Noe Valley Music

 

1

14

Mike S.

San Francisco, CA

I've been in here a few times (normally for guitar or ukulele strings)..... the service always seems to sorta suck...... I'd almost rather drive to Guitar Center than deal with the attitude you seem to get in NVM.

The GHS Store on Townsend is much better - nicer staff and better ukes!

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2

7

a w m.

San Francisco, CA

you know, I really like this store...it's a bit of a relief from the ego of the big boys around town, however, if you're going to sell an effects pedal for $68 that sells online for $29 you might consider offering the adapter that you'll actually need to be able use the pedal for more than 5 minutes, or at the very least MENTION that you need to purchase an adapter to actually use the pedal for over 5 minutes....if it's the seller's stance that  the buyer should just naturally know this and if they don't "screw em cause I just made my 66% markup", well, that's the same attitude of the big boys and the whole charm and beauty of this store is lost on m....ok, I'm not a pedal geek, but I had no idea that I needed a DC adapter to actually use this pedal for more than 5 minutes, and shame on me for not realizing it, but it's obvious to me in retrospect  that the clerk could have and should have mentioned it because he was pretty adroit with all the ins and outs of pedals...sticking with my 5-star rule because I want to encourage business for the independents, but I feel a bit rooked...my last pedal, an old MXR which I mentioned to the clerk 5 times, didn't have a dc9 adapter input and I changed the battery on that thing like twice in seven years....am I missing something here?
rock on....radio shack tomorrow unfortunately, and my creativity stalled for the moment

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2

28

Mary Claire C.

San Francisco, CA

Ooooh I LOVE this place. I just went in to buy some banjo strings and the guy who worked there was so nice. I mentioned that I loved dulcimers and I really wanted one, and he went on and on about how he builds dulcimers! WHICH IS AWESOME AND I WANT TO DO THAT AND I WILL BECAUSE I HAVE  A NEVER-ENDING LIST OF HOBBIES!

Anyway, so the guy gets down the dulcimer in the shop and just starts playing it for me... aawww it was so nice and cute. And then I was all, "Hey do you guys teach banjo here?" And he was all "Heck yeah we do!" (sort of he said it that way). So now I'm a-gonna take my banjo lessons here which I'm super excited about. Yipeeee. And ALSO to top all of this goodness off... it's RIGHT ACROSS THE STREET FROM NOE KNIT! WHAAAAT?? Yeah there's a god. And she loves banjos and knitting. And peanut butter. And probably puppies, too. Who doesn't love a puppy? I bet god does. I mean, if she doesn't, then fuck her. We don't need her anyway.

I'm using 'her' only because men can't have babies and since Kansas says god made everything, it must be a lady with a vagina. I think.

Back to the music place, it's just really friendly and nice and small and comforting. You should go here to buy banjo strings or a dulcimer. And if you do buy a dulcimer, you should call me so that I can find you and steal it.

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Elite '08

28

86

Megan D.

San Francisco, CA

This is a great shop!!  My acoustic needed to have the action lowered and some other general set-up work, so I figured I'd drop it off and leave it there to be worked on while I left town for the holidays.  Doug took a look at the guitar and said he'd have it done before I left town (I came in on a Sunday and needed it back by Tuesday).

He called the next day (!!!) to say it was done and I could come get it that day if it was better for my travel plans.  How about that for service???

The guitar sounds and plays great, and the price was very reasonable -- lower than I expected.  

One of the best things about this place is that you don't feel like you're in Noe Valley -- it definitely feels more like the music store on the corner in my little hometown, where you can trust the guys behind the counter to do an honest and good job, they talk you through the repairs and pricing, they care about what they do, and so on.  I am very impressed, and I'll be back for anything else I need!!

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0

4

Oliver R.

San Francisco, CA

Doug did a great job with the maintenance on my Warwick 5string bass! Dropped it on Saturday, got it back Tuesday as promised. The bass was in *perfect* condition, sounded better than ever, intonation fine, performance great - I am completely satisfied. I will most certainly return here!

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Elite '08

946

1968

Kristina R.

San Francisco, CA

I bought my first ukulele here.  This store is a tiny little place filled to the rim with instruments, maintenance items and sheet music.  They have a lot of information about instructors and classes you can peruse.  And the man that helped me was very chatty and sweet.  He tried his very best to accommodate me and was very honest about which one was the best.  I love music stores, and there are so few around like this one.  It's small and independent, just the way I like 'em.  If you want to rock the house with a ukulele, like I do, this is the place for you.

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17

104

Daniel E.

San Francisco, CA

I went here to pick up some guitar strings.  The owner seemed nice.  The guitar strings worked fine... Sorry, I really don't have anything else to add.

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8

28

joey -.

San Francisco, CA

i picked up a mandolin at this place a few months back and the head guy (must've been the raved-about doug r.)  was making sure everything was tightened and in its place when a string broke. he kindly fixed that, chatted with me for awhile about the type of music i play and threw in some pics and other doo-dads free of charge for waiting.

it's refreshing to know places like noe valley music are still out there -- seeing as i've literally been to places where i've asked for a replacement "g-string" for my acoustic guitar and gotten snickers just because i was a chick. noe valley is always ensuring the instruments they sell are in the best of shape & the service you get is impeccable.

do yourself a favor and skip haight ashbury music, unless you're looking to be knocked over by tourists and head to noe valley. yes it's a much smaller selection, but you don't leave with unresolved aggression, you leave with your sanity and maybe, an instrument.

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2

23

Anne A.

San Francisco, CA

unfortuntately, i did not have the good experience that others had at noe valley music. i dropped by on saturday afternoon because i was having a problems with one of my ukulele strings, after attempting to change the string on my own for the first time. the older gentleman behind the counter (while i did not get his name) i has been working there for some time, i think. when i arrived, there were no other customers. i explained to the guy that i was a newer ukulele player and the trouble i was having with the string i changed. in short, i asked him if he would mind changing string, and if i could watch him do so so that i could learn. and of course i offered to pay him for this, as one would usually pay. the guy seemed to get flustered and irritated, and snapped "i'm not sure what you are asking me." and then told me that i would have to wait. he also tried to peddle a tuner for my uke, but that was clearly not the issue. meanwhile, a few customers came in. one lady wanted to learn guitar and was trying out a few different guitars. i observed as she thanked him and said she would think about it, while he pressured her by saying that it was the last one in stock, and he just sold the other yesterday. anyhow, about 25 minutes passed while the guy continued to work on another guitar that was in for a repair, and other people asked questions, etc. not once did the guy tell me how much longer, or acknowledge me again.
as i was waiting, i also noticed the sparse selection of ukuleles and low end supplies.  
i decided to leave and i will not return to this store. i was very respectful and patient, and i did not get the same respect in return. perhaps it was because i was not there to rack up a large bill. for a small store that was not very busy, i feel that i was not treated as a customer should be treated.
needless to say, i actually ended up going to haight ashbury music because it is near my house. they are always very busy, but i thought i would give them a try. one of the clerks spent about 10 minutes with me, changing the string and giving honest advice, and then refused to accept payment. big difference.

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1

4

Hi Y.

San Francisco, CA

Doug Roomian is the reason I give this place 5 stars.  Finally, a great guitar repairman in SF who really knows his stuff, is honest and will get your instrument back to you in a very reasonable amount of time (GC did the worst job on my guitar ever and another place I went to was very reputable but told me there was a 3 week wait before they could get to my guitar).

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