Very surprised at the negative views I've seen. Went into the shop yesterday to look at some Faith guitars, first time I had been- so not on a first name basis with everyone yet. But staff were very friendly, helpful and had great product knowledge. And the setups- every guitar I played had been given an excellent set-up- usually guitars ship with a fairly high action of 3mm at 12th fret or just under, for adjustment purposes but also due to transit affecting the guitar whereas I prefer 2.5mm. I tried a Yamaha, a Seagull, and Faiths which were all excellent to play. Went for a Faith Hi-Gloss Venus cutaway with the Shadow HEX pickup in the end- awesome guitar. Pay the rest of it off and collect on friday. This is a high end store, but one with excellent product selection from low to high price point guitars and great prices that are hard to beat anywhere else! I found the atmosphere in MCM is friendlier and more laid-back than in the 2 big stores I visited on the way- in the 2 big stores I didn't feel comfortable asking to try anything. Thanks for the help and great customer service guys! read more

Have shopped in this store for many years and bought guitars, amplification, pedals, recorders and other bits and bobs. I am very surprised at the negative reviews above as in all the times I have been in the shop I have never seen such behaviour. I can only assume that this was an unfortunate event, and certainly not one that happens often, judging by the comments I have heard from other customers. The shop is small, but is moving soon to larger premises. The level of customer service is very high, with great care taken of guitars before they are put on display, and after every playing they are checked and polished before being returned. The prices are great if someone thinks these are average prices, then please let me know where they are better! Just because prices are labelled budget does not mean that the service is! In the era of mass merchandising Merchant City Music is a store which stands for service and value. I have always found their advice be exceptionally unbiased, whether buying an inexpensive pedal or a top of the line guitar. read more

I've just had a fantastic experience with Merchant City Music, and I'm based all the way on the other side of the Atlantic here in NYC. I was on the hunt for a guitar that was extremely difficult to find, owing to its going out of production. A gentleman by the name of Richard Cameron succeeded where shops all over the USA and all over Europe failed me. This gentleman and his people used initiative and went on the hunt for me to try and nail this rarity for me. And he succeeded. He was straight up, completely honest, and gave a square deal. I can't stress enough how helpful this guy was and how happy I am. This guitar is off the market now and I'm probably the last guy to get one, and I had to reach all the way across the Atlantic to people I never met and had to trust them with my thousand bucks. A scary proposition. So I can easily say--if you're looking for a good music shop with a good bunch of gents on staff, MCM are it. I've been playing for 40 years. Trust me, I know what I'm talking about. read more

I have been hankering after a guitar for a while now and decided to have a look at what Glasgow had on offer rather than go online. I wouldn't know where to start with guitars so I had a quick scout to see who sells guitars in the city centre. There were Kennys's Music, GuitarGuitar and Merchant City Music. I'll be honest here, I went to Merchant City Music first and they pointed me towards a Fender Acoustic package. They were friendly, helpful but not pushy and just seemed like a nice bunch. The shop just seemed to have a great vibe. I then went to have a look round the other stores to see what they had on offer. Lets just say, I went back to Merchant City! Smallest of the three stores but they seem to have got it spot on. Top marks! PS, they told me to pop back if I had any questions or or problems. So far I haven't but it's great to know they don't just ignore you once they have your money! read more

I recently got my guitar set up and serviced at Merchant City Music. This was my second guitar that i have taken to them. The first guitar was spot on so i decided to return. The set up seemed a little rushed this time, the fingerboard still appeared dirty and even a little greasy. My first set up on my Les Paul had been perfect but this time it seemed like a bit of a rushed job but after talking to my colleague who recommended me to the shop he told me that the repair guy has about five different jobs in the store and doesn't just do technician work so maybe that's why it seemed like a rushed job if tech work isn't his main priority. Despite being a little disappointed this time I would still return with some guitar work because they do offer a better price than most places and i was impressed upon my first visit. Maybe the guy just had a lot of other jobs to do when my guitar was in. read more

I just stumbled across this shop the other day. I hadn't heard of them before. They seemed to jump out of nowhere and appeared on London Road. I hadn't been in to town for a while though. What a pleasant surprise it was though as the staff were super helpful. I told the guys I was just in to check the place out. I ended up sitting and playing a bunch of different stuff for about 45 minutes! The guy that I was chatting to, I think his name might of been Paul, was very friendly and informed me about the different things I had a go on. Despite me telling him I wasn't buying. Anyway, I got some trusty Slinkys, which were very reasonably priced and told them I would return to buy the Fender 72 Tele that I loved. Thanks guys for being helpful and I will be back. Great customer service. read more

I really cannot believe this great wee shop has been getting bad reviews. I have been coming here for nearly 10 years and for me it has always had excellent service. For me personally, I have never come across a bad atmosphere or unhelpfulness. Quite the opposite. I have had who knows how many annoying questions about effects pedals etc.. and they have always helped me out. Along with Strung Out Guitars, Merchant City Music are my first point of call for guitar stuff and just general advice. Both great little independent stores that make that little bit more effort than the big chains. I was in at the weekend there and they told me they were moving to a bigger shop. Hopefully their already great selection of gear will increase. For a small shop, they certainly pack a punch! read more

Went to MCM at the weekend to look for leftie fender strat with my husband, who has not played for years. All the guys on the shop floor were exceedingly welcoming, smiling and very pleasant as soon as we walked in. They encouraged my children (5 and 8 years old) to try both electric and acoustic guitars, and a little ukele, which they thoroughly enjoyed. Now both kids are keen to take to take up the guitar. Neither my husband or I felt awkward to ask questions (as we had felt awkward in other larger shops) and he purchased a smart arctic white leftie strat after much deliberation between telecaster and strat. I don't play guitar (yet) but if I did this would be the shop for me! Fabulous service. Thanks guys!!! read more

I have been visiting MCM for probably the last ten years. A number of guitar stores have come and gone in this time. Reverb, Sound Control and McCormacks to name three. Of the three current stores, GuitarGuitar, Kenny's and CC, I have always found Merchant City Music the best. Most helpful staff, did a repair to my guitar when I was stuck before a gig and they didn't even charge me for it! The only thing I can mark them down for is they don't have the biggest range in stock. They are quite a small shop after all. What they do have though is well picked and I have bought a couple of guitars from them. The prices are great though. I hear they are moving soon, so hopefully they will have a bigger range of stuff! read more

I bought a Washburn starter pack on the weekend there and I found the staff to be attentive, friendly and extremely helpful. I was so happy with the treatment I got, not that common in most shops, that I felt I would like to write about it. When I came on to do a review here I was stunned by the negative feedback that I have seen. Is this even the same shop these guys are talking about? Maybe they caught them on a bad day or maybe someone has something against them? Maybe it is even one of their competitors trying to damage them? Who knows, but the staff certainly weren't rude and by the way, they were on the shop floor, rather than by the counter when I was there. Excellent service! read more

I bought my Fender Telecaster here almost ten years ago. After being fed up with the service at most of the other Glasgow music stores, it was refreshing to find somewhere with helpful, approachable staff and great prices. They gave me some good, honest advice and were sure to look after me when I returned to the shop with any queries. After a few years away from playing, I recently brought my guitar back for a setup. I was delighted to find the same excellent service and honest advice. The work on my Tele was done quickly and now sounds better than ever! If you're looking for anything guitar related, I'd definitely recommend giving them a call or dropping by the store. read more

have bought a couple of guitars, pedals and mixing decks over the last few years from merchant city music and i've always had excellent service as well as best prices you'll find on the high street. when i bought my acoustic guitar there, the guys in the shop helped guide me to the better ones in my price range, which i still have and enjoy. guys in the shop also recommended a good local shop where i could get my acoustic guitar re-fretted. only thing i'd have any complaint about is the big ginger guy who obviously didn't wear deodourant. he was a nice bloke, tho. read more

I posted this review on yelp and found most of the reviews to be similar. The shop is small but they cram a lot of stock on to the shop floor so there is a wide choice however like Jonathan states i have felt before as if the staff are disinterested and couldn't care less. I have been in before and been ignored whilst members of staff talk to each other and even found one member of staff to be quite rude when i was just looking for advice. They have good prices but i think i would rather pay a little more than have bad service. read more

Was given a ukulele as a gift recently, took it in here to get new strings and advice. The guys were great, really friendly and helpful, gave me some advice for moving forwards and restrung my uke for me. I think it might have been refurbed/expanded since some of the older reviews were posted. It's pretty big now and has (what seems to me to be) a large selection of guitars, amps, accessories, and other guitarish looking items - banjos, ukuleles, dulcimers, a cigar box... Will definitely go back when I want to upgrade my uke. read more

I walked in with over £1200 to spend in this shop. The staff were lazy arrogant and were more interested in surfing on their laptop at the front desk than helping me part with my money. Complete joke shop and will never use again. I instead went to one of their larger competitors just round the corner and was swept off my feet with polite service. So much so that i left within five minutes of arriving with a Marshall JVM & 1936 cabinet. Now that wasn't hard, was it? Merchant City Music = Joke Shop read more

Just look at past reviews 'been ignored whilst members of staff talk to each other and even found one member of staff to be quite rude' 'The staff were lazy arrogant and were more interested in surfing on their laptop' 'Sometimes it can be a bit hard to get somebody's attention' 'the staff were cheeky, arrogant and derogatory,' Reviews speak for themselves, the staff are disinterested and lazy. Plenty of negative reviews about bad service and rude staff. I wouldn't recommend this shop to anyone! read more

I really liked this little shop just off of Glassford Street. The staff were friendly, very helpful and found the right guitar for me. A Washburn starter guitar. They told me if I had any questions about my guitar once I started playing it, just pop back and see them. If you are starting out guitar like me then jump in to Merchant City. They were excellent with me and they were the cheapest in town! By the way, they are moving to a new store soon. Bigger and even better by the sounds of it! read more

Legendary!! Had a guitar set up by some wizard called Stu. Probably short for The Great Stumagnus The price was very fair and the turnaround was fast. I don't know where he got his guitar spellbook, but my guitar now feels magic, as if licked clean by the mighty dragon himself, follwed by the mechanisms then beiong tweaked by nimble elven hands. I can now feel a power in the strings that only the seven gods have felt before. I bought an awesome Kazoo on my way out. My dog hates me. read more

Recently purchased a charvel so cal and can't recommend the staff highly enough. The guitars are all set up and inspected before going on the hangers, unlike another larger store who will remain nameless ( you know the one ) that basically just throw them up straight out of the box. After sales service is superb. Very surprised at the bad review in here as, in my opinion, this is the best music store I have had the pleasure in dealing with. read more