Music Inn World Instruments

Terrible attitude and customer service. There are other music shops I would much rather go to than be treated so rudely.

Awful place with some signs of shady business going on downstairs. Was told one thing and when I came back was told it was not possible. Now I’m out $$ and have nothing. Hate to give a poor review to a small business, but they should set better expectations. If you’re ready to shell out hundreds of dollars for poorly maintained instruments, this is your spot.

Super nice folks welcomed us into their store. Very interesting and unusual assorted instruments. Coolest place in the Village when we were there!
Come in with an open mind and leave with a smile! Peace!

I returned with my friends to Music Inn this afternoon, after one of my friends wanted to find a saz– a stringed Turkish folk instrument. Not only did he find one, but got some instruction on it from a very knowledgeable and friendly employee who we then jammed with. He is also a very remarkable tabla player! Not much has changed since our last visit to Music Inn, still rather high prices for instruments of questionable condition, but I felt like we received a much warmer welcome this time around. However, the old dude with the beard kinda just sat around detuning and retuning this old electric sitar while we were trying to play and it felt almost deliberate how loudly he was doing it. Nevertheless, it didn’t really impede with our impromptu jam session. I also noticed a very nice collection of djembes on the bottom floor in the back room, several of which were string tuned.

A cool place to look around and play some strange and exotic musical instruments. The staff is über laid back, the day we visited they were all just messing around with their instruments. If you’re a musician that’s at all into seeing or playing hard to find instruments from non western cultures this might be a great place for you to visit. My wife and I aren’t musicians, but we really enjoyed seeing all the cool stuff they’ve got. They also have a small assortment of records too. If you’re in the area this is a cool place to stop in, if only for fun.

I visited Music Inn World today because I needed help re-​tuning and getting tips on keeping in tune, a Saz Baglama I brought back from Turkey. The owner Jeff was extremely helpful, gave me some tips and I left with a beatifully tuned Baglama. The selection of instruments from around the world is overwhelming. I’m definitely coming back.

The niftiest, most amazing little odd instrument store in the galaxy. If you want something commercial and slick, don’t go here. If you want fawning attention, don’t go here. If you want bright lights and lots of plastic, don’t go here. The place is small and so full of odd and unusual instruments (and some conventional ones) that there’s almost no room for people… so please go to a more conventional store and leave room for me. Please… :-)

Just dido on the staff and owner.
I also don’t give reviews often because I’m neither overly impressed or appalled. But this place.
Overpriced junk, less than welcoming staff

This place is delightfully chaotic and cramped — before or after, check out

The older man with the white hair and white beard fixed my electric autoharp… something 3 different guitar centers couldn’t do. I love this place, it was so cheap and quick! He was done in 10 minutes. Definitely going back to get my ukulele repaired soon.

I went in looking for a hard to find Latin instrument for my girlfriend’s music class, and low and behold they knew what it was and had one. It would have been really hard to find by myself in the store though

There’s really not much to say about this spot. As I walked in, I was greeted by the owner and his two buddies who appeared stoned out of their mind. I was searching for the vinyl section which is down a metal staircase that might be the most dangerous known to man.
Once you’re in the dungeon of records, the experience only gets odder. For some reason they have a huge Christian/​Gospel section, none of which is in any semblance of good condition. There appears to be a lot of funk/R+B as well, but these albums have seen way better days.
I didn’t even bother asking the price of any of the albums because I doubt any of them would have played on my turntable once I got them home.
Other reviews here mentions the instruments hanging from the ceiling, which if you’re tall may pose an issue. Also, walking into the basement will pose an issue. As a matter of fact there’s foam so you don’t bump your head.
This place has to be seen to be believed. It was both heinous and amazing. Mostly heinous.

I want to preface this review by saying I rarely give out bad reviews for any places. There are a variety of reasons why someone might receive service that garners a one star review.
Today, I give a one star rating, not only because of abysmal service of one of the oldest employees at the establishment (the man with white hair and a beard), but also because of the morally questionable business practices of the establishment.
I saw ethnic instruments and supplements in the most disrespected, battered conditions, being priced absurdly high for the quality of the goods. Additionally, many goods are not priced, with multiple staff naming completely different prices for the same goods.
Any experienced, traditionally trained player would have enough experience with how these goods are priced to know what is near a market price of the good. They would find these prices unacceptable for both the pricing and abysmal quality of many of the goods. For example, I found sheet music that is priced, even as an import item, around $ 5 – 7. The staff with white hair and a beard, who enjoyed displaying some knowledge of Indian and Japanese instruments, said that these books are at least $ 25 per piece. These books are the same books sold by Chords Canada at around $ 6.50, despite import fees. No traditional player would find this a reasonable price.
What *alarms* me the most about this, is that beginner players will fall for these prices. They will be taken advantage of, being sold damaged and sub par quality goods at prices higher than the same products *new*.
This is the most disrespectful form of cultural appropriation I have seen in a while.
This is dishonest business practice that does a disservice to traditional music of different ethnicities.
I don’t think this is the fault of the younger employees at the Music Inn. They are people who love music who are probably drawn to the diversity of instruments, and the free improvisations that go on at the ground floor.
The problem are the employees in charge, who set the standard of disrespectful, capitalistic appropriation that makes these instruments into disrespected goods sold to rip off an unaware customer interested in world music.
Looking at the high number of one star ratings and an unusually low 3 star average rating of this establishment, my experience is not a unique one. I enjoyed looking around and decided to leave when I realized that the pricing of these goods are done in a predatory manner that takes advantage of people who don’t know better. That’s what disturbs me the most — the very people interested in ethnic music traditions, that should be welcomed, may come to the Music Inn and be preyed upon as an easy customer to sell borderline counterfeit goods to.
New York City is full of musicians of traditional world music of various traditions who have integrity, unlike the older staff in power at the Music Inn. I highly encourage all who are interested in picking up a world instrument to do a Google search to find an instructor for that instrument, who would know how to get a good instrument at market price.

I actually didn’t make it all the way inside. Just inside the door were two guys sitting in folding chairs, reading in front if a space heater. This seemed to be the only free space visible from the door. So you basically have to go through a living room to get inside. No thanks.

Music Inn World Instruments makes me want to learn how to play a musical instrument…
This place has all these cool instruments hanging up off the ceiling, on the shelves, and on the floor. And even though I don’t have a clue how to play any of them, or even what they are called… I was a fucking rock star!!!
So, if you are walking around this area and have some time spare, go into this place, have some fun… you won’t be sorry.

I could be here for hours, hours, and more hours. Actually, I wish I lived around here, so I could visit this store at least once a day. It’s located at a historical place, and the story has or sells tons of history itself. Once you get in, you bump into a bunch of different instruments from all over the world. They come in different shapes and sizes. It’s a fun place to go whether you play instruments or not. They also have a really cool LP section downstairs, and if you enjoy collecting vinyls, you have to go here and spend good money. It’s worth it.

Wow, this shop is a true New York experience! Packed floor to ceiling with instruments of all different kinds. I went in looking for a Kalimba – they had a number of different kinds in varying prices and styles. The owner helped me find the one for me and even showed me how to tune it. He said he’s been open in that location for 50 years, so you get the benefit of supporting a small, local business and being a part of New York history.

I was intrigued and a little skeptical to visit this shop after reading so many varied reviews. I’ve recently started playing the Didgeridoo, and i’d heard this shop had a few. It’s rare to see authentic eucalyptus or bamboo ones around here and i really wanted to try them out. as soon as i saw the shop, I was already amazed– as everyone says, wall to floor instruments of all kinds! If you are into rare and world instruments, you’ll be in love. probably not the best place for ordinary guitars or such. the owner was was helpful and nice to me. i got the impression that he really only wanted people genuinely interested in buying something, not just playing around with the instruments. I got a good deal on the didg, they were not overpriced in my opinion, i had researched it beforehand. so i know own a euc didg! sweet.

What a great little place… This little place is packed to the max (floor to ceiling) with all sorts of cool acoustic instruments… I played in this store for an hour or so screwing around with their stuff… chatted with the owner a bit. nice guy! The store is the set of these videos:
Prices are a bit high but they have some interesting instruments… and it’s smack dab in the village so what can you expect. Go in and F around with their stuff!

O.K. So It is going to be hard to explain to someone who has not been here how visceral an experience it was walking into this store, but I will certainly try. If you are at all interested in other culture’s music or in rare and unique instruments, look no further my friends. I have kind of a sick obsession with unique and foreign instruments. If there is an instrument that sounds cool and looks odd I just must have it. Anyway, I had been looking to buy a sitar for ages, afraid of buying some piece of garbage off the net, and convinced I would never find a store in the U.S. that sold them, I had almost given up. That was, until I stumbled into the Music Inn.
Everywhere you look there are instruments covering almost the entire store. The walls, floors, and ceiling are cluttered with endless kinds of instruments. The instant I walked in and saw several sitars hanging from the ceiling, I was in love. I stop here every single time I’m in New York. The older man that owns it seems to be an old hippie and he’s quite knowledgeable and seemingly able to play any of the instruments in the place. This is the best music store I have ever been in as far as world instrument retailers go. I only hope one of you take the time to visit it and maybe you will have a heavenly moment as I did.