Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

We'll be there the first part of March. What are good ones. Thanks.

Guitar Center?

I already figured out what stores I want to visit, but that's for that fabulous suggestion.

Apparently, you are the only one around here who knows the Bay Area well enough to give me some good heads ups on places to check out.

I live in the Bay Area but find driving & parking in the city a complete pain. I quit going there years ago. The stores I used to shop in have all closed. Unfortunately my luthier has retired & the only one people have recommended is in the city. I may be forced to go back. Ohh noooooooooooo

Actually, I am not limited to the "city" itself; I plan on driving around to check out some shops, say, in Tiburon, Palo Alto, Redwood City (to visit my old friend Joe Zon) and other places, possibly.

Now you're talking!

North Bay: Loud and Clear Audio Visual http://www.lncav.com in Cotati, north of Tiburon (I have never been there) seems to list a lot of interesting items on craigslist (they had a Rhodes Piano Bass for a long time).

In San Francisco:
Guitar Solo for acoustic and classical guitars http://www.gspguitar.com
Guitar tech/repair to the stars: Gary Brawer http://brawer.com; in the back of a funky little shop called Real Guitars http://realguitars.com which sells cool used instruments and amps. Gary Brawer is closed on Sunday and Monday; I don't know about Real Guitars.

In Redwood City:
Gelb Music, a good independent store. They have a separate used and consignment store around the corner from their main store. http://www.gelbmusic.com

In Palo Alto:
Gryphon Stringed Instruments - more focused on acoustic instruments. http://www.gryphonstrings.com. a block away from Fry's Electronics, a gigantic superstore which has areas that are very geek-oriented (as in computer and general electronic components, tools, etc.), featuring genuinely awful customer service. Fry's is a Silicon Valley institution (there are a number of other locations).

In Santa Clara (near the San Jose airport):
King Amplification http://www.kingamplification.com also lists interesting items on craigslist. I went there a few years ago and it was small and limited then, but seems to offer more items now, at least through craigslist.

There are a handful of stores that list items on craigslist - you can look through the listings and triangulate on them if it looks like any of them are carrying anything of interest http://sfbay.craigslist.org/search/msd?

I did go to Jam Brothers in Walnut Creek and it was very small, just a word of caution.

If you are into pianos:
There is a Steinway Piano store in San Francisco (formerly a big dealer chain called Sherman Clay)
Music Exchange (several locations in the Bay Area, including 700 Van Ness in SF) http://www.muex.com/locations.php carries the major brands
Also Piedmont Piano http://www.piedmontpiano.com in Oakland, carries the Fazioli piano which they claim is great. I haven't been to Piedmont Piano but their affiliated piano repair/rebuilding shop, Callahan Pianos, is one of the best.
Yamaha Peninsula Music Center has pianos other than Yamaha, also http://www.yamahapeninsula.com/used.php

And finally, if you are into accordions:
Accordion Apocalypse http://www.accordionapocalypse.com
Smythe's Accordion Center http://www.smythesaccordioncenter.com

Thanks, Clement!

So far my list includes:
Gryphon Stringed Instruments
Zon
Schoenberg Guitars

IIRC Fry's is sort of like Circuit City/Best Buy etc., no interest there, really.

If I have the time I may head back up to Alembic, again; I was there for a visit in '07. Too bad they don't have a Scratch 'n Dent outlet store!

As many times as i get to the Bay Area,i seldom seem to have the time to check out music stores,at least in the city. However,i can give a definite shout out for Loud and Clear music in Cotati. We have stopped in there 3-4 times,it is a cool store run by really nice people,and they have a large selection,almost always have something unusual enough to make me say "WHOA!".
(The last time i was in there,it was a Rick tulip guitar,and an Ampeg bass like Rick Danke's).

I meant to check at Gelb's in Redwood City last time,it seems they carry a lot of boutique brand basses.

jps wrote:Thanks, Clement!

So far my list includes:
Gryphon Stringed Instruments
Zon
Schoenberg Guitars

IIRC Fry's is sort of like Circuit City/Best Buy etc., no interest there, really.

If I have the time I may head back up to Alembic, again; I was there for a visit in '07. Too bad they don't have a Scratch 'n Dent outlet store!

You are welcome, Jeff!

Fry's is not as mainstream as Circuit City/Best Buy, although they do carry lots of the usual stuff (desktop computer, laptop computers, flat screen TVs and refrigerators). It's decent for buying computer/electronic components; other stores in that vein (which you might not be interested in) are Weird Stuff in Santa Clara (near another Fry's store) http://www.weirdstuff.com which has a lot of funky used computer components, and the headquarters of Jameco, the electronics parts catalog company, in Belmont which is open to the public but which has virtually nothing on display. You can ask for anything in their catalog at the counter and they will dig it up for you.

I don't know about their lineups, but if you are a Deadhead, in the North Bay
Bob Weir (re-)opened the Sweetwater Music Hall http://www.sweetwatermusichall.com which also has a cafe, the Sweetwater Cafe, in Mill Valley.
Phil Lesh has a place called Terrapin Crossroads http://www.terrapincrossroads.net in San Rafael
You can also visit the post office in Stinson Beach that has been inundated with 60,000 requests for tickets to the Grateful Dead reunion show in July.

woodyng wrote:As many times as i get to the Bay Area,i seldom seem to have the time to check out music stores,at least in the city. However,i can give a definite shout out for Loud and Clear music in Cotati. We have stopped in there 3-4 times,it is a cool store run by really nice people,and they have a large selection,almost always have something unusual enough to make me say "WHOA!".
(The last time i was in there,it was a Rick tulip guitar,and an Ampeg bass like Rick Danke's).

I meant to check at Gelb's in Redwood City last time,it seems they carry a lot of boutique brand basses.

Typo on Rick Danko....

No trip to San Francisco would be complete without visiting Haight & Ashbury. Full of musical history with the likes of Jim Morrison, Janis Joplin and The Grateful Dead having lived there. A large number of children and family of The Dead still live there though they are mostly houseless (a term they prefer to homeless since the area is their home).

And this brings us to the music store, Haight Ashbury Music. A great store with a nice range of Rickys for your perusal. My local stores don't carry Rickenbacker strings so, despite living on the opposite coast, I order mine from this store and make a point of visiting every time I'm in the area (which unfortunately isn't that often).

Just got back an hour ago. We had so much going on with family and whatnot but I did manage to get to Gryphon and Shoenberg's; some amazing instruments at both those stores. Shoenberg's, in particular. I played some really nice old Martins (1932 0-28 was my favorite ), the Voyage Air was pretty cool, a Scheonberg (built by Bruce Sexauer) and a ton of other wonderful old guitars, all of which where out to play, not hiding behind glass cases for these guitars! There was one Rick there, a McGuinn that they had 2012 on the tag! I corrected them on that point. While there wee met and had a great chat with Bruce Sexauer; for those who do not know who he is he is one of the most talented vintage style luthiers around (along with our own Jim Merrill). When I pulled the Schoenberg/Sexauer guitar off the wall to play Eric (Schoenberg) came by to talk about it as it is one of his "house" brand guitars. I had already played a few instruments so I asked Eric to play for us and he pulled up a stool, put his right foot on it and proceeded to play his version of Lady Madonna for Shari & I!!! What a treat! Eric's shop is a real Mecca for lovers of acoustic guitars, mandolins and other great stringed instruments, mostly vintage.

For those not familiar with Eric:

http://www.om28.com