I just had a great experience having my bass repaired here. After a terrible experience at a guitar…read moreshop whose name shall remain anonymous, but it's a national chain, I took it to Real Guitars. They had it done on time and under budget and did a fantastic job. I would recommend this shop to anyone good communication, courtesy, really nice people.

Great vintage guitars, basses and amps in a cool south of market street spot. A helpful staff too.read more

Got my guitar restrung here. The service was excellent and fast. They have a wide range of guitars,…read moreincluding less expensive ones. I appreciated that considering where we live.

Love these guys! I've bought two beautiful instruments from them and the experience both times was…read morefantastic. They are very chill, supportive, and helpful. It's a beautiful place to find just the right guitar :) And they have a fantastic selection of ukulele's and baritone ukulele's as well!

If you're looking for true craftsmanship, this is the place to bring your guitar with complete…read moreconfidence. Ross is a miracle worker in saving my vintage elite ovation 12 string after a major bridge snap completely off the body. I thought it was firewood, Now, it's better than ever and repaired to last. Easy process, great staff. Thanks SF Guitarworks, again! Highly recommended.

I scheduled an appointment online with SF Guitarworks, then called their number to ask about…read moreearlier availability. Geoff, the owner, told me to come by -- no mention that he was referring to a completely different location. I hopped in a $20 Uber only to arrive at a closed shop with a construction crew tearing out walls.   Several unanswered calls later, one of the workers handed me a phone with a random woman on the line who casually informed me that the SF location was closed for the week. That's how I found out -- not from Geoff, not from the website, but from a stranger on a construction site.   The fact that Geoff couldn't grasp that a customer with a San Francisco appointment might assume he meant the San Francisco location is astonishing. After this experience, I wouldn't trust Geoff to tune a ukulele, let alone work on my guitar.

The staff and instructors are very professional and knowledgeable. But my instructor was let go…read moreafter I prepaid $120.00 and Guitar Center refused to refund my money. I'm very disappointed.

Well I first thought that Joe was the arsenal that made this guitar center awesome for me to use…read morebut then I met. Ty, who is an exceptional luthier and he is setting up another guitar of mine. I just was so pleased with the service. Everything from Scott the manager to ty. I don't see why you would not bring your equipment here. I highly recommend this establishment.

Mark Newstetter, who runs Balboa Guitars at Balboa and 41st Avenue in San Francisco, is a wonderful…read moreguitar teacher with an amazing grasp of theory and an eclectic effective approach to learning the entire fretboard, rather than focusing on first position. Also a really kind person.

I took lessons as a beginner from Mark for almost 2 years, and he also setup my guitar/bass during…read morethat time. A great teacher (especially for getting proficient with theory on the fretboard), a knowledgeable and skilled luthier, with very fair prices!

We're lucky to still have people in our community who can make sure we've got good gear to play. I…read morehad the misfortune of receiving a badly made body from the web, which I hoped Dan could help fix, but after some discussion, we agreed he'd build one for me instead. It was an important project as it was going to be made mostly up from leftover parts collected by the late Steve Ripley. We perservered through the plague and supply chain shortages to come out the other side with my new favorite axe. Thanks so much, Dan! I'll be back.

I have 1969 Stratocaster with a neck like butter. I always wanted my telecaster to have the same…read moreneck. I left the Strat with Dan Ransom, and he took every possible measurement and "cloned" the neck for me, only with a Telecaster headstock. I'm a picky bastard. Guitar setups are a very personal thing, with one type of setup working for a particular playing style, but not another. I hit the strings pretty hard, chicken pickin style, so if a guitar is gonna buzz, I'm gonna make it buzz. Dan worked with me on tracking down a number of weird vibrations in my telecaster body and hardware and we tried a number of things to customize the setup to my playing style, finding the right amount of neck relief, string height, etc. Dan didn't stop until I was happy. THAT is a rare quality these days. Thanks Dan! You Rock. -Joe Rut

I'm so pleased with the service I've received from this wonderful local shop. Adam ( the owner )…read moreset up my new Stratocaster and fixed my Martin so perfectly. I feel like I can play so much better now. It's nice to practice without the stress of knowing the guitar is just not right. Extremely happy!! The entire staff is friendly and very helpful. Definitely getting my next guitar from Mountain Music!! I know they will help me get the perfect guitar.

Craig and Gregory both so lovely and kind as I walked in and quickly bought a guitar to learn on,…read morenot even remembering which way to hold it ("are you left handed?" - Craig) Gently mentioning lessons, picks, etc... yes, please, and I promise I'll be back. A very cool space run by nice people who help, don't push, and don't make you feel dumb for not knowing anything. Love a local business too.

We purchased our very first piano from here at the beginning of the pandemic. We figured that…read moresince we'd be staying home more often, why not purchase a real piano!? We made an appointment to come in and Ulysses helped us out. He was friendly, knowledgeable, and helped us through the process. He didn't rush us or pressure us to buy a piano, and he was patient in answering all our questions. We went home that same day to think about which piano we wanted to get and returned a week later to purchase a Yamaha upright piano. Overall, it was a great experience and we now have a beautiful piano!

Another five-star review for Music Exchange and Gary in particular! I recently had a wonderful…read moreend-to-end experience; Gary was patient and helpful and didn't try to sell me something we didn't need. The entire process was smooth and delightful. I am happy to recommend Music Exchange/Gary and we will certainly reach out to them again for our next purchase.

I love Fender Telecasters!…read more I don't know if it's growing up listening to Springsteen with my dad, or that bright sound that only they bring to the table. I just know that I see them, and I like them. It's sort of the way I feel about cupcakes, but with cupcakes, it's a much stronger desire. Ever since I've been aware them, I've been looking for the perfect butterscotch Tele. I could buy a new one, but that just feel wrong. This guitar is all about history. I want one that looks and feels the part. The only problem is I don't have 20k+ sitting around. Enter Rock n Roll Relics. If you want a guitar that looks like it's been through the 80s with a hangover, but plays like you just bought it in 54, please look no further. I know guitar relics have gotten big and there are a bunch of custom shops putting them out right now. (Fender is even cracking them out at crazy prices to meet the trend. ) Unlike some creators, Billy is a guitar player in the true sense. He's been there so he knows what a guitar is supposed to look and sound like. He loves what he does and it shows in his work. Take a look. It's hard to get over how amazing his work is. To sum up like a research paper; his attention to detail is unparalleled and I want everyone to see his guitars in person. Please check out his site and if you're interested, give him an email or a call. I promise you will not be let down.

I purchased a relic'd RnR telecaster, on a whim, a couple of years ago, at Real Guitars, in SF. I…read morehad never--ever--considered buying a "relic" guitar, as I thought the whole idea of pre-aging a guitar was a goofy bourgeois waste of resources, so I wasn't really looking for another guitar that day. But, while dropping off a repair for Gary Brawer, I randomly picked up this tele and was *shocked* at how amazing it sounded. To set context, I have 25 guitars, including several vintage Fenders, Gibsons, Rickenbackers, from the '60s, along with a Bill Crook Custom Paisley, an MusicMan Albert Lee BFR, a Collings 360 Custom, and some early PRS and G&L models. I recently went back to college for another degree, this time in Music, so play guitar a couple of hours/day. Fast forward to today. . . I almost never play anything other than my Rock N Roll tele. It is sonically indistinguishable from $60K vintage telecasters. Every manufacturer wants to convince you that their relic'd guitars are comparable to the real thing, but this is truly the first guitar I have ever touched that is truly so. It looks, feels, plays, and sounds absolutely spot-on. I almost hesitate to write this review, as I know my next RnR will cost more, when everyone finds out about Billy Rowe, but he deserves the attention. His guitars are works of true genius, in a world of failed promises!

Steve's Guitars is like Ollivanders magical shop of wands from the Harry Potter novels. He loves…read moreto match the individuality of his guitars to satisify my curiosity. Visiting him, and trying out a match he has in mind is always a trip. Through the last 10 years I've traded and upgraded my guitars with Steve several times. Now it's hard to trade anymore cause I think I've got 2 of his very best. Steve is also very knowledgeable about the history of American Luthier, and his collection spans several notable makers worldwide.

Steve is a knowledgeable guitarist, but also a rather impatient, high pressure sales person. I…read morefound him hard to talk to and be heard (he interrupts a lot). I'm all for supporting local mom-n-pop stores and wish I could recommend this one but unfortunately I can't.