Steve Crisp is THE MAN! Best guitar tech ever. Hes worked on my guitar collection for years, acoustics and electrics. He has a Martin factory trained assistant for minor adjustments and managing the store. He is also much more than capable. I dont know why a guitar would ever go anywhere else.

My Maton guitars(made in Australia)PU stopped working. No local authorized dealers. Took it here. He looked at it and solved the problem in 2 minutes! Did not want to accept $. Gratitude and much respect.

Steve Crisp, the owner, is one of the best guitar techs in California, if not the Western U.S. Having him in Santa Cruz is a wonderful thing. Bill Walker, who also works in the shop, is a long-time fixture in the local music scene, a great guitar player and aficionado, adding to the expertise and great vibe.

New customer for life! Steve and Tom helped me out with my Gibson Custom Shop guitar, which wasnt correctly grounded from the factory, very astute and experienced luthier; even perfectly corrected the neck relief in a cinch. I will be taking my other guitars to them asap.

Expert repair and service. Making my old guitars sound better then new every time I take one in. Excellent new and used inventory always changing. Go by you wont be disappointment.

Amazing service. Steve knows his stuff. I had my 52 RI telecaster rewired, fully set up and adjusted perfectly within 48 hours! Very nice guys, too.

Nice little place, a little slow on the customer service.Quality merchandise, was surprised how low some of the prices were.Recommended.

Great store,possibly the best informed staff you could hope for at a guitar shop. World class luthier plus an amplification/effects expert. Highly recommended!

I went in to get some new strings and found out it’s a guitar repair shop. Nonetheless, the owner is clearly a master of his craft. I had this annoying rattle on my g string that I could never figure out how to fix and the boss knew exactly what to do. In less than 5 minutes, he fixed a problem I had for years. Now my guitar sounds better than when I first got it over ten years ago. Not to mention he blessed me with 2 new high e strings. Real stand up, candor guy. I couldn’t ask for more from a guitar repair shop. Thanks again!

What can I say - I recently purchased a PRS Silver Sky that played great out of the box. Nonetheless I wanted to make sure its setup hadnt been affected during shipping so I brought it on up to The Guitar Shop and wow! Didnt think it could feel or play that much better but I was wrong. The team here knows their trade. Theyve earned a customer for life and I highly suggest to anyone who wants their guitar to get the setup it deserves to look no further.

Awesome owner, great vibe, very friendly!

The staff was really nice they also know what there doing!

Steve is as good as it get at what he does which is superb guitar repair and set up . He also has reasonable prices and is honest. I wouldnt take my equipment anywhere else. If you buy a guitar here youll likely get something good because hes not the type to sell junk. Occasionally he can be busy and seem a bit curt but over the years Ive figured out he doesnt mean anything by it. I like him and you likely will too. Newcomer or pro, this is the first place to take your guitar in Santa Cruz.

Really glad to see Steve Crisp expand his guitar shop to the Soquel Ave. location and offer a range of very nice guitars and basses. Ive gone to Steve a few times in the past for repairs and hes always done them expertly, quickly and for a reasonable price. I walked into his new shop yesterday and he made time in his schedule to do a quick repair and set up, again it was quick, very well done and reasonable. Steves got his own style, which all good guitar store owners should have, but you appreciate his directness. The shop has a great line of new mid-range-plus guitars and basses and really fills the gap between the low end shops in town on the one hand and the vintage shops on the other. I compared prices when I got home and The Guitar Shop prices were better than what I found online. Plus, who wants to buy a guitar or bass online without getting to dig in and hear the tone? They were very accommodating letting me try out some great-sounding basses. Great to have this new store in town.

Undoubtly the best shop I will ever go to. The people in there are so helpful and kind. Swapped frets in an 86 strat for some taller ones and man what a beautiful job was done. When I picked it up steve was showing me all the details that hes done to it and let me chill in the back and play some of his personal guitars while I waited for the finishing touches on mine. One of the nicest people I have met and if you want good work done on your instrument go here!

Great service. Good products new and used!

Helpful and knowledgeable staff

These people absolutely rock. I highly recommend this place for all your instruments needs. To not give this place a shot to take care of even the small things concerning even a violin is folly on your part. Their knowledge is extensive. I have a 1963 Gibson EB hollow body bass with all of the original wiring, and these guys made it sound like it was just built. Awesome place!!!

Cant say enough good things. Steve is very much in demand but hell try to make time for you if your in the shop. Hes worked on several guitars for me and the work is always, I mean always above expectation.83 Tele74 SG07 LP Standard79 SL500Always a pleasant surprise to pick up my guitar after a visit with Steve.

Amazing shop with the best luthier west of Water St.

Steve is by far the most skilled and experienced guitar tech that Ive found since moving to the area. He just did some work on a couple of Gibsons for me (pick up swaps and full set-up) and Im thrilled with the outcome. Very easy to work with and is happy to set things up to your exact specs and playing needs. His turnaround time may be a bit longer than other local shops, but it is because he is a one-man operation and people come from all over to have him work on their gear. Go here if you want your guitar set up perfectly.

Steve brought my Les Paul Special back to mint condition. Dead frets, cracked and damaged neck all repaired. As good as brand new. I’ve had repairs at another shop in Santa Cruz but will now take all my guitars to Steve.

Came here for a minor repair. Super helpful service. Nice selection of new and used guitars. Keep it local, check them out. Thanks!!

I purchased a Taylor 814ce in 2013 and always felt that it just wasnt quite right. I took it to the Taylor certified shop in Palo Alto a couple of months ago to see what could be done and was told that there was nothing wrong. A couple of weeks ago I found Steve Crisp at his The Guitar Shop and after talking with him brought it in for his opinion.He went through it and the result was that I now feel like it plays and sounds like it always should have. I feel like I have a new guitar! It plays like butter. It sounds great. I couldnt be more pleased.

My guitar was dead in the bottom frets from years of playing. Looked up guitar shops in Santa Cruz and Steve had the best reviews. Called the shop, asked if Steve was there. The man who answered the phone responded If anyone but Steve answers the phone, call the police.He told me he had weeks of work lined up but when I let him know I was headed out of town in two days he told me to come in to see what he could do for me. I went in, he looked the guitar over and told me what I had suspected, the frets were worn down to the guitar and needed to be replaced. He mentioned he could give it a soft fix and asked me to leave it overnight. I did, and when I returned he let me know that he is the master at fixing things that should not be able to be fixed. I played the guitar and it sounded great! The soft fix should last me a couple of months, he said, but next time Im in town I will definitely be bringing it here to have the frets replaced. I highly recommend this guy. If he doesnt answer the phone it is probably because he is working on a guitar, so just drop by the shop to talk to him in person because he is likely in there tinkering with someones guitar, and he runs the operation solo.

He fixed my modified Fender p-bass neck/nut issue. I asked him how I could make my bass sound better and he gave some suggestions. He was not pushy at all and was pretty chill. I am happy with how my bass turned out! :) Oh, and I drove all the way from Monterey just to take my guitar to his shop! Totally worth it. Prices are reasonable.

Awesome work! Steve is a great guy with infinite knowledge and experience. My old Fender P-Bass sounds and feels better than it did when I bought it brand new years ago.Beyond stoked

Steves passion for guitars is evident, and its great to see him help others get the most out of their instruments. Great shop.

Frantic my Les Paul had a wiring issue I took it to Steve at The Guitar Shop.Prepared to be without for 1 possibly 2 weeks. It was on the bench and within 20 minutes it was fixed. I highly recommend with your pride and joy you take it to The Guitar Shop.Even Reverb says: Boom!! Steve Crisp rocks!! Keep that guys number. :)You know what... I think I will.

Steve is an expert at getting a guitar from bad/ok to awesome. He took my guitar and in less than 30 minutes got it properly intonated and it was a dream to play. He watches you play and then sets up your guitar to match. Amazing guitar tech, dont know what Id do without him.

Just walked in for the first time, met Steve, walked out around an hour later with a head full of new knowledge and ideas. Hes a nice guy, gave me some very clear explanations of technical topics, answered some questions Ive had for years.

Guitars R Steve. Knows what hes doing. Reasonable rates. Nice shop.

Didnt return phone, email/website inquiry from a week ago...nobody is that bitchen. At least return a message letting me know youre to busy and cool to accept more business work...

Steve brought my Tokai CE 250 back from the dead......New nut, new saddle, tuners, new strings....Yes it DOES sound like a D28.And a very fair price.A great luthier........do not go anywhere else !!!

Took my Tele in for a setup and Steve had done a wonderful job, hes a real pro. Hed been recommended to me by More Music and had recommended him to a friend (who also had a rave review). Steve helped me out a few years ago getting some humbucker covers I needed, he didnt have to do that. Ill be a customer for life.

Steve does great work. I highly recommend this shop.

I had the feeling that this wasnt a legitimate business. The guy knows his guitar strings and he didnt rip me off or anything, but I wont visit again.

Professional

Excellent service