Mother Lode Music

They have all kinds of instruments. Really nice and neat store. I’ll be shopping there for my son’s new music instruments and equipment.

Lance has recently taken over as the new owner of Mother Lode Music and he’s moved the store a couple of doors down in the same center from where it was. Much friendlier than the old proprietor. He has a nice inventory of acoustic guitars, band instruments, and accessories. He is very knowledgable about his products and offers some pretty competitive prices on some of his gear. I purchased a Taylor guitar from him that was considerably less than the «big chain center.» I plan on patronizing him because its just flat worth it to drive to Jackson rather than go to Sacto and I would rather patronize our local businesses anyway.
Nice shop for our area. Far better customer service than you’ll receive at any of the big stores in the city.

New owners, very approachable and courteous. More personable then the last owners. I usually pop in when visiting from out of town. I’ll be sure to keep doing that. The only reason I don’t give 5 stars is because they still have same selection from the previous owners. But I was reassured they are working on getting new vendors in. I wish Mother Lode music the best.

Though not as flashy as other big-​brand stores like Music-​Go-​Round or Mr. C’s with all their guitars and amps, Motherlode Music has all the little «odds and ends» that you just can’t find in the other stores, especially concerning concert band instruments. Motherlode Music was the only store I found whom had the odd replacement parts for concert instruments, like trumpet finger buttons. Definitely going back when I need odd instrument replacement parts!

This is a pretty good mom and pop music store. They don’t have all the drums, amps, and guitars of the big box chain music stores. Instead, they’ll have odd parts, way more band/​orchestra instrument stuff. I recommend you support local stores like this before they disappear.

Unfortunately this appears to be the only music store in Amador County. Poor instrument selection, and poor representations of brand name manufacturers. Most of the instruments in this store were in desperate need of attention, i.e. needing strings, polishing, and I saw a few guitars with rosewood finger boards that were in dire need of Maintenence. The finger boards were so dry that they were beginning to turn white. The prices in this store were *crazy* expensive, too. La Bella folk singers were «marked down» to $ 10.75… They are about $ 6.99 at any other music store. When I approached the clerk about the price I was told «we have the best prices around.» Which I suppose is technically true, because there isn’t another music store for miles. Won’t be back here any time soon.

Okay, this is what a music store is supposed to be like…
Good selection, great service, happy employees (who are happy to answer questions) and not cluttered…
I checked them out for the first time today. It was the best experience I’ve had in a long time. Reminded me of Allegro Music in Fremont. I am so tired of the service at Guitar Center and Skips… employees just going through the motions and it’s very difficult to get anyone attention. I would rather spend a little more and support a great local spot than some corporate knothead just collecting a paycheck.
Well done Mother Lode!

Mother Lode is the go-​to music store for Amador County — not because it’s an outstanding music store, but because it’s the only real music store left in the area.
They’ve improved on their selection and the overall look of the store since moving from decaying downtown Jackson to the Martell shopping center. Considering this is way out in the country, they have a great selection of hard-​to-​find instruments and musical knick knacks. And just like your Sacramento-​area musical megastores, they have their own share of misguided youth practicing Megadeth bass riffs at full volume while you try to adjust the delicate tuning on a ukulele.
Some of the instruments have ridiculous price markups. Prices are high when compared to a place like Guitar Center, but its worth it both for having the convenience of a store in your own backyard and supporting a small business.