As a musician in Sacramento, it can be a great place for veteran musicians and beginners alike.
However, when I was starting out playing music I had some experiences with guitar shops that were not so great. Let’s just say they were not super kind experiences. First things first, as I discuss these shops, I’d like to make it clear that it’s not to promote or discourage future business for these shops.
The first music shop that is my personal favorite is Kline Music at 2200 Sutterville Rd, Sacramento, CA 95818.
First, they have really great selections for Fender guitars specifically Jackson guitars. They are super kind and have helpful assistants. Especially, when I bought my first Fender Mustang at a good price of $400, which is somewhat of a hard deal to come by. But as of recently, I have had some experiences with their new employers that left me honestly heartbroken. I understand that they are locally owned businesses and they don’t have the same privileges as chain stores like Guitar Center.
One occasion when I was paying a visit inside the shop, I was playing a decent player series Fender Stratocaster and to top it all off I was playing at a low volume, like 3 on a practice amplifier. This tall gentleman approached me and told me that I needed to part ways from the guitar area due to me clogging up the store. Even though it wasn’t a busy day and there weren’t any guitar students inside. I was kicked out for just playing their instruments.
I still do not know what I did wrong, and I am actually old friends with one of the employees. It still baffles me. So Kline Music is a great one-stop shop music store, but when you want to know what you’re getting yourself into with purchasing an expensive guitar and would like to play it, make sure you make it quick and don’t bother asking to plug in an amplifier.
Alright so the next guitar store I would like to critique is Guitar Workshop, and this one I won’t be so nice about. One day during my practice session on my guitar, my tremolo broke and needed to be fixed along with a simple set-up for my Kurt Cobain signature Fender Jaguar. Once called Kline Music and was informed that they do not work on electrics and only do wood repairs for acoustic guitars. So I decided to visit Guitar Workshop, located in the Sacramento area of 3248 on J Street. It is dead empty.
I walk up to the counter and there is a man sitting up front and saying hello. I ask for help, but he ignores me and continues working on this other guitar. So I walk around the shop and browse. Then he finally asked me what I wanted, so I asked him how much it would cost for a set-up on my Fender Jaguar and a repair on the tremolo system and how long it would take. He tells me it’ll be around $300 and around 4 months in total for the set-up. I was in shock. I politely said, “Okay thank you very much for your time.” He gave me a discourteous look back and then I left.
According to many reviews on Google, I am not the only one who came across this kind of behavior. Some reviews include:
“Uninformed staff will typically oversell or recommend items you don’t need (No, I do not need a new Bartolini preamp, thanks for not listening though). Turnaround time is awful. Don’t ask any basic questions, there’s always passive-aggressive responses. Even if you ask for a price, they will give you a spiel before telling you.”
To leave this article on a brighter note, probably one of the best music shops ever, in existence, maybe even in the whole county, I am proud to say is Watermelon Music Located on 1970 Lake Blvd suite #1 in Davis. And let me tell you this, they are genuinely the kindest people I have ever met.
They were so nice to me, once they even did a free restring on my electric and they were all like “Dude don’t worry about it.” Everyone in the music store is not only so kind but also super knowledgeable, approachable, and relatable. They want to know what you look for in an instrument. They offer some great offers on some Fenders, Yamahas, Paul Reed Smith’s, and many rare kinds of guitars. The store also always has events happening and I was even fortunate enough to play a gig there with my band, Seawater, once. It was one of the best performances we had in a long time.
However if you don’t live near Davis and don’t think it is worth the drive all the way over. I humbly recommend “Music Go Round” at 9163 E Stockton Blvd #310, Elk Grove. I’ll tell you about my smooth experience there. Once I was at a jam session with a buddy of mine and the drumset skin on the kick drum batter head side ripped from the Jammage. So we drove to Music Go Round and right away the guys there were really cool about the tone of each layer in the skin of the drums. They were really diverse when it came to talking about music genres. Metal is one of the genres we spent nearly an hour talking about. It was a fun visit and my buddy got a good deal with the new drum skin so it was a smooth transaction.
In conclusion, this review wasn’t to bash any of the businesses mentioned, it was to spread the word. I recommend sticking to the ones that are a must-visit. I hope this article was helpful and I hope it doesn’t offend anyone that likes these stores. Thanks for reading!