I know negative about guitars. I have a nephew graduating from high school this spring and I…read morewanted to get him something meaningful and useful. He plays bass in one of those School of Rock type places and is passionate about it. I called my sister to see if there was anything he could use and she sent me a blurry photo of some kind of board he uses and told me he needs a carrying case. I went to Bananas at Large because of their reputation for being kind and knowledgeable. Their reputation is well deserved. I was greeted right when I walked in, I decided to look around a bit before asking for help because while I don't know anything about guitars, some of the instruments they had on the wall were works of art and I enjoy looking at art. When I was ready, I found the first employee, showed him the photo and explained the situation. He knew exactly what it was and where to find what I was looking for. He then took the case over to where they had the exact thing in the photo to show me how well it fit and other features of the case. He explained the 14-day return policy if it turned out to be the wrong thing and let me decide what I wanted to do. I wound up purchasing the case. I loved that I was nicely greeted when I walked in but left alone to browse. I loved that I didn't have to hunt down someone to help me when I was ready. I loved the general vibe of the place. I loved that they had what I needed and clearly a ton of things I might need if I ever decide to get into playing. I loved that parking was easy. I loved that they were excited to help someone who had no idea what they were doing in a guitar shop, were in no hurry to get me out of the store and patient enough to answer all my questions. I even loved that they accept Venmo for payments. Great place to go if you don't know anything about guitars but love someone who does.

This place is everything a music store should be. Yes they have great selection, and yes their…read moreprices match anything you can find online (even Reverb, often) but it's their service and relationships they build with you that's special. True stories of what they've done for me even in just the last month: My guitar needed some repairs before a gig, and they fast tracked the service and ordered an uber to bring the guitar to my house! I wanted a tuner pedal that was out of stock basically everywhere in the country, and they took their last one from Santa Rosa and shipped it to San Rafael store for free for me to pick up the next day. Best of all, I was unhappy with my guitar tone and Dan spent nearly 2 hours sitting with me trying different pedals and setups, before settling on showing me some different settings on my own amp, some different plectrums and swapping a pedal I'd bought recently for only a $10 difference! It would have been so easy to have sold me another pedal or 2 that I didn't really need, but the fact he didn't builds complete trust and makes me a customer for life!

Very easy transaction. We went in and they showed us The product. Went over thoroughly our options…read morefor lease to own, etc. it's a no frills, compact, simple store. Just has the necessities and I appreciate it.

Bronstein Music is a little off the beaten path. It's in the alleyway between Grand and Baden…read moreAvenues (enter off Linden). I was very impressed with the wide selection of books and learning resources for aspiring musicians. They also had many accessories at attractive prices (such as music stands, tuning instruments, books, capos, etc.). This part of the shop deserves 5 stars. I'm sorry to say my experience with having my old guitar worked on wasn't quite as good. Maybe I didn't communicate the situation properly. When I went to pick up my guitar, it still needed work. They did it, but it seemed like it took more effort than needed to communicate the problem. 5-stars for a store and people who care about music. 5-stars for the selection of learning resources. 3-stars for my experience with repairing my guitar. Overall 4-stars.

Quick communication. Fixed my bass on the spot, cleaned it up a bit! Works good as new!…read more Thanks for saving karaoke night!

Guitar came back playing much better and fret dents completely gone. High E string didn't sound…read moreright though, had sitar like sound I was surprised they didn't hear on the final inspection. It was too far a drive to bring it back but a little research told me the bridge point was probably a little flat and that I could file a sharper point on it and it might fix it. It did fix it. I brought another guitar in as well and they fixed everything wrong and even found a couple additional things which they fixed at no additional charge.

This is a great spot in Noe Valley to study music. I have been taking 30-minute piano lessons once…read morea week with Oliver Levy since January. For the previous two years, I had been relearning piano on my own after a couple decade hiatus. But getting back into study mode with a teacher launched my playing further than I ever expected. Oliver put challenging pieces in front of me to learn that I probably wouldn't have sought out on my own. In particular, he turned me onto Chopin's Nocturnes, and helped me go from "there's no way I'll ever be able to play this" to "is it considered obsessive to play this seven times a day because I'm addicted to the way it gives me chills every time?" 5/5, would recommend. PS: There are some pretty harsh reviews for this business, but I never once experienced any negative vibes. All around great experience for this guy, a happy customer excited to continue growing into the best musician I can be.

Please be aware of the ongoing fraudulent activity from Russo Music School. They have deducted…read moremoney constantly and I Have lodged an official Better Business Complaint. Next step: Complaint with Consumer Affairs California to Shut your business down permanently. For all those who have had ratings like mine do not hesitate to act on the spot and take legal action as you see fit. Thieving behavior that was reported as fraudulently changing the business information and retaining financial information to deduct money long after the cessation of classes is called Theft in broad daylight. This is in addition to her persistent efforts to disparage my son not that she's anything worth paying for! She failed at her job as a music teacher the only skill set she has she cannot perform properly and cannot inspire students to learn. What she is good at however as are the remainder of the chosen music teachers is to act uptight and rude and baseless and change their identity to commit financial theft. This is despite the blocks I put on my bank end and they advised me that Nicole Russo mostly changed a few details so that the information she had saved about my card she deducted on an erratic basis in exorbitant disproportionate amounts. Please refer to the files or evidence to support my review. I am sure those of you out there who experienced this can relate to me. Also, be sure to collaboratively issue complaints with BBB and Consumer Affairs California and I am sure if they see a red flag, Russo Music School Should be permanentlY SHUT DOWN for theft, misrepresentation, identity tampering, abusive work environment, and the barrage of violations that are being committed. Looks more like the Russo School of Theft to me! I Have the evidence to back that up (attached) and more! NOTE TO OWNER: ANY REPEAT OFFENSE AT ATTEMPTING TO STEAL MONEY WILL BE MET WITH ME ISSUING A POLICE COMPLAINT OF THEFT.

Jason was great, did an awesome job replacing my drum head…read moreHe was friendly, efficient and I am very pleased Highly recommend Jason and his work

Good, quick service. The skin on my djembe was torn and needed to be replaced. Jason got it done in…read morejust a couple days and it sounds great! Would recommend.

The staff and instructors are very professional and knowledgeable. But my instructor was let go…read moreafter I prepaid $120.00 and Guitar Center refused to refund my money. I'm very disappointed.

Well I first thought that Joe was the arsenal that made this guitar center awesome for me to use…read morebut then I met. Ty, who is an exceptional luthier and he is setting up another guitar of mine. I just was so pleased with the service. Everything from Scott the manager to ty. I don't see why you would not bring your equipment here. I highly recommend this establishment.

The right channel on my turntable wasn't working and Ray was able to find the problem and fix it in…read morejust a couple of days. He charged the minimum of $130 for the repair which I felt was very reasonable for assessing and fixing my turntable. Don't be put off by the side alley location, it was actually refreshing to deal with someone in a more old school kind of way.

Ray is the San Francisco expert for turntables. I have a vintage Dual turntable and brought it in…read moreto Novak's for a cartridge upgrade. Ray knew exactly what to do and offered me a wonderful option that I could also afford. When he had the turntable he noticed another issue and fixed that too. All for the quoted price. He's a wonderful craftsman and someone I'm glad I did business with. Thanks!

Took MONTHS to wire a brand new Stewmac drop-in Les Paul harness on an old guitar. Completely…read morebotched the wiring job. Improperly grounded, input jack noise. Charged $500 for the time and parts, didnt even bother to reply to my messages telling him the job wasnt done correctly. Guy is a fraud. Take your gear someplace else. Not worth the time and trouble.

Great experience tuning up our son's guitar. Friendly, quick, and can tell he loves music…read more Definitely recommend.

The Magic Flute has been providing solid instruction for a myriad of instruments for decades…read more Currently, Chris Collins is an insanely talented musician who is a wonderful piano teacher. He is able to tailor his lessons so the material is relevant and age-appropriate and engaging. His ability to not only play music by ear but to create sheet music from that is brilliant. Highly recommend!

A hub for learning! Violin teacher Sharron Drake is outstanding! HIghly recommend for beginner or…read moreexperienced. Great vibes, private lesson rooms, Ezra Palmer-Person is an exceptional trumpet teacher as well. Recommend both teachers without reservation.

Josh was the best! He was so patient and sweet with our children. Both of which have ADHD and can…read morelose interest quickly. Josh kept them laughing, engaged and on task throughout their back to back sessions. I love the virtual training option via video conference, and honestly they would not have excelled so quickly and proficiently if we had to drive out to his music studio with our very busy schedules. Josh is very talented and was even featured on "American Idol" Give Laughing School of Music a try- you won't be disappointed- I guarantee it!

I have attended many social Fusion dancing events that Josh was hired to perform at in and around…read morethe San Francisco Bay Area as well as in Seattle, Portland, Philadelphia, Denver, and Vancouver. At these events, Josh performed his own original electronic music for huge crowds of dancers. He is a very talented musician, and has great stage presence. I love his original songs!! I have also listened to him play great covers on the piano as he leads a group thru some late night karaoke sing-alongs :) Recently I contracted him to help me record and produce a song of my own, and he really guided me every step of the way. Josh is also a music teacher offering piano, drum, guitar and ukelele lessons out of his home studio. I couldn't recommend him more as both a performer and a teacher!!