Charlotte’s Best Music Stores
If you’re looking to take music lessons in the Charlotte area, one of the best places to go is Howren Music. This Mom-and-Pop music store has been providing local musicians both amateur and professional alike with instruments and equipment for years, and they have recently relocated to a more convenient Park Road Shopping Center. Regional bands like Something Jed cite Howren among their many debts, and whether you’re looking to start out or just fine-tune the skills you’ve picked up along the way, the staff at Howren is there to help. Howren has also been supplying local middle- and high-school students with instruments for years, working in conjunction with families and schools to provide affordable instruments to aspiring musicians. They are licensed dealers and technicians for, among others, Straubinger Flutes, Yamaha drums, guitars, and keyboards, Warburton horns, and Pearl drums. The friendly crew at Howren’s are always ready to lend their advice and help, and they’re always fully stocked with an array of strings, reeds, guitar picks, and drum sticks for whatever instrument you play.
Music & Arts Center, located in Southeast Charlotte’s Arboretum, is a similar neighborhood music store catering toward high school band students but also providing the kind of service and quality professional musicians demand. The specialty here is the huge selection of keyboards and electric pianos, as well as a wide range of guitar strings and accessories. As with Howren, lessons are available. Another of Music & Arts’ big draw is its huge selection of sheet music for sale. From collections of piano pieces by Chopin to songbooks by leading pop artists like The Rolling Stones and The Beatles, Music & Arts is the premier local destination for musicians of all skill levels who know their chops but are looking to expand their repertoire. The staff here will also give you some helpful recommendations, and they’ll let you in on which sheet music and song books are the best deals.
If you’re in a local band and you’re trying to hone your sound, Sam Ash is still the best bet around to offer you the widest selection of gear and the absolute lowest prices in town. As part of a huge national chain, Sam Ash has access to all the major manufacturers and, since it buys in such huge quantities, tends to offer lower prices. Whether you’re looking for the newest amps from Line 6, the hottest effects pedals offered by Boss, Vox, Zoom, or Danelectro, or even if you’re looking to upgrade your guitar to something a little more high-end, Sam Ash has probably got it; if they don’t, they can probably order it. A few years back, Gibson Musical Instruments, manufacturers of rock staples like the E-335 and Les Paul for the last half-century, made a concerted effort to make their whole line of products available to the major music retailers like Sam Ash, so even these products, which you used to have to go to smaller-scale retailers to get, are available at the music superstore. Though the staff can be somewhat stuck-up and proud about what they do – meaning you won’t always get the fastest service and in fact might have to request it – they’ll still do their job in the end, particularly if they’re working on commission. Of course, in addition to guitars and amps, Sam Ash stocks a full range of popular and world instruments, and their technicians are top-notch. If you’re looking for something you doubt somebody else has, this is the place to come.
Again, no matter where you are in your development as a musician, it’s important to find the retailer that’s right for you. If you’re just starting out in school, Howren and Music & Arts are good bets due to their intimate settings and long history of providing personalized service, though if you’re looking for that one item that you bet will be hard to find, Sam Ash probably has it. Whatever you’re looking for in music service, though, one of these retailers is sure to be able to provide it.
Howren Music & Sound
4209 Park Rd
Charlotte, NC 28209
(704) 525-5073
Music & Arts Center
8046 Providence Rd Ste C
Charlotte, NC 28277
(704) 341-0000
Sam Ash
5533 Westpark Dr
Charlotte, NC 28217
(704) 522-9253
