This place is amazing. I explained the circumstances why I needed my father’s 40 yr old guitar fixed. They were very empathic and kind. I’m so grateful for this. Excellent service and workmanship. Best not only in the country likely in the world.
went to purchase some guitar acoustic guitar strings and asked about the guitar services restring my guitar. I would recommend this place.
I owned Candelas classical guitars since 1971. This is a big family operation now run by Tomas, the grandson of the builder of the 2 instruments I have. He loves to talk about his work and is clearly dedicated. He does, however, get overwhelmed and is sometimes hard to get to respond to questions.
The guitars are works of art.
The guitar instructor Kenneth is very helpful and friendly, and he is also knowledgeable about a variety of guitar techniques. His teaching style can fit the need for adult/recreational learners.
The directions to Candelas Guitar on Ceasar Chavez in ELA was ABSOLUTELY HORRIBLE, TAKING THE FREEWAY LITERALLY TOOK YOU THE LONNNG/WRONG WAY .. THE BEST WAY TO GO WAS AND IS TO TAKE THE STREETS…
I want to go there, we are distant relitives, i am Frank de Carro and Delores Rea’s grand daughter, i knew 9f tio Candelas we (i must have been 5-6) went to visit mi tio and mi tia at their beutiful house that had a back porch the over looked a beutiful cliffside. We stayed a week, that is when i lernt that mi tio had made “micky mouse’s first guitar” . Someday i told myself i shuld stop by and say hello. Nice for the great , informational articales on your site ,cant wait to meet my family, someday
Terrible service. Needs to work on their customer service skills. I do not recommend.
viaje dos horas para comprar una guitarra, no se si tuve mala suerte hoy, pero había una señora atendiendo que no me permitió probar ni ver su selección de guitarras que tienen, solo me permitió probar unas de la más baja calidad, y ella parada al par mío, q no me dejó sentir cómodo, me habían dicho de una variedad mayor, y precios variados, las que me mostró eran de $500 y pregunté si había de más valor y me dijo que no, aún cuando yo podía ver atraves de la puerta que había muchas más colgadas en la pared, la señora no se mostró nada amigable, hoy ordenaré una guitarra por zzound donde compro mis instrumentos electrónicos, con bastante actitud para dar toda la información que uno necesite, muy decepcionado de este lugar
3. Bookmark Music
Address: 307 Forest Ave, Pacific Grove, CA 93950 , Maricopa , California , United States
Spent time playing guitars with a friend. Staff was super kind and helpful, no problems at all. Will definitely be visiting again.
Helpful, friendly and knowledgeable. It was a pleasure to visit.
Sweet local music shop.
Good selection. The customer service may be poor at times, so I would recommend having an idea or a list of items to support your search efforts. The sheet music is very disorganized, so I would plan to spend a few extra minutes searching for genre labels.
Great music selection for classical music. Friendly service.
Friendly place and, if you want a ukele, this is there placed to go.
Required to sanitize my hands before entering her shop. I did not enter her shop! ( Had my vaccine, both.)4/12/23 No one wearing a mask in shop. There was no greeting hello etc just pointing to a bottle of sanitizer and saying you need to sanitize your hands first. I have been playing for 30 years and never handle someone else’s guitar or musical equipment unless my hands are washed. Just flat out rude. Seemed more concerned with flirting with the person at the counter. This is why more and more people are ordering on line. I always give locals in Pacific Grove first shot at my business and if a bad experience like with you , I order on line. Because of on line business, store ownes should be going above and beyond. On line is providing better prices, service and slection. Will be going to Amazon for my musical needs. As I was leaving your store I found a bag of marbles just outside of your door? Look familiar?
4. Ashly Piano Crafts
Address: 416 Bryant Cir unit n, Ojai, CA 93023 , Maricopa , California , United States
Top notch professionals! Quality service you can’t find anywhere else! The best! Highly recommend Dennis and Evan! The attention toward customer service is none like any other!
I inherited the piano that my grandfather used to compose and arrange music. It is over 50 years old and had been in storage for a number of years. so it needed a great deal of work. Dennis came out to look and see what we’d need to do to get the piano back into good playing order. He was upfront about all that needed to be done and the minimum that should be done to get my piano back. He ended up taking much of the inside of the piano out for evan to repair/rebuilt in the workshop. Once it was rebuilt and put back together, he tuned it up. I’m so pleased with how it sounds now and the work that they did for a reasonable cost. I would highly recommend Ashly Piano Crafts to anyone in need of a simple tuning or a more extensive repair.
Dennis has tuned and meticulously restored my piano for years. He also tunes and moves pianos for professionals. I wouldn’t consider anyone else.
5. Taft Pawn Shop
Address: Main St, Taft, CA 93268 , Maricopa , California , United States
6. Gottschalk Music Center
Address: 234 W Main St, Merced, CA 95340 , Maricopa , California , United States
Nice good stuff in store worker’s very nice and helpful I will go back every time I need sometimes
Went in to look at purchasing a new trumpet and the sales rep (I didn’t get her name) was extremely helpful and straightforward. She knew what she was talking about and didn’t complain when she had to keep running back and forth because I couldn’t decide on what I wanted. Great job and thank you so much for your help.
Very helpful bought pics n capo looking for next guitar
They were knowledgeable and helpful. They didn’t have what I wanted, but called another branch to find them in stock.
Very polite’ friendly “.
Too expensive, not good quality.
Not what i was looking for website says cds and records has none of that
The were very rude I just needed help with what reed size to get and the guy was very rude
7. Clancy’s Music
Address: 7303 Pacific Ave, Stockton, CA 95207 , Maricopa , California , United States
Went in to purchase a chin rest and mute for my middle child. The staff was helpful, they suggested that prior to purchasing a chin rest, I bring in the violin and they will install it for me and make sure it fits right. A+ visit.
Great place and awesome customer service. Loved our experience here. My bf went in to get his guitar fixed and ended up getting his guitar fixed as well as a new guitar.
I went to look for an electric guitar for my niece. Mr. C. was excellent in helping us select her new ax. She absolutely loves it! And, Mr. C. threw in a bunch of accessories (strap, picks, amp cord, and guitar stand). What a great shopping experience!
Just went in there to buy guitar strings and they had what we needed so we were happy
Generally quick service for simple repairs and fair prices. Used instruments for reasonable prices. But selection is limited for anything not guitar or ukulele.
Made a violin playable for me. Has accessories for beginners to advanced. Lessons and books, instruments and more!
Guitar
They don’t have good stuff. It’s like a place for beginners. Didn’t have what I needed either.
I wouldn’t rent anything from MR CS and give them your debit card or credit card number to have on file tell he trains his employees right.
I had two issues with them pulling more money out then should have with no calls made to me Ron took it upon himself to handle without calling me.
This last time he did two withdrawals and claim it was his employees fault but yet he said he did the second transaction himself. He said he reversed it but bank is saying no if it’s not back come Monday my bank will be going after him for both charges because he over charged me.
His customer service isn’t all that great.
Olay is a great guy, who knows a lot about the stuff that he sells, he is super helpful and responsive. His shop also has a great selection of guitars, amps, pedals and strings. Highly recommend his shop especially to guitar enthusiasts, pros and to all kinds of guitar lovers.
Absolutely awesome guitar store! They have some of the coolest instruments in stock and create a welcome environment for the guitar playing community in LA!
I was in town for a wedding and I have been wanting to visit Angel City Guitars for a while now. It was a pleasure meeting Olay and his knowledge and passion of music was amazing! This place is a true gem owned my a true artist! I couldn’t recommend this place more!
best quality!
Back in October of 2021, I reached out to Angel City Guitars to have this guitar built for my 30th birthday (in May of 2022). They said it was a 3-4 month wait so I paid in full upfront and went on my merry way. 3 months go by and I reach out to ACG and ask for an ETA and they say, “Well actually it is going to be closer to 6-8 months but you are lucky because other brands have over a year wait”. And every time I would ask him a question, he would keep saying that I was “lucky to have a shorter wait than other brands”. I wasn’t super pleased with this so I asked about the cancellation policy since blue JM63s come up fairly regularly on Reverb for less than the custom that I ordered and he kept side stepping answering my question. Long story short, I decided to keep waiting for the matching headstock. Then I did not hear from him for 4 months, no updates, no check-ins, nothing. So I reach out at 7 months and ask about an ETA and he says, “It should get here sometime in June”. So we plow through June and I ask for updates because I am traveling and have studio dates set and he ignores my emails. Then 3 days shy of 8 full months and weeks of being ignored, he messages me that the guitar has arrived.
So I go and pick up my guitar and I am excited to see and play it in the shop and I take it home. I have it sitting out next to my other guitars and the fretboard looks orange-ish grey almost like they spilled bleach on part of the fretboard. I sat with it a bit longer but I grew to not be happy with it so I reached out asking how we can go about getting a replacement neck since it looked so bad and he never responded to me.
I had to email Nash directly and we worked out getting a replacement neck. I tried to “support the little guy” by going to this shop and it was my worst guitar buying experience of my life.
Nobody is here. Store is dark. Waste of time. Guy showed up
I emailed Angel city guitars for an inquiry about trading in a guitar for another one as I am aware this shop has these services. He responded once asking for which guitar I was interested in, I gave him the guitars I would be interested in and he just ghosted me. I tried following up a couple days later giving him the benefit of the doubt and still did not respond. Stay away from this place.
11. Music Zone
Address: 3112 Del Monte Blvd, Marina, CA 93933 , Maricopa , California , United States
always like coming here as the store has good variety. also, really nice and helps me out when I would like to make a request.
recently discovered music zone and it is a excellent music shop for how small it is love the CD selections it gets me excited walking in there because you never know what might turn up owner is super nice the store will order you a album incase you haven’t found it yet or really want it highly recommend any music lover to go down there and check it out they also carry vinyl
nice local record store, great place to buy spare guitar strings too!
This store has a wide variety of CD’s, cassettes, and vinyl records to choose from. And while the selection is great, I felt as if me and my aunt were ignored by the owners and/or workers in this store. It felt as if they didn’t even know we were even there and did not even mention anything as simple as a hello or anything. They were simply too busy talking with others about other things. It confuses me since others who entered the store were greeted upon entering, but me and my aunt were not acknowledged at all. Me and my aunt ended up leaving without buying anything, but that shouldn’t prevent you from checking out their store, there is a great selection of music there, I just did not like the experience that we had.
12. Guitar Center
Address: 3440 McHenry Ave, Modesto, CA 95350 , Maricopa , California , United States
Sometimes it’s not easy to get help here, but a little patience is not much to ask. So I’m overall happy with the knowledgeable help and attention I receive. My son has had his bass fixed here. My most recent visit was to get his acoustic bridge reglued, it was a better value to buy him a step up new guitar instead. So that’s what we did after my son played them and chose his new model.
Employee know what their doing … And will give very good detail … Wanted to sotter fix one of my guitar and the employee said the tech guys is there only Tuesday all way to Thursday .. that was helpful for me .. good store
Alot smaller than Sacramento. And service wasn’t the best but i understand. It gets busy.
This place is wack. Employees are wack. Taking my business elsewhere.
The service is not great at all, the guys at the mic counter really don’t seem to enthused to help out with info, im not happy at all with their service
The customer service in this store is not very helpful. Guitar Center products are excellent but every time I go down to Modesto’s Guitar Center weather I am making a purchase or calling about a product I always seem to have an issue.
I’ve purchased an interface that I ordered online and needed to pick up from the store. They couldn’t find it. It took them a over a month to find it after the pick-up date. I also had to call them multiple times to remind them of my order. They never called me .
13. Bellflower Music Center
Address: 17125 Bellflower Blvd, Bellflower, CA 90706 , Maricopa , California , United States
Really nice workers and they fix instruments very well.
Only place to rent instrument
Good. Fast check out renting a flute. But requires a couple id’s and 3mo prepaid for the rental.
It was a pretty cool place.the people were friendly and they had alot of cool things
Very helpful people
Staff is friendly and customer service is top notch.
Way to Expensive
Owner has very bad customer service she refused to allow her employee to help me by saying that they were to busy but I was the only customer in the store at the time she also speak to her employees in a very rude manner I been a customer for a couple of years and always had a great experience with the employees I think the owner can learn something from her employees maybe she should stay in the back room and never come out I will no longer shop here and I will make sure none of my friends and family that I always recommend this place to will not shop here either
Little hole in the wall
14. Guitars West, Inc.
Address: 41110 Sandalwood Cir STE 113, Murrieta, CA 92562 , Maricopa , California , United States
They processional, helpful and answered all questions. Patient and curious.
Best music store in the area! If you need anything from cables/wires, microphones, speakers, guitars, big or small, to just good customer service and some advice this is your place. They will help you out with any question regarding music. Either instruments or speakers and mixers they will hook you up. Quality people. My first and only stop always.
Seth was awesome, easy to work with on a gear trade! Very knowledgeable and no BS. Spoke with Tim, also easy to work with! Will be returning SOON to buy more gear!
When I when the dude with the long hair was nice but the other dude was sarcastic and rude when I was buying a guitar
Online order
Ordered a Jackson at a great price, used. Shipping took a little while (about a week and a half, I guess I’m just used to crazy fast shipping speeds like amazon. Felt like a lifetime. I’m in NY so it’s completely understandable )
Guitar looks great. There are some very very slight nicks and dings (as to be expected with a used guitar, however it would be nice to have the imperfections highlighted in a picture or two). Guitar is full functional and has no mechanical problems; however it did not come with the whammy bar. Not a big deal at all, they are only a few dollars. It would have been nice to have that listed in the description though so I could have had one ordered before the guitar got here. Again, not a big deal at all.
Overall very happy with the guitar and will be ordering more from them in the future. Thanks guys. Wish I was closer and could come check out the rest of your stuff in person!
Music Go Round is just as the name implies. It is primarily used instruments that are resold that generally in good condition. They don’t carry a line of new instruments that I’m aware of but the service and especially the guitar tech is excellent.
My son wanted an acoustic guitar for his birthday. Unfortunately we picked the wrong time to go because some old dude who reeked of pee was jamming out on base. Hard to hear what an acoustic guitar sounds like with that going..oh well..took our business down to clancy’s
Overpriced used music store better off at a real pawn shop, they try to rob you if you sell to them and if you buy from them.
No acknowledgement, waiting for someone to help and no one ever came. No one said I’ll be right with you. Was there to purchase a good guitar. I suppose the other people wasting time and talking their ear off was more important. All we heard was “thanks for coming in” as we walked out empty handed.
16. Vicks Treasure
Address: 314 North St, Taft, CA 93268 , Maricopa , California , United States
He has alot of different things. Good shopping for men and women. Great place.
Great place. Great thrift store. Lots and lots of different things to choose from. A lot of fun.
I found alot of things here and at good prices and the staff is very nice
Wonderful little shop for this and that’s with great prices and friendly service. Found all kinds of neat and useful things.
I like to shop here they have a large selection of merchandise and they’re willing to bargain
It’s the kind of place you go if you are in need and don’t have a lot of money. Everything is used obviously and may or may not work as expected, but if you’re in need then this is a good place to check.
They had blankets and cookware that are useful. They had workout equipment – some of which are useful. They had a small section for kids and they had furniture – some of which was overpriced, but other stuff was adequately priced.
Rude customer service
Meh since all the prices are from the top notch ebay sells i rarely find anything to buy
Roger is a weirdo and takes people wife’s to get abortions.
17. Music Box
Address: 101 E Lodi Ave, Lodi, CA 95240 , Maricopa , California , United States
I brought my bass in and they helped my find the right strings for the stile I play
It was closer than concord
Very friendly staff. Always satisfied when I go in there.
Although they have Fender and Squier, but I think they should at least have Epiphone.
They will not honor any kind of warranty on anything they sell do not buy from them.
Just stopped at the store for the first time. The hours of operation are not posted on the outside. I walk in there’s 2 ladies and a guy the one lady says how can I help you, I said I’m just looking around. The guy says you better look fast we are closing soon we close at 5:30pm. It’s about 5:25pm. He then says feel free to look tho. I guess I should have said I’m interested in a acoustic guitar. But anyways I just walked through real fast and left. Even if I was looking today doesn’t mean I wouldn’t have bought something in the future. Not going back there. Note to store post your hours on the outside and turn off your open sign if you don’t want a customer to come in!!
They never have nothing restocked, I come back a month later and still nothing. They never have things I want, even the more common one. it’s just a bad store for me.
18. Black Gold Brewing Company
Address: 508 Center St, Taft, CA 93268 , Maricopa , California , United States
Friendly and intelligent staff, best coffee in Taft, great craft brew and a warning atmosphere.
Food is always excellent. Mike is a great host and I love the ambiance…
Great food and great service. I highly recommend the bacon avocado burger.
Our first impresion was negative – we arrived in Taft around 8pm and were looking for a place for beer and burgers. Sounded like the Black Gold Brewing Company would be a perfect fit. But they closed at 8pm. A Brewery closing at 8??!!!
We came back a couple of days later in the middle of day, seeking refuge from a rainstorm. The owner was extremely nice, the burgers were great (Lots of choices too) and the coffee was very good! Would have laved to try their beers – but we were on motorcycles. Looks like I have to try again….
Tai food is good!
Great food and ambiance, but food could’ve been served a little quicker.
Poor Service. Owner walks around like he doesn’t know what to do
I drove two hours out of my way to check this place out. I was going based on the hours that reflect on google. Upon arriving to the restaurant they had a sign on the door that said open Monday- Friday 7am-9am 1130am-130pm and 5pm-730pm. Lucky for me I arrived at 930am. Determined to try this place out I actually waited until 1130am. 1130am came and the restaurant was still closed. I saw people across the street that looked like locals so I asked if they knew weather the restaurant was even opening today. To my surprise they said, “The owner opens when ever he wants, so we couldn’t tell you weather he will even open today.” “He shows up randomly, he probably isn’t even opening at all this week since Thanksgiving is this week.” Mind you it was only Monday. The business could of at least put up a sign on the window giving customers a heads up about being closed for the week due to the holiday.
The waiter was very helpful, and then the owner came over and ruined it. Apearantly, it is not ok to order a coors beer in a brewery. The steaks tasted kinda funny but very heavily seasoned, so we thought it was just the spices. But about an hour later, it all went south and kept going all night long. I wouldn’t go back there.
19. The Monterey Music Store
Address: 419 Alvarado St, Monterey, CA 93940 , Maricopa , California , United States
John adjusted my guitar’s action in minutes free of charge. Beautiful shop, amazing service, great person. Thanks John!
the people there were super helpful and willing to help me with everything i needed. my dad had given me his old guitar so i took it down to get it restrung and they not only gave me a great deal, but they fixed some minor things i couldn’t see on the guitar. the service was phenomenal and they have some great stories to tell if you spend enough time there.
Great Store , John his Wife & the staff are amazing , extremely helpful , they let me play and check out all the equipment … Went back the next day and bought a guitar and amp , they gave me a good discount , really love the guitar and amp , my new favorites … Check it out new and used , nice stuff … Oh yes Austin , Woof Woof , way cool family dog … Aloha From Maui …
Great atmosphere in the store, but I felt like I shouldn’t have had to pay $22 for guitar strings…
Nice variety of instruments, and I’m sure the lessons are good too.
I noticed that a number of folks complained about the prices… yep they’re high. It’s a small mom & pop that would have a hard time competing with the Guitar centers of the world… But if you ask them to match the price… they will. I bought a few cymbals & a fender amp there… I asked them to match the price… no real magic.. Where they don’t quite make the grade is on selection compared to a Guitar center, hence the three stars.
All they have is budget instruments at collector prices.
Stay away if you want something well made with a decent price, this place is a rip off.
Nice staff but didn’t correct my problem to the tune of $75
Wow what a waste of time . This place sucks, poor service, bad attitudes. Go anywhere else, just not there.
