Best music stores in California: find options near you

Alec and Miguel were a fantastic help and professional. Really helped me and my wife out tremendously and couldn’t be more pleased. Will do business here again!

very kind and polite people very quick process, and no hassle at all. Alec, the man helping me went out of this way to make sure I had the right equipment and was overall a great dude. Had a good and easy experience here thank you.

Great service in this shop. I really love the variety of instruments they have such as orchestra instruments, guitars, brass, and saxes, where I got my Baritone Saxophone a couple days ago. Great shop overall.

If you’re looking for a great music store, check out this store. I went in for a couple of musical books and ended up sticking around to look at their selection of instruments and gear. The service is excellent, the staff here is super helpful and really knows their stuff. It’s a warm, welcoming space, and it’s clear they care about the music community. Highly recommend stopping by if you are in the area and needing any musical accessories, instruments, or gear. Update: I had a stellar experience at this store! I recently picked up a Yamaha P-225 keyboard, and again the customer service was top-notch; the staff was helpful, patient, and clearly knew their stuff. Plus, they offered flexible payment plans, which made it so much easier to walk out with the keyboard I wanted.

Gottschalk Music Center is a cool and quaint little music shop in the heart of Old Town Clovis. My 10 year old son is a music lover especially in all musical instruments and loves going here because he claims it’s like heaven! They have an abundance of musical instruments to try out and to see! You can either purchase one or rent one! My son also loves this place when he needs an accessory or a tool or cleaning product because he knows they will have it. The staff is so friendly and accommodating and knowledgeable to all instruments. We can tell that they too have a love for music!

Fantastic experience. Staff was incredibly knowledgeable and friendly. So glad I walked into this shop. Great selection of gear including a full brass section. Highly recommend coming here for musical needs.

It’s so great going to a local music store and experiencing the joy of everyone working and shopping for the instruments that bring so much goodness into the world. I’m grateful for Gotschalk Music. Today I bought my niece a beautiful Ukele, which will be her first musical instrument. Everyone at the store was just as excited for her as me. What a gift to the community they are. Thank you -Naser

I'm not sure if this is actually the flagship GC location, but it sure feels like it. First, I love that they have parking in the back, and a good amount of it. You can actually shop here instead of just thinking "oh that store is awesome but how am I gonna get my gear home?" You enter through an amazing area with musicians' hand prints and guitars on display, just getting you in the spirit of Hollywood's music scene. The actual store is like, the combination of every other Guitar Center you've visited. They are fully stocked in guitars, basses, amps, drums, keys, mics, and pro audio. They don't have everything, but they have just about as much as you could reasonably expect any brick & mortar store to carry. I'm also blown away by the rare guitars room. I'm a bass player, so seeing original '51 P basses, '70s Ric 4001s… It's beautiful. They have some celebrity-used guitars, and some that are listed for like $30k. It really is a sight to behold. In this world where commerce is trending so hard towards online, it's great to see a bastion of music gear holding out – even if it is the most corporate version, they're doing the work and I appreciate it.

The best Guitar Center I’ve ever been to! The RockWalk out front is awesome, as well as the selection of instruments and gear inside. A must-see.

Obviously this is their flagship store. Stocked to the roof with vintage guitars. Nice visit.

Guitar center has always been the leading provider for anything music related but on this i was able to attend a pedal tone masterclass. A class that was absolutely amazing featuring the lead guitarist from the smashing pumpkins Kiki Wongo and the legendary Yvette Young of the awesome band covet. It was so awesome watching Kiki shred whilst sitting behind Yvette. I was totally freaking out but i kept my cool. You out did yourself guitar center and I thank you so much for the event

As a musician and the author behind The Grant Colson Thriller Series and the SERA Archives thriller novels, I make stops like this when I’m traveling and resetting between writing sessions, and Guitar Center on Sunset Boulevard is one of the most iconic locations out there. This is a multi-level store with a huge footprint. The layout spreads out across different areas, including a lower-level acoustic section down a set of stairs, which gives it a different feel than most locations. There’s a strong sense of history here. You’ll see displays tied to well-known guitarists, and the whole place carries that legacy of Sunset Boulevard music culture. The keyboard area is excellent, with a wide range of instruments and plenty of space to try them out. The cymbal room stands out, and the DJ, lighting, and pro audio sections are also very well done. Right at the entrance on Sunset, the large sculpted hands make a bold first impression. It’s one of those details that makes the location feel instantly recognizable. The guitar selection is massive, and the overall setup makes it easy to move between sections and spend time exploring without feeling cramped. The staff is super helpful and easy to work with, which makes a big difference in a store this size. Parking is in the back and it’s free, which is a huge plus given the location. Overall, it’s a flagship Guitar Center in Los Angeles with a huge selection, strong layout, and a presence that lives up to the Sunset Boulevard name.

Despite being a small local store Gottschalk is a great center for all musician needs! all who work there are obviously very passionate about music and are always willing to help in any way they can, Never had a bad experience with them. 10/10 would recommend

Awesome customer service! Friendly staff and knowledgeable. Thank You Emmy for the drum demo.

Great service, friendly staff! My 'go to' for gear and repair. I brought them a bass that I acquired that needed a lot of work, and even though it took several weeks due to backorder issues with hard to find parts, they did the work as fast as possible once the parts came in. They called me as soon as it was done, and apologized for the delay. Now that broken down bass looks almost new, and has a new lease on life! Thanks, Gottschalk Music!

I've taken a couple guitars here to get work done last year. Mostly intonation/truss rod adjustment and some electrical work. Elliot does a great job, fast work, and didn't overcharge me for anything. 10/10 recommend!

It's more than drumsticks and guitar strings. My Grandson and I have shopped with Gottchalks Music for years. The people there are willing to help you, teach you, or anything else music related. I hope they never close. Alex,you and your team are an asset to the musicians in this community.

Signed up for a pay to own instrument here via band teachers recommendation… First few years were great, no issues. We are now down to end of agreement and should own the instrument soon However, we have been experiencing NON STOP billing issues since Fall of 2025. Ive called and spoke with the store several times regarding not being billed on time. Back In December I was informed their billing system was enduring technical issues but the issues would not be on going. We are now in April, I received 4 payments in the same month after not being billed, thankfully I have reported to my bank, and an investigaton is underway… I dont mind the balance due, the issue is going several cycles no fee/ bill, then being charged x4 in one month when the agreement was one monthly payment.

I just had the nicest experience here, and the highlight was definitely my guide Jesse. I came in to see if I could testplay a trumpet, completely and utterly new to it and it's very different embouchure, and Jessie gave me a pretty simple and helpful rundown, even bringing out a trumpet of his own to play and teach me how to blow into it and actually get a sound out if it. After a bit of trial and error I got it! He was just extremely kind and helpful. I walked around a bit, looking at guitars and the whole store and it's instruments were just very neat and well cared for. Very nice

Cecilia at Kline Music went above and beyond in customer service! She was very kind, helpful and professional. Great employee! Mrs. C

Very knowledgeable, as always. We come here for everything music related. Today Jesse helped us choose a new instrument case for our antique trumpet. He was so helpful. I have two band students, we always find what we need here!

Penny Kline has such a nice music store. Rental plans available. Just about everything you could possibly want and if they don’t have it, they can probably get it for you really fast. Excellent staff.

They had what we needed in a pinch, it worked out great! The staff here are amazing! I highly recommend this shop! Oh, and the prices are very reasonable!

We rented a trumpet today and Jessie was wonderful with my teen as he was learning to use the mouth piece.

Take the time to visit, it could change your life like it changed mine. I walked in to buy a cello for my wife loved how they treated me and cared that I went back to fulfill a life long dream to learn to play music, specifically saxophone. It's been one of the best decisions of my life to walk into Tim's Tim's is the best music store in greater sac for any brass, wind, classical stringed instruments or lessons(all genres and instruments), full stop, I visited them all. Their repair team is world class, they literally get repair orders from all over the world because they are that good. Tim's is one of the reasons Cannonball musical instruments exist today and they have a close relationship with them to this day. The owners and each employee including their teachers are passionate about music and sharing that love with each person who walks through their doors. They care more about getting you what's right for you than making a sale. The rentals program is fair, includes free repairs on the rental, and builds store* credit towards buying the same type of instrument as the rental, even a discount on the actual rental too. Tim's is a family owned business, and it shows in everything they do.

I can't say enough good things about Tim's Music! The staff is exceptionally knowledgeable and helpful, taking the time to answer every question without ever rushing you. On top of that, management clearly prioritizes customer satisfaction – they go above and beyond to make sure you're taken care of every step of the way. Truly a top-notch store with incredible service!

Thank you Taylor for taking such great care of my flutes!! As a musician in the Sacramento area I’ve been going to Tim’s for +25 years for all my music needs. Tim’s is a staple in the music community for lessons, repairs, instruments and repertoire. I play on a silver Muramatsu GX and I’m always confident in taking it to Tim’s for COA’s and repairs. They always do the best job, very thorough and knowledgeable with extremely reasonable turnaround times, sometimes even same-day fixes.

Very nice place with friendly and knowledgeable staff. Although you can't tell from their sites but they do have multiple instruments that you can tell by looking at their site or pictures. I went to skips music for strings on a full size violins but Tiks music had that and more things. The store isn't as big but have all kinds of musical instruments not just keyboards, drums and guitars.

This is a very organized store with a good variety of classical guitars. Thomas was an exceptional help. He is a very professional and knowledgeable employee.

Very helpful over the phone. We figured out that he was not the guy that was what I was looking for as far as the work on my instrument (mandolin, not guitar) and i'm glad he was very honest about that. I can see why his rating is 5 stars and I will second that vote.

Very knowledgeable and super friendly staff. They sell, rent, and fix instruments. Recommended by several musicians and music teachers. Just bought a bass clarinet and my kid loves it!

My visit this past weekend was great. The clerk was beyond helpful, even taking the heavier than expected piano to my car. Why 4? Something about the location. It always feels unprepared. Not fully stocked. As though they have just enough employees to sell, but not maintain the store. I did hear someone say they were waiting on an order. Could also be tariffs? Politics? Regardless, I’ll go back if I need something quick.

This place is dead. Not an employee in sight. Was in there for 10 min, two other guys waiting for customer service as well. No one ever showed up. On top of that they only had 1 jazzmaster in the entire store. If you need music gear, get it on Reverb. Guitar Center isn’t what it used to be.

Extremely frustrating experience. I ordered this item only because I needed it the same day and confirmed that with an employee before purchasing. An hour later, I get an email saying it’s being shipped and won’t arrive for four days. I tried to exchange it for something they actually had in-house and even offered to pay the difference, but they refused. No flexibility, no accountability, and no effort to fix their mistake. Being told one thing before purchase and then getting the opposite after payment is unacceptable. This wasted my time and caused unnecessary stress. I won’t be doing business here again. Update: The owner responded quickly and asked me to email their team, which I did the same day. It has now been over two weeks with no follow-up or response. My order was clearly confirmed as a same-day pickup, yet after payment it was changed to a four-day shipment from a location about an hour away. I appreciated the initial response, but the complete lack of follow-through and accountability is unacceptable and only reinforces the experience described above.

It's always worth a visit to see what cool new gear they have at this location. Not much used inventory for guitars at the moment but the new stuff was great. No one really talks to you or approaches you ever so it's cool to wander around and then leave with no pressure. There's a benefit to being judged I guess 😂 or maybe it's new covid rules, idk. But sometimes it's nice when you find that cool guitar or accessory to take home.

Great staff. I've only been to one other location (Richmond, CA), and in this one the staff was pretty outgoing and friendly. Gear for days. Great selection of guitars, basses, drums, even some exotic percussion instruments. Lots of guitar accessories including pedals, picks, straps and strings.

Purchased this 2021 Les Paul 50s from the Visalia Guitar Center and I couldn’t have gotten such a well playing and beautiful guitar from anywhere else. It was all set up just how I like it and the employee that I talked to before ordering it was very honest about the guitar. If you’re looking to purchase a guitar, amp anything musical check this Visalia Guitar Center out, they did me right. Thank you

​As a military spouse, I know how hectic a PCS move can be, and the last thing we needed was a business taking unauthorized funds. My child took guitar lessons here and genuinely loved the instructors. However, the scheduling was consistently messy, with frequent calls asking us to switch times. To make rescheduling easier, I created an online profile. Somehow, Guitar Center used that profile to grab my credit card information, even though we had been paying exclusively with Christmas gift cards. ​When we received our relocation orders, I did everything by the book. I gave the staff a month's notice, a two-week notice, and on our final day, I stood at the desk and explicitly asked what was needed to cancel. I was assured we were good to go and that our "membership" wasn't even linked to a card. ​Fast forward to our move: right in the middle of spending thousands on hotels and relocating, Guitar Center hits my card for an unauthorized $150. When I called, the new lessons manager was completely unhelpful, offering zero accountability and refusing a refund despite the verbal guarantees I was given in person. Corporate has ignored my attempts to resolve this. The billing practices here are incredibly shady and fraudulent. Protect your wallet and do not give this location access to your card details.

I had a great experience being helped by Andy, who went above and beyond in helping process my trade-ins and getting me an amazing deal on a new bass in a very timely manner. Very appreciative of Andy and the store being flexible with my schedule. Other staff I interacted with were also polite and helpful. The store was clean and had a great selection of gear to choose from.

Not female friendly. Was excited to ask for help deciding on a bass as I've been saving up, but the workers don't even look your way if you're a woman. Very dismissive and focused only on the men of the store. Typical. Every time I tried to approach one of the four workers, they walked away and went to talk to one of the guys in the store or had something more important to do. Tried for 20 minutes before just walking out. So much for the excitement of a first bass 🙄

Hands down today this morning a Youngster made my day. I know I’m a Youngster too, but he definitely made my son happy my son has autism and wanted a set of drumsticks and he got what he wanted. Hands-down best employee that Place has.

The team at the Visalia Guitar Center is phenomenal thanks to the amazing leadership of the store manager, Vanessa Mata, and the ops manager, Shelby Tate. I purchased a used amp online and it turns out that the main GC website had a mistake in the listing. THe amp arrived perfectly packed. I reached out to the store about the listing mistake and they immediately responded and made things right for me! Couldn't be happier! As a long time GC customer i appreciate that Vanessa and Shelby did to make things right for me today!

Very helpful, very educational, and great vibe. Staff were amazing! Will definitely be doing more shopping there!

Been coming here since my mom first took me here as a child. Such a great store. They sell different instruments and music supplies. The staff is extremely helpful. It’s a staple of the community here. Now I come here for musical instruments and books for my niece. Glad it’s been around for so long and consistently keep the same customer service.

The staff is knowledgeable about orchestral stringed instruments. I got repairs done on my violin and they charged me a whole lot less than other places. They are kind and helpful. My new go-to store for my violin needs. 🙂

Morey's Music has been the go to for all our instrument needs for decades. I can't say enough good things about the team there. Expert advice, you won't find another store like it.

My son's school music teacher recommended this store to us. We were able to obtain a double bass for our son fairly quickly. The staff is both helpful and knowledgeable.

Super friendly staff and very reasonable pricing/turnover time. Morey’s did this amazing bow repair for me and I can’t get over how good it feels (better even!!) to be playing on my beautiful Morgan Andersen bow again. Thank you to the amazing people at Morey’s 🙂

They're great. Patient. Nice selection of violin cases. And if there's a room open, you can. Take time to try out a bunch of different bows.

beautiful store, gonna get me a standup bass from there (oneday maybe)

Recently purchased a Gretsch Tennessean guitar from Adam at Pitbull Audio. Rated as "Mint" on their website, the instrument was even better – in fact, it was pristine, as new. A truly beautiful guitar. Great communication, prompt free shipping, and even better – all at very competitive market price. A smooth transaction indeed. I would not hesitate in buying from Pitbull Audio again. Thank you again Adam, and the guys at Pitbull!

Clown outfit! Avoid at all costs! I ordered a Custom Shop Strat. Arrived with damaged case. They found it too difficult to help with the claim and I had to take care of it on my own. No communication, I had to keep calling them before I received an obvious :"we don't have time for you and it's too late anyways" last response. I also purchased it via a 24 month 0% APR deal and had payments worked out over 24 months. Luckily I looked at my statement as they had made it 18 months and it comes with deferred interest charge of $800 if I don't pay it off in 18 months. Luckily discovered in time but puts a bit of a pinch of finances. Called Synchrony Bank and they confirmed Pitbull Audio made the terms…. Check your statement and call your bank if you signed up for similar plan!

The guys did an amazing job setting up my Duesenberg – I'm so happy! I had taken this guitar to another very well known place in San Diego (not Guitar Center), for a set up earlier this year and was so disheartened after . I wanted the action lowered. 14 days later it was ready, but while testing it before leaving the shop I noticed there was so much string buzz that I had no other choice but to reject it. They listened to it and seemed puzzled why they hadn't heard it before and asked if they could keep it another week – to which I obliged. 7 days later I they notified me it was ready – and déjà vu all over again… buzz everywhere, as if they didn't do anything to it. Showing them again the buzz, they seemed puzzled yet again, then put so much relief on the neck that it was bowed convex! Intonation was off, stability sucked… I ended up just leaving with it. I finally took it to Pitbull and explained everything. 2 days later I was called to come pick it up , and after playing, it was as if the heavens opened up and shone the love of God upon my weary soul. It plays like a dream – tuning stability, intonation, everything. I will bring everything back to Pitbull from now on – thanks!!

Great pricing. Quality merchandise, and awesome customer service. I've watched and browsed their site for awhile, and then finally pulled the trigger and purchased a bass guitar from them. Mayones Patriot 5. Had question concerning the instrument and Fernando Fajardo was very informative, always quick and eager to respond to my emails, and worked with me to address some concerns with shipping. He addressed them quickly and I'm a happy customer. Shipping was quick and overall very happy with the entire experience. Highly recommend them for any and all of your musical needs. I've already made my second purchase and looking forward to receiving some more quality equipment. Definitely give Pitbull Audio a look see if your in the market for some equipment. Thanks for all your help Fernando Fajardo.

I purchased a Suhr guitar online from Pitbull Audio and they were fantastic to deal with. They fielded my questions over the phone efficiently, offered a fair price on the guitar and shipped quickly. I recommend. If I am ever in the area, I will definitely stop by their shop.

My experience with Ihomi and Alex was extremely disappointing. I placed my order during their Early Black Friday Sale, and late the next day Alex contacted me saying their system had a "glitch" and the items were priced incorrectly. Instead of honoring the listed price, they switched my order to a floor model without telling me upfront. They also refused to honor the free shipping that was advertised. Alex said he would "take a loss" if he refunded it, which felt unprofessional and shifted the responsibility onto me as the customer. Throughout the conversation, he was also noticeably short and rude, which made the situation even more frustrating. Because I didn’t trust their shipping process at that point, I decided to pick up the order in person. I paid the additional $40 for the accessory cover, and Alex told me it would be drop shipped from the factory since they were out of stock. However, that cover was never sent. After taking my payment, communication stopped completely with no tracking number, no updates, and no follow up at all. This entire experience showed a lack of honesty, professionalism, and reliability. If you are considering buying from this store, please be aware of the issues I encountered and proceed with caution. Based on everything that happened, I cannot recommend this store.

Review for online sales – Ordered a product from the website. After several days of my order "processing" I wrote an email inquiring about said status. The next day did the same. Crickets. Finally, I inquired again and received a reply that the product was not in stock and would be drop shipped, could I wait? I said I could. Then received an email saying it would be several more weeks. I canceled the order. Order still said processing a day later. I wrote to them explaining I’d disputed the charge made to my card for the full amount of the items they didn’t even have in stock two weeks earlier. After all of this, they tried to gaslight me by saying they’d refunded me earlier. They had not. Credit card company supported the dispute. Wouldn’t consider trying them again.

I’ve been on a waiting list for this 75th Anniversary Fender Telecaster in Liquid Gold. And by chance found one here at the International House of Music. This place is my New Go To for anything Music. Alex was my Sales Representative and couldn’t have been more helpful than he was today. I will never step foot in a Guitar Center ever again.

Great place to do business. I ordered a bass from them new and they called to let me know the only one they had was actually a floor sample. They wanted to make sure that was ok with me. When I said it was they voluntarily added a few "extras" to sweeten the deal, and the bass arrived a few days later well packed and in perfect condition. Some other stores would have just thrown what they had in a box and let it go without saying anything.

International House of Music knows Los Angeles, and they know what we need for performing and playing in LA their prices is beat Guitar Center without even trying and their service is unbeatable! They bend over backwards to make you happy and stretch your dollar out. It makes no sense to go anywhere else in LOS ANGELES. 8TH & LOS ANGELES BLVD.