What a pleasant experience I had while getting my daughter's trumpet repaired! Raleigh, the brass…read morerepair specialist, saw me right away and, after diagnosing the issue as a simple fix, completed it while I waited. Not only that, he chatted with me as he worked--I really enjoyed learning about his passion for brass instruments and the band he's part of. He even went the extra mile, fixing a few dents and adjusting a key that wasn't quite up to his standards. It was a great experience, and I will definitely be back for all of my family's instrument needs.

I have been buying from this shop for over 30 years. I've…read moreseen Vern there forever and he is still there. I like the variety and set up of the shop. My Excalibur guitar was purchased from the old shop in 1993. Good place for used gear and have always been treated well. I've only been yelled at once for playing too loud.....lol

Reviewing as a total music novice family. We needed to rent a violin for my 5th grader for…read moreorchestra. We could not have been more helpful, patient and kind helping us set up a rental. Similarly, when we made the return at the end of the school year, the process was seamless! Highly recommend!

Just bought a ukelele from here to keep practicing as a beginner, they have good intro/beginner…read morepieces up to more expensive and studier pieces. The range I saw was from sale items at 49.99 up to 200+, they have a good, moderate amount of choices at each level, with different brands and accompanying acessories! My ukelele is a soprano, a great beginner ukelele I was practicing with, got it for $75 with tax and a carrying bag included in my purchase, if I remember correctly, tag price was $69.99 I did ask if there was something similar to a brand/type of ukelele I started my practice with but I was then getting sold onto the more expensive pieces that I didn't have experience with and didn't ask for so that was a miss for me. Wish I got more of a relevant recommendation but the workers were sweet, they let us browse by ourselves for a good amount of time before stepping in (which good for me because I needed time to think, compare, and browse). When we went, there were a handful of other customers inside the store, it's located in a small shopping center but the store is bigger inside than it appears on the outside. The parking situation was just okay, not bad, could use a tad bit more space, we went ~1p the parking lot was full minus 2-3 spots but I noticed cars came and went from the time we got there until we left so it seems like there's a couple spots free at any given time due to the traffic coming in and out for small errands. Lots of instruments and accessories to be found inside and the workers seem to be happy to help find what is needed! Pretty well organized inside to find what you need on your own though, I was able to find the ukeleles quickly.

I just finished my last group class with Chris and am very happy with his teaching and my progress!…read more I decided this summer to learn guitar. I played clarinet (poorly) and a little piano in HS so I knew the basics of music, but had never touched a guitar. On the first night, my fingers hurt and I was sure this wasn't going to work. But Chris and Matt took it slow and now, after 3 months, I know 14 chords and can play a dozen recognizable songs! Granted, no one wants to sit and listen to me play yet, but I am so much farther than I thought possible! I plan to take it to the next level with Chris. And when my daughter is ready, I think we will start here here as well.

I have both of my boys learning piano and guitar at SJG for past few years and I have a good…read moreexperience with all the teachers they have

As a professional violinist and violin teacher, I was very pleased to find this shop. The luthier…read moreis very skilled and made a big improvement in the sound of my ailing violin. New bridge, sound post and fingerboard needed attention. I was traveling from out of town and the shop accommodated my travel schedule with a very quick turnaround. When all was said and done, the invoice was for a very modest price. Highly recommend for service work. If you are in need of a fine student instrument, Scott Cao violins is a leader in providing high quality string instruments that will serve an aspiring string player well for many years to come. I would recommend this shop for students of all levels.

A few years ago, before I had ever gone to Scott Cao Violins, I was a little timid about trying out…read moretheir shop, because I was more familiar with the older, more established violin shops in the area: Kamimoto Strings (my longtime go-to), Stevens Violin Shop (are they even around any more?), and Patrick Heaney Violins (a little far for me; plus, their service in one encounter was really disappointing). At some point, I became dissatisfied with the service I received at Kamimoto Strings and so I decided to give Scott Cao Violins a try the next time I needed some work done on my cello. I have to say I was really pleasantly surprised with their service, in terms of quality, price, friendliness and turnaround time. Since then, I have been going to Scott Cao Violins pretty much exclusively. I love the convenience of the location and hours for my personal situation, and I haven't been disappointed once with their service. They always deliver what they promise, and I'm really glad I finally decided to give this lovely store a try. In fact, I even bought a cello bow from them recently. Can't recommend them enough.

It's been about 6 months since we found Nina as the piano teacher for our 5 year old daughter JW,…read moreand we have been very happy to have Nina with us. Needless to say, not only is she very professional at piano, but also as most important is that she is very patient and nice and knows well how to encourage and teach our kid. Our daughter likes Nina a lot and she is really making progress and she will have a recital for the holiday celebration soon with Nina co-playing. Looking at the music journey where we started at 0 and now my kid can play lovely and quite complicated songs, it's just amazing, we hope with Nina the journey will bring us to further exciting milestones! Looking forward to the recital! Thanks Nina!

My 5 year old daughter has been taking lessons with Nina for the past year and loves it. Now, she…read morelooks forward to it every week. I can still remember that she was nervous in her first lesson with Nina. So I quietly told Nina before the class that she was a big Disney fan, and she blew her away by surprising her with Disney music. My littler girl was super excited and telling me how much she wanted to learn piano with Nina in the car on our way home. That's the time my little girl start liking piano. Nina is not only a teacher who always makes her lessons interesting, but also a good mentor who taught my little girl right learning attitude toward music, or any other things she learns in school. My little girl and Nina became friends both in lessons and after lessons. Additionally, Nina is very professional, having both her Bachelor's and Master's degree from top music schools in Piano major. We can make sure that my daughter's talent won't be ruined by those piano teachers who didn't have much professional training before and just teach for money ending up destroying children's potential piano careers. We are so blessed that we met Nina and have her to be my little girl's piano teacher. Our family are obviously huge fans of Nina's piano studio, and my 5 yr-old and I would both recommend her lessons to anybody who wants to take fun yet professional piano lessons.

Keith resurrected my late dad in law's 1952 Gibson GA-40. He kept it as original as possible and…read moretook exactly to where I wanted it to be. Very knowledgeable, to the point, honest and kind. There is a wait because he's that good.

They diagnosed and fixed my fender Hot Rod Deville that was squealing badly. I could find anyone…read moreelse in town. Thanks Amp Lab!

Took my SG in for a setup. Super pleased with the results! Cool shop, nice gear and staff were…read morefriendly and helpful. This place is a gem

We're very lucky to still have this music shop in San Jose…read more... Very friendly knowledgeable experienced staff.... I just had the intonation set up on my old Gibson Paul and it plays great... Ask for Terry to set up your guitar... Thank you.

The owners and instructors at Tavan have all the qualities you could ask for: knowledgeable,…read moreprofessional, accommodating, and best of all, nice! Maryam especially deserves a shout-out for juggling schedules of students and instructors, especially when vacation time arrives and everyone is away. They're extremely patient--not only in scheduling, but also in teaching. My sons were beginning piano players, and they know everyone struggles at first. Never do they get frustrated with slow progress--they always encourage their students and motivate them to become better musicians. For advanced musicians, the instructors can help them get to the next level, as demonstrated by their twice-yearly recitals. I also like how they don't sell stuff in their studio--I kidded them about that because it seems every place that offers lessons also has a supply store. Amir, one of the founders, said that's just not who they are. My two boys have been getting great instruction and learned to love music even more!

My son is lucky to have Amir as his piano instructor. He is able to connect with him and chat…read moreabout sports and then shift to the piano instructor mode and make learning how to play fun and cool. The school is a gem and I highly recommend it.

Heidi is an amazing teacher! Our daughter started almost 2 years ago taking private lessons and…read moreHeidi is incredibly patient and talented with teaching piano to people of all ages. We can't recommend her enough!

Heidi is amazing and very good with young kids. She has been teaching my daughter for some time and…read moremy daughter adores her. Highly recommend her.

Looking into learning an instrument for yourself and/or your kids? Then check out Avloni Academy of…read moreMusic located in the beautiful and peaceful city of Saratoga! I started taking piano lesson with Marianna, a lovely lady who is cheerful and energetic! She is a talented and well-educated piano soloist and accompaniment. As a teacher, she is caring and know what it takes to guide students in the right direction to give them the utmost music education possible! Music is challenging in general, but Marianna makes every single lesson fun while productive. I am blessed to have her as my teacher! A few months of piano lesson, I learned of Avloni Academy of Music and decided to take violin lessons at the school. There, I met Mr. Alex who was once part of an orchestra performing in multiple countries in Europe. While having many years of experiences as a performer, Mr. Alex also specialized in educating students. While I could only take a few lessons with Mr. Alex until my work schedule changed, I can say Mr. Alex is a great teacher with a very calm and compose personality. He cares for his students and want to grow them, so if you want to learn violin, Mr. Alex is certainly the one! Did I not mention the couple owner of the school yet? How can we not include them in the review! Teachers and school location are important factors, but we cannot forget the folks that run the show! I'd like to give a shout-out to Kin and Tina, the couple who owns the school, a huge applause for their dedication and swift responses to students' needs and wants! So, give them a ring for any musical education, either for you or your child!

Ms Tina is a fantastic teacher. She started with our daughter when she was 6 and her playing has…read moreexceeded our expectations. Tina will push her students to get better but also make sure they are comfortable and enjoying their experience. Our daughter will often sit at the piano and just play for fun. Very good combination of playing and reading notes/technical as well. Ms Tina played a lot to inspire students to feel and understand music better.