A Guitar And Gear Support Forum

So I was reading the Guitar Center thread, and some comments about local guitar stores, and I thought, why don't we have a thread for recognizing good local stores? Sure, there are plenty of crap little stores around, but there are also good ones all across the country, so why don't we raise a virtual glass to the local guys who raise the bar? I'll start:

Music City, 3104 Vestal Pkwy E, Vestal, NY 13850
https://musiccityny.com/
I was honestly not expecting too much of Vestal or of this store, which I stopped in only because it was right off the highway and near some other shopping, but I was really impressed - and ended up buying a Firebird. A very large guitar selection, and a nice selection of amps and effects, too, plus recorded music, accessories, etc. And the owner is a super-nice guy.

Drum City - Guitarland, 9225 W 44th Ave, Wheat Ridge, CO 80033
http://www.drumcityguitarland.com/
Damn, this place is like a candy store. It was very hard not to drop hundreds and hundreds of dollars here. I think they must be really tight with Schecter or something, because I don't think I've ever seen so many Schecters in one place.

Todd's Music Express, 3411 Metairie Rd, Metairie, LA 70001
http://www.toddsmusicexpress.com/
Small but really nicely kept and all good quality stuff, with a very nice selection of G&Ls when I was in there, and another super-nice owner.

Ok, I'm in.

Fleet Sound n the Bell's Corners suburb of Ottawa is pretty good. Their used selection is non existent, but great prices on stuff like strings et al.
https://fleetsound.com/

Then there is Spaceman Music in Ottawa, which is predominantly used gear. Some prices not great, some fabulous. You gotta jump on the good ones though.
https://www.spacemanmusic.com/

And.....in all honesty, Long and Mcquade, which is a national chain here in Canada has always treated me great. Especially the Kanata location.

Rainbow Music in Tucson, AZ is an awesome shop

While not immediately local, my original hometown favorite local shop is Dave's guitar shop, which I of coures I call out here quite often.
https://davesguitar.com/

They have still not re-opened to the general public due to COVID but have appointment only shopping available and also have a drum shop in the building that is open limited hours ( easier to clean and sanitize drums than guitars )

I talked with their store manager the other day and he said this has been their best year ever, even with the retail shop being closed since March basically.

I wish I could name one, but there's only 1 local store within a 50 mile radius of me, and it's pure crap. 10 guitars max, all cheap you've never heard of strat style imports, and the only reason they survive is school band instruments. There is a locally owned store about 70 miles north of me, Righteous Guitars, but they only deal in HIGH end. Probably 150 PRS and another 100 Gibson, plus some rare boutique stuff. Amps most of us have probably never heard of, but cost $3500 and up. Extremely nice, but they don't deal, may have 1 sale per year where they knock 10% off of select instruments. I did meet Mr. Paul Reed Smith himself, there, though. Their selling point is that they Plek every single guitar they sell, have their own machine. I always feel like a homeless person walking in there to ooh and ahh over.

https://righteousguitars.com/

empireguitarsri.com

They tend to be more in the intermediate - advanced price ranges, but there's always a solid, rotating stock. The prices aren't bad either and in the times before Covid they had an annual garage sale every February where they cleaned parts and stock and other stuff out from the basement that always had some amazing used values...

Plus, I tried to Jimmy Page wire my AL2K, screwed up the grounding, and their tech charged me $40 to fix it, which I thought was about half what he was going to charge me. And he fixed it in a day and a half. I appreciated that.

Also, they had an original 1959 Bassman in the store that they had for sale one day while I was wandering (the 4x10). The owner (of the store) was wailing on it with a Strat and a fuzz pedal. He asked me if I wanted to play it. I told him there was no chance I was going to buy it. He insisted I play it anyway. Because if you play the guitar, and you have a shot at a '59 Bassman, you should play that sumbitch. I appreciated that too.

Well, for much of my adult life Gruhn Guitars was my closest local dealer. I still miss being able to walk down to Gruhn's on my lunch break
and talk guitars with George (or to be more correct, listen to George talk guitars.) One of the benefits/drawbacks of shopping at Gruhn's was running into others guys trying out guitars:



George's good friend Walter Carter owns a nearby store called Carter Vintage Guitars which is about as good a guitar store as you'll find,
with the possible exception of Gruhn's.

Now my local mom & pop shop is Leitz Music which is a better than average mom & pop shop but is no Gruhn's or Carter's.
I've bought a guitar and several amps from Leitz without complaint.

Over the past ten years, the guitar store I've done the most business with is Jerry Welch down in south Florida.
Jerry was a righty who was turned into a southpaw by a table saw.

I'm only a few miles from https://www.sightandsoundmusic.com/ which also happens to be the same people that run https://www.worldmusicsupply.com/. They just opened up a new bigger location last year and it is great.

This was taken at their grand re-opening event. (pre-COVID-19). I'm in there somewhere in the back. They have since expanded their showroom further and added more gear and guitars. They started carrying Gibson last year and PRS early this year.
In addition, I'm only about an hour south of Sweetwater.

Just had a thought....maybe this will trick...I mean convince [mention]toomanycats[/mention] to tell us where his favourite pawn shop is!

Coming at it from a lefty's point of view I really don't have a good local shop. The one local store I know of was pretty much 11 am to 5:30 Mon through Saturday and likely to be closed anytime then.

In San Antonio, TX:

Spacetone Music is a great place to shop for used gear. Very little new inventory at all, except for accessories. Nothing there is super desirable in the classic vintagey way, no sir. This is a place you go to find a used/pre-loved guitar that is actively searching for you. Guitar buying is a serious affair there, as it's library quiet. It's not a real snobby atmosphere, but you do have to put in appearances and buy some stuff before you'll ever get more than an "up nod" while walking in the door. It was in a location convenient to me, so I bought strings as needed just for an excuse to go in there. There was always at least one guitar model I had never seen before, every trip. I bought more guitars there than anywhere else before or since.

Pro tip: Don't park in front of the barbershop. Like, ever. And if that sonic blue DeLonge strat is still there, hands off! I said I'd be back for it! Head up Austin Hwy to the Purple Garlic for dinner - super good eats, but don't sit anywhere near the sand pit.

Guitar Tex: This is a place that caters to country players, acoustic lovers, and pickers. I would visit there when I was first learning how to build and tinker with guitars, and their tech was supercool in answering endless questions about guitar circuits. He was an older gentleman, and this was quite a while ago. I hope he is well. Very friendly atmosphere - this is where I fell in love with Reverend's guitar line. I still kick myself for not buying several of them at the $500 introductory (re-intro?) price point. He advised me to, even if it was just to keep them to flip later, and he was dead right.

Pro tip: Sit a spell, keep your ears open, and again - watch where you park. Do not speed in Alamo Heights. Yield in the roundabout, they're watching you. Bring an empty stomach to Panchito's, just three blocks away. Be prepared to wait up to 30 minutes at mealtimes. Good, very fattening, proper Tex Mex.

Red Bone Guitar Boutique. (Oops, doesn't look like they are open anymore.) This was a place to go drool. Wall to wall Gibsons including special limited run stuff you normally only see pics of in guitar mags. They carried Eastwood and G&L as well, and had the occasional Dunable along with other boutique builders. The owner was a lefty, and the store's logo reflected this. They had the biggest lefty section I've seen (they had a lefty section!). Nice guys, but all the way out of my price range. I played an a Ron Kirn built guitar there, and found out why he can command several thousand per build for simple Teles. That guitar's playability is my target every time I build one.

Pro tip: Don't touch anything without small talk first. They like a little foreplay. Also, careful the roundabout entering the shopping complex. Actually, be wary of any roundabout down there - we Texans don't do roundabouts. If you can escape the parking lot unscathed, sit outside and have a CoronaRita and an order of chicken diablos at the Hofbrau. Under normal circumstances, they'll have some live music.

Edit: Looks like Krazy Kat is gone, too.

Pro tip: Don't go, they're closed.

Northern Utah:

Guitar Czar (Murray, UT): If you dig 80's shred, you'll love the used section there. Usually a Fender/Gibson/Ibby lineup with a smattering of LTD. Decent staff, usually preoccupied with chat about previous week's gigs. Decent and fast rotating used inventory - probably owing to the fact that no one can seem to keep a band together for longer than two weeks in the greater Salt Lake City metro area. A little rough on the pocketbook if you decide to purchase. Definitely the busiest shop on the Wasatch Front. The tech there is apparently some sort of mythical figure, I can't even get anyone to speak his name and he's booked for six to ten weeks out steadily (pre-pandemic). This was the place that caused me to break down and buy fret tools rather than waiting forever on Eddie Riggs to get around to it.

Pro tip: Don't even ask about tech work.

Bill Harris Music (Provo, UT): Apparently, this shop's just been there forever. Mr. Harris was instrumental in opening and keeping several venues alive in the area, is well regarded and well remembered. He has passed on, leaving the shop to the family. His sons are hipster metalheads (Utah is a strange place), but seem rather knowledgeable. They sell everything, from band supply to grand pianos. Did I say Guitar Czar was a shredder's paradise? Bill Harris carries EVH, Jackson, Washburn, Charvel -- and if you like Schecters, they carry the whole damn catalog in store. I remember Gretch as well, and some ornate brand. Deangelico?

Pro tip: Never ever go in there before noon. The shop is minded by Mrs. Harris at those times, and she is just the nicest person in the most overbearing way possible. She is very friendly about her prejudices. There's an "s" in Gretsch, right?

Any Guitar Center in the greater SLC area: Small. Empty. Dirty. Poorly stocked - except for logo adorned window clings, hats, and keychains. Slowly, painfully dying.

Pro tip: Try a different city for a good GC. They ain't here, if they exist.

I love Amazon and Reverb. I'd be lost here without them.