Subway Guitars

My husband LOVES this place so much. He got his instruments fixed here. He bought his music stuff here. Super friendly, helpful, super knowledgeable, super affordable. Strongly recommend!

Went in looking for a used ukulele. They have a ton of instruments (seriously, the contents of the shop would fill at least a shipping container!). Found several, including one with beautiful tone at nearly half the retail price of a new one. Planning to go back when i have the $$ and purchase it. Robin was helpful and friendly without being overbearing.

One important thing to note is their 2 week try it period: if you feel like it's not the instrument for you within that time, you can bring it back! Lastly, they're cash only. Things they had on their walls: guitars, basses, ukeleles, lutes, mandolins, and more--pretty sure i saw a hammer dulcimer, too. Would definitely recommend them if you're in the market for a plucked string instrument, and already looking forward to going back.

These guys are knowledgeable, friendly, approachable and reasonable. The vibe is sweet here - support your local guitar source before going to the "big guys". It makes a big difference in the experience and keeping home grown music alive in Berkeley. Thumbs up y'all.

My go to place for guitar repairs. I've also bought a custom baritone guitar and nicely outfitted Ibanez artcore from them. They understand guitars.

I recently bought a vintage National lap steel from Ethan at Subway Guitars. Ethan is not only a knowledge, honest, and fair in his assessment of the guitars I looked, but is also an excellent musician as well. I'm so pleased with the music I'm making the the National. Thanks so much Ethan.

Best guitar shop in Berkeley. Lots of acoustic/electric guitars including old vintage guitars. Friendly and knowledgeable customer service. You can take a guitar home, try it for two weeks and take it back, get a refund if you don't like it. Bought a vintage Japanese Flamenco guitar, took it back for a quick adjustment and it was back in my hands in less than two hours. Amazing service.

This is a special place. I've had a blast playing one of their custom Broadcaster guitars for several months now. There is wisdom in the construction of this guitar, witnessed by the tooling of the nut, the alignment of the strings, and the feel of the frets. For comparison, I think it plays as well as, or perhaps better than, my Fender American deluxe Stratocaster (which I paid 4X as much for, in 2010).

This shop prioritizes what's really important--sharing in the joy of playing guitars. Here's a piece of anecdotal evidence. About two months ago, I brought the Broadcaster by the shop to have the string retainer looked at. FatDog himself handled it and, when I asked him what I owed him, he said, "You know what you owe me? Have a lot of fun playing this guitar." Oh, and *Taj Mahal* was playing at the shop that day. As I said, this is a special place.

Bought a guitar here a few weeks ago. Decently priced and they have a good return policy where you get to return or exchange the guitar within 2 weeks! I originally got another guitar but ended up not giving with that one and exchanged it for another that cost the same. It was not a hassle at all. Also the people that worked there were helpful. The place has a funky vibe as well. Overall it It was a good experience.

Very nice shop packed wall to wall with all sorts of guitar gear! I got some new strings for an extremely good price. The best strings in town you can tell by the sound.

I am not a musician, so I don't really like this place. But I come from a family of musicians and they absolutely love this place! This place is very well known by world famous musicians, some of whom you may run into here, and those who are up and coming. Fat Dawg knows his stuff and unlike people who work at one of the big box loud music stores out there, he actually knows what he's talking about.

It is for that reason, they have my utmost respect. So, I'll go, hang around outside, dip in and out and enjoy my family member, who likes coming here, but for me it's a no. I played the piano. But if you need a guitar or an accessory, this is the place to go!

The repair service and luthier, CJ, are great. Took two recently bought used guitars to them and the service was quick, reasonably priced and the luthier is straightforward, helpful and does great work.

Will definitely come back! Made an appointment and got a new, nicer ukulele. They taught me how to change the strings and it was just generally a really good experience! Nice people, cool instruments.

This place is so cool! Lots of interesting Used Guitars and a nice staff. I can't wait to go back. The hours are a little tricky right now because of the pandemic I think but they're open on Saturdays. Plus you can call and make an appointment. If you love interest guitars it's definitely worth checking out.

I have a new young student & went to see her guitar. Turns out it's a half size but knew it isn't a toy cuz of the machine heads. It was missing a string so I called Lark in the Morning & they didn't sell strings individually & most affordable set costs $8 plus. The guy was irritable. Meanwhile I had called Subway Guitars, my "go to" music store for instruments, repairs, accessories.

I texted a msg. I got a text back as I was on my way to Lark & decided to detour to Subway. With the pandemic, I was able to reach Ethan. For 50 he was willing to come by the shop to sell me 1 high E string. He texted me it's on the gate & I didn't know how I was gonna leave the money. I texted him to ask if he was still there cuz I wanted a full set too.

I walked up to the front & he kindly got me a full set from the individual strings that r available for $4. I gave him $5 & said to keep the change. And he was on crutches from knee surgery! Most excellent customer service. I have been coming to Subway Guitars for over 30 years! Got my parlor "imitation" Washburn here & still have it.

I purchased a 2003 America Standard Tele from Fatdawg last year on May 15, 2019. It was a consignment instrument for which I received a good deal. The place is full of crap, but can be a great place to find a vintage amp or a partscaster. You have to ask if you want something nicer from the back. Meeting Fatdawg is an experience in and of itself. He's been around a while and has seen it all.

A true guitar lover's dream store. Funky, exciting and fun. Packed floor to ceiling with used inventory of guitars and amps of various makes and models with just the right amount of used broken-in character. This place is genuine and could never be duplicated. Let the music play on, forever.

This review is mainly in response to the 1 and 2 star reviews posted here. overall, i've always liked this place and its' founder / owner Fatdog. and the social scene around it. this is a Last Outpost of 1960s / '70s CounterCulture. as well as a Guitar Store / Museum / Junk Yard / Fatdog Clubhouse. i've always told people that Fatdog is an East Coast Big Shot, West Coast Hippie, and most importantly, Junior High School Bully / Prankster. he is very Knowledgeable of the History of Guitars / Folk, Blues Music, Leftist Politics, and Technical Knowledge of Guitars. especially Electrics. overall i've found him to be kind, considerate, generous, and humorous. and sometimes cheap, aggravating, Infuriating, distracted, and unavailable. this place is Not Guitar Center. it's more like Alice in Wonderland, Cheech and Chong Land, with Rod Serling in the background. as far as cleanliness, and order, this is not Guitar Center. or General Hospital. and you don't have to worry about sales people following you around, trying ". to be helpful." you can Browse, Browse, Browse. in regard to repairs, the best thing is to have them do it ". while you wait." if possible. if you do leave 'em, remember the first names of the people you deal with so they can do a search of the Chaos Pile of Repairs. and be ready to give a clear, succinct description of the instrument and repair. if you see any Famous Musicians here, pretend like you don't know who They Are. they like their annonymity. take your time, and get to know the Place and Staff. this is not 7-11. and if it seems Too Weird, come back Another time. there are many rewards here. if you take the Time.

This place is AMAZING. As a traveler and a musician, I will always at least stop by this place to check out the inventory. There's lots of history and the owner is a great story-teller and very informative. They make their own guitars. This place is definitely for the community.

Wonderful guitar store. I needed a small acoustic to play in crowded and unkind (to instruments) environments.they had exactly what I needed for a great price, were fantastic to deal with, and had me out the door happy in 30 minutes (including a trip up the road to the ATM).

Came here to try out a couple of of guitars. Most of the guitars I played were not in the best playing condition and had some problems. However, the people here were friendly and have to give the store credit for that. It's an ok spot if you're looking for a guitar and are willing to go an extra mile in paying for the repair but I do not recommend if you're looking into buying a solid great guitar unless you're willing to pay for the expense of the repairs.

They never called us back to pick up the guitar. I stopped over several times since I dropped it off. It was always " we need one more week " but it was never finished. And never got a call back. My husband is on his way to retrieve our instrument. We'll see what condition it's in. To bad. I love supporting local businesses but can't recommend this one.

Greeted immediately as I walked in the door by a nice gentleman who was friendly and polite. Kinda cluttered but a lot of goodies for guitars. Came during a sidewalk sale and there were some really bargains on entry level guitars. Lots of parts and plenty of weird stuff to check out. I bought a capo and the price was good.

When I was going to Cal, I wandered in here after anais Mitchell said she bought her guitar here. Got a beautiful guitar epiphany then realized I didn't want it and came back a few weeks later and got a beautiful Martin- ish acoustic I still cherish to this day. Fat dawg and his workers were extremely helpful, this must've been 2016!

Take my talented grandson to Subway whenever he visits so he can pick one or two or three guitars to play from the huge assortment of used instruments hanging in two rows, surrounding us - guitars everywhere! And if you don't see what you want, ask; he has an extensive stock of finer instruments that are not on display If I'm lucky, the owner Fat Dawg, is not too busy to be drawn into talking about the store's and his own history which seems to include every important player since the early '60s; if he hasn't built them a guitar he's likely sold or loaned them one. A uniques experience for the guitar players and lovers!

100% recommend this store. The owner is old school and way down to earth. Great guitars and very need posters on the ceiling and walls. Loved it here. One of the stickers outside the building.

Some years back, before I knew any better, I went to Subway looking for a nice Acoustic. He had a bunch hanging up without prices. I'm now convinced that he did this so he could mark up prices depending on whomever walked through the door. I liked the feel of an old Kay and asked how much. He said $800. That seemed high but I trusted that he knew the value better than I would, so I bought it. Turns out the neck had been fully broken off and spottily glued back on.

I didn't know to look for that stuff when I was first starting out, but I do now, and no one would pay more than a couple hundred dollars for a guitar in that shape. The experience always stuck with me and I don't appreciate being sold a broken guitar at more than full price simply because he could get away with it.

Fantastic deal! So friendly and knowledgeable. The guys walked my daughter through each step of her first electric guitar and amp. They worked with her budget, searched for the just-right equipment, and got her completely set to annoy her parents with good distortion and plenty of noise. I particularly love their "library" model - when she's ready to upgrade, she can trade it in for the price paid and get something new, paying only the difference between the original prices. Definitely I a shop we'll frequent.

Subway Guitar should become a building on the National Historic Society. Will not find the latest Gibson or Fender but do a little digging around and you may find a gem tucked away. Mark Knopfler bought a guitar there.just saying.

I've taken three guitars there for some TLC and have always been happy with the results. I also like that they have a lot of very nice, player-oriented guitars for very reasonable prices. They specialize in refurbishing Frankenstein-ed guitars, but they do it with taste and an eye towards value. The experience can be a little unrefined -- it's crowded in there with guitars, and the guys are only moderately customer-oriented, but it's friendly, funky, and a great place to stop if you want a pro-quality guitar at a beginner's level price, or need an experienced eye to repair your favorite axe.

My first comment on Subway Guitars. is why are you in business? I came here looking to see if I could find some pedals and when I walked in I was stunted. Why? because it looks like the place is owned by a hoarded, kid you not. I looked around as much as space allowed and asked one grey haired dude about a pedal that was boxed and marked $40 and he said he didn't know anything about pedals or anything about the pedal I had in my hand. Okay, so I asked the other dude that looked like he was fixing a guitar about the pedal and he said; what's this for?

And I said; I want to purchase it and he couldn't even tell me the price or inventory or any information about it at all. Seriously? What the heck? Then why are you in business for? So at that point it was crystal clear that Subway Guitars was NOT wanting to do business. Period! So I put the pedal and other stuff I was going to purchase back and I left.