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MOONLIGHT MUSIC
4.6 ★★★★★ 27 Google reviews · Guitar & music store in Encinitas, California
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
- Lessons lessons come up in reviews and the store's own info — call about openings, instruments taught, and rates before the first visit
- Today see hours ·
- Phone (760) 753-6683
- Website moonlightmusic.com
Hours
| Monday | Closed |
| Tuesday | 12–5 PM |
| Wednesday | 12–5 PM |
| Thursday | 12–5 PM |
| Friday | 12–5 PM |
| Saturday | 12–5 PM |
| Sunday | Closed |
What's on the wall
“Russell is highly qualified and extremely experienced with electric and acoustic guitars.”
“An excellent Luthier, I am always pleased with his work.”
“The guys that work there are very nice and if you take lessons from them become even more like a friend to you.”
“Beyond great selection and display of guitars and ukuleles.”
Brands they deal
“It was a white Japanese Squier, with body-routed pickups and a Floyd trem.”
What players say again and again
“My first guitar was a Squire Strat my parents bought me from Moonlight in 1993.”
From the reviews
Beyond great selection and display of guitars and ukuleles. The guys that work there are very nice and if you take lessons from them become even more like a friend to you. A very "cozy" music shop and has a great vibe to it.
Russell sold me my first serious electric guitar 30 years ago, at this same shop. It was a white Japanese Squier, with body-routed pickups and a Floyd trem. He was like, “you’re going to get a lot of heat from that humbucker” to me with a grin. The place was stacked and I got out for $220.
On a rented motorcycle riding north for the afternoon, I randomly stopped and decided to walk around. This store was my first stop in Encinitas. Nice owner and great selection! If I had been in a car, I would have left with two new guitars. Next time I'm in the area, I will definitely be stopping in again.
My first guitar was a Squire Strat my parents bought me from Moonlight in 1993. When I took up playing the guitar again during COVID, the first place I thought of was Russ at Moonlight Music. An excellent Luthier, I am always pleased with his work. Thanks again for making my instruments sound great.
Selling or trading gear at MOONLIGHT MUSIC
MOONLIGHT 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.
Lessons at MOONLIGHT MUSIC
Reviews and the store's own info mention lessons at MOONLIGHT MUSIC. If you're signing up a beginner (or restarting yourself), a quick call ahead answers the three things that matter: which instruments they teach, whether the schedule has openings at the time you actually need, and what a first lesson costs. There's no wrong first guitar — a good teacher will happily work with whatever you walk in with, and a shop that teaches usually keeps affordable starter instruments on hand for exactly this reason.
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