Whats your Favorite Local Guitar Shop - and why?

[DASmusic]

N Stuff Music (Pianos N Stuff) in Blawnox, PA. Just north of Pittsburgh.
The staff is very friendly and knowledgeable. When you walk in they make you feel welcome and will help with any questions you may have.
It's my go to music store. It's also the closest music store. So I can't speak for the others in the Pittsburgh area. But I've always had good experiences at N Stuff Music so I keep going back.
Plus they have an annual sale on just about everything called March Madness, and the deals are amazing!

[justonwo]

Schoenberg Guitars in Tiburon, California. They have an incredible selection of luthier built guitars and vintage guitars. Eric Schoenberg and James are incredibly knowledgeable, patient, and friendly. Best shop of all time.

[JJO]

Action Music in my home town of Falls Church, VA. Local, knowledgeable, not uptight, excellent selection of high-quality and quirky stuff in both the electric and acoustic realms. Just a fantastic, fantastic place.

[6L6]

I have two:

* Gryphon Stringed Instruments in Palo Alto, CA

* REAL GUITARS in San Francisco

[Neil K Walk]

For me it's Empire Music which is south of Pittsburgh in Mt. Lebanon. I've watched the store grow from a small family run shop dealing mostly with pianos to what I would consider to be a major Taylor dealer not just locally and nationally. He also carries Martins and has hosted a couple of their road shows but based on ratio of the amount of guitars - including many customs that have featured sinker redwood - hanging in the humidity controlled back room he enjoys a closer relationship with Taylor and has hosted a couple of their road shows as well.

A friend down the road from me would also suggest Acoustic Music Works east of the city in Squirrel Hill but I hardly venture into that part of town - it's a big bottleneck and curbside parking is at a premium. I have to admit that I am just plain scared to walk in there because this friend has a Bourgeois that may or may not have come from AMW and for a guitar modeled after a Martin 00 it far outshines any small body Martin I've played lately. I won't say it gives me GAS but man, that thing sings!

Once upon a time I ventured up to Pianos n' Stuff up in Blawnox but lately the only reason I go that far up route 28 is to go to the Pittsburgh Zoo and Aquarium in nearby Highland Park with my wife and kids. They don't really indulge my guitar habit but when I was in there last (had to be 10 years ago) their entire upstairs was just as nice (regarding climate and amount of inventory) as Empire Music with a LOT of Martins. I get flyers from Martin that frequently advertised that store as their site for Road Shows. BTW, I always slip up and call Pianos N'Stuff "Guitars N'At" because it's up in Blawnox and reminds me of a local radio comedy skit where they do commercials that exaggerate the local accent (aka "Pittsburghese") for a fictional business called "Pants N'At" (Pants and That.)

BTW, the local Guitar Center near the airport west of the city in Robinson isn't that bad. Naturally they have a lot of low-mid level stuff but their Martin and Taylor selection is decent and I'm often surprised to find a Larrivee there. Most of the decent models (Martin 15 series and up, Taylor 300s and up as well as those Larrivees) seem to cycle out between my semi-monthly visits there which I take as a good sign.

Also, closer to town in McKees Rocks is Wildwood Music. They tried branching out to Robinson and the selection in that store was pretty good, though they were pretty much a mom & pop trying to compete directly with Guitar Center. At one time they carried Larrivee and Epiphone Masterbilt but they closed the Robinson store after just a couple of years and I haven't been to the McKees Rock store in years.

[chitz]

In Pensacola it is hands down Blues Angel Music. Huge store, excellent, friendly staff, good selection of instruments yada yada yada!

Honorable mention is 1919 Guitar shop, always a good vibe there.

[DanR]

My favorite local shop is a place called Huber-Breese in Fraser, Michigan. Acoustically, they carry a lot of new Gibsons (they're a 5 star dealer) a lot of Taylors and a decent selection of Martins. My favorite acoustic oriented store, while 90 miles one way (I'd call it 'semi-local' as I have driven there numerous times) is Elderly Instruments in Lansing, MI. In addition to the huge selection of Martins and Taylors, they have a decent offering of some of the smaller boutique type makers like Collings and Santa Cruz among others. They also have a pretty large selection of used and vintage instruments. The OM-28 that I purchased there was a custom order by Elderly, but had been previously sold so was slightly (under a year) used when I bought it. I've made three guitar purchases there and driven there a number of other times just to sample the great merchandise.

[Cambria boy]

While no longer an East Coast-er, I'd say Acoustic Music Org in Guildford CT. Lots of nice stuff. Before retiring, Klem had a a great little place in Troy, NY - Cathedral Music. On the West Coast - well, McCabes is indeed a special place. And LA Guitar Sales will surprise you with an impressive inventory and great vibe.
Haven't been to Kansas in a while but I did enjoy Mass Street Music the few times I stopped in.

[adamalltogether]

Originally Posted by Randers

From Toronto but drive the extra hour to visit Folkway Music in Waterloo. By far the best, most knowledgeable, and kindest people working there.

Another plus one for Folkways. I'm in Toronto as well, and the 12th Fret is good for selection as well as staff knowledge but for the most part they just leave you be.

Folkways though, they have a great staff and you can go in and shoot the s**t with them for hours. Last time I was in, Mike showed me a Banner Gibson J45 (laminated maple back and sides!) and took it down off the wall. Handed it to me and let me play it!

It is definitely a special place with great people.

[Txmiller]

Dallas - PegHead Guitars
Austin - Hill Country Guitars
Nashville/Franklin - Artisan

All are smaller shops, have very good inventories w/ competitive prices, very knowledgeable staff but most important is that they treat you like they actually want your business.

Lauzon Music in Ottawa. Great inventory (best line up in the city) and nice staff. Mind you I'm pretty blessed that we have several good stores here.

[Coffeeaddict]

Originally Posted by J-Doug

Lauzon Music in Ottawa. Great inventory (best line up in the city) and nice staff. Mind you I'm pretty blessed that we have several good stores here.

I have to agree, I've had nothing but great service when dealing with Lauzon. In my experience they are the only store in the NCR that treats customers with respect.

A couple of local stores have closed in the last few months - one due to retirement, the other due to lack of funds.

[SpruceTop]

In Rochester, New York:

Stutzman's Guitar Center - Great service!

The House Of Guitars - Best Local Prices!

[jp2558]

In Toledo, it's Durdels. Fred and Alice are the epitome of a mom and pop shop with an experienced staff and ton of knowledge and patience to help you. The best part is that the original owner was a good friend of Leo Fender which allowed the store to carry a lot of Leo's creations. For that reason there seem to be a few oddball fenders popping up in the area where you least expect them (bar bands, Craigslist, garage sales etc).