jc1funk Posted February 27, 2013 Share Posted February 27, 2013 Hi All Can anyone recommend great places to buy used guitars in or near Phoenix AZ? A little local knowledge will sure help add substance to the google maps search results which may not include some of the smaller guys/pawn shops etc. I'm heading to Phoenix with work later this year (I'm in Australia). With the dollar so high I want to buy a guitar while I'm there, strictly a used guitar. There's a couple of Fender and Gibson models I have my eye on, so if I can find a great buy, I'll do it. Any pointers/recommendations appreciated. Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChanMan Posted February 27, 2013 Share Posted February 27, 2013 There was a guy on this forum who went by NeoConMan. He was from Phoenix and would tell you there is only ONE guitar shop there: http://www.bizarreguitar.net/ Good Luck and enjoy the hunt! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rocketman Posted February 27, 2013 Share Posted February 27, 2013 Neo took me there when I was in the area a few years ago. Very cool place. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
retrosurfer1959 Posted February 27, 2013 Share Posted February 27, 2013 I'm in Phoenix (unless it's the middle of summer, then I head for the cabin) )and Bizarre is probably the best for a big selection and guitars in great condition, it's one of the only shops I know that almost any guitar you pick out will be clean and probably in tune. I would guess 60% of my guitars come from there, the rest are probably out of a few places around tempe and even a great store about 2 hrs south in Tucson. Im pretty picky and have way to many guitars already so it's been years since I even walked into a pawn shop so can't help you there. Phoenix is pretty large it's a metro area like L.A. or New York but it's spread out all over hell and back so what part of the valley are you staying in and maybe a rough idea of your budget and i'll give you some suggestions. just remember Phoenix has almost no mass transit except for right down town in Phoenix. Hopefully you'll have transportation because It's a car city and during business hours it can easily take you a few hours to get across town. I don't mean to sound whiny I just drove across the valley today to pick up a dental air compressor from the 1920's for my studio and I spent five hours in the car going and coming which is pathetic in the same freaking metropolitan area but I was coming home during rush hour and baseball spring training is in town so most of the time I was driving less than 10 miles per hour. And rocketman i was probably a mile or two from Neo today but since I live in the far East part and he was in the far West Valley that's where the 2 1/2 hours each way came from. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kaiser Bill Posted February 27, 2013 Share Posted February 27, 2013 Is Milano's Music still around? When I lived in Scottsdale about 20 years ago they were my "go to" store for everything. Close by...good prices...knowledgeable folks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grampa Posted February 27, 2013 Share Posted February 27, 2013 There was a guy on this forum who went by NeoConMan. He was from Phoenix and would tell you there is only ONE guitar shop there: http://www.bizarreguitar.net/ Good Luck and enjoy the hunt! It's weird that NeoConMan pops up. I was reminded of him a couple of days ago in an on-line political discussion about guns - don't go any farther here - when someone posted the picture of him that he himself had posted showing him lounging on his bed with guitars and guns and he is in a little bikini brief and holding a gun pointed right at his "goods". Odd picture and I wondered at the time why he would post such an odd picture. The person who posted the picture found it on Google under the search heading: fat guys with guns. I wonder how he's doing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
retrosurfer1959 Posted February 27, 2013 Share Posted February 27, 2013 Milano's is still in Downtown Mesa and still a good all around store with a pretty good selection of guitars. They don't carry used gear in any kind of numbers but there prices are good and they everything from low cost beginner gear up to fairly good middle of the spectrum gear. They are a full spectrum sales, rental and repair business and have been in business forever in the same building. I have a soft spot for Milano's because that was where everybody went for band instruments. That's a great example of why I said where in the Valley and what are you looking for it makes a big difference. Oh and the photo of the guitars and guns wasn't Neo it was something found on the internet if I remember the picture your talking about it was used to tease Neo saying it was him, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grampa Posted February 27, 2013 Share Posted February 27, 2013 Oh and the photo of the guitars and guns wasn't Neo it was something found on the internet if I remember the picture your talking about it was used to tease Neo saying it was him, Good, it was a rather disturbing picture. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jc1funk Posted February 27, 2013 Author Share Posted February 27, 2013 Phoenix is pretty large it's a metro area like L.A. or New York but it's spread out all over hell and back so what part of the valley are you staying in and maybe a rough idea of your budget and i'll give you some suggestions. just remember Phoenix has almost no mass transit except for right down town in Phoenix. Hopefully you'll have transportation because It's a car city and during business hours it can easily take you a few hours to get across town. Sounds a bit like Melbourne: sprawling, hellish crosstown traffic. Except we have good public transport. Still, I'm expecting I'll have a car at my disposal so distance isn't a big issue if I pick my travel times. The office is in Tempe so I'll be staying close by there. Re: price. I've been doing a bit of research and I may need my expectations shot down so feel free to do so. I was hoping to find a decent American made solid body guitar for US$500-600. Either a jag/jazzmaster, american standard tele, an SG standard, maybe even an LP studio for the right guitar/money. Something tells me the prices aren't as much better than here in Australia than I assumed... ??? Plus, with the interweb these days it seems unlikely to find that private seller or pawn shop owner with little idea re: value... the bargains are disappearing but I thought the States might be the place to find one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
retrosurfer1959 Posted February 27, 2013 Share Posted February 27, 2013 Yeah the day's of uneducated sellers is almost gone in most cases but if your careful and patient it's been replaced by just too much of everything including guitars. Ive found some amazing buys in small shops just because they have too much stock and want to clear some out. Tempe is East Valley and basically a college Town for ASU which is a huge college so that gives you all the things colleges have like good pawnshops and downtown Tempe is a pretty amazing place especially on a weekend night and especially if your young and single Tempe can be very fun just think of a huge college full of 50 thousand young men and women in a hot place so clothes is minimal if it's not winter (which is only about 4 months here. Since your in Tempe you want to look at the cities of Mesa, Chandler, Scottsdale and Gilbert as that is what surround's Tempe. The west valley is Peoria, Glendale, Surprise and a couple more those are where the travel would come in. I have a list somewhere I'll find it of some places since I can't think of the names off the top of my head but there are some interesting ones. If your in Melbourne I'm officially jealous though man only 60 miles or so from Bells Beach and that long right at Bird Beak and with it's great permanent rips along the rocks - That's like Mecca. Ive only made it twice but I like it even better than Snapper rocks and the rest of the Gold Coast. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kaiser Bill Posted February 28, 2013 Share Posted February 28, 2013 retrosurfer...thanks for that info. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jc1funk Posted February 28, 2013 Author Share Posted February 28, 2013 If your in Melbourne I'm officially jealous though man only 60 miles or so from Bells Beach and that long right at Bird Beak and with it's great permanent rips along the rocks - That's like Mecca. Ive only made it twice but I like it even better than Snapper rocks and the rest of the Gold Coast. IMO The best thing about Melbourne is the music scene and the strength of its diverse cultural offerings. If you want surf in Australia, you don't want to be 60 miles from it; plus Bells is overrated. I'm from Newcastle (it's on the pro circuit as Surffest), north of Sydney. The surf is incredible all the way up the New South Wales coast, from Eden to Byron Bay and into south-eastern Queensland. We're so spoilt. Living in Newcastle, it's more likely you'd be walking from your front door (or maybe driving a coupla miles) to some of the best, most consistent surf-spots you could want... And the water temp will be a lot more pleasant. But yes, Bell's and the Victorian "Surf Coast" certainly has the name and international recognition; there's just so much more on offer, it's ridiculous; you'd lose yr sh!t at the shear volume of options. Tempe sounds like fun... and definitely pass me any references to shops around the area, man. That would be much appreciated! And thanks to all for your input... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jc1funk Posted February 28, 2013 Author Share Posted February 28, 2013 Anyone got any feedback on my budget and the kinds of guitars I'm looking at... am i dreaming? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChanMan Posted February 28, 2013 Share Posted February 28, 2013 Looking at the prices for some of the new Gibsons, I'd say you should have no trouble finding a used guitar in your price range :). http://www.musiciansfriend.com/electric-guitars/gibson#N=500002+700001+202616&Nao=0&recsPerPage=20&v=g&Ns=pLH Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Murph Posted February 28, 2013 Share Posted February 28, 2013 I used to shop Milanos in downtown Mesa when I lived in East Mesa / Apache Jct. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blueblooded Posted February 28, 2013 Share Posted February 28, 2013 In preparation for your trip, I suggest you start searching craigslit for the Phoenix and perhaps other surrounding communities for current ads. Are you familiar with craigslist? Below is a link of one example from a Phoenix listing from the Musical Instruments section: http://phoenix.craigslist.org/nph/msd/3614845224.html A quick look there and I saw several local music stores that looked to specialize in used instruments. And even better if you can find a private seller as you could save more money dealing direct with a private owner. You just need to be careful with private sales so you don't end up on the news. Also, this will give you an idea of what you can get within your budget. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jc1funk Posted February 28, 2013 Author Share Posted February 28, 2013 In preparation for your trip, I suggest you start searching craigslit for the Phoenix and perhaps other surrounding communities for current ads. Are you familiar with craigslist? Below is a link of one example from a Phoenix listing from the Musical Instruments section: http://phoenix.craigslist.org/nph/msd/3614845224.html A quick look there and I saw several local music stores that looked to specialize in used instruments. And even better if you can find a private seller as you could save more money dealing direct with a private owner. You just need to be careful with private sales so you don't end up on the news. Also, this will give you an idea of what you can get within your budget. Yes I have heard of Craig's List - it has quite a varied/notorious reputation; apparently there are many things for sale. I checked it out early in my research and had planned on getting back on closer to the trip, but I hadn't seen the "musical instruments - by dealer" section, so thanks for that. FYI we have an equivalent in AUS called Gumtree... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blueblooded Posted February 28, 2013 Share Posted February 28, 2013 Don't be too afraid, just be cautious. I've bought and sold literally dozens of things from $20 items to a classic car for over $10,000 and have never ever had a problem. 99.99 percent of the people are for real and just using it for the great free way to advertise and sell. And yes, you will find private sellers and some dealers listing stuff as well. I actually prefer private sellers as most everything is negotiable and private sellers prices are typically better. Good luck!!! By the way, if you start watching early, you could find something that a seller has had listed for a long time and you may be able to use that to your advantage when negotiation time comes. Another thing... I find our Guitar Center stores have excellent prices on their used gear. I have been buying a lot of stuff there so be sure to check any in that area out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jc1funk Posted February 28, 2013 Author Share Posted February 28, 2013 Don't be too afraid, just be cautious. No fear. No worries. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
retrosurfer1959 Posted February 28, 2013 Share Posted February 28, 2013 I think your prices are possible maybe on the low side of possible for a clean used piece of gear but doable. It all depends on when your here and what's hanging or advertised. Guitar Center Scottsdale even had a SG and a LP Studio both in the 600-800 range in there used gear last weekend I didn't really look very close since I was doing an art show in the area and just ran in for some strings. If I see anything amazing off your list I'll drop you a PM and if you see something advertised hell I could even store it if needed until your here. And I wouldn't worry about Craigslist to much if you find a good deal advertised. Ive done business off Craigslist for guitars and antique art tools for years. Hell if you talk to the person on the phone have a valid address and aren't trying to buy hookers or drugs it's a good business model really. Now if you meet somebody on a street corner in the downtown area or advertise your address on line with a list of all your possessions as a list for thieves you could run into trouble but common sense will keep you out of 99.999% or better of those cases. -------- As for the 60 miles yeah your spoiled! Hell I keep boards in Hawaii and fly out a few times a year when the surf report looks really good. I grew up just outside of Pismo Beach in California so Ive done my time surfing everyday, now I just want a couple of "good" trips a year and it's enough. Maybe it was a fluke like I said I was only at Bell's for two day's about a week apart and it was firing on both days. we surfed all along the NSW side and your right there wasn't a shortage of places. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jc1funk Posted February 28, 2013 Author Share Posted February 28, 2013 I think your prices are possible maybe on the low side of possible for a clean used piece of gear but doable. It all depends on when your here and what's hanging or advertised. Guitar Center Scottsdale even had a SG and a LP Studio both in the 600-800 range in there used gear last weekend I didn't really look very close since I was doing an art show in the area and just ran in for some strings. If I see anything amazing off your list I'll drop you a PM and if you see something advertised hell I could even store it if needed until your here. Very kind offer mate but I'm not so much a collector as a player who's looking for one more variation. While I can see myself building up a collection later in life, for now I never buy a guitar unless I've played it (and a bunch like it) to the point of adoration. To be honest, being an Australian, and so geographically distant from so many of our key cultural influences, I really like the idea of buying an American guitar IN America for a change... and being able to say "I picked this up in Phoenix, Arizona" just has a great ring to it for a guy playing some heavy-*** blues rock atm. So, fingers crossed this trip goes ahead and fingers crossed the bargain demons are in my court. Thanks again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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