Good places to buy equipment in San Francisco

[shapemod]

Hi,

I'm from Berlin and will be in 'San Francisco for the next three weeks.
The $ is pretty low so I definitely want to buy some equipment there. Any places you can recommend to buy Guitar-stuff(Z-vex) and pro Audio gear(API)?
And maybe you can also tell me your favourite record store to buy some vinyl.
Thanks in advance!

shapemod

[thaddius13]

The end all be all record store in SF is Ameoba on Haight St. It is the best for everything. New and used, old and new. There are some pro shops but nothing cheap. Most of the deals now are found online. Might try Leo's in Oakland or maybe cutting image in the city. You can always check out and see if they have any good used stuff at Guitar center on Mission and 8th.

Good luck let me know if you need any more advise on where to go in the city.

[spherop]

Audio Images on Bryant st. For pro audio gear new/used - decent prices on vintage stuff and all else.

For vintage/used guitars and amps try Real Guitars - look em up ... can't remember street off top...

Originally posted by shapemod
Hi,

I'm from Berlin and will be in 'San Francisco for the next three weeks.
The $ is pretty low so I definitely want to buy some equipment there. Any places you can recommend to buy Guitar-stuff(Z-vex) and pro Audio gear(API)?
And maybe you can also tell me your favourite record store to buy some vinyl.
Thanks in advance!

shapemod

[covert]

Try the Starving Musician, for me and medium level recording gear.

[ToddP]

Leo's Pro Audio in Oakland, Bananas at Large in Marin, Gelb Music in Redwood City. And ditto the Audio Images post earlier.

[David R.]

Audio Images is a great place. Ron knows his stuff.

When you are done shopping at Amoeba, you can walk down Haight to Haight Ashbury Music Center.

Streetlight Records is another good place for vinyl. They have a store in Noe Valley and one in the Castro. If you are looking for DJ stuff, there are a few places on Haight St. for that.

Of course, all that shopping on Haight will make you hungry, I recommend a buritto from El Balazo. Try the super chillie reino burrito.

[Sebastian]

Good advice!

Real Guitars: 15 Lafayette Street (Mission/11th).
If you go to Real Guitars, also go to Rocker Guitars which is nearby at 1350 Howard. Guitar Center San Francisco is in the vicinity, too, on Mission, but the selection isn't great.

Zvex is hard to find in the city. I've seen it at Bananas at Large, which is on 4th Street in San Rafael (Marin County, 20 minutes north of the city). There is a real lack of shops that sell a good selection of boutique pedals in the Bay Area. Rocker has a few, but don't remember if I saw Zvex there recently.

Audio Images--Nice guys and some decent used pro audio can be found there.

Amoeba--Incredible, I agree. A record store in an old bowling alley. Huge. They still have a lot of vinyl.

Leo's Pro Audio in Oakland--Might have API. Audio Images might as well. Other than that, can't think of anyone.

If you can make it down to San Jose, Guitar Showcase has a nice selection of vintage guitars on display. If you're in the South Bay, there's also Gelb in Redwood City for guitars, and Gryphon Stringed instruments in Palo Alto for acoustics and Carr Amps, which I love.

[David R.]

By the way, there is a large purple elephant in the room that no one is mentioning.

Way to go, Gearslutz!

[juniorhifikit]

Originally posted by Sebastian
Good advice!

Real Guitars: 15 Lafayette Street (Mission/11th).
If you go to Real Guitars, also go to Rocker Guitars which is nearby at 1350 Howard. Guitar Center San Francisco is in the vicinity, too, on Mission, but the selection isn't great.

Zvex is hard to find in the city. I've seen it at Bananas at Large, which is on 4th Street in San Rafael (Marin County, 20 minutes north of the city). There is a real lack of shops that sell a good selection of boutique pedals in the Bay Area. Rocker has a few, but don't remember if I saw Zvex there recently.

Audio Images--Nice guys and some decent used pro audio can be found there.

Amoeba--Incredible, I agree. A record store in an old bowling alley. Huge. They still have a lot of vinyl.

Leo's Pro Audio in Oakland--Might have API. Audio Images might as well. Other than that, can't think of anyone.

If you can make it down to San Jose, Guitar Showcase has a nice selection of vintage guitars on display. If you're in the South Bay, there's also Gelb in Redwood City for guitars, and Gryphon Stringed instruments in Palo Alto for acoustics and Carr Amps, which I love.

Cutting Edge Audio supplies a lot of studios in SF 415-487-2323, and if you go up to Bananas to check out guitars, I heard that someone bought a huge collection of vintage guitars and opened a shop across from Bananas.

Personally, I prefer El Toro to El Balazo. YMMV

[spherop]

Originally posted by juniorhifikit
Cutting Edge Audio supplies a lot of studios in SF 415-487-2323, and if you go up to Bananas to check out guitars, I heard that someone bought a huge collection of vintage guitars and opened a shop across from Bananas.

Personally, I prefer El Toro to El Balazo. YMMV

while we're at it:

la taqueria 24th mission best steak burrito
la cumbre 16 valencia - best grilled chicken burrito
El toro - excellent too - esp. the prawn burrito

[ToddP]

And Tommy's Mexican on Geary-- BEST Margueritas this side of Mexico!

[kevinc]

[QUOTE]Originally posted by spherop
[B]while we're at it:

la taqueria 24th mission best steak burrito


I strongly second that.

Holy shit are those things good.

It took me 6 months of winding down off those to even bother with any of the Burrito joints when I got back to Boston.

I`m stuck here in the cold with greatly inferior mexican fast food.
(not to mention greatly inferior music scene.)


Life sucks!

[juniorhifikit]

[QUOTE]Originally posted by kevinc
[B]

Originally posted by spherop
while we're at it:

la taqueria 24th mission best steak burrito


I strongly second that.

Holy shit are those things good.

It took me 6 months of winding down off those to even bother with any of the Burrito joints when I got back to Boston.

I`m stuck here in the cold with greatly inferior mexican fast food.
(not to mention greatly inferior music scene.)


Life sucks!

Hey, I'll trade you some burritos of your choice for your Xtramix

[David R.]

OK, now we are talking.

The best burrito, and a big part of this is the salsa, is at Papalote. 24th and Valencia. A block from my house.

There are no burrito joints in Boston. Lived there for 5 years.
There are no pizza joints in San Francisco. Only in NYC.

And good call on Cutting Edge Audio, I forgot about that one.

[kevinc]

Originally posted by juniorhifikit
Hey, I'll trade you some burritos of your choice for your Xtramix

Throw in some guacamole and hot sauce and you got a deal.

Speaking of hot sauce theres a place in Berklee/Oakland that takes the cake in that department. Can`t remember what they`re called but they had about 8 varieties to choose from and were by far the best I`ve ever had. Great chicken too.

Also one of the most beutifull mexican woman I`ve ever seen works there. I used to eat lunch every day there when I was gardening/landscaping for a living. Made my day.



Ay David R.

Did you ever eat at Annas Taqueria in Boston.

It`s not even close to the above mentioned but it`s the best around. At least they make Quesadilllas correctly and they`ve got good Guac.






By the way Junior did you get my email ? Mines been kind of screwy lately so I wanted to make sure.

[juniorhifikit]

Yes, I got your email.

I know which Taqueria you speak of, and which cashier. She now works at the SF branch called Tlaloc. The one in the East Bay is Cancun (no relation to Cancun in the Mission), and both have unbeatable salsa.

[underthebigtree]

A third (or fourth) thumbs up on audio images in SF. I just bought a pair of Dolby SR rack units there for $100 each.

Leo's Pro Audio is OK, with some high end stuff. If you go to Bananas at Large in Marin (where I live), talk to Vadim - he really knows his stuff.

I'd also like to mention R&M Pro Audio on 10th st. in San Francisco. They stock lots of stuff for the film post community - reel to reel tape, shotgun mics, etc, as well as good high end gear for recording music.

Be sure to check out Craigslist while you are here: www.*************** - they have a music gear section with free postings. You might get a bargain on something from a private seller. Finally, there is Dan Alexander Audio and Dan Dugan Sound Design, who both sell vintagey kinds of things. My take is that Dan Alexander charges too much in general, but you might find a deal.

[Jax]

You can't go to Tommy's Mexican on Geary. They've been out of business for about 8-10 years. (ToddP?)

La Cumbre's good, but their burritos aren't the best value (in weight) for the buck. Good grilled meats, used to be better.

El Toro is hopelessly overpriced... (I like the salsa though) just walk down the street to Pancho Villa's and save a buck for a better burrito. (on 16th between Valencia and Mission, and pay no mind to the street freaks unless you need some crack or want to pet a city rat).

Check out La Corneta in Glen Park. There's always a line out the door at dinner and lunchtimes for a good reason. Excellent seafood and great burritos of any kind.

El Balazo? Well, be careful with the fish tacos. I had a miserable experience with one... but I won't go there. The nopales (cactus) and mexican goat cheese with black beans burrito is fantastic. I think they call it the Ben and Jerry's or something.

Back to audio gear:

Cutting Edge is cool but pricewise, nothing special. And where's all the gear? Not much on the showroom floor. Great staff tho.

Audio Images (Harrison between 4th and 5th) is great and Ron Timmins is the coolest. Check them out for sure. Lots of good used stuff flows in and out.

I wish Black Market Music (formerly on Howard between 6th and 7th) was still around. That place was a treasure trove of instruments (especially guitars) and old synths.

Skip Guitar Center altogether. Just entering the door there annoys the piss out of me.

[kevinc]

Originally posted by juniorhifikit
Yes, I got your email.

I know which Taqueria you speak of, and which cashier. She now works at the SF branch called Tlaloc. The one in the East Bay is Cancun (no relation to Cancun in the Mission), and both have unbeatable salsa.

Ahhh... Tell my lovely senorita that I miss her and think of her often.

[spherop]

Originally posted by Jax


I wish Black Market Music (formerly on Howard between 6th and 7th) was still around. That place was a treasure trove of instruments (especially guitars) and old synths.

Second that! Crazy vintage stuff fleamarket style... you could find almost anything there.

[littledoodler]

Originally posted by spherop
Second that! Crazy vintage stuff fleamarket style... you could find almost anything there.

got to go to LA for synths nowgrudge

[audio_images]

Come on in and visit us in San Francisco! We are a full line pro audio dealer and we are also doing a lot in the live sound arena. If you get a chance, try to check out The Independent nightclub. It's the revamped Kennel Club/Justic League and we installed a large EV rig with a Midas Legend console. (www.theindependentsf.com).

The guys from Pennywise were just here buying more gear. The found us during the Warped Tour last year and always stop by whenever they're in town.

We have a new mic and monitor room that should be complete soon. Our goal is to have 200 mics on display with all the mic pre's that you want to try with a CD recorder so you can take a disc with you and figure out what you like and don't like.

We just got our Midas Venice in for our PA display.

Be sure to let us know that you found us here on gearslutz!

-- Jim

[bopmachine]

Oh man you guys are seriously making me home sick. I am mexican from San Francisco and now living in London england, a complete wasteland for mexican food.

As for burrito preference - La Cumbre rules the roost as far as I am concerned. Best late night burrito can be found at La Altena on mission around 22nd street. Best all around mexican food place USED to be Chava's which burned down.

For gear I always find stuff at starving musician in San Jose.

[audio_images]

Chavo's is still around at the corner of 4th and Bryant (walking distance to Audio Images). La Cumbre makes a great carne asada burrito, but you have to try the super steak and prawn burrito at Pancho Villa's taqueria on 16th/Valencia. With a cold Corona and a splash of lime on both, you can't go wrong.

Just delivered a used TubeTech compressor/limiter to Pennywise and they used it at their show at the Avalon with NOFX.

-- Jim

[bopmachine]

Nope - Chavo's is a different restaurant totally. I dont really like Pancho Villa or El Toro - I am find them to be to california cuisine for my mexican sensabilities. Besides I love to look at the chapel pegs on Adelita whenever I am in la cumbre!

[thaddius13]

Dude, Jax,

Hate to disaggree with you but Tommy's is still open. The one on like 34th and Geary. If it closed it was in the last 3-4 weeks.

I will also back the margaritas there. Insane.

[gracejames]

For Sushi: Try Kitaro on Geary.
Awesome Rolls!!

I'll have to check out those other places.

Cutting Edge, Audio Images, Banannas, Leos,
Gelb, Guitar Center San Jose and Concord
are the places i go to.

=james

[ToddS]

Originally posted by gracejames

Cutting Edge, Audio Images, Banannas, Leos,
Gelb, Guitar Center San Jose and Concord
are the places i go to.

=james

These are all the best places for sure, although I am not a fan of Guitar Center

[Jax]

Originally posted by thaddius13
Dude, Jax,

Hate to disaggree with you but Tommy's is still open. The one on like 34th and Geary. If it closed it was in the last 3-4 weeks.

Weird, cuz there used to be a Tommy's Mexican on Geary right around Arguello, by the Coronet Theatre (which I hope stays open due to popular demand). I guess they moved and I never knew. So many restaraunts, so little time!

Re: sushi, check out Ichiraku on Geary at 2nd. Tell Kerri I said hello.

Pizza, try Giorgio's at Clement and 3rd. Very good. Or Bambina's on Cole between Carl and Parnassus. Or any restaraunt on that block, you can't lose. The French joint down there is extremely good (can't remember the name). There's a really good sushi place on the block too (name?).

Then go to Haight street and refuse to give change to all the trustafarian kids sitting on the sidewalk with heir "sympathy dogs" that they shouldn't be allowed to own (feed your pizza crusts directly to the dogs until finished). Haight street sucks except for El Balazo and the Ethiopian restaraunt (whatever it's called)... oh, and Escape From New York Pizza is pretty good. Try the roasted garlic and potato on pesto slice.

A little more for me to rant about the Haight: just about every kid you see that could pass for a bum ended up down there by travelling across the country on their parent's dime and stayed until their parents came to their senses and cut them off. Don't give them a damn thing. Most of them picked up a drug problem along the way, which I won't judge them for, but let them get jobs and make their own lives instead of grubbing off the kindness of strangers and being shitty about it at the same time. There is such thing as a loser. Thanks, I'm done.

What's the joint with the houka pipes and great Middle Eastern food, right by Amoeba? Go there, too. Extremely good vibe, music, and hot belly dancers.

SF isn't really about gear so much as restaraunts!

Don't forget to go to Golden Gate Park! It's a mistake not to spend at least 4 hours getting some fresh air among the lush greenery.

[spherop]

another great spot to check out is Baobab - restaurant slash/small bar club - they have amazing senegalese food, and drinks - and great world djs almost every niote of the week.
there are 2 joints within a block of each other mission/19th & 19th/mission. The little one on the 19th side is the one with the DJs ... both have wonderful atmosphere.