Music Mart, Solana Beach CA

John and the boys are just what you want in a local music shop: knowledgeable, personable, helpful, and experienced. My bandmates and I consider them part of our crew.

Went in today on a Sunday. Was greeted and welcomed by the manger owner. Great customer service, I was allowed to play any guitar I wanted. I appreciated he gave me recommendations but also space to play and hear and look for the sounds I was looking for. Highly recommend this store. I ended up walking out with my first Martin guitar.

Recently bought a Taylor from this wonderful boutique place. John and Jeff are so knowledgeable. John knows in/out about issues that might affect new purchases. His patience and welcoming attitude takes this place 2 notches above any big box stores.
Way to go guys.

These folks have integrity, product knowledge, interpersonal skills, excellent customer service, good inventory, and are all together the real deal!

Small shop but a great selection of decent and high end guitars. John was very helpful to answer my questions. These folks listen to your needs, provide valuable feedback and best of all they are not pushy salesmen. Jeff also jumped in to advise why an amp can be useful to a beginner. Pay these guys a visit; you’ll be happy you did.

This is the age of giant online music "stores" & local chain stores that have driven so many small local music stores out of business. Music Mart "survives, " I believe, because they are experts & only carry a limited number of selective brands, including being official dealers of Martin & Taylor guitars. Going in, I had a specific Martin model in mind, but Geoff & John presented me with a variety of Martins within my price range to choose from. They gave me a great price; John asked me what I needed in setting up the guitar (e.g. Lowering the action & installing lighter strings) ; and Geoff invoiced me so I could use PayPal to pay from my phone. Bottom line: warm atmosphere, awesome selection, friendly "we'll work this out for you" staff, and great prices. If you truly want to support a LOCAL small business, Music Mart is worth the drive from anywhere in San Diego County. Highly recommended & you won't be disappointed.

Great shop! I drive by quite a few other closer by shops just to go here. Great selection and, most importantly, the guys that work here are just awesome. Super knowledgeable, friendly, and low pressure with a great sense of humor.

I have primarily played acoustic guitar for the past 20+ years but more recently started getting into electric guitar and decided I needed to get a new pedal. I went in here not knowing very much and asked which pedal they recommended for adding some distortion. The guy proceeded to sit down with me, two guitars, and tons of pedals and gave me a 1.5 hour long low-key masterclass on pedals of all kinds. No pressure, no pushing of any specific pedal, just teaching me and giving me the knowledge to select which pedal to get then (and in the future). It would have been worth it to pay him for the lesson, but this was just customer service at Music Mart. I mean…just wow.