This cool shop in the Grove Arcade is making some cool tunes and some cool instruments. This guy…read morehas invented his own musical instrument. It's like a guitar, or a dulcimer, that's made compact and out of wood with steel strings. It sounds like it's tuned so that it's fairly easy to play. When we went by checking out his store, the dude cranks up his Woodrow and puts on a little concert. It's hard to miss while walking through the central corridor of the Grove Arcade. The shop is well lit, and the products are displayed thoughtfully. I could tell that each of these instruments are handmade, as he had a sort of workshop going to work on these instruments.

These are great instruments easy to play for all ages!! Everybody is intrigued when they see my…read moreWOODROW.

Excellent shop. ODave has an excellent selection of interesting used guitars and really knows what…read morehe is talking about.

I would love to leave a review but I sent 2 emails with questions over a month ago and they never…read morereplied. I guess the answer is NO. I will purchase elsewhere.

There really isn't a more musician-friendly music store in Asheville, if not the entire southeast…read more Great selection of used instruments with a really high turnover rate, every time I go in there's always something new. Autumn is a class act business owner who will go out of her way to please her customers, and she also does fantastic instrument setups at unbeatable prices. I recommend this shop without reservations to everyone I know, and anyone with the slightest interest in musical instruments.

I had an amazing experience with Quinn. I was looking for a beginner guitar for my daughter and he…read morewas fantastic. Well informed and did not try to upsell me, just told me what he felt was the best fit for her. I will definitely consider him my goto guy going forward. I wanted to by local, I know they're a chain, so I could walk in and talk to someone. Thanks Quinn.

Some of these negative comments have to be some hard people that you have to deal with…read more I've bought so much stuff from here at the tunnel rd. specifically and always had awesome experience with all the staff. Some people come to these stores and they expect Chick-fil-A type of customer service. Grow a pair and learn that this is the music industry not the fast food.

Phenomenal customer service!! I spoke with Billy and he helped me identify the exact mallets I…read moreneeded to create smooth sound baths without the scratchy sounds created by other mallets. He shipped them out the next morning. I am sooo grateful and excited that Skinny Beats wasn't damaged by the Hurricane a number years ago. gorgeous music shop!!

When I tried to speak with the shop guy (proprietor?) about a kora (West African stringed…read moreinstrument), he was immediately rude, impatient, arrogant, insulting. In addition, he responded the same way to my wife when she tried to ask him legitimate questions about the instrument. Both my wife and I have played kora for decades and I was genuinely interested in purchasing this instrument for her. The shop guy was only concerned that we may break strings on the instrument or tune it up to the pitch at which it was designed to be played. We were deeply insulted by the treatment we received and just left the shop, disgusted. To whomever has the kora there on consignment, my condolences--this guy drives away potential buyers.

I went in to Music and Arts to purchase some music. I was dubious at first considering the…read morereputation this company has for rotten customer service. I have not had the experience of purchasing instruments with this M&A company but my in-store experience could not have been better. A gentleman named Rick helped me find vocal music that I was searching for and never made me feel rushed or pressured. He was extremely knowledgeable and friendly. Class act. When I went to check out, another young man, (I think his name was John) checked me out quickly and was very friendly. The team there was professional and the store was beautifully laid out and clean. I found myself wanting to buy more stuff just because the store looked so nice and the staff was so easy to work with. I will go back to purchase more vocal selections as well as "stuff" for my music students.

LONG, True Story: I…read morehave been paying monthly for my son's trumpet from Music Center, now apparently bought out by the Music & Arts. So earlier in the month I received in invoice from the new company stating I was 3 months behind (pause... breathe... incorrect) so I called and spoke with a nice woman initially who said that account info was being transferred so it may take a few more weeks for my payments to appear on their records. I said ok I will call next week to make a payment. It was a pleasant conversation, hung up, felt ok. I call yesterday to see if everything transferred over and to make my payment, another rep stated that I had made a payment on 05/02/18 $35 charge and $96 on 05/16/18. (PAUSE) I didn't make either payment. So I explained that I haven't made ANY payments to the new company so how did they receive a payment? Who authorized said payment(s)? Riddle me this Batman. Now we have a problem. I am not on a direct draft, I pay with my debit card monthly that is not kept on file... or so I thought. The rep was extremely unhelpful so I asked for a manager, who surprisingly was unavailable at the moment and would return my phone call in 24-48 hours. Immediately hung up the phone and called the local store. Spoke with the sweetest gentleman who mentioned he had worked with Music Center for 38 years prior to the acquisition. I explained what happened and he was apologetic but said he was unable to assist because he TOO had to call the same UNHELPFUL and UNPROFESSIONAL customer service department. I informed him this is why people do not deal with big companies and prefer small, local businesses. He also mentioned that Quite a few people have been calling and he would pass teh information on. Fast forward this morning, hubs texts me and asks if I used the cc for a payment.... Nope... But now I wonder, was it for Music & Arts? Yes. Impossible lol How did they get that credit card number? Never used it to make payments. So, he calls.... Again, no direct response except the one possibility, "Someone must have purchased an instrument?". And yes, the Manager was again unavailable. She tells him to dispute it with the bank lol (Superior customer service). At no point did she ask his name, phone number, account associated. So, he hangs up and calls the bank and puts in a claim. Big corporations buy smaller ones in these silent acquisitions and decide take advantage of their local clients.

I've been taking guitar lessons here for ~4 months now, which is oftentimes the highlight of my…read moreweek. I genuinely look forward to my weekly lesson with Austin because of his ability to balance structured, meaningful learnings with fun. The space itself is really neat and gets you in the right headspace to make/create music. The Sound Room's curriculum is great, because unlike many other lessons/schools, there is a well-defined progression for advancing from one level to the next--which gives students something concrete to strive for. Austin truly puts students in the driver's seat by having them define their goals, and revisiting them almost each class to ensure that the time together is being spent wisely. As an intermediate player myself, his ability to amp up and dive into complex topics--but also throttle it back when my brain hurts from the new concepts, is greatly appreciated. The building itself is easily accessible and parking is plentiful. If you're on the fence at all about lessons, do yourself a favor and take the plunge with The Sound Room!

From the owner: The Sound Room AVL offers personalized one on one music lessons to people of all ages, levels, and…read moreplaying styles. After over a decade of teaching lessons in Guitar, Piano, Mandolin, Banjo, Songwriting, and Music Theory, owner/operator Austin Barrett decided to put his knowledge down on paper and formulate a curriculum for The Sound Room. Two years in, and it's working! The Sound Room AVL's curriculum takes the student through a series of Levels, each specifically formulated to take a complete beginner toward confidence on their instrument. It works kind of like a karate belt system, and students test into levels once they prove a skill, which unlocks the following level. Prospective students of The Sound Room can sign up for a FREE consultation with one of our teachers directly on the website!