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Guitar Stores in Santa Cruz, CA
Santa Cruz has 8 guitar stores — including 1 that buys used gear, 1 with lessons, 3 vintage specialists, and 3 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.
Streetlight Records
4.5 ★★★★★ 489 reviews
The Starving Musician - Santa Cruz
4.5 ★★★★★ 292 reviews
Relaxed place selling guitars (electric and acoustic), amps and other equipment, as well as vinyl.
Sylvan Music
4.6 ★★★★★ 178 reviews
High-end music shop offering in-house-made instruments with a focus on guitars and stringed pieces.
More Music
4.3 ★★★★☆ 19 reviews
Jeff Traugott Guitars
5 ★★★★★ 2 reviews
Good to know in Santa Cruz
2 of the 8 shops with posted hours are open on Sundays.
For a setup or repair work, the shops with a bench here are Sylvan Music, Drumskull Drums and Union Grove Music.
Hunting vintage? Streetlight Records, Sylvan Music and Union Grove Music are the vintage & rare specialists in town — evidence from the shop's own site or player reviews.
Selling or trading gear?
This shop buys or trades 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.
- Streetlight Records ★★★★★ 4.5 (489)
Getting started?
This store offers 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.
- Sylvan Music ★★★★★ 4.6 (178)