Acoustic Guitar Resources:
Guitar Dealers and Music Stores

A good general resource for locating music merchandise dealers on the web is Music Stores On-Line, a web directory of music stores of all types, including a searchable directory, classifieds, events calendar, virtual lessons, and links to other music sites.

Another good general source is ExpoShow's WAMM! World Access to Music Merchandising. This page provides extensive categorized lists of basic contact info for music dealers, mailorder distributors, etc.. Of special interest is their Acoustic Guitar & Bass page. It's currently quite sparse, however, and only provides address and phone info (i.e., no links, even for companies with an online presence).

Price Lists

New Gear Prices
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Used Gear Prices
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New, Used, and Custom Guitar Dealers

Quoted text is borrowed from the site linked to.

Discount Music Supply offers a free guitar appraisal service via their web site. "Send us your information through our site's comments section and we usually will get back to you within 24 hours. Do not send email! Appraisals can only be handled through the comments section of Discount Music Supply's website. There is no catch and rest assured that your email address will remain confidential. Now, go find that instrument!"

AXWORKS
Repairs, refinishing, vintage restoration, guitar parts, and used gear (largely geared toward electric players) from a shop with an unspecified location!
Bluegrass Music Club
A site in Germany promoting bluegrass music in Europe, including an online music store and listings of musicians and teachers. I can't comment further because the site crashes my browser! I hope you have better luck....
Buckdancer's Choice Music Co.
Based in Portland, Maine, this store "specializes in new and used Instruments, Amplification and accessories." They also provide warranty repair for stringed instruments. Their site includes links to manufacturer sites describing the gear they sell.
Chappell Guitars (Guitar repairs and repair info)
Chris's Guitar Shop
Chris's Guitars, located in North Hollywood, California, buys, sells, trades and consigns vintage guitars, basses, mandolins, banjos, amps, effects pedals, etc. Their web site lists their current inventory (with prices), and they offer mailorder service. Their inventory focuses on electrics, but does include acoustics.
Cotten Music Center
Located in Nashville's Hillsboro Village (near "Music Row") since 1961, Cotten Music carries acoustic guitars and archtops from a variety of makers including Collings, Breedlove, Santa Cruz, National Resophonic, Everett, Heritage, and Seagull. They also carry a selection of new, used, and vintage electric and acoustic guitars, and a variety of accessories including the hard-to-get Thomastik-Infeld and Gore Elixir strings at good prices. They maintain an inventory list at their web site, updated daily, and are happy to deal by phone/mailorder with those who can't visit their Nashville store.
Crackerbox Music (or is it here?)
Hand made custom acoustic guitars and basses, repairs, restorations and retail sales from Garry Emmons' store in Newburgh, NY.
Daddy's Junky Music Stores
"The world's largest dealer of used musical gear." This site displayes their inventory of used guitars, amps, and other instruments available by mail (10,000 items). They also have a mailorder catalog.
Elderly Instruments
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The Ethnic Musical Instruments Co.
"A catalog of recent and ancient ethnic musical instruments from around the world that are offered to the general public and merchants." Not really an acoustic guitar site; but they do offer a variety of stringed acoustic instruments such as dulcimers, balalaikas, lyres and harps.
Gruhn Guitars
Guitar Center, San Jose CA
The Guitar Closet
Located in Nashville, Tennesse, their web site offers a list of their current inventory of electric and acoustic guitars and sound reinforcement gear (with prices), as well as a collection of links. They deal in new, used, and vintage instruments.
Guitar Closet
Based in Nashville, Tennessee, Guitar Closet "features on-line new, used and vintage guitars and gear." They offer both electric and acoustic gear. Their web site includes a partial inventory of their offerings, as well as pages of links to other guitar sites.
The Guitar Gallery of Houston
Specializes in acoustic instruments and sheet music. Stocks handmade guitars, dulcimers, hammer dulcimers, mandolins, banjos, and resonator guitars, and sheet music for all of these instruments. They maintain an email mailing list for catlog updates. They also have an extensive catalog of guitar music on line, searchable by instrument, style, composer, editor, or title.
Harmonic Arts
A full service music store in Lawrence, Kansas dealing in new, used, and vintage acoustic instruments, musical supplies, and repairs. An 800 number and email access are available.
House of Musical Traditions (HMT)
"HMT sells folk, ethnic, and unusual instruments, books and recordings from the US and the world. Our Web site has the complete HMT instrument catalog online."
Homewood Musical Instrument Company
Distributors of Santa Cruz guitars, National Resophonic guitars, and other acoustic instruments.
Ithaca Guitar Works / Ithaca Stringed Instruments
Ithaca guitar works sells custom guitars built by Eric Aceto (including the Oneida line of acoustic-electrics used by Martin Simpson and David Torn), as well as "previously enjoyed" acoustic instruments, amps and effects. Their web site describes Eric Aceto's custom instruments and lists their used inventory, and also hosts Eric's Ithaca Stringd Instruments site where you'll find even more info about his innovative instruments.
Lark In The Morning
World musical instruments, books, recordings, software and videos. Their online catalog includes guitars and many other instruments.
Mandolin Brothers Home Page
Mandolin Brothers, in Staten Island, NY, is one of the largest and best-loved dealers of vintage, new, and used American fretted instruments.
Musicians' Exchange
Based in Hilliard, Ohio, a suburb of Columbus, Musicians' Exchange specializes in used and vintage guitars, amps, and accessories.
New Hope Guitar Traders
Based in Fayetteville, TN, this shop deals in used guitars, with a special focus on Guild guitars. Their site lists available guitars and hosts articles on Guild guitars.
Palmetto Music Company
Located in Greenville, South Carolina, Palmetto is a full-range music store. Their web site includes a Guitar/Bass section with a listing of used and vintage acoustic and acoustic-electric guitars currently available, including prices.
Garrett Park Guitars
Located in Annapolis, Maryland, this shop deals in guitars, amps, and effects. Their stock leans toward the electric side, but their web site does include photos of some good custom acoustics (such as Collings) for sale.
Eric Schoenberg Guitars
Located "just off the dock (land side!) on San Francisco Bay," Shoenberg's shop offers his custom guitars as well as other new, used, and vintage acoustic guitars, specializing in finger-style guitars. His site describes his custom guitars (including his innovative 12-fret models) and his current stock, and also includes a number of articles on acoustic guitars and guitar playing.
Shoreline Acoustic Music
Shoreline sells a variety of acoustic guitar related material, but their specialty is built-to-order instruments by the following builders: Northwood, Brook, Fylde, Morgan, Mcilroy, and Lakewood. They also carry amplification equipment by Highlander, Pick-Up the World and Fishman, various accessories, and instructional material. They carry recorded and printed music for selected acoustic players and songwriters, with an informative web page devoted to each player (among them Muriel Anderson, Franco Morone, Pierre Bensusan, Peter Finger, Dougie Maclean, Rick Ruskin, David Wilcox). Prices are available on line, and many items can be ordered on the web. They also have an auction section. Although US-based, they do a lot of business with overseas customers; domestic shipping is free.
Spruce Tree Music & Repair Inc.
Located in Madison, Wisconsin, "Spruce Tree is a full time retail store specializing in new, used and vintage stringed and fretted instruments, especially guitars, banjos, mandolinds, violins, dulcimers, harps, ukeleles, lap steels---you get the idea." The also carry instructional materials and accessories. They do phone/mailorder business, with ordering info available at the site. The site includes lists of their inventory and pictures of selected vintage instruments.
Steve Swan Guitars
Steve Swan Guitars is based in California, with a shop and showroom in Kensington, and mailing and shipping from Albany. They sell new and used acoustic guitars, with an emphasis on Santa Cruz guitars. They share shop space with Luthier John Mello, and also sell Peter Yelda guitars. Their web site provides contact info and describes some of their current new and used stock.ag
Tall Toad Music
"Northern California's Acoustic Guitar Headquarters." This store in Petaluma, California sells new and used acoustic and electric guitars, accessories, and provides lessons. Their extensive site provides lots of info on their stock, general information pages, pages of links, and an events calendar.
Traditional Music
"Traditional Music specializes in quality new, pre-owned and vintage acoustic stringed instruments." They operate from two stores in southern California. Among their stock are Martin, Gibson, Taylor, Bourgeois, Larivee, and National Resophonic guitars, as well as banjos and mandolins. You'll find an online catalog at the site.
Dan Zeff Guitars
Based in the Los Angeles area of southern California, Dan Zeff Guitars deals in fine classical and flemenco guitars and flamenco merchandise. Their web site includes an inventory list with prices, and contact info. Phone orders are welcome; guitars are shipped on a 48 hour approval basis.
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Vintage Instruments

Below are listings for individual dealers. In addition, you may wish to visit GuitarBASE, Inc., a site "that offers buyers and collectors of vintage guitars throughout the world the only comprehensive and easily accessible database of vintage guitar inventories of dealers from coast to coast," as well as Mugwumps Instrument Herald, an online magazine featuring classifieds for buying, selling, and trading acoustic instruments, and articles on vintage instruments and their identification and repair. Finally, the Famous Guitarmaker Internet World Headquarters has an Instrument Collectors Commercial Listings page listing individuals and organizations worldwide that buy and sell vintage instruments, parts, and accessories of all types.
California Vintage Guitar
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Harmonic Arts
A full service music store based in Lawrence, Kansas, carrying new and used guitars, accessories, and other instruments.
Internet Guitar
A site with links to "selected dealers in fine vintage stringed instruments" who "feature vintage and new guitars as well as other stringed instruments." They have also begun collecting classified ads for personal instrument sales via the internet.
Mandolin Brothers Home Page
Mandolin Brothers, in Staten Island, NY, is one of the largest and best-loved dealers of vintage, new, and used American fretted instruments. Their page includes The Vintage News Online, an online version of their newsletter on vintage instruments.
Outlaw Guitars: Vintage Guitars and Amplifiers
New Jersey's largest vintage and used guitar store. Their inventory of used and vintage elecric and acoustic instruments and amplifiers is online.
Rod and Hank's Vintage Guitars, Memphis, TN
Route 66 Guitars, Pasadena, CA
Specializes in fine vintage and used left handed guitars, although they stock right handed instruments as well. They also stock vintage amps and guitar-related books and accessories. The focus is on electric instruments, although they do carry acoustic instruments.
Spruce Tree Music & Repair Inc.
Located in Madison, Wisconsin, "Spruce Tree is a full time retail store specializing in new, used and vintage stringed and fretted instruments, especially guitars, banjos, mandolinds, violins, dulcimers, harps, ukeleles, lap steels---you get the idea." The also carry instructional materials and accessories. They do phone/mailorder business, with ordering info available at the site. The site includes lists of their inventory and pictures of selected vintage instruments.
Virtuoso Vintage Guitars
Virtuoso Vintage Guitars buys, sells, trandes, appraises and services fine vintage guitars. Their web site provides pictures and sounds of vintage guitars, a registry for owners of vintage instruments, and a stolen instrument list.

Distributors of Music, Instruments, Parts, and Accessories

Check out AtmosFear's Music Related Catalogs and Gear Prices page, which includes links to several mailorder distributors and price lists for new and used gear.

First Quality Music Supplies
First Quality is a family-owned, second-generation mailorder business, based in Louisville, Kentucky. They specialize in strings and accessories (including cases and electronics), but they also provide a selection of stringed instruments. Though new on the web as of 1998, First Quality is a longtime favorite mailorder source for acoustic guitarists and other acoustic musicians. Their web site is a bit bare-bones at the moment, but offers attractive web specials. Their catalog is low on frills and fancy graphics, but high on quality selection at good prices; catalog order information is provided at the site.
Homespun Tapes
Based in Woodstock (yes, the Woodstock), New York, Homespun produces a wide variety of audio and video instruction tapes at all levels of proficiency. Many are from top fingerstyle guitarists, such as Martin Simpson, Preston Reed, Laurence Juber, and David Wilcox. They offer instructional material for many other instruments as well. Their videos are consistently highly rated by RMMGA readers.
ALLPARTS
Allparts is a major supplier of guitar and bass parts based in Katy, Texas (near Houston). Their web site includes a complete listing of their products with prices (but no photos); a printed picture catalog is available for $3. Orders are accepted by phone and fax, and Allparts parts are also available at many guitar shops. The site also provides a listing of international distributors of Allparts parts. Allparts serves both wholesale and retail customers.
The Guitar Gallery of Houston
This shop specializes in fine hand made acoustic instruments and sheet music. "Sorry Folks - No Electrics." They have an extensive on-line catalog of their sheet music.
Sonata Publishing
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Interstate Music Supply
Musician's Friend
Reuse-It-Music
A Connecticut-based dealer that buys, sells, and trades new and used music equipment. Their site was heavily under construction as of April 1996, but looked very promising.
The Music Exchange
Used music eqpt???
WISE Music Sales
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Play Music, Inc.
Makers of the Windows CD-ROM, Play Blues Guitar with Keith Wyatt. Screen shots and product information are available here.
Graph Tech Guitar Labs
Manufacturers of acoustic and electric guitar nuts and saddles used by such makers as Buscarino, Taylor, Larivee, Fender, Lakewood and others.
Shoreline Acoustic Music
Shoreline sells a variety of acoustic guitar related material, but their specialty is built-to-order instruments by the following builders: Northwood, Brook, Fylde, Morgan, Mcilroy, and Lakewood. They also carry amplification equipment by Highlander, Pick-Up the World and Fishman, various accessories, and instructional material. They carry recorded and printed music for selected acoustic players and songwriters, with an informative web page devoted to each player (among them Muriel Anderson, Franco Morone, Pierre Bensusan, Peter Finger, Dougie Maclean, Rick Ruskin, David Wilcox). Prices are available on line, and many items can be ordered on the web. They also have an auction section. Although US-based, they do a lot of business with overseas customers; domestic shipping is free.
Euphonon Strings
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JustStrings
JustStrings.com is based in Mont Vernon, New Hampshire, and offers "the world's largest selection of musical instrument strings." They carry, not only guitar strings (of various types, including lap steel and banjo guitar), but strings for over 30 other instruments, including bass, mandolin, banjo, fiddle, violin, viola, cello, double bass, etc.. Their site provides a form for ordering free string manufacturer catalogs, as well as a chat room and an upcoming library of reviews and interviews. Orders can be placed online or by phone or fax; they ship worldwide.
BP Strings
BP Strings is run by Bob Passante, a mailorder distributor of strings for acoustic and electric guitars, bass, mandolin, and banjos. The string catalog is online; orders may be placed by email or via a web form. BP stocks common brands like D'Addario and Dean Markley, as well as less common brands such as DR and John Pearse. BP also sells tuners, capos, and other guitar accessories as well as harmonicas and instructional videos by companies such as Homespun, the latter at 10% off list prices.
Mostly Strings
Based in Lizella, Georgia, this company distributes a huge selection of strings for a wide variety of instruments at good discount prices. They also sell some instrument accessories such as capos. Their web site lists their inventory and prices.
Strings and Accessories from Mary's Music
"A full line music store in Dickson, Tennessee, presents the lowest prices for instrument strings on the internet."
Big City Strings
A mailorder string distributor based in Bridgeport, CT.
Lang Music
A shop and mailorder distributor located in Columbus, Ohio, with a web site that has extensive text listings of their stock and prices.

Pro Audio/Sound Reinforcement

Fred's Music Shop (Shillington, PA)
The Direct Shop
Based in Germany; site includes price lists and technical info.
Gand Music
Midwestern US music/sound "superstore," based in Northfield, IL.

Classifieds

Harmony Central: Guitar Resources
The fine Guitar Resources page at Harmony Central includes a Classified Ads section allowing users to buy and sell used equipment via a searchable archive.
The Guitar Exchange
A web site providing free classified ads for buying/selling/trading used guitars and basses and other music equipment. Ads appear as simple text listings catgories such as "Acoustic Instruments" or "Pro Audio."
ClassicWeb Marketplace
Run by ClassicWeb, this web page serves those interested in buying and selling instruments over the web. Not guitar-specific, however. You can place ads for free, in five languages: English, Spanish, French, German, and Italian.
NetVista GuitarSpace Buy/Sell Guitar/Amp Database
Sellers can post items to this database, and buyers can search it in a fast and easy way. As of fall '96, it is a shareware service ("any donation would be appreciated").
MinneMusic
"The absolutely FREE Minnesota musical equipment classifieds." Hats off to Ted Martin for running this localized web classified ad site, strictly serving musicians in the Minnesota area.
The Internet Gear Wanted List
Potential purchasers post their desires to this list which sellers can search in order to sell their used gear.
usedguitar.com
"A database of classifieds that allows you to search for guitars, basses, amps and effects in your area code (US and Canada). Listings are free to individuals...." The site also includes a collection of manufacturer and publisher links and columns on guitar purchasing.
MusiciansNet: Guitars
This site hosts a page of classifieds for anything guitar-related. It is not categorized or localized, but it's free, searchable, and easy to read and post to.

Mugwumps Instrument Herald
Though not specifically focused on acoustic guitar, this online version of a magazine previously published in print provides classifieds for buying, selling, and trading acoustic instruments, as well as articles on vintage instruments, instrument identification (e.g., serial number lists), and repair tips and techniques.



Tom Loredo / loredo@spacenet.tn.cornell.edu