Rockin Robin Guitars & Music

Most awesome guitar store ever. Even more awesome people who work there! Love them and love them. Go!

Great staff that has tons of knowledge about equipment! Their ukulele guy is AWESOME and really knows his stuff. I will definitely go here for all my music needs! They even have surfboards and their prices aren’t outrageous! Really neat little place!!!

Horrible store. Very rude employees who won’t even acknowledge you unless you go to great lengths to get their attention. If you ask them questions, they’ll treat you like you’re stupid and give dismissive and unhelpful answers. The used guitars they have for sale are all beat up and overpriced. Why would I pay $ 500 for a used Danelectro with chips in the paint when I can get one brand new for $ 350 at Guitar Center? Believe me, I’d rather support a local store than a big chain, but this store is just a disaster. I’ll go to Guitar Center from now on.

Went to RR as a kid, back when Ken worked there in 2007 and 2008. Haven’t been back there in years so I have no clue how it is now. As I was a young girl, I only bought pics and strings. Still Ken was extremely nice and funny… Even when I brought all my younger cousins in… and we were loud… well more with laughter. Do remember everyone else stand offish and reading these recent reviews… it’s obvious what or should I say who is missing ;-D. Hope Ken is feeling better and alive and well. RR gave me something to do, somewhere to go and a means to escape my not so pleasant home. For that small gesture of kindness, for Ken, I am forever grateful.
–LionnaJune

Good local music store that’s got everything you need. Also has a great selection of new and used effects pedals and vintage guitars and amps!

Awesome place with awesome staff! They are always friendly, welcoming and helpful. I have a Guitar Center right by my house and avoid it like the plague! I drive miles and miles out of my way to go to Rockin’ Robin! Got a great deal on exactly the ukulele I was looking for and when my Washburn guitar needed some TLC, Dave in repairs worked his magic! Work done expertly, efficiently and at a very fair price. This is the go to store for any serious musician!

I hate giving this store a one star review. It is a very cool store with a good variety of vintage gear. It has a unique feel and vibe.
However, I would recommend not buying gear from this store unless you are ready to haggle. The prices really are outrageous. The items I looked at were much above where you would find Guitar Center or any other retailer that sells at MAP. Manufacturers try to protect their distributors and retailers by setting a minimum advertised price or MAP. MAP normally has 25 to 30% gross margin.
I understand a store wanting to get 10−15% more than the minimum advertised price. However, they run the risk of any knowledgeable consumer looking online and finding every other retailer selling at MAP.
The one item I was prepared to purchase was marked at 43% above MAP… or what Guitar Center sells at. GC price 299… RR price 429.
These guys seem to have the same dying pre-​Internet business model that other mom-​and-​pop /​independent music stores have… low-​volume high margin.

I have mixed feelings on Rockin Robin Guitars. Let’s start with the bad. Just about everything you can get new is overpriced. They know this and they know people who know anything about guitars/​amps/​effect pedals know this so they will discount the price to the standard online/​guitar center price if you ask. The problem is that the soccer moms who come in trying to buy their kids their first guitar almost always walk away paying msrp, which is often 20−30% higher than the price they should pay.
Some people might not like the staff. No they aren’t super attentive, but this isn’t a chain store so if you want some guy with a lip ring and gauges talking your ear off to try to get you to spend an extra $ 50 and sign up for the email list go to Guitar Center. For the most part the staff knows their stuff and can help you out if you come in knowing what you’re looking for. The repair center is pretty good. They’ve fixed my stuff a few times and it usually doesn’t cost as much as I expected. Also if they think something is beyond repair they won’t try to exact money from you and will just say they don’t think its worth fixing. Just dont let them restring your guitar cause they charge $ 10+parts.
Now for the selection. The best part of Rockin Robin is their used equipment. They have a wide range of guitars (acoustic and electric), amps, basses, and a decent collection of old pedals that may be difficult to find online. While the new stuff is usually overpriced, anything used is just about right and they will almost always give you 20% off if you try to haggle or know someone who works/​worked there. ²⁄₃ of my guitars and my nice amp were bought used from here and all of them have held up very well.
Lessons. The lessons vary a ton on who your instructor is. Some teachers are great and will give you scales to learn, teach you music theory (chord progressions, major/​minor– basically Music Theory 101 type stuff). Some teachers will ask you what song you want to learn and basically become a live version of ultimateguitar. If you get the good teachers the lessons are within the range of fair prices, if you get a bad one you’re getting ripped off.
So overall I give rockin robin ³⁄₅ stars, but I add one because its a cool store and one of the few independent music stores in Houston. In an age where mom and pop guitar stores are turning into guitar centers like characters on Walking Dead that is important to me so I try to shop here even though the internet is better for the smaller stuff.

Been shopping here for almost 20 years, excellent selection of guitars, amps, effects, bass and drum gear too. Would be far too easy to spend a years salary here, but gotten more frugal with age. They completely restored my ’66 Fender Jaguar here in 1994 and 19 years on it’s still a beautiful instrument and has not needed a ton of repairs or maintenance — speaks volumes for their quality and workmanship. They’re currently rebuilding a friend’s strat, and no doubt when he goes to pick that up it will be another gorgeous instrument. Now must resist temptation to purchase that all tube orange amp… Ugh.

I’ve been in a mood to write some reviews on Unilocal and started randomly thinking of some of my favorite places in Houston and this has got to be one of them! This place and I go way back! I bought my first electric guitar here many moons ago! I also bought my highly cherished cream colored Fender AS Strat here which is one of my prized possessions! This is by far the coolest guitar shop in Houston!
I love their Collings room and can sit there for hours playing these fine guitars! The staff is friendly and there is a lot to see!
Great place to check out if you’re ever in the museum district!

Place is great. Very easy going, friendly, and welcoming with a good amount of consistency. Their repairs guy is a life saver. Really high quality work for an incredible price!!! They sell used guitar parts too, so you can build your own over time! the parts go fast. They don’t bug you too much, some places it’s very clear they work on commission, but here if they do you can’t tell at all. Their help is actual help they don’t push you. Their guitars are marginally pricier but they have more interesting guitars. One time I came in and an employee was pretty condescending, but for all the positives this place offers, it’s kinda like– turn off your ears and avoid that guy. Smile and nod, bye bye.
Every guitar store has an element of snobbery that is odd to me, you don’t find it in classical music stores, they love kids and amateurs there it always seems, even if they play chop sticks for two hours on various pianos. I dunno, it seems to be just part of the experience buying your first guitar etc, being a noob. I recommend if you are a new guitarist etc, playing a G to E for like 30 minutes for the sake of a possible reaction. You probably won’t get one at Rockin Robin. Let us know on Unilocal.They mostly leave you to your own devices. It’s easier though to hide at a guitar center just because the space is so large. What I like alot about Rockin Robin is the unique high quality finds… and most of the people who work there are downright awesome.

As far as instruments go, they sell a bunch of beat up overpriced used gear. Nothing here seems to be new.
This place is really just out to rip you off. I once signed up for some lessons here. What a joke. Their lesson teachers are more geared for beginner students, but I wouldn’t even recommend beginners taking lessons from these bozos. When you sign up for lessons here they make you setup a direct payment method to your account charging you on a monthly basis (what was I thinking, I’ve never had any lesson teacher charge me like that). I attended two lesson and realized what a mistake. So I told them not to charge me for the rest of the month since I wasn’t happy with their lesson teachers (two different ones I tried out). «oh that’s too bad we are still going to charge you.» So I ended up having to call my bank up to cancel payments. What a bunch of bullshit.

Joan B’s review reminded me of my own recent fail of an experience here. I was on the hunt for a specialty item – a tick-​tock old fashioned metronome (yes, isn’t that sad that it’s a specialty item now?). My boyfriend was going to use it in a sculpture installation he was stuck at school putting together. After exhausting my contacts to try and borrow one, I decided to go to Rockin’ Robin, because «local music store» and all that.
I walk in, ask someone behind the desk if they have what I’m looking for, and the guy tells me to go to a piano store WITHOUT EVEN LOOKING UP FROM HIS MAGAZINE.
«Ok, thanks,» I say, chewing on my lower lip so that I wouldn’t add on anything after that. So I did. And even though that wasn’t the right place, I was VERY graciously directed to Dowling Music by the lovely piano salesman who worked there who actually, ya know, looked at me and smiled and such.
Our similar experiences may lead you to conclude that it’s only women who are treated this way, and that may actually be true – but even when I’ve trotted in here with my boyfriend, a former touring drummer, we’ve always walked out empty-​handed. At one point he was on the hunt for a certain part for his drum kit, and after explaining what he wanted, and having a staff member disappear into the back, they didn’t have it. It was then established that the guy didn’t actually understand what BF was asking for, so lather, rinse, repeat and we still didn’t find what we wanted. He offered to order it for us, but the whole point of coming into a brick-​and-​mortar store is to get it right away. BF ended up getting the part off the internet.
When I finally came home victorious with the metronome, the boyfriend actually got kind of mad I even stopped in Rockin’ Robin. He’s pretty much «done» with them, and after my last experience there, I am too.

1. Rockin Robin is my favorite guitar store in Houston. The owner is a fantastic dude. Deep knowledge of guitars, and extremely friendly, helpful and fair about pricing. You will never, ever walk out of Rockin Robin with a lemon.
2. Not all of the employees are so great. In fact, customer service varies WILDY. Sometimes good, but sometimes you’ll get someone disinterested and unhelpful, or even worse condescending or downright douche-​tastic. I avoid Guitar Center for a reason, but sometimes get the same treatment here, and that’s disappointing when it happens. Regardless, for the quality of the guitars I’ve gotten there and for the owner the store gets 4 stars.

I used to take piano lessons there, they were really great. Every time I walked in I received a million smiles and hellos.
Also, for my lesson most of the time he would let me pick songs I want to learn and also give suggestions, very awesome!

On tour in Houston, and this place had some decent gear but he staff was less informed and kind of rude. I had $ 200 dollars to spend on some pedals and they had no intention of helping me find anything.
Some wacky, «I got him», sales guy stuff went on as if we we’re at a guitar center.
20 people in the store and most were sales people.
All the silvertone stuff was overpriced and people seemed irritated that I asked for a first series digitech whammy pedal.
Funny enough after the guy said he hadn’t heard of it, and that he didn’t carry digitech, I looked in the back of the cabinet and saw one with power supply.

I’m convinced music history is made in this shop. Just walking through the doors makes you feel like a rock and roll god.
I visited this shop looking for a new acoustic guitar and was shown the ropes by Jimmy… their resident Jimmy Buffet look-​a-​like. He was funny, knowledgeable and efficient.
The staff were helpful and patient with all the gawking. Seriously… even if you don’t want to visit the shop, check out the website… the pictures are awesome.
Great place for all your musical needs.

I read the reviews before heading down there and eveyrone was really cool. I have not played my guitars in a long time and they were really cool about my qusitons and buying strings. I also picked up a stand. Good prices, service, and I love the selection. I saw a nice Fender there (salavating).

I’m gonna have to totally agree with what Alex A. has said about this place. It’s also quite large. There’s a ton of things in here but the way it’s spread out is comfortable and relaxing which makes you want to stay in there all day. And what he said is true, they are not arrogant, or dicks. Staff is friendly and they seem to really enjoy what they are doing. And when I find places with staff like that, I go back. Which is why I have been coming here for over 10 years.
By the way, the Reverend Willie G., Billy F. Gibbons of ZZ Top has been spotted in here quite often.

Yeah this is a cool store ran by «cool» people. A lot of music and mainly guitar stores are ran by pretentious jerks who think they are way too cool to give you the time of day or if you don’t play at a Jimmy Hendrix level you are not worthy of entering the store. Not so here.
I came in a few weeks back to pick myself up a nice, cheap acoustic guitar. I am by no means a «Jimmy Page» of the guitar world however I have attempted to play for a number of years now and back in the UK I have small collection of nice axes, even if I can’t put them to justice! I entered Rockin Robins and was immediately met by «Jimmy» who by the looks of him was the owner of this joint. Instead of him trying to direct me to the über expensive «gems» tucked away in the back, which there are plenty of. No our man listened to what I had to say i.e. half decent little acoustic axe, not too pricey and one if I had to leave in a hurry I would be able to part with and leave here. Low and behold he pointed me in the direction of a $ 160 «Jasmine», a pretty decent make and a damn good price for what it is.
They have got everything in this store, from run of the mill little beauts like I picked up to some seriously bling «sell-​your-​car-​to-​afford» signed and even historic guitars through the back. As most privately owned stores they are always keen to throw you in something for free or at a «reduced» rate than the tag. I got me guitar, a hard case, a load of free picks and an electric tuner for a damn good price, can’t remember exactly what but well under $ 200 which was much less than I was prepared to pay.
They also threw in a free 30 min lesson which I will take up later on and report back how that went, I also went in there again today on my lunch and picked up a capo, again it said $ 22 on the tag but they knocked it down to $ 16. Sold!
I would defo recommend these lads whether your a «Guitar Hero» or a newbie to the hobby, these guys will look after you and not rip you off.