Tampa Bay area luthier and amp guy?

[Jersey Paul]

At the end of the month, we'll be moving to Gulfport Fl., a small town near St. Petersburg.

Can any one in the area recommend a local luthier and amp guy?

TIA.

Paul

 

[Charlie Vegas]

Sorry but no...I've been in this area for 14 years and have yet to find someone I'm happy with. Mind you, I haven't had any work done in the past 9 years due to the previous poor service and craftsmanship I was subjected to.

 

[ironmike]

When I lived in Clearwater I would take my stuff to Johnny's House of Guitars. They were located on Seminole Blvd. I don't know if they are still there or if the same guys work there, but they specialized in older amps and guitars. I used to always take my equipment there and was happy with the service.

 

[Charlie Vegas]

Ahhh...Johnny's. I can smell that musty aroma just thinking about the place. I was never that impressed with their service or capabilities. I think they might be out of business.

 

[adorshki]

Not real familiar with Florida geography but our member Cap'njuan is definitely an amp guy.
You shold definitely send him a PM about what you hope to accomplish. At the least he might have some good refs.
Bluesypicky is in Florida too, and he might be able to help.

 

[Jersey Paul]

Johnny's House of Guitars is still in Largo so may drop in and try to get a feel for place.

Name: Johnny's House of Guitars
Street: 12687 Seminole Boulevard
Largo, fl 33778-2203
Phone: (727) 581-1035

There aren't any issues now but with two 1960s Guilds, a1980 Peavey, and a couple of old Fender amps -- a 66 and a 75ish-- something beyond my limited abilities bound to come up.

 

[ironmike]

Ahhh...Johnny's. I can smell that musty aroma just thinking about the place. I was never that impressed with their service or capabilities. I think they might be out of business.

LOL...Man I loved that place. He had so much cool gear and music memorabilia. I may be biased because Johnny and I got along well, but I can vouch that he took very good care of all my guitars and a Super Reverb I used to own. He was the only guy in that area I ever trusted with my stuff. I also bought alot of cool equipment off him over the years.

JP....If Johnny's still around, stop by and talk to him and decide for yourself. If nothing else, you should have a good time browsing all his old gear.

 

[Jersey Paul]

I'm going to stop by and chat up Johnnie as soon as we're settled.

The only payer I've met down there is Mike Hoke, the leader guitarist in Sterling Magee's band. They usually play on Tuesdays in Gulfport and I'll ask him for a recommendation.

 

[capnjuan]

Not real familiar with Florida geography but our member Cap'njuan is definitely an amp guy. You shold definitely send him a PM about what you hope to accomplish. At the least he might have some good refs. Bluesypicky is in Florida too, and he might be able to help.

Hi Al and thanks for the tip of the hat but I don't know of anybody over there in the business. Tampa is about 200 miles or so from here ... and we locals have the Amp Shop in West Palm.

I will say that with a few exceptions, the gear that shows up on Craigslist in Tampa is more better gooder stuff than that on CL in SoFL ... which is mostly $800 LP Studios and starter gear that the wannabes are giving up on. So ... any place that has good gear is going to have the people necessary to keep it running; good luck JP, I'm sure you'll find somebody.