Haight Ashbury Music Center

Called to verify their return policy about a item on ReverbDotCom. It didn’t seem possible that a Reverb vendor that is a brick and morter business would state that they didn’t accept returns. Sure enough, an emplyee confirmed it by telling me, «You should be sure you want the guitar before you order it.» He also told me that if I gave him a deposit over the phone I would lose it should I drive 300 miles, play it in the store, then decide I didn’t like it.
I then went to their official store website and discovered they do, actually, offer a ten day return window when placing an online order, according to what is posted on their site.
Somthin’ ain’t right. I’ll spend my money elsewhere.

I couldn’t have been treated better than I was here. As soon as I walked through the door, James greeted me warmly, said I should look around and told me he’d be happy to answer any questions. I was interested in a Rickenbacker, and James got out a ladder and handed me several and let me play them. When I asked if there was a place I play a little louder while I tried them out, he took me to a back room. James was patient and answered every question with courtesy and knowledge. I walked into the store not sure if I was ready to make such an expensive purchase. But James and the manager made it an easy decision.

I’ve spent a lot of money here and gotten a lot of value. The staff are friendly, knowledgeable, helpful, and engaging. They are musicians and know their stuff. They have a good selection of instruments and sheet music and are glad to order something if they do not have it. They have been known to cut a break on prices, which is appreciated. This is the kind of store that needs to stay in business because an «online experience» shopping for instruments, music, and gear will always be a crapshoot.

Went in to shop around for guitars (after visiting a few other shops in the city) and was very happy with the experience. I had a few guitars in mind and their selection was pretty solid. The staff was friendly and helpful, and seemed knowledgeable about the instruments. For a non-​experienced player, it was definitely a good shop for exploring a bit and seeing a wide variety of instruments. Especially compared to what else I found in the area, this should be a first stop if you are shopping around for an instrument or accessories.

I have always been less then pleased with every visit I have had with this store. It carries some interesting stuff but I have found the staff to be less then knowledgeable about the gear I am looking at. I attended school near by and sometimes I would poke my head in to check out what was up. Unfortunately what I found was nothing more then an over priced place riding on the fact it is on Haight street where it was once cool to be at in the 60’s. I have even have had staff scoff at me over me asking them to help me out.
It has been a few years from my last visit and maybe things have changed but I am totally turned off to this place. I my opinion your money is better spent elsewhere for a better price and experience.

Great shop and I send all of my students there to buy guitars because they let my students try the guitars! Nice guys!

Had a hassle from my bank and the HAM credit card machine– James politely waited for me to figure my shit out and then cut me a break when I was a bit short due to my credit card not swiping and my bank only allowing a 300 $ a day withdrawal.
AS FOR THE BAD REVIEWS
If you’re expecting someone at this store to bend over backwards for you because– let’s face it, you probably do that to everyone in your life– you’re crazy! The staff is salty just the way I like it– they are mostly musicians! WE’RE salty– if you’re expecting a peppy customer service experience from this location you’re as high as the people they have to throw out of there ON A DAILY BASIS. They are knowledgable and have high-​end gear, they don’t have time to read your mind about that specific type of pick you like– find it– if you can’t, then ask politely. KIDS TODAY!

The guitars here are pretty cool, but the employee’s i worked with were kind of annoying. Also the store is a bit cramped.

Left a guitar for a repair. They told me they’d call me. Never did. One week. Two weeks. Called them. «Oh, yeah — we have to measure and see what work is required». Uh — so what have you been doing for two weeks?
Third week. Nothing. Fourth week. Nothing.
Go in. «Hey — what’s up? Any update?»
«Oh, yeah — we have to measure and see what work is required.».
Uh. Yeah. No.

What a cool place to have a music store! They have a huge variety of guitars and the melloest people around.

Customer service was A+. I had been a couple times for guitar setup and window shopping which I was very satisfied with, but one experience really sealed the deal for me: I called ahead asking for advice on what kind of guitar pedal I should get to achieve the sound I was going for. Dave was really helpful on the phone and I headed over to the shop. He set me up with models similar to my guitar and amp so I could hear what it all sounded like, and he let me fool around with a bunch of different pedals, bringing me new ones like a waiter. I love my purchase and I’m so glad I was able to test it out beforehand. I am definitely coming back here with my guitar needs moving forward.

If you want the best service at this place, ask for Chris. He helped me with my purchase of a really high end keyboard and amp. Chris is the reason why I go to this store and will continue to do so for as long as he is around. He is incredibly knowledgeable, personable, professional, helpful, and just an all-​around good guy and talented musician. Glad to sing his praises, and c’mon y’all…Guitar Center IS owned by Bain Capital. Let’s support our local businesses while we can.

My experience at Haight/​Ashbury Music Store:
ME: «Excuse me, can I get a ligature for a B flat clarinet?»
GUY BEHIND COUNTER: «Sorry man, we don’t have those.»
ME: «I’m pretty sure you do, I called about an hour ago and some guy went to check for me and said you do have them.»
GBC: «Well I’m pretty sure we don’t but I’ll check. (Skims wall behind him). Nope, we don’t.»
ME: «Somebody who works here said that you do though, can you maybe ask?»
GBC: «Well who did you talk to?»
ME: «I didn’t ask for his name, I didn’t think I would need it.»
GBC: «Well you should really ask that man, otherwise we can’t really help you.»
ME: «Say…isn’t that a ligature for a B flat clarinet hanging on the wall directly behind you?»
GBC: «Oh yeah… seven bucks.»

I went to HAMC today.
It was my third trip there in about a month.
I have been going into their little back room and trying to find the next level acoustic guitar.
I spoke with a few sale helpers and they were both helpful.
In the end I got a martin guitar that is soooo nice. I was helped for about an hour.
I can’t say enough about how cool it was to be able to sit in that little room and try out the different guitars.
The brother who helped me was not pushy in the slightest. He was helpful, patient and super nice.
I would recommend this business to anyone. Even if the staff seems kinda high, are you kidding me? I’ts a GUITAR STORE… wft with some of the reviews below

Awesome.
I typically hate going to guitar shops, but this one was rad. The prices were competitive with anything I looked up online and the staff was knowledgeable and helpful. Don’t expect them to kiss your ass because they won’t/shouldn’t and you should be able to find what you need at a fair price with minimal bull shit.

Extremely disappointed with my experience…
I have been to this location before and have had decent experiences, however today was just bad…
Epic customer service fail on Haight Ashbury Music Center’s part; As I walked into the store, I was greeted by blank stares. The first associate looked at me and said, «I need your bag, take this,» as I exchanged my bag for a paper clamp. He mishandled my bag and threw it in the corner. That definitely startled me.
Shortly after, I dealt with another associate who looked like he was extremely high. I asked about a certain pick and rather than checking store inventory, the associate looked at me with a blank stare and said that they do not carry the brand I was looking for and have never actually had them in the store. Shortly after his claim, I then noticed the product right in front of my face, picked it up and showed it to him. The associate clearly didn’t process what I just told him, walked around the counter, and started to search while still claiming he can’t find it, literally right after I just showed him that they do in fact have it.
I was at least happy that I found what I was looking for and handed the associate my card. He immediately handed my card back to me saying that he won’t take my card since the purchase is under $ 10.
Basically, I dealt with an extreme lack of professionalism and terrible communication.

The setup of this place makes for an unenjoyable experience for musicians of any level. The store is not that big so all of the instruments are packed together very tightly. There are two rows of guitars on the floor so I had to reach behind a line of guitars just to get to the ones I wanted. It was very cumbersome and I banged an acoustic against another accidentally.
Another annoying thing is that there are multiple signs that tell to ask for assistance in order to try some guitars. These guitars are not expensive or vintage ones; they’re cheap beginner-​intermediate ones. I had to wait for someone to hand me a $ 300 guitar. Other places let me play $ 2,000 instruments unaccompanied by a staff member. Not only that, there was only one worker in the guitar area on the Sunday I went and he was so occupied that I had to wait forever to try a few instruments.
Going back to the small space: there’s only one area where you can play in an enclosed room., and that room was tiny I waited about 10 minutes to go there because there were a few people there. They weren’t leaving soon so I just entered anyway. Then, of course, I had to wait for the employee to get an inexpensive guitar off the wall for me. I sat on a stool in a corner and played the guitar. However, the sounds were drowned out by those from some other guy in the room. I spent 15 minutes there checking out other aspects of the guitar and left that room.
I picked up another guitar outside, with the assistance of that employee, and played it for 10 minutes. After he left, I wanted to put it back but he was with other customers. After walking around to see where he was, I said screw it and put that cheap instrument back on the wall without his help and left.
I think if this store had fewer instruments, more walking and playing space, and fewer restrictions, they would attract more customers. But because everything is so badly structured, I’m not coming back here again.
By the way, parking sucks in this area and don’t buy rap CDs from those two guys loitering outside of the shop.

The Haight and Ashbury Music Store used to be located in downtown Sunnyvale off Murphy St. right down the street from my house. I went there a few times many years ago and learned to hate the place. I thought that when it relocated they would hire new staff/​change up the place/​fix things up but I was very wrong.
Came to visit the store while I was in SF with some friends and things have not improved at all:
— same rude, impatient, condescending has-​been employees
— same cramped, haphazard layout (with no leg room and a chance to bump into equipment even though you try your absolute hardest not to)
— same stupid attitude and policy towards trying out instruments
— same R I D I C U L O U S prices in all capital letters
— same ulterior motive of ripping off every one of their customers
etc etc. most of the other reviews here have said it already. I pretended to be in the market for a new guitar and asked about some horrifically overpriced models they are selling (used), to which they argued that their prices are fabulous/​great deals etc and tried to sell me a bunch of crap I actually don’t need. That’s funny, because guitar center and musician’s friend are selling that same model for nearly $ 200 cheaper, BRAND NEW.
Terrible. Whatever you do, do not come here. Nothing but rude creepers.

Haight Ashbury Music Center is overpriced, the staff is unhelpful and the service is lousy.
As a professional musician who lives in the area I have tried multiple times to make this my go-​to music store in the city, however the staff makes it very challenging. They assume everyone is a tourist who comes in and treats them as such, they will not budge on the prices marked on the guitars, and they honestly are not very knowledgable of their stock.
My experiences are not limited here. I have had a hollow body guitar set up by Haight and later turned around and had it done at SF Guitarworks. I tried to buy a 52 Hot Rod Tele here that had been on the floor for 3 years with some dust and sun damage, nicks and dings, and still they would not come down on the «new» price so I bought a 72 American Vintage custom Tele at Guitar Center a day later. I have bought one small tube amp here as well as strings and guitar straps. At best they have a great selection I must admit.
The last straw for me was when my brother was visiting the city, he wanted to ship one of my acoustic guitars back to his home town so he went to Haight for a shipping box. Haight Ashbury charged him $ 10 dollars for the box that fit an electric guitar and told him it was for acoustic. He went back in 10 minutes later after I saw it and asked for an acoustic guitar box in place of the electric one they gave him and they told him they just don’t like getting rid of those cause they use em so much. Which ultimately means they tried to scam him and insult his intelligence plus charge him for a box that would normally be set on the curb for recycling. No thanks.
It feels like a punch to the gut saying this, but I’d recommend SF’s Guitar Center over Haight Ashbury Music any day.

I wasn’t very impressed with this shop. It was one of those shops where you go in and have to prove you don;t suck at guitar for them to allow you to play an instrument. Then they sit and watch you awkwardly, then eventually they just leave and stop helping you. Also, the employees were not über knowledgeable and they have a limited supply.
Interested in vintage? Be prepared to pay a lot and have to prove you are worth them bringing it out for. Ugh. I really like Real Guitars in SoMa. And I’ve had better experiences at Guitar Center which is kind of sad.