purchased this SOMNATH tabla 2 &1/2 years ago. The head looked used but it still sounded good…read more I Just found the head cracked in the case and when straps were removed, I discovered a huge crack in the wood that I hadn't noticed because it was under a strap. It has always been well protected in a hard case and the crack may have happened from wood being wet when shipped from India. It is a nice drum but it needed an expensive repair that I did not expect so soon after purchase.

amazing experienc! I had them do complete strings and repairs to vintage sitar and Sarood, bother…read morewe're in shambles. turn around was quick and work was fantastic, besides the work I got a case for the sitar and some pads for my tablas, all super fair prices including the repairs, Jordan even opened up the shop annhoir early for me as I was heading out of town asap. Jordan did the repairs and took his time with me in the shop, guiding me on tuning videos to check out and musicians making music with these instruments. also, I forget her name but the woman working the front desk was also very personable and à please to work with, hands down one of the best retail experiences I've had in a long time, highly recommended!!!

I brought in a custom offset tele for a set up and a Plekk. Tomm helped me. Took a few weeks but…read morethe waiting was well worth it! Expert repair and friendly service. These guys know their stuff. Up there with the smartest guitar folks in the Bay Area.

Took my mandolin in for a little glow-up, since I hadn't really had a proper setup in years. Fixed…read moreup my frets, got the bridge in the right spot, added bridge dams, secured my pickguard, and got everything adjusted and dialed in perfectly. I also just took the electric guitar setup class and learned so much. Until now, I've just been able to change my strings and hope for the best. Now I feel much more confident in being able to take accurate measurements and making the necessary adjustments. Highly recommended and thank you!

Love this local, intimate setting for amazing jazz! The hosts are friendly and welcoming, the…read moreperformances stellar. Parking easy. I highly recommend.

Everyone is nice except the owner. He is very rude and will burst into the practice room and yell…read moreat you without knocking on the door first if your name hasn't been printed out on the schedule yet even if you've prepaid hundreds of dollars in advance, questioning if you just sneak into the building and 'steal' their practice time. If you are looking for somewhere to practice piano and dont want to be yelled at l, I would recommend soundwave or blue bear music school, first come first serve, $5 per hour, no reservations, no drama. You can enjoy music itself in a nice mode

DO NOT pay a deposit to place an order to Mike. If you see a…read morecompleted instrument for sale in his workshop, buy it if it is good. But no deposit. This is what happened to me.... I used to trust him, and put down $1800 in October 2016 for a custom Tenor uke. It's January 30, 2018 today, 1 year and 3 months later. No uke, no news, nothing. I called, emailed, messaged...... I wish there was a ukulele forum that I could warn others about Mike's scam. I have a feeling I am not the only one out there.... Now I see through his antics like giving free lesson, educational chats, etc. It's all to make you part with the deposit. Even if his instruments are suppose to be good, it feels really bad owning an instrument from such an unscrupulous person. And how can students go to learn from such a dishonest person, who is only interested in your money? If you give him a deposit, you are just giving away charity money.

Mike is a fantastic teacher! Took the beginner class tonight and I learned a ton of techniques that…read moreI wouldn't have learned from youtube videos. He focuses a lot on building a good foundation and good habits so you can have a better practice as you learn and start playing songs. The class flow was fun and I barely felt the 2 hours pass. I would definitely recommend attending a few classes. There's so much to learn and absorb from the simplest techniques.

I'm so happy that I found East Bay Guitar Repair. After having some subpar experiences with other…read moretechs in the bay, I can truly say that Mike is top tier. I have brought him 4 of my guitars now and the work has ranged from just a standard setup to installing new pickups with custom wiring and switches. He's knocked it out of the park every time. I am admittedly a pretty picky person when it comes to my guitars and Mike has been MORE THAN accommodating any time I had a follow up question or asked for a tweak or a second look. His setups have made my guitars play better than they ever have. His prices reflect the value that you get out of his services; and even though there most certainly will be a wait; it's well worth it. I hope to keep taking my guitars to Mike for as long as I am a bay area resident.

Mike did an excellent job improving a problematic old Fender Jazzmaster/partsmaster with some…read morefairly involving work. First, I had him install a Mastery bridge to replace a non-stock Vox-style bridge that was very noisy and plonky sounding. To do that, he first had to drill out and re-fill the existing, sloppily done dowel-and-drill work that was done decades ago--by another shop--to accommodate the funky Vox bridge, and then drill new bridge thimble holes for the Mastery. He also dealt with a problem with the old Fender-licensed Allparts neck: there was a sizable gap between the sides of the neck heel and the walls of the neck pocket routing, and he filled and re-drilled the neck's bolt holes so that the neck could be nudged forward to at least close the gap between the end of the neck heel and the body, which also helped to more accurately dial in the Jazzmaster's intended scale length. In addition, he replaced a noisy output jack and set the guitar up with 11-48-gauge strings, and it now plays *quite* nicely. No more rattling from the bridge, and the guitar has a more stable and playable feel to it. I'm happy with the quality of the work Mike did, and I would go to him again. I also like that you get to communicate with Mike in person, face to face. I've dealt with other repair shops where you don't get to talk with the person doing the work, which has sometimes resulted in a communication breakdown that had an impact on the work done. But with Mike, you schedule an appoint and you get to discuss with him--one on one--whatever work you'd like him to do, which is exactly how it should be.

This place is terrific. The owners are warm and knowledgeable, and the store is beautifully…read morestocked with an enormous variety of both conventional and unusual instruments. I purchased instruments from them and they were courteous and extremely helpful.

I've shopped at Berkeley Wind for years and Julius has always been a great help and very…read moreknowledgeable about all the musical instruments he sells. I'm a multi-instrumentalist musician, instructor and am glad I can find NEW musical instruments at a reasonable price. I've been very satisfied with all my purchases and would highly recommend shopping at Berkeley Wind.

Highly recommended, highly skilled, and an amusing personality. Joan is well known within the…read morestring community, and rubs elbows with the world's top performers, despite her modest little workshop at the back of her house. Check out the pictures on her wall if you need some physical evidence. So, you can go to one of the fancier looking shops in the area, or you can trust what insiders already know: Joan is the person to see.

Joan Balter is the person to take your instrument to for repair, or general maintenance. She is…read morethe expert and does perfect work. Can be trusted with the most precious of instruments. Joan is hired as the repair person for prestigious events, festivals, and famous instructional classical music camps. She's the one! We're lucky to have her locally.

LOVE LOVE LOVE this place. I was on my way to SFO to pick someone up, and stopped in...man, I…read moreflipped out. I feel like most of the good gear that I stupidly let go of ended up in there...Jesse, Chris, Ben...these are real guitar guys who own and run a store. I have been in the guitar playing game sixty years and seen more than a few great stores, and seen them all go byebye...so I want you to go there and buy or trade something with them. After that first trip, I was back three more times in eight days and I live more than an hour away on the freeway. I ended up trading stuff I didn't want for stuff that I really did want, and each transaction was friendly, honest, fair, and a whole lot of fun...just like the guys there. I saw them interact perfectly with everyone who came in, from each different private universe, and the staff at Real Guitars knew what the people were talking about and immediately helped them...not SELL them something, helped them figure out what they needed and how to find it. This place and the people rekindled my guitar loving flame and I am so grateful. Of course I will be back. I hope I see YOU there.

Great vintage guitars, basses and amps in a cool south of market street spot. A helpful staff too.read more