Exclusive selection: The top 17 music shops of Premià de Mar

Great store and people. Zach helped me get a portable PA – Samson 800 watt system. He helped with the speaker stands and mixer holder unit too. He made sure it fit the XP800. Great experience. My band is ready to rock! Thanks Zach and Sam Ash 🙂

Very knowledgeable and great service!

I have a Martin D-28 which I bought at Sam Ash of New Haven. It was a great experience and it is a great guitar. After successfully completing her Master’s degree, my daughter told me her next challenge was to learn guitar. We went down to the New Haven Sam Ash store. There, we met Jordan, who gave us friendly, knowledgeable and professional advice. He answered all of our questions. We bought a more entry level Martin that came with a case at a great price. Another great experience. I will only go to Sam Ash when it comes to guitars!

Great helpful and knowledgeable staff !!

The girl at the front of store, with long brown hair was more involved in her cell phone then noticing I was standing at the counter for a good two minutes. The girl in the band department was very nice and helpful, so was everyone else.

As always large selection of stuff but pricey.

the strings section is very little, and the person who is supposed to help is very unprofessional. didn’t even know what case size to use then decided that there wasn’t actually a case. don’t recommend for string instruments like violins

Drove 25 minutes to the store only to find out it doesn’t open until noon. Utterly rudiculous! Just close your doors for good if you’re going to have such restrictive hours!

They are out of business.

I have been going to JC Music for many years and will continue to go there for my musical needs.I find that I am able to find and buy whatever I need at reasonable prices and quality.The staff is friendly and knowledgeable and my experiences there are always enjoyable.Thanks guys ,You rock!

I brought in some guitars and amplifiers to sell on consignment. The staff has a high standard, is very professional, kind and polite. I’m very happy that the items I brought in have found homes.

My son has been taking drum lessons with Keith for a little over a year. He started with Keith when he turned 5. Keith is AweSome all around and an Amazing drummer and teacher. He is super patient with children, he does a great job at getting on their level to learn and have fun. My son LOVES this guy and always looks forward to his weekly lesson. Also, the staff is great. Helpful, resourceful, talented and pleasant. We will be coming here for years to come.

Would like to obtain some nice brushes and some type of top hat set used and very sturdy since I break percussion instruments all the time when I perform?

My son, Roberto Luis and Rosa live in Meriden. Are you far from the mall? I have spent a lot of time jamming in Puerto Rico to salsa, merengue, etc but my favorite is funk like Buddy Miles.

My grandson really enjoyed the music lessons and they are very professional and knowledgeable. Highly recommend them.

Never have any of the literature or instrument parts I’m looking for. Took 3 months to repair a trombone. I tried to return an item and they wouldn’t give me back the cash to go to another place. The owner has blatantly disrespected my mother on several occasions and doesn’t have much knowledge of much of anything outside of rock music. As far as i’m concerned, this is the worst music store i’ve ever set foot in and would not recommend to anybody.

Completely disappointed. I placed an order in store on a instrument that was never placed with JC music. The customer service was poorly displayed and the options they gave us was not acceptable. I asked to speak to the owner several times and would not get on the phone and made his new employee talk to me. I ended up going somewhere else that was amazing

This was a horrible expierence. They need to get their stuff together, they had already-sold instruments on shelf. They had an amazing guitar sale and when I went to buy, it was already sold! They got my hopes high and let it down and I will not give them my money any longer.

It’s a great local store with extremely knowledgeable employees who take their time to help you choose the best products for you as an individual, not just what’s popular.

What a gem !
The energy was wonderful!
And good prices

Brought a Strat in for a setup. They were great to deal with and had a quick turn around. Will definitely be back.

Nice staff

Knowledgeable staff, in addition to guitars, keyboards, etc… They have school instrument rentals

Sent my guitar (Fender Jazzmaster) for connection electric issue. After roughly a week and a half guitar was done just for it to have the same issue. What a disappointment

Call before visiting the store. They say they’re open at 12:30 but don’t show up for hours after the fact. I get it, they’re a small operation, but wasting your local customer’s time doesn’t breed repeat customers. I needed to be in the store three times. All three times, my time was wasted because the store wasn’t open during their own published times of operation. Just rent your kid’s instrument from somewhere else.

Absolute joke of a store.

Not many places left for musicians

Guitar Center in orange has fantastic management and staff, most of whom are unique and experienced musicians themselves. They have a large and unique used selection with prices in any budget. They also price match competitors, so I don’t often find reasons to go elsewhere for sales.

Had a great time looking for things I need. Awesome customer service.

The seller’s are not to good. You have to wait I little for attendant

It was ok, but the sales associate in Pro audio wasn’t as helpful. Usually the service is much better.

Constantly overpriced.

I will never give my business to this place AGAIN! Employee Jesse was extremely rude to my friends and I also no customers were in the store and I counted 3 employees working and no one came up to us and asked us if we needed help it felt more like they where trying to ignore us finally when we found what we where looking for we where waiting at the register for over 15 minutes until we walked up to an employee to check us out.

Employees were very friendly but don’t sell stuff there they rip you off

I purchased an Epiphone Les Paul Special I P90, however, for some reason the in store price is $30 higher than the online price for the exact same model. I called the store before driving there and was told that they did not have that model, hence preventing me from doing an online purchase at the lower price. I drove to the store and purchased the exact same model for $30 more. The price hike does not bother me as much as the unethical nature of the transaction, so buyers be wary of the guitar center at Orange, Ct.

My 10 year old daughter had been taking piano lessons previously with a very traditional teacher and was losing the fun I the music. We switched over to Amity Music and she is loving playing again. She has fun, working on a mix of classical and current music of stuff she hears on the radio. Her teacher even had her play piano while he accompanied her on drums so she could hear her music in context of a band. Great learning experience!

I’m in a student rock band – fun!

I’ve been taking guitar at Amity Music for four years and it’s a very cordial place. It’s much better than any other place i’ve ever gone to.

This store is really nice! I was impressed with the selection of instruments. The staff was really nice and friendly! Go check it out.

Took a lesson there and will definitely be back!! Very knowledgeable and patient staff

Always great visit. Love to see what new things they have. Excellent customer service.

Interesting store with some interesting gear. They don’t seem to carry Fender or Gibson. They had a stomp box manufacturing class going on when I visited.

Purchased a guitar for 750, now walking out with 637. Unfortunately I was not told about a very unfair and sneaky return exchange policy until I had asked after already completing the purchase. Also could not see clearly a visible sign inside that states anything about a return policy. When I asked where the sign was upon trying to return this guitar he pointed to have a corner and I still did not see the sign. I do believe that a return policy sign should be at the register for full disclosure. The law does state you are entitled to a full refund if you are not told about the refund policy during the time of the transaction, which I was not informed of that. Limited selection and unfortunately subject to a very steep restocking fee or store credit, if you are a serious musician make sure you know this first as you know that buying instruments is quite expensive and it is hard to want to get locked into something that you do not truly love.

As one reviewer already stated. They have a terrible return policy especially with online purchases. Good store as long as you know you’re going to keep the item but who really knows, its musical gear, its hard to tell if your going to dig it or not until you play it with your rig. Returning a pedal (or probably anything) is just not worth it due the return fees. 2 stars because I received it pretty quickly but definitely wasn’t packed that well. Without a doubt this will be my last purchase from this store. There’s plenty of other great stores to choose from that won’t bend you over on return fees. **Edit for response to the owner** Yes you do clearly state your return fees online. “Small restocking fee” is a bit of an understatement…your restocking fee is 10%. If I pay $250 for a guitar pedal. Right off the bat you’re keeping $25 of my return. I couldn’t imagine purchasing a guitar online through your store.

The best small town music shop! I love how friendly everyone is there. Especially Scott, he is always very upbeat and knowledgeable. He looks out for the customer’s best interest. I would definitely recommend The Music Shop to anyone.

Professional and high quality service from a multi-generation family owned business. Scott and his staff truly care about your progress as a musician. Their music teachers are highly educated and patient. I wouldn’t go anywhere else for my family’s music needs.

Very nice small music shop. I went to purchase a drum throne and received excellent customer service. I believe the gentleman’s name is Scott? He was very pleasant. I will definitely shop there again.

The cellos were in not in good shape and we had to pay a luthiere to redo repairs that were poorly done when we received the instrument.

Great place but website could be better such as pics of some used equipment. I’m a drummer and would like to see what they have for new and used cymbals,stands,drum kits etc. And prices. I have done business with them and always had a great experience the reason for three stars is the website doesn’t do the music shop justice. All and all great store great people.

Really great place to stop by and get an instrument. The prices seem a bit higher but the quality is surely within the quality you’d expect.
I bought a ukulele here and the quality and sound lived up to the price.

The Music Score is now at 2315 and under new management. The store offers lessons for all instruments (including vocal), rentals and purchases on all instruments (including pianos.) The Music Score includes workshops and classes, like Music Together for toddlers, Music Fun Time for small children, and more. Jazz Band is held on Wednesday nights, Open Mic every last Friday. Other fun times are held, like Karaoke, Music Movie night, and Game night. Events are held about four times a year like The Frozen Spring Thaw, Open Houses, Christmas parties, recitals, new years for kids, and more. This store has a little of everything and caters to people from newborns to senior citizens. When you walk in the door you are part of the family and the teachers, associates, and owners take pride in caring and educating. A true mom and pop shop who are part of the community and helping it grow.

Came here for some guitar strings and the employee was super awesome

My daughter is signed up for lessons and her teacher is great (I hear the others are as well). Just try not to deal with the guy that owns it.

Very knowledgeable and friendly.

Arrived at 10:00am (they open at 10am, but not today). I waited and they finally arrived. All I needed was guitar strings, but they had none. What a waste of time.

I tried to return my daughter’s Viola due to the school no longer providing classes. It was a total nightmare to get an answer in regards to my credit. They are very irresponsible and I am very disappointed by the lack of care towards my return which was even misplaced! Mom and dad are not helpful at all and he should really look at keeping them home, they make things worse!

Very friendly fast and efficient service! I love shopping local

Very helpful.

Excellent Quality of both service and instruments.

Fast and friendly service

We rented a viola from Rayburn. The first viola wasn’t put together right (something to do with the bridge). after switching to another viola we realized the bow doesn’t quite fit with the viola.
we rented from the music store in the center and it was a great experience but pricier. though Rayburn isn’t cheap either
they will be replacing the viola once more, lets see how it goes this time…

trying to reach the store for the past 5 months. they are not responding to email or phone call. The phone service is also disconnected now.
we are left with no response and no refund.

STAY AWAY from this company! I rented a cello early 2019. We returned the cello in Aug 2019 and are still getting billed for it! I’ve called and left messages since no one picks up the phone in the Milford office where I rented and returned the instrument. No call back and monthly payments for the cello are still getting charged off my bank card. Had to file a complaint with my bank to stop payments. Terrible terrible business practice!

Rented a violin for my granddaughter and they were wonderful.

Been doing business with Goldie and Libro for over 35 years. They have exceptional customer service. My most recent purchase was a violin for my daughter. The violin is a beautiful piece. It came in fast, he supplied extra strings. And gave my daughter a music book to go with it, he called to make sure that she was enjoying her new instrument. I had a great experience with this store and i look forward to doing business with them in the future.

Andrew overhauled my A Robert oboe. The man is a genius, and takes painstaking care to make the resulting cleaned, rehabbed mechanism work better than new. Knowledgeable and precise, Andrew proved it was not necessary to send my baby to Tennessee. If your oboe has a problem, run, don’t walk to Goldie and Libro, best oboe mechanic in the North East.

I went to this place this morning ,the owner no nice to us ,because we are first time here ,we need somebody help , we won’t come back in the future.

I had a few questions so I called this place. The jackass who answered the phone, I’m assuming is the owner. Made me feel stupid and discouraged me from trying to play the instrument I was inquiring about.

I do Not recommend this place to anyone. The owner of the shop was very rude. When my card declined for some reason he announced it very loadly to everyone and when I gave them my second card he hoped my card was working this time.

We are new to the area and we’re pleased to have found this music store just around the corner. The customer service by telephone and in person was excellent; I spoke to a Chris and a Ruben, both of whom were gracious and helpful.

I had my 40-year-old folk guitar re-strung and re-conditioned for $25! To boot, Ruben was kind enough to tune my guitar on my way out of the store.

It’s rare to find a Music store these days. It’s even more rare to find a store whose staff provide such professional customer service. Will definitely bring our other two guitars in for servicing.

They help me every time I come in and they are so kind.

Customer Service. Period. Chris, Alex & staff are dedicated and attentive. Prefer this place to others because of personal feel/vibe. They are knowledgeable and not forceful. Great stuff here.

Yeah it’s good!

I have condensed my original rant down to the following- we really like our children’s teachers- but the front desk needs saving

Limited retail space, but the staff is helpful and knowledgeable. Music lessons are offered on site.

JUST HIT BACKSPACE ON YOUR BROWSER AND PICK ANOTHER COMPANY. YOU’RE WELCOME.

Called your West Hartford CT store early today, after calling around to several other of your stores, to see if the had a certain string for my cello and if they could fix the one string today. Was told yes on both. My husband drove 25 min there to find out they did not have the string. Drove to the nearest store that had this string (which was an additional 15 min out from my house) and they had no one to help with the cello. My husband ended up purchasing the string. Had I talked to him I would have told him not to make the purchase. Now every place is closed so tomorrow I have to go to another store to get this string put on. We needed the cello for tomorrow so you guys were literally no help. I will be returning the string and doing my business elsewhere. I should have listened to the other bad reviews. First time customer turned into last time customer.

Absolutely horrible service by the staff. Our son took lessons for two years and store failed to call when teacher couldn’t make it to lesson and even refused to acknowledge that his instrument had been returned when it was sitting in front of them. Sadly, these small shops are disappearing and so it is hard to walk away from one but the staff and management is really just that bad.

Being a Deaf mother of hearing 9 years old child that has no knowledge in music, I asked if this is drumsticks is good for him. This man just gave me a cold look and said I don’t know it’s fine. He was rude. Definitely not a Deaf friendly store for those Deaf parents with hearing child who wants to join the band.

Wow is all I have to say! Such a life saver. Fixed our daughters trumpet overnight! This happened before and another shop did a shotty repair and took 2 weeks. Bellars made it look beyond amazing and even fixed the hack job from the previous repair. We can’t thank you enough it means a lot. Any future music stuff we are coming your way.

Very reasonably priced, left a clarinet to be repaired and it was ready the next day! Would highly recommend!!!

Background: I brought a beat-up old upright bass to Beller’s for repair a few years ago. Instead of taking my money, after inspecting the instrument they told me it wasn’t the most cost effective path for me. Because of their honesty, I went back last week when the bridge and sound post on my new upright bass both fell.
Customer service is great. Staff knowledgeable. Work is high quality. Price was very low. Work was done promptly. Every element of the experience was ideal. I picked up on a Saturday and a short time later I had a question about the setup. I went back to the store but they had closed for the day. I was standing outside their door for a few minutes pondering what to do, when they unlocked the door to ask me if all was ok. Try getting THAT kind of service from a chain store!

A great local business that always has everything I’m looking for. Would highly recommend.

Great store! The owners are super helpful and friendly. Good selection of instruments, accessories, and sheet music. Their service can’t be beat.

This is my go-to store for all things music education related. From private lessons to instrument purchases and repairs, Stewart’s Music does it all! You’ll get friendly, personalized service from Sam and Jim (which you won’t get at the big chain music stores). I highly recommend this store to my students, parents, and all fellow musicians.

Terrible customer service. Took my flute to get repaired and instead of just simply fixing what needed to be done to it I was told I shouldn’t have bought an off brand flute. This was all I could afford at the time (as a teenager). I am looking to invest in a new one but honestly it is no ones job to criticize the instrument I have. I waited for the repair to be done and called 3 different times on it. The repair person got sick which is understandable. When I called the last time they said it was finished and I asked why they never called me to let me know they said that I said I was going to come in regardless. Which is true. But still does not explain why no one called me. Overall a bad experience. Was treated very poorly and will not be going there again.

Absolutely awful owners were nasty and they charged way too much for a simple repair just go to music and arts its easier and cheaper

Simple advise dont scream at your costumers to get business

We wanted the Roxy Pink PRS Silver Sky and George’s was the only store around that had it.

Great place, really knowledgeable, very helpful and kind.

Buying from the online shop was fast and easy. My fragile item was shipped quickly and packed well. The item was photographed and represented correctly.

I called to verify the item and spoke to the owner, George himself. He was very knowledgeable and down to earth, a good person. I hope to do business again.

Meh

Nice shop

If you’re not looking to go too far to get musical instruments. Look no further. Expensive though. But if you don’t care about prices, go for it. Not much of a selection though.

This place is just awful. The owner is so rude to us that i will never go back. We rented an instrument from him because our normal music store didnt have the instrument and when the instrument broke he said it was our fault and that it wasnt covered and then bad mouthed our local music store.

After going to this place; I must say I will never go back there again. The owner is so rude and disrespectful. Its not even funny. The owner needs get off his anthropocentric state of mind.

Stopped in store for first time to get a couple guitar related things. Super friendly and knowledgeable

Very curtious and quick service went to fix guitar ❤

Great service.

First, the employees were excellent; friendly and helpful. I was extremely disappointed in the store itself. This was basically a dark, messy pawn shop, not the store I was familiar with from years ago. My only reason to go back would be to pick through dusty items to find something I might be in search of, more of an adventure.

Closed even though the hours said it was open (3 pm on a Wednesday). The place looked like a hoarders attic. Absolute mess.

Ordered lugs for my snare. They sent me receipts and invoices and never shipped my lugs. I called and emailed multiple times and never got a response back after leaving numerous messages. Been 2 months and I still don’t have my lugs and am out $60.

Was a dj for 30 years and bought and sold equipment all over Ct . I stopped in at lasalle music in east hartford it was a nightmare . Equipment from the seventies store a mess and the staff looked like a Grateful Dead fan with colored hair . So glad I moved on with my teaching at a high school

I used to go there as a child best record store there is!!

This is a great old time music store, a dying breed. But they do it right – great, knowledgeable people, all kind of formats for music, they even fix stereo equipment. I brought my old turntable there and they did a great job. Picked up some vinyl. I’m a happy guy.

I love it. Great selection throughout all genres and eras.

Merle’s has a great selection, knowledgeable staff and much more than records. They also do repairs for turntables and audio equipment. Convenient hours and location. Prices can be a little steep and there aren’t many parking spots.

Cool place to look around… Too bad the prices are the highest I have ever seen in the state! Most stuff is double what it should be! This dude wants $23 for a used CD! A lot of stuff isn’t priced and if it is it’s insanely over priced. None of the used cds are even refurbished..I looked at a bunch of them and they were scratched. I was excited to go here for the first time a few weeks ago but what a disappointment. The kid that worked there was very nice but even he said some of the prices were really high but he was very helpful and kind. He talked about music with me as well. The owner just sits in the corner and barely speaks to anyone. I told him it was my first time here and where I was from and he told me people come here from japan all cocky and laughed… I wasn’t saying I was far away…what a way to win over a new customer. They don’t even have a computer or a database to see what’s in stock or what the prices are. Very unorganized.. he pulls prices out of nowhere on what he feels like it should be without any research. So even though the place is nice and has a ton of stuff be very careful what you purchase so you don’t get ripped off price wise. All of the cds and records I wanted I ended up purchasing online on amazon brand new for half the price of his used items…it’s too bad because I think I would’ve loved this place and spent a lot of time and money here if the prices were halfway decent.

Pricey. A lot of original records and great place for treasure hunting. They guarantee their records. The ambiance is very chill. Records playing. Gym next door can be loud if by wall and distracting.
Decades of records to look through and priced as originals.
Would go back again for a specific record. Priced too high for routine record shopping.

Strange record store, the LP’s are not even priced. They look up the records online while you check out???

This place is terrible. Ever since I’ve started going here I’ve received nothing but horrible service. My main problem with the place is that NOTHING IS PRICED! Rather then having stickers with the price on it on the record, you need to go to the counter and have the person up there appraise it and pull some price out. Its always extremely overpriced. Just today I went in and wanted to buy a CD. The lady at the counter told me $22. Well, that would be a fair price if it was new, but it was USED. Yes, the CD was on the uncommon side, however when I looked at it online, I saw it going for $22 NEW. For used prices, I saw it as low as $13. Stay away from this place at all costs. Its nothing but a waste of time and a rip off. If you want to go to a record store with staff who knows what they’re talking about and aren’t arrogant, I would recommend Redscroll In Wallingford or Replay Records in Hamden. Those people are great and have extremely fair prices (that you don’t need to ask about, thankfully)

Do not shop at this place what thieves nothing has a price for a reason so they can make it up as they go do not give this place a dime. They wanted to charge me $15.99 for 45’s. What a shame such gluttony so wanted to like the place. Put the cash in your gas tank and take the drive to NY vinyl shops all over and their not trying to rob you!

nice

Amazing service, always responsive and went above and beyond to make me feel comfortable with my purchase. Piano arrived in amazing condition beyond my expectations. Cannot rate them highly enough.

I bought a Yamaha U3 from Caruso Pianos last year and was very happy with the whole process. They were very easy to communicate with from start to finish. The piano had to be shipped across the country so I appreciated it being shipped for free to a local rail hub even if I had to pay for local delivery from there. I will definitely take advantage of the lifetime trade-in when it comes time to upgrade!

I went to their store and also called them multiple times showing interest in one of their pianos. Despite the fact I showed interest and called/messaged multiple times on a piano, that piano was sold to an online buyer. There was no follow-up or a courtesy call to let me know that the product I was eyeing was gone or was about to be sold.

Nevertheless, I think that they have a good variety and a great knowledge base on pianos. I wish they were a little bit more responsive and courteous as buying a piano is a big purchase and takes time and thought.

EDIT: After my initial review, Caruso Piano contacted me and let me know that they have not reached out to me due to not getting a piano that was comparable to what I was looking for. Which is understandable. I truly appreciate them reaching out to me. I have to write that I learned a whole lot about piano buying from them when I first went to their store. I wish them good luck and hope they continue to be successful as a local business.

UPDATE October 5 2018: Richard Caruso promptly called me the day after I posted the review below. He apologized again, and very willingly reimbursed me for my travel expenses. I feel this was the ethical and right thing to do, and am glad that he made things right with me.

Original review: I flew in from Chicago to try out a Steinway B I had on deposit. The staff knew of my travel plans, and were very hospitable and welcoming. The piano, however, was noticeably out of tune on my arrival. While more accomplished pianists might not have seen that as an issue, it completely stopped me from getting excited about the piano. No sale for them, no new Steinway for me.
They were apologetic and realized their mistake when I pointed this out, but were unable to get the piano tuned while I was there.
This is a shop with perhaps good intentions, but they completely dropped the ball in this instance. I’m writing this review because I don’t want this to happen to anyone else.

I purchased a used U1 3 years ago from Carusos.

Please be aware: these are GREY MARKET pianos. They were originally built and sold in the Asian market. You will have proof when you remove the knee board and see the holder for the lease agreement. And due to that fact, the wood of the pianos is dried to standards for Asia. Not the U.S. or Northeast U.S.

I do like the piano, BUT I and my piano technician are having a heck of a time keeping the damper pedal from squeaking BADLY.

I had the piano saver system installed almost immediately. It has helped the piano hold tune very well.

But because this instrument was not built to the specifications of an American instrument (or North America) it is expanding very badly from the humidity.

I have a dehumidifier in the room with the piano, no heat or doors or windows near it. And I have my technition here AGAIN trying to shave down the knee board to try and eliminate this terrible groan/squeek.

My opinion? Buy a piano through a local piano tuner/technition or through a referral from a tuner tech. If you are going to purchase one of these grey market instruments bring your tuner with you. Pay them for their time and have them tune the instrument you choose BEFORE you give Carusos your money.