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Big City Music
4.6 ★★★★★ 64 Google reviews · Guitar & music store in Studio City, California
Quirky musical instrument store featuring new, vintage, and hard-to-find pieces as well as helpful staff.
Plan your visit
- Buys & trades used gear they buy, trade, or consign used instruments — bring the case and any original parts, and expect trade credit to beat the cash offer
- Instrument rentals rentals mentioned — the usual route for band & orchestra season; ask about rent-to-own credit
- Today see hours ·
- Phone (818) 985-0855
- Website bigcitymusic.com
Hours
| Monday | 1–5 PM |
| Tuesday | 1–5 PM |
| Wednesday | 1–5 PM |
| Thursday | 1–5 PM |
| Friday | 1–5 PM |
| Saturday | Closed |
| Sunday | Closed |
What's on the wall
“They had a great price on a pretty obscure and discontinued guitar pedal; even with shipping it was a better price than other retailers offering it with free shipping thrown in.”
“Not to mention they've always stocked the cool, rare, and unique pieces the majority of other retailers will not roll the dice on, or don't have the relationships to facilitate.”
“Talked with Rodger for a whole hour about teenage engineering products and some of the synths they had in stock.”
What players say again and again
“They had a great price on a pretty obscure and discontinued guitar pedal; even with shipping it was a better price than other retailers offering it with free shipping thrown in.”
From the reviews
While I'm not what one might consider a "great customer" in that the frequency with which I buy from BCM isn't all that great (simply because not enough dollars in my account), I have dealt with them for almost 15 years now, and never had a bad transaction.
I had an amazing experience at Big City Music a month ago. I purchased a Strymon Ola pedal and the experience was excellent. Roger is extremely knowledgeable about guitar pedals, and Jonathan has been very professional with all of my orders.
This is the best vintage synth and electronic instrument effects shop I’ve ever visited. The staff were endlessly kind and generous, teaching me so much and showing me an incredible range of gear. I live overseas, so I couldn’t spend as much time there as I would have liked, which was a real shame.
A literal hidden gem. Make sure to call before trying to pull up. Crazy array of vintage and analog synthesizers, pedals, amps, and more. Bought a Medieval sampler by Teenage Engineering here. Only place like this I’ve ever seen in the LA area.
Selling or trading gear at Big City Music
Big City Music comes up for buying and trading used gear — confirmed on their own site. Two things make the trip go better. First, bring the whole package: the case or gig bag, the original tremolo arm or bridge parts, the paperwork if you have it — a complete rig is worth real money more than a bare instrument, and it saves the back-and-forth of "can you bring the case in?" Second, know that trade credit almost always beats the cash offer, usually by a healthy margin — if you're upgrading anyway, price your old gear as a trade against the new one before you take cash. Either way, expect the offer to be below what the gear sells for on the wall; the gap is the store's margin for setup, warranty, and sitting on it until the right buyer walks in.
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