Megatone Amps Up the Smyrna-Vinings Music Scene

Smyrna-Vinings is about to get a little louder with the opening of Megatone Music on Spring Road. Owner Darryl Arthur said Smyrna’s newest music shop specializes in guitars, boutique guitar pedals and amps for the “gigging musician.”

“I’ve been a local musician since I was a teenager and I’ve had hundreds of guitars, amps, effects and that’s kind of what got me into this,” he said. “I was such a gearhead and I had so much of it. And I said, ‘You know what. There are other people like this too and there’s not a store to go to in Georgia that caters to gearheads.” That’s what we are. We’re a store that really caters to guitar enthusiasts that live, eat, drink guitar playing.”

Arthur has been a musician for 25 years and operated Megatone Music for the past two years as an online retailer. Not long ago he decided it was time to open a brick and mortar store to offer Smyrna musicians an alternative to big box retailers like Sam Ash and Guitar Center.

“You’re getting one-on-one attention,” he said. “Not only that, but I’ve been in music for 25 years. I know what I’m talking about in terms of guitars, amps, effects. Whereas you go to Sam Ash and you’re talking to some guy who has no idea what he’s talking about. He can’t really tell you the inside-and-out of an amp how it works or a guitar, what makes it different. So you’re getting a lot of expertise when you come here from actual musicians who are local musicians. I think that’s the big thing.”

You won’t find the brands Megatone carries at a big box music store either, Arthur said. Megatone Music is the only retailer in Georgia that sells Hughes and Kettner amps. They also offer a wide assortment of pedals from brands like Z.VEX, Carl Martin, Pigtronix, Mad Professor, Diamond and JHS.

Megatone Music opened Tuesday, May 8 and Arthur said he’s looking forward to making his store part of the community. The store offers music lessons to kids in Smyrna-Vinings interested in learning to play guitar. In addition to holding a music degree from Georgia State University, Arthur has experience as a music teacher from the lessons he gives his own children, ages four and five.

“Now there are so many different directions that kids can go in from the Internet, but the problem is it’s almost like you just let the floodgates open—a water hose effect,” he said. “We’re going to try to teach them the way I was taught when I was growing up, because again, everything’s thrown at them. One thing I know from having kids is you’ve got to put them more in a regimen and give them more of a path then just to open up everything.”

Megatone Music is located at 1797 Spring Road Suite 3. The store is open Monday through Friday 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Saturday 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.