It appears Mark is the person you want to deal with. Randy, on the other hand, although seemingly…read moreknowledgeable, will mislead you to make a sale. Long story short (and I have all the text messages to prove my point), he very clearly told me that he was NOT a dealer (I was hoping to buy from an individual to avoid needing to pay sales tax), only to find out that he absolutely is a dealer, and that of course, like any other retail business, they must charge sales tax. I also told him very clearly what my budget was on the phone, and he said he would love to "roll out the red carpet" and show us, and that he is certain he can make a deal work for us. Well, his deal was so much higher than what we had already discussed, that it was a pointless drive to Dripping Springs. Later, I found an individual selling the piano we're looking for and learned that they purchased it from Pier Branch. The individual stated that the warranty would transfer as long as you use Pier Branch to do the moving. Because of my initial bad experience, I decided to call Randy to confirm this was true. He answered my call, and was happy to talk to me about pianos again, but when I let him know that I was just calling to confirm that the warranty would transfer, he abruptly stopped the conversation, saying very clearly that the warranty will not transfer, and that "I'm having lunch right now, can I call you back?" (How much you wanna bet he never calls?) The private seller indicated to me that he had just spoken with Mark 2 days prior, and that he assured that the warranty would transfer. The private seller also said that Mark is much more professional and that he too, did not like Randy. All this said, it does seem like they have some nice pianos, and in the RETAIL world, their prices are reasonable. Just don't deal with RANDY.

We purchased our baby grand piano through Pier Branch Music, and we're so glad we did!…read more Randy was knowledgable, accommodating, patient, and totally void of any salesman-y hard sell. Plus they backed the sale with a great warranty, and put us in touch with good piano technicians to-boot. I highly recommend them to anyone.

DO NOT take your instrument here for setups…read more I visited Musicians Woodshed last week and initially spoke with one of the guitar techs, Jett Boyd, who was polite and professional. We discussed my bass guitar and the possibility that some frets might need adjustment. When I returned the following week after noticing some fret buzz, I spoke with Miles Manglos. I explained that I prefer a very straight neck with low action and that I was not interested in adding more relief to the neck. Because of that, the logical solution would have been to address the fret work. Instead, he suggested doing a setup that would involve adding relief and raising the action--the exact opposite of what I had just explained I wanted. When I asked whether that meant adding neck relief and how that would affect the current setup, he couldn't clearly explain it. I also mentioned that at a different shop in another city, a tech had previously performed a setup even though I specifically asked him not to and only wanted the jack repaired. I brought this up simply to explain why I was trying to be very clear about the work I wanted done. Instead of addressing the issue professionally, Miles abruptly declined to work on the instrument and told me to leave. He was dismissive and repeatedly said he didn't understand what I was saying. A competent guitar tech or luthier should be able to translate what a musician is describing and communicate clearly about the work being recommended. If a shop cannot or does not want to perform a certain service, that's fine--but it should be handled respectfully and professionally. Unfortunately, this interaction came across as pretentious and unhelpful, and it left a very negative impression of the shop.

Miles and Alex were awesome to talk with. Super friendly and knowledgeable. I will definitely be…read moreback.

If you know Collings Guitars, then I cannot imagine a debate on 5 stars. Truly spectacularly well…read moremade, fine instruments that grace this Earth and occasionally my humble hands. I found Collings years ago through a Texan friend and Gryphon Stringed Instruments in Palo Alto, CA (an incredibly wonderful guitar store). I don't know about you. but I over-think larger purchases and Collings ain't cheap, Skipper. So I analyzed the options to death. Finally I hid in a practice room and A-B'd the crap out of a Collings and a Santa Cruz. An easy decision. It's all about the tone in the end. Collings' fine materials and careful craftsmanship end up producing superior sound time and time again. I want another Collings but then I also want to meet Marilyn Monroe. One year I played an $18K carved top f-hole jazz guitar Bill Collings was about to deliver to Gary Trudeau, the creator of Doonesbury. The fact that Bill let me play it says something about what a nice man he is. This quality is in every Collings guitar. I love saying Hello to the Collings guys when I can get a pass into the NAMM show. They have started making electrics, which is a scary thought, because they look and play incredibly as you might expect. There is God and then there is Bill Collings. Case closed

I've currently have 2 acoustic Collings guitars...1991 SJ Maple and 2003 CJ Rosewood. I have also…read moreowned a 2007 CJ MA. All of them have been great guitars. I have owned Martin D28s (brazilian) and several Guild D40 and one F50R. Collings wins hands down. Best acoustic guitar made in a factory in my opinion. Get one or two!

I took my sax in to get it serviced and Micaiah Navarrete did an amazing job on my Alto Sax! I…read morewasn't sure if it was beyond repair, but he made this thing sound amazing!! I definitely recommend him to anyone needing work on their wind instrument!!

These guys are great! I was in a time crunch to get my son's cornet fixed before school started…read more Every other shop had long wait times. Better Than New got the repair done in less than 24 hours! They were quick, friendly and reasonably priced.

Steven was my daughter's guitar teacher for about a year. He is great, very patient, and most…read moreimportantly, he taught my daughter how to play the guitar when that seemed like an impossible task. I would definitely recommend his services. We had a great experience with him.

Steve is an excellent teacher & musician. He has a wide breadth of knowledge, both practically and…read moretheoretically. His lessons are a great value relative to the quality of instruction you receive. I have made great progress in my playing throughout our lessons and would highly recommend him to anyone. Just ask him to rip it up and you will be in awe, feel inspired, and probably realize how far you have to go! Particularly helpful is his willingness to tailor learning pathways to your specific goals and tie in your favorite musicians and styles while also exposing you to cool, obscure, and interesting artists and genres. As a bonus, he will give you that good guitar wisdom, funny anecdotes, and show you that the instrument is a life-long passion project that requires curiosity about yourself and the world around you. Pretty helpful stuff!

I was in a garage band in college almost 2 decades ago, and we occasionally get together to jam,…read morebut recently we decided we wanted to rent a room in a studio to jam. Looking at all the options in the Austin area, Space ATX was convenient, affordable, and we just liked the overall vibe. The space itself is deceptively big. The exterior is relatively modern and inviting. The entrance and lobby is a funky, trendy, yet retro. The place is immaculate, and everything looks in order. The staff is helpful and professional You can choose from standard rooms, large rooms, rooms for recording audio or video. The rooms have an hourly and daily rate. The rooms provide solid acoustics, and they keep any unwanted external noise out Some tips: It's a much better deal to go with the daily rate, and honestly, it's incredibly affordable. The large room can be reserved for the day for just over $200. And this reservation goes past midnight into the morning if you need. It's BYOB, so, bring a cooler and drinks. The rooms get a little warm, so, I would consider bringing a fan or two We had a blast getting the band back together, and while we were taking a break outside on one of the benches, we watched so many bands and solo artists funnel in and out, and we thought to ourselves... what if these guys or this person is the next big thing. What if we are? It was exciting, and we had an amazing time Cheers!!

Great space to practice, still very affordable. Had some issues with getting someone to pick up the…read morephone, but the owner personally reached out to me and fixed it, comped a night of practice for us. We love coming here to work!

Amazing boutique music store. MCG has one of the best collection of pedals in Austin. Great gear…read moreand instruments that they don't keep behind a counter or glass cases, so you can pickup and play that '73 Fender Jazz Bass without pressure. Plenty of new gear and a great selection of unique used gear and pedals!

This shop is by far the best in Austin. Great selection and Cade was super friendly and helpful.read more

Honest work and great prices. This guy is a real straight shooter. I highly recommend him if it's…read morea partscaster, repair, or custom build. He does it all.

All star. The dude is humble and gets everything done for a good price and in a short period of…read moretime. He was EXCELLENT