Candelas Guitar Shop

Great place for instrument repairs. Had my father's vihuela fixed in no time.

Awesome place to visit and buy if you are serious about string instruments. A true gem find in East LA! This place makes guitars, violins, harps, and ukuleles. Many are one of a kind. The sounds that come out of these masterpieces are stunning. Usually they project out, like an opera singer in the highest pitch and volume. Amazing California music maker, going on second generation and getting the third ready. I love it! Thanks for being around.

Went to purchase some guitar acoustic guitar strings and asked about the guitar services restring my guitar. I would recommend this place.

Loretta, thank you so much for helping me today! Folks, if you need help with your instrument from good, knowledgable, and kind peeps.come here. I had one of those small annoying issues that requires clear thinking and patience to figure out. Loretta steadily and systematically took the time to determine exactly what was wrong and saved me from continued bafflement and misery. "Is it the pick-up? Is it the cable? Is it the battery? Is it the amp?" --one of those kind of scenarios.

I couldn't believe the woman's patience! In the end, the store made a BIG sale with me: $4.33 for a replacement battery. Loretta from heaven thank you and bless you!

Candelas Guitars is a flavorful badass conduit for life-skills in the form of guitar lessons. Generations of experience and craftsmanship has coaxed the depth of my cultural roots to the surface. Kenneth's teaching is on point, well-rounded, and individualized. His passion for guitar music is palpable and inspiring. Highly recommend!

Came in to Candelas to get new guitar strings. I was really happy with the service and that my strings were changed right away. My kids and I are now taking classical guitar lessons here, we have learned so much from Teacher Kenneth and grateful to Candelas for their amazing service and knowledge in music.

s Guitars.
3 януари 2020 г. ·
Genius level guitar repairs. Made my little Martin sound like a real guitar. And I played some of his mid range guitars which are a whole Nother level of guitar, guitars I dream of having! Worth saving up for! We are privileged to have such Luthiers in our city!

Candelas Guitars is a beautiful gem in Los Angeles, they've been around since 1928 with 3 generations of Luthiers - I walked in and I was greeted by the owner Thomas, I bought some strings that I needed for one of my classical guitars, guys they have there own Candelas strings for sale, this place is my new home for my guitar needs, I'm definitely going to be purchasing a handmade custom guitar in the near future - stay inspired and spread good vibes.

The expertise, the quality of work, their HONESTY, and the prices are very fair. I strongly recommend Tomas., he made my Requinto 13 years ago and it plays beautifully

This guy assessed and restrung my kids guitar for super cheap! My husband says he will definitely be returning for any future items my kids may need in his instrument career so that's cool. We have a guitar guy now!

I've always wanted to learn and play guitar. I first picked-up a guitar when I was 20 years old (year 2000) and at that age lessons seemed impossible because I didn't have a steady income and Youtube had not started. Sure enough after 6-7 months due to school and work I put it in storage never to see it again. Up until last year (May 2018) I came across my old acoustic and decided that now at 37 years old I should finally accomplish this goal.

I did some research and went with another instructor that I did not seem to connect with nor did the lessons seem to be what I was looking for and I seemed kind of lost. I came across Candelas Guitars and met Loretta, Kenneth and Tomas; I liked the way I was welcomed and I sensed the connection that I was looking for. I started my lessons with Kenneth in August 2018 and I am learning the way that I always wanted to.

Almost a year later I am still here and the more I listen to classical guitar and the genres that play this instrument the more I love it with a passion. If you seem lost and don't know where to start I highly recommend you start here. You are never too old to pick-up an instrument. You owe it to yourself to accomplish this long-term goal

You will never find better work than through Candelas. From Loretta in the front to Thomas with his care, work and engery put into the instruments to Kenneth with his amazing approach to teaching. This place is a historic landmark. When you get your instrument worked on here, you know it will last. Please support Candelas as well as it's Non Profit- Candelas Music Art Foundation

A few years ago, I had the unfortunate luck of breaking my daughters Guitarron. The strap broke off while on my shoulder and it shattered! Believe me, I almost wanted to shed tears. I had it (somewhat) fixed in Phoenix AZ, where I reside. While the repair was just serviceable for a while, the instrument was probably waay too far damaged to repair correctly.

It broke apart again. Knowing the legend of Candelas Guitars in California, we made it a point to drive to Los Angeles and see what Tomas Delgado could do at his shop. The first question Tomas asked my daughter was "what do you want with this instrument?" My daughter promptly replied "I just want it to sound the same as before." Tomas said that her saying those words instead of saying she wanted it to look good, was exactly what he wanted to hear.

The pictures don't do it justice in how bad it broke. So I had my doubts in how well the repair would be. Tomas assured us that he could fix it. So while at the shop, my wife and I decided to reward our daughter with a brand new Guitarron as well. This would be custom made to our daughters specifications. The repairs of the broken Guitarron would take a couple of months, as would finishing off building the new Guitarron.

But having "Candelas" on her own instrument should be worth the wait. We returned about three months later and low and behold the broken instrument was back in working order! Tomas said it was pretty bad and he said it would've been much easier to just strip the top off and put an entire new one on. But knowing that this instrument was old and knowing what our daughter said to him initially, I think he took it as a personal challenge to keep it as original as possible.

A year later, the instrument is still holding on strong! But now our daughter also has the privilege of playing a BEAUTIFUL new Guitarron built straight from the hands of Tomas and his crew for her! If we ever need instrument repairs again, we will not hesitate one bit to drive back out to California in a heartbeat to see Candelas work their magic again! THANKS CANDELAS!

Taking guitar lessons at Candelas has been a great investment. Kenneth Del Rio is a great instructor and is very patient. He walks you through the material and made sure I learned to read music. There are no shortcuts only results! If anythig else, stop by the shop and check out the awesome handmade guitars!

These hand made guitars play like a dream. The sound from my Candelas classical guitar is amazing. Buying a Candelas guitar is an investment. 22 years later, not only does it sound great, it looks great and plays effortlessly.

I have been taking lessons from Kenneth for about 6 months. He is awesome! He is a talented musician and fantastic teacher. Kenneth tailors your lessons to your goals. I chose to study classical guitar and I've made a lot of progress thanks to Kenneth. He is also great at helping identify issues that need work and figuring out solutions so that learning is fun and not frustrating.

Best place ever! Been going here for over 20 years. Quality guitars that are hand crafted and they have guitars that meet everyone's price point. Great customer service. They also offer ukulele, guitar, and harmonica lessons. The instructor works with everyone in a different manner to meet the students learning strengths. He even gives you a detailed report card on your progress. Don't forget the unique and rich history of the owner and business!

Serious classical guitar luthier! All handmade, no assembly line, only the finest aged woods and three generations of fine quality guitar makers! Customers work directly with the owner, Tomas. Very nice family owned business. Very, very rare these days. Can't wait to have Tomas make one for me!

I am very offended by the receptionist 'Loretta', I spoke to her earlier today regarding instrument maintenance and 100 times she repeated "these dumb Mexicans" and gave me a lecture of how Candela's and his brother had a falling out and split business. I hope the owner reads this message, teaches her to work more - talk less, and to help customers without being negative. Her racist comments are a total reflection on the business

I owned Candelas classical guitars since 1971. This is a big family operation now run by Tomas, the grandson of the builder of the 2 instruments I have. He loves to talk about his work and is clearly dedicated. He does, however, get overwhelmed and is sometimes hard to get to respond to questions. The guitars are works of art.

These guitars are high-end, master crafted instruments. We purchased a Mariachi Guitar and a Vihuela. They are incredible instruments! The staff is very helpful and if you're really lucky, there will be some world-class musician in there trying one of Tomas's instruments. Prices are very high and worth it, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't try to negotiate. If you're good at it and they like you, you can get a better price than what is posted on the website.

My first Candelas guitar was given to me by a special friend back in 1969, it was made by Tomas's uncle and is still played today. I've since purchased another classical cutaway guitar built back in 9/94 and sounds and plays great. Tomas has built me two ukuleles, tenor and a soprano which I use as a work horse, I love the great sound it projects. Thanks Tomas for some fantastic instruments!

I bought my first concert classical guitar from Candelas Guitars over 5 years ago. It is a magnificent hand made instrument. Since that time, the reputation of the shop has grown significantly turning my guitar into quite the investment. The history of the shop, past, and new players are making these guitars quite the hot commodity. If that was not enough, his flamenco guitars are being picked up by some very elite artists such as Adam Del Monte.

The store is very special. You are buying something that is hand made right at that store. I hope many of you understand how rare that is. They are not just instruments, they are works of art.