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Nick Rail Music

4.6 ★★★★★ 109 Google reviews · Guitar & music store in Santa Barbara, California

Lessons Repairs & setups

Music store featuring stringed, band and orchestral instruments, plus lessons and repairs.

Plan your visit

  • Repairs & setups a repair bench comes up in reviews and the store's own info — call ahead for turnaround, since good techs run a queue
  • Lessons lessons come up in reviews and the store's own info — call about openings, instruments taught, and rates before the first visit
  • Instrument rentals rentals mentioned — the usual route for band & orchestra season; ask about rent-to-own credit
  • Today see hours ·
  • Phone (805) 569-5353
  • Website nickrailmusic.com

Hours

Monday 11 AM–6 PM
Tuesday 11 AM–6 PM
Wednesday 11 AM–6 PM
Thursday 11 AM–6 PM
Friday 11 AM–5 PM
Saturday 11 AM–5 PM
Sunday Closed

Hours can shift for holidays, clinics, and lesson schedules — worth a quick check before a special trip.

What's on the wall

Instrument and gear categories at Nick Rail Music, confirmed in players' own reviews and the store's own info — not guessed from the sign out front.

🔧 Repairs & Setups 3 mentions

“I was in need of an assessment and a repair and was up against the wall time wise.”

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🪕 Ukulele, Banjo & Folk 4 mentions

“Went to Nick rail to get some strings for my eastman mandolin and was having trouble putting them on.”

All stores with ukulele, banjo & folk →

🥁 Drums & Percussion 3 mentions

“They were very helpful and accommodating, especially since we had a strange request to check the sound quality of different types of drum sticks.”

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Brands they deal

Brands players name in their reviews of Nick Rail Music — the fastest way to tell what's actually hanging on the wall before you drive over.

🏷️ Taylor 2 mentions

“We were also able to try out some Taylor guitars, and a few other brands as well.”

Who else deals Taylor →

Brand mentions are mined from reviews and the store's own info — they tell you what's on the wall, not formal authorized-dealer status. If warranty coverage matters, confirm dealer status with the store or the brand's own dealer locator.

What players say again and again

The things reviewers bring up again and again across 109 Google reviews — with their own words as proof.

🧠 knowledgeable staff 4 mentions

“The young man helping me (I didn’t get his name) was very knowledgeable and a teacher himself.”

😊 friendly staff 3 mentions

“Friendly staff, recommended another Nick Rail location due to the specificity of the service I need.”

From the reviews

This was my first time here - came looking to replace a string on a 40+ year old guitar and ended up leaving with a brand new one instead. Ruby was wonderful helping me pick a guitar and accessories.

★★★★★ — Pai'Ea, Nov 2025

This is a great little music store. I miss ‘mom and pop’ stores, and this one has a little bit of everything. Nice Taylor acoustics and other quality guitars. Ukulele's. Band instruments. Music instruction books. Tabs. Some drums and heads. Sticks. Cymbals. No pressure sales. Very nice salesman/associate.

★★★★★ — Marc, May 2023

Wow .. what a great service. I was in need of an assessment and a repair and was up against the wall time wise. The problem was diagnosed and fixed within a day. Not just that .. I was called and kept up to date with the process. 5 stars for this business.

★★★★★ — Hannah, Aug 2023

What a great little music shop! I broke a guitar string on my baby Taylor, so came into this shop. Not only did they have the specific strings I needed for my guitar, the nice manager restrung my broken string on the spot and tuned my guitar free of charge.

★★★★★ — Rebecca, Jul 2023

Excerpts from public Google reviews. Read all 109 reviews →

Lessons at Nick Rail Music

Reviews and the store's own info mention lessons at Nick Rail Music. If you're signing up a beginner (or restarting yourself), a quick call ahead answers the three things that matter: which instruments they teach, whether the schedule has openings at the time you actually need, and what a first lesson costs. There's no wrong first guitar — a good teacher will happily work with whatever you walk in with, and a shop that teaches usually keeps affordable starter instruments and rentals on hand for exactly this reason.

Where to find Nick Rail Music

2801 De La Vina St, Santa Barbara, CA93105

Get directions Instagram · Facebook

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Listing verified July 2026 from public business records and player reviews. Something out of date? Report a correction. Own this store? Claim your listing — it's free.