Walked into Guitar Center Pasadena with my brother, our unleashed service animal, and a budget that…read moreclearly needed adult supervision. Things got off to a rocky start when there was some confusion about the dog, but Evan checked with his manager, got it sorted, and we all survived the great leash controversy of 2026. From there, Evan was awesome. Super cool, patient, and actually knew DJ gear because he DJs himself -- which is always better than someone confidently explaining equipment they've only met that morning. By the end, we were joking with him: "You really did everything you could to not sell to us... and somehow we still bought anyway." Funny start, great ending, and Evan helped us leave with a new DJ setup and speakers. Guitar Center almost fumbled the bag, but Evan recovered the sale like a pro. Shoutout Evan.

I get that they're understaffed and busy, but you have to try hard to be as unhelpful as they are…read more One gentleman kept rolling his eyes when I approached to ask a question. I made a purchase of a couple strings and an accessory that required me to take out my inhole sound pickup, so I asked if I could borrow a screwdriver (to literally turn the screws to the left a grand total of two times). He tells me "sorry, we don't usually loan tools out for use," which is totally understandable! So I ask if he can then just help me out and turn the screws himself if I'm not allowed to touch the screwdriver -- he audibly groans and looks at me, then finally turns, practically dragging his feet as he grabs the screwdriver to help me out. I was starting to be pretty stunned by this point. Then, when I was about to leave and putting my purchases in my gig bag outside pocket, the other guitar technician, Mike, starts staring daggers at me across the floor, then tells me to show my receipt to the guy at the door-- he thought I was stealing. After I'd been walking around the store for 2 hours and making multiple purchases. My jaw literally dropped. I don't know what's going on at this store, or if they treat every customer this way, or just me. I would speculate that because I dress quite basically (like a skateboarder, roughed up clothes, maybe?) they assumed I had no money/was poor to justify how they decided to interact with me. No matter who I am or what I might look like, staff should treat EVERY customer the same. I was considering buying a guitar from this store, the Yamaha AC1R specifically that they have in the acoustic guitar room, but now I don't ever want to come back.

I cannot day enough good things about Los Angeles Classical Guitar. They were highly responsive to…read moreboth email and phone inquiries and gave me fantastic customer service. After a very bad experience at another classical guitar store, Billy and LA Classical Guitar were a breath of fresh air.

made an appointment and billy got back to me right away. the space is super nice and billy not only…read morewas very helpful in showing and recommending guitars, but there was a couch to play the instruments on as long as I needed. totally happy with the experience and the guitar I bought is perfect. thanks billy!

Top notch (top shelf) choice of guitars, not another "Made in China" showroom with 100's of crappy…read moreguitars... This is where you need to go to shop for the high end stuff.. As a business they are VERY honest.. I made them an offer on a $15999MSRP PRS Private Stock guitar... of course the offer was above their threshold and they accepted. Later the next day, the same guitar (which I was also tracking on Reverb) was sent to me on Reveb (an automated feature they do when you're watching a guitar sometimes)... for $12799... I was of course a bit upset that I didn't offer them that amount instead.. a $1200 difference. Well, instead of being dicks about it, they said "no problem, since Reverb send the offer, we'll match it" and they refunded $1200 on the purchase. They then packaged it perfectly and set it Priority overnight Fedex to me. That is FIRST CLASS service.

If what you're looking for is to make friends who are also going through mid-life crisis and to…read moregather around in a circle marveling at exotic looking guitars on a wall, this is the place. If you're a musician, forget it. I brought my guitar in for a setup and the service and quality of the work was so bad that it inspired me to go learn guitar setup and repair myself, and I couldn't be happier. So I guess I owe thanks to these guys. Best of luck!

Came here to buy a black folder for choral music after being referred by the Pasadena Conservatory…read more I called in advance to ask if they had any in stock and staff were prompt and professional in picking up to answer my request. Good variety of inventory from what I could see. Found out later my mom buys all her violin + piano sheet music here. It's tucked inside a strip mall off an out-of -the-way portion of Foothill. Would have loved to have seen this store in Old Town, but the current location is very convenient for quick in-and-out errands - and a short distance from the Conservatory. If I need to use something for music practice, I hate to buy online without knowing if it will work for me or not. Brick and mortar music stores like this are essential, and I'm glad Bertrands is so close by!

Very friendly and quick service. As soon as I stepped in to fix my daughter rented instrument, I…read moregot warm welcoming atmosphere and got the job done quickly Thank you all especially Gerard and Iris

Amazing teacher. We have been learning from Vince for the last 4 yrs. Great style and we have 10…read moresongs under our belt!

I have taken guitar lessons with Vince for two years now. He is always patient and finds ways to…read moremake lessons interesting. He does the best he can to bring out the guitarist in you and guide you when you have trouble understanding how to play a certain song. The helpfulness and personality of Vince make it a great guitar lesson experience!

Just brought my headless 8 string guitar in to have new pickups installed and setup for a very low,…read morealternative tuning. The staff were super friendly and helpful. They went above and beyond to get my guitar setup exactly how I wanted it. They're very fairly priced as well. A good friend recommended them to me. I'll be a regular customer for all my guitar needs.

I'm not even sure where to begin with this review. I will try to be as straight forward as…read morepossible. I was working on a semi-build, a Telecaster to be specific. Since it was my first real project ever I decided to have a professional do the finishing touch, a proper set up to make sure the neck I had installed was on the way it needed to be. I decided to take my work to my local guitar shop. I thought it would be a straight forward process, but I was wrong. The worker here had told me that my guitar needed sanding down and even this would probably not work. I was quoted a large amount of money. It was even implied that my guitar might not even be functional despite all this. My review on this place is a separate issue so the last thing I will say about this place is that I took my guitar back heartbroken and not knowing where to go from there. I am lucky enough to work with a lot of great musicians and came to a friend of mine with my issue. He immediately recommended Grayson's Tune Town, told me to ask for Erik specifically. He gave me Erik's information and that same evening I contacted him and explained my situation. The only downside was that Greyson's is about a fifty minute drive for me with no traffic. Taking traffic into consideration it becomes an easy hour and a half. I sent pictures to Erik and he tried to diagnose as best he could without me coming in to the location. We set up a meet and it was on. I drove an hour and a half and to my pleasure this shop is beautiful. The staff here is extremely friendly and accommodating. Erik finally took a look at my guitar in person and said that everything looked perfect. I was cautiously optimistic at first, given what I had been told days prior by the first shop. I left my guitars (I had decided to take another guitar for a set up) and was told it would take about two weeks to complete the work. Two weeks might seem like a lot, but Erik was just coming back from some time off and he was catching up on some orders. He told me it is normally a week turn around. During my waiting period I was in contact with Erik every couple of days to check on any possible issues. He was so incredibly patient with my messaging him and promptly responded each time. I even sometimes felt bad messaging him with questions, but he never once made me feel like I was bothering him. The two weeks were up and him and I set up our final meet. I drove another hour and a half to pick up my guitars. Erik even met me earlier than planned because I had an appointment to make later that day back home. You ever hear the phrase "You get what you pay for"? Well, the level of service I got from Grayson's and Erik went far beyond that. Considering the first shop quoted me so high with little to no promise of any results, but at Grayson's the quote was less than half of the other place and most importantly the guitars came out PERFECT! Especially my build. While paying for the services I even bought a cool tote bag because I wanted to support them even more. Walking out of there I felt like I had just robbed the place and all they did was smile at me lol. To me it was not even about the money in the first place. The level of professionalism and results are all that matter in the end; the price to me comes second to those. Personally I love my guitars. We all save our hard earned money and purchase these instruments that bring us joy, peace, and for some people they even put food on the table. These instruments are important to so many of us and they deserve the best in our eyes. Grayson's and Erik are the definition of these qualities. suddenly the hour and a half drive was miniscule when looking at the big picture. From now on I will gladly spend that time on the road knowing that my instruments will be serviced at Grayson's. Who doesn't like a good road trip anyways? If you are hesitant about this shop, do not be. The standard has been set incredibly high and I'm all about it. One last time: Thank you Grayson's and thank you Erik.

Sierra Madre Music is the ideal place for music lessons. Jessica and her husband are the owners and…read moreare awesome musicians. They have a great staff of instructors that are equally as talented but also know how to teach. What brought me to them was how Jessica quickly responded to my inquires for scheduling lessons for my son. She's friendly, organized and her willingness to help match your child with the right instructor. We appreciate all their efforts!

They've absolutely changed my son's life - he absolutely loves his lessons and has gained self…read moreesteem and confidence that will continue to serve him as he gets older. I love SMM! Highly recommend.

What an absolute gem of an instrument shop that I feel so fortunate to have come across. I went in…read morebecause I'm potentially on the market for an upright bass, and I cannot express how glad I am I stopped by here. Not only do they have an incredible selection of beautiful instruments, but owners there are such phenomenal, down-to-earth, compassionate people. Nicky was in the store helping me out, and they spent so much time allowing me to try all the different instruments and talking me through them and answering my questions. The shop also has a rental option as well where 50% of the rent goes towards an instrument of your choice (doesn't have to be the rental). If you're looking for a high quality instrument with amazing service, this is the place to go. Could not recommend them more highly!

Tom and his daughter put a new tuning knob and plate on my 1948 Kay. They did an excellent job and…read morepainted it to match the others. Lowered the action as well. This is the go to place for Upright Bass repairs in the area. Thanks.

Krys, Subject:…read more"While You Wait" Clarinet Repair Thank you, thank you. You save me a lot of travel time, by offering an afternoon repair. 1.What is amazing is the clearer, brighter tones I get, particularly in the throat tones and the Bb (thumb and forefinger) and highest register. 2.Wobble is gone. I have greased the cork and am being carefull as I put it together. 3.Low register C# key/high G# works smoothly, the "catch" is gone. 4.Most important - the low E to F# (left little finger to right little finger) now works perfectly, the delay and muddled tones as I changed notes are gone. New pads and the small spacer pad seem to have soved my problem. My original pads looked terrible and changing them made the difference. The dirt between the keys was absolutely surprising. Jay

Top-tier instrument repair. I've been working with Kris for years. Great work, great prices and…read moreunmatched care for my precious saxophone. I recently visited a saxophone repair outfit in Hollywood that proved that Pasadena Woodwind Repair really is the BEST in LA. I will be a customer as long as this business is operating!