Best San Diego Guitar & Amp Repair Shops

After growing up in Los Angeles, I’ve been in town for 14 years and have found that it took a bit to find the right fit in what I was looking for as far as repairs and custom guitar and amp work goes in San Diego. I’ll add to this over time to include more info, pics and locations, but here’s the list as I’ve experienced them:

For Guitars

1) Top Gear in La Mesa: Great for custom work and ongoing tune ups. Dan is the man.

2) Blue Guitar

For Amps

1) Jeff Snider rules. He’ll take care of any valve amp problems and gives you full details on the prescribed solution. You can drop your amp off at either Repair Zone near Convoy or at Guitar Trader on Clairemont Mesa and he’ll pick it up and turn it around within 1-2 weeks usually.

2) Top Gear in La Mesa: Tim is a mad scientist and really gets what you’re looking to achieve with tone.

For Pedals

1) Online: The wide boutique selection will always be better online

2) Craigslist: You can score sweet deals on solid vintage gear and guys love wheelin’ and deelin’ pedals

3) Guitar Trader: Decent selection of good brands

4) Guitar Center in Grossmont: They have a surprisingly decent used pedal selection, you just have to deal with their somewhat lame sales staff.