So I went to Guitar Center yesterday..

Was this the La Mesa GC? That place is permanently off my list. Their bass gear "selection and service" is garbage.

 

Sheesh! A new preamp tube can be had for less than ten bucks, and they wouldn't even go for that??

It's time to hit the flush handle with that place!

 

I've usually found that with deals like those, it's rarely ever just one thing...

 

Its all good! Thank goodness other stores like Bass San Diego have opened. A few years back there was a great store in OB called Bass Alone. John always had a fantastic selection of great stuff.

GC is fine if you need strings, power supplies, accessories mainly. For some reason once they moved to that location the bass stuff became more of an afterthought, to me at least!

 

BSD (much better than typing the whole name) rules for the higher end gear. I spoke to Chris 2 weeks ago about whether or not they were gonna carry more G&L Tribby's or the Dingwall Combustions. Their market and for what i can tell, price point & availability, is towards the higher range. Kudos to that! Bad for guys like me... hahaha!

But honestly, I would love to see somebody carry mid-range Fenders, MTD Kingstons, G&L Tribby's etc.... there isn't a whole lot of that around here. Guitar Trader has some cool stuff. But, it's definitely a more guitar oriented shop.

I can say for sure, after 15 years of getting my gear worked on that Fred at The Repair Zone is the MAN for anything you need. Great prices, and he builds his own line of instruments too.

 

Guitar Trader is at the 805 and Clairemont Mesa. The Repair Zone is pretty close to there off Ronson Rd and Convoy. Just east of the big UPS hub. Guitar Trader does have some online stuff, but its better to go there. Again, its mainly a guitar shop, but they do carry some, **some** bass stuff.

The Repair Zone is great. Fred has some great employees that really do it HIS way. I like that.

There's also a place in La Mesa called Top Gear. Tim Pinnell is magic with tube amps and really knows his stuff regarding lead sleds. They're only open 5 hours a day and take about 3-4 weeks for any work (minimum), but it's gonna be done right. IF you have the time to wait and a backup, its a good place to go.

 

I go to Moze when ever I need some work done. They have good prices and a few basses, strings, P/U's, etc., but they mostly sell acoustic guitars. They do good work. Mr. Joeys Music store in Lemon Grove has some good bass gear and great prices, but he has a high turn around on everything that is in the store and stuff comes in and goes out all the time, so you never know what you will find there also it is a small store so if you do not see what you are looking for just ask because he will probably have something stored away in the back. Joey is also more then fair if you bring in gear to sell, and he gives the most for trade in value towards other gear IMHO. If Joey does not have it, but you let him know what you are looking for he'll call you when he comes across it just ask and he will usually get back to you in a couple weeks because he knows people, a lot of people who are looking or who have gear. Guitar Trader is alright, but to me it is more like the guitar section of GC. For restoration, custom Modification, or amp work I take my stuff to Top Gear off University. Just make sure whatever you bring in is worth the work you want done, because they are not cheap.

 

I have an old SWR Basic 350. It's a killer little amp.

I recently removed the case and washed the whole thing down with a gentle electronics cleaner and put in a new Sovtek pre tube.

I used it with a Hartke 410XL as a bar rig for years and it always delivered, no matter how funky the room might be.

 

Its all about location. My GC bends over backwards for me...much love to them.

 

David Super is the MAN at the Akron GC

 

Moze +1

 

"It's probably the tubes. How about you buy it, take it home, waste your time and money replacing the tubes and find out that they weren't the problem. You're welcome."