Wow, this place is great! I purchased a ukulele from them and asked for the head repairman to install a pickup. In just a couple of hours, he had installed the pickup. I tested it out and it sounded great! Sure, the selection isn't huge, but it's pretty big for a small music shop in a small college town. Their sheet music selection is quite extensive. Everyone is really friendly and knowledgeable. read more

ABSOLUTE BEST PLACE FOR INSTRUMENT REPAIRS!! I have a flute that I play for my school's orchestra, and I've brought it a few places for routine repairs. This place is by far the fastest, least expensive, and does the best work. I had the trill key rod break on a Saturday, and it was ready for pickup the Tuesday after. Super nice and knowledgeable staff. Location is sort of hard to find the first time, but there's plenty of parking nearby. I'd go here for lessons too if I didn't live half an hour away. Highly recommended! read more

I went in there not to long ago and asked if they carried RAT pedals and was rudely told no by some douchey looking guy. Bad customer service and I will most likely take my business to Guitar World. read more

The employees at the store are very knowledgeable and go out of their way to help customers. I bought a guitar case for my niece, but it ended up not fitting her guitar (it's 3/4 size). When I returned to the store to exchange it, a staff member spent quite a while looking for the perfect case. The correct size wasn't in stock, so the employee recommend that I get one that was a little bit bigger and just add some cushion. He was very friendly and thoroughly explained the abnormal variety of guitar sizes. The store only offers store credit if customers are not happy with an item, but at one point I was offered a full refund, but I just decided to go with a slightly bigger case. Great customer service! read more

Ever time I leave Watermelon I feel like i've just been attacked. The employees are unfriendly and have a music snobbish attitude. Also, took in a guitar a few times to get repaired each time they made shallow attempts to even diagnose the issue, and finally came up with a poor excuse for what was wrong, only for it to not be the issue... read more

This is a REAL music store. I've found it so hard to find real sheet music these days. Sure i could go to the huge Guitar Center....but no...they only sell books of sheet music...AND its not even the ORIGINAL sheet music but some simplified version...BOO! I would much rather go to this place. Lost of Sheet music to choose from...i can seriously leaf though all of it for hours. Thank you Watermelon music...without you i would never learn how to play John Legends "ordinary people" read more

The sweet spot between 'trasher guitar store' and 'High School Band land' violins & electric violins guitar, drums, bass, keyboard. pro audio counter Nice mic selection, light on the keyboards (not their fault. keyboards are big) Someone put some thought into what they sell instead of what the wholeseller told them were the HOT items. I like that. Everything is pretty reasonably priced. You absolutely should shop here before saving a few bucks on the internet. You will get service here. Perfect for someone who is starting out, or has just moved up to playing out. read more

Place is awesome! Super helpful and knowledgeable staff. They were very nice and very patient with my toddler :)

I love going here, it's a great mom and pop store, with a great staff. All of them are helpful and know a lot about what they sell. They aren't pushy or try to get you to buy something you aren't there for. I haven't made main big purchases there, like an instrument. But I'm sure when I do I'll be pleased. They don't have much gear, but they do carry some big brands, like Pearl, Ibanez, Roland. For the local bands or music lovers, this is a must go place. Always have to support the local music places. Oh and also they do music lessons too... Sweet! read more

My happy place! I don't get there as often as I'd like--too many temptations. But when I do the staff is always friendly, helpful and willing to spend time with me, whether or not I'm spending money. Erin is a gentleman and a pleasure to deal with! read more

I'm very happy with customer service of this place, it's outstanding! I needed bridge replacement on my cello, brought it on Friday night, was surprised that it will be done in a week! Moreover, they offered me another instrument instead for a week so I could play with out skipping a week. Stuff is always helpful, nice and doing their work thoroughly. I'll definitely recommend watermelon to my friends :) read more

I really don't like Watermelon music in downtown Davis, however it being my only option in town for music supplies, I am forced to go there time and time again. The staff have proven to me to be basically useless, although very friendly. Although they are authorized dealers of many of my favorite brands of equipment, they usually don't have what I'm looking for, no matter how meager my request might be. They are, of course, willing to order it, but the owner talked me out of it. Additionally, I have never in my life seen such expensive products. A small note about the owner (the one with the beard): I'm sure he's a good person, but I always see him demeaning some poor employee, who appear to fear him. He seems like a jerk. One time he rasied his voice to me because I said I was going to probably try Guitar Center (for a set of ernie ball electric guitar strings), telling me how much he hated Guitar Center. I now order my strings online! read more

A little bit busy sometimes, but they have helpful and friendly staff members and good prices.

called in ahead and the person who picked up was very nice warm and helpful, when i arrived at the store a bunch of employees welcomed me and helped me navigate the store and help me look for what i was looking for read more

Watermelon music is your best alternative to Guitar Center or Skips, and Davis is only 20 mins away from Sac. The employees don't turn over quickly and the store doesn't pull dodgy stuff that you get from some other stores, like saying they're doing you a favor by not adding shipping when they match internet prices. The drum guy Leo can be curt, but if you really want help with buying drums, he is knowledgeable, and he will try to help you. Since he is the drum buyer, and he emphatically declares that he flat out refuses to buy "crap", he will take expection to his lower priced stock being termed "cheap". It's too buyer beware for my taste at some other stores.If you're looking at buying Fender, Ibanez or Gretch - or whatever other lines they carry, give 'em a call to see if it's in stock, and if it is, save yourself grief by buying it from Watermellon. read more

I have been a customer here for 10 years, I love this place! I'm a piano teacher, and their music selections is phenomenal. The new space is beautiful, I love the recital space and so did my kids and their families. Please support this wonderful business. read more

If you look at the dates and reasons for some of the returns and switches you will see that one of the returns was due to receiving the wrong size from you and one was because you forgot to include a bow and so had to take the violin back and I had to rent a new one. These switches happened very quickly and were not a result of improper sizing on our part. The move from a 1/8 to a 1/10 is the only downward move we were planning on making (it is hard to size a child that constantly grows and changes). The other switches were the result of poor customer service and improper checking of your rentals. I should also mention that there was no indication of how long it would take to get the new violin (2 weeks was not mentioned) and I had already been on a waiting list for a month. I also did not go to a competitor to rent a violin until after this experience and so there was no minimum contract requirement that I needed to fulfill. As for my other reviews, I don't have much time to write reviews and so reserve my reviews for those experiences that I find particularly disappointing. I have written about 1 review a year and so don't find 3 negative reviews to indicate that I am a "difficult" customer. One easy and customer friendly solution would have been to say that you would really like to keep my business (which was never stated) after I had been a loyal customer for over a year and half and that you would work to get me a violin as quickly as possible so that I didn't have to lose all the credit I had built. read more

Came here to get my guitar restrung. They gave good advice, had reasonable prices on their guitar strings, and good service. read more

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The only place to go for anything music-related! I've taken drum and piano lessons and the Watermelon guys are always helpful in finding my materials. Never so busy that someone can't help you out. I also enjoy the selection of live music shows they offer at the shop. Although it kind of sucks that they're not located in the heart of downtown anymore, the new location is nice and let's this shop take center stage! read more

Bought a set of strings and they said they did free restringing. Normally I would do it myself but I figured why not if its free. They not only restrung my guitar but polished the fretboard and frets, adjusted the trust rod and made others fixes to it all for free. read more

They were not very helpful at all. They would not return my calls or emails. When I tried to bring in a bassoon for service. The customer service rep, put down bassoons as an instrument and kept talking about how their woodwind repair man really doesn't like to work on them. He went on and on about how the repair man doesn't like them and how "insanely complicated" they are. Then he said, "Well, I guess I could take it in, but..." We left. I didn't want some one who dislikes the instrument and was clearly not interested in my business working on it. I was really disappointed, since one of the music teachers I work with suggested them. I guess they feel like they can rest on their laurels, since they're the big game in town. Tim's music was immensely better to work with! read more

Davis is so lucky to have this gem of a store in town. They have helped us rent instruments for our kids. They have helped us fix many many instruments over the years and we have purchased some high-quality instruments such as a piano and guitars. We are always highly satisfied with the customer service. The people that work at the store are passionate about music. The fact that they have concerts and open mic events in the store is an exciting addition to Davis. Watermelon music is probably the best thing going on for Davis! read more

I went to see about having my instrument repaired but, the guy who helped me was really rude to the point where I decided not to leave my instrument. He sounded annoyed the moment I walked in the store without me even saying a word to him. I thought perhaps I had caught him on a bad day, but I read another review speaking of the same guy and having the same experience. I know I shouldn't base my experience on one employee, but yeah, I've been searching for another music store. read more

Overpriced, and customer service has been great sometimes and lousy at others, but I was okay with patronizing them in the past - I had even bought a pricey ukelele and case there in order to support a local business. Was in the store with my son yesterday when he was approached by one of the staff and brusquely told to "take that backpack off if you're going to touch a guitar." The guy then walked away, without even bothering to ask if he could help my son or me with anything. Rude. I still made a small purchase, but the other guy who rang me up didn't bother to make eye contact or even say thank you to me. It was too much - I'm done with this place. Was planning to buy my son a guitar and case here, but I will now take my business elsewhere. read more

Watermelon is my favorite music store in the county! I get giddy just thinking of the giant section of sheet music they have. They repaired my viola in a matter of days for a very reasonable price. Very knowledgable, helpful staff. read more

I'm an older man, who like many younger senior citizens find going into big box music stores annoying and somewhat intimidating with all the noise, and aloof attitudes of the kids working there. I'm invisible at these rock shops. Not so here at Watermelon... I'm looking at some other reviews on this page about the grumpy old man in the drum department, and laughing out loud, or LOL as the "hip" might say. That grumpy old man GOM, if who he's who I'm thinking of, took considerable un-grumpy time with me as I set out on a late life adventure to test drive a set of electric drums. BTW, (that's "by the way" I think...) I left the store with that drum set as a result of the GOM (oh and yes, he has a name, it's Leo) who then availed himself to lots of questions and service the next day when I couldn't figure out what was wrong with my kit.... As it turned out, the kit was fine, as Leo aka Grumpy-Old-Man, tested every possibility that could go wrong... Alas kids, it was my headphone jack... Is that an OMG thing??? I give Watermelon Music a fiver because: 1. Great customer service even if you're not a emerging rock God, or classically trained musician, 2. because the people working there, even the youngsters who treated me like an important customer, know their stuff about what they're selling, 3. their pricing matches the prices on Amazon (didn't know I knew about that did you kid...) and 4. Because it's really apparent that the owners of this place place more value on customer service and satisfaction than on being slick, but annoying and disrespectful to old goats like me. And seriously, touching the merchandise without asking first is like petting a strangers baby's head. These are fine instruments not toys. Go to the big box stores if you have to "look" with your hands.... Signed, The Grumpier Old Man, who's a lot less grumpy because of Watermelon Music... read more

it still never ceases to amaze me here. you walk in on a tuesday afternoon with a couple specific things you need, and the people who work here look at you the way a person passing you on the sidewalk in san francisco would. you have to really plead with them for customer service- or i did. i talked to my mother, she's late 60's blond professor at uc davis, looks that perfect baby boomer part in a way and she says "they weren't that way with me" with a confused look on her face. meanwhile i walk in a 32 yo dude needing a violin string or 2 and these people look up from what they are doing, and look right back down. news flash- you are nowhere near neiman marcus or saks 5th avenue in beverly hills esp considering in those places sales associates offer me a bottle of water. perfect example of why i NEVER go back to this town unless it is to see family. i digress, their sheet music selection is as good as any to be found in the sacramento area. they've got some decent stringed instruments. actually.. If you've got e very good ear I bet they might have a violin or two now and then that are gems. just such a staid, dry, sterile vibe from most, not all, but most of the people working here walking in. i'm not about to drive from sacramento specifically for it. Kline music in sacramento is 80% of watermelon's selection with much better service. This is definitely my experience here. So i can't honestly relent in the criticism. I sincerely hope that it does not personally insult people who work hard there, but i can't say that it hasn't felt that way walking in so there it is. read more

I had my guitar restrung here, and the customer service was AMAZING. I was helped by Al, and he couldn't have done a better job. Service was quick and VERY price friendly too! Come for all your music needs! read more

The service is awesome here! I purchased my Seagull guitar here and I love it! I also take lessons here, which made me go with purchasing my second guitar here. The staff is always so helpful and knowledgeable and willing to spend the time to go over their products. I won't need a new guitar for a while, but I will continue to purchase here. I often browse the store for new books and sheet music. read more

This is a nice local mom and pop guitar shop that serves the music needs of the college population nearby. They house a lot of nice guilds and seagal guitars but other than that, their selection is pretty low. The people there are friendly and helpful but I can't give it anymore than 3 stars for their average stock of instruments. read more

Knowledgeable staff, great selection and super prices. You can't beat Watermelon Music for a real music store experience. A long time establishment in downtown Davis, WM offers a vibe that keeps its customers coming back. The lessons upstairs are convenient and professional. Jeff and his staff do a fabulous job making everyone feel at home and his prices beat out other retailers, including online. read more

This store has an abnormally high selection of banjos and mandolins.

I thought Watermelon Music was great. The staff was super friendly and got me taken care of very fast. I came in to rent a violin and was all squared away within 15 minutes. This was a much more pleasant experience than I received from Kline Music and I am happy Watermelon Music got my business instead! read more

I love walking into Watermelon. There are always people putting around pushing keys, strumming strings, pounding drums, shaking tambourines - well at least that is what I do! On several occasions the staff have spent significant amounts of time explaining and demonstrating the ways to differentiate between different models of the same type of instrument. I learned a lot and am better prepared to pick out a well suited guitar and hand drum when the right time appears. read more

Watermelon knows it's stuff and it's a fantastic local independent music store

Staff here is very friendly and helpful. They have a pretty big selection, keyboards, guitars, drumsets, strings, and equipment. The prices are not that bad at all either, which was kind of a surprise, as I was expecting a downtown store to have inflated prices. Being the only music store I know of in the area, I'm glad it's a good one. read more

Revisited the store again, but in the guitar equipment section. I was offered a lot of friendly help and was much more satisfied with my shopping experience. Overall 3 stars for the bad experience in the drums section. read more

I'm currently taking piano lesson here! The instructor is really cool and the owner is cool too!!! lol I usually go there and play the piano at the store sometime :) read more

There's a really nice "WELCOME" feel when you walk into Watermelon Music. Everyone is strumming around or beating on the drums that line the entrance of the store. AWESOME! They have a great selection of music equipment. Everyone in the store was really helpful and friendly. My 2 year old daughter just fell in love with all the bongos and helped herself to beating on them all. I had my eyes and ears open just in case someone in the store asked me to tie her up and keep her from touching anything else. Surprisingly they let her go on and explore her musical talents. I was very pleased with their carefree attitude. They also have tons of guitars and keyboards towards the back that are also available to play as long as you know how to handle the instruments. During my 30 minute stay in the store I saw several sales associates going out of their way to answer questions for customers while also demonstrating various instruments and trinkets. Really great to see that people were educated and knowledgeable about the products in store. Now that's what I call customer service! read more

I bought my first acoustic guitar from Watermelon, and I'll probably buy my next acoustic from Watermelon too. I buy the majority of my equipment from Watermelon, but not because it's the only music shop in town. I'm a loyal customer, always coming back here for my instrumental needs. Guitar Center doesn't even hold a candle to this local shop. The selection is nice, the staff is friendly and approachable, and the prices can hardly be beat. I've never felt forced to buy anything here; I just appreciate the business. read more