Gary is one of the most skilled guitar technicians and one of the NICEST people I ever met in this…read morebusiness. No job too big or small, he and his skilled staff NEVER snobby. I've known him since I was 18 years old before I got my first record deal. His shop was located in the alley along with the store Real Guitars. Behind Guitar Center when it was on South Van Ness in San Francisco. He also known as the tech to the "stars" constantly doing work over the years for people like Joe Satriani, Journey and others. He is the BEST !!!?

If you live in the Bay Area and you need guitar work, you are very fortunate to be able to have…read morework done by Gary. He's a legend in the business, yet he is down to earth and just an all-around solid guy. The work that I needed done was only minor electrical re-wiring, but Gary treated me like a valued customer and made sure I was happy with the work before I left his shop. I would not hesitate to return for any future work. 100% satisfied.

Honestly, I can't believe places like this still exist. In this economy...?…read more Knowledgeable, prompt and affordable. A beautifully kept shop space. I brought my silver flute in for a tune up and walked out with it playing better for less money than I imagined. All my blessings to the folks that make this shop what it is.

Brought in my bari sax to be repaired - several tone holes were damaged when my student knocked my…read morehorn over. Shawn and I inspected the horn together and he assured me he could fix it but he sounded a little reticent. I called the next day to make sure he was up to the job - he said he was. We talked about a tool which would make the job easier but the repair was not contingent on that. A week goes by and Shawn calls me to say he can't repair my horn. Apparently he felt he needed this tool after all. Ok, I'm not dinging him for not being able to fix it. I am dinging him for not recognizing his limitations and being honest about what he can and can't do. And it would have saved me an additional trip, gas, bridge fare and my time.

The staff is very knowledgeable , and they have a variety quality used instruments at good prices.read more

Love this place! Great personal service. They always do an amazing job efficiently and with very…read morereasonable prices. Bonus, the place has a great vibe but maybe because it's filled with beautiful instruments

I'm so pleased with the service I've received from this wonderful local shop. Adam ( the owner )…read moreset up my new Stratocaster and fixed my Martin so perfectly. I feel like I can play so much better now. It's nice to practice without the stress of knowing the guitar is just not right. Extremely happy!! The entire staff is friendly and very helpful. Definitely getting my next guitar from Mountain Music!! I know they will help me get the perfect guitar.

Craig and Gregory both so lovely and kind as I walked in and quickly bought a guitar to learn on,…read morenot even remembering which way to hold it ("are you left handed?" - Craig) Gently mentioning lessons, picks, etc... yes, please, and I promise I'll be back. A very cool space run by nice people who help, don't push, and don't make you feel dumb for not knowing anything. Love a local business too.

Wonderful people work here. I needed help with some of my tablas and these staff very friendly and…read moreaccommodating. Highly recommend...

I've been a musician my entire life and worked in the music industry in Nashville for many years. I…read morenow live in UT. I play many instruments and I have always wanted to pick up the Sitar since childhood and obsession over George Harrison. For whatever reason I waited many years and moved through many other instruments but now the time has come to explore sitar. I made a trip out to Berkeley specifically to get guidance in choosing a sitar and perhaps even deciding if the instrument was right for me. Upon visiting MM we met Ben who was more than happy to make introductions to the instrument and even an impromptu first lesson with a student sitar. There are a handful of places where one could obtain a Sitar online but I knew this instrument demanded a bit more care. Ben and the other folks at MM provided exactly that. Once we knew we were bringing a sitar home Ben helped us make the better choice of shipping the sitar instead of driving back with it. We also decided we needed a set of Tablas and Ben sifted through a surplus of them until we found the ones that spoke to us. He tuned them up and once again provided a level of care and expertise that IMO is just required for sophisticated nuanced instruments like sitar and tabla. This morning two giant boxes showed up at my door back home. I blew off work and spent the day getting more acquainted with our new instruments. By the end of the day I was actually making some sounds that qualified as "musical". After 30ish years of guitar, bass, piano, cello, synth, etc. etc. and feeling a bit uninspired I have to say that the sitar has me pretty excited about creating some new things that are really unique. By end of day I was mustering my way through some obvious pop sitar tunes (Paint it Black, Lebonese Blonde, Norwegian Wood). There's clearly a great deal to learn about this esoteric instrument but I was actually quite surprised and relieved to find that it wasn't quite as intimidating as I expected. I attribute this once again to Ben for spending the time to teach me proper posture for the instrument. Holding the sitar in a way that your left hand is free to move about the fretboard is a bit tricky to the uninitiated. Thanks to Bens instruction, I had this figured out pretty quickly. I could imagine wrestling with the sitar for days trying to figure out how to handle it. In addition to Bens help, the various tutorials on the MM website were also super helpful. I'm really really excited to see where the sitar takes us both in our kirtan music and in western pop music. Such a cool texture. I knew that the sitar would be really special and I wanted to make informed decisions and make sure I was getting a quality instrument and the knowledge to do it right. I purchased a harmonium for my girlfriend a couple years ago through an Amazon store. I won't go into all the details but suffice it to say the experience was subpar, I received a damaged used instrument that was supposed to be new and the store was unresponsive to my questions. Harmoniums, like sitars and tablas are delicate, nuanced instruments. You might save a few dollars rolling the dice on Amazon or similar but if you're serious at all about your instruments, just reach out to MM and get the right instrument, the right setup, and the right information. MM surpassed my expectations and as best I can tell is likely the most reputable source within the US for these special types of instruments. Truly a very special and super cool business with a genuine passion for eastern instruments. I just wish I lived closer so I could drop in there more often and maybe take some individual lessons. I'm sure we'll be back soon for more toys and maybe even that beautiful black pro sitar once I'm worthy of it ;). I highly recommend MM to anyone in the market for Indian/Eastern instruments, supplies, and education. Many thanks!

Very cute little music store in Berkeley. Looks like they have everything you could possibly need…read more My dad had dropped off a trumpet to get fixed awhile back but they weren't able to fix it so we came in to pick it up. The very nice manager gave us a recommendation of a guy in Albany who may be able to help. My dad just wants to donate it so it may not be worthy getting it fixed first, but we'll see. Anyway if you need reeds, strings, music stand - this looks like a great non-chain place to spend your money!

Forrests Music was a great place to rent and get Oboes! They specialize in Oboes. My family made…read morethe 45 minute drive to get to this place, and it was totally worth it. Justin, the worker who helped me pick out and rent the oboe was extremely kind and welcoming. He was nice enough to teach me a couple notes with the oboe I had just rented! There rates are extremely reasonable for our rent per month for my beginner oboe. I would definitely recommend this place.

Lawrence is a diligent and thorough technician. If you want a professional analog tech (and they're…read morevery rare these days) who is knowledgeable and seems to truly enjoy his craft, Rance is the place to go. He fixed up my 73 Pro Reverb and a Tascam TSR-8 recorder. He takes time with you and discusses every aspect of the job in thorough detail.

I felt like Lawrence took a personal interest in my amp project, a little 5 watt Supro from the…read moremid-1960s. I thought it was on its last legs, but Lawrence brought it back from the dead. More important, he did some sleuthing and found the parts that were "working" but causing the amp to under-perform. He replaced those and suggested some mods that turned the amp into an unbelievably powerful little grit machine. I'm really happy with the result.

Saxology/SaxCraft is a great addition to the Berkeley music scene. It's a small world, always nice…read moreto see a familiar face. The shop is cool, lots of Sax material and useful knowledge to further your career as a saxologist. It was nice to meet Prof. Eric Drake himself on weekdays and get to know the one in the store. Of course check out the mouthpieces, there's a YouTube review online if you need back up. Stay involved!

Overpriced overhaul with sticky pads and a loose fitting neck that didn't fit the body. I actually…read moreended up taking this to another repairman after the overhaul to get it repaired yet again after multiple follow up visits that failed to address the problems.

Fantastic experience in all ways. He fixed my speakers over the weekend, found a problem that had…read morebeen there since they were manufactured, showed up outside his normal business hours and was interesting as well, all at a very reasonable price. My speakers sound better than they did when they were new. A shop in San Jose recommended him and though it was out of my way, it was thoroughly and absolutely worth it. Highest recommendation.

Horrible customer service rude and slow to respond This guy sets unrealistic deadlines and gets…read moreupset when you call to get updates from him it's weird and Horrible business practice as he just wastes his time and yours ...if you are too busy just say that don't be rude and keep moving the goal post...ridiculous!!

We were referred to Lark in the morning by another music shop. We had an old autoharp we needed…read moretuned and possibly repaired. Thorn the manager put us in touch with Steve. We brought the autoharp and a guitar in for repair. Steve examined both carefully. He explained what he discovered and what work he would do. He was friendly and very informative. We left the autoharp and guitar with him to repair. The price he quoted us seemed reasonable and fair.

Excelente store!! So many instruments from different parts of the world. A true gem! From a tres…read morecubano - to native flutes and world percussion.