Premium music shops of San Luis Obispo: Our Top-20 selection

Great service and fair pricing. Stands above every dealer in the area!

Great

Dan and Cathy are awesome…. It’s got a great hometown feel and the staff is really helpful/knowledgeable too

Ots out of the way almost to far out

Hard to find,but they have what you
need or they can find it

Like.

Dan Ernst Owner of grand central music is a Scum Bag with a Capital S.
Bought a roland jx10 from him in feb 2013 said he had it professionally cleaned cause one of the keys did not respond.( shoulda took that as a sighn right there that this would go south.)
Got the roland a week later patch buttons did not work cardtridge port was busted cause he shipped the cardtridge inside of the synth and the internal battery was dead.
Talk to him about going to repair man he got upset and said his repair man pro clean it and made sure it was in running order.
Took it to repair man costed 166.00 he begrudglingly said fine send him receipt.
So rapair man did two weeks go by no response.
The owner is a bs’er and a finagler.
Do not support.
Do not trust.
Eventually we will cross paths Dan.
Thats not a threat.
Thats a promise.

I ordered the bass a year ago in this shop! But so far, they can not send me a bass and do not return the money! What are the problems? I do not know! And nothing intelligible do not meet!

Cool store with tons of music, music gear movies, video games and more. Upstairs has vinyl records and used comic books. Friendly customer service.

Great place to buy all things music!!

Perfect for gaming supplies and comic books to get as the come out in theatures.

They had a big variety of music and movies

Great finds

Plenty of great stuff

Bought q cd would not pkay in my car. Brought it back to exchange. They refused to give me full price in return. All I asked for was store credit. The assistant manager was rude and relentless in his fight to not let me exchange my cd!!! BUY IT ONLINE FROM ANYONE ELSE!! After I’ve spent hundred of dollars there for myself and my kids. To get treated in such a dismissive manner!? I will never step foot in that rip off business again. Ps brand new cds at Walmart for $5.

Don’t waste your time or effort bringing in used records! Insultingly low offers!

My initial visit was lackluster at best. Older staff were grumpy and clueless; not of much help finding items on my want list – looked it up in their computer system, got the spelling wrong multiple times & played it off as my fault, then just pointed me to the genre area (where I had already been and looked). All discs are in the plastic carrier theft protection pain in the ass; so you have to flick through each item front art rather than scan the spines – takes forever. Add to the pain of the low height of shelving for the CDs, and you grow tired of the hunt rather quickly.

Selection on sub-genres was lackluster at best. Being a college town, you would think the selection would be diverse – no so.

If you did find a title you wanted, pricing was on the expensive side. Anything in the gaming console section is extremely overpriced – I found games I picked up last week for $4 and $5 that they were asking $15 and $20. A PS2 Guitar Hero controller for $35?!? Outrageous! The asking pricing on the stereo gear was also insane – $65 for a 100 disc Sony player is laughable.

The check out process is also antiquated – the student had to fill out a slip for each disc; then put some sticker over every UPC. Seriously?!?!? Add in they could not find the shipping boxes that they had on display, the entire experience was so easily tainted – and could have been prevented.

Not a good visit, not a good first impression/experience.

Super nice bunch of dudes! Took one small look around the place and knew it would be my go to spot for studio needs. Getting to go in and watch my song get mixing done in person, and get some awesome tips in the process. Definitely gonna be using these guys a lot!

Definitely the Go-To recording studio of the central coast. These guys are super friendly and will take your project to the next level, whatever it may be. I had the pleasure of working with Eric Mattson for mixing and mastering services and he knows his stuff!

The Sauce Pot to the rescue over and over and over again. I’ve rented a small rehearsal space from this studio for years, since before they were a recording studio.

Okay, I’m not a person to drop a bunch a cred but sometimes you have to drop it to give it so here it goes: I’m a musician with nearly 30 years of experience gigging, touring, recording, writing, etc. Thousands of gigs, more songs than I can remember. I’ve toured with, written with, opened for, shared the stage with, subbed for many bands you’d likely know. I’ve gotten just about as close to “making it” in that business and you can get without jumping off the deep end and I have no regrets. I also design products for several multinational corporations which doesn’t speak much to music but I’ve gotten some of my best work done at that studio just the same, no joke. That’s what the vibe is there. I don’t question it.

Stack that against the fact that team are collectively some of the coolest most down to earth people I’ve ever worked with who truly embody the spirit of SLO — half way between the Bay and LA. It’s a great space to work in, and if you’ve never been, SLO is a great city to chill in and get away from the BS. It’s why I’m here. You’ll be surprised what’s just down the street and I mean that for a multitude of things.

So no matter what the project is, this team puts their heart into it and I think that’s what makes TSP so exceptional, it’s a fine recording space, with fine equipment but the people make it extraordinary. Speaking from one creative person to the next, it’s sometimes strange where the vibes flow but I’ve been there this long for a reason. Couple that with a team that’s going to meet you half-way and that’s a powerful thing.

Great teachers. My son has drums with wyatt in their paso studio, and all our experiences have been nothing but exceptional with all their teachers as well as management. We’ve also hado our daughter’s in piano and voice. Great operation.

I had an emergency with my kids and had to cancel lessons. They refunded my order without being asked and were very helpful.

Five star customer service! Thanks

My daughters both take singing lessons at Music Motive and I have taken drum lessons. My drumming instruction, Dale, is highly skilled, patient, funny, and excellent at making complicated ideas simple. Both my daughters have enjoyed their lessons.

This is by far one of the best instrument builders an wood working shops on the west coast. I took my woodshop class here on a field trip.

Incredible craftsmanship. And wonderful service.

Great people and fine craftsmanship

The Best guitars on the earth!

One of the best jobs I’ll probably ever work at. Quality is absolute and the workers are determined everyday.

One Awesome Tour…Disneyland For The Guitar Player…

stringcoiling can be a profession

2 packs of Rusted paradigm strings… no refund.. money wasted. 30 years of being loyal.. no more

Good atmosphere, all types of music cd’s and LP’s. Great price on there cd’s new and used. Great customer service when help was needed. Great store and will return to purchase more music.

This place is legendary. Just go!

Sold some of my records here for a fair price, great selection of vinyl and cds

I bought an Audio Technica turntable which was faulty out of the box so I ended up having to go back in for an exchange. I appreciated that I was able to get the exhange but I had hoped to buy something working on the first try. I also bought a couple LPs and my copy of The Life of Pablo had grime on it out of the sleeve and skips. These were probably moreso manufacturer issues but I would have appreciated a little QC on the shop’s part.

Edit: Appreciate the comment from Boo Boo. Knowing it’s really just manufacturer issues makes me look past the couple issues I had and I wanted to mention that I had a very positive experience in the store. I appreciated the selection and I’m likely to return.

Great little small-town record store with a decent vinyl selection.

Cool place for music lovers. Bought some records. Not to bad price wise. We’ll be back when in town.

Eh it’s ok. Too pricey

Records are overpriced.

Good selection of records . Just dont order any CDs …. I’m still waiting for my cd n it’s been yrs

Dobros as far as the eye can see!

The craftsmanship of these instruments is amazing! Very proud they are here in San Luis Obispo.

It is special to see that there is still superb craftsmanship in the US. The instruments are amazing, and the people making it are phenomenal.

Content: My daughter is 6 now has been taking music lesson from Shaira at Kenneth Davis Music for 8 months and has almost completed the level 1 books use by the school. She is learning to read music and play songs some of the things she has learned about in music theory are: dynamics, skips and steps, staccato and legato marks, note stems, finger positioning on the keys, 2nds-5ths, half whole and quarter rest, sharps and flats, tonic and dominant notes, the C chord, I chord, V7 chord and retardando.
they teach appropriate level High quality content for any age.

Kenneth and Shaira are both down to earth people. They are kind flexible and understanding. They both strive for excellence in their conduct with their students. They are competent and courteous in all their interactions with me and my daughter.

The price is reasonable there is a discount for consistent monthly lessons and family lessons.

So we rate them 5⭐️!

Kenneth and Shaira are the best! They are both talented teachers who connect with the kids through both their kindness and natural musical abilities. I have seen students as young as toddlers and up to adults of all ages. Both Kenneth and Shaira know multiple instruments, and Shaira also has a beautiful singing voice.

My 6 year old has been taking lessons with Shaira for the last couple of months, we are so amazed at how far he’s come. Shaira is gifted at making lessons so fun and engaging for our son and he looks forward to his lesson every week! We cannot recommend S&K music enough!!! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

We are so lucky to live here on the Central Coast where we can attend the teVelde Conservatory of Music. Bonnie teVelde, the founder of the school, has brought together an amazing group of musicians and created a community that celebrates the joys of music. This is not just a group of independent teachers working under one roof, but a dedicated team that works together to encourage and support all of the students. New students are carefully paired with a music teacher(s) who match or complement the student’s personality type. My son has thrived studying with such great teachers as Renny Zoeller on guitar and music theory and Bonnie teVelde herself on voice. I highly recommend the teVelde Conservatory of Music to anyone of any age who would like to explore and enjoy making music.

Convenient location and really friendly staff!

The teachers at this music school really care about the students. They are patient and understanding with each student. They teach perfect pitch, theory and other important skills that lay out the foundation of learning with each lesson. Bonnie is very professional and will work hard with each student. Our son’s grades in school improved so much that he made honor roll, his self confidence grew and now he loves playing music in front of family members. Our son literally runs to the doors of the music school on his lesson days. He wouldn’t do that if he didn’t enjoy it. The teachers make it fun for the students and my kid is proof of that. We would highly recommend Telvelde.

My grandkids have been going here for several years. There is some turnover on teachers and they closed the Arroyo Grande location this year.

Why this rating because they weren’t even there lol.. please say you are out of business

Owner is violent

Stuff happens, and now I want to take a moment to thank EBMM and Joel Krause personally for a great service. You can always rely on that team of professionals, they will do everything in their power and beyond to help you if you have any issues.

Patrick is a wonderful teacher. Patient, accomplished and enthusiastic. Whether you’re a beginner or working professional, Patrick’s ability to advance any player’s repitoire and chops is second to none,. Five stars, hands down!

Pat has been my son’s guitar teacher since February 2020. He’s kind, patient, positive, and my son has grown immensely in such a short period of time. I’m always so amazed when Noah comes home after a session and plays for me what he learned. Pat provides a supportive atmosphere that allows my son to thrive and I cannot be more grateful. If you are looking to start playing at any level, I highly recommend Pat for all ages. He’s the best.

My son began lessons with Pat at age 12. Pat was great- weaving the essential guitar basics into lessons that included specific songs my son wanted to learn. It was never a problem getting him to practice and he looked forward to every lesson. I started lessons with Pat myself a couple years after my son started. I benefitted from the same knowledgable, gentle guidance as my son. Being a bit younger however:), my son went on to win a local guitar competition and later successfully auditioned for entry into a music degree program at NYU. Pat is really great with kids but I highly recommend him for guitar players of all ages and interests.

We love having Ken play at the Cape. He’s great with the guests, plays a variety of music. Highly recommend him.

Ken does an outstanding job of getting the crowd into the “fun mode” with his musical selections. A true professional. Very upbeat and communicates well to the crowd through his music. Highly recommend for any event.