If you know Collings Guitars, then I cannot imagine a debate on 5 stars. Truly spectacularly well…read moremade, fine instruments that grace this Earth and occasionally my humble hands. I found Collings years ago through a Texan friend and Gryphon Stringed Instruments in Palo Alto, CA (an incredibly wonderful guitar store). I don't know about you. but I over-think larger purchases and Collings ain't cheap, Skipper. So I analyzed the options to death. Finally I hid in a practice room and A-B'd the crap out of a Collings and a Santa Cruz. An easy decision. It's all about the tone in the end. Collings' fine materials and careful craftsmanship end up producing superior sound time and time again. I want another Collings but then I also want to meet Marilyn Monroe. One year I played an $18K carved top f-hole jazz guitar Bill Collings was about to deliver to Gary Trudeau, the creator of Doonesbury. The fact that Bill let me play it says something about what a nice man he is. This quality is in every Collings guitar. I love saying Hello to the Collings guys when I can get a pass into the NAMM show. They have started making electrics, which is a scary thought, because they look and play incredibly as you might expect. There is God and then there is Bill Collings. Case closed

I've currently have 2 acoustic Collings guitars...1991 SJ Maple and 2003 CJ Rosewood. I have also…read moreowned a 2007 CJ MA. All of them have been great guitars. I have owned Martin D28s (brazilian) and several Guild D40 and one F50R. Collings wins hands down. Best acoustic guitar made in a factory in my opinion. Get one or two!

It appears Mark is the person you want to deal with. Randy, on the other hand, although seemingly…read moreknowledgeable, will mislead you to make a sale. Long story short (and I have all the text messages to prove my point), he very clearly told me that he was NOT a dealer (I was hoping to buy from an individual to avoid needing to pay sales tax), only to find out that he absolutely is a dealer, and that of course, like any other retail business, they must charge sales tax. I also told him very clearly what my budget was on the phone, and he said he would love to "roll out the red carpet" and show us, and that he is certain he can make a deal work for us. Well, his deal was so much higher than what we had already discussed, that it was a pointless drive to Dripping Springs. Later, I found an individual selling the piano we're looking for and learned that they purchased it from Pier Branch. The individual stated that the warranty would transfer as long as you use Pier Branch to do the moving. Because of my initial bad experience, I decided to call Randy to confirm this was true. He answered my call, and was happy to talk to me about pianos again, but when I let him know that I was just calling to confirm that the warranty would transfer, he abruptly stopped the conversation, saying very clearly that the warranty will not transfer, and that "I'm having lunch right now, can I call you back?" (How much you wanna bet he never calls?) The private seller indicated to me that he had just spoken with Mark 2 days prior, and that he assured that the warranty would transfer. The private seller also said that Mark is much more professional and that he too, did not like Randy. All this said, it does seem like they have some nice pianos, and in the RETAIL world, their prices are reasonable. Just don't deal with RANDY.

We purchased our baby grand piano through Pier Branch Music, and we're so glad we did!…read more Randy was knowledgable, accommodating, patient, and totally void of any salesman-y hard sell. Plus they backed the sale with a great warranty, and put us in touch with good piano technicians to-boot. I highly recommend them to anyone.

I contacted Brian Henselman again to tune Things Two's baby grand piano as it was recently moved as…read moreI purchased a new home. Its important to tune a piano after a move and on other occasions such as: 1- When a piano is not played, the strings will gradually stretch with the passage of time and the piano will fall out of tune. Pianos need regular tuning at least once a year to keep them up to pitch and playing the correct notes. 2- When fluctuations in temperature and humidity occur which cause the wooden parts of the piano to expand and contract, affecting string tension. 3- When a piano is not tuned regularly. Pianos get set in their ways as they age. A piano that hasn't been tuned in a long time will go out of tune again very quickly. Pianos are temperamental and should be tuned at least once per year. I like to think of a piano like a car in that, cars require regular tune ups, oil changes etc. Brian showed up on time, was efficient and gave some great tips on piano care. If you are seeking an honest and reliable piano tuner, Brian is the best bet! Total for tuning: 205.68 #supportlocal

I rented a piano from Brian for 6 months while taking piano lessons. The transaction was smooth…read moreand efficient. His movers showed up as scheduled both when moving the piano into the house and out. Brian was really informative when helping me out with choosing a piano. He offers both purchase and rental deals. If you're in the market for piano, I'd recommend checking out his gallery.

DO NOT take your instrument here for setups…read more I visited Musicians Woodshed last week and initially spoke with one of the guitar techs, Jett Boyd, who was polite and professional. We discussed my bass guitar and the possibility that some frets might need adjustment. When I returned the following week after noticing some fret buzz, I spoke with Miles Manglos. I explained that I prefer a very straight neck with low action and that I was not interested in adding more relief to the neck. Because of that, the logical solution would have been to address the fret work. Instead, he suggested doing a setup that would involve adding relief and raising the action--the exact opposite of what I had just explained I wanted. When I asked whether that meant adding neck relief and how that would affect the current setup, he couldn't clearly explain it. I also mentioned that at a different shop in another city, a tech had previously performed a setup even though I specifically asked him not to and only wanted the jack repaired. I brought this up simply to explain why I was trying to be very clear about the work I wanted done. Instead of addressing the issue professionally, Miles abruptly declined to work on the instrument and told me to leave. He was dismissive and repeatedly said he didn't understand what I was saying. A competent guitar tech or luthier should be able to translate what a musician is describing and communicate clearly about the work being recommended. If a shop cannot or does not want to perform a certain service, that's fine--but it should be handled respectfully and professionally. Unfortunately, this interaction came across as pretentious and unhelpful, and it left a very negative impression of the shop.

Miles and Alex were awesome to talk with. Super friendly and knowledgeable. I will definitely be…read moreback.

Great store. Vance the manager very nice and helpful. Would definitely recommend…read more They had a color of thumb-picks in stock that I had never in any other music store. Very cool

I went to Music & Arts last Saturday for my fiance to spend some of his tax refund. It's a nice,…read moresmaller music store that seems like it mostly caters to middle school and high school students who are looking for their band instruments. They also have a decent guitar selection. The associate was very helpful and friendly. We started talking about our own high school band days of yore and he took the time to look up french horn prices for me out of my own curiosity. The store can order pretty much anything you want and they are honest about price ranges for instruments. They won't try to pressure you into buying an instrument that is more expensive than what you need. I will definitely be back for more musical shopping!

I was in a garage band in college almost 2 decades ago, and we occasionally get together to jam,…read morebut recently we decided we wanted to rent a room in a studio to jam. Looking at all the options in the Austin area, Space ATX was convenient, affordable, and we just liked the overall vibe. The space itself is deceptively big. The exterior is relatively modern and inviting. The entrance and lobby is a funky, trendy, yet retro. The place is immaculate, and everything looks in order. The staff is helpful and professional You can choose from standard rooms, large rooms, rooms for recording audio or video. The rooms have an hourly and daily rate. The rooms provide solid acoustics, and they keep any unwanted external noise out Some tips: It's a much better deal to go with the daily rate, and honestly, it's incredibly affordable. The large room can be reserved for the day for just over $200. And this reservation goes past midnight into the morning if you need. It's BYOB, so, bring a cooler and drinks. The rooms get a little warm, so, I would consider bringing a fan or two We had a blast getting the band back together, and while we were taking a break outside on one of the benches, we watched so many bands and solo artists funnel in and out, and we thought to ourselves... what if these guys or this person is the next big thing. What if we are? It was exciting, and we had an amazing time Cheers!!

Great space to practice, still very affordable. Had some issues with getting someone to pick up the…read morephone, but the owner personally reached out to me and fixed it, comped a night of practice for us. We love coming here to work!

Paula was my instructor for the better part of a year. She was fantastic! I learned more than I…read morecould have expected, and lessons were surprisingly fun. Paula was respectful about my time in regard to scheduling and understanding that people learn at different paces. She was always patient. I would happily take lessons with her again!

Paula Maya gave a wonderful performance for my fundraising event! She is so professional and guests…read morewere absolutely delighted with her set. It feels amazing to support local musicians and Paula is definitely a crowd favorite!

Awesome mom & pop shop that really cares for their customers; especially their youth clients. Old…read moreschool customer service and will take care of you on the spot,

The best! Todd is so knowledgeable and engaging with the kids he rents out to. We've had a few…read moreyears of wonderful experiences with Westbank.