Big City Music

Just a heads up! This place is by appointment-​only for the time being (it looks like they’re still in the process of setting up the store). We came randomly and jiggled the [locked] front door but the guy running the store at the time was super nice and let us in!

Had a fantastic experience picking up some vintage gear from Roger, though their focus is definitely new and boutique! I give this place six thumbs up Will be coming back very very soon

Got a call from the owner Roger today, five years after I wrote the review of my experience with his service department. According to what he told me today, they no longer offer repair service on vintage synths. He asked that I change my review based on the fact that his business no longer offers the service that I was complaining about. That’s fair, so three more stars for that.

After reading some forums online and watching various YouTube videos to see what modulars were all about, Big City Music was considered one of the best in the nation. I stopped by on the way home to explore modular synths for the first time, hoping I’d get that «feeling» like this is a perfect fit for me.
Thanks to seeing Big City Music here on Unilocal,I drove to their address but had trouble finding the building because there were no signs anywhere. From Ventura, it looked like there was an abandoned building at the address listed. So, I called and talked to Roger. He was great to talk to and said they usually ask customers to make an appointment to stop by. Lucky for me they were available at that time and I could stop in. He gave me better directions, since the entrance was actually off Ventura Blvd.
Big City Music is unlike any other music store I’ve been to. It feels like I’m entering a «secret club» where you go enter through back door and walk into a room-​sized warehouse full of boxes and supplies everywhere. Roger was glad to see me and introduced himself right away. He then pointed me to the demo room, where there are several large modular synths, some (very nice) keyboards, guitar pedals, vintage gear and a couple people (Stephi and Morgan) ready to help out.
I mentioned I was new to modular synths and wanted to mess around a bit to get a feel for what they can do. Stephi cleared off a module and handed me some patch cables to mess around as much as I wanted. I never felt rushed the entire time I was there.
At first, I was clueless. Just clueless. I started having doubts immediately. What the F was I doing here?
Rather than allowing them to hear my embarrassingly-​awful sounds I’d be making, I popped on some headphones and patched on the fly. After a half-​hour, I felt comfortable enough to ask Morgan a few questions about the basics. He jumped right in on their massive modular and started patching like a mad scientist, showing me what all the modules can do. I was very impressed with his knowledge and passion. I instantly felt at ease, even though I had very little knowledge of what was going on. The way he explained things were super helpful.
Since my first visit, I decided to take the dive into modular and have returned. I bought a Monorocket case, some patch cables and a few modules to get me started. I’ll definitely be coming back here to fill up my case over the coming months and ask for a couple more tutorials.
I’m very lucky to live so close to this great store and to learn from awesome people. Cheers–

I found a Moog theremin I really wanted on the Big City Music website, but I didn’t want to worry about shipping/​waiting. It turned out they weren’t a far drive from me so I called ahead to make an appointment. There was a little bit of phone tag in between, but we were able to meet the same day I called. Roger was there to meet me and he was extremely friendly. I told him this would be my very first theremin and he gave me a lot of information and encouragement to take with me. I definitely look forward to coming back.

This place is awesome. I’ve bought synths and drum machines all over North America, from Moog Audio in Montréal to Analogue Haven in Santa Monica and this place is my favorite.

Great store, Josh is a really nice guy and helpful. They do sell Modular synthesizers which are not cheap at all but the possibilities with these things are endless! You can spend so much time finding new sounds with these things it’s mind boggling. Check out their store, they also have a few things that are more affordable stuff like the Pocket Piano and Moog pedals.

If you like the latest VA synth in the marketting spotlight, if you like synths and effects everyone else has, if you like autotune and nonvintage vocoders, if you like corporate music marketting and sales, this place is not for you. Roger, Josh and Steph are the trio that run the business, and stock some of the most sought after boutinque effects and synths made. Ever see a crazy synth in a video and wonder, where does someone get something crazy like that, it’s not the big chains, it’s places like this. Ma and pa style service with the finest in synths and noisemakers. And they have a showroom you can visit with an appointment to boot. Some of it’s not cheap, but you get what you pay for, handmade electrical circuits.

This is a really interesting little place, packed with a fantastic, high-​end selection. Their prices are competitive and the service was very personal (they let me try out and compare multiple pedals for about 30 minutes until I made up my mind. They offered very personal sugestions, feedback and advice as well).
I love going in there. You have to call ahead though and they are generally in from about 2 – 6 or so.
If you’re looking for high end guitar effects, crazy moog and keyboard stuff, check them out. You can see their stock online at: