Guitar Shoppe The

I absolutely love this place. The only bummer is I only just recently discovered it about two months ago and it’s been down the street from my house for the last five years. The staff is very friendly and knowledgable and they have a great selection of electric and acoustic guitars. The fact that they are an authorized fender dealer also makes me very happy and they have a quality selection of pre owned gear as well (some very nice vintage Gibsons). They also have some great luthiers there as well. I had a fret job done on my Les Paul and just recently had the pickups replaced and they did a fine job. Sean has helped me every time I have been in and he is just a stellar person in ever way; great luthier, very knowledgable, super friendly, and just an all around cool guy. I highly recommend that anybody that plays guitar, or wants to get a gift for someone that does, to give this place a try and ask for Sean. You won’t be disappointed.

This is my favorite guitar shop. It’s got the total local feel and with an excellent selection of guitars. Kirk Sand is a guitar making legend and this is a must visit on your trip to Laguna.

We moved to Laguna Beach almost 6 years ago… having a guitar shop near our home was a must, as our son has been playing since he was 2 years old. I went to check out The Guitar Shoppe when we came to Orange County to house hunt. My son has taken lessons ever since we moved and I can’t say enough wonderful things about the shop, the instructors (Randy in particular), the guys who work there (Sean and Ben) and of course, the owner (Kirk Sand)! They are all wonderfully helpful, friendly and have been fantastic to my son and his many guitars. They know what they are doing and are always happy to help. THANK YOU for everything!

Whenever I walk in the door at the guitar shoppe, I get a good feeling about the place and that the people who work here actually care and enjoy what they do .They handle the difficult repairs and full set ups but occasionally they take time to make that small tweek or minor adjustment and if it’s not too big of a deal, I’m on my way fairly quick. Ive purchased a few high end guitars here and there and the selection iisn’t run of the mill and always changing .I’ve never been pressured or made to feel hurried when trying something out. Ive been in and out of this store for over 38 years if you can believe that. Their in store events are always fun and interesting hosting the likes of the Martin Guitar Co and other Guitar manufacturers demonstrating their line of guitars with incredible players. The Guitar shoppe with its success and longevity in the age of big retail and online shopping, is a testament to the their commitment to excellence.-Thank you Guitar Shoppe! Keep it going!

Their showcase of acoustic guitars is outstanding, with a solid electric guitar and ukulele inventory. The staff is friendly and knowledgable. Accessories are quality with a good selection. Excellent ambiance.

Not very friendly staff. My son had two lessons at the shop. It was not a good experience. Lucky my son understood that the teacher was just not a good match for him. first lesson went well and second lesson it seem the teacher was having a bad day.
We did have one of my son’s guitar fixed and they did a good job. told me the price over the phone when I picked up guitar the price had gone up. so what I am saying is you never know what you will get walking into the shop.
And you get the feeling they are guitar snobs.

The Guitar Shoppe: I have only been here two times but in those times I have always left happy.
First time was to get the nut on my guitar fixed. The guy reconfigured the neck, made me a new nut, and gave me new strings at a really good price.
The second time was to fix my tuner. The light was glowing red as if the battery was low and I could not figure out what was wrong. They took my guitar keep it for a few days then gave me a call to let me know that all it needed was to be rebooted. He said that he had to look it up but they don’t have it on any web sights, but he figured it out. He did all that for no charge.
I am happy to say that I will deffinetly be coming back to this place any time I need some help. Or even to just check out what they have. Nice place, great people, I love it here. =]

These guys are fantastic! The Guitar Shoppe was recommended to me by a few professors at my schooI. I had a problem with the electronics in my guitar and they had it fixed within a day! Very knowlegable, I will definitely be back in the future!

I have played guitar for 50+ years. The Guitar Shoppe has repaired half a dozen of my vintage archtop and solid body guitars for the past 25 years. The charges are unbelievably reasonable. They do great work. You do not have to drive to LA to find first class luthiers. The guitar and amp selections are interesting. You can try out the equipment in a private room with absolutely no pressure. I purchased my favorite guitar and amp from them.

These guys are very knowledgeable! I came in with a problem with my strat and they fixed it in no time! Very efficient! Thanks Sean!

I have been taking lessons here for a few months and highly recommend this shop for not only lessons but guitar repair/​maintenance and to buy a new instrument. The service is top notch and they treat everyone very fairly. Definitely a place to check out!

Sean helped me understand what was needed with a guitar I received as a gift. I would say that whatever you need done to make a guitar play/​sound great… take it to these guys for an outstanding job!

The Guitar Shoppe is a dying breed among music stores — an establishment that puts customer service first, stands behind their products and is an asset to the community. The salespeople are knowledgable, the teaching staff is excellent (and truly qualified — anybody can call themselves a guitar teacher, but their guys are the real deal), and the repair staff (particularly Mark) is among the best I have found anywhere. Kirk (the owner) has built instruments for Jose Feliciano, Chet Atkins, Doyle Dykes, Tommy Emmanuel and other icons, and his level of work reflects the high standards the store is based upon.
You will pay more at the Guitar Shoppe than at your local mega-​chain music store, but the buying experience and after-​care will more than justify it. The G. S. doesn’t sell junk, and unlike most stores the instruments they sell, even entry-​level ones, are properly set up and ready to play. The store’s selection is slanted a bit toward the acoustic side, but they also have a plum selection of Fender, Gretsch and other electric guitar brands.
No affiliation, just a satisfied customer.

Love it here; quality guitars, nice workers, and great teachers. For all reviews complaining about price… there prices are more reasonable then it may seem. The LsL guitar that they carry are top notch and are of equal if not better then custom shop hand made Gibson’s, and they only cost a fraction of the price. I have been to the LsL factory and they hand shape the necks, hand paint the guitar, hand make the pick ups, hand shape the wood, hand do everything! and for about $ 1,500… that’s not bad. And The Guitar Shoppe is one of the few shops in CA that carry these guitars.

A Great Guitar Shoppe!
It’s nice to go into a store that offers personalized service and doesn’t just carry the standard array of guitars and amps. You can always get someone to help you, rather than waiting twenty minutes for a staff member to free up.
I would say the store is more geared toward acoustics and offers a better selection of higher end acoustics than the typical big box guitar store. And they stock 12 strings, ukuleles, banjos, off the beaten path electrics, boutique amps, their own line of guitars, and vintage guitars.
My opinion is that they really excel in repairs. They are honest, and the prices are reasonable. A much different experience than the one I had with a repair service I previously used in Fountain Valley. The best part about their service — they do their best to save you money on repairs. As an example, I had a stripped tuner gear on my Larrivee Parlor. They could have just ordered a new tuner, or a set of new tuners. Instead the took the tuner apart and replaced the one stripped part. Good as new!

They’re okay. They’re just okay. The staff isn’t hostile, but they’re not particularly friendly, either. One review here describes them as «laid back.» That’s certainly accurate. They’re laid way back.
In any case, I took my Taylor here for a general service — string replacement, cleaning, intonation & neck adjustment. I paid something like $ 70. From the time I dropped the guitar off and told them what I wanted done, to the time I picked the axe back up, we exchanged only a few sentences. Overall, they did an okay job. The guitar’s played better, though, after service from other shops. I was happy that I hadn’t had to do it myself. Fine. But it wasn’t until I got home that I noticed that my Taylor’s inlaid bridge pins had been replaced with cheap, plastic bridge pins. Argh! I called them and they handled it immediately and they were nice and apologetic about it. They ordered new pins when they told me that they couldn’t find my own — sigh — but they never offered to put them back in and restring the guitar because of their error.
It’s a small potatoes shop with a «gee-​whiz-​gosh-​golly» attitude. It appears that they do a fair amount of good work, but they didn’t see a simple setup as an opportunity to impress a customer. I think they saw it as an opportunity to train a new guy. In any case, I wouldn’t bring my guitars back here.

A wholesome alternative to the big chain stores, Laguna Guitar Shoppe is perfect for the musician who needs a great guitar, guitar set-​up and fixes of all types or lessons. The friendly, laid back staff lets you take your time trying instruments without bugging you. And you wont have to suffer through the hideous racket of 20 wannabe’s blasting out poor imitations of death metal hits through a stack of Marshalls at ear-​bleed volumes. An old fashioned guitar haven, one of the last of its breed to survive the corporate guitar monster’s juggernaut. Their prices for set-​ups and such are extremely reasonable and the quality of work is exemplary. A breath of fresh air for the pro player, and the best place a beginner could ever hope to find.

It’s really hard for a cat to find a place with competent luthiers, craftsmen that you’ll trust your most prized guitar to. Well, these guys know what they’re going and have so much more going for them compared to that so-​called «Doc» guy inland.
While I normally do most of my own setup work, I don’t hesitate to bring the really tricky acoustic stuff here.
They also have a nice selection of new guitars and amps, though I’ve never had the chance to purchase anything here other than strings and some accessories. Still, this would be the first place I’d shop if I were shopping for a new acoustic guitar.
Why not five stars? Well, Smokie has seen them spraying lacquer on guitars. .. out in the back alley! Hey, we gotta breath this stuff, not to mention it’s completely illegal! Get a proper licensed spray booth, use it and then you’ll get your star back!

this place is coool!
the bf comes here to get his guitar (s) fixed and the staff seems to put him at ease because they are so knowledgeable and passionate.
it’s a small place with metered parking but they have many unique guitars — i’ve seen all kinds of brands, mostly the bigger names like martin, taylor, gibson, (breedlove too i think), etc.
it’s kind of a drive from irvine but worth the trip if you need to fix, customize, or buy anything guitar or string-​instrument related (except piano and harp i believe).
i believe they also work on violins, banjos, ukeleles, etc. too.

Took one of my acoustics here to get it fixed and setup properly (The saddle was shaved way too low and the frets were uneven, causing tons of buzzing and unplayability higher up the fretboard). If I were to have it sent back to the luthier to get fixed, it probably would have had to brave cold weather and possible damage, so I opted to just take it in locally. I always knew about Guitar Shoppe since coming down to school at UCI. I discovered it by accident my 2^nd year when driving around randomly and seeing a «guitars» sign off PCH. Anyway, I recently was referred back to these guys to get the guitar fixed up so I took it in.
They did an EXCELLENT job and the costs associated with everything were very reasonable. I’m just happy that the guitar’s at least playable now.
They also have a nice selection of guitars (Taylors, Martins, etc). There was even a Goodall on consignment! The thing looked sweet but I was too scared to take it down and play it ;)
A couple of guys who work there also build their own guitars and sell them at the shop. Mark Angus is one of the guys — he had a few of his guitars out on sale. They sound pretty decent!
Check it out if you’re ever taking a drive down PCH and if you have the urge to play because you’re blasting Tommy Emmanuel or something: P