Incredible shop! Family owned and operated. They took the time to explain things to me as I'm…read moregetting back into playing. The selection is great and their pedal selection is insane!!!

Hands down the best music store in the area! Great service great selection and nice people to work…read morewith. Honest with pricing and doesn't charge you for anything you didn't agree to. I will definitely be doing more business with them

Brian's Guitars is a boutique guitar shop that opened in Hamden, Connecticut in September 2010. It…read morewas founded by guitarist Brian Giampietro. An avid guitar player since age 12, Giampietro eventually enrolled in the Jazz Studies program at Western Connecticut State University. After graduating with a degree in Jazz Guitar Performance, Giampietro began working at G Guitars: a guitar shop in New Haven that was owned by his uncle. Before long, Giampietro was practically running the store himself. Eventually he opened his own shop, Brian's Guitars, at a strip mall in Hamden. In 2017, after seven successful years, Giampietro relocated the shop to a larger space in his hometown of Cheshire. That same year, he and his wife Katie also opened West Main Music Academy: a multi-room music lessons studio across the street. Brian's Guitars carries a wide variety of electric and acoustic guitars, basses, amplifiers, effects pedals, and accessories. They are an authorized dealer Paul Reed Smith, Fender, Taylor Acoustics, Swart Amps, PRS Acoustics, Dr. Z, Victoria Amps, and more. In addition to the aforementioned brands, the shop also carries several used guitars and equipment from brands like Gibson, Gretsch, Suhr, Mesa Boogie, and more. It just so happens that I know Brian Giampietro pretty well because we were both music students at WCSU during the same time. We even performed in a few jazz ensembles together. In recent years, both of my young sons have shown an interest in music as well. My older son takes after me; he likes drums and percussion. However, my younger son has shown an interest in guitars. I told my wife, "I know just the place where we can show our son some serious guitars." Although I've known about the store since it opened, my recent visit was actually my first. My family and I were blown away by the selection. My son's eyes nearly popped out of his head when he saw all of the different colors and body types. My whole family and I were very impressed with the selection. Unfortunately Brian wasn't there when we stopped in, but his staff were helpful, knowledgeable and very friendly. If my son still shows interest in guitars when he is a little older, I know that we'll be coming back.

I purchased a used Fender American Professional II Telecaster Limited Edition Butterscotch Blonde…read morefrom Brian's Guitar online. This was the first time using Brian's and they were quick to respond via email. They provided a decent price for the model I was looking for. Item was delivered quickly and the guitar was packaged very well. The condition was very nice and I was pleasantly surprised to see the tuners were upgraded to the premium fender vintage tuners. I really like the look of these better and they also included the original tuners in the case as well. Nice bonus! I highly recommend Brian's Guitars!!

Whip City Music is what a hometown music store should be- from lessons to instrument repair to…read more cool new and used instruments and guitar pedals. Just gotta love this place! Owner Doug Cotton aims to please- being a musician himself,he knows his stuff and can help out whether you are a budding musician or seasoned pro. I'm so happy Whip City Music is here serving the local community and helping to make downtown Westfield happening again!

From the owner: Locally owned and operated, Whip City Music continues the tradition of providing quality new and…read moreused musical instruments, a wide array of music accessories, expert music lessons and essential music instrument repair services in the heart of downtown Westfield Massachusetts. With our competitive and affordable prices and friendly, relaxed atmosphere, Whip City Music is the place to go for all your music needs.

I love this place! I live in California but have family in western Mass. I've been here four times…read morenow, once for food, twice for music, and once for the luthier himself. All were delightful. The decor is outstanding. The music is intimate, varied and always fun. And Steve is completely at home with his place. I could not recommend it more highly. Just go!

The best music scene in the area, legendary open mic. Great crowds, and amazing team that runs it.read more

They should change the name of hhis place from "Just Guitars" to "Just Lost Business"…read more If you're a true guitarist and want to test the limits of the guitar you're going to buy, go somewhere else. I just tried to raise the volume a little and the owner told me to turn it down. He did not help me out at all. I got assistance from another customer. A lot of people told Jimi Hendrix and Slash to turn it down too. This guy goes against everything Rock stands for.

The place is kind of hidden, pretty dusty and cluttered. The owner is nice but took 10 minutes to…read moretalk to us. Decent selection of guitars and strings. I didnt realize until afterwards that the package of strings I bought had been opened previously. Concerning, but I assumed it was just damaged at some point. It turns out that those strings were defective, as they began to unwind shortly after I began using them. I'm unsure if I would return, hopefully he cleans up the place and restocks his strings.

Went in Saturday with questions about buying a Hand Pan drum. The young man was extremely helpful…read moreand went above and beyond directing me to the Meinl website. I ended up purchasing a small hand held tongue drum for a gift and he again, went above and beyond, making sure my purchase had the mallet inside. He packed it up nice and even put my other purchase in the same bag for me! This young man is someone every store or company would want to represent them. If I was still a bank manager, I would have made him an offer on the spot!!

I am not a musician. Zero.... But my nephew is and he wanted…read moreto look at guitars. The Yelp check in is a Dollar off discount on new strings. Not used. The instruments are all perfect and shine. Both a new and used section. If you want to play, you can afford it here. Electric and Acoustic.

Knowledgeable, particularly about Gibson thinlines, and honest. Done business online and by phone…read morefor very high value instruments. Prompt payments. Can't go wrong with Charlie.

Charlie Gelber presents himself as an honest broker and an unimpeachable expert on all things 335…read more He also takes pains to portray himself as a dealer who discloses everything regarding the used instruments that he sells. For these reasons, I trusted Charlie with my first major purchase of a vintage guitar. After trying several different vintage ES-335s at his midtown Manhattan office, I selected a refinished early 60s stoptail model for $8,500. According to the information he furnished on the receipt, the guitar has "Original PAF pickups, appear to be unopened. Correct or original bridge, stop tail, knobs, pickguard, and truss cover. Repro Kluson tuners. Harness has been updated with new 3 way switch but pots are likely original". After I purchased the guitar, I took it to my local tech for a set up and intonation. He looked it over admiringly. When he flipped it over to look at the back of the guitar, he immediately said, "headstock repair, eh?" "No, not to my knowledge," I replied. Charlie had never mentioned any such repair and I took his word as gospel. My tech (a highly-regarded Manhattan guitar technician with a great many years of experience) showed me an area where the neck meets the headstock and pointed out how, in that area alone, the refinisher had used an opaque lacquer, which makes it impossible to see the wood grain at the point where the neck meets the headstock. The wood grain is otherwise clearly visible on the back of the neck and headstock. He also pointed out a horizontal break in the finish where the neck meets the headstock that I hadn't seen. "That opaque lacquer", he said, "conceals what they don't want you to see". I took the guitar to another technician to get a second opinion (the second tech was also very experienced and is a veteran of George Gruhn's Nashville shop). Without being prompted, he immediately pointed out that a neck/headstock repair had been done. Shortly after this happened I was playing the guitar in bright morning sun and I noticed a thin crack on the back of the neck and headstock, running from the area just behind the nut to the high 'E' tuner. I had not noticed it before. Now I had two experts who had stated that an undisclosed repair had been made and a visible crack that I had seen with my own eyes. At this point, I emailed Charlie and told him what the techs had said and what I had seen. Gelber claimed to be completely unaware of any headstock repair and asked that I bring the guitar in so he could see it for himself, which I did. When I showed him the crack and the lacquer area, he attempted to downplay the significance of the visible crack saying it probably came from a tuner change. He then said, "Since I am supposed to be The Man, just to dispel any possible doubt, I will refund you $1500 since I should have seen this before I sold you the guitar". However, before he gave me the money he said he wanted to speak with my technician and show it to his own repair guy first. I left thinking to myself, "what a stand-up guy." However, after that meeting, Charlie started ducking my calls. I finally received an email from him in which he said "I can probably get it X-Rayed" and "I may call your guy to talk about the repair". I strongly sensed that a weasel move was coming and I was right. He never did either of those things and never came through on his pledge to refund the $1500 either. Recently, I decided to sell the 335 and turned to another vintage dealer for assistance. This dealer--who has 30+ years of experience and is highly-regarded-- went through Charlie's refinished 335 with a fine tooth comb (since his own reputation as a seller would now be on the line). He immediately pointed out that the tail piece, listed on Charlie's receipt as being "correct or original", was, in fact, neither. If I were to replace this part with the correct one, a vintage 335 tail piece runs $750 to $1000. The new dealer also noticed right away that there had been damage and repair to the back of the headstock. I now feel rather foolish for having taken Charlie's well-cultivated reputation at face value. In the best-case scenario, Charlie sold a guitar that he hadn't carefully vetted. The worst-case scenario (and the one that I strongly suspect to be the case) is that Charlie knew about the defect and the incorrect tail piece and hoped that they wouldn't be noticed by a trusting novice buyer. I turned out to be that buyer. I will be more careful the next time. Caveat emptor folks.

My 15 year old twin sons are avid, knowledgeable and talented musicians (guitar & drums). They…read morevisited George's a few times with their (also musician) Father. Jerry is passionate about music, extremely knowledgeable and personable. Best selection and knowledge of Mesa Boogie amps around! Our family has no hesitation in recommending George's Music Center to anyone, whether you're an established musician or interested in becoming one!!!

Was on the look out for a guitar to handle a wide range of sounds and styles, read many reviews…read moreabout PRS Silver Sky SE models and decided to purchase one. After some online shopping, found a great deal on a desired color - backed up by some super friendly and knowledgeable sales staff at George's Music Center. Shipped super fast (arrived 2 days earlier than initial estimate vua FedEx). Will definitely be confident buying from George's again.

I have brought in four of my guitars (two acoustic and one electric) for basic setup work (one…read moretwice when I changed string gauges). I have never dared to mess with acoustic guitar setups in any way. Calvin and Trevor have been very patient and helpful and I have enjoyed playing the instruments much more after the work was done. Definitely worth the trip out there.

Brought my Telecaster back to life. Can't say enough about how Trevor and his staff listen, offer…read moregreat insights, and truly are partners in helping musicians express their best selves in the Pioneer Valley.

It was very helpful I bought a drum some sticks to try to build up my drum set very good quality at…read morea fair price check the hours to see when he's open.

I have never been more confident or satisfied with the service from the Music Shop. MR. Wilson was…read moreso accommodating and helpful when trying to get my instrument repaired. He expansive knowledge of music and instruments in great to have in a brick and mortar store, unlike the internet where you don't know what you're getting.