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Guitar Stores in Berkeley, CA
Berkeley has 10 guitar stores — including 2 that buy used gear, 2 with lessons, 5 vintage specialists, and 8 with repair shops. Listings are ranked by what players say (rating weighted by review count) and show live open-now hours and who buys used gear, so you can pick a shop and go.
Subway Guitars
4.5 ★★★★★ 123 reviews
Quirky, retro-style shop packed with new, used, vintage & custom guitars; group lessons available.
Lark in the Morning
4.8 ★★★★★ 86 reviews
Long-running store for an extensive array of musical instruments from around the world, plus repair services.
Forrests Music
4.9 ★★★★★ 71 reviews
Long-running supplier of new & used woodwind instruments, reeds, repair tools & other accessories.
Musician's Mall (Formerly Ali Akbar College Store)
4.7 ★★★★★ 58 reviews
Music store specializing in Indian instruments, plus CDs, sheet music & repair services.
WIND & BRASS
4.7 ★★★★★ 51 reviews
Music shop specializing in repair services for brass and woodwind instruments.
Berkeley Musical Instrument Exchange
4.8 ★★★★★ 46 reviews
Warm shop offering new & used instruments such as handmade guitars, drums & stands, plus repairs.
Timbre Folk & Baroque
4.8 ★★★★★ 33 reviews
Acoustic and electric guitars, along with violins, mandolins, ukuleles and other stringed instruments are stocked at this shop. Also found here are folk instruments like nyckelharpas and hurdy-gurdys.
Marc Silber Music
5 ★★★★★ 2 reviews
Appointment-only shop run by the well-established musician featuring handmade guitars & ukuleles.
Good to know in Berkeley
For a setup or repair work, the shops with a bench here are Lark in the Morning, Forrests Music, Musician's Mall (Formerly Ali Akbar College Store), WIND & BRASS, and 4 more.
Hunting vintage? Lark in the Morning, WIND & BRASS, Berkeley Musical Instrument Exchange, Timbre Folk & Baroque, and 1 more are the vintage & rare specialists in town — evidence from the shop's own site or player reviews.
Selling or trading gear?
These shops buy or trade used gear — evidence from the shop's own site or player reviews, not a guess. Bring in the one you don't play; store credit usually beats the cash offer, and calling ahead with the make and model saves everyone time.
- Berkeley Musical Instrument Exchange ★★★★★ 4.8 (46)
- Timbre Folk & Baroque ★★★★★ 4.8 (33)
Getting started?
These stores offer lessons — for kids, adult beginners, and players knocking off rust. There's no wrong first guitar: rent or buy the instrument, get it set up, and book the teacher in one trip.
- WIND & BRASS ★★★★★ 4.7 (51)
- Timbre Folk & Baroque ★★★★★ 4.8 (33)