All I can say is Lizzy J from Livermore. You could not be more wrong. I feel like family every…read moretime I go in there. Everyone in there is amazing and helpful. It sounds to me like you just have a stick up your you know what and you probably complain about everything. Everything is probably someone else's fault too. I have talked at length with Lightning Joe dozens of times and just had a heart to heart with Marlene on Saturday telling her that I feel like family there and that all of the friendliness from everyone there is genuine, not like some corporate restaurant where everyone is required to smile and pretend to be nice. In fact, I think that there is genuine jubilation over the fact that you will not be coming back. I gave them $5300 of my hard earned money for a beautiful one of a kind Martin on Saturday and I am stoked to high Heaven. Thanks Lightning Joe's. I love you guys. You rock.

I've always wanted to learn to play guitar, but, well... life happens. So when my husband surprised…read moreme with a guitar for my birthday, I decided it was finally time. A friend recommended Lightning Joe's for lessons, and I'm so glad they did! I filled out the form on their website and heard back quickly from Ashley, the lesson coordinator. She was friendly, responsive, and made the process super easy. She paired me with Charlie, and I can't say enough good things about him. The patience that man has is remarkable! I've been taking lessons for a couple of months now, and Charlie's encouraging attitude and easygoing style make me genuinely look forward to every session. Whether you're brand new like me or brushing up after years away, this place feels welcoming and supportive. Highly recommend the lessons program at Lightning Joe's!

We discovered Village Creative through Heartland Charter School. Any business that wants to become…read morean official Heartland vendor has to go through a thorough vetting process for approval and is sure to offer a quality experience. My daughters are enjoying classes with Brendan and Michael. Both teachers are very patient as they guide the girls through their first exposure to musical instruments. I appreciate the quantity of instruments they get to try as they find what they most enjoy. My 5 year old loves the drums! Who knew? We love the little location in the village where we can walk for a snack or coffee after class. Overall, it's been an enjoyable experience so far.

Village Creative is fantastic! I have two daughters in voice lessons there and they are measurably…read moregrowing in both skill and confidence. They also love going, which as a parent, is huge. We have found the administration to be communicative and easy to work with. I noticed another review on here that seemed to have trouble in this regard and it made me wonder if they were talking about the right place. I myself am a professional musician and when people ask me where their kids should look to learn more about music and get involved I always point them to Village Creative.

Tevelde is truly a wonderful and accepting place. I am a student at their school and have had three…read moredifferent teachers, all of which I absolutely adore. They are all just extraordinary teachers and when you walk in, you already feel safe and happy. The vibe is just all around great. Miss Bonnie Tevelde is the owner and gets really excited if you're excited to learn. She often gets into many different aspects of music and will almost definitely have sheet music on hand of your favorite song. She is all over the place, but somehow seems to keep it managed in an orderly fashion. She is such a great teacher and incredible owner. Miss Sierra Gainer, soon to be Mrs. Sierra Shiver, is such a sweetheart of a teacher. I, personally, have not had her as a teacher, but just the encounters I have had with her before my lessons are amazing because her smile just makes you feel like the place is a little bit warmer. She teaches many instruments, but her specialties from what I've seen are ukulele, piano, and voice. She is so nice and sweet, and she definitely is worth having for a lesson. Or two. Or however many you would like. And finally, Miss Shaira Benitez. She is my current teacher, and let me tell you, she is so good at what she does. She is the one that teaches most of the theory I know, she teaches some piano, and voice. Her voice is so powerful and she is definitely able to teach you that too, as she has taught me. So if you need preparation for that audition you've been so nervous about, she's your woman. Also, she's a huge goofball, so honestly, just be prepared for some pretty bad dad jokes. All in all, this school is definitely the school you would want to attend for music lessons. You may go in thinking "they may not be able to do anything with me, I have such horrible music skills", you'd be wrong because I went in thinking the same thing for my first lesson. As soon as my first lesson was over with, I knew that my time here was going to be great. I've been attending this school for 1 hour a week for about a year and a half now, and honestly, it's just such a great environment. If music is your passion, then this establishment would be your place to express it.

I cannot tell you how much I love this place!!! We are new to the area and my Son was interested in…read moreplaying the drums. I googled music lessons that were around me and the TeVelde Conservatory of Music came up. I went to their website, which is very put together, got to read the bio of it, as well as see each picture of each of the music teachers. We met with Bonnie, the owner. She is EXTREMELY excited about music and is a very "hands on" owner, which I appreciate! Her team of teachers are the creme dela creme, if you ask me. She has your child take a test and based on their personality, they are set up with the corresponding teacher. Michael is my Son's piano and drums teacher and he is just an AWESOME human being. We just love him. My Son looks forward to coming to music!! The prices are quite a bit higher than others, BUT you get what you pay for and this place is WORTH EVERY CENT!!!

I'm so glad I found Steve's shop. After moving to the Central Coast 2 years ago, I needed to find…read moresomeone I could trust to work on my guitars. Steve has done pickup replacements and full setups for me on several of my electric and acoustic guitars (Gibson LP, Eastman SB59, G&L ASAT Classic 'S', and an Eastman E10-00-SS). His work has been exceptional and done with great care and respect. He's very easy to work with, has a great sense of humor, and though busy, always seems to get jobs done within a reasonable time. Most recently, I brought in my Eastman acoustic to get the (very tall) bone saddle and action lowered. I brought in my Taylor 514CE (which Gryphon Guitars in Palo Alto had worked on to dial in its action), for Steve to see and play, and serve as an example of the setup I wanted for the Eastman. Not only did Steve match the action on my Taylor, but the Eastman turned out even easier to play! Great work. Needless to say, I've definitely found my go-to guitar shop here.

My Martin D-28 is my baby. I play music for a living and play my guitar daily. It's been long…read moreoverdue for a fret job but I've had reluctance on letting just anyone work on her. I heard about Steve from multiple respected sources and I finally caved and brought the guitar in. Well I just my guitar back and it sounds and plays like a dream. It actually feels like I first remember out of the Martin factory. Steve was very kind and told me if I need anything adjusted to let him know. His price was affordable and most of all his work shows true professionalism. I highly recommend him. I wish I could give him more stars.

THE BEST! Right before a gig I broke a few strings on my guitar and ran straight to them for the…read morefirst time. The staff was so incredibly sweet and eager to help me. I wish I could've gotten their names. They probably fixed my guitar within 30-45 min and saved my life! Would recommend!

Tired of dealing with trash in Santa Barbara, specifically the weird upper state/uptown Santa…read moreBarbara people (like the sutter hospital case) that think they're above the law. Also dealing with children whose first or second year being employed and or running the store. So this Michael, curly haired man was telling me that they didn't have a book I wanted so I was going to resort to the normal route-buying it on Amazon and getting it shipped to my door the next day. But he insisted that he can get it transferred from another store and it'll be three days tops, he took my info down and said he'll give me a ring after it arrives. And I wanted to support local so I waited the old school way. After two weeks went by I didn't get a call or text so I decided to call them and this lady picks up and said yes they do have it. I came in the store and they didn't have it and he went off angry and screaming at me basically because I'm a dummy - 'like if you don't put a deposit down, you won't get it.' He was saying it all fast paced and clearly very annoyed of me. I mean what are they busy doing? All of the instruments I've touched are all dusty and ragged looking and most are made in china and doubled the price of online. He initially told me I didn't even need to put a deposit and now he's screaming at me and irritated at me and arguing back and forth with a customer. Unprofessional and milks the hourly doing nothing. I hope no one supports this outdated looking and made in china products store. If you want great customer service from all departments for music- go to Santa Maria, Oxnard or Westlake Village for The Guitar Center, they are super professional and they're actually rockstars that will keep you and/or your child inspired.

Paul has tuned our piano for more than ten years and is always polite and professional- the piano…read moretuning is done expertly-Paul doesn't boast but we had asked about his history and he shared that he was lucky enough to once have tuned Ray Charles' piano (despite not getting to meet him). He explained minute details of things he didn't have to do and what he did to refine our piano and extend its longevity too. Great man. He did arrive an hour early, Not recalling where we were left he wanted to make sure he was not late and obviously he may have been FaceTime Tami. We didn't and he was a consummate professional.

I had to go on a limb and trust him since I couldn't be home while the parlor grand piano was being…read moretuned. He called me while tuning and mentioned it would cost an additional 150 to fix the piano, to which I agreed but mentioned I'd have to mail the check to him. I got home and the piano was still very flat (around 20 cents), I could hardly tell it was tuned at all. The next week I get a threatening-sounding call from him asking "where the hell" his money is, and he said if it didnt show up in his PO Box he'd come back to my apartment and confront me directly. I'm guessing the money arrived because I never heard back from him. Overall, the piano was still poorly tuned, he charged extra for an. unnoticeable difference, and was completely rude and unprofessional when the money didn't arrive as quickly as he had hoped. Maybe he does a better job with uprights, but at least for grand pianos, do not use this person for tuning.

Juan & staff can help you with your music needs. I take my guitars for maintenance and they do an…read moreexcellent job

I needed a set of strings quick as possible and was hoping to find them in Santa Maria. I checked…read morein Google and found 3 locations, one I remember but I stopped going there because they were mainly teaching lessons and a few music accessories. Then another location but it was mostly music dvds and cds but it didn't give enough information on what they exactly do. But I came across Rangel and it looked like it would have what I need plus more. I got to the store and wow, it was set up pretty nice, I got to play a couple of classical guitars and then found they carried the guitar strings I needed, nice! Sales associates were very good, so glad I was able to find this place, I'll be coming back, in fact all musicians need to find this gem.

my Granddaughter got the most amazing Tutor. She has maintain an a in math since beginning to work…read morewith Sulluvan. Very impressed and highly recommend.

We first enrolled with Grade Potential Tutoring in Austin, Texas last year. The tutor assigned to…read moremy daughter was excellent--she enjoyed working with her, and I believe the sessions had a positive impact on her grades. When summer arrived, we decided to pause tutoring services since our schedule becomes much busier due to frequent out-of-state travel. I notified Grade Potential that we would not be using tutoring services during the summer, requested that billing be stopped, and indicated we would resume once the school year began. However, I later noticed continued billing from Grade Potential despite my previous notification. Assuming it was an oversight, I contacted their office and spoke with a representative who reversed the charges. I believed that resolved the issue and that we would restart services when school resumed. To my surprise, while reviewing my credit card statement later, I discovered several additional unauthorized charges from Grade Potential. I contacted them again, and while the charges were again reversed, I expressed frustration and requested that no further billing occur unless we were actively using their services. When the new school year began, our previous tutor was no longer with the company, so we requested a replacement. The new tutor was excellent as well. Unfortunately, her visit reminded me to review my account again--at which point I discovered three more unauthorized charges made during the months we were not receiving services. I contacted the company a third time to request refunds and expressed my displeasure with their billing practices. I was referred to a manager named Taylor, to whom I explained the situation. Taylor offered to refund only two of the three unauthorized payments, stating that their system required at least one charge to keep the account active. This explanation is unacceptable. Their internal computer system should not result in customers being charged for services not rendered. I made it clear that I expected a full refund and explained that we would continue only if the issue was resolved. Otherwise, we would terminate our business relationship. Taylor was dismissive, spoke over me during the conversation, and was generally unprofessional. As a result, I decided to discontinue doing business with Grade Potential Tutoring. This is disappointing because the tutors themselves were excellent. Unfortunately, the company's billing practices and poor customer service overshadow their good work. I will no longer be using Grade Potential Tutoring and would advise others to proceed with caution unless they are comfortable being billed for services they did not receive. I have since contacted my credit card company, explained the situation, and was promptly reimbursed for the unauthorized charges.

Amazing and talented - and truly gifted entertainer. What a…read morepleasure to listen to his music! Grateful for finding this artist on the central coast!! Kind and generous but most of all I would describe his talent as "divine".

We were fortunate enough to meet Jon at Lido Bar at Dolphin Bay Resort a few years ago and have…read morefollowed him wherever he plays. Probably the most passionate and soulful musician I've ever heard. Such talent! We continue to follow him at just about all venues in SLO county to this day. All original music that will take you to on a journey. Absolute love him and his talent!! Donna H