San Francisoites? San Franciscans?

[nonohmic]

However you guys call yourselves?

I'm heading over to do some research at Stanford soon

There's a few things I want to do, and apart from eating that aerosol cheese, the most important thing is taking advantage of your ridiculously low bass prices compared to NZ!

Where do I go?

[phatduckk]

My favorite is Gelb Music in Redwood City

Other shops are:

Guitar Center (San Jose and San Francisco)
Guitar Showcase (San Jose)
B Street Music (San Mateo)
Rocker Guitars (San Francisco)

those are probably the only ones I go to. I go to Gelb once a week. Its a good store.

[Foamy]

HUUUUGE +1 on Showcase
And you'll be at Stanford, so not in the city.
So....just call us Bay Area folks.
Speaking for myself, SF is a beautiful beautiful city which has been taken over and run by the looney bin. Even if I were still from there, I probably wouldn't admit it. But, wow, what a beautiful place. Just don't call it Frisco!

[de1orean]

"Frisco" is perfectly acceptable. The bikers call it Frisco, the brothas call it Frisco, it's all good.

Gelb is great for super high-endy stuff, and near where you'll be. SF Guitarworks has a new retail shop open, be sure to check it out. Black Market on 3rd St. in SF has cool stuff from time to time. Real Guitars in SF as well.

Subway in Berkeley is worth a trip if you like dumpster-diving.

There's a Music Go Round as well as a Starving Musician or 2 in San Jose (fairly close to Palo Alto).

Have a great trip!

[alexofc69]

Yes, all of the above are correct. You may also want to check out Haight Ashbury Music center in SF and Sunnyvale.

[Foamy]

Brothas?

[callmebono]

You can call us city dwellers San Franciscans.

But I'm with Foamy: I dont like the city being called Frisco!

My recommendations for stores, in order of convenience: Gelb (Redwood City) and Guitar Showcase (San Jose). Guitar Center (anywhere) is worth checking out if you've never been to one before.

Gelb has nice stuff, but that doesnt necessarily mean super high end prices (Lakland Skylines are reasonably priced). I like it a lot, and the quality of the basses hanging on the walls (in terms of setup and condition) is usually MUCH better than any GC I've been to.

Guitar Showcase is a wide variety of stuff and I've seen some really good deals there. I would recommend it over a Guitar Center anyday.

On a completely unrelated note, you dont have it too bad in Wellington, my friend. I recall kayaking there back in '98 when dolphins swam up and began to play with us. Definitely a magical moment. I hope to visit your end of the world once again next year.

Cheers, I hope you enjoy your time in the Bay Area!

[Foamy]

That safe/vintage/collection room at Guitar Showcase is something, isn't it? Man, if I ever wanted to spend a couple hundred thousand dollars, that'd be where I'd do it.
Step one - get a couple hundred thousand dollars!

[smperry]

What are you studying at Stanford and with whom (if you don't mind)?

Agreed with all of the above recommendations...Gelb is a short distance from Stanford, and there are some great cheap Tacquerias on the way.

If you're looking for high endy stuff, this place is worth the two hour drive:http://bassandbeyond.com/

Also in the Bay Area are some great builders: Zon, Alembic, Rick Turner, and others.

Don't forget craigslist.org for the local used deals. Of course, there are so many TBers in the area, you might find a deal here too!

Marshall

[Foamy]

Originally Posted by smperry

What are you studying at Stanford and with whom (if you don't mind)?

Agreed with all of the above recommendations...Gelb is a short distance from Stanford, and there are some great cheap Tacquerias on the way.

If you're looking for high endy stuff, this place is worth the two hour drive:http://bassandbeyond.com/

Also in the Bay Area are some great builders: Zon, Alembic, Rick Turner, and others.

Don't forget craigslist.org for the local used deals. Of course, there are so many TBers in the area, you might find a deal here too!

Marshall

Speaking of Taquerias....this is technically not one, but it is definitely a local hangout, and right close to Guitar Showcase. Have a stop at Taco Bravo. A Super Burrito or Super Taco will do you well. We used to hang out there all hours of the night after Tower Records closed at midnight.
It's just about maybe a mile up on Bascom Avenue from Guitar Showcase.

[nonohmic]

Originally Posted by smperry

What are you studying at Stanford and with whom (if you don't mind)?

Agreed with all of the above recommendations...Gelb is a short distance from Stanford, and there are some great cheap Tacquerias on the way.

If you're looking for high endy stuff, this place is worth the two hour drive:http://bassandbeyond.com/

Also in the Bay Area are some great builders: Zon, Alembic, Rick Turner, and others.

Don't forget craigslist.org for the local used deals. Of course, there are so many TBers in the area, you might find a deal here too!

Marshall

Going over to do some analysis at the Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Facility on some nanoparticles I've been making. Should be some seriously interesting stuff! Not sure who our guy is over there as we are just liasing through someone from NZ at the mo.

Thanks for all the advice, I'm real keen to get into the city and check it out for a few days at least - and get fried chicken and waffles on the same plate!

Basically I want to pick up a nice cheap P f I can - just a player essentially, nothing too flash.

[nonohmic]

Originally Posted by Foamy

Speaking of Taquerias....

??? what are these???

[bongomania]

I'm from SF, we call it SF or "The City". All other names will mark you as an outsider IMO. "San Franciscans" is the normal way outsiders would refer to them, but a person from SF won't say "I'm a San Franciscan", they'll say "I'm from SF", or "I'm from The City" if they're speaking to somebody else in the Bay Area.

Nobody really cares if you call it Frisco though. City dwellers are "too cool" to care about that, or anything else really.

IMO there are NO good bass shops in SF proper. There are a couple of interesting dives, Rocker and Real Guitars; and one almost-decent mainstream shop, Haight Ashbury Music. But all of them have what I would call a small and overpriced selection of basses.

Sounds like you won't be actually in SF anyway, just the greater Bay Area, so stop at Gelb. I hear their selection is actually pretty decent.

[bongomania]

Originally Posted by nonohmic

??? what are these???

Taquerias are restaurants where you buy inexpensive Mexican food such as tacos and burritos, often with a sort of fast-food atmosphere. You'll see trucks vending the same, and they are actually just as good IMO as the proper restaurants, so don't be afraid to order from a taco truck.

[NorCal Dog]

taquerias--- mexican food

[nonohmic]

Sounds sick - yeah real keen for the food eh.

Will probably post in off-topic closer to the time too and see where the cool haunts are to go and sit in a corner, sipping whiskey, listening to tunes and yarning to cats from the city.

[mntngrown]

You will be in the perfect geographical location to check all the deals on SF "craigs list", since once the retail buyers drive it off the showroom floor, 30-50% off is required to move basses amps etc, and 50-70% off retail can be had. Just know your brands and values or "google" them before you respond to the add. It's a great buyers market here.

[alexofc69]

Originally Posted by Foamy

Speaking of Taquerias....this is technically not one, but it is definitely a local hangout, and right close to Guitar Showcase. Have a stop at Taco Bravo. A Super Burrito or Super Taco will do you well. We used to hang out there all hours of the night after Tower Records closed at midnight.
It's just about maybe a mile up on Bascom Avenue from Guitar Showcase.

Well, I wouldnt call Taco Bravo a real Taqueria. Its more or less like Taco Bell, but 100x better! I wish they had them everywhere. Ahhh, man you got me craving Bravo!! Im gonna have to go there for lunch.
Yeah, we used to walk over from my buddies apartment after a night of drinkin and getting lit up.
There are many, many good taquerias in the Bay Area.
Also, there is Rasputin Records a few blocks and Streetlight records a couple of miles up the road for some cheap cd's.

[Kitsapbass]

1) Gelb
2) Starving Musician
3) Gryphon (they have some cool used stuff)

[nonohmic]

So Gelb looks like the one I'll be checking out first.