I was VERY impressed with my visit to Centaur Guitar! Selection is HUGE (much larger than one…read morewould expect when looking at it from the outside), the staff is EXTREMELY knowledgeable, helpful, and friendly, and prices are LOW. They carry a huge variety of electric guitars, acoustic guitars, amplifiers, and accessories. They also offer setup and repair services. They sell both new and used items. Their used items were unanimously in extremely great condition, and did not appear to be used. A few things to note if you visit: *There is a small, private parking lot *The entrance on the building that is on the same side of the gate as the parking lot is not actually for Centaur Guitar, it is for an amplifier repair service that shares the building. *The entrance for Centaur Guitar is on the street side of the building, past the parking lot gate. *To enter, one must ring the doorbell, and an employee will open the door to let you in *There are no centaurs available for sale

What a great place! I start my guitar class tonight and I completely spaced on procuring a guitar…read moreuntil today. I forgot the name of the kind person who helped me. They took the time to go over several guitars with me so that I walked out with something that was usable, nice sounding and not intimidating. I can't wait to use my new guitar tonight.

Tim was the absolute nicest, most informative, welcoming retail worker I've encountered in recent…read morememory. He answered our novice guitar questions, and then just kept going. Showed me how to adjust string height, then proceeded to explain and demonstrate the different effects from different picks for my daughter. 5/5 stars, this place is great. From here on out, anything guitar-related we get here.

Bought 12ax7 pre amp tubes from them, it blew out after a day, I called and explained that they…read moresold me a dud and they acted as if my amp was the problem lol after haggling back and forth and getting them to replace it, low and behold 2 days later it blew out! So they refused to make it right, I went to eurotubes and bought another 12ax7 and over a month later IT STILL WORKS! So I wouldn't recommend buying 12ax7 tubes from them, they buy the cheap low tested ones and then resale them. I looked into it myself from who they buy directly from.

Great sales around the holidays. The 10% really helps! My favorite modular store in the US.read more

The first place I look when I need eurorack/audio gear. Knowledgeable friendly and straightforward…read more Competitive prices and usually free shipping. Thanks CV!

I recently attended my third performance at Strum. As a music venue, it's intimate and comfortable,…read morewith admirable acoustics. Being able to sit close enough to hear direct sound from acoustic instruments and an amplification system that does not have to be cranked up to eleven to fill the room is a delight. During breaks, examining the instruments hanging on the wall is the nicest possible kind of museum visit. The beer selection isn't huge, but I'm always able to find multiple choices that suit my tastes. It's always fun to be able to listen to the interactions between performers and the person running the store - they always seem to appreciate each other. Hearing positive in-person interactions is quite a relief compared to the daily glut of online trolling. I always look forward to coming back to Strum.

Bought a Martin D16 a year ago. Action was super high and couldn't find the right strings. Brought…read moreit to Charlie and he recommended a setup and that should take care of it. Just got it back and they did an AMAZING job. It plays and sounds amazing! Couldn't be happier with their work and highly recommend.

I've had a half dozen guitars rewired and set up by Sam and Roy at Portland Fret Works - Teles,…read more335s, Martins. I'll be bringing in a Taylor this week. There are no better guitar techs in Portland. I'll be a customer for life. - Mike Rodrigues, Portland

I brought in a couple of guitars, one for a setup and pickup swap and one for a SS refret. Very…read morehappy with how both turned out! My 80's Charvel plays better than I could've hoped for. I can't recommend PFW enough, I definitely got my moneys worth

I went in to buy a bass and a practice amp. I got talked into buying this little…read morerecording/headphone device for the same price I wanted the amp ($160). I was told I had 30 days to return it. I didn't like it and tried to return it a few weeks later. What I wasn't told was that I'd only get $50 as in store credit if the box was damaged (just the box, not the actual product itself). The worst part was the guy looked up the resell price on a used version and it came to about $80, but he then took 35% off even though it's a return. I then wanted to buy an amp (What I originally wanted before I was talked into something else) and asked for something around the $150 mark. He then tried to talk me into an amp without telling me the price. I had to firmly ask what the price was twice before he told me it's $300. Even though I was visibly upset from losing $100 from a product I bought from them because the box was damaged. I finally got him to show me exactly what I wanted. If you go here, know exactly what you want and be firm about it so you're not talked into getting something you don't want that costs more money. Also know that the boxes their products are in are worth $100 so you can't return a perfect condition product, within their return window, if the box is damaged.

While I have no complaints on their sales department which always has been nice, my rating is for…read moretheir amplifier repair service that is not honest. I highly recommend being very careful if you must bring your amplfiers there. It's for a repair work finished for my Mesa Boogie Mark III on 3/6/2022. I brought it for a crackling noise and it was just due to a bad 12AX7 tube (V1) due to bad contact on pins. They knew it but they additionally replaced a healthy volume pot, 2 healthy 30uF filter capacitors, while leaving one that was actually bad and underspec (20uF) which was worsening 60hz hum (which is the design weakness with this amp even with DC heater supply for V1). Total cost I paid was $100 + $15 + $16 + $10 + $125 = $266!! In addition, they didn't tighten up the top suspension screws which caused one 12AX7 tube to break during transport. It was not my first time taking the amp there because they are supposedly the only Mesa Boogie service center here. In 2018-2019, it was also them who installed the very JJ 20uF 500V filter capacitor that is underspec! I am engineer myself with a master degree in electrical engineering and I have been learning about repairing and building vintage tube amplifiers in past few years and now I know well enough. I still have all the receipts and documentation and the healthy parts that have been wrongfully replaced.

The customer service wasn't so great and the main guy "helping" me had a stuck-up attitude and…read morewasn't very respectful to me or my needs. They seem to have a decent selection of brass and woodwind instruments as well, but lack basic or a variety of accessories for them.

We have been going to this shop for many years. The staff are enthusiastic about helping people…read morefind instruments that they love and they are incredibly helpful. We had an issue with one of the instruments we purchased (user error? manufacturing?) and they replaced it to make sure we were satisfied. While you can't expect that every time there's an issue it speaks to their desire to offer great service and to support their customer base. Plus their selection of beautiful instruments seems unmatched in the Portland area.

I wanted to share my experience with Ryan Lynn, a master luthier whose meticulous fretwork is…read moreexceptional. I haven't encountered his level of skill anywhere else on the West Coast. He truly stands out in two key areas​ important to me: First, he can seamlessly replace a single worn fret, making the repair virtually undetectable. Second, he is adept at installing a new set of frets and perfectly feathering the edges into existing binding nibs (a distinctive feature on some Gibson guitars). This makes it ​h​ard to tell that the frets were ever replaced. He is simply ahead of the competition.

This was my first time with Eastside and was very happy with the service that I received. I had…read moredone some research and knew it was worth the couple week lead time for professional work. I had my single cut electric set up, frets dressed and a new bone nut cut for it. Jacob was the tech who did my work and it turned out tremendously! Just the right action and the nut is amazing, adding to the already great sustain. I'm definitely going back and will spread the word to fellow players. **I'm adding to this review the following day after not being able to put my guitar down since picking it up yesterday!! EVERY note rings true all up and down the neck and the guitar plays effortlessly!! What a great job by Jacob. Thanks so much!