Members Tidal Rhythm Posted February 1, 2010 Members Share Posted February 1, 2010 I will be making a family trip to Dallas next month with my wife and kids. This will be our first time in that area and will be purely a non-working vacation, but we're not looking for tourist-type stuff. Any tips on guitar stores, music shops, coffe shops, or restaurants are sincerely appreciated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Tidal Rhythm Posted February 1, 2010 Author Members Share Posted February 1, 2010 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Mr.Grumpy Posted February 1, 2010 Members Share Posted February 1, 2010 Well, I don't get out much. Here's some places to check out, and my grump-tastic review of them. Charley's Guitar Shop: This used to be a really cool place. I hadn't been in many years, but went a couple of months ago and was severely underwhelmed. Yes, they have nice vintage stuff, with the nice vintage pricing too. Very very limited selection when I was there, less than a couple dozen electrics, all north of $1k, most MUCH more. Really caters to the cork-sniffing bunch. Not much to see in my opinion, unless you really dig old telecasters. Zoo Music: Also used to be a cool place. They at least have lots of cool (but not necessarily collectible) vintage guitars. The reason they still have all those cool old guitars of course, is because they are priced to THE MOON. Seriously, an 80's G&L F-100, in fair condition at best, price $800. You people that bitch about GC not having guitars setup? Half the guitars in this place don't even have all six strings. Worth a stop to see some unusual guitars, quite a few 80's guitars. The Guitar Shop. In the Dallas suburb of Richardson. I haven't been to this place, but I've heard good things. We have 3 Guitar Centers in the area, and plenty of lame pawn shops too. Good luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Tidal Rhythm Posted February 1, 2010 Author Members Share Posted February 1, 2010 Well, I don't get out much. Here's some places to check out, and my grump-tastic review of them. Charley's Guitar Shop: This used to be a really cool place. I hadn't been in many years, but went a couple of months ago and was severely underwhelmed. Yes, they have nice vintage stuff, with the nice vintage pricing too. Very very limited selection when I was there, less than a couple dozen electrics, all north of $1k, most MUCH more. Really caters to the cork-sniffing bunch. Not much to see in my opinion, unless you really dig old telecasters. Zoo Music: Also used to be a cool place. They at least have lots of cool (but not necessarily collectible) vintage guitars. The reason they still have all those cool old guitars of course, is because they are priced to THE MOON. Seriously, an 80's G&L F-100, in fair condition at best, price $800. You people that bitch about GC not having guitars setup? Half the guitars in this place don't even have all six strings. Worth a stop to see some unusual guitars, quite a few 80's guitars. The Guitar Shop. In the Dallas suburb of Richardson. I haven't been to this place, but I've heard good things. We have 3 Guitar Centers in the area, and plenty of lame pawn shops too. Good luck. Thanks for taking the time to reply, Mr.Grumpy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members cratz2 Posted February 1, 2010 Members Share Posted February 1, 2010 Yeah, Charlie's used to be pretty sweet. Of course, I haven't been there in uh... about 20 years or so. They used to have normal vintage stuff and quirky vintage stuff. I'd say back in the day, it was my favorite store in the Dallas area. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Snake Posted February 1, 2010 Members Share Posted February 1, 2010 Where are you staying in Dallas - downtown, uptown, suburbs? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members curseoftruth Posted February 1, 2010 Members Share Posted February 1, 2010 There are three I'd recommend, a couple already mentioned: Charlies Guitar Shop Zoo #1 and #2 both on Garland Road about 5 miles a part. The original on South Garland has a lot of tasty vintage amps stacked 5 deep and to the ceiling, literally hundreds of things (I just bought one from them on Sat.), warning, much of the inventory at that location is not for sale. Guitars are a bunch of old oddball and poorly modded things, some interesting pieces though and they do have some new ESP and Fender stuff. They will negotiate though. #2 on North Garland has better used guitars and a ton of new amps. Murphy's in Ivring - not a lot of used but they tend to have production stuff that GC won't carry from Fender, Epi, Gibson, and Dean. A good store with friendly staff. The Guitar Shop in Richardson, I believe that's the front store to where my amp tech works out of. Not really worth a visit, really small and maybe one of two OK things, a lot of modded used cheapies. And we have 5 guitar centers locally, not 3 (Ft. Worth, Arlington, 75, 635, Plano). The one on 635 is my fave probably. Used to Arlington but their inventory is not what it used to be. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Will Chen Posted February 1, 2010 Members Share Posted February 1, 2010 I was at Charlie's about 2 months ago and the store was damn near empty. Check out Murphy's Music in Irving. They claim to be one of the biggest independently owned music stores in the nation. If you like Peavey gear, I've never seen a bigger selection of new Peavey amps and they carry a few unique brands of guitars you don't see every day. the guys that work there are cool too. Zoo is an experience. The place is completely over stocked to the point that it's hard to get around in there. But if you're looking for a used amp or guitar I've never seen a bigger inventory. Unfortunately, it's a little hard to get a good deal there in my experience... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Will Chen Posted February 1, 2010 Members Share Posted February 1, 2010 ...And we have 5 guitar centers locally, not 3 (Ft. Worth, Arlington, 75, 635, Plano). The one on 635 is my fave probably. Used to Arlington but their inventory is not what it used to be. Yep! Also the Best Buy maybe a mile from the 635 GC has a music instrument store. It's worth a look, sometimes they have some killer deals. I saw a new VOX AC30CC on clearance for $699 around Christmas last year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Tidal Rhythm Posted February 1, 2010 Author Members Share Posted February 1, 2010 Where are you staying in Dallas - downtown, uptown, suburbs? We haven't narrowed that down yet. Any suggestions? This trip is purely a family vacation and we're driving down, so there's nothing we need to be close to. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members jbiggs1 Posted February 1, 2010 Members Share Posted February 1, 2010 pretty much what everyone has said is true. The GC's here aren't too bad. I like the ones on 75, 635 and in Plano. The one on 635 at Midway really has a good inventory, nice used selection as well. Saw an Anderson, a Trussart, some nice Gibby's, Fenders and Gretsch as well. They also had a Roccaforte head/cab, a Framus Cobra and some other nice used amps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Will Chen Posted February 1, 2010 Members Share Posted February 1, 2010 We haven't narrowed that down yet. Any suggestions? This trip is purely a family vacation and we're driving down, so there's nothing we need to be close to. Kinda depends on what you're planning to do. I wouldn't recommend staying downtown as the city really shuts down after around 6 PM and there is not much to do other than the West End as Deep Ellum has gone way down hill and isn't suitable for children (assuming you have any). I think Addison is a great area with a bunch of cool family friendly restaurants. About 15 - 20 minutes north of downtown via the tollway. Or Frisco is cool and around 30 minutes north of downtown. Grapevine is great too with a bunch of family friendly stuff. If you have kids, actually even if you don't, don't miss the Dallas World Aquarium; very cool. If you have the time, head out to the Fort Worth Stockyards as well. If it's nice out you can take the Tarantula train from Grapvine. If you do make it out to Grapevine, be sure to check out the Grey Wolf and Gaylord Texan. A bit pricey to stay there but really a cool place to visit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Tidal Rhythm Posted February 1, 2010 Author Members Share Posted February 1, 2010 Kinda depends on what you're planning to do. I wouldn't recommend staying downtown as the city really shuts down after around 6 PM and there is not much to do other than the West End as Deep Ellum has gone way down hill and isn't suitable for children (assuming you have any). I think Addison is a great area with a bunch of cool family friendly restaurants. About 15 - 20 minutes north of downtown via the tollway. Or Frisco is cool and around 30 minutes north of downtown. Grapevine is great too with a bunch of family friendly stuff. If you have kids, actually even if you don't, don't miss the Dallas World Aquarium; very cool. If you have the time, head out to the Fort Worth Stockyards as well. If it's nice out you can take the Tarantula train from Grapvine. If you do make it out to Grapevine, be sure to check out the Grey Wolf and Gaylord Texan. A bit pricey to stay there but really a cool place to visit. Very cool suggestions. Many thanks for the time you took to paas those on, Will. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members golias Posted February 2, 2010 Members Share Posted February 2, 2010 The Oak Lawn exit off 35E in Dallas leads to the district with the most interesting night-life elements. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members steve_man Posted February 2, 2010 Members Share Posted February 2, 2010 The Guitar Center in North Dallas is nice, as are the ones in Arlington and Fort Worth... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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