I have been playing music for 30 years. That said, I have seen my share of music shops ranging from…read morethe good, the bad, to the ugly. I've traveled for and wide to pick up a musical instrument I'd been hunting for, sometimes to different states. That said, I've seen it all. However, Robbie's is something else, entirely different than anything I've ever experienced.
This store has a legacy, for sure. This was a great place to go back in the day, and I'd often find some hard-to-find items here. Prices were fair back then and staff were eager to strike up conversation and talk music.
However, it does not live up to its legacy and is now a shell of what it once was. I'd been here several times in the 90's, and it was seedy, a little weird, but reputable. Staff cared, quality instruments were available, you could talk music with the staff, and they had lots of inventory. All of this made for a fun and unique experience that was different than elsewhere.
Fast forward to present day: There is a large selection of musical instruments. Some appear to have been there for ages, though. Prices are high and unreflective of true value. Perhaps this is why the inventory remains abundant with items that appear to be fossils there for years. The instruments cooking in the sun in the massive plate glass windows makes me wince every time I pass the place. Those poor drum kits have to be being absolutely destroyed sitting in that magnified sun.
The environment seems to lack any sort of overall care or upkeep. Want to sell an instrument? Best of luck. Absolutely rock bottom pricing will be offered, almost to the point where you are forced to support Guitar Center. Many of us musicians like to support local, but these folks make that hard. Want to buy used? Prepare for the price to be inflated.
The staff seem inconvenienced and annoyed that you've decided to patron their store, almost as if they don't want or need your money. A while back, went in for a simple repair that they quoted me on, never heard back from them, and when I called, they had decided to simply not do it or get around to it.
Hours are odd, never a car in the parking lot. They open and close when they decide to. Odds are they won't be open when you get there, which has happened to me and other buddies of mine multiple times.
Word going around is that it will be shuttered soon. I understand it, especially given how this place is run.