Southside Guitars

In general they are nice and knowledgeable of gear and guitars. It is a bit overpriced but I didn’t care as I pay for the convenience of getting strings and gadgets close to home. About 14 months ago I took one of my electric guitars a Stratocaster to get a Seymour Duncan Black Out bridge installed. I did proper research and brought the diagram to the younger tech guy that essentially dismiss it. Anyways I went for it and order the install that including basic set up for $ 175 plus tax. I got a call few days later with news that the guitar was ready and yes it was. The guitar and pick up seemed alright however for the price charged a simple wipe would be expected. It had fingers all over the place and the guitar was dirtier than when I dropped it off. Honestly in 23 years and various countries of getting my guitars serviced never got such a poor attention to detail and arrogance from a guitar technician. The guitar developed few buzzes after few weeks and decided not to come back to SG instead I went to a different technician in the city. Few weeks ago I noticed that the battery of the Black Out was out and took the guitar to set up for the winter. To my surprise or not… the installation of the pick up was held with masking tape instead of a clipped battery holder that goes for 50 cents at any hardware store. Of course the battery was loose within the compartment, same quality job as picking up the guitar all dirty with the technician’s hands. So I paid $ 175 + tax for a lousy job. If you want someone serious with their craft Southside Guitars is not the right place.

Super friendly place. As an adult I want to learn how to play guitar and step one is buying one. I like to support local business and walking into this place was totally overwhelming, but the staff was awesome, helped me pick out a budget, used axe and I was on my way and a happy customer in no time flat. They took what could have been an intimidating and stressful process and made it simple.
If I can figure out how to play this damn thing they will definitely have my future business.

I brought in a guitar with string buzz and after 2 attempts to fix it I still wasn’t totally happy. Turned out the neck was warped. They were really cool about it, after I contacted the manufacturer for a replacement, Southside set up the new one for free.

This is my favorite guitar store in the greater NYC area. Not sure why the older reviews aren’t as stellar, but this place has some of the highest quality instruments out there. The staff is extremely knowledgeable and aware of the gear in their store.
This isn’t a store for amateurs. The gear is vintage and extremely high end. This isn’t a walk in and jam on every guitar place, its a cultivated, curated, high end guitar store for the true player/​collector!

These guys are awesome, especially if you’re a beginner like me and have lots of dumb questions. I had gone in a few times and picked up a small Orange travel amplifier, then later a 20 watt orange proper practice amp.
Today I went in just to see what they had and fell in love with a 2008 Gibson Classic Antique 1960 they had around. They were super accomodating and even lowered the action for me to try like that. I had to have it and the were fair with the price, and then worked with me right then to get it set up with new strings and adjusted action. They talked me through how to re-​string a guitar!
They couldn’t be nicer and their prices are the same as used gear on eBay, except you know they have serviced their instruments. Awesome!

Paul, who works on guitars in back, is a true artisan. I recently brought my Gibson J-​150 in for a tune up, and when I went to pick it up — as I later found out is his custom — he made sure to have a conversation with me about the work he had done and things he had noticed about my guitar. Without being pushy in the slightest, and speaking earnestly as a craftsman, he informed me that my neck was beginning to bow, showed me, and then gave me some pretty objective, professional advice to weigh as I decided whether to spend the additional money to have it corrected. This is no Sam Ash, Guitar Center experience.
I picked her up today and could not have been happier with the work he did on the neck of my guitar. Through our frequent communications — Paul consistently kept me in the loop (on the day I was to pick up my guitar he even called me to tell me he had to leave early, but would hang around a bit later until I showed up so he could talk to me and show me the work he had done) — and in store-​conversations, Paul showed himself to be a straightforward, responsive, and eminently capable guitar technician.
I could not recommend him with more enthusiasm.

I went in on 01/​03/​2013. The attitude of the counter guy was less than pleasant. I asked about their selection of guitar cables and he was completely unhelpful. He could have been having a bad day. 8.17 for set of D’addrrio Phosphur Bronze Light strings is a rip off. The shop itself is cool though.

I like Southside quite a bit. They get some really interesting gear in there, and their techs are good (and FAST). They carry some new gear at pretty standard pricing.
The only reason I knocked off a star is because, while I understand they are not a low end shop, sometimes used prices are arbitrarily high. Not every old pedal is a collectible/​rare/​desirable/​warm/​magical vintage eargasm!
On the other hand, I have asked for price adjustments on some used gear, and they were friendly and came down a bit. I don’t mind paying a *little* extra for brick and mortar, so go in with a good attitude and you’ll do fine. You probably won’t get the deal of the century, but these guys are NOT out to rip you off. And they do have some real gems.
UPDATE: Had another great shopping experience here, including a significant price adjustment. really reasonable guys. 5-​star upgrade!

I haven’t bought a guitar or amp here but I’ve had tons of stuff fixed by their tech Eugene. He’s amazingly fast and thorough and I won’t take my gear anywhere else.

My favorite shop. Extremely knowledgeable. Crazy selection of the best vintage instruments. Their service department is the best in Brooklyn in my opinion. They set up my Strat, serviced my old Japanese tube amp, and just did an incredible job on my Telecaster — incl. routing the neck for a humbucker, replacing the bridge, bridge pickup, and all the electronics. I could not be happier.
Even though, I’m a fairly novice player, they never condescend or make me feel like an idiot — rare in the world of NYC boutique guitar shops. Great guys, great service, great shop.

Possibly the best guitar store in the world. Reasonable prices, interesting gear, neat and tidy too. Eugene, the amp repairman is a treasure. Quick turnover times.

Went in to have strings changed. Super cheap. Friendly straightforward service. Gave me the best advice and weren’t trying to just make me spend money.

Been in here a few times to check it out, and there’s a lot of cool gear (not for the drummer). More rare selection of guitars than box stores and seems like they have a pretty decent amp selection too.
Got my guitar set up this week. Had it set up, and they replaced my volume pot for around $ 90 total w/​parts/​strings. They did a great job of cleaning it up too! It’s a cheap washburn I’ve had for 13 years and covered in stickers. Probably a $ 300 guitar NEW, but my favorite. I’m glad they gave it so much attention, and was not expecting that. Called in the morning, they said it would be done tomorrow, got a call later in the day that they had it ready!
Friendly staff! Don’t seem like crazy gear heads, but maybe that’s a good thing sometimes?

hey I wanted to add some levity to the neg reviews here:
I really dig this spot and have been a customer since the day they opened over on Driggs. They make an effort to stock a wide spectrum of gear, from the very high end stuff (some of which it has to be said seems extremely expensive, but is priced no differently than say 30^th st. Guitars in Manhattan… this they could rethink a bit, I’ve seen the same super expensive stuff hanging on the wall for ages)…but their true strength really lies in the funkier «lower end» stuff, these guys consistently have really cool vintage stuff that’s very obscure/​one of a kind, especially basses. You could easily walk out of there with a rad, unique piece from the 60s or ‘70s for under $ 800; this is not so common in this part of the country.
As well as having bought stuff here over the years, I’ve sold them gear and found them to be meticulous and fair with what I was given in return.
Contrary to an earlier review I would consider these guys extremely knowledgeable; and if there’s something they’re not sure about they hop online and research it.
Having said that (and speaking to the comment about being «treated like a girl», dunno what that means but it sounds bad) I think that over the years these guys have of course experimented with different staff, and in that process may have had had some less than stellar people in there, like any business. It’s always best to be dealing with the owners, Sam and his (twin?) brother if possible.
Anyway I’m a fan and will remain a loyal customer. I have lots of guests coming in from Europe and elsewhere, and this shop is always on my top 5 list for those who are looking for vintage gear in the New York area… they’ve got really fancy stuff and really funky stuff and that’s a rare thing around these parts.

Went here for the first time yesterday after hearing so many people recommend it.
Amazing selection of new & vintage guitars. Walked around with my mouth on the floor for the first 15 minutes alone, just reveling in their collection.
I went there with the intention of finding a small practice amp, and indeed I did. The salesman there was friendly and didn’t mind the fact that I continually interrupted his lunch break to ask questions.
I ended up leaving with an early 60’s Silvertone tube amp, which now looks & sounds amazing in my apartment.
I will definitely be a repeat shopper!

Someone mentioned being treated «like a girl» when they went in, and I second that opinion. I go to other places now.

I purchased a gig bag from them a couple of months back. It was about $ 30 and wasn’t great quality. The zipper wasn’t working and there was no padding. Anyhow, I was walking by recently and on a whim asked the guy if I could do anything about it. He told me to bring it back and gave me a better one that was sturdier and had padding, at no charge! I will definitely go back for any guitar supplies or accessories. I haven’t had any work done on guitar with them (I use Tom at Main Drag), but as far as customer service, these guys rule.

Took in my friend’s guitar to get set-​up. Turn around was one day, and the guitar tech really made it a champ to play. AND the cost of the set-​up was $ 20 less than a lot of other places. They have a plethora of vintage guitars and amps that is actually quite overwhelming. Total kid in a candy store syndrome in this cool lil’ shop.