Buying an oud has been a longtime dream of mine, and I finally decided to take the first step…read more After some research, I came across Timbre Folk & Baroque and visited the store yesterday. From the moment I walked in, I felt welcomed. I had the pleasure of meeting Mark and his daughter -- both were incredibly kind, knowledgeable, and genuinely passionate about what they do. They took the time to patiently answer all of my questions, without ever making me feel rushed or pressured to buy anything. That level of honesty and respect is rare these days, especially in retail. It was clear to me that they care more about helping people find the right instrument than just making a sale. If you're looking for a place where you can trust the people behind the counter, this is it. I'm truly grateful places like this still exist. Thank you, Mark!

Easy to work with, responsive, knowledgeable. Convenient location. Fixed my husband's old guitar…read moreand also will be taking lessons with Pete!

I'm so happy that I found East Bay Guitar Repair. After having some subpar experiences with other…read moretechs in the bay, I can truly say that Mike is top tier. I have brought him 4 of my guitars now and the work has ranged from just a standard setup to installing new pickups with custom wiring and switches. He's knocked it out of the park every time. I am admittedly a pretty picky person when it comes to my guitars and Mike has been MORE THAN accommodating any time I had a follow up question or asked for a tweak or a second look. His setups have made my guitars play better than they ever have. His prices reflect the value that you get out of his services; and even though there most certainly will be a wait; it's well worth it. I hope to keep taking my guitars to Mike for as long as I am a bay area resident.

Mike did an excellent job improving a problematic old Fender Jazzmaster/partsmaster with some…read morefairly involving work. First, I had him install a Mastery bridge to replace a non-stock Vox-style bridge that was very noisy and plonky sounding. To do that, he first had to drill out and re-fill the existing, sloppily done dowel-and-drill work that was done decades ago--by another shop--to accommodate the funky Vox bridge, and then drill new bridge thimble holes for the Mastery. He also dealt with a problem with the old Fender-licensed Allparts neck: there was a sizable gap between the sides of the neck heel and the walls of the neck pocket routing, and he filled and re-drilled the neck's bolt holes so that the neck could be nudged forward to at least close the gap between the end of the neck heel and the body, which also helped to more accurately dial in the Jazzmaster's intended scale length. In addition, he replaced a noisy output jack and set the guitar up with 11-48-gauge strings, and it now plays *quite* nicely. No more rattling from the bridge, and the guitar has a more stable and playable feel to it. I'm happy with the quality of the work Mike did, and I would go to him again. I also like that you get to communicate with Mike in person, face to face. I've dealt with other repair shops where you don't get to talk with the person doing the work, which has sometimes resulted in a communication breakdown that had an impact on the work done. But with Mike, you schedule an appoint and you get to discuss with him--one on one--whatever work you'd like him to do, which is exactly how it should be.

I have had my tubas repaired and cleaned by Sean and his crew a few times now and I really love his…read morework and completely trust his shop. He modified the my F tuba to reduce the valve throw using a pretty creative solution which worked great. The thing I was most impressed by though is I came in complaining about a sticking valve on a relatively new tuba. This was clearly a manufacturing defect, and I need the value to work well for an upcoming concert. He was there on a weekend when the shop was closed and spent an hour meticulously going over the value to identify the problem and got it working perfectly while I waited for the repair. I highly recommend his shop for brass instrument repairs.

Always excellent service on wind instruments…read moreWe have been here throughout students years in band.

Love this local, intimate setting for amazing jazz! The hosts are friendly and welcoming, the…read moreperformances stellar. Parking easy. I highly recommend.

Everyone is nice except the owner. He is very rude and will burst into the practice room and yell…read moreat you without knocking on the door first if your name hasn't been printed out on the schedule yet even if you've prepaid hundreds of dollars in advance, questioning if you just sneak into the building and 'steal' their practice time. If you are looking for somewhere to practice piano and dont want to be yelled at l, I would recommend soundwave or blue bear music school, first come first serve, $5 per hour, no reservations, no drama. You can enjoy music itself in a nice mode

I brought in a custom offset tele for a set up and a Plekk. Tomm helped me. Took a few weeks but…read morethe waiting was well worth it! Expert repair and friendly service. These guys know their stuff. Up there with the smartest guitar folks in the Bay Area.

Took my mandolin in for a little glow-up, since I hadn't really had a proper setup in years. Fixed…read moreup my frets, got the bridge in the right spot, added bridge dams, secured my pickguard, and got everything adjusted and dialed in perfectly. I also just took the electric guitar setup class and learned so much. Until now, I've just been able to change my strings and hope for the best. Now I feel much more confident in being able to take accurate measurements and making the necessary adjustments. Highly recommended and thank you!

one of a kind guitar store - patronize them!…read more I've bought remotely from them for years and its always good, talk to someone on the phone to be clear on stuff

Took a vintage bass in to have a pickup installed and to replace some fingerboard dots. Yes, they…read moredid install the pickup and pots, but the volume knob went from low to high with no intermediary capability. The original had three knobs, they only wired for two. The replaced dots were not flush with the fingerboard. The bass has a floating bridge, which they installed in the wrong place, so I had to reset and intonate myself. Half-a$$sed work. Reasonable price though, so I guess you get what you pay for.

UPDATED REVIEW Daniel called and apologized and explained…read morewhy he wasn't around. I appreciate that, but still wish he put some sort of notification in his voicemail or on his business door. ---OLD REVIEW--- I dislike giving poor reviews, but I had a terrible experience with Daniel Olson. It's hard for me to believe that the previous reviews are true given my recent experience. This review isn't about Daniel's craftsmanship or expertise, but about how his business is run. Long story short, Daniel had extremely poor communication. Long version: I called two Wednesdays ago during his given business hours. He didn't pick up the phone, so I left a message. I didn't hear from him, so once again, tried calling on Friday. No one picked up and I didn't leave a message this time. Saturday comes and I finally get a call back from Dan, where we talked about me showing up on Wednesday to his business. He said to call when I'm on my way and confirmed his business hours. Last Wednesday, I drove all the way to his store, which is like a 30 min drive for me. I called him before I started the drive and left a message that I was on my way. Then when I arrived, the door to his shop was locked. I called his number and no one picked up, so I left a message that I was at his store. I tried calling his other business (speaker business) and no response there either. Its been another week and I have not heard back. Given this poor experience, I can't recommend Dan Olson. To me, his communication skills leaves a poor first impression and makes me feel like I can't trust him.

He is a lovely man; he took the time to find the right violin for my daughter. The violin is…read morebeautiful; it's art.

Saxology/SaxCraft is a great addition to the Berkeley music scene. It's a small world, always nice…read moreto see a familiar face. The shop is cool, lots of Sax material and useful knowledge to further your career as a saxologist. It was nice to meet Prof. Eric Drake himself on weekdays and get to know the one in the store. Of course check out the mouthpieces, there's a YouTube review online if you need back up. Stay involved!

Overpriced overhaul with sticky pads and a loose fitting neck that didn't fit the body. I actually…read moreended up taking this to another repairman after the overhaul to get it repaired yet again after multiple follow up visits that failed to address the problems.