I’d buy the German guitar there. Plus they offer free picks. Please ask for the one shoe sorry shoe. Show hobo. They good they fixed my git before 911. I come back there often. I think they need to buy the bar the saloon and make it a museum. Good family great people. Free guitar picks. Try it out.
Russell sold me my first serious electric guitar 30 years ago, at this same shop. It was a white Japanese Squier, with body-routed pickups and a Floyd trem. He was like, “you’re going to get a lot of heat from that humbucker” to me with a grin. The place was stacked and I got out for $220. Fast forward : Internet Era—I stopped in and thanked Russ for a life’s amazement with electric shovels the other week, and Moonlight was exactly how I remembered, three decades ago and we chatted about the world for 15 minutes. Go visit a legend already.
Absolutely the musicians mystical doorway into higher realms and most profound experiences in the Universe.
Very knowledgeable and helpful
Walked in to buy a powercord and thought I’d show them the crack on my charango to ask them for luther recommendations. Without asking me Russel grabbed it and cracked it more open with a blade to “see if he could fix it”. Then I was left with no choice but leaving it with him. He charged me 100$ for a mediocre fix which is not aesthetically pleasing. A little bummed! Still love the shop, but that left a bitter taste in my mouth.
Shop was nice but workers where a bunch of grumpy fat guys who made me uncomfortable and had a snobby attitude.
Nice small shop. But guy talked on the phone and it was like I was not important enough to take a second to even greet me.
2. Music Music / music lessons for students with Special Needs
Address: 230 W F St, Encinitas, CA 92024 , Encinitas , California , United States
Look no further if you want the best service your instrument could get. Support local shops! Thank you, Bud!
I sold several guitars and amps at AMX and I’m glad I chose this store. The owner was extremely patient with me as I hauled in one instrument after another for him to appraise. He also told me about the resources he uses to gauge each item’s value so that I could check if I was getting a fair deal (which I was). He took a good chunk of time out of his day just to give me a set of prices without the assumption that I would sell to him, which I thought was incredibly generous.
Great experience here. Staff was super nice, was greeted immediately and felt very welcome. Guitar picks are 2 for $1! Best Music Store in North County.
The owner of this store is the worst I’ve ever seen at any music store I’ve been to. I asked him to setup my guitar specifically to a lower tuning which he had no problem with and a full setup. The thing was, I was considering selling this guitar and possibly trading in for another one. So this guy gives me the offer that if I don’t like his setup, and it’s not perfect, I could trade mine for one of his on the wall. I said that’s a good idea because I barely had any money at the time. After the job the guitar had horrible tuning stability, dead frets, and a notch in one of the frets he told me that made the guitar unsellable and he wouldn’t touch it. Unbelievable I try to take it over and over again to get him to do the job right and he says the guitar isn’t meant for lower tunings. Maybe it would’ve been better to mention that at first. Pathetic. Waste your money elsewhere if you’re a sensible person
The shop leaves a lot to be desired. I’ve only dealt with the repair side of the shop, and after the last incident, I won’t be returning. The greying owner is of little to no value. Unhelpful. I brought a piece of gear to get fixed back in September or October of 2020. After about 4 weeks, I called the repair guy and he hadn’t yet looked at it. Understandable as he said they were busy. Another 4 weeks go by and I still hadn’t heard anything back, so I decide to call. The repairman had taken a look, couldn’t quite figure out the problem and said he’d be able to drop it off in a week as he just did a drop off and told me he tried to call me. When? I received no calls from him, no missed calls, nothing! I called this shop multiple times. Showed up 3 times between December 2020 and February 2021 during hours posted and nothing. Lights out. No sign. Nothing. Finally, after roughly 6 months of waiting to pick up my still broken gear, I called and finally got through to someone. He stated they were open till 6 and I told him I could be there by 545 and he said, “Well, I have things to do later” as if he wasn’t planning on even staying open that late.
Would’ve appreciated any sort of updates on the status of my gear instead of having to jump through hoops to figure out what was going on. Poor communication, rude service.
Place is cluttered with old equipment and guitars being worked on to the point where it feels unsafe to walk around to look at guitars on display. As for the guitars on display their all out of tune, dusty and not setup so they don’t feel playable. The man working the front seemed knowledgeable but reluctant to try and sell anything or help find guitars that weren’t up on display. Selection of gear seems limited/ used and or ill-maintained. Amps could not be tested because guitar lessons were taken place in the other room that must not have been sound proofed. I can’t speak for how good the guitar lessons are but as for the rest of the shop it seemed neglected and appeared to have no interest in selling any gear.
4. B and Gs Backyard Concerts
Address: 404 Encinitas Blvd, Encinitas, CA 92024 , Encinitas , California , United States
What a fantastic place to see a concert. I’ve seen both classical and jazz shows here, the most recent being a show last night with 45th Parallel. The space is lovely, warm, welcoming, and obviously historic. Acoustics are good, but that’s not what it was originally built for, of course. There’s a back meeting area with absolutely gorgeous sliding doors, perfect for a post-event reception.
So why four stars and not five? Well, it is historic, and that of course means a couple of rough patches. Understandable given the age, but probably should be mentioned, particularly for guests with challenges. Seating is okay for the first hour or so, but we’re talking about older church pews (granted, with cushions) and I’ve observed that some folks get a little uncomfortable after the first hour. The B&G’s Backyard is wheelchair accessible, but the front steps might be a little tricky for older guests. As noted earlier, parking can be a bear in this neighborhood, but it is on the streetcar line and it is easy to find.
Truly though, this is nit-picking. A lovely space, and we’re so lucky to have it.
We have been very pleased with our experience at The Violin Shop. We began renting a violin from the prior owners about 18 months ago. The new owners also offer lessons and my daughter LOVES her lessons with Jennifer. She looks forward to them each week. Everyone we have encountered here has been both knowledgable and eager to help.
Excellent service!
The owners and the staff of this place are so professional and knowledgeable…love the fact it is family owned!
He is the Best !!! I so Happy with your work for me !!
I asked Zack to put into words the feelings I couldn’t quite describe about a girl I wanted to ask out. It needed to be cheesy, romantic, funny, and still sound good.
Zack was on it immediately and relished in the challenge! I gave him a few statements about our relationship and what i wanted mentioned, the rest was poetic freedom for him. He waxed lyrical so well even my sister wanted to get her boyfriend to ask Zack for a song!
Professional, creative and friendly, I would recommend and probably will use Zack again to write, produce and sing a custom song for me again!
Thank you buddy!
Zack did several recording projects (vocals for songs I wrote) earlier this year, and I was very pleased with his work on all of them. He just completed another song for me, on deadline, with top-notch quality. I recommend him very highly. Beyond his reliability and talent, he’s a nice guy and very easy to work with.
8. Lou’s Records
Address: 434 N Coast Hwy 101, Encinitas, CA 92024 , Encinitas , California , United States
Great little record spot. They have a wide selection of records from new to old. Can’t go wrong with Lou’s.
Great “Old School” Record Shop with a wide variety of music selections. Also sell pre-owned music at bargain basement prices!
Best record store in San Diego county.
Good selection for a smaller store.
Excellent
Great place… Used to be terrific selection (when 2 bldgs.), but now drastically reduced 🙁 :-(… I’m saddened by the down sizing, but still like the place a lot.
Customer service is lacking. Had a similar issue as another reviewer that left a 1 star. There are other places willing to take my cash. I wonder how much longer this place can make it with this kind of mentality.
They treated me like nothing, I went there to pick up a souvenir for my friend in Oklahoma,we used to visit a lot in the 80s , it was important, I took a bus from fallbrook, the girl was more interested in her phone, she didn’t care that when I told her what it meant to me, how sad, never return…
Sad to say, but I’m done with this place. Lou is consistently rude. I’ve been shopping here for decades and I can honestly recall that almost all my interactions with the owner are negative. I want to support my local record store but at a certain point, you just have come to your senses. Luckily there are other great local record stores, place where you won’t leave feeling you were treated poorly. Kindness and courtesy matters.
9. Stephen Arnold Music
Address: Encinitas, CA 92024 , Encinitas , California , United States
