Context: I visited Guitar Bar on September 10th, 2025 and had the pleasure of being helped by Don, who has been with the store for three years. The store itself has been around for 30 years, and you can really feel the history and passion in every corner. As someone who loves documenting experiences, I took plenty of photos to capture the vibe and inventory. Also, support small businesses. I began my guitar career after piano violin around junior high, and ultimately after my career started to grow, have not played for over 15 years. Bought a dreadnought about two years ago, but due to the move from the Bay Area to West New York, New Jersey - rarely played it. Read great reviews, and most importantly when I looked at photos from existing yelp users, everything seemed really genuine and reminded me of those old school and authentic vibes. I got from when I first started in Chicago. Guitar bar did not disappoint at all and I had an amazing experience learning more about the business. Staff and service: Don was extremely friendly, knowledgeable, patient, and after a very enjoyable conversation with him learned that he came from a musician background. Don told me he worked there for three years, but the Business has been there for 30 years. He took the time to walk me through everything. I came in specifically for a few picks, including a soft one because I wanted to teach my wife, a digital tuner as my ability to tune, has gone down the drain, as well as a new capo. As you can see from my photos, inventory is fantastic, and even though it might look cluttered - you can see authentic acoustic guitars to base and guitar amps of all sizes to ukuleles. The transaction was quick, but what really made experience a 15 out of 10 was my conversation with Don. Although he does not have a favorite guitarist, he shared his family background as well as some of his favorite guitarist. I am a millennial - but growing up in addition to church music, I had a deep respect for classic rock as well, and we really had a great conversation in regards to that. He truly knows his history and you could feel genuine passion in every corner. As someone who loves documenting experiences, I took plenty of photos to capture the vibe and inventory. It was clear he genuinely cared about my experience and not just making a sale. The store is extremely spacious, cozy and well organized, even if the photos seemed like it cluttered. I promise you to go inside and give it a try because if you have time - you will be there for at least an hour. Products & inventory: I mentioned the products already and everything is authentic. Pricing is reqsoanble, with selections you normally would not see in E.G. Guitar Hero. The musical equipment caters toward skill of all levels and every single one you can play and test out - with no pressure at all. Highly highly recommend giving the store a chance if you're looking for any kind of musical instruments or just want a really cool and down-to-earth guy who knows this stuff to answer and address any of your questions - without that sales and pushiness. Vintage, authentic - we need to keep these businesses alive because it stores like these they got me into music in the first place. See photos for yourself Rock On!!!!!! read more

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This shop is truly a piece of nostalgia, and harkens back to the old days where independent music shops were the place to acquire your gear. Walking into this shop feels like walking into a different era, and I mean this in the most positive of ways. The store has a great selection of anything you could need. They have integrity, and will work with you to meet your needs. As others have said, if they don't have it, they will get it or point you in the right direction. I could not imagine a better place to bring a young, budding, musician to purchase their first instrument, as this is what a music shop should be. This will certainly be an experience for them as compared to a big-box store. The personal touch is what makes this great. Recommended! read more

They've always done it for me. I've purchased guitars, pedals, straps, and picks from them. They did a killer setup on my Rick Bass. We're very fortunate to have a local guitar store that sells new and vintage/ used guitars. Always make these guys your first stop. read more

Great place to shop and very helpful. Always willing to take the time to answer my questions and make great suggestions.

They have most music supplies you could need. Definitely not a, come in and play all my guitars shop. More like get what you need and beat it read more

Knowledgeable, friendly, and HONEST. If they can't do it/don't have it, they know who can/does. A phone call before any repairs are done, and--as happened to me recently--I wasn't charged for something I thought I needed but didn't. Class joint, class people. read more

A dream of a local guitar store. Whether you're a beginner looking for an affordable entry into acoustic/electric guitar or bass, a gigging musician looking for quality guitar pedals new, used, and rare, or a guitar collector looking to purchase vintage and unique instruments, Guitar Bar is there for you. The staff is very welcoming, knowledgeable, considerate, and encouraging. I highly recommend this business. read more

My favorite guitar bar in town, a great place to learn how to play music, the musicians here are very talented and after a few weeks my boys have learned how to play Beethoven and read musical notes . The place is like a time capsule going back to the 1960s, they are very accommodating to your schedule. It's one of the last old school spots in town read more

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What a gem! Jim, Tom, and Augustin. Thank you all those years for teaching my boys drums, ukalele, and getting them inspired to play in bands. The chill, friendly atmosphere set by Jim Mastro, and the knowledgeable and patient musicians teaching the kids make all the difference. read more

Needed to have an acoustic adjusted and restrung. The service was quick (3 business days), inexpensive ($60) and excellent. Staff are knowledgeable and very honest. read more

Helpful, friendly, knowledgeable, NOT pushy, relaxed, and full of experts. Love that these guys are fair and would like to purchase something from this store in the future. Great little shop right in downtown Hoboken. Date Rating: 3 (7 if you're taking a lesson together) Pick up Scale: Depends on the pickup you want ;) Strong Suggestion: come when you have time. read more

One of my "go to" guitar stores even though they're in Hoboken and I'm in Greenpoint Brooklyn. It's a small shop but they choose their inventory well and will also order stuff for you from companies that they do business with. They don't try to rip you off either. They're prices on setups and repairs are fair/lower than others, and the turnaround is pretty quick. I hope Guitar Bar sticks around for an eternity. read more

Jim the owner is the star of this wonderful shop, they are friendly honest and just all around good people, this is not your big-box store they care. You will not go wrong buying what you need here. read more

Bought a guitar a couple months back. Staff is very friendly and knowledgeable. Great guys

For instruments, lessons, repairs, or for putting something of your own up on consignment, these guys are just great. So easy to work with and helpful, and always quick to reach out over the phone or email whenever you need them. Can't recommend Guitar Bar and Guitar Bar Drum Den enough. read more

Great staff...always ready and eager to go the extra mile for the customer, student, intermediate or pro. The best. Jim Mastro is a total pro and ready to work with all who want to play music. The teaching staff is patient and thorough, and the sales guys are knowledgeable and professional. read more

Music shops are an extreme example of the customer service discrepancy between large chains and independents. Hoboken's Guitar Bar exemplifies this. The small team of musicians who work there know how to help you and aren't looking to fleece you--or treat you like a thief-in-waiting like they do at Guitar Center. Not that they're a bunch of patsies. Hec, they couldn't survive in the stinkhole that is Hoboken or the cut-throat music biz if they didn't have balls. The operator Jim is shrewd and can probably make millions in commerce if he sought such a life, and yet he's given me great deals time and again on guitars and equipment. As musicians they can help you by not just answering questions but asking you ones you didn't think of. The lessons and purchase-process is better for that. The store has a good selection and access to catalogs of the major vendors. It's also an effective seller of your old stuff on consignment and will get you the cash quickly. HGC is a beacon of light and proof that Hoboken isn't all about greedy Wall Street types and ambitious glass-ceiling chicas cheating on fiances. The street it occupies may be filled with all-you-can-drink soccer pubs, douchebag depositories such as McSwiggins and at least a dozen of those goddamn realtors wit their relentless faux optimism expressed with drapeless/blindless windows. Yes, First Street contains all that, but it also contains dingy, rocking Guitar Bar. It's the only cool bar on the street, and the best music store for miles and miles. read more

Great experience. They don't push at all they show u models cheaper than your price range and offer fair honest advice and are happy to sell you something less expensive. Great people here. read more

Unlike OTHER stores, this is a store that is staffed with experts. You can pretty much throw any question at them and they will probably be able to answer you off the top of their heads. If they don't have the answers, they won't BS you.. they will get you an answer. Friendly, no-pressure sales. Quality new and used merch. Lots of famous people go there, and you should too. read more

Wanted to purchase a pack of guitar strings here instead of online or from one of the big box stores to support local business, but I did not have cash on me and the clerk told me there was a $15 credit card minimum. I offered to let him up-charge me fifty cents to cover the credit card fee, but he insisted on the $15 minimum so I walked out. Why a business would choose to lose a sale and a customer is beyond me, but Guitar Bar has succeeded. Disappointing. read more

This is one of my favorite music stores and my go to place for strings, set ups and I've purchased amps and basses here as well. Run by Jim who is just a really cool, honest and knowledgeable guy. He and his staff give super professional set ups every time I go there and can give you advice on pedals or anything you need for your sound. I must say this is a smaller store so if you're expecting something huge this is not what you're looking for, but for most things on guitar and bass (especially pedals!) they'll have what you need. read more

I sold these guys a fender strat. They are friendly and they know what they are buying too. I miss hoboken. It is a great town. Also, I tried to sell them a beat up acoustic and they would not buy it. I suggest you go down here and and find something. They have some great instruments. read more

I never post reviews but this local shop made me. Most guitar stores will ripp you of your hard earn money and never really do justice on a guitar job. This is my go to place for tune ups set ups and repairs. The guy is really good and honest about your guitar. I walked in there the other day to have my guitar fixed, the guy looked at it and tweaked my guitar and didn't ask for money but instead was a free job cause he is honest and doesent rip you off. If you want an honest store and does a great job working on your instruments then you have found your place. read more

I have been taking lessons with Ty for over a year. The guitar bar as a whole is the most accommodating, wonderful place to take lessons. They work with my ever changing schedule, are so chill, and incredibly talented. Ty basically asks you what you want to play, and you learn about not only the songs itself, but the history of how the song formed and the artists that came before that shaped the style. I highly recommend Guitar Bar. Also, Jim runs the shop amazingly. He is great and very welcoming. read more

tiny red guitar rose to be a super-star this bar was your home read more

Best music people in the world! Great place to take lessons or find that guitar you are searching for!

I bought my Yamaha bass guitar from there a few years ago. I've been there many times to chat with the owner just to chat with him because he's such a friendly guy. We talk music mostly being that we ARE music fans :) And his days in the 1980's with The Bongos which he's still a member of :) Besides his music knowledge as far as bands and artists which is extremely awesome he also knows musical instruments very well. Guitars and bass guitars of course, organs, violins and horn instruments to name a few. There are also lessons offered. So go check it out! read more

I was passing by and couldn't help walk in. A very charming and fun place to walk into. Walked out with a ukulele. Jim was pleasant and helpful. Great prices, great service, great aura. Made my day :) read more

Wow, I was in a tight spot and called a few local music shops for some 4 string bass strings for a short scale bass guitar and none of them had any in stock....Except Guitar Bar. They only had one in stock but that was enough to save the day. Not to mention they were the light gauge strings I normally use. With only 2 hours left until I left to play at an event in Upstate New York, these guys came through where all others failed. This will be my go to place from now on. Very happy with my purchase. read more

Always a few hard to find gems in stock to make even the even the most avid players/collectors take notice. A great store that caters to players of all abilities with an extremely knowledgable, honest and helpful sales staff (who are all active gigging musicians). For such a small place, they carry a ton of stuff...new and vintage guitars, basses and amps, a great collection of pedals- non guitar stuff like reeds, drum heads, drumsticks. Great prices, careful and well done repair work...what more could you ask for? Stick it to the man - shop at the GuitarBar! TOC read more

Had a great experience here. Got a tune up on my electric and not it is playing like a dream again. Also they have a great selection of amps, I got the Vox 3 watt which is a great apartment amp, sounds awesome even at low volume. All the staff were very nice and helpful. Really lucky to have a great guitar shop like this in Hoboken! read more

Jim and the guys at Guitar Bar are nothing short of excellent. whether you are taking a lesson, getting your favorite guitar set up, Demoing the latest and greatest or the vintage and obscure gear, these guys are experts in all facets of the business. Not to mention they are all really genuinely good people. Been going to Guitar Bar for about 10 years and will keep going til my old gnarled fingers can no longer play. ( and then I'll keep going to enjoy the pleasure of their company) read more

This is an AMAZING place to go and buy, sell, trade, rent, and get lessons. I personally get drum lessons there, but they have a great selection of guitars, amps, distortion, and much, much more... The owner is friendly, and they know what they are doing. I even interviewed them! Great place, no competition, and honest people. Only in Hoboken. read more

This is My favorite music store. This is a true diamond in the rough. Here You are going to be dealing with honesty, expertise, respect, more than fair, and is not out to rip You off. I am not sure why the huge music store chains I frequented growing up all these years seem to attract and employ self-important, condescending bafoons who know little or nothing about anything and are pretty useless, but I am done with them. If it's not at guitar bar, I will get it online. But whenever I can, I go to make My purchases at the guitar bar not only to support them, but because I am going to get it strait to Me across the board weather it be a question, a price, down to what's available to Me to purchase. This is a place We are lucky to have available to us, a place that has more heart and soul than any other music shop I have been to. Frankly, I have toured this country several times and been to many music stores. There is absolutely no place like home, for Me that's the guitar bar. This is where Your money should go. This is where You go when You have real questions and want real answers. read more

I love the fact that you can still find some small, down to earth music stores in the world amongst all the mega places like guitar center and Sam Ash. These guys are friendly, knowledgable, and have a nice selection of guitars...perfect place to get your first guitar...perfect place to get your first lessons on the guitar. If you want a zillion guitars to choose from then this place is not for you. If you want to feel like a human being talking to other music loving human beings... then this is the place for you. Plus every year they have get all the guitar players in the area get out to play together and maybe break a world record....fun stuff : ) read more

Jim set up my Gibson electric. I thought it played well before, extreme improvement. Absolutely bringing another guitar in for service. I highly recommend this place for set-ups. read more

Aside from their wonderful teachers, great selection of new and used gear...Jim and his staff are salt of the earth folk who always support local musicians and the community in so many wonderful ways. Skip the big box stores and do you business here, you'll have friends for life!!! read more

I went to check over and purchase a used Les Paul guitar and the first thing I found a cracked headstock that looked like a 2 year fixed with school glue,it was also filthy.I was informed the repairman did the work and it was secure and the price was $300 lower because of the crack.So I checked out other used guitars and they were all filthy and every one had major issues and need repair --Yet they were offered at a full price not as Fix it up lower priced guitars.I found missing screws,non working tone pots,bent pots,much bangs and scrapes and burned wires..And they were all filthy!..I was told they were all on consignment and the owner did not own the guitars avoiding responsibility .A ruined visit. read more