Guitar stores worth a visit in the Bay area?

[droach274]

Hi,

Can anyone recommend any good (and friendly) guitar stores in the Bay Area? I will be there on a business trip soon and would like to take the opportunity to visit any worthwhile guitar stores, especially those who stock Guilds, and even more especially those who stock vintage Guilds.

Last time I visited Gryphon Stringed Instruments in Palo Alto. They had some great guitars (Martins, Collings etc) but no Guilds (although the guy did said they had just sold the only Guilds they had in stock the previous week).

I also visited Guitar Center in San Francisco which also had some nice guitars but a bit too off-the-shelf for my liking.

Any other recommendations? I will be staying in Mountain View and I'm prepared to travel maybe up to 50 milers (although the closer the better).

Thanks.

 

[tjmangum]

Just down the road, either in or just outside, in San Jose, is Guitar Showcase. Several years ago they had a strong inventory of Guilds including a 50th anniversary D55 that they want crazy money for. They also have a used consignment shop adjacent to it where I famously failed to jump on a DV62 and then when I called back to work a deal, before I could pull my credit card out, someone else bought off the floor. (Note to self, saving 50 bucks was not worth losing that guitar!)
Gryphon, whether they have Guilds or not is one of the coolest shops I have ever been in. Also, across the bay in Tiburon is Schoenburgs. They have the most quality guitars packed into the smallest space I have ever seen. Eric Schoenburg is the guy who resurrected the OM with Martin. Great story to look up.
Hope this helps,
tj

 

[6L6]

You'll be lucky to find any vintage Guilds in Bay Area stores.

Guitar Showcase is a must see (they still have the 50th Anniversary D-55 in a glass case). They have one D-40BJ for sale but told me two weeks ago they'll no longer be stocking Guilds.

Gryphon is wonderful.

Gelb Music in Redwood City is a fun store and they are a Guild dealer.

Real Guitars in San Francisco is a funky cool shop that deals only in used instruments. Worth the trip and you can drop in and see SF GC if you wish. There's also a GC in Santa Clara (san Jose?).

Have fun!

6

 

[adorshki]

You'll be lucky to find any vintage Guilds in Bay Area stores.
Guitar Showcase is a must see (they still have the 50th Anniversary D-55 in a glass case). They have one D-40BJ for sale but told me two weeks ago they'll no longer be stocking Guilds.
There's also a GC in Santa Clara (san Jose?).
Have fun!
6

What 6L6 says explains why I've never even SEEN a live Tacoma or New Haven Or GAD. I live in San Jose a couple miles from GC AND Guitar Showcase. Showcase is a must see for the museum they have in back of the showroom. It will be extremely easy to get to from Mt. View. I was surprised the last time I was in there about 2 months ago, only one Guild on display. Now I know why. Guitar Showcase on Stevens Creek Blvd lived up to its poor rep the last time I was in there about 4 years ago, and when I went to just check them out around Christmas the parking was so awful I gave up. But they're supposed to be Guild dealers now.
If you're a bit of a tech dinosaur like myself and don't trust Google maps, PM me, I'll tell you how to get around with out falling into any notorious Bay Area traffic booby traps. :lol:

 

[Seed]

How about Haight Ashbury Music Center in SF?
I think they are in good supply of Guild guitars.
Several years ago, I bought my D-55 there.

 

[6L6]

How about Haight Ashbury Music Center in SF?
I think they are in good supply of Guild guitars.

Yep, you are correct.

I should have mentioned above that I played the 50th Anniversary D-55 (Serial #1 of 50!) at Guitar Showcase when it first arrived. BEAUTIFUL guitar with wonderful Brazilian rosewwod back and sides. It played beautifully too, but...

For my ear it didn't sound as good as the '06 D-55 I ended up buying. At the time they were asking $5000 for the 50th Anniversary (I believe they are now asking close to $10K) and I was thinking of springing for it. But the better (to MY ear) tone of the EIR sold me on the Tacoma D-55. Four years and many gigs later, I'm really happy with my decision.

Still, Guitar Showcase WILL let you play the acoustics behind the glass. Play that 50th Anniversary D-55 and you can say you've, "Played #1".

If you can find "Andy" to assist you there, do it.

6

 

[droach274]

You'll be lucky to find any vintage Guilds in Bay Area stores.
Guitar Showcase is a must see (they still have the 50th Anniversary D-55 in a glass case). They have one D-40BJ for sale but told me two weeks ago they'll no longer be stocking Guilds.
There's also a GC in Santa Clara (san Jose?).
Have fun!
6

What 6L6 says explains why I've never even SEEN a live Tacoma or New Haven Or GAD. I live in San Jose a couple miles from GC AND Guitar Showcase. Showcase is a must see for the museum they have in back of the showroom. It will be extremely easy to get to from Mt. View. I was surprised the last time I was in there about 2 months ago, only one Guild on display. Now I know why. Guitar Showcase on Stevens Creek Blvd lived up to its poor rep the last time I was in there about 4 years ago, and when I went to just check them out around Christmas the parking was so awful I gave up. But they're supposed to be Guild dealers now.
If you're a bit of a tech dinosaur like myself and don't trust Google maps, PM me, I'll tell you how to get around with out falling into any notorious Bay Area traffic booby traps. :lol:

Thanks adorshki - we are getting a hire-car with GPS so it should be ok

 

[droach274]

How about Haight Ashbury Music Center in SF?
I think they are in good supply of Guild guitars.
Several years ago, I bought my D-55 there.

I thought about going there last time but I gave it a miss because of the large number of negative comments people had posted about them on yelp :

http://www.yelp.com/biz/haight-ashbury- ... -francisco

Is this not a fair reflection? I know those sites always have people complaining about every little thing but in this case it seems like there was an unusual amount of people posting negative things about the staff's attitude.

 

[AlohaJoe]

It's between 40-50 mi if I remember correctly, but Sylvan in Santa Cruz is nice:
http://www.sylvanmusic.com/
It looks like they currently have a nice SF4, 2 D35s, a D40 and an F30, but check first if you decide to go, sometimes the website is out of date.

 

[6L6]

If you decide to go to Santa Cruz (a GREAT idea), plan for lunch or dinner on the Wharf. In the picture linked below, there's great seafood to be had in the restaurant that is the two story building on the far right. Lots of good surfing action, elephant seals, etc.

http://www.ucscrecreation.com/images/SCWharf.jpg