Walton’s World of Music

Not only are the staff unhelpful but can come across as either apathetic or borderline aggressive. I asked about the availability of an epiphone bass and getting the info was like pulling teeth and then with each question the tone would become more hostile and it was as if they thought I was a moron for not knowing the answers. Like I don’t think anyone would appreciate being talked to negatively especially for not knowing when the store gets it’s next shipment in.

I’d love to give this place a positive review. I do have plenty of memories of wandering passed Walton’s and popping down to the piano section, and spending up to an hour tinkling on the various pianos without being told to piss off… and I’ve met people with whom I went on to play music on more than one occasion… and they have a broad selection of instruments and equipment… It’s just the place is completely defeated by one thing. The staff.
This is a real bugbear of mine. I think that the worst establishment with the shoddiest goods and services can be saved by friendly staff. Hell, some businesses actually rake in the dosh with the worst possible services simply on the strength of their sense of humor and personability (see the Hans Brinker Budget Hotel). In the case of Walton’s, clearly, the shop has become more of an institution than just a building with some instruments, and as a result, the staff don’t really try that hard to sell things or even give you a good spiel about the instruments. The last few times I went in there, this time with the intention of buying a bunch of stuff and looking for advice on amps and keyboards and the like, I was spoken to with mono-​syllabic, barely audible and completely dismissive mumbles, every answer was short and delivered in a tone that suggested that I should already have known the answers, and i left feeling really embarrassed and angry.
So overall, a great, open space to hang out and try out instruments to meet other budding musicians with whom you can form a band, with a range of great pianos that you can noodle on ’till your hearts content… and leave without talking to the staff or buying anything!!! ;)

I’m ashamed I haven’t been here before now, after four years living in Dublin. I only ran in for strings, but in the 3 minutes I was in there, I received probably the best customer service I’ve had. Despite not knowing anything about what I wanted, the guy in there (my receipt says Kevin, though I can’t be sure that’s the right guy!) was just incredibly helpful and funny and explained everything to me so I could make the best choice– and eventually made the choice for me, with which I was very happy! For the brief visit I won’t yet give it five stars but I promise I’ll be back with more to do, and I’m sure they’ll get their 5.

I nipped here and had a play on a nice acoustic guitar, since I’m multi talented the style of guitars I think are based on the Irish and little on the American style of music.
I seen a few Dean guitars towards the back of the store. They looked nice. If you like acoustic too, there was a great selection there. They also have the coolest harp in the shop window. Great shop. Worth a look.

There’s one good staff member here from the USA.
The rest don’t ask if you need help, they don’t do any setup, even if you buy an expensive guitar, they tell you to go somewhere else and pay someone for it.
Heard 2 staff there bitching and swearing about another staff member one day, out loud, really inappropriate. I go in to see what’s new.
They aren’t helpful, don’t do used or trade ins, avoid.

It’s big so you think you might find something there. Wrong. Unless you want overpriced bottom-​of-​the-​line stuff. The staff are totally unhelpful. Got a gift card once and decided to buy an amp from them. The amp had to be ordered, which we did. They said they’d call back when it came. We waited for a month, no calls, we called back, they had no idea what we were talking about. Ordered it again… would you believe, after multiple calls and over 2 years, still no amp. They just keep forgetting to order it. Ah well.
There are at least 2 music shops nearby that are way better so don’t bother stopping there.

Very poor customer service. They are rude and unhelpful even after buying a € 1200 guitar off them. Buying online from now on.

The locals in Deliverance were more helpful…
They had a ⁵⁰⁄₅₀ sale going on, so I stopped by on Saturday to see if I could purchase a banjo. There was an Epiphone Mb-​250 G Banjo advertised on their website and I wanted it!
Upon entrance, the place is crawling with staff and one other customer. However, after staring at banjos on my lone for about 20 minutes, it became quite apparent it was up to me to get help. So help I did seek.
The vibe amongst the staff was «I’m in a rock band, I’m too cool to want to help you, I just work here.» Hunting snipe was easier than grabbing one of these «worker’s» attention.
Moments away from either knocking over a display to get help (maybe) or just walking out, I was able to step in front of a young girl and ask about the desired banjo. She walked off for ten minutes, chatting to a couple other employees, then going to her machine to (presumably) look this up. She comes back and says they are out and that they were snatched up quick.
I asked her if the other Waltons had any. So, off she went, and seriously chatted with a few more people before returning to her machine. I didn’t see her for at least ten minutes, only for her to return to me and say they don’t have any either.
Bloody annoying since I can still order it off their website.
I found this experience not to be unique. I was with a near and dear friend two years ago, purchasing music books, and they were equally unhelpful. The only reason I bothered returning was because of the ⁵⁰⁄₅₀ sale… and we see how that turned out.

Had one to one classes of mandoline and the guy was good craic. I wouldn’t have liked him to be too serious about my techniques because i told him I was doing it for fun but he still made sure I was picking up the good habits and working a little bit at home. I appreciated the tailored classes.

At Waltons there is a lot of well Known musicians that aren’t busting about their skills on this subject who go there to get supplies and orders. So they know well their stuff, in and out in one go!
Waltons is a tradition in Ireland in many, many ways, here we are only talking about the music shop… remember that there is a school as well.
At Waltons you don’t only get an Instrument to do your music that probably in a couple of weeks you will grow out of this curiosity or simply you won’t have the skills for music. you can get all the spare parts, books, and help from the people working there.
Be sure that you really want to play an instrument if you are a beginner and that you will stick to it, it will be then worthed your investment. try to think about it, pay few visits to the place before you’ll get an instrument, read a bit of history to know it enough as well as the possibility of what else you could play once you master it. An instrument is for life and it will pass from generation to generation and because of this you will fall in love of it.
Prices are well suited for Ireland, for this is understandable that if you want to compare, it just won’t work, in this case we know that there is always a cheaper way, but wll it be worthed? there I could get a beginners fiddle for € 70…the shop is in town, in a perfect location, you can ask for Mick, Billy, Steve or John for assistance.
I have been a customer for more than 15 years and I never got a bad experience. I Really recommend it. I know well that in a couple of years if my son gets better playing the fiddle, I certainly won’t mind upgrading it there, specially when his brother is a great guitar player already with the help of Waltons.

I’m from the U.S. and I’m a musician. In the states we have this giant, corporate, soul-​devouring music store called Guitar Center. Everything is brand new, out of the box and incredibly over priced. The employees are probably 19 or younger and would rather stand behind the counter and pick their noses than help you find what your looking for. All of the quality brands are on racks 20 feet above your head, and they’re way overpriced, like everything else in the store.
Walton’s World of Music is not very far off from this description. I walked into the acoustic guitar section, and all the guitars that were in my line of sight, and not hanging from the rooftop, were mid to low quality brands and priced like they are trying to make a 250% profit on every sale. I used to work in a music store growing up so I have a little idea about what these things cost the store to purchase and Walton’s has them marked up so high, even when they have a 40% sale it’s ridiculous.
Please, if you are someone thinking of buying a beginners guitar, resist the pull of the flashy signs and fancy package deals. Get your new journey as a budding musician started off on the right foot. Go to some place smaller where you might even, heaven forbid, meet the owner of a store who actually has some interest in finding you a quality product at a fair price.

I stood staring at the banjos for about 30 minutes yesterday. I tried to get the attention of the people behind the counter so I could try one out. I waited and waited and waited behind a line of high schoolers staring at the electric guitars. All those kids had guitars pulled down for them so they could go off into the corner and pretend to be rock stars. All those kids got helped but for some reason Walton’s World of Music had no interest in helping me.
Is it because I am older than 20? Is it because I am a woman? Is it because I only asked for help once?
Either way I just stared up at banjos for awhile and finally left the shop. Next time I want to try out an instrument at Walton’s I guess I’ll dress up as a young emo child with swoopy hair and an empty wallet.

I was thinking about buying a guitar, even though I have absolutely no experience with the instrument other than vaguely learning some chords a few years ago. Still, I want one. I had been stopping in and looking at the selection at a bunch of music stores around the city and Walton’s has one of the best selections, especially for beginners. They have a few different entry-​level guitars at a variety of prices, which is appreciated.
I am very left handed, so I said that I was looking for a left-​handed guitar. The guy assisting me was pretty great and told me that I should reconsider getting one and try to learn with a traditional guitar. He explained that it would be a lot easier for me to find better guitars as my skills improved. I really appreciated his sincerity, but felt that I needed to sleep on it and left empty-​handed. Still, I had a really good shopping experience there.
They have pretty much everything one could need; songbooks, instruments, accessories and even kids instruments too.

All that has already been said here is true. very good staff and a huge selection of nearly everything. They have a great piano selection, and also a good electronics section with keyboards and synthesisers. I tend to pop in here to see what new stuff they have but they tend to stick to the good ol’ reliables. If you are looking for a Les Paul in Dublin Waltons have the best selection of Gibson guitars hands down. However if your looking to give one a go you will need to be very serious about getting one, they keep them safely up on the wall behind the counter and tend to avoid getting them down unless you really do have the 2000+ euro to spend. which is a shame i think.
This place is noisy too… you will get a fair share of noisy teenagers who have already been thrown out of music maker and have wandered aimlessly onto Georges street with their group of annoying friends with nothing better to do than play bad songs… badly.
Other than that this place is great for its selection and staff… and if you are planning on your first anything in music… best get it here.

Walton’s has been knockin’ about since the 1920’s and is really a musicians music shop. They have walls upon walls of guitars, mandolins, banjos, violins and whatever else has strings, can play a note and can hang from a wall. The staff all have an extensive knowledge of what they’re selling but it can be a little intimidating if you are a beginner in whatever instrument (in my case, the ukelele) but they were all fairly sound (pun alert!) There’s a big drum section as well as a heap of pianos. It has recently become famous for having a scene from ‘Once’ where the characters play the (godawful) song ‘Falling Slowly’ for the first time. In a brilliant twist, staff have banned customers from playing that song on the pianos. There is justice in the world.