Mamas Boy Music — Local services in Portsmouth

In a time when they are becoming increasingly scarce, Mamas Boy Music exemplifies all that a local music shop can be. It's really too good to be true. I've worked with music shops from California to RI over the last thirty years and this is hands down the best shop I've ever encountered. I agree with James Allan's review entirely. Garrett Gough, I think you might want to flush out your head gear and give it another try. Jim really knows his stuff and with that comes confidence. He gives it to you straight, that's for sure, but he's not arrogant and I've never felt a tinge of condescending in any of my interactions with him over the last 5 or 6 years. For example, when I'm an idiot about something that I really should already know, he doesn't care or give me any trouble about it. He just slows it down and walks me through it, sharing his wisdom. He is patient, just loves what he does and wants to help you get where you want to go, and, amazingly, seeing as how things are going with small music shops these days, money is not the motivating factor for him. I originally walked in believing I wanted to sort of follow the latest trend in some of the music I play toward high-output guitar pickups. But Jim asked me a bunch of questions about exactly what tone I was after and what I was looking to do, etc. He walked me through the components and demonstrated some things on his guitar and explained the trend in more depth and the trade offs that come with high-output pickups and why he thought I actually would be happier with the opposite from what I thought I wanted: low-output pickups, and some different choices with regards to some of the other parts of my rig and the way I use them. And he turned out to be right and ooooohhhh soooooo right! I'm not a gear guy, but I had an idea in mind about what I like and I found it very frustrating over the years to track down without a guide. I had been chasing tone since I was a teenager, but what I've got now is what I always wanted and then some. My sound is better than I imagined it could be and I truthfully couldn't be happier. In fact, I periodically get blown away by how amazing my rig sounds. All his doing. And perhaps the most amazing part: Jim would have made a lot more money off of me if he just would have sold me the crap I initially thought I wanted. But he doesn't roll that way. He spent a lot of time, free of charge, working with me personally to get me what I actually wanted. His integrity is over-the-top. He takes care of you and provides simply amazing service. I'd say running his business this way ensures customer loyalty and eventually he'll make that money back in the end through repeat business, but I don't think that's actually the case at all. He's been cutting me breaks all along for years and still doesn't charge me enough for the quality. Somehow it still works out for him and he's able to stay in business. Truly top notch. I really can't say enough. Highly recommended is the understatement of the year. Walk in there with an open mind and you'll walk out of there a smarter...

Condescending? I'm thinking you probably had a little chip on your shoulder when you walked into this establishment - and you may have received a bit of schooling from someone who corrected you. I've been playing the guitar for almost 40 years and my experiences have been 100% positive. I went into this store having quite a bit of knowledge; but I acted as if I was a new guitarist in search of various items. I wasn't subtle as I pulled a fat stack of $100 bills from my pocket and said, 'I'm kind of new to this and have some items I need; like new strings for both electric and acoustic 6-string guitars, a capo and mentioned several other items, can you make some recommendations?'. Not only did the Owner (I'm assuming it was the Owner) choose the appropriate items, he put several brands on the counter, explained the differences and guided me toward products which were a great value. I was the perfect target for a fleecing and he could've made a much larger sale, but he was honest, professional and did the right thing. By doing so, he's earned my trust and has a faithful customer who will spend far more in the long run than he would've made by being deceptive. A first-rate,...

A little gem hiding in the back corner of the plaza. Brought my sons guitar into the store today because he had some damage to the fret which affected the sound and function of the guitar. I politely mentioned that it was a cheaper guitar for my 10 year old and that I wasn’t looking to dump a bunch of money into it but rather a cheaper fix so it would be playable. I wasn’t presented with an expensive repair estimate or an inflated explanation about how it needed more work. Rather, it was an honest assessment and repair that returned the guitar back to a condition in which it could be played without costing an arm and a leg. No need to go to a big box store, come here instead. Thanks for taking care of my sons guitar today....