking away.

I truly do not like to write these messages or send negativity to a used music shop as I had been apart of one for a very long time but if you can’t find me what I’m looking for at a price that is in my range: do not make it my problem and make me feel unwanted. I sent an email addressed to Tim specifically to remedy the situation and I haven’t heard anything back. So I’m writing it here to not treat others this way.

Everyone needs to make money but jeez, don’t run your customers out when they finally find something that works for them with you.

Bought a Schecter Tempest custom which was “supposed” to come with American made Seymour Duncan pickups. After I purchased the guitar they emailed me saying there was an “issue” with my pickups, and that they needed to be replaced. Yeah; they replaced them alright…with Duncan Disigned pickups…..scumbags.
Have and never will do business with again! BUYER BEWARE!!!!

Friendly staff, affordable repair, custom made guitars, low cost factory seconds as well as reasonably priced new and used instruments, lessons. Small owner managed shop. Well worth the visit…..

Evan was very helpful, laid back environment with personalized help that’s not pushy. Great staff too. Yes the selection is less than big box stores but it’s worth it to come here for the service.

I’ve had 3 guitars worked on here strings and beyond. Great work, great service, extremely professional, and great prices. So this review is my way of saying thank you.

I had these guys take a look at a signature bass of mine. It had some electrical problems going on with it that were a bit out of their knowledge base but Evan is great guy. Very honest and very hard working. I will return with any other problems I have in the future and I would recommend them. Their pricing is very fair and they are willing to help out customers any way they can.

I called to sign my boys up for guitar lessons and had a few options worked out and was told I would be called back to confirm which times worked. I never heard back. Then, when I called back to confirm options, I was told they didn’t have any of my information logged and there were no longer any time slots available for lessons.
Everyone I have met there seems very nice, but very poorly organized.

i went in to check if my scarlett 2i4 was working and to sell my korg kaossilator. they gave me a more than fair price on the korg and ran tests on my 2i4 to let me know it worked. they offered to test my microphone for me later on if i needed it, and i did. i went in, and one of the employees checked my cable and walked me through how he checked it and fixed it. upon asking how much he’d cost, he said it was free 🙂 this is a great store with super vibey employees who do a good job, would definitely recommend

Very informative on trombones

Harmony with Customer Service!!
Brandon was extremely helpful and went over and beyond what my expectations were helping me tune and repair a pre-owned guitar. I highly recommend this facility for their outstanding focus on giving you the complete experience. As a Newbie, Green Pea, Amateur guitarist, I was intimidated by some of the other music stores in FOCO. But, this place turned made me feel comfortable asking for suggestions on strings, gear and more. Thank you Brandon and the rest of your team at Music Go Round, I’ll absolutely be sending your referral business!!!

Asked about where to repair my amp, told him I had it looked at by a local sound guy that has been repairing amps for decades(including four of mine, which I was very happy with) but wasn’t sure if I wanted to return it to the factory to be refurbished. The guy behind the counter(the manager) took that opportunity to bash the guy I went to(pretty excessively), and try to convince me his amp guy would be better than having it factory refurbished. It was rude, unprofessional and I’m doubt I’ll ever be back in the store.

I went in tonight around 6pm to pick up some bass strings. When I walked in, I asked for recommendations on bass strings, as I’ve only bought guitar strings before. The man working there didn’t even come fully out from behind the counter to assist me and made a rude comment when I jokingly asked “What strings does Geddy Lee use?” (The bass player from Rush.)

Honestly, it’s not about the bass strings, the inability to walk fully from behind the counter, or the rude comment and attitude. It’s the fact that I’m trying to support local businesses, and EVERY TIME I go to this store, I’m treated as if I’m an inconvenience.

At Guitar Center, I’m always treated with respect and courtesy. It’s making it really hard for me to want to keep supporting this business when I know that I’ll be treated better somewhere else. A small dose of customer service goes a long way.

If they pretended they were happy to see me just once, it would make a difference. I wear the store’s t-shirt, for crying out loud.

Pretty cool…!!!

I do not recommend this store. I have been a faithful customer for many years and tried to support local business, however this particular Music Go Round is by far the worst. I have brought in guitars and basses that I have played for years only to be told they have warped necks or something else is wrong with them. I have brought these same instruments to either Guitar Center (Fort Collins/Arvada)or the other two Music Go Rounds in Denver (Littleton specifically) and they had no issues and said all they needed was a little set up. While the owner is a good guy, the manager is completely un-knowledgeable and very rude. Also, their return policy is completely different from the other Music Go Rounds only allowing 7 days and in store credit only, and while they claim it’s stated everywhere it is not musician friendly as sometimes we need more time to see if equipment is going to work for us. Guitar Center is a much more musician and user friendly store, and I would highly advise taking the trip to the other locations to be treated fairly.

Had good experiences in the past here both buying and selling but chose to offer me $200 for $1500 worth of bass gear. At least guitar center offered me 50% of the total worth. Avoid if you are selling. If you are buying check EVERYTHING over as much of the wind instrument stock has issues.

EDIT: Went back last week to trade another guitar. The salesperson claimed that the neck was twisted (so they of course couldn’t buy it) which was debunked later by a good luthier. I really want to like this store but they don’t employ honest people.

Mr. Brandon Barrios:
I went to Music Go Around today on purpose to give a local business my money rather than Amazon. I left right away, however, as your shopkeeper responded in an unfriendly manner that I was not wearing a mask. I explained that we are an asthmatic family and his ungenerous response was, “I’m an asthmatic, too, and I’m wearing a mask.” It is your prerogative to wear a mask and force your customers to do so, but it is also my prerogative to take my business where I’m not forced to wear a mask that hinders my breathing and does little to nothing to stop the bad flu called covid-19. You just lost the $500-$1000 I was prepared to spend.

Given all options, the mandolin price was fair and follow up was timely.

Good place for acoustic instruments

Very helpful staff and the guitar I bought was the same price you see on the internet for the same model.

Good knowledge folks

Exciting to have a local non chain (read “Guitar Center”) acoustic musical instrument store in the hood. Experts in not only guitars, but dulcimers and mandolins too! Experienced in their craft, and repairs.

Claude spent time reviewing my questions about guitars.

Worst service ever! Don’t go to this place for guitar help. Go for frustration and disappointment. They’re really good at providing that.

Came here while on a trip with a friend and mandolin student who was in the market for a new mandolin. She hadn’t played many because there aren’t really any places to play them where we live. I am always in the market for new instruments I like, and have several multi-thousand dollar instruments. So we went to the store, which had no other customers there, and looked at the mandolins.

She is pretty shy so I wanted to loosen her up into not feeling judged and free to try and compare. I grabbed one of the cheaper mandolins and did my typical trying out a mando routine of playing parts of tunes that try out the high, low, and mid ranges of the instrument. As soon as she started playing one of the cheaper Kentucky mandolins softly some guy came over and asked what we were looking for and that we could only play the instruments if we were going to buy them.

I gave him a quick synopsis of the situation and made the point that it’s hard to know what we’d want to buy until having played it. He replied with a smirk and said he could show us to something specific if we were interested, but couldn’t condone “jamming”. I was bewildered as we were not jamming at all, but simply lightly playing on some cheap mandolins at the same time.

Eventually he showed me to some octave mandolin that I pretended to be interested in due to the feeling that if I didn’t tell him something specific we’d be kicked out or something. I felt suspicious somehow. When he left, some younger guy came over and he was really cool. But that older guy killed any good vibes. I didn’t even try all the instruments I would have been considering to buy.

One would think that, especially in this day and age, brick and mortar music stores need to be a sanctuary for players to play instruments they’re shopping for.

I miss Harry. He was polite to his customers.