Herreid Music

Staff is helpful and though I am an older, novice student of music, they treat me nicely.
The luthier, or fix it guy? explains things and does repairs in a timely fashion.
His prices reasonable.
My first choice for Chico music purchases.

The main Chico local music store. Decent selection, okay service. Nothing amazing, nothing terrible. For the most part they did not have what interested me that I wanted to get my hands on and try (and yes I would buy if they did) but I did quickly gather up the odds and ends I was in most need of. I will most likely be back, eventually. I will also not be surprised if they do not have things to my (admittedly eclectic) taste.

Have had two bad experiences here in the past.
The first was when my Dad went in to buy a new bass as a gift. Looking at the wall covered in guitars and not knowing much about them, he asked an associate what the difference was between all the basses. The associate responded by saying «They’re all the same» and walking away. My Dad made a 180 out the store and bought it online (for a lower price).
The second was when I had taken my guitar in to have some minor work done. When I came back to pick it up the total charge was twice what they had quoted me. Turns out, they did extra unnecessary work at their own discretion and charged me for it. When I told them I didn’t ask them to do that they responded, «Well, they did really good work». Now feeling as though my guitar was the pawn in a hostage exchange, I payed and left. Haven’t been back since.

This place is O.K. Natalie and Nathan are really helpful. The older «gentlemen» have made many customer service errors, such as:
having bad attitudes, their guitar adjuster guy actually raised his voice at me
making fun of me,
helping others before me, who came after me
not knowing anything about the subject at hand,
Sometimes I feel they feel threatened that I may know more then them, calm down.

I have been a customer at Herreid Music for about 9 years. While they have a good selection, their service has declined dramatically since they moved to their current location.
Their staff used to be very helpful, but again, their standards of service isn’t what it used to be.
This past Saturday, for example, I went in to get a couple of microphone cables. While standing in line to check out, the people behind me got helped first at getting checked out somehow. When I finally was able to pay, I asked the fellow at the register if these were the least expensive cables they had. This is a guy who has been there a few years, may even be a manager. He shrugged and asked what I was using the cables for… which was karaōke with some Behringer microphones.
I got a lecture on impedance and I may need a filter… and instead of helping me figure anything out, he rang up the cables ($ 46.00). I was really bewildered and told him I would just go to Radio Shack. Even giving him about 10 seconds to respond, I left.
About 3 years ago I inquired about getting a guitar amplifier fixed. After being told I would get a phone call, I waited a few days. When I called back, the staff still didn’t know how much it would be to fix. I found the parts elsewhere and did the work myself (2 input jacks). About a MONTH later, I got a call from Herreid Music. I told them I already fixed the amp.
I am all for supporting local business, but I would much rather go to Sacramento and shop at Guitar Center.

I purchased my Taylor at Herreid a few years ago. They have a great selection of guitars, amps, cables, strings, etc.
While browsing the store, an employee was eager to help us and was able to answer our questions. The price I paid for my guitar was very reasonable, cheaper than most stores. They even threw in a couple freebies with my purchase.
I will definitely come back to this music store again.