Scotty’s Music

I am so happy we made this unplanned stop here on our way up North. Meeting Josh was such a pleasure, what a great (sales) person! We entered without knowing a thing about ukuleles and left with two of them and very happily! A shopping experience that lasts a lifetime — not just because of the great deal but because of the people involved. Mahalo #Josh thanks to you I will never forget #TheDayI bought my first #ukulele #FunFirsts #ILoveMusic

First a little background: I had bought my uke at another place on Kaua’i about 6 months ago. I decided to get it restrung for a lefty and regretted it.
Today, I brought my uke in to Scotty’s Music to ask them to restring my uke the ‘right way’. The folks in the shop were warm, friendly and informative. They provided me a solution, tuned my uke and I got a mini lesson in the way of properly tuning and care of the uke. I also was taught a few other things. All in all, a great experience and value for my kala (dollars/​money).
When I am ready to upgrade I will definitely go back to Scotty’s. Mahalo to Scotty’s for a great, customer focused experience.

Went to Scotty’s «just to see» with my two teenagers who both wanted a ukulele as a souvenir. They both have a musical background but I did not want to buy something expensive for a first time experience. We were served by Kauilani who was very knowledgeable, friendly and really understood what we were looking for: affordable price but not a plastic toy. She was not pushy at all and on the opposite really took the time to teach some basics to y kids. I strongly recommend this place if Kauilani will serve you.

Friendly and helpful. Reasonably priced quality beginner’s concert ukulele, so we bought two. Don’t waste you money at the ABC Store. For just a little more you can have a real instrument. We continue to be happy with our purchase. We may buy a third one before we leave the island.

Here’s the deal… If you want an insane selection of ukuleles from entry level to top end, this is the place. We were vacationing in Kauai for a week and I really wanted to pick up a soprano uke to add to my tenor and concert uke’s that I already had. I went to a lot of places selling uke’s, but nobody had a great selection. This place does. Scotty is amazing, honest and a pleasure to deal with. I walked out with a soprano koloha that I haven’t been able to put down since my return to the mainland. Seriously, if your in the market for a uke, no matter what you can afford, check out this place. I know I’ll be back.

Scotty and D’lissa were great! Scotty has a reputation for being a little aggressive from reading prior reviews but I found him to be very passionate about the instruments (which some might interpret as too salesman like). He obviously wanted to sell me a ukulele but he was very patient showing me dozens of ukuleles based on my needs and budget. In fact at one point when I was struggling with the decision he suggested that I think about it and come back later.
My wife and I had a great time in the store and ultimately purchased a Koa Island Uke made by Raymond Rapozzo. I thought it was a fair deal although Scotty said it was a steal :-).
An overall great experience and really appreciated all the time they spent making sure I was getting the right uke. I would definitely refer my friends to Scotty!

I had researched music shops in Kaua’i before I went on holiday and Scotty’s ended up being the only place I needed to visit. I was looking for a very specific, high-​end ukulele — a Kanile’a six-​string — and it was there hanging on the wall waiting for me when I arrived.
Scotty helped me and once he figured out that I knew what I was talking about he brought the uke down to let me try it out. I totally get the fact that they need to figure out the serious buyers vs people on holiday who want to buy a cheap little uke. This is a $ 1k+ instrument, people. You don’t just let random people scratch it up! These are premium instruments that need to be taken care of.
Anyways. I had a great experience. There was no haggling or hassle. I had done my research and knew my prices and got an AWESOME deal with Scotty on my new uke. It is beautiful and I love it. The amount I saved basically covered my airfare from California.
Yes, Scotty might seem a bit abrupt, but he knows his ukes. I didn’t have any issue with his style, but I like salespeople who are outspoken. I never felt like he was trying to BS me. He only told the pure and simple truth and gave an honest deal. If you are serious about your music and want a beautiful uke at a good price then I would say do your research and then go visit Scotty.

Note: This Kalaheo store location closed. Store has moved to Lihue. Located at 3 – 3319 Kuhio Hwy — Directly across the street from Wal-​mart. New phone number: 808−246−2020.

Scotty’s is THE place for your ukulele needs on the island. They are in the midst of moving to Lihue and Scotty himself took the time to adjust my Koaloa tuners. For nothin’. Personally, I can’t wait to see the new space when it’s filled with beautiful instruments and knowledgable people again. Aloha, indeed.

Holy Moly Scotty is one pushy salesman who can’t even play the instruments he sells. Walked in here and he constantly talked down on our small budget. Didn’t explain a thing to us and first thing he asked actually was, «what’s your budget?» Then proceeded to try and sell us the only Uke he had in stock at that price.
Don’t tell them your budget because prices will magically be right below your budget. We said our budget is $ 150 for a beginner Uke and they instantly quoted us $ 149.99 for an Uke that can be found much cheaper elsewhere.
Very pushy salesman and was very condescending. Do not recommend if you’re a beginner or are looking for a good deal. Amazon had the same Uke for half the price.
If you’re looking for a deal go to Amazon
If you’re looking for knowledge, experience and charm then go to Dave at Kauai Music and Sound which is found in Kapaa. The expertise and sound advice there is worth the drive.
Do not recommend.
Of course Scotty will respond to this just as he does with all his bad reviews, I can’t wait to see what his excuses are for being rude and condescending.

I stopped by the check out a ukulele, being on vacation in Kauai. I’ve played guitar for 12 years and own a herd of high end acoustics (Taylor 816ce, Taylor 714ce, Taylor 555ce, and Martin D-​18) as well as a mandolin but wanted to venture into playing uke.
I was greeted by a salesperson who was helpful and courteous. She showed me a variety of ukes at different price points including some local builds. She even showed me a few chords and got me started. I had a blast demoing their stock.
I ended up with a Rapozo uke in koa over mahogany. I was thoroughly pleased with my shopping experience and with the knowledge and helpfulness of the staff.
Kudos to Scotty’s. A satisfied customer here.

After having seen their sale ad in the local newspaper, we decided to stop by and see what they were all about. I was disappointed to find out that their «sale» wasn’t much of a sale. In fact, the gal who spoke with us said that Scotty’s has a sale all the time.
This particular one was due to the fact that the store is moving to a new location in Lihue. This makes total sense since their current location, with limited parking, is out of the way and not on the busier side of the island.
They were definitely preparing to move as half the store was packed up and not accessible. Kind of bummed, because I would have liked to see what other instruments and accessories were available.
We stopped by to see what ukeleles they had on sale. There were many nice ones, but I was less than impressed when the sales gal immediately went for the most expensive one in the place to show us first. It would have been better to show us a few options before going for the big sale right out of the gate.
I guess the thing that upset me the most was when I was admiring some other ukeleles on a different part of the wall, and the sales gal referred to these as the «wall of shame». The number one rule in customer service is to never bad mouth the competition. I’ve been in the customer service business for over 30 years and am an expert in this area. No matter how much you dislike what someone else is selling, you need to never, and I mean, Never Ever speak ill of them. This just pisses off your potential buyers and gives them a bad taste in your mouth. Rather, you need to show why your own products are better by demonstrating their qualities. The customer should decide based on upon facts. Period. End Of Story.
There were a few other things that could have gone better throughout the interaction with the staff. However, given the customer service issue above, I don’t want to elaborate on these at this time as I do see potential with this store. Since I am always willing to give an establishment a second chance, and in light of the other reviews here, I will probably stop back in after Scotty’s has moved to their new location.

I bought a uke at Scotty’s while on my honeymoon and it was a great experience. I am a professional composer and I told Scotty exactly what I needed for use in my studio. He didn’t try to sell me anything I didn’t ask for. He let me try and listen to many ukelele’s and gave me honest answers to all my questions. I’ve never felt less pressured buying an instrument than at Scotty’s. In the end I bought a very nice Ko’aloha uke for a good bit less than I could find online or at the other local shops. I spent about 45 minutes testing the use’s and while doing so my wife was entertained by the ultra-​friendly staff. If you are looking for a good uke while in Kauai don’t hesitate to come here!

I used to play the violin a long time ago and missed playing a musical instrument. I had been thinking of starting up with a ukelele for awhile and thought I might as well start with a quality instrument versus a toy one I could get from one of the many souvenir shops around.
The staff was extremely helpful and knowledgable, and gave me a great deal on a beautiful instrument. They had a wide arrange of ukeleles at great prices, a great selection of book with basic chords to get me started, and a nice case i can use to carry on the plane.
If you’re a tourist looking for a fun, cheap ukelele to have for the hell of it, Scotty’s is not the place to go. This place sells real, beautiful instruments that should be played regularly. :) Thanks, guys!

If there were 10 stars I’d give Scotty’s Music all ten of them! What a pleasurable experience buying my Ukulele today!
I shopped around in other stores on the island, but customer service and prices brought me back to Scotty’s to do my final purchase. If you also think customer service and price is an important combo, I highly recommend this place.
Scotty, D’lissa and Lyn were all extremely professional and knowledgeable and at no point did I ever feel pressure from them as in ‘car salesmen’ or the likes. So nice on an island that deals with lots of us vulnerable tourists all the time.
D’lissa even threw in a little impromptu lesson for me and I’m on my way now to play ‘over the rainbow’.
Thanks Scotty, Lyn and D’lissa!

Had a really awkward experience here. I was looking for a case for a hand built used ukulele I had purchased down the street. The owner, Scotty, was quick to discount the instrument after finding out what I paid for it. I love it, it has character and was owned by my ukulele instructor for 15 years.
Scotty was adamant about trying to upsell me a +$ 400 Kamaka 8 string and telling me to go to my instructor and ask for a refund. Worst thing a salesperson can do is to fail at listening and reading their customer. I sell for a living and I was frankly astonished.
Simply put, unprofessional and a bad experience overall. His attitude was aloof, confrontational, overbearing and completely out of line. He did very little to help me find the case I was looking for in the first place.
After this experience, I wouldn’t recommend anyone go to this store despite their good selection and high quality instruments. Worst part — if he would have just kept his mouth shut and found a case for me I would have probably bought another instrument from him. He had a great little soprano on the wall that I was eyeing.

My wife and I came in here on a rainy day to look around and found a great ukulele at a good price. Behind the shop is the Post Office, we shipped an ukulele and guitar accessories back home (a hint for you people traveling). The female associate who was working that knew so much about the different ukuleles.
We were very glad to visited this store, and would recommend this shop to anyone visiting Kauai.

I can’t believe we never wrote a review for this place! My husband got his ukulele here a few years ago and it’s still going strong. Reasonable prices and great staff… helpful and gave great suggestions. We recommend this place to all of the music lovers going to the island.

We were on the lookout for music stores on Kauai as I had a hankering to find a 6 string uke. I’d seen some on Waikiki but didn’t like the vibe there. The 6 string is unique as it has octaves on the C and A strings. Scotty was there and saw that we were serious and proceeded to spend over an hour with us educating us about makers, workmanship, models, everything. He not just gave me a great deal on a Ko’Aloha uke, my wife ended up playing, falling in love with and getting a Koa wood Taylor 314 guitar — again for a great price. I can’t recommend this place enough. If you are looking for the most bang for your buck whether you got $ 100 or $ 1000 to spend this is the place. Da bomb!

My boyfriend and I rolled into this small shop on a rainy day randomly and was really happy to meet (D’lissa) who was amazing! We’re complete ukulele novices and she educated us on the differences between brands, makes, materials, etc. We ended up getting one and it was really nice chatting with her about cultures, music. honestly it was like talking to an old friend. We’re looking forward to coming back some day.