Premium music shops of Wright: Our Top-5 selection

Convenient rental program and price options for band students who may not be ready to commit to purchasing an instrument

I had a great experience today at Playground Music Center in Fort Walton Beach. I was looking for a Ukulele(first time ever buying a musical instrument), and Kyle took the time to show me around and explain everything to me so I could understand. It’s not often that you get customer service like that nowadays, so it was greatly appreciated. They had a great selection as well as a beautiful showroom. They got me set up with my new ukulele and I left there smiling. Highly recommended!

Very helpful. Great team.

Very helpful

Very helpful, friendly staff. Reasonable prices for your instrument needs. Can get lessons here as well.

Beautiful selection of instruments

I took my saxophone in today as it has a slightly bent bell and is missing the key guard on the side of the bell. I was not concerned about the key guard, I only wanted the bell straightened. THEY REFUSED TO DO THE REPAIR. They said they would not straighten the bell unless I paid for the replacement key guard at 150 dollars plus the cost for straightening the bell! I only needed the bell straightened but they refused a paying customer. Will never go back and I recommend others don’t go there either. Their excuse? She said she couldn’t let my own instrument leave without being fully repaired so if I did not want the key gaurd, I was not allowed to get the bell straightened and pay for it there either. What a horrible way to run a business. I own my instrument, it is a sterling silver saxophone so I did not want their inferior keyguard.

Website said strings were $6.99. In the store they were $16.99. No, I didn’t misread it. There was a BOGO, but still, they should honor their prices as advertised. Otherwise the staff was very helpful though.

I haven’t been to the store but I’ve had this business shoved down my throat by the Avalon Middle School Band. They mailed out a letter that stated I needed to be present at a very important meeting for my incoming student. It was addressed from the school. I had to take time off work to attend. When I arrived I was greeted by these folks trying to rent me my child’s instrument (I already had purchased) this is not the only time they were present at my child’s functions. I don’t think that they should be soliciting their business at school.

Very clean record store.

Found a lot of gems here I couldn’t find anywhere else. The prices are right and the staff are awesome. I am going to be a regular.

Cool shop

Very clean and organized record store in Fort Walton. I liked how they had the records broken down into sub genres instead of just a “rock section”. I gave 4 stars because they mix there used and new records together which can be frustrating for people searching. Also, the prices were definitely on the high side. This is still worth a stop if you have a time in Ft. Walton.

Good selection, too many bootlegs, though.

Good selection

This old bald headed hippie with this nasty gray beard is a rip off.He offered me 100 .00 for a Beatles lp.That is worth 10 times that much.Dishonest when it comes to trying to sell stuff to him.Don’t trust him!!! Negitive 5 reviews his stuff is way over priced.To the laymen who does not know anything about collectible Vinyl he will take advantage of you!! DISHONEST BUSINESS MAN!!!!!

The folks that work at UpBeat music on Beale Pkw, at Fort Walton Beach, are very friendly and helpful, and even brought my purchase of a Fender Super Champ x2, out to my car! Need I say, the service was excellent!!☺️

Amazing folks and very helpful.

This is hands down my favorite place in Crestview Florida! The staff is awesome and have helped me fill all of my musical needs since 2016.

Great pricing and people. Would be a 5 star but they didn’t charge my card every month like was on the contract I signed so I had to pay the full balance when I returned and late fee’s for each month they did not charge card.

We love Holly! She is one of the piano instructors and has taught my daughter for close to a year now. It is amazing to see how far they come in such a short period of time.

Very nice musical instruments store.

So I took my guitar in just to have some strings put on my guitar because at 53 years old my eye sight isn’t as good as it used to be and I bought in my nut for the tech to glue it on the guitar, so I had the nut. So the tech called and said the volume pot needed to be replaced and that it would be $9 for the part and $25 for the labor. When the guitar was ready I called them and asked how much it would be and I was told $115. That is for putting strings on, gluing the nut into place and the volume pot which as I stated would be $34. With out asking me he replaced the tone knob s well so he just did what ever he wanted without my authorization. When I got the receipt they charged me $20 for putting glue on the nut that I provided after I was told it would be $34 plus strings which was $12 which brought it up to $46 so $46 turned into$115. Doug is the tech name. He is not trustworthy, he does whatever he wants and charges whatever he feels like and on the receipt it showed the cost of parts which was $34 but nothing else, it showed the cost of parts, so it showed subtotal of $46 then the next line on the receipt was $94 just because I raised a fuss, but still that doesn’t explain anything else…

I strongly recommend that if you need work in your guitar that you take it elsewhere. Now the store itself is a nice store but Doug the tech just charges whatever he wants and does whatever he wants to your guitar without your authorization and I will note that when I initially brought my guitar 8n I told David to make sure no work is done without talking to me. Now I’m disabled so I’m on a limited budget so it was hard for me but they had my guitar so it was either pay. It or I don’t get my guitar. Once again it’s a nice store but Doug the tech is a freakin crook! Thief and unfair to the customers

If I could give negative stars I would, it pained me to give even one. I also hesitated to write this review, because maybe I was being sensitive or maybe I was more in the wrong than I wanted to admit at the time but after talking to MANY people, I have drawn the conclusion that I was really not in the wrong and people should know about your lack of professionalism and your lack of compassion. I picked up the guitar for the first time in my nearly 32 years in February. I was teaching myself to play and truly just getting a feel for the instrument. With that said, I wanted to get some different picks and possibly a capo, so myself and a friend went to UpBeats music store in Crestview. While in there I was entranced by the many beautiful guitars displayed. I wanted them all! Now let me preface this by saying that I made it known to the employee (owner, or whoever the unpleasant long braided haired “gentleman” was) that I was VERY new to the guitar, less than 2 weeks of messing around with it. I also made it known that I am a single mom of 4 kiddos and money wasn’t something I could throw around on something until I knew for sure I was going to stick with it but that if I did find it to be something I really enjoyed doing and wanted to pursue it then I would be back for one of the beautiful guitars I was drooling over. He had a somewhat “better than you attitude” from the start but I dismissed it because I’m not one to get upset about being judged for who I am, I live by the three F’s (which I won’t describe here). Anyhow, I found the picks I wanted and then located the capos. Grabbed one, not thinking they were going to be nearly $30. At the counter I realized the price and I decided not to get it because again….newbie, single mom, money isn’t growing on trees around here and I wasn’t ready to invest my grocery money on something I hadn’t quite committed to. I made the comment to my friend that I would just buy something cheap on amazon. The unpleasant long haired man then picked up my picks and proceeded to put them back on the shelf and tell me “you can buy those cheaper on amazon too” I asked him if he was being serious and he replied with a “Yes”. That’s when I realized he was, in a round about way, kicking me out of the store for stating to my friend, that I was going to get a cheap option elsewhere….Now, I’m not ignorant to the fact that small businesses depend on local support, and I am a HUGE supporter of local small businesses. So much so that I have sense bought not one, not two, but FOUR guitars from local businesses, numerous Elixer Guitar strings, picks galore. But I have not spent another dime in UpBeats music, nor will I ever. The folks at Playground Music in Fort Walton are AMAZING and I will gladly spend the money on gas, and drive the hour south, for a $4 bag of picks and a guitar worth a few hundred dollars…..might have ordered my first capo on amazon, but I bought my $30 Keyser Capo at Playground Music. UpBeats, you lost a potential loyal customer by your lack of compassion and patience. Oh and yes, I have stuck with the guitar….in fact it is my new found love and has helped me heal in so many way, thank you for not completely discouraging me that day. You get one star for showing your true colors before I spent my hard earned money in your store. Thank you for that.

I paid to have two saxophones serviced at UpBeat Music in Crestview. I paid $90 each for an all over check and repair. I recieved both back and had some concerns about one of the saxophones. I was having a hard time hitting low notes. I have been out of practice so I didn’t think too much of it. I went by a different store to purchase a new mouthpiece and while I was there I asked them to run a leak light down the instrument. Well it ended up having a lot of leaks and several were pretty bad. I had the second saxophone also checked out and it too had leaks although there were only two and both were adjusted on the spot. The first saxophone had more than 4 and two were severe. I contacted UpBeat music and let the owner Dick Reinlie know of the situation. I asked for a partial refund on one of the service charges. So although I paid $180 to service both I was only asking for 1/2 of the saxophone that had severe leaks ($45 total asked for refund). I did offer to bring the instrument in (the repairs had not been completed) so he could verify that it was not done correctly and know I was not making it up. Mr. Reinlie responded with a variety of responses to include, “You dissed my store” and “You should have never had it checked by someone else. If you thought there was a problem you should have come in and anyone who checks the instrument will find something wrong every time because they are out to prove my store wrong.” Through it all he did offer to have his service person repair it again. I did decline because I personally feel if such a sloppy job was done the first time, I would prefer to have someone else do the repairs going forward. I no longer held any confidence in repairs. I did tell Mr. Reinlie that I would not be able to use the store for repairs but could continue to shop there for reids and such. He continued to rant at me and tell me I was “being ridiculous” by going to another facility to have it checked and declined to look at the instrument to see the leaks for his own reference. By the end of the conversation, I was more disappointed in the company than at the start. I had purchased $80 in supplies the day before the repair conversation. I went into the store later the same day and returned the unused items. I had my 14 year old daughter and 8 year old son that had no idea of what had transpired. Upon the return Mr. Reinlie saw my name (I had not said anything of our disagreement, just that I wanted to return some unused items) and then proceeded to yell about how his store (UpBeat Music) was “dissed” by me and I was being “ridiculous”. I stated I was not there for an argument and left the store after receiving a refund and a 5 min rant from Mr. Reinlie while my refund processed. Upon leaving, my 14 year old said, “Mom what was that?! I mean clearly he was mad but he was the rudest person I have ever seen to a customer! And you kept telling him you just wanted to have a return and didn’t want to talk. He should be respectful even if he is angry.” So through it all at least my children were able to have a lesson in adult behavior. We will not be back to shop at UpBeat Music and I hope this review helps others in the future.

The staff is very knowledgeable and friendly. Great and afforable music lessons of most instruments and styles from Jerremy.

Extensive line of stringed instruments, amps and more. Your “Emerald Coast” connection for musical supplies.

I love this place. It has am awesome selection of instruments!

The place is kind of small, but similar in size to other musical instrument stores I’ve been to in the local area (Crestview / Ft Walton Beach). They seem to specialize mostly in guitars and sound equipment. Their selection of new electric guitars seems to be mostly tailored toward a beginner/novice. I noticed a good section of low/mid range Ibanez, ESP LTD, and Fender models. They also had a bunch of acoustic guitars as well as child size guitars. The selection of new and used guitar amplifiers (especially tube amplifiers) was quite deverse with brands such as Fender, Marshall, and Blackstar. They also have guitar and drum accessories typical of this type of music store.

Great helpful staff.

Best music shop in FWB. If you want to buy anything serious a trip to Pensacola is probably a better idea.

Went in to buy something, didnt bother.

Y’all suck. Workers weren’t nice or able to help with my problem at all . Definitely wouldn’t recommend

I used to come here all the time I’ve bought strings I have had them fix my guitar and even bough a couple from them but I went in today to put a guitar up on layaway, and keep in mind I’m 18 and I have been playing guitar for 8 years and as of know going to school for music. And I saw this awesome killer less pual, and I asked to play it and they said “no” in a very rude voice, and I was just standing there cause they let someone right beside me play guitar. Then they sent me a voicemail saying it’s policy to not touch the guitar over 2000$ and I get that policy but I wish they would have told me in the store cause I was gonna buy it. But I’m not a kid who wants drama so I let it go. Idk if they thought i didn’t know what I was doing but it’s okay