I would like to tell you about this Luther and maybe one day I will, but it’s not an open to the public gig. I will call ahead and make an appointment next time so I can check it out but I will say he seems very nice and I look forward to playing and buying a custom guitar from him on the near future.
2. Ziggie’s Music
Address: 3309 N 3rd St Ac, Phoenix, AZ 85012 , Phoenix , Arizona , United States
This is one of those almost extinct mom and pop family owned music stores that caters to the true established working musician. Their accordion repair services are excellent, and internationally recognized as being top tier. Accordion player will drive for over 1000 miles from Mexico to have their instruments serviced and or repaired by Dionne, who was trained by Hohner factory employees. Dionne has a great electronics repair man, who takes the guitar amps, PAs, and other stuff home, repairs it and returns it to the shop. That man is her husband, Chuck. Chuck uses tools and diagnostic equipment most shops don’t even know about, let alone use. Her guitar repair guy is also very skilled too. This is NOT Guitar Center or Sam Ash, so don’t expect a wall full of instruments. This is a shop for people who play professionally, already own gear, and need to keep their gear running, so they can work. THIS IS A PROFESSIONAL PERFORMING MUSICIAN’S MUSIC STORE. IT IS ALSO DYING INSTITUTION. Ziggie’s exemplifies what music is all about. I see Mexican musicians who play Tejano musica, and other traditional Mexican style music, rock & roll musicians, C&W, pop, top 40s cover bands, etc. Ziggies also rents studio space for lessons, and there are several great people who give lessons. People show up, sit around and jam, chew the fat, look back on old times of days gone by in the Phoenix music scene. The Saturday Swap Meet is great, and happens the first Saturday of each month. If you have some gear to sell, or trade, bring it on over, at 8:00 or 9:00 AM, and see what happens. Summer is kind of the off season, but there are deals to be had. It’s all free, with no table rental space charges, or any of that nonsense. It is a community thing sponsored by Dionne, and the Ziggie’s family legacy, of being part of the community. This shop is a piece of Phoenix history, and it’s a true gem. You don’t stay in business for over 80 years, unless you are doing something right.
I called to ask some questions about a vintage accordion and spike with Dion. Although the accordion was not something that the store was looking for he was very knowledgeable about accordions in general and had no problem staying on the phone with me to discuss the accordion that I had in front of me piece by piece. I recommend this store and Dion to anyone looking for a knowledgeable staff in vintage and new musical instruments. Thank you for your help.
The BEST! Still has the mom and pop courtesy of yesterday but today’s needs for the musician. Thank you for helping me out!
You guys are the best.
The perfectly imperfect music store with a hometown feel.
Very helpful the information what’s good
Store hours say 10 til 6 M thru S but they don’t follow them…..went by at 230 and no one showed up…..zero stars if I could
literally 30 minutes b4 it was supposed to close me my mom and friend were trying to get in it was closed and we were looking in it was dirty that didn’t bother me it was just the fact there were no employees there 30 before close hours meaning it wasn’t we had just missed it meaning they had closed before hand
Was looking for a decent music store but this is not it. The place is dirty, and only carries used gear. The selection was very disappointing. Look elsewhere
3. Grand Avenue Records
Address: 1504 Grand Ave, Phoenix, AZ 85007 , Phoenix , Arizona , United States
Clean…. Plenty of choices… Support record shops… Great Customer Service and Very Friendly….
The owner is fantastic! Officially my favorite place in Phoenix. Great prices and amazing selection. The owner is super knowledgeable.
Good store with a very good energy!
Neat record shop, but not a wide variety of records or genres. If you’re in the area, it’s worth it to take a look, but there are other record shops in the metro Phoenix area that I’d go to before Grand Ave. Records. I was looking for a gift for a hip-hop loving friend, but there wasn’t much to choose from: I left quite disappointed.
Very nice store. It’s mostly a DJ / Producer store but does have some classic rock records. I ended up getting a John Lennon / plastic ono band record that was MINT. It was half of what I would have paid at my local store. The only reason I’m giving 4 stars is the owner wasn’t very attentive, only coming over when we were ready to pay. Also, my friend who doesn’t know anything about turntables was asking the owner some questions about his two turntables. The owner answered two questions then promptly said that’s all I give for free, you need to pay for my $50 class for more information. Little rude considering my friend had never even used a turntable before.
WOW !!!!!
What a blast from the PAST!!!
terrible shop, rude customer service
I’d just read that this shop was ranked in the top ten record stores in the country. All due respect, but I’m not sure it ranks in the top 10 in Arizona.
I travel a great deal for work and make it a point to visit record shops when I’m in town. Some good (NYC, Los Angeles, Boston, Chicago, Burlington VT, San Diego and a few others) and some bad (Washington DC is one a city I visited recently).
Grand Street has a nice aesthetic and vibe but the selection was terrible and poorly arranged. Worst was that the inventory was very small and, from what I saw, filled with an obscure and “meh” selection.
The best shop I’ve visited, so far, is The In Groove. Michael is incredibly knowledgeable and a bit OCD (in a good way) about his inventory and quality. Slightly overpriced but I’ve NEVER purchase an album that was of poor quality. That’s impressive.
To be clear, I’m not interested in bashing record stores, and I’m not doing that with Grand Street Records, but they need to step up their game. Organize your inventory for god’s sake!
I truly wish them the best and hope they improve but, for now, The In Groove is the shop for selection and quality of used vinyl.
It pains me to say this, but even Zia Records is a better shop than Grand Street. Honestly, I didn’t find one album I wanted. To be clear, I WANTED to like Grand. I left empty handed and disappointed. One of the best in the country? Not even close. In Groove, Phoenix. Generation Records, NYC. Burlington Records, Vermont. Amoeba Records, Los Angeles. Brooklyn Record Exchange, Brooklyn, NY. Ghost of Eastside, Phoenix. All of these, and more, are FAR superior.
I’m really sorry but this store was a huge “meh”.
Wanted to love this place, but. I walked in and said hello to the person there. No response. A dog walked up and I started petting it. Then the person called the dog away and went to the backroom.
Pretty lame honestly.
I looked around a bit found a record I liked. But when a couple walked in and he didn’t greet them, I put the record back and left.
Nice shop. Chris is an excellent tech and very knowledgeable especially on vintage and antique instruments. Very good at saxophone, flute, clarinet and brass instruments
Chris did a fantastic job on my daughter’s clarinet!! It works beautifully again!! Thank you!!
I have known Chris for over 10 years now and he has always been incredibly responsive to emergency repairs on my saxophones over the years. He understands making sure a working professional has equipment in good working order as quickly as possible. This time, I brought him my Yamaha YAS-62 alto sax to do a complete overhaul. I couldn’t be happier with the results. His work is thorough and guaranteed. He is communicative making sure everything is adjusted to the artist’s specifications. He was timely in completing the work and the price was fair. If you’re looking for personalized service, Chris is the man. I highly recommend him for all of your woodwind technical services.
They did a great job repairing my tuba. The staff was friendly and helpful.
The guy in the back was cool but the bitter lady up front sucked
Chris the technician is extremely competent! Highly recommend!
7. Central Music
Address: 5038 N Central Ave, Phoenix, AZ 85012 , Phoenix , Arizona , United States
Still serving the Valley students and Pro’s alike. One of our longest standing music stores, small business and well worth supporting.
Super kind and friendly staff and even cuter dogs hanging around to pet
ROY is a king and one of my hero’s. Thank you.
Cool little shop. People and staff are nice there. Remember that this is a great shop if you want to shop for sheet music! They have tons of sheet music, and odds and ends for instruments. This isn’t the place to go for buying or renting instruments. Cool place, but mainly just for sheet music.
Very nice store that’s been here for a long time. The store is tidy. There’s a small selection of musical instruments and other accessories. My family shops here often and we always feel welcome.
Great selection of sheet music
CentralMusic purchase policy of NO REFUNDS NO RETURNS: bought a gig bag/very nice. Also bought, and am now stuck with, Kremona KNG classical guitar pickup: rubber on the plug end is brittle/cracking. I tape-wrapped it BECAUSE NO REFUNDS/NO RETURNS. However, I do apologize to you, Central Music, because I should have examined that pickup, should have said “rubber boot has breaks” or something to that effect. But I bought it the day before my wife’s funeral service where I was scheduled to play for a bit. So, I was a little pressed for time, grieving My Beautiful Wife’s passing, not thinking before I posted my comments about Central Music. So, I am sorry if I sounded rude, because that’s not who I am. On the bright side, your shop was open, item was available, product does work, and I wish I could read music better because you have lots of sheet music available and other gear for sale.
No tiene variedad de cuerdas,no ve de guitarras de calidad.
They didn’t help me they said I had to make 4 other drives to get it
8. Save The Records
Address: 1117 E Van Buren St UNIT 217, Phoenix, AZ 85006 , Phoenix , Arizona , United States
Great little guitar and drum shop! They actually have quite the selection of guitars with some make and models that are pretty awesome. They have their drums, electric guitars and amps in the front room, and then off to the side they have an acoustic showcase room room. Great guitars. The staff is super friendly and they are totally willing to help with whatever you need!
A great selection of instruments, from new workhorses to vintage treasures. A must stop shop for any musician in Phoenix!
They fixed my guitar string for free I was so happy they fixed it and my mom had the intention of paying but they were likes free so thank you so much
Adjusted my guitar, tightened everything down, fixed my tone knob cracking sound, and gave me a quote all for free. The nicest and realest people in the AZ guitar business you will meet. Planning to come again soon!
Te ven como si te fueras a robar algo , bueno yo tuve esa experiencia
11. The Lookout Recording Studio
Address: 2 N Central Ave Suite 1934, Phoenix, AZ 85004 , Phoenix , Arizona , United States
Such a high level of insight and execution. A privilege to have been here and worked with a great mind. Thankful for the opportunity to be able to share the same space! Bless
Amazing studio, great engineers, all around great experience and they will work prices fairly
Amazing experience with Lookout, Mario is very professional and very knowledgeable in his field! Used his services for corporate gigs as well as recording for my podcast and I highly recommend his service! There is no other like Lookout Recording Studio!
I honestly wish I could give it less than 1 star for the amount of unprofessional problems with this studio. When we arrived, the studio was INSIDE a banquet hall, with families screaming and singing loudly next door. After that, the engineer knew little to nothing about music and produced a master that I was embarrassed to ever hear again. If you take your music seriously PLEASE go ANYWHERE ELSE.
12. Precision Guitar
Address: 4442 N 7th Ave #6, Phoenix, AZ 85013 , Phoenix , Arizona , United States
Colin is really knowledgeable and laid back. He took the time to help me choose how to go about fixing my guitar. Really good experience. Shop is a little hidden but once I found it everything went smoothly.
Quick service on my fuse-blowing vintage amp and he even fixed a potentially dangerous problem by adding shrink wrap to the transformer connections that had been left exposed by a previous owner/tech.
This place is a good place for quality service
Great Lutheir,slow on service. No show room or walking room. Great for buying parts.
He had the item I was looking for.
Atrocious customer service. Asked a question about my order, no response until after a week when I requested a refund. The responses after that were anything but professional. THEN he posted on my facebook Business page about our interaction COMPLETELY MISSING THE POINT. Besides the fact that the only business involved in this interaction was Precision Guitar.
This was for a guitar that I OWN. Had nothing to do with my business page. This speaks volumes to how unprofessional you are. Good job.
Edit: it has been a full day and he is STILL posting on my business page, which again, had nothing to do with this transaction.
It is always awesome.Ive personally known Jim for 20 years he is always perfesional way fair priced unlike the big competitor no names mentioned I bought a MARSHALL 100 watt half stack from him for $350.00 and he threw a set of brand new in the box castors for buying it his repair work is top notch and fair priced he doesn’t lye he’s very noligable in any form of music equipment or just music local or anybody he plays in three local bands as well go see JIM with all and any guitar issues
I visited the location during the posted business hours and the place is closed.
Please update your hours.
[Did I knock? No, I didn’t. I noticed the door was locked when I tried opening the door.
Most places of business leave their doors unlocked during their posted business hours.]
13. CENTRAL RECORDS – Radio Cafe & Bar
Address: 824 N Central Ave, Phoenix, AZ 85004 , Phoenix , Arizona , United States
My favorite record store in Phoenix! I feel like a dummy not knowing scanning the QR code on the label offers sample tracks on the record. This is some futuristic magic that has def elevated my shopping experience.
My goodness it’s been a long time since Ive enjoyed a place so much. Monday nights are open deck for vinyl and cdj. Great beer selection. Natural wines. Employees are great. Everything is great, excellent record selection. Check it out
Super cozy atmosphere & chill vibe! The food hit the spot with decadent rich flavors and there was a great selection of local beers/alcohols!
Food and overall vibes were incredible, but service was disappointing. We sat at the bar, and the server kept asking us to repeat ourselves with a “what” and would then stare blankly with no reply. Didn’t feel super welcomed which is too bad considering the awesome vibes and great food. May have just been a one off but looking through reviews over the past few months, seems to be a relatively common occurrence. Would recommend fixing the operations here, 1/making it clear where anyone who walks in should go e.g. a sign saying please wait to be seated or a clearly labeled queue where people should order their food/drinks at the bar, and 2/training the staff to be more welcoming.
I went to Central Records on Sunday to check it out. The vibe was great and I really enjoyed the set-up. While there, I was able to do some vinyl digging and ended up purchasing six records. I went home to play them and found, to my dismay, that 3 out of the 6 had very noticeable skips and distortions. After checking their Instagram and my receipt, I saw no information on what the policy is when there are issues with the records. I waited until they opened back up today on Wednesday to return the records for either my money back or store credit. The gentleman manning the bar told me that I wasn’t able to return them and pointed out that the prices of the records were “based on the issue(s) with them” even though there weren’t any notes on the records that would have indicated that there would be any issues with them. Also, there was no signage inside the store about return policies or that there were listening stations where I could test them out before purchasing them, which I would have gladly done.
**UPDATE**
An associate of Central Records reached out to me and we agreed to meet to look at the records. He tested them out and even took the time to clean them; he was very understanding and professional as I was telling him each of the flaws that I found. One of the records particularly stood out as having some loud distortions and he agreed to refund me fully for it, which I was very pleased with.
I think that the business would avoid issues in the future by having their refund policy stated on their receipts or if there was signage that would indicate what their policy is and that there is an option to test out the records on site before purchase. Another thing that I would recommend is listing the flaws (if there are any) on the packaging. It’s understood that the price is justified based on the flaws of the record but the customer would have to figure out what the flaws are post-purchase.
Loved the vibes here! Very quiet and calm, a great place to study or read a nice book in peace. The customer service was great, he was very sweet and helpful. We ordered a Cafe Latte, they were mid. The cup was halfway filled, not sure if that’s how its supposed to be. Definitely will come back and try some of the food and other drinks though!
Wanted to try this spot for a while. Really good vibe and set up, but unfortunately couldn’t get service. Got menus from one of the two workers there after we picked our table. We asked him if we order at our table or up at the counter, he said either works. We wanted to order a couple beers and the mussels after looking at the menu. Sat there then for 10 minutes and didn’t get waited on- we specifically timed it and mentioned to each other that we’d leave at the 10 minute mark if we weren’t helped . My wife even went up to the counter and sat down and no one acknowledged her. We chose to leave at that point when we saw a couple who came in after us get helped first. We had another person on the way to join us too. Sad thing is they weren’t even busy. Saw lots of standing around and looking at phones from both employees there. Just was a confusing and disappointing experience overall.
Large store with a huge selection. It’s really fun to see all the geeky paraphernalia, both old and new.
Love this place. Cheap DVDs, bought a bunch for like $15. Awesome selection of records. Cute knick-knacks.
The amount of things here is insane. Came for vinyls and ended up admiring video games and books and finding super affordable clothing as well. Only problem is the records are slightly overpriced. My friend slash prior employee says that even if they’ve heard of the artist in any way they’ll upcharge it which sucks.
First time visit. Cool spot. Lots of unique and culty type stuff. Retro and relevant stuff too. Large section of blue ray dvds. Good helpful staff. I might return. Only 4 stars this visit…. Updated 11/10. Bittersweet return visit. Couldn’t see the reason for over priced Black Sabbath CD. Bought Springsteen and Meat Loaf CD instead. Awkward situation created by Zia staff members’ aggressive style in requesting me to cover my nose better with my mask. These forced restrictions unfortunately tends to empower individuals to discount respect and politeness.. I almost left CDs on the counter. It will be a long time before I return.
Me gusto tiene buenas cosas
Me and my friends have been coming here for years but it’s not the same. The trade in counter workers constantly yell at “less fortunate” people , for not having an ID, that try to sell things to make a little money. If you have an ID it’s easier to get charged- I can almost guarantee no one there has been truly down bad because if they have they wouldn’t treat other humans like a sub species. They follow people of color around in the store constantly, it’s blatant profiling, to make POCs feel uncomfortable in a store when the world already makes them feel oppressed is horrid. They’ll undervalued the items you try to sell/trade in and will overcharge you on everything. just go to book man’s or go online 🙁
I love this place it is very good and cool.
Waited over 1 1/2 hours for a trade in. Minimum number of patrons. Never going back to that location, for anything.
A lot to choose from and everyone was very helpful
Very grateful for the awesome rental department. Super easy to rent from and great prices too.
My favorite store. A very nice selection of instruments to try on the wall. The staff is always knowledgeable about my questions. I enjoy shopping here.
great stuff
Asocistes really pay attention with costumers.
The manager of that store has a very bad attitude, we were looking for a guitar to buy it and he told us to leave, it was because of our skin color
Clerks all seemed too terribly busy to be concerned with my business…
Its almost empty
19. Recordbar Radio & Shop
Address: 2046 N 16th St, Phoenix, AZ 85006 , Phoenix , Arizona , United States
