Whilst Johnny Roadhouse and Sounds Great look and feel like homely, independent music stores run by aspiring musicians, Dawsons looks and feels like a professional music chain run by aspiring sales assistants. One of nine branches across the UK, this one looks more like an art gallery or contemporary museum with bright lights and slick, floor to ceiling glass windows. Inside is almost as austere with strategically placed pianos, synthesisers and drum kits in one areas and neat rows of guitars, bass, keyboards, clarinets, saxophones and percussion elsewhere. Local deejays should note they also sell decks, mixers, amps, cartridges and needles at Dawsons but sadly, no Technics decks! All of which lead me to suspect that this store is more for amateurs and beginners than seasoned and professional musicians. The awesome White Stripes in action: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-t1_ETuWIbE read more

Dawsons Music Manchester - Image courtesy of Dawsons website - Musical Instruments & Teachers Near Me - Manchester, XGM

The massive array of weird and wonderful instruments on show makes the Dawsons on Portland st a beautiful store just to be in. But be warned- anybody hanging about with no more than a leather jacket and a hangover as proof of their rockstar credentials will inevitably found out by the impressively knowledgable staff who are always on hand to help out with any musical issues you may have- yes even guitar and singing lessons! Obvoiusly the prices are pretty much dictated by your choice of instrument but Dawsons does always try to give you their best possible rate and I have found them to be pretty open to a spot of haggling so it's always worth forgetting your British roots for a minute and having a go. read more

Dawsons Music Manchester - Musical Instruments & Teachers Near Me - Manchester, XGM

I love this shop. It reminds me of when I was at school when I was keen clarinetist (note that keen does not equate to having much talent). This shop has every instrument imaginable and the staff are happy for you to try before you buy. Gone are the days that shops employed anyone to sell their products as here you will find music boffins who have a passion for the instruments they sell. Although all I can do is sing now (I say I can sing but that really should be LIKE to sing) I still find walking around this shop a great way to waste half an hour whilst I am in town dreaming I wasa rock star :) read more

Dawsons Music Manchester - Musical Instruments & Teachers Near Me - Manchester, XGM

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Easy to find and large, they have a wide ranged of products not stocked in every music shop, particularly a range of Gibson and Fender guitars. They also sell acoustic pianos and drums. Unfortunately, due to this, they are expensive and being a larger store they never seem to have enough staff. They are friendly enough to deal with but getting their attention can be a struggle. Great to browse, not to buy. read more

I love that when you walk in here your ears are greeted by a pasticcio of piano and keyboards as the would be customers tinkle away to their hearts content. You're free, within reason, to try anything out, even to the extent where the shop assistant will plug an electric guitar in to an particular amp. After all, if you're going to spend your hard-earned money on an instrument of beauty, you have to give it a test run first. The catalogue they have on display is extensive - every type of brass instrument, a great digital/DJ department to a whole section just on banjos. Starter kits for the kids begin at as little as £40 depending on the instrument, and the staff are extremely knowledgeable. It would be advantageous to go in the week though, as at the weekend it is so busy you'll be waiting a while to get assistance because they like to take their time with customers. That's fine by me, though, you could spend an hour in here just gawking.. read more

Dawson's is by far the most professional of the music shops I have visited in Manchester. Everything seems new, clean, well set out and controlled. These things aren't really to my personal taste. I kind of love it when a guitar shop is shabby and frayed around the edges, with some oddball staff and some faded guitars on the wall that are full of character. However, Dawson's is very professional, and sometimes that is what you need. Downstairs is full of pianos and drum kits, but it's the guitars upstairs that I will always be drawn to. I went in to try a couple of guitars I'm thinking of buying. I really like it that after getting the assistant's attention (which took quite a while), I was shown to a soundproof glass booth overlooking the ground floor and the street outside where I could play the guitars. It's a nice way to get a feel for an instrument you're potentially going to buy. read more

I am not a musician. Anything but in fact. Whilst I am mightily proud of my Grade 7 Clarinet certificate, when it comes to anything which requires a modicum of motor skills and musical ability, it's probably best that I stay as far away from it as possible so it doesn't emit some kind of unholy howl. However, I do have very many musicians friends, and each and every one of them rave about Dawson's - one of Manchester's premier music megastores. If you've ever been walking up to Piccadilly Gardens, you can't miss Dawsons - it's a huge morass of glass and musical instruments which all sit there, gleaming, just waiting for someone to come along and play 'Stairway to Heaven' on them. Pretty much every musical instrument you could ever imagine playing is stocked here - from Grand Pianos to Jew's Harps. They also sell an extensive range of sheet music, and the staff there are always more than happy to take the time to speak to you about what you really want and what's the best instrument for you. Indeed, this is what I really like about Dawsons. The staff here are friendly and willing to actually listen to you about what you want from an instrument. Best of all, the prices are really competitive, meaning you're sure to get the right product for your pocket. Even if you're not musically inclined, this is a great place to just have a quick nosey around if you've got an hour or so to kill. Who knows? You might even stumble upon the next Mozart haggling over the price of a Casio Keyboard! read more

Dawson's is something of a musical megastore. Located at the top of Portland Street or, if you prefer, just off Piccadilly Gardens, this big glassy shop contains a decent arrange of guitars, pianos and drumkits... enough to sate the appetite of the muso or novice. The staff are, mercifully, devoid of that sneering gittishness that many in this profession seem to be born with. In fact, they're downright pleasant! The prices are wide and varied, which means that you can indulge yourself with something posh or buy a starter guitar for a spotty youth you've spawned. The Staff are willing to let you nose around without jumping on you immediately and are happy to help if you look utterly lost. Great location, competitive prices and friendly staff. I recommend this place. read more

The staff in this store are very helpful and have an excellent knowledge of the area in which they work in. The Store sells everything from sheet music to guitars, drumsticks to pianos and DJ and Recording equipment. They offer a wide price range and some great deals for beginners right up to expensive pieces suitable for a professional level musician. The location is great, right in the centre of town. The Staff are happy to let you look around, rather than following you around the store, which personally is a plus for me. Over all great customer service and some great deals. read more

Dawsons Music Manchester - Musical Instruments & Teachers Near Me - Manchester, XGM

Knowledgable staff and good shop but too overpriced.

Light, airy, well laid out and more importantly, friendly staff and fantastic range. Great music store and while it is a larger chain it still gives a personal service. read more

Dawsons is a music shop selling instruments and sheet music. The variety is ok but you might be best off going to somewhere like Johnny Roadhouse instead if you want something more unusual. I would recommend Dawson for DJ software as they have a big section dedicated to DJing. read more

I think this was probably one of the best shopping experiences I've ever had in the UK. I read about this store on Yelp and it sounded like a potentially good place to get my Dad a guitar for his 60th. I remembered reading on here that the shop is in the Gay Village area so when waiting to meet a friend arriving at the National Express depot, I wandered up and down Canal St looking for it. It isn't in the village at all, it is between Piccadilly and Chinatown and it is massive. I must have been past it a hundred times and never noticed it (because they don't sell shoes or food probably). From the street Dawson's looks like it sells everything but guitars (pianos, drums, saxophones, you name it), but upstairs there are hundreds of them. It wasn't at all what I would normally expect a guitar shop to be like, and I mean that in a good way. It was clean, bright, airy, really well presented and the staff made me feel really welcome and comfortable. The only other guitar shop I'd ever been in before was dark and dusty and daunting and apparently run by surly monosyllabic teenagers. It put me in mind of a Blockbuster video. Dawson's is the total opposite. I know a little bit about guitars because I had classical guitar lessons at school before I switched to violin (and then to boys) but my knowledge is pretty rubbish. Even so, neither of the guys who I spoke to treated me like a moron. I answered a lot more questions than I asked. They were really quizzing me about what kind of music my Dad likes, what his favourite songs are etc. I felt as if they were really taking it seriously, like they were on a personal mission to make sure he got the right thing. I came out with a completely different guitar than the kind I had in mind (it was acoustic instead of electric and about £50 cheaper than the one I first asked about ) and Dad really, really, loves it. If Dawson's sold shoes or ran a restaurant I'd be in there every day. read more

Great shop! I've bought stuff here, and always found the staff friendly and helpful. Sure, I like the shabby old guitar shop vibe too, but those places are getting rarer. Dawsons has a fantastic range of guitars - not just for beginners as some above have stated, but all the way up through Ibanez, Jackson and USA Fenders, to £2000+ Gretschs and Gibsons. If you talk to the guys upstairs nicely, they'll let you try just about anything, but I can understand them getting shirty with people who just want to waste time mucking around on expensive instruments that they have no intention of buying. How would you like to spend your hard-earned dosh on a guitar that half the kids in town have had a crack on already? Everyone I've spoken to in the shop is either a gigging / recording musician or once was, so they know their stuff (and will go out of their way to find stuff out if the info isn't in their head). Recommended! read more

Easy enough to find, this place is built on two floors and unlike most music shops, there is plenty of room. The atmosphere is friendly enough, the staff know what they're talking about and they will place orders for you. Prices are average. The sun shines through at the other end of the glass window walls and the grand piano selection glistens in the corner. This exotic fish tank is filled with guitars, amps, synths, books, recording equipment and music enthusiasts. Worth a browse. read more

i have shopped at the warrington branch of Dawsons for many years and always been satisfied, On friday last week i travelled to the manchester store to try and buy a guitar that i wanted that was in stock there. The staff were not only more interested in conducting conversations between themselves but worse still seemed to have decided that i was a time waster, i admit i looked scruffy as i was heading back to work in the afternoon and some of us get dirty at work. There was absolutely no attempt to engagement me in a conversation to ascertain what i was looking for or god forbid suggest an alternative guitar. Maybe i picked a bad day to visit, i have raised a formal complaint with Dawson's which is something i normally can't be bothered doing, but this really got under my skin and what should have been and brilliant 'new guitar' day turned in to one that left me feeling like crap. I complained on Friday 25th Nov and was told that the issue had been raised with the retail operations manager. As of 15.12 on Monday i have heard nothing. This leaves me feeling that Dawsons is great for music equipment but the staff (in manchester) really couldn't care less. read more