Very professional. And very helpful and knowledgeable.
I came in today for a setup for a Carvin and played around while I waited. All I can say is wow! Not a big store but full of great stuff. Lots of unique models the big box stores don’t stock or have on hand, a literal pile of great tube amps, some I haven’t heard of before but now want…oh well. Nothing at Sam Ash or Guitar center approaches the quality selection by folks truly dedicated to music like these folks.
The Staff was great, hard working, patient, attentive, knowledgeable and went the extra mile. Also something missing in a big box.
Now the crazy part. Prices are better than the big box and your shopping local and getting WAY better service.
Head over to Top 40!
So I am moving to Florida … and wanted to sell my vintage guitars and was getting a lot of bad vibes from many guitar shops …I still had to do a smog check ….across the street(BY THE WAY THAT SMOG PLACE IS GREAT)….and as i was leaving the smog check on Ballantine ….and stopped at the light ….right across was Top 40….Gods truth I got a message from God to call them ….Thank da Lord ….Brandon and Chuck were so understanding and “FAIR”…..they are so so down to earth and genuinely nice ….and most of all fair……check them out ……brudda jeff
Great customer service
Close by and good prices !
Good place to but all
This store sells things online and holds off shipping trying to get higher prices for it and then cancels your order. Don’t buy from them unless you go in person I guess.
I went to the store to see some amplifiers that were advertised on Craigslist. When I got to the store NONE of the equipment was available in the store. It had all been sold. Very lame business practices… I will never be back!!!
*follow up….Besides NOT having either the cabinets or heads as advertised, there were NO heads at all. The ads were still up at 10:00am when I left for the store. The ads were only canceled after I arrived. Poor business practices as I said earlier. Good prices for merchandise not in the store??? Hahaha.
I would avoid shopping online with this store there customer service is two faced.
I went to El Cajon Guitars & Music with my friend. To my surprised Frank and Maria are such great people and very helpful to teach us differeny features of guitars and it’s history. It was helpful to me since I don’t know much about guitars. My friend end up in liking a ukelele. They are awesome.
To start Frank and Maria’s level of customer service is one of the things that will make many people come back. I haven’t seen a store front on Main Street in El Cajon with this much passion in many years. Frank hung out with us for well over an hour and talked with us about anything and everything music related. They are revitalizing downtown El Cajon one very nice guitar at a time. So much more I could say about them and there shop but you will just have to go in and talk with them yourselves. Best of luck to you guys!
This place rocks, pun absolutely intended. The owners are a great duo knowledgeable about all things guitars and beyond. My brief, spontaneous stop at their shop became a joyful hour-long excursion in my day. If you have the time, are a music fan, and are in the area, I highly recommend a stop here.
9. Ronnie Alley Music
10. Rack-It Custom Drum Racks
Address: 1330 Peach Ave, El Cajon, CA 92021 , Winter Gardens , California , United States
very happy with the price, quality of work, and customer service. he knew right away what i was asking for which was very impressive given the breadth of his offerings
Randy at Keyboard Services fixed my organ over the phone there was no
charge. Thank you Randy
PROFESSIONAL COURTEOUS & VARIOUS SELECTION
I hope they read this review. Their voice mail is full and I can’t get through to leave a message.
No response to my voicemails. Perhaps out of business?
I’m actually not sure if they are in business. I called a couple of times about repairing a Technics synthesizer keyboard. It went to voice-mail. I still have not heard from them.
0 stars. They kept my vintage synthesizer for 6 months with no contact, when I finally called them they had not yet touched it and had excuses about how they had computer problems. They had it another four months, charged me $125, and not only did they fail to fix the problem, when it got back to me it was in even worse condition and completely unusable. These guys are a bunch of overpriced hacks, I’m not sure of anyone else in San Diego who does this kind of work, but you are better off driving to LA than dealing with these people.
edit: Of course they respond with lies and even more excuses. Never was I offered my money back, the fact that they refused to refund my money after effectively destroying the synth was the entire reason I wrote this review chronicling my experience. This place is a scam and I hope they are out of business by now and the incompetent geezer running the place off to a place where he can’t steal from anyone else.
Great selection and excellent service. Bought several instruments from Terry’s store
Love these strings. Great clarity and wonderful sustain. I put them on my Koaloha Opio spruce top tenor and was completely blown away. If you own two tenor ukulele’s I suggest you string one of them up with Pepe Romero baby baritone strings. Couldn’t be happier. Thank you ULTP.
Smooth transaction- strings arrived quickly with good tracking information- would use again
Cool place to go look at music instruments
Ukulele is beautiful – took a bit to get shipped but worth the wait
Order arrived as scheduled.
The shop is overpriced and the owner is shady as hell. If you even do the most basic of comparison shopping, you’ll see how much he’s trying to take advantage of ukulele players.
Carter’s NOT the only game in town and uke players deserve better.
Well product said ukelele humidification system and ended up just humidification pouches that are way too big for ukelele sound hole only able to put in case with instrument wasn’t really what I was looking for thought they’d be smaller I’ll use till I find something better like Dadario guitar type with humidity pouches shipping was kinda slow also I guess their a bit smaller than guitar ones not much though
it has been 6 days and I still have not received my strings I will never buy another thing from you I EVEN HAD TO PAY FOR SHIPPING! ! !
14. Guitar Center
Address: 8825 Murray Dr, La Mesa, CA 91942 , Winter Gardens , California , United States
I cannot afford a guitar here this month, however, it has supplied me with ample instruments, including a small high decibel, low watt, distortion added, Behrigner amp. May be currently available, nonetheless, prices are subject to change. Holds a present weekly sale every fourth of the month July yearly. Also, one of the few guitar centers for the fan of instrumental equipment, such as Deejays, Karaoke singers, and percussionists such as a cymbal on a drum set. Good service despite the weather… in San Diego.
Pretty cool place. I’m a huge fan of music. I wish I was talented enough to pick up an instrument and make such beautiful sounds come from it..
I like coming over to try out the guitars. This place is huge..and you don’t have sales people asking questions..
Pricey but the best place to buy instruments in San Diego
They ok
Some of the staff are incredibly helpful sources of knowledge. They are the best and it’s worth going here just in case you run into one of them. Some seriously stellar people work at this location.
Other staff members obviously hate to be here and treat customers accordingly. Some staff struggle with their payment system and checking out often takes far too long. Phone calls to the store can ring dozens of times and still go unanswered. I’ve called and not been answered, and also seen calls get ignored while I’m in the store (you can hear the phone ringing and no one ever picks it up).
Overall I’d say it’s a great store with poor checkout software and a major management problem.
Would be nice if they picked up the phone.
On Friday evening 12/29/16 I called the La Mesa store and asked if they had an amp in stock. A female guitar salesperson said they had 5. I get there only to be told they were marked for lessons and cant sell them?? I once worked for Guitar trader and never heard that one. She then tried to sell me something else. I didnt even waste my time telling her I drove for 40 minutes because she said they had them. Just incompetence pure and simple. Will no longer shop at the La Mesa store again!!
15. Alan’s Music Center Inc
Address: 8510 La Mesa Blvd, La Mesa, CA 91942 , Winter Gardens , California , United States
Was able to fix my finacee’s cello, ultimately diagnosing what I thought was a broken string as it just being very loose, and ended up tuning the whole instrument for free. Very friendly and honest people =)
Alan’s is what I expected to find from a small music shop. They don’t have the corporate sterility of Sam Ash or Guitar Center, it’s more like wandering into a musical Gringots. The staff is knowledgeable and have been a huge help in getting me up and running learning saxophone again.
Great customer service! I had my violin repaired here at affordable pricing and then I signed up for the lessons. I’ve now been going here for almost a year and I’ve never had a bad experience with the staff or tutors. I always find what I need. Highly recommend.
The building and interior is showing it’s age, but the staff is extremely friendly and helpful. Probably the best place to get school-band instruments, and it’s the ONLY place I know that has a wide variety of sheet music. They don’t really have any high quality guitars or baseses, though.
Alway helpful; full service instrument store
I love Alan’s. But had a unpleasant experience last time there. Lady behind the counter was very unfriendly.
The staff always seems bothered when you come in. Also over priced.
Walked in today and the whole upstairs smelled like sewage!! I used to love this place. Please, please fix this. I cannot come back with that smell!!
Alan’s has been our one-stop-shop for music, instrument rentals and instrument repair since our daughters started taking piano lessons 18 years ago. In the years since, we’ve taken flutes, saxes and a trombone in for repair. Often, Bob would do it on the spot – and would refuse payment. Most times it was quick, professional and fairly priced. And, I’ve posted appropriately complimentary reviews at that time. Our girls are away at college now, so we haven’t been there in quite a while, but this week’s experience was markedly different. Last Wednesday, I joined a community concert band (first ensemble in nearly 40 years). On Thursday, I took two flutes in for adjustment. On Friday, I called – as directed. Bob advised that he hadn’t even looked at them yet, but said that he would call me back. Today – Tuesday, I called and was informed that I was “moving up the list”. I understand (now) that they have more work than they can handle, and I don’t begrudge them that. But, it would have been nice if they would have said, “We won’t be able to get to your instruments for a week, or a month, or until 2019”, rather than leading me to believe that I should expect the same service as I’d always received in the past. And, when I picked up the instruments this morning, I asked for a recommendation to another shop that might not be as busy. But instead of extending that professional courtesy, they said they didn’t know, since several shops had closed. The 2 stars is for that. So, I guess it’s not surprising afterall, that no one in my section had ever heard of Alan’s Music. I will take my leaky flute into tomorrow’s rehearsal and ask where my fellow musicians recommend I take it for repair.
Always great stopping by and talking with the staff.
Great place to grab and go
Good meat and cool beer. Ríb eye 5.99lb thats cheap
I, and my family(mother and brother), as well as certain neighbors and locals, have known frank(the main man), his wife, kids, and the others for a good 20 years. They’ve always been kind, personable, friendly, and helpful.
Whenever I find a new ale, I’ll tell frank and he’ll get it.
I actually remember him before he ever acquired the butcher shop, when that section used to be “hole in the wall” bar.
Great selection
Good pizza
Cashiers having a 10minute conversation with a customer while myself and 3 others just stood there trying to pay for our merchandise
Wouldn’t cash a perfectly good 100 because it was old. Short changed me twice.
Basic market
18. Redbox
Address: 9560 Winter Gardens Blvd, Lakeside, CA 92040 , Winter Gardens , California , United States
