Musician's Mall (Formerly Ali Akbar College Store) image

Musician's Mall (Formerly Ali Akbar College Store)

Musical instrument store Musical instrument repair shop

Music store specializing in Indian instruments, plus CDs, sheet music & repair services. People often mention sitar, shipping, store, harmonium,


Address

2111 Channing Way, Berkeley, CA 94704

Website

www.musiciansmallusa.com

Contact

(510) 225-9597

Rating on Google Maps

4.70 (48 reviews)

Open on Google Maps

Working Hours

  • Thursday: 12 to 5:30 PM
  • Friday: 12 to 5:30 PM
  • Saturday: 12 to 5:30 PM
  • Sunday: Closed
  • Monday: Closed
  • Tuesday: 12 to 5:30 PM
  • Wednesday: 12 to 5:30 PM

Featured Reviews


Frequently mentioned in reviews: sitar (8) shipping (6) store (6) harmonium (6)
Reviews are sorted by relevance, prioritizing the most helpful and insightful feedback at the top for easier reference.
  • 2/5 A Google U. 5 years ago on Google
    If you are looking to buy a sitar I would not recommend buying from this website, the sitars are very over priced. I ordered the student model #1 and it had a lot of problems and was way over priced for the amount I spent, if your looking for a reputable sitar I would buy from Rikhi Ram’s shop, also there are a lot of fake reviews for this website.
    2 people found this review helpful 👍

  • 5/5 Hitesh K. 3 years ago on Google
    My daughter wanted to buy me Yamaha PSR-I500 keyboard for my surprise birthday gift. She was trying to order from India but was struggling with shipping etc. However, with only a week left, she stumbled across this store and called them. The owner, Rishabh was so helpful that despite he was working from home due to Pandemic, he went out of the way to make special trip to warehouse and personally took charge of shipping. It arrived to Canada a night before committed. Five star customer service and really appreciate your customer focussed attitude.
    1 person found this review helpful 👍

  • 5/5 brandie j. 3 years ago on Google
    I bought the student sitar number three online. I called the staff just to make sure they got my order and they were very friendly. My only complaint is on ups’ they took forever to ship it because it got lost in their warehouse but on musicians mall side they were great also very good instrument
    1 person found this review helpful 👍

  • 5/5 Sita D. 1 year ago on Google
    This place is your one stop shop for all things classical Indian music. Plus the customer service is stellar and the repairman, Michael I believe is his name, is not only extremely thorough and professional he is also super friendly and cleaver. He fixed my antique bina harmonium with parts that were no longer available and extremely hard to find. I have been coming here since I moved to the Bay Area in 2014 and highly recommend!!!

  • 5/5 Vijay K. 1 year ago on Google
    My Tabla was out of tune and they did a really good job tuning it and cleaning it up for a great price. Thank you Musician's mall.

  • 5/5 Ryan G. 3 years ago on Google
    I ordered a sitar online, and am very very pleased! They package the instruments so well for shipping and will arrive to you without a single scratch. The sitar was well set up, and after a lengthy first time tuning, it sounds absolutely stellar! I have been practicing so much that I ended up breaking a string after only a week! I guess it's a rite of passage, but being a beginner, when I went to replace the broken string, I ended up breaking the replacement as well! Lots to learn! Thank you, Musician's Mall, for opening the doors for me to a whole new universe of music!

  • 4/5 Upendra B. 5 years ago on Google
    Went in to fix a sitar. Dedicated parking right behind store. Took couple of hours for tune up. There is an Indian restaurant within walking distance if you want to spend time while waiting for instrument pick up. University of Berkeley is a 12 minute walk. Store takes credit cards

  • 5/5 Brandon W. 5 years ago on Google
    Such a a lovely store with amazing people. My friend Rahul took me here to buy a tabla that he plays brilliantly. After visiting the store my likeness for Indian music increased.

  • 5/5 Krishna 1 year ago on Google
    Kalyan is amazing tuning harmoniums. Contacted a few folks in the Bay Area as I wasnt eager to drive to Benicia from Cupertino. It was well worth it. Thank you Kalyan.

  • 5/5 Jan R. 5 months ago on Google
    They helped me find the perfect harmonium for my needs.

  • 5/5 Gavin D. 8 months ago on Google
    Jordan Bickett is a great sales manager! I got helped in getting a sitar to me super quick! Extremely friendly staff and quick customer service :)

  • 5/5 Gnome C. 1 year ago on Google
    Bought my harmonium here and love it. Jordan was super helpful and even fixed a few keys that got stuck on it while learning to play over the past few months. This place is everything I love about local businesses and the eclectic/fun East Bay. Will def be back and ty

  • 4/5 Linda B. 1 year ago on Google
    I chatted with these folks for a few weeks and then purchased an $800 harmonium to be shipped one state away. It arrived with a significant buzzing sound in a couple keys. After a few days I was able to fix this by lifting 10 screws and opening the harmonium then finding and adjusting keys in one or both reeds. Once back together, two keys stuck together in a way that one key could not lift up on its own so never stopped playing. That key was too long. I finally loosened up a couple screws on a face plate that loosened the keys sticking together. Still the middle C had an annoying click whenever it was played. I had no way to fix this. They offered to do live video but only FaceTime and no Zoom. I was worried there would be more issues and at my own expense shipped it back. After, they offered to pay the shipping but it was already shipped back. Initially they wanted to charge me a restocking fee that was more than stated on their website. They suggested they saw no issues with the harmonium when it was returned, but late indicated it had sustained some corner damage in the return shipping. I had suggested it would be better for me to come to their store in the next few months after snow season and buy one in person as shipping is hard on harmoniums. I'm about a 6 hour drive away. In the end they provided a full refund. The owner called me from India. I was satisfied by the customer service provided, although it took a little arm twisting to get there. They are the only store regionally to purchase and service harmoniums. Best to talk to Jason and Rishab.

  • 5/5 Thomas R. 1 year ago on Google
    I ordered a sitar and Im very happy I ordered it from musician’s mall. It was packed with care, and shipped all the way to Ohio with no damage. Also the staff is friendly and answered a few beginner questions I had.

  • 5/5 Romeo Di P. 1 year ago on Google
    Lots of sitars, tablas, harmoniums, etc! Friendly, helpful staff!


Call (510) 225-9597 Open on Google Maps

Amenities


  • Payments
    • ✓️ Checks
    • ✓️ Debit cards
    • ✓️ Credit cards
    • ✓️ NFC mobile payments
  • Accessibility
    • ✓️ Wheelchair accessible entrance
    • ✓️ Wheelchair accessible restroom
  • Service options
    • ✗ Delivery
    • ✓️ Curbside pickup
    • ✓️ In-store pickup
    • ✓️ In-store shopping
  • From the business
    • ✓️ Small business

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