Blessed with incredibly helpful, knowledgeable staff, this friendly, family-run music store offers…read morea great selection of instruments and musical equipment. Nick, the shop assistant is very helpful and always willing to offer advice and recommendations based on customer needs and requirements. Colbecks pride themselves on offering high quality equipment and in my experience, their long-lasting products never seem to disappoint. The store is right next to a large PC World and very easy to park close to when collecting large instruments. Its showroom is a little cramped, yet remains inviting and well laid out, and the Colbecks team are friendly, welcoming and easy to talk to.

I've been relying on Colbecks to help me out with all things musical for a number of years. I…read morebought my latest piece of equipment from Colbecks, a keyboard, complete with instruction book on how to get started. The staff member was very helpful and took me through an extensive range on offer. I settled on the Yamaha 450. It's an excellent piece of equipment. It came with a guarantee and I was assured if I had any problems or found it wasn't to my liking I could return it for a full refund. I noticed the shop also offered other services such as repairs, restrings for guitars, tuning and even music lessons. If you're in the market for musical equipment give them a try I'm sure you'll be as pleased with the service as I have been time and time again. As for my piano playing, well it's just not as good as the store.

If you are looking for musical instruments or accessories in Birmingham this is probably the place…read moreI would send you. Huge range of guitars, amps, drums, pianos, keyboard and electronic musical instruments set over two floors. I have purchased a few guitars from here over the years they have always been really helpful and accommodating helping me get the exact set up for what I needed. The guys behind the counter always seem knowledgeable on the products they stock too.....so I would say this is a great stop for someone who is maybe not so musically minded looking to get a gift. I dont play as much as I should anymore but when I need strings/any other accessories I would definately look here first. The kind of shop I could get very lost in for an afternoon......hopefully without my debit card.

I bought my first guitar from here in 1996, and I reckon they've been going since the late…read moreeighties. Downstairs you'll find a range of acoustic instruments including guitars, woodwind, acoustic basses and a really well stocked accessories cabinet. Fair Deal are often are the first to get some gear in here before other guitar shops, which is proof that they are on the ball, probably attending trade shows and reading trade magazines to keep a good level of product knowledge. Upstairs is dedicated to all thing rawwwwk! with electric guitars and basses and a range of effects pedals from leading and new manufacturers. As the name suggests, the prices are fair! I picked up a Boss Portable Recording Studio that you can record, mix, and master songs with, then burn them to a CD-R to play in a CD player. It was £150 less here than the next best price elsewhere. Keep your eye out for end-of-the-line or discontinued equipment and you can bag a bargain like I did. The staff are friendly too. Expect a quip at the counter, and prepare one yourself, as it might endear you to the staff and pave the way for some haggling, or result in a guitar pick being thrown in to add value to whatever you are buying.

A really quite stunning collection of guitars! Friendly staff that'll pretty much let you play…read moreanything you want! Definitely worth going I you're thinking if getting a new guitar. The only disadvantage is that it is about a 20-25 minute work from New Street station. Unless you go by car and park at the limited car park at the store.

Don't be mislead by this shop's initials. They don't deal in remedies for a woman's 'time of the…read moremonth'. Instead Professional Music Technology deal in music equipment, specialising in keyboards, drums and both bass and six-string guitars. I came in here for a Fender Telecaster and I didn't really know the pros and cons of the different Squire, Mexican or US models. The assistant explained the differences in a clear way and left me to decide which one suited my budget. Another time I've been in here was to get a portable recording studio with a microphone and the necessary leads. I got a discounted deal on this, as well as being able to pay in instalments PMT is a little way out of town, so its not as easily accessible, (depending on where you live) as city centre music shops, but their collection of guitars makes them worth traveling to if you are considering a purchase of a new axe.

Situated in the middle of Stirchley, Music Exchange is, (unsuprisingly) a music shop, focusing…read moremainly on first hand guitars that cost less than five hundred pounds. There's a wide range of acoustics and electrics, as well as a few ukeleles, banjos and mandolins. All though most of the stock is string based, there is a few microphones, keyboards and a bright blue drumkit set up in the middle of the shop as well as the usual guitar strings, instrument leads, sheet music etc. If you're looking to spend a couple of grand on a vintage guitar then there's no point in coming to Music Exchange and there's several other shops in Birmingham that are far better suited to your needs. However, if your budget is only a few hundred pounds and you want to buy a first hand guitar then it would probably be a good idea to check here first, and if all you're after is a few guitar strings, then it will do very nicely, thank you.

This guitar shop is presumably run and owned by the same people who run and own Drums International…read morefurther down the High Street. The guitar shop used to be where the Drum shop now is, see. Anyway. This is a fairly small but friendly local music store, and yet another retail outlet on the high street that seems to cater to a limited and specialised market (there is a tobacconist down the road, a vacuum cleaner repair shop, and various other 'single issue' operations). The stock in here is fairly good, but mainly budget or entry level stuff. Whilst I'm sure they could get you a 1958 Gretsch if you wanted one, they don't carry such things in their main stock. That said, we all need guitar strings and other odds and ends on a regular basis, so this place is handy and saves me a trip into town.

I'm a sucker for a weird shop with odd, mismatched stock that makes you think "How the hell does…read morethis place stay in business?", and Pandora's Music Box is exactly such a place. As the name suggests, it sells music-related products, but in reality it's a bit of a junk shop that happens to have some music equipment in it. I suspect that many years ago it may well have been a dedicated music shop, and it has the air of having seen better days, for sure. Other items on offer these days are wheelchairs and walkers for elderly people. I told you it was odd. Perhaps, rather like Take That, this shop has simply grown up with it's audience. Who knows. Anyway, I always pop in when I passing as there is usually something in the window - an old radio, a battered effects pedal - that catches my eye. I do love to have a rummage around in there and I'm holding out hope that one day, one fine and beautiful day, I will find a left-handed 1950s Gretsch guitar with original US pickups a £20 price tag on it. You never know your luck!

Out of the handful of second hand shops left in Stirchley, Pandora's Music Box is by far the one…read morethat I find the most fascinating and charming. Attempting to buy a guitar for seventy pounds in most shops won't get you very far. However, you'll find one for seventy pounds in Pandora's Music Box. Same as if you've only got fifty pounds, or forty, or maybe even thirty.....yeah you get my point, it's dirt cheap. What they have most of is guitars, but you'll find the odd violin, keyboard or brass instrument as well as assorted music paraphenalia. It's first and foremost a music shop but there's plenty of other second hand goods that may interest you. Last time I went, there was a macabre baby doll in the window, a few old radios and tape players, as well as the largest selection of wheelchairs and walking aids I've seen outside of a hospital. This strange little shop is worth a look even if you don't intend to buy a single thing, though you might well change your mind on that when you get there. Go visit it before it gets bulldozed to make way for a superstore that's exactly like all the others you've been in.

Blackheath is almost as grim as it sounds, but last year a small independent guitar dealer made the…read moreswitch from online retailing to having a physical store. Now Blackheath has had its fair share of music shops over the years, all of which are now closed. But the one thing RSG has over its predecessors is a relentless love for customer satisfaction. Upon store you even enter the store you excited by just the window display. Colourful and full of ever changing instruments. Some of the best in store and some of rarer models can be seen displayed here. The selection of instruments covered is heavily guitar, bass, and a section of smaller wind instruments (harmonicas ect) but the stock is ever changing and you never know what will be in stock the next time you visit. The owner Damon is also quite the guitar tech, offering servicing and string changes on guitars and bass for a small fee. The shop also offers after hour tuition in both guilted and bass with a great team of teachers. Seperate courses run for different age/skill groups. Some of the best gear here is possibly the valve amps on selection. Some of the brands on here include: Carvin, Vox, Korg, Frenendez, Washburn and Ernie Ball.

Tiny little guitar shop, tucked away on the outskirts of Blackheath town centre. I wandered in…read morehere and soon enough found myself in conversation with the fella behind the counter, and a lovely chap he was too. As a southpaw, guitar shops are always frustrating for me because you always see these great guitars and good offers, but they're always for right-handed people - not us creative minority (Hendrix, McCartney, Cobain, the bloke out the Super Furry Animals...) The shop is very small and as such doesn't have a whole lot of stock out front, save a handful of guitars and a few practice amps. The sounds of patient music tuition filtered through from the next room as I bid my goodbyes to the bloke behind the counter. What I dug about this guy was that he didn't try and get me to buy anything nor did he take the opportunity to show me how much better on guitar he was or how much more he knew about guitars. I did work experience in a guitar shop and it put me off them and the people who work in them for life, this little place restored a bit of my faith that they're not full of failed, pedantic show-off rockers.

BUYER BEWARE WITH PRICE TAGS ON GUITARS IN STORE…read more Store had a guitar tagged with a £299 price tag, didn't notice at the till that one of the 3 guitars we bought in one visit price changed to £372 with a £27 discount on the now new price of £399!!! Now I know why the guy did say "oh no this has happened again" as he glanced at the till to his colleague but failed to just be honest to the customer if the price wasn't right. This just added insult into injury as 2 members of staff couldn't have the balls to say something to us which would have been less awkward as eventually we did afterwards realise and this left the feeling that in fact this establishment is really staffed by the sort of charlatan you'd be better avoiding. That would have been too professional and beyond this lot. It is very poor if a shop has to rely on such tactics anyone can tag up a cheaper price to get a sale then do the whole switch of price without being up front honest. The fact they can't even afford a till which has a customer facing display says a lot and no wonder as it means they can make it harder for a customer to see when an item is scanned or added to their bill what it actually has gone through price wise as. Maybe this is a company marketing tactic of their version of bait and switch?!? Lure customers in with incredible online prices to then at the point of sale add a £100 quid or whatever and be hopeful customers won't notice... They also did something similar 4 years ago to another customer who left a review but never got a reply. We all know the story of how Sound Control ended so you would think an owner and employees of guitargutar would get a grip and control over providing good old fashioned honest practice. Maybe its something to do with the deep roots of this place. Also please have customers able to use the sound proofed demo rooms that are currently filled with stacks of guitar cases. It's not great hearing other customers attempt to play their best rendition of strangling a cat mid shop floor! Clearly screwing a customer over with dishonesty for £50 is worth getting a 1* review... the offer of meeting half way was a poxy compromise and left bad feeling which is why this review has been left. Won't be visiting or purchasing anything from guitarguitar ever again and would strongly suggest anyone finely check their till receipt before leaving store. I've had less hassle buying guitars from Japan and they've offered more honest better service... even Amazon are honest with prices?!? Can't say that about guitarguitar. Good luck listening to the customers strangling many cats in store.

guitarguitar have been open for a couple of years now, but as they are a little way out of the city…read morecentre, many guitar buyers haven't cottoned onto yet to their presence. And what a treat is in store for them when they do. The selection of guitars that they have on show inside this clean box of a shop is truly breathtaking. This is a pro store-Lots of well displayed high-end guitars including signature models such as the Mark Hoppus (Blink 182) Bass and Kurt Cobain Mustangs and Jaguars. (Both by Fender). I'm not really an electric guitar player, I certainly didn't need an electric guitar, but I wanted about 3 of the beauties they had on show. There are sound-proofed isolation booths in the shop so you can try out different guitar and amp combinations without the risk of annoying other shoppers. The shop also sell pre-owned stock for those who prefer to buy an instrument that is already broken in. If you are looking a buying a guitar to add to your arsenal you just have to go to guitarguitar.