Where to find the best music shops in San Francisco? Top-20 options

A great big thanks to Ann from Music Exchange, who helped me find the perfect piano. I told her what I was looking for and gave her my price range. She was very attentive and told me she would be on the look out for any used pianos that came into the many different Music Exchange locations. She sent me texts with pictures and details about the pianos, until I found just the right one. Delivery was easy and professional. The piano is beautiful and we are very happy!

Music Exchange has a low-pressure sales environment and knowledgable staff, which made buying my first grand piano an amazing experience. Fantastic pricing and quick delivery by a very careful team of movers. Would highly recommend and I’ll make any future piano purchase at this location.

Great store, helpful staff, good prices. Recently bought a piano and found the overall experience to be very smooth.

Yamaha Pianos Selling

Music Exchange
We had a great experience with Gary at Music Exchange. He is very nice and patience. Finally, we purchased a digital piano for my daughter a couple weeks ago. She really loves it. It is the best recommendation for us!

The crew of delivery was on time, unpacked and set it up before delivery. That saved our time.

However, we have two things to complain. They missed the bundle of piano accessories and they did not take out their shoes walking through our carpet flooring. That was not a good experience for us because we never met the delivery wearing their shoes or without shoe covers walking through our unit.

We called Gary for help regarding the piano accessories. Gary is very helpful sending us the supporting immediately. Excellent work, Gary!

We were in the market for grand. We came to the store and associate refused to let us in since we didn’t have an appointment. Guess what? There are other, more hospitable stores in the Bay Area. If you want to sit alone in the empty store without customers, please keep up.

We really wanted to see some pianos and were ready to spend good money, but apparently this store is by appointment only. It’s a Saturday noon, and the store hours are till six and there is a seller inside, who opened up the door just to let us know that he will not let us in, because we don’t have an appointment… to buy what they offer. Your loss.

Very good service！professional tuner!

Had an excellent experience. Very nice staff and friendly. Helped me get my instrument fixed.

Best and most trusted wind instrument shop in San Francisco. It has the best inventory of instruments, sheet music, and knowledgeable staff.

They are very helpful

This review is for Ms. Jessica. We had Ms Jessica as our substitute teacher this summer. She is very good with young kids. My son enjoyed to learn piano lesson from her.

So helpful!

They sell more expensive one of the product that cost 35$ they sell it for $60

Truly unbelievable. I highly recommend you do not waste your time patronizing this store. I am a professional violinist. I am able to live in a nicer area of San Francisco due to my talent and experience with the violin specifically. I have had the amazing opportunity to play violins worth near a quarter of a million dollars just to show my style of playing. I am recorded on many works of music. And usually I am greeted with kindness and excitement. Apparently my aesthetic was too much for these people. As they refused to allow me to even touch or try out a German made full size Guarnari copy for a low price of 2700$. (Yes I know this sounds like a lot, but for professional grade instruments, this is not a high price at all.) I had to basically force them to even show me anything above student grade. And even then, they talked down to me, treated me as if I were unintelligent, uninformed riff raff, and we’re purposely vague about anything having to do with the information on the violin I wanted to look at. The old woman at the desk was literally saying insults under her breath, and making noises of disapproval when I asked about their stock. She had me believing that they had only two student grade violin’s available for purchase. The elderly gentleman who seemed to be an employee was whisked a few feet away when he began to give me too much information it seemed. I told them very politely that I was extremely disappointed in The way they were choosing to interact with me, as I had never been there before and they had no idea of my budget for a new instrument. I had a guarnari copy, full size, German made, from the 1920’s without any lacquer and an extended bridge that caused a very specific indentation on the body stolen from me in San Leandro a few months ago. There was a violin that matched that exact look down to the past details on consignment in this shop. I had nothing in my mind about This being my stolen violin. However, considering I was dressed novel,and yes I have tattoos and a nose ring, I could not, for the life of me, understand WHY these people were acting so strangely. So rude. The only conclusion I can come to is that they may have come by this particular violin from an irreputable source. There is no other reason I can think of for the excessively rude experience I had. It’s either that, or they prejudiced against anyone who has any semblance of an alternative look to them. Either way, it was an atrocious experience. Save yourself the trouble and go to ifshin violins for any of your needs. Literally, it was such an outwardly rude interaction, with no shame from the owner/employee, that it was surreal. I am very soft spoken. And very polite. Unacceptable behavior. Very disappointed.

Hours are not correct

I found a instrument from Real Guitars in an online search. Called them up and they answered my call, took my order, and shipped it to me very quickly. The instrument was a great price and in the advertised condition. I had a very positive experience with Real Guitars. Recommended! 🙂

Really helpful staff and super friendly, filled with some of the weirdest and coolest guitars and amps seen with my eyes. Highly recommend popping in even if just for the experience and not to buy. Will be back for sure.

Killer place. Really great people and knowledgeable. Really diverse inventory that is constantly changing and priced fairly.

Muy buena experiencia

It seems there’s an okay selection of guitars there.. but I had to leave when this obnoxious dude plugged a guitar and it was so loud that The owner had to yell to talk to the customer he was helping .

A [real] guitar shop! Not a big box distribution outlet. Great vintage selections. Nice ol’ wise staff. They don’t make’em like this anymore

Never opens when he says he’ll be open. Unreliable and frustrating.

I have bought a Gibson ES125t 1964. Im not an expert, I just liked it. They sold it to me without telling me anything about the details im about to unveil.
It has nails covering up an old repair, and it needs a huge overwhole. They could have say something but the old man choosed not to…. because he knew I wouldnt notice.
Well done fellas, here is my review and I hope many other guys like me read it before buying something from you. There is no dignity in making money that way.
I will never ever buy anything again from you.

When I called, an employee just hung up after speaking with very little interest. I was just about to buy a guitar here but after this conversation I’m definitely not going to.

If you are a musician, is a sacred place you must visit once in your lifetime.

Consider come alone, or with other musician alike humans. Time flies once inside this magical place.

Consider to invest a whole day. Yes, a whole complete day.

The staff they’re welcome to play any of the instruments even the drums upstairs awesome

Buen lugar de instrumentos me pareció muy bien.

This is one of the best guitar centers, if for nothing else, for sheer variety.. Tons of guitars.. More than most other guitar centers that I’ve seen. Friendly staff that seem knowledgeable..

Great place however I’ve seen other GCs with more options for pick-up and second hand elect. guitars.
But still a good music place
Cheers

Gotten a lot outta that there guitar center. I’m impressed with the selection… To say the least. And the price is RIGHT!!!

Racially profiled by lazy worker in audio dept?

Went shopping for headphones, when I wanted to see the box of the headphones I liked, the guy who was helping me didn’t want to show me the box for them (As you know the box has all the details, it had one of those locks on the rail and I couldn’t see it) .

He instead asked me what questions I had.

As I asked him questions about the headphones, it seemed as though he was making it up,( I asked if the headphones came with a wire, he said no ( he was wrong) , asked him what the difference was between one pair and another( he literally made up some feature) . I asked him if he was sure, he suggested I look it up on my phone. ( instead of him showing me both boxes!!!?!?)

So I did, and found that amazon had them cheaper. I asked if they price match (he said it depends) . I showed him the app and he then started to help me and unlocked the box for the headphones .

when I told him that I wanted to buy them that’s when his whole attitude changed. Then he was selling me. It’s hard for me not to believe that it was not racially motivated because just minutes before he unlocked a microphone for someone else that was in the department. It just seemed as though he thought I want going to buy, and refused to let me see the boxed product.

If they were not the only place around that had these headphones, I would not be buying them here. Classless service

Had nothing I needed in stock and I was never approached by anyone to see if I needed help. Went home and ordered what I needed online from another company.

The salespeople there gave us inaccurate information about products, and we ended up missing some parts and had to make another trip. I also requested a product with the exact product name and showed the product description on the guitar center website. A salesperson gave me a different product. When I mentioned that the product name was different, he insisted they were the same one and it was just the way it was. I later figured out at the checkout that it was a different product from a different company and he was trying to sell a more expensive product. It could’ve been so much easier if we just bought everything from online, probably directly from the manufacturer. I don’t think I will use this store or even guitar center ever again. Such a disappointing experience.

This guy knows a ton about synths and will gladly answer your questions. He also has some of the best gear in San Francisco.

A really fun place to tool around and turn knobs.

An absolute gem. Kind, knowledgeable owners will guide you to the appropriate product, but will also give you time and space to explore on your own

A great “hole in the wall” for electric musicians. Only place in the area that sells modular gear.

THE local eurorack store. They host lots of community events.

Honest, skilled, righteous.

Had some repair work done on my bass. The resulting setup was perfect and they documented everything. This place rules

I had them give my Les Paul the Plek treatment and is playing better than ever. Highly recommended and will be taking my other guitars in soon.

(edit) I’ve since taken my acoustic guitar and my lawsuit japan SG and both are an absolute pleasure to play now. 10 stars if I could.

(another edit) I bought a “bargin” 1970 Martin acoustic online. Yeah. I did that.
I took the patient to sfguitarworks and once I got it back from Lewis it became the instrument I always wanted. Incredible transformation. Another 5 stars from me.

Excellent experience with Guitarworks. Seth was helpful in determining the problem with fret and addressing the issue at minimal cost. Would highly recommend.

EDIT: I got these guitars back a few weeks ago and have been playing them since. The work was done very well, I’m really happy with how they feel and sound, so I’ve bumped up my review. Still can’t quite give 5 stars just because of how long the work took, but I appreciate that the owner seemed to have seen my first review and he apologized and made extra sure that the work was done well, which I appreciate. Bottom line – I would definitely bring guitars back here if they needed advanced work and I had the flexibility to wait for a while to get the work done right.

———-

This shop currently has three of my guitars, two of which are taking considerably longer to be repaired than I was told to expect. I’ve called to ask for updates on when I can expect them and have gotten vague answers and the expected date pushed back every time. And when I calmly tried to explain my frustration to the person I spoke with on the phone today he seemed quite annoyed with me, and gave little to no clarity on when I can expect my guitars. If my guitars come back with just an amazing A+ job done on them then I’d be willing to update my review, but right now I’m paying a LOT of money for repairs that are taking a LOT longer than I was told they would.

Many good experiences, one rough one .. which they wanted to make right but I declined.
A few years later the good things stand out more. I hope to return here soon.

Great selection of reasonably priced used guitars. BYO flashlight!

A truly amazing selection of guitars and the owner really knows his stuff and has a great sense of humor. Better to make an appointment first, because it is just him there and he is busy with his internet sales.

“Guitars ” “sweethearts” a thought about the pronunciatipn of that one.

I must say wow you all must see

I was wondering if your store buys guitars. Or even appraisal. I just wanted to get a 4th opinion just so I’m sure about something. I’ve been there before and thought highly of your store so I know your opinion would be pretty much fact. ?

What’s with the ego at this place? Come on. Nobody should have to enjoy music and have to be subjected to a guitar salesman’s ego. Sure your probably great or something but an ego about it all. Leave it at home. It kills the whole reason music exists.

Information not accurate about hours. Disappointed

Bought a high end guitar from Steve last year. Wouldn’t deal w him ever again. Seems disorganized. Sloppy packing and shipping. In reviewing his emails, he can’t keep anything straight on exactly what he’s selling.

Beautiful place for any guitarist. It’s simply beautiful. They have practically everything you’d need, and the staff there are very nice and knowledgeable.

They recently procured a collection of fine steel strings. There’s an awesome sunburst Collins that I want so don’t buy it. Spruce top, mahogany b/sides, OO body. Sweet!

Cool spot to check out acoustic guitars.

Great place to buy or sight-seeing string musical instruments. Nice and kind staff that is ready to help and give advices to the costumers.

Great selection of printed music and some high end classical guitars.

Great customer service and provided us with care, can’t get any better than this. A bunch a guitars to chose from and a bunch of starter books. Guitar cases too! There’re are a lot of things to look at in here, I would say that anything you’re looking for is in this shop.

Crabby guy works the counter here. A no go even if they have good stock.

Rang the doorbell. Man slowly came to open the door, no hello, no welcome. We looked around, saw two great guitars, pointed at them excitedly to each other, and were completely ignored until we left empty handed,

Don’t let them sell your instruments on consignment. It will take you years to get the money once they’ve sold it. I know several people who have done this and they all had to wait a very long time for the money once the guitar was sold.

The best music lessons in San Francisco! Nicole, one of the owners, is an extremely professional, talented individual. I also recommend them for instrument rentals in San Francisco. Thank you Russo Music!

Cool spot with some good deals.

Was there briefly on my spring break and bought some sheet music for a bargain.
Then I accidentally forgot my credit card there D:
But I called them and they had it and sent it to me! Very nice 🙂
They deserve 5 *’s!!!

This is where we go to get strings for my son’s guitars, he also enjoys playing a little everytime we go.

Update 8/2019: things have much improved this year!

Great teachers in a terribly mismanaged shop. I’ve been going here for piano lessons for more than a year, and things have been getting markedly worse. One teacher didn’t show up last week, I still can’t figure out why: they no longer have someone at the front desk, so nobody picks up the phone and there is no voicemail; the person who usually answers emails has apparently been on vacation for the past few weeks without any backup, so it’s been impossible to schedule anything. A couple of months ago I noticed that I had accidentally not paid for my lessons for several months (!). I paid them back based on my own accounting, but it’s pretty clear they are not keeping track.

I don’t normally write a review for a place from which I didn’t buy anything, but the front desk blond lady was exceptionally rude when I stopped in. Jokes on me for trying to browse a local music shop to get something for my trumpet? I guess I’ll take her advice and “just get it online”. Yeesh.

What an absolutely horrible experience. I came in with the intention of renting a bass guitar and inquiring about lessons. I reached out by phone to get details and was messaged by text. I replied about my interest and got a lame short answer on price. I waited for the advertised store hours and made the 45min drive. I stepped inside and there was no assistance. While I was waiting some short stubby pregnant woman came prancing in. It appeared to me that she was a parent to one of the kids. I decided to step out for a quick walk on the street because I attended the junior high around the corner and also sold newspapers on this street after school. This was a huge throwback for me.

I returned 20min later to find this stubby angry pregnant woman was an employee or something else, maybe store manager. I really do not care which or her role. Her demeanor to me was so freaking rude and un inviting. I sat down to wait for her to finish with a child lesson. Then she spoke to me in such a demeaning manner about doing business by appointment. I told her that it would have been nice if she had told me that with the text. Her smug remark was that i should have told her that I would be going in today. Isn’t that the lamest response ever?

What a despicable and ugly person she is when I’m trying to give her my business. I was really looking forward to the opportunity to start music lessons at 50yrs old. And this is the experience I get for trying to give to a small business in my old neighborhood? Jesus. I rechecked their website and found no mention about by appointment only. This place, her in particular, absolutely sucks. I hope they go out of business soon enough or get bought by a respectable owner.

If you want respectable music lessons and service check out Manor Music in Pacifica. Plenty of parking. They are awesome. It’s just that they don’t rent music equipment otherwise I’d be there without a second thought. I had my son take drum lessons with them. That’s how I know.

Whoa. The tone is amazing and a bit paradoxical since the instruments are pretty lightweight. Blown away.

Cool guitars

Top class guitars! Loved the tour.

They are an expert when it comes to guitar repair. The attention to detail they have developed over the years is beyond anything I could’ve imagined. I recall they have built their own guitars, so they’ve mastered the element and feel of how a guitar should play. The ability to explain why and how a guitar will play and what to expect once they are done makes me trust them and I know exactly what to expect with the finished product. Also, they point out the fallacies of the instrument and potential weak spots to be aware of and how to properly care for the instrument. Not to mention, their enthusiasm for music and their knowledge of the in-and-outs and the tricks of the trade of the industry can be a bit overwhelming, but insanely insightful.

Put my 12 string back into great condition

Amazing place filled to the rafters with classic records.

This is an amazing record store. There’s no pandering to any sort of crowd, it’s loosely organized, and there is the serene joy of sifting through crates of records to find a gem. The records that we got were all in good or great condition, too!

Don’t go with a goal in mind, go with a sense of adventure.

Great music store and unique!

A small store with a wide selection of music of many genres. Great posters.

A real hole in the wall record shop. Lots of classic rock and some other gems

Brillante, ottima conoscenza del prodotto che vende

It was closing down.

I called for info about a record I wanted to see if they had in stock. I opened with “Hi, I googled you, how are you” and he said “a bit busy”. I started to explain what I was after and then I realized he had hung up on me. How do you run a business like that?

It’s out of business

I bought a Zed-12Fx mixer and Livid OhmRGB from World of Stereo, and I couldn’t be happier with the experience. I had previously purchased an APC40 (v1) from Guitar Center’s online store, but it arrived damaged and missing a power cable – they had sold me a floor model without disclosing what it was or the damage, and were only willing to knock off a minimal percentage off the price (I think around 10%) when I brought it back and pointed this out. So I said forget it and just returned the APC40 and looked for an alternative. I found the Livid OhmRGB at WoS, the last one I could find on the internet. I called up WoS (I’m on the Eastern US coast) and got ahold of Josh, who was btw off the clock when I got ahold of him. I explained my situation and what I was looking for, and he went in to the store and checked out the equipment for me and answered all my questions over the phone, then helped get it packed up and shipped out that day. We also tried shipping USPS (not their normal carrier) per my request, and he stayed in contact with me through the entire process – even helping get a refund on our shipping costs because USPS did not meet their guaranteed delivery time. Their customer service is beyond top-notch. I highly recommend buying your gear from World of Stereo and supporting their business and the people who work there!!

World of Stereo is my new go to place for all of our audio needs ,If they don’t have it in the stores ( 3 Locations ) in most cases it has been a phone call to the factory away.Thank you Muklis

The owners are great and knowledgeable people.

Some stuff’s expensive but other stuff is really quality and great prices.

Too expensive

Good place to get a deal on all sorts of gear.

Every time I give these guys a second chance I kick myself afterward. A few months ago I needed 2 dmx cables and 2 5pin-3pin dmx adapters. When I was checking out my eyes nearly jumped out of my skull when I was told the amount due was $120. I paid because Im not the confrontational type, but i will hold a grudge until the day I die. I got in my car, looked up the parts on amazon, and the total came to $60. If I could have waited the day for delivery I would have returned the 4 parts right then and there, but I didnt want to let a client down who had an event that night. Knowing I couldnt invoice them for that much for 4 parts I drove away angry knowing I was eating the cost….and I vowed then and there to drive every dollar I could away from these guys. Now I divert rentals from promoters and clubs to my friends who own systems and away from World Of Stereo. The first time they burned me was for a CDJ800…they kept saying “brand new…still in the box” never mentioning that it was a refurb and it was only on a card inside the box that it mentioned it was a refurb. If you do go there to get anything understand they will try to pull one over on you. The ONLY good thing they have going for them is they have a nice guy who helps with selection and carrying things to your car…his name is Jeff and hes the only reason they are getting a second star.
***UPDATE: coworker forgot to order fog juice. had a tight schedule and no other option this weekend. went in, didnt divulge my identity (I’ve been contacted asking how they could rectify and I let them know its not possible because of years of experience with them), and yep…what Guitar Center has listed for 29.99 was $37 at WoS.

Just awful. Horrible. Real ghetto. Terrible customer service.

I was sold a sustain pedal for a Yamaha P-125 that was incompatible with the keyboard, so do your own research as the staff I worked with wasn’t that knowledgeable.
Staff was also very vague about their return policy when asked. Was told “We’ll make it right” which I assumed meant I could only return a product for store credit or if it was damaged/faulty (Which turned out to be the case as stated on the receipt).
Overall vibe of the place is kinda sketchy, but that’s fine. I’d go elsewhere unless I was desperate.

Very very Classy!! And Elegantly displayed. Too any woman or Gentleman of Leisure, I’d certainly recommend “Cremona Violin” to visit at least once in this Lifetime!!

Professional, honest, and great service!

Violins chellos bows oh my. Great place by a renowned Luthier. Don’t be taken by expensive overpriced dealers elsewhere. Jose is awesome

Interesting

Interesting

Very nice decor, aesthetically pleasing. Browsing the “goods” was encouraged without any pressure to buy.

Took my bow here for a rehair—when I got it back I was unable to tighten the bow and it was completely unplayable. Stay away from this place they have no idea what they’re doing!

Jose Cruz is a crook. He has “swallowed” thousands of dollars worth of my valuable instruments including Pistucci violin and EA Ouchard bow. He is also a liar and will deny everything.
He also worked together with Joe Tang notorious violin thief. Tang then
stole from his buddy Cruz so Cruz became a “victim”. Boo Hoo.

Had to have a re-hair before a competition. I picked up the bow and noticed immediately the spreader was sticking out and looked as if the hair was going to fall out. I suffered thru my competition, only to realize the hair was very low standard for college level and performing. The next day, I flew to Minneapolis for another competition and had to have another re-hair done, because the Cremona Shop obviously did not know how to trim the spreader inserted to hold the hair.,and the quality horse hair was for a beginner student. ( very low quality.) I took pictures of the ” GLUED ” part and emailed the shop ” asking to refund my money”. I even sent the hank of hair back to the shop in San Francisco/ They stated they would send a check/ That was 2 months ago. He did not know how to do professional work. Sloppy, and offered a refund only to never follow through/

was introduced to Ellie&Eva Company in the mid 80s
while looking for Chinese New Years decorations for family and friends. Since then I’ve been a regular customer for strings, picks, sometimes just for conversation, maybe play some bass, bend some notes on a Gu Zheng The place is ecclectic.
When friends come from out of town they always enjoy visiting the shop to check out their singular collection – from traditional Chinese instruments to rock-star-signed electric guitars.
A unique shop in Chinatown. The only one like it in the world.

String Instruments
As I was sightseeing through San Francisco’s China Town, I just happened to look inside a small store. (Found out it is a string instrument store)
The artwork on the front row of acoustic guitars caught my eye.
If your looking for out of the ordinary string instruments, definitely stop by and talk to Alan (He is one of the pictures) and if your lucky, he might introduce you to his 96 year old father who still works there.

Repaired my mom’s pipa for a very low price. It’s a very honest business and the guy working there is clearly very passionate about his work. 10/10 would recommend. Before and after pictures attached. He did an amazing job.

I’ve been a customer for almost a decade and I still love this place. Roland and Lois are great!

Can’t be happier with the result, 100/10

My violin sounds SO good after Roland replaced the strings. Thank you for making my experience so enjoyable!

Jesse is truly amazing and a master luthier! I previously brought my cello to Kamixxxx violin in San Jose for tune up and they made my cello sound awful after replacing with a new sound post. I regret it so much! Then I reached out to Jesse for saving my cello. Jesse did an amazing job and my cello now sounds so bright and resonant! I’m glad I made the right decision this time and feel we are so fortunate to have a great luthier in SF Bay Area!

It was quiet and peaceful place great to catch your thoughts from running around all day downtown, especially in the summer heat it’s dimlet and cool.

Jessie is amazing. He knows what doing and is a true expert. I felt confident bringing my violins to him for tune ups. Prices are very affordable as well. So grateful to have found him!

Ok

My daughter is in kindergarten taking piano lessons for the first time and she’s doing really wonderful. She’s never read music before, but she’s picking it up rather quickly. Her teacher is Emily and she’s great with her. The company is flexible in scheduling make ups too.

Used section is awesome. Who needs internet when you can buy VHS for like $2. Word to the wise: make list of what you want or you’ll be here for hours. Saw the Devil Makes 3 live here. Heard they have a dispensary and doctor for a prescription. Don’t get the prescription card unless you want to throw yer money in the garbage.

Good place to go make sure to get something to support the business

Musica por todos los poros

Used CDs. Your hands end up really dirty with no hand santizers nearby.

Lugar mítico para perderse horas mirando vinilos. Te transporta a otra epoca.

Pretty good selection, a little bit overpriced on the LPs, and VERY overpriced on the turntables. Always check prices online to see if it’s worth it

Bought CD, didn’t work, in store credit on faulty merch, no refunds. Will not be back.

It has lots of categories but it doesn’t do any of them well. The staff has never been considerate in my few visits here. I usually leave this store empty handed. I have much better luck at smaller record stores with better curated collections. Amoeba is large and impersonal like Rasputin, but cheaper and more soulless.

Hallucinant. A l’entrée, pas bonjour, direct “votre sac monsieur” à laisser à la consigne. Un renseignement ? “Oui c’est par là”.. non raté c’est pas le bon rayon…Je fini par trouver le bac des 45t que je cherche par terre. A peine 30seconde accroupie et là un vendeur aigri et pressé manque de me rentrer dedans “Degage !”MOVE ?? Comment ça Degage ? Ok je sort de ce magasin de cinglés ! Une agression verbale indigne d’une telle enseigne.