Staff are so helpfull, and nice great place to repair or rent your instrument from
Very pleasant and professional place. The manager was cordial and helped us get what we wanted. Not pushy at all. I wish places like this get more business. Through music, they provide a much needed support for our society.
This place is great! Totally recommend for anyone interested in music, or have an instrument that needs repair. Great and knowledgeable people, with great prices. I can’t say enough good things about this place.
Super. I love this store
Great shop with excellent staff and teachers. Patient with noobs and they have a good range of sheet music.
Overall staff could be a bit friendlier and way more professional. To start, the older gentlemen working here can be a bit stuffy. Once I asked one of the guys behind the counter who was ringing me up(short dark blonde hair, blue eyes, about mid 20s/30s[not the guy with a beanie]) if he could process payment for two items separately(I am a teacher and frequently purchase books for my students and have their parents reimburse me), and he loudly let out an exasperated sigh, letting me know he was clearly annoyed, then asked if he could just make two copies of my receipt in a somewhat indignant tone. There is also one very elderly gentlemen who is very, very quiet and seems to not like eye contact and/or smiling. An incident I should also mention is that once when I paid at the counter, a different male employee(I believe his name is Luis) told me I was “very beautiful” as he handed me my items and receipt. It made me extremely uncomfortable because I am not there to find a date, nor am I interested. Very unprofessional and neither the time or the place. As a teacher, I just want to be able to take my time browsing the store comfortably without worrying about whether an employee is eyeing me. That was the last straw for me-being that this is the closest sheet music store to me at a 20 min drive, it was pretty much my only choice aside from the Branham location. However, nowadays I make the extra effort to drive 15 more mins. to the Branham location instead-friendlier staff, and I don’t have to worry about employees checking me out while I’m browsing the shop.
3. Vision Guitar
Address: 6300 San Ignacio Ave STE C, San Jose, CA 95119 , Santa Clara County , California , United States
Great selection of gear. Their knowledgeable staff is always available to answer questions about guitars, amps & pedals. They deliver fast too!
Bought from them online. Their communication prior to the sale was prompt and friendly. They shipped my guitar quickly and it was well packed and protected. I have a lot of guitars and this is instantly my favorite. Check out Xotic guitars. They are effin AMAZING! Thanks Vision for a great buying experience and an amazing instrument. I highly recommend this shop!
Only place in town ! They have all the parts.
I needed my order within a few days so I selected the priority mail option for an extra fee—turns out the package was sent as Ground Advantage. It didn’t arrive in time.
Didn’t like the place..
4. The Starving Musician – SANTA CLARA
Address: 3939 Stevens Creek Blvd, Santa Clara, CA 95051 , Santa Clara County , California , United States
The best when you’re looking for musical equipment new and used.
Great customer service
Great selection at awesome prices! Bought my first amp here, and they had a rare part to fix my 1984 Ibanez!
Great collection of instruments for sale, some overpriced. Repair people seem knowledgeable. Is it true that when you go in for a simple repair, technicians tell you there are many other things wrong with your instrument, just to hike the costs? How would a neophyte musician know what is true? If you can’t trust another musician, who can you trust? Good location. Parking available.
I don’t really found,so much variety of instruments,but it’s good.
Good indie store. Lots of instruments. Sheet music, accessories, etc. A nice alternative to one or Guitarget. Has some vibe. Support your local store!
Flute service guy’s attitude was just repelling and very un-welcoming. I just hated myself for even stepping into that store.Totally unacceptable service. I don’t know what his problem is, but he did not want to look at my daughter’s flute saying it is not one of the preferred / branded flute and hence it should be a manufacture defect. It was working without any problems for the last 8 months and my kid’s teacher who was a fan of Yamaha liked it, still not ready to even touch it. Really??? Yes Mr whoever you are I will go buy a Corolla/Civic if I have to teach driving for my kid, not a Tesla or a Porshe.
You might not know this they over price things and they say things that arnt true. My friend broke his trumpet valve and went to starving musician and said that they need to buy a new one and was a total loss. Then he went to another place and got it repaired FOR FREE! It might have been his one and only experience but still I don’t trust them
Service was pretty poor. Instead of asking us if we need any help, the staff member just pointed out that they will be closing soon. So we went to guitar center and bought one there.
5. Guitar Wars
Address: 4110 Monterey Hwy, San Jose, CA 95111 , Santa Clara County , California , United States
Definitely go here for repairs and pedals. They have a small (but nice) guitar selection. I took my Bullet Strat in for an upgrade, they definitely improved the playability with the setup, and my new pickups were installed for a great price. Took my SG in for the same treatment, definitely looking forward to the results.
Carlos and Michael are extremely helpful! they helped me pick out a really nice guitar that fit all of my needs (wants). they also helped me to pick out a new amp and taught me about the important things to look for in an amp that i wasn’t aware of. thank you guys for all the help!
Store owner is a very friendly and helpful guy, definitely revisiting soon.
Very small guitar shop, but friendly owner and fair prices. Came across some nice Teton guitars in here and had to pick one up. These guys are the only local Teton dealer.
Really diverse selection of mostly used equipment. Old and new, some good or interesting finds. The staff was friendly and helpful. The store has star wars themed decor throughout–not just a poster or millennium falcon model here and there, but really well done doors, panels, counters with lights and effects built in and hiding all over the place, some was near movie set quality. It’s a fun visit. There’s quite a bit of stuff around, so you have to look hard to find the gems. The strip mall it’s in had a very sketchy feel, but I’m glad I went in.
They sold me a amp on reverb in “excellent condition” covered in dust scratches and buzzing sound and denied me a refund not trust worthy and doesn’t knew what excellent means.
Do not trust this shop they sell broken gear online and deny refunds even though the items are described as working. Horrible shop.
They sold me a $60 guitar amp for $135. Then they forgot to send me the chord that comes with it. Then they have the balls to send me a chord that won’t even reach my wall outlet.
6. Guitar Center
Address: 3677 Stevens Creek Blvd, Santa Clara, CA 95051 , Santa Clara County , California , United States
Este lugar tiene muchos aparatos En stock que megusta de Aqui es LA garantia de LA tiendad si se descompone un aparato me Dan Oreo por eso es importante comprar Las garantias
Great place for a music instrument
Had a good experience at this location with a young man helping me understand stepping up in choosing a new acoustic I can keep for years to come.
Staff is weird…
Great price and service!
Came here to pick up an item for my girlfriend. The sale price was competitive to internet prices. I annoyed with the salesperson asking me twice to purchase the worthless extra warranty. He also insisted on me giving him my name so that they could collect my data.
Waiting too long to get helps
Just left. Waited for help. Stood under the St Vincent looking around clearly needing help. Even jokingly called out “help help!” (Though very softly). One guy walked past me twice in a row.
Is it because I’m a lady? Maybe, but there were other people nearby not being asked if they needed anything.
I was very tempted to climb up the darn “authorized personnel only” ladder directly next to the guitar I wanted.
Instead I bailed.
I’m gonna buy something online (not from guitar center) even though the whole point of coming in is to get a feel for the instrument.
Edit:
Thanks to the customers who commented on my “Rockstar Hair” – I appreciate it.
7. Guitar Center
Address: 5140 Cherry Ave #10, San Jose, CA 95118 , Santa Clara County , California , United States
Spacious and has a nice audio setup for demo. Friendly staff.
Arrived with my wife to sell some 6 Sabian cymbals and arrived about 11:30am and store was short staffed and didn’t finish everything til about 1:30pm’sh, but honestly was not upset because I understood they were short staffed, but had the GC employee, Ashley check in on us which I deeply appreciated and the manager Aaron Cuenca made sure I walked with the best deal due to having waited for a few hours. I appreciated the help they offered and will be definitely comong back to this Guitar Center. Thank you Ashley L.S. and Aaron C. Store #216
Not enough staff thete,but was very helpful
Generally speaking I have never had a good experience at guitar center. Earlier this year I went to a different guitar center and I had a terrible experience where I was harassed by one of the employees and the manager did nothing to help. I have sense avoided that location. Recently I went to this location to pick up an order. Everything was going fine until one of the employees looked at something on the computer, turn to the other employee who was helping me and said look at this. After that all of the staffs attitude toward me changed and they became dismissive and unhelpful. This leads me to believe that the employees at the previous guitar center location must have put a note in my account about the experience I had there and most likely turn the situation around to make it look like it was my fault. Because of this I will most likely not ever go shopping at any other guitar center location. It is mildly stalkerish and terrifying to think that anytime I go into any guitar center location there’s going to be a note on the computer talking about what a terrible person I am.
Loud
Good
I had staff ask to help, but i couldn’t hear it over the club mix pounding you in the face as i walked in though. Left still needing what I came in for
So i bought a guitar back in January for my his birthday. It some kind of layaway policy on it, that at time of purchase, i couldn’t take it. I had to wait until February 15th or so to pick it up. I was told my an employee & management that all i had to do was bring in the receipt an i could receive it. So i waited. But upon picking it up around the date mentioned, that was not the case. It was a lot of chaos just to pick it up. I was so frustrated & left angry. My experience with the staff was very unpleasant & unprofessional. I think management & employees need to be retrained on customer service & register practices.
8. Music Village
Address: 2971 Union Ave, San Jose, CA 95124 , Santa Clara County , California , United States
This is a great little local place with tons of sheet music. Their prices for instruments also tend to be cheaper than the large chain music stores.
Very friendly and helpful staff. Homely and nice. Will definitely be back.
There was so good!!
Helpful staff. Good vibe. Massive selection of sheet music books and I saw books on topics like electronic music production. One wing of the store is a music school.
When dealing directly, the gentleman at the counter was cool. However, overall customer service could improve. I came into the store and stood second in line behind a customer who needed some repairs on 2 instruments. No big deal, that is what they do. I think though to be efficient they may want to ask if anyone in line has an item they want to pay for quickly and leave. Instead, the string replacement proceeds with folks in line. After that repair was done I walked up assuming to be next. Nope, instead another customer was motioned to go ahead of me because they were in the store first. Not in line first, but in the store browsing first. Never knew until now this is how it works. Come in and browse and when you are done you go ahead of any customer in line so long as you came into the store before them. On the positive note, large inventory and staff was very helpful retrieving and holding my book in front for easy pickup access.
Good place to get guitar strings
I recently rented a flute for my son. My son tried the flute at the store and it seemed ok. My son came home and practiced it and it had problem. We went back and they tried to repair. My son went to the class and the Flute teacher said that the Flute is leaking and asked us to return it. I rented it on Sat. and returned it on Monday. The still charged even though we mentioned that the flute was bad.
DO NOT RENT FLUTE FROM HERE. Also they charge very high for repair charges. I compared our son’s flute for repair between their shop and another shop. They were expensive by $200.
I will neve go back there.
9. CB Perkins Guitar Shop
Address: 5807 Winfield Blvd # B6, San Jose, CA 95123 , Santa Clara County , California , United States
Outstanding service and highest quality work! Customer for life!
First time visiting this place today, truly a great experience and I will be doing what I can to bring more business to this goldmine. They figured out what was wrong with my bass in less than 5 minutes. EXCELLENT customer service….will be back.
Honest folks with fair prices, and lots of good used gear. They also do skilled repairs on stringed instruments. No fancy storefront but the savings are passed on to us. A block south of the Sears at Oakridge Mall.
These guys are friendly, professional, and always on time. They go out of their way to help customers and they’ve always done a fabulous job on my guitars! I highly recommend you use this shop for all your guitar needs.
Awesome ( Luthier ) . Brought my ole 12 string in for a re-fret. Great work ….”The place ” in south bay , silicone valley to come to if you have a “”valued”” string instrument or are looking for a “Gold Standard” guitar.
Cool and chill shop. -1 star since the selection is rather limited, BUT what they have you won’t find in most shops in the area. If you’d like something different then this is definitely a great spot to check out.
10. Park Avenue Music Center
Address: 1717 Park Ave, San Jose, CA 95126 , Santa Clara County , California , United States
Stefen did a wonderful job getting my Strat set up. Plays better than it has in years. Looking forward to continuing to have my guitars worked on here and I highly recommend Stefen for any work you need done.
I’m sorry to say that I took my business somewhere else because the customer service over the phone was not helpful at all. I had to pry information about their products out of him. At The Starving Musician they helped me figure out exactly what I needed over the phone so that I could put it on hold and easily go and pick it up the same day.
They have a great selection, and a very clean store, however their customer service over the phone is lacking.
Tl;dr -If you need something from them, go in because they will hang up on you whenever they feel like it.
I brought my instrument in for maintenance and was told I would receive a call later that day about the details. I never got the call, and when I called back, no one knew my request.
Also when I was talking with the repair person, the receptionist hung up on me before I could ask another question. When I called back, she claimed that I seemed finish, even though I hadn’t said good bye or stated I was done asking questions.
I do not think I will go back, and instead do my repairs else where.
Drove down to make a purchase, but the store decided to close early–even though we had discussed with an employee we would be coming down to buy a clarinet. I’d phone ahead and get strong assurances they will actually be open if you’re driving any distance.
Called to inquire about a violin study book. Was on hold for over 20 min. Had to hang up.
Waited 3 weeks for a trumpet mouthpiece for it never to ship. I called to get assurance I’d get it before my gig and when I called back they told me it still never left the store so I had to cancel the order. They didn’t even care to contact me to give me details about the issue. Save your time and buy elsewhere.
I went there on a sunday to look for a new acoustic electric guitar. The customer service is outstanding. They give me the background and history of specific brands and educate me on the type of sound each guitar produces. I’ve learned a lot more about guitars that weekend. Also, I got to test out different type of guitars with a no-pressure sales. I was told that they want me to pick the right guitar and that takes time, that process can’t be rushed. That’s what I definitely love about this place. I’m still looking for that right guitar myself. But I’m a customer for life!
Awesome place. Pro equip and u can try out stuff. 2 floors. Definetily the place for hard core musicians
Staff was knowledgeable and fun to be around, as well as engaged and very helpful.
Good service and experience.
That was my first time there I just went in to look around
Not really happy with their repair job. Not at all.
I went there because the tuning of my guitar was off. I figured something’s wrong with the neck and I am not able to fix it myself.
I went into the store and told them that I want the tuning fixed. I also mentioned that the nut looks slanted (looks different from other epiphones in store)
Now I have a guitar that is professionally setup with a new set of strings and lemon oils covering the fret. None of the previous issues are fixed and it’s now buzzing.
When I pointed this out they tried to convince me that the buzzing is within tolerance. That the tuning issue is caused by the warped neck which means it a defective item and that I should talk to my dealer about it.
Well.
I know how to change strings of lower bridges or put lemon oils on my fret.. I came all the way up here because I wanted to have it checked and fixed. Not spending $100 and then get told what I came here for can’t be done. I would’ve returned the guitar or go to a different repair shop if they can’t handle the tuning issue.
Oh and I didn’t get the chance to talk to the person who worked on my guitar before and after the setup 🙁
I called to see if they had LEFT handed guitars. The salesman said they do not because they lose value sitting around. I said well that’s too bad because I like to try out pedals, effects, amps before I buy them. Guess I have no reason to come into this store then. What’s the point?
At first I thought I found the perfect place for my music needs, but their shady at best business policies and the lack of will sour the dealings. Staff unable to give prices on normal stocking items is just one highlight. Zero refund policy so beware of the money you give as it isn’t coming back. They appear helpful until you get in a bind then they ignore you. Poor business but then again I think I will buy my guitars from a big box store for at least you can save some money. Service sucks!
I bought a strat from them about a year before covid at that time I asked to have the tech there to do a set up (expecting to pay for the service) the tech refused, i had to take my strat to another shop. I later had an issue with the guitar (non set up related) and they refused to help with this as well. I had to go to another store to get help getting fender to fix the problem. My problem got fixed by fender, but the service and after sales support from show case has declined over the years.
Until recently my dealings with Dean Markley was nothing less than enjoyable. In October of 2015 they placed an order with the company I’ve been working with for parts to assemble the reputable, well known products they’ve come to be associated with. I called the CEO personally and was told if I wanted to be reimbursed they wanted to see the invoices- after these were sent it became a game of “catch me if you can.” With a company that was such a pioneer- making the voice box effects pedal used by Peter Frampton etc.- I was simply assuming they weren’t billed correctly. Now after having seen with my own eyes the total disregard for their clients and vendors, I can’t look at the company the same. The company they ordered the parts from has been around since the start of WWII in 1939- it specializes in turned types of products commonly machined by lathe type machines. I’m saddened with the apathy shown by their CEO and everyone within their corporate office. I don’t know if you’ll experience any problems just ordering strings or their usual products, but I do know that they don’t pay their vendors. Cool company but it used to be great.
16. Hai Yen Music
Address: 1816 Tully Rd # 176, San Jose, CA 95122 , Santa Clara County , California , United States
Amazing store, I always come here when I need strings. Amazing prices and extremely high quality.
Had my bow rehaired. Quick service and great value. Highly recommend.
We come here for all our stringed instrument needs, including repairs.
The workmanship is good. Just make sure you CALL before you go to pick up your instrument, especially if you live a distance away. I lost money (took time off from work) and wasted precious gasoline, when I went down to pick up my instrument on the day promised and it wasn’t done at all. Had to drive back home (35 min drive) and then return again at the end of the day. Very annoying.
Atienden muy bien y tienen buen contenido de violines
Good place to buy string instruments or get them repaired.
Very bad customer service. No respect.
Waited for service for half an hour, and when I received service it was rushed. The instruments were mostly overpriced, damaged starters.
I returned my rental violin on August 11th. They did not give my refund right away. Instead, they told me they will cut the check to me at end of the month. I wait until September and they still did not gave me the check. So I called again. They told me they will cut the check right away. ect… Now it is almost Christmas. They still did not give me my refund. This is really bad ways of dealing with customer. Never had this issue with any other business before. TOO BAD!
If you are looking for a high end classical guitar, this is the place to go. I went in and talked with the owner and tried out a few guitars. He is extremely knowledgeable and understands what each player is looking for in an instrument: tone, price and playability which suits their personal tastes. He also has a great policy on exchanges if you ever want to upgrade from something you bought from him in the past.
Today I came in to buy first violin after 1 introduction class. I came here because it is a locally owned store near by and honestly best decision I made. I came in around 11pm and it was stuffed with various gorgeous instruments lining the walls.
I called in asking for a beginners viloin with at budget of 400-500$. Randy got to work and we talked about my class and why I started learning. We landed on a beautiful violin made in 1996. He even let me play a couple notes then demonstrated tuning. At that point I discovered he spoked Japanese and Spanish! After I introduced myself in both languages we switched between all 3 for the remaining of the time.
He showed me how to care for my bow and got a case for me. Randy also explained the 100% trade in process for me. We then talked about different violins type and Guarneri’s violin. Once we finished out the payment we said our goodbyes.
Thank you Randy!!!
Randy the owner is friendly and extremely knowledgeable … This is the place to go for higher end string instruments. Love that this store offers 100% trade in value so that you can continually upgrade your instrument as you improve as a musician
Great place for choosing a concert instrument
Great selection of top-quality instruments.
This shop had the violin strings I needed. The place is not very organized for the customer to shop in, but the owner/manager is quite knowledgeable. Definitely many options here, great mom and pop shop for orchestral instruments.
DO NOT GO THIS PLACE. owner is too grumpy, he charges the customers( 30$) to see or touch any music instrument!! ??? I never heard somthing like this!!! also this store is too messy and dirty .DO NOT GO this place.. I saw the advertise in craigslist for Felamenco Guitar for this store which incoraged & invited everybody to visit this store so I drove 20 minute to this place, that was a big mistake…
Extremely rude and unprofessional. Don’t waste your time and money on this bitter old man’s nonsense
I call no one answers, i go to the store during said hours of operation and its closed. Is this place even still open? One star for wasting my time.
