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Champlin Guitars
4.9 ★★★★★ 97 Google reviews · Guitar & music store in Bellingham, Washington
Downtown shop featuring new and used guitars, amps, and other instruments, plus repair services.
Plan your visit
- Repairs & setups a repair bench comes up in reviews and the store's own info — call ahead for turnaround, since good techs run a queue
- 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
- Today see hours ·
- Phone (360) 366-6820
- Website champlinguitars.com
Hours
| Monday | Closed |
| Tuesday | 11 AM–7 PM |
| Wednesday | 11 AM–7 PM |
| Thursday | 11 AM–7 PM |
| Friday | 11 AM–7 PM |
| Saturday | 11 AM–7 PM |
| Sunday | 11 AM–7 PM |
What's on the wall
“Went in looking for an acoustic guitar and Mars took time to walk me through a bunch of the options they had in and play them back to back to compare tones.”
“Every guitar was excellently repaired; two different National Resophonic guitars, a Fender Jazz bass, a couple of Gibson electrics, as well as gluing the braces on my Martin OM.”
“Every guitar was excellently repaired; two different National Resophonic guitars, a Fender Jazz bass, a couple of Gibson electrics, as well as gluing the braces on my Martin OM.”
“they are willing to haggle on prices if you’re paying cash upfront and also will allow me to put money down on instruments and amps I normally would never be able to obtain.”
“Brought in my vintage Harmony Rocket that was having a ground issue while passing through on tour.”
“I brought 3 ukuleles in for him to look at and only 2 needed to be "set up" - to lower the action and help them play to their full potential so I can enjoy them even more.”
“I brought 3 ukuleles in for him to look at and only 2 needed to be "set up" - to lower the action and help them play to their full potential so I can enjoy them even more.”
Brands they deal
“Every guitar was excellently repaired; two different National Resophonic guitars, a Fender Jazz bass, a couple of Gibson electrics, as well as gluing the braces on my Martin OM.”
“Every guitar was excellently repaired; two different National Resophonic guitars, a Fender Jazz bass, a couple of Gibson electrics, as well as gluing the braces on my Martin OM.”
What players say again and again
“I brought 3 ukuleles in for him to look at and only 2 needed to be "set up" - to lower the action and help them play to their full potential so I can enjoy them even more.”
“You can trust them to get you a good instrument or do a repair at a fair price.”
“Also, his prices are very affordable and the turn around time was only 2 days for both.”
From the reviews
I love Champlins guitar shop so much… it’s probably my favorite place in downtown Bellingham. It’s one of those places that once I visited them… I couldn’t justify shopping at corporate guitar stores anymore.
What a Delight to visit a really cool guitar store and meet the Wonderful Mars! Found a Great Deal on a 1970 Harmony Patrician and Mars was great to deal with! So glad to find this store in Bellingham!
Devin set up my old Guild guitar that has needed some TLC for years and now it sounds like a new guitar! Beautiful to play, brought out warmer tones, I couldn't be happier. His store is funky, creative, interesting, something for everybody in any price range, you never know what you'll find there.
I was looking for good guitar repair shop north of Seattle, and I finally found it. This place was recommended by Dusty Strings because they were backlogged for months. This place was a great find.
Selling or trading gear at Champlin Guitars
Champlin Guitars 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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