This is not a major chain, doesn’t look like, it doesn’t feel like it, doesn’t act like it. If you’re looking for 100 guitars in glass cases that no one else can afford, this isn’t your place.
This place is rock. This place is punk. This place is nerd. I F’n love this place. The owner is great in all sorts of ways, the stock is eclectic, and has a ton of interesting things that are probably off of your radar.
I like to think that the inception of this place was a rebirth of a legit music scene in the south bay.
I like the $0.60 picks.
Picked up a nice acoustic guitar, they have a wide selection and good prices.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Its small but the selection is close to the same as any other guitar center
I just saw there website but it was vary good I had no problem selecting stores in my area and the filter for the type of guitar was good but yet agin I have only visited to website.
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.
First of all, I rate Guitar Center no stars. This applies to two stores: the Stevens Creek Blvd. store and the Cherry Ave store. Most of the electric guitars I tried to play had ridiculously high action, which made them almost impossible to play. In addition, The sales reps were unwilling to adjust the bridges to an acceptable playing height because “they aren’t authorized to perform these adjustments.” ( the manager at the Cherry Ave. store told me this).This is totally unacceptable and very poor customer service. Why can’t their in-store guitar tech perform the necessary adjustments to please the customer. Guitar Center probably loses many sales because of their uncaring attitude. Whatever happened to good old customer service ?
A very disappointed customer,
Ron
This store actually closes at 7 pm it has since the pandemic started but the lazy staff do not bother to change the hours on the web page or on the google add so there are many customers showing up to a closed business ( the l you guitar center for showing so much consideration to your customers
4. Music Village
Address: 5885 Santa Teresa Blvd, San Jose, CA 95123 , Seven Trees , California , United States
Staff and service here are always great. They almost always have what we want and always have the things we need.
Louis was awesome!
REAL NICE. FOLK’S ALL round READEY TO HELP UOU
Very good collection of musical instruments. They also offer lessons which has decent little rooms. We had multiple visits to the store and we were always helped by store staff.
Helpful, friendly & knowledgeable. Prices are a bit on the higher side.. higher than amazon.
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.
5. Park Avenue Music Center
Address: 1717 Park Ave, San Jose, CA 95126 , Seven Trees , California , United States
Rented a clarinet from the store. The person at the counter is knowledgeable about the instrument, got use everything we needed and processed our transaction swiftly. Returning was painless. Parking is a little challenging but good experience over all.
Took my horn to get fixed they did a fine job ✋
We bought a flugelhorn mouthpiece from Eric, and although there were some issues with the order, he stepped up and went out of his way to resolve the situation. We would definitely do business with him again.
Nice small music store that had a French horn we could rent. They were very helpful in helping to find a private teacher and have lesson rooms adjacent to them.
Good selection of band instruments and accessories.
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.
Park Avenue sells defected/used items as ‘new’. Do not buy an item from here and expect to return it if you find a problem with it. They tried to charge me over $500 in a ‘restocking fee’ for an item that they shipped. Claimed they had photos of it undamaged but they never provided them. Had to file a credit card fraud report against them to recover the funds they decided to keep.
6. The Starving Musician – SANTA CLARA
Address: 3939 Stevens Creek Blvd, Santa Clara, CA 95051 , Seven Trees , California , United States
Some genuine people here ready to help you find what you need or find out what you’re looking for. Excellent place guys there are just ready to jam out.
Very good deals and knowledgeable staff.
I’ve been doing business with them since they started.
David and Jeff have always been a class act.
I can always depend on them for the correct advice on musical instruments.
It’s great to see an independent THRIVE.
Best of luck to them .
Great service, went in recently to have a tuning knob replaced. Got me out of there same day without much hassle. And for cheap too! All in all, this is my go to place for all musical needs.
Lots of goodies but I was looking for studio monitors which there were few to none
Great selection…staff was a little preoccupied and short..but was right after holidays
I had a terrible front desk customer service experience here just to to get guitar strings. I’m never coming back to this store.
They must be called starving musician because they rip off everybody that enters they’re business. Customer service was less than exceptable. They employees were straight up rude.
Horrible first time experience. Dropped off my guitar for a basic setup and was told 2 weeks. Over a month later my guitar was found in the storage area and never worked on. Guitar tech was extremely rude and blamed his incompetence on me the customer. The shop also stole my tremolo bar and instruction manual from my guitar bag. NEVER GO TO THIS SHOP as it is not worth trouble. Find my full story on yelp.
7. Music Village
Address: 2971 Union Ave, San Jose, CA 95124 , Seven Trees , California , United States
It’s a great place to shop for music books, instrument rentals, lessons, repairs and MORE!
Has a huge stock of woodwind instruments and accessories. They have it all, and it makes shopping for all the things my kids need for their band instruments that much easier!
I completely trust these guys with my guitars. Caleb has done incredible set up and repair work for me for years. I play aggressively and my guitars stay in tune perfectly. He’s a musician as well and understands how to make guitars perform at their best.
Great customer service. Knowledgable and helping staff
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.
8. AHMAD Guitar Lessons
Address: 2664 Senter Rd APT 112, San Jose, CA 95111 , Seven Trees , California , United States
I’ve had several guitar teachers during my playing tenure and Ahmad is by far the best. In addition to his thoughtful approach he’s incredibly knowledgeable, patient and also makes lessons fun. Whether its deep theory or learning to play something you’ve struggled with for years Ahmad’s help has been invaluable. I’ve improved more in 6 months with Ahmad than I did in the previous 5+ years. Cannot recommend enough.
I visited this place with a few friends to learn more about this place. The owners were really friendly and they guided us about the place, the different types of musical instruments that they have. Overall a good experience.
If you are a musician, this is a place to be also they have musical classes too for learners.
Wonderful string shop, super friendly and knowledgeable staff, lots of instruments in stock, great for young players. Great cello selection!
The service was exceptional
Good place to buy string instruments or get them repaired.
Good instrument rental place
Atienden muy bien y tienen buen contenido de violines
Very bad customer service. No respect.
Worst experience during their partial closure. They keep send me one way mailed letter they will continue renewing while I call them and messaged them repeatedly to cancel and drop of instrument. No response back. They mail you whenever they want to charge you. Don’t give your credit card number. Shady business. Not acceptable.
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!
11. Workhouse Recording And Mastering Studio
Address: 420 Orto St, San Jose, CA 95125 , Seven Trees , California , United States
School of Rock San Jose is an amazing place for people to learn how to play music. Students are supported and encouraged to challenge themselves, becoming better musicians. The youth program helps all students improve and have room to grow musically. It’s been a wonderful journey for our two children for the past 10 years.
School of Rock is great! Everyone is really kind to both the parents and the students. It is clear that every employee and instructor wants to make it a fun experience but also a place where the students can really learn music and grow as musicians. Jonathan is incredibly talented, clearly knows music and makes the experience for our keyboardist very positive, encouraging and enjoyable. I love that the kids learn songs right away and that they play together as a band. I also love that the kids (and parents) are expected to adhere to behavioral policies to ensure a safe and enjoyable environment for all. We love School of Rock!
My son has been at SOR for the last 5 years and can now confidently play 3 instruments and is a musician for life. The staff is so welcoming and positive, they help the students reach for goals and they are a lot of fun to learn from. This school has played a major role in our lives and in my son’s happiness and self esteem.
13. Dynamic Sound & Lighting
Address: 998 S Second St, San Jose, CA 95112 , Seven Trees , California , United States
Very Professional. Always on top of his priorities and puts on a great show.
Puts on a very interactive show. Engages with audiences of all ages and keeps the crowd dancing and having lots of fun. One of the best coming out of the area!
15. Best Buy
Address: 181 Curtner Ave, San Jose, CA 95125 , Seven Trees , California , United States
Went in for geek squad and got my headset razor replaced but even better since the replacement wasn’t in stock they helped me by upgrading me to the top of the line razor headset. Had to get the warranty again just because it was a different model but great for working with me to get my product right there and then. No wait time but I did go right when they opened. 10am. They wiped down all counters after each customer. Everyone has mask and hand sanitizer at each counter. Felt safe and great customer service!!! Highly recommend
Helpful IT.
I love best buys They’re accessible to stop by where I live
To get 2 monitors and pay less than $200 is something I couldn’t resist.
Dislike the lack of people working on the different areas and when you finally get someone to help you they’re not very familiar with the department/merchandise/stock
When You can get there attention most ate helpful still though got some attitude s if you start asking questions
Very rude!! Horrible customer service!!! I had to look for a representative myself. No one greets or acknoledges customers. I went to buy a cellphone and the offer posted for the cellphone was not honored. Alex the representative said “I think the offer its expired, let me check.” He checked and the offer was expired but very rude ripped the sign. He did not apologize or anything. I asked for the manager and he came to talk to me. He didnt have a name badge and he was rude too!! I questioned why the sign was there and why alex ripped the sign like that. The manager said it was atts job to remove the signs. Tons of signs were expired in the store. Good luck with weights and measures!! I will take my business somewhere else.
16. Timothy small axe
Address: BACK HOUSE, San Jose, CA 95136 , Seven Trees , California , United States
