Strait Music Company — Attraction in Austin

Great shop. With two locations, Strait Music is the Austin area's most comprehensive music store and is a dealer for fifteen, or so, major guitar brands including Gibson ("Five Star") status and Martin, Taylor, Fender, Takamine, Gretsch, and on, and on! That's just guitars. Their selection of amps and "all things guitar" is second to none. Whether guitar, amp, or accessory, each product line Strait carries is represented in earnest, with no shortage of models to choose from. The main thing I'm keen on is the laid-back but, this is important, professional atmosphere which clearly comes from the store's management and cascades down through sales and instrument setup and repair. With the inexorable expansion of online guitar influence from Reverb, G-Base, eBay, and Craigslist, Strait has been one of the few stores, and now I'm talking nationally, to maintain a substantial "brick and mortar" presence. With smaller local (again, speaking nationally) stores struggling to stay afloat, Strait has navigated these fresh waters with aplomb. That's not any easy thing to do in a business where profit margins are historically low. People who own and operate music stores do it for the love and greater good of both music and community, not to make money hand over fist. So the next time your walking around Guitar Center think of the long term damage you're about to do to these smaller (many, like Strait, are steeped several family generations deep) but far more knowledgeable store owners, their loyal staff (not like Guitar Center's "Hey, dude, what's up..." revolving door of salespeople) and, layers deeper, the long term degradation of both the commodity (guitars and related gear) and community (the kind of people you want living next door). It's easy to buy a guitar on line. But the buying experience and customer service (there is none) last only seconds and the only people you're helping are the heads of monolithic, mega-corporations. Think about what you're doing. It's a way of life. You'll make the world a better place and feel better doing it by leaving Mr. Anonymous at home in front of the computer while you jog or bike on down to strait for a far more meaningful...

I was recently in the market for a top quality acoustic guitar. I tested various brands in numerous shops in Austin and compared prices even with several on-line music companies. The folks at Strait were extremely patient and helpful as I tried several brands and models for a couple of months. During this adventure, numerous sales staff helped me with my selection and all of them were very courteous, informative and patient with me. They were always willing and wanting to answer my questions.

I finally decided to purchase a new Taylor 614ce acoustic guitar. I price shopped Guitar Center and several on-line music companies. Strait Music beat all the other store prices and had the exact guitar in stock that I wanted. Needless to say, it was a pleasure to deal with these guys.

After purchasing my new Taylor, I decided to have different strings put on the guitar and to have it adjusted to my specs. Shaun (repair shop) did an excellent job of servicing the guitar. He went way beyond my expectations in adjusting my new guitar. He did a great job and I would trust him with any of my guitars!!!

Since Shaun's service was excellent, I decided to take my 1975 Epiphone acoustic guitar for him to check over. Again, he spent nearly two hours checking it over from top to bottom and made numerous adjustments which were most needed The guitar now sounds fantastic.

Needless to say, Strait Music staff bent over backwards to provide professional service for my guitar needs. I highly recommend them to anyone, regardless if you are a beginner or an experience guitarist. Besides, they are a great...

I called about getting a setup done for my Strat. They said they charge $65 for the whole shebang (cleaning, fret work, setup, everything). There was no option to just set the bridge up and adjust the truss rod, so I said "Fine, whatever I'll just take it in". I dropped it off and the guy who took asked if I wanted to wait around or have them call me when it's ready. I said I was gonna leave and that they should call me. Then the guy said it usually takes around 10 days which made no sense to me. Why would they ask if I was gonna wait around if I had to wait there for 10 days? I left it there anyway.... over THREE WEEKS went by and I never got a call back. I went over there and they said they hadn't even touched it yet. I just took my guitar back and left. Maybe 3+ weeks is okay for some people to wait for a setup but, to me, that's just ridiculous. I didn't give them a 1 star because they weren't rude about it or anything.

Also their guitar selection is kinda meh.

Edit: I went back a second time and they got it done really fast. The tech was a nice guy. If you ever take a guitar in just MAKE SURE TO ASK how long it might take and hold them to it. Make a follow up call if they don't get back to you in a few days. Sometimes they're crazy backed up. The setup on my fender was actually really nice and comfortable. I'd take it there again. I'd still like to see I bigger brand variety (PRS, Ibanez, Jackson) but they've probably decided that their average customer looks for what they already...