Ian and Trevor are amazing people to work with if you know your stuff and want to work out a fair deal. I have always loved this shops great vibe and wonderful curb appeal. Definitely Seattles finest instrument store. They have a lot of unique instruments and if you're not gonna buy anything it's still a wonderful place to spend some time and jam. Mahalo Emerald City Guitars, James read more

Whenever I visit a different city I like to see what they have in the way of guitar shops. Guitar Center will do if there's absolutely no alternative, but I'll avoid it if I can. So on a recent trip to Seattle I saw this place was first in Google, and a couple of trusted friends recommended it. So I checked it out, and man...what a great place. I walked in and checked out the acoustic guitar room. There I met Jay, the owner. He greeted me warmly and shook my hand, and welcomed me to his store. He's a great salesman, and asked enough questions for me to know that he cares about his customers, but not so many that it annoyed me. About 10 minutes later I met Dan, one of the sales associates. We spoke for a few minutes about the differences between Seattle and the cities where we grew up, and when I mentioned my desire to move out to Seattle, he said, "Oh, that's awesome. Let me give you my card before you leave today, and let's keep in touch. I'd love to help you in any way when you do get out here." And boom. I had a new friend. So on to the wares. There's a great collection of guitars there, but it's definitely a matter of quality over quantity. It's not like GC (thank God) or even Willie's American Guitars or Gruhn Guitars, with axes and amps lining every wall. But there are quite a few really nice guitars there for you to try out, including some new off-brand guitars that are quite nice. Most of the guitars are what you'd expect to find in a place like this...lots of Fenders and Gibsons, some Gretsch, some Martin acoustics, some less-popular brands like G&L, and amps by all different makers. And of course the innocuous things like strings, picks, slides, capos, t-shirts...the usual. I'm sure I'll have more to say once I move out there and become a regular at the ECG scene. But for now, let's just say they're my favourite guitar shop west of Minneapolis. read more

Let me start by saying I generally hate music stores. Emerald City is the opposite of what turns me off about other shops, so let me tell you what you won't find here. You won't find people playing at excessive volumes in goofy attempts to impress other patrons. You won't find employees who aren't willing to stop what they're doing to acknowledge your presence. You won't get botched repair work done here. I live five blocks from the place and couldn't be more grateful. I've dealt with some of the more acclaimed shops in the greater Seattle area (see my review, if you'd like) but have been left either unimpressed or just flat disappointed. I've had a number of nice guitars including some vintage USA pieces but mostly have a preference for older Japanese guitars. I find them on the cheap, do some of my own work on them, but leave substantial repairs to the more skilled guys. Emerald City has always been fair in the pricing and the repairs have always been very good. I've been playing for 25 years and have been in shops all over the US and overseas. I'm very pleased to have Emerald City as my first stop. read more

Bad service. Co-owner Trevor was cocky and unprofessional. Brought in a '53 Gibson SJ, in very good shape w plan to sell on consignment w them. After a long wait in our car, they claimed the guitar required $350+ in a list of repairs by them first, and/or they would buy it straight up "as is" for $2800. Have since had two additional experts appraise the guitar's condition, and they asserted that Emerald City's list of needed repairs was outright - false. All that was suggested was perhaps a lowering of the action. The appraisal value offered by Emerald City was way off the mark. Simply stated: Trevor/Emerald was deceitful. Beware! Bad Business practices at Emerald. We would not recommend you trust Emerald City Guitars, in Seattle. Be wise: go elsewhere! read more

Amazing guitar store with the caveat that it's not necessarily for beginners. You won't find starter packs or beginner gear. Their average guitar is above a grand - great for enthusiasts. Everyone there is super nice. The first time I dropped in, one of the guys set me up in their little closed room with 4 different amps to switch back and forth. After an hour of playing I ultimately chose not to buy anything but it was no hard feelings. I felt charged to come back. I came back a few weeks later and found some of the ones I demo'd were sold and they had new stuff. I ended up buying a hand-built fender tweed clone that someone local had made and sold to them. Price was great, I feel they weren't trying to gouge me at all. Come here if you want to see a well curated selection of the best guitars + amps Seattle has to offer. read more

Now THIS is what a guitar store is supposed to feel like! Awesome selection, patient and knowledgable staff with no pressure to sell sell sell! They always let me come in and try out whatever I need, sometimes for hours at a time. Way to go ECG! :) You are definitely my all-time favorite guitar shop! read more

I used to come here years ago- this place and Zobrist Music, anyone remember that shop? ECG used to be a little divey and jam packed with loads of crap- lovely, lovely crap. Now, it's a very different feel- very shiny and polished, but they still have great gear. The owner (Jay) and his son (Trevor) are top notch, they have amazing memories too and recognize me whenever I pop in- uber friendly and willing to cut you some slack on prices. HOWEVER, their prices are really, really high for some of the items and even with haggling- I feel they are a little high still on some of their offerings. That said- where else are you going to find a mint 1963 Tremolux with the matching reverb tank? Huh? Where? No, I'm serious...I'll wait...yeah, I thought so. They have a great feel for what's popular in the pedal arena too- some brands that you won't find anywhere else around town- you'll find here. read more

After reading other reviews I wonder if I keep coming in on shitty days. They have awesome stuff, often overpriced, but awesome amps and guitars. It's a cool looking shop. The owner is cool (I met him once in the store), he talked with me for a while and we laughed about something... Maybe I'm too poor... but, it is more like a museum... a showroom at best... rather than a place a musician goes to purchase things. Also, some of the young dudes that work there could use a little training and some social-skills workshops. But, hey, don't get me wrong... This is tough-love from me.... I live a few blocks from there and I have purchased picks, strings and a stand... far be it from me to bash this old beauty. read more

Awesome store. Amazing guitars. I got my first one here, an epiphone wildkat. Not exactly one of their "vintage" guitars but I love it. They have great service and enjoy helping you explore around the store. Of course they have s wide selection of acoustics and electrics plus plenty of amps and effect pedals...even a few basses. They're all about creating an authentic personalized sound and that's what can be truly appreciated about this place. They sell quality equipment and even have great connections for lessons if you're a beginner. Stop in if you have a chance and say hi to Jay for me! p.s. Don't buy that mandolin...it's mine! read more

I have been visiting this shop since they opened. The staff is friendly and knows their stuff. A great collection of vintage guitars and amps. Beautiful vintage Martin guitars. And they now carry Nechville banjos! This is THE music shop to visit in Seattle. read more

Emerald city guitars is hands down the best guitar shop in the Pacific Northwest, if not all the western United States! My boys and I used to go in there quite a lot when they were teens. They were never told no when they asked to pick up a guitar to play and in fact the owner plugged them in and told them to let it rip! I was a pretty poor single mom and couldn't afford anything but the time spent in this shop made us all feel like a million bucks! Best. Place ever! read more

Every time I come through Seattle I always make time to stop in Emerald City. Courteous and knowledgeable staff. No pressure to buy, and there's no need -- their collection is so good that it's hard not to want to walk out with something. Bought a couple guitars from them and even when I'm back home, I always check their online inventory when I'm in the market. The last two purchases I made there were a 76 Les Paul Custom and a store T-shirt. Both experiences I received top service. Also, their YouTube videos are well made -- good sound quality and they often pick a nice guitar and amp pairing. read more

Love the guitars. If you're looking for shiny and new I recommend Guitar Center. If you love the dusty vintage variety guitars with a soul and an unspoken story to tell, this place is for you. Jay is a very nice man, his staff are all very friendly and attentive. This place is always on the list of places to take family or friends from out of town, it's a wonderful place read more

Freaking awesome guitar... you took the best photos Trevor! Out of the box it feels so right this was the best and the easiest purchase I have ever done. Thank you so much. A+++ all the way! read more

This is a great shop, I love the inventory. Some really sweet vintage amps, as well has high end new stuff. A very nice selection of guitars. The staff is knowledgeable and helpful. I'm from the San Francisco area, we have maybe 1-2 shops of this caliber in the entire bay area. If you're looking for the standard run of the mill, middle of the road equipment, then go to Guitar Center. But if you're into high end, and vintage stuff, this is the place for you. I could spend hours in there. read more

I never thought I would be able see my Dream Guitar, the chance to own one....impossible. Turns out the there was one Located at emerald city Guitars. I called and spoke to Jay told him i was interested in the Guitar and I gave him a list of 4 Guitars I was willing to trade. He said bring them in we'll take a look. I wasn't quite sure what to expect I have never dealt with Emerald City guitars before and at some stores you don't get very good trade in value on your guitars no matter how nice or how rare they are. So I went in not expecting too much. To my surprise we were not that far off, he gave me very fair trade Value! So after a little more negotiation I walked out with my dream guitar in hand! I was treated very very fairly. The shop is amazing. There's instrument there that you won't see anywhere else. The staff is friendly, and knowledgeable. Just a great all around vibe. To get fair trade value in a retail environment is a rare thing these days. THANKS AGAIN Emerald city Guitars, you got a life long customer!! read more

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I haven't purchased anything here, but I always enjoy stopping by when I am in the neighborhood. This place is like a museum. Large selection of vintage, unique and some newer guitars and basses. I like the way the store is divided into one room for acoustics, one for electrics and one for bass--so if you want to play something, you can hear what you're doing. read more

The gear and expertise at Emerald City are world class....this is not an exaggeration. They have a constantly changing inventory of vintage and contemporary guitars with a collection of museum caliber instruments worth viewing. These folks really know their stuff. read more

this place is pretty amazing for the quality of its offerings. one of the guys was really friendly and knowledgable, and seemed to almost intuitively direct me to exactly the kind of things i like, but the whole crew really wanted to close exactly at 4pm on a weekday, so we said goodbye and i saved my per diem for another day (or year?). i kind of busted my ass to get down there and see the place at the end of a work day, i'm glad that i could at least see the place for 15 minutes, but they were grumbling about it by 3:50pm. sorry, i also work for a living by day... i kind of wish we all went to happy hour when we all left together at 4:01, they seemed like cool people who just wanted to get the hell off work!! i'll probably go back whenever i'm next in town, tho the prices seem to be aimed at the new tech economy (one of the items i was interested in was attributed provenance to "Paul Allen"... i racked my brain, as i'd heard that name before... old blues man? modern jazz cat? no... it was the guy from Microsoft... whatever ;-) no big deal, whatever it takes to run such a beautiful shop is ultimately cool with me. i'm just not inspired to spend there yet. but if you can get your foot in the door, you just might find some magic. read more

I've had 3 experiences over the last 5 years with Emerald City. 2 of them were not great. 1 was an ok experience. 1 guitar was misrepresented (73 les paul), 1 guitar was great, and the other time was just poor service. Jay, the owner, is a really nice guy when you meet him. I love that they exist. As a guitar lover, and gear enthusiast, they do have a lot of amazingly, amazing stuff. They have or had a 59 and a 60 les paul. Enough said. They are a top level shop. Add all the street cred of the rich and famous customers that they have and have posted on their website. I bought a guitar the first time i went there. I'm a gibson guy and les paul's were my go to at the time. They had a "73 goldtop" that i though was amazing and at a price where i could pick it up. Original except for the case. (or so i was told). I made the mistake of an impulse buy. I spent way too much money. I was just so excited. This guitar was exactly what i was looking for. I didn't notice the issues with the guitar until i got it home. On the minor side the frets were way worn. On the major side the headstock was cracked. So, i called Jay and told him that I wanted to return the guitar because of the neck break issue.. He said I should have noticed that before i bought it. And convinced me that it had been repaired. I went for it. 5 years later when i sold the guitar it turns out that the headstock was not repaired well. Also the hardware and pickups were all cheap asian knockoff parts. My apologies to the very nice man from Portland who discovered this for me. At the time of my next purchase i was not thrilled with how the first one went down, but I wanted to support local shops, and not support GC. So, i bought a 83 guild acoustic. I really like this guitar. Non original case again. Paid a bit more than i should have. But, i really did like that guitar. So I felt neutral towards the shop after the 2nd guitar. Then i "brokered" a guitar through them to a guy i sold a guitar to in ohio. Jay was really cool upfront. Saying how they wouldn't charge me for the transaction, and that the buyer was taking care of everything. After the guitar was gone Jay gave me this story of how his tech set up the guitar, and started saying that he wasn't making any money. Then took a chunk of what I was selling the guitar for. I get that they are trying to make money. But this is other example of things not being that they seem. I do have an issue with this place. I had 2 moderately bad experiences. And I won't be going back. Anyway, I don't think they are jerks. Not, big ones at least. I am upset that I can't go back to this really cool shop because of the bad deals that I experienced. I hope you go there and have a great experience. The potential is there. Shops like this are so rare and important. Just be smarter than I was. Whomever the salesperson is, they are not your friend. They just want to pay their rent. cheers. read more

This place rules. Love coming here. Always feel comfortable asking to play something.

Now I am no ROCKER - but I love instruments and tinkering with guitars. Of all the shops in Seattle that I have checked out, this place always treats me right! The staff are super nice and accommodating, the selection is pretty good and they have some rare things occasionally. Get to know the folks in here if you want to have a good resource in-town. read more

Emerald City Guitars is the kind of store you would find in SOHO or West Hollywood. It's got an edge and vibe to it that very artisan and cool. I love the varying inventory, they don't really carry alot of "lines" of guitars per se, but they always have a great selection of Fenders, Gibson, Gretsch's and an entire acoustic room that will make any picker happy. I've had a couple of guitars worked on there and the tech is awesome, I was very happy with the set ups they did. One time a guitar was not worth saving, they delivered the news with finesse and compassion. I had that guitar for over 30 years and it was time to let it go......upgrade! Jay and his son Trevor remember names and even guitar preferences of customers, they are plugged into the local music scene and know all the usual suspects. read more

One of the finest selection of vintage gear I have ever seen or played. Insanely great guitar shop!

Great selection and top notch employees, what more can you ask for.

they have a reputation for being overpriced--they're located in the downtown area of one of the biggest music cities in the world, what do you expect? nevertheless, it's worth it. service and quality of equipment is top notch. make the investment. they will take care of you. any negative reviews are by people who expected a full body massage and guitar center prices. grow up. read more

I stopped in while on a mini-vaycay because I had heard cool things about this place. It definately didn't dissapoint! Jay (Owner) is a great down-to-earth guy who has assembled a wonderful collection of higher end and vintage gear. Some real showpieces here! He takes pride in the place and has a friendly gift for gab w/o seeming overzealous. While I play all kinds of guitars, I fell for his collection of nylon stringed classicals. Very diverse inventory - worthy of viewing simply for the historic value! Off-handed, I asked him about consigning a nice amp I have (hard to sell them in a small town). He used extreme tact in explaining that amps below a certain price aren't worth it for him to consign. He couldn't have been nicer about it. Check it out when you're in the Pioneer District of Seattle. read more

Absolutely the best place to shop for vintage acoustics in the Northwest. Jay, Ian and the rest of the team are extremely knowledgeable and very friendly every time I come in. There are some absolutely incredible instruments there, from '59 Les Paul's to '35 Koa Martins. Jay helped me pick out the guitar just for me, not pushing me to any specific model and telling me to pick whichever one chose/spoke to me. I'll definitely be coming back even if I'm not buying a guitar! read more

I'm a professional musician that has been playing for 15 years. This is by far one of the best music shops in the country hands down. They are really honest and straight up cool. If your serious musician looking for good gear I'd highly recommend them. They don't try to sell you on anything unlike Guitar Center which is awful, I worked there. read more

Emerald City Guitars is trying to fill the vintage guitar void in Seattle, to mixed results. The eBay revolution has nearly finished off the mom & pop boutique guitar shop (with the notable exceptions of Gruhn's in Nashville and Make'n Music in Chicago). They have gone the typical route, having the "good stuff" on one side of the shop (vintage stuff, G&L, and Orange to name a few) and entry level no-name garbage on the other. I used their tech twice for some minor work, and the results can best be summed up as "adequate". The staff is friendly, especially noting their location down the block from the obnoxious J&M Cafe. The place is worth a visit: they do occasionally get some interesting pieces in, but not my week-to-week music shop. read more

I have purchased a few awesome guitars at ECG over the years. I have also had several guitars set up or repaired there too. I always leave with a smile on my face. Jay and Trevor are knowledgeable, friendly, trustworthy and take time to answer your questions and make sure you are happy with your purchase. I hope I buy more guitars there in the future! read more

Their rating goes up goes up to four if we are talking solely inventory. I went into this shop intending to try out some Dr. Z amps, as I am in the market for a new amp. The two men at the counter didn't so much as nod at me or say hello when I walked in until a group of guys entered right after me (I'm a lady). Whatever. I wander a bit to look at what they hVe- I must've been staring at the pedal case for a solid five minutes, yet nobody asked me if there was something I wanted to see or try out. In fact, the men initially behind the counter had scampered off to the back room. Again, whatever. So I make my way to the amps. In the same room is the owner helping out a customer. I twiddle and look at a few amps, kneeling down and turning the amp around in the process. The owner himself doesn't even glance at me or say hello or ask if I wanted to try anything. I stood up, stared at the people working there, even attempted to stand by the two counters for some assistance, and finally gave up and left. On the phone, he had been talking about marketing. He didn't want to waste money marketing when they had a solid client base, even though he knew new business would be good. How about you actually treat the new business as well as I watched you treat the old? Screw this place. The dudes and lady at American Music have got me covered and they're actually friendly. A Dr. Z amp isn't worth the crappy customer service this place gives. They will not be getting a dime of my money. read more

I was in the store for 10 minutes and not a single person offered to help. I was the only customer in the store, and was ready to buy a guitar on the spot. Guy at the front desk seemed a bit arrogant. I guess just because a place has great guitars, doesn't mean they have great service. Stay away from this place. read more

really a gem..one of the best in the country and I've seen em' all. Jay and Trevor Boone are great. Jay is super fussy abut what goes on the floor and the result is obvious. plus..he is a rare gentleman in a industry of creepy macho men. read more

Great selection of guitars. I chose mail order option for purchase of an Ibanez Jem and arrived in perfect condition. Got nice Black Friday deal. read more

Stopped by here on a Monday afternoon to check out their inventory with my guy who was visiting. The store was pretty easy to find and they had quite the selection of guitars, pedals, and accessories. My guy tried out a guitar/bass hybrid , he checked out the pedals and he seemed to have fun seeing the store. Glad we got to see it and see where a lot of bands passing through town go to to get their gear. read more

A must visit for guitar enthusiasts/collectors... the proprietor treated us like rock stars! A great memory for us as visitors to Seattle!

Amazing and friendly. I brought my bass in today thinking I needed to replace a couple pots and have some major electronic work done. The repairman opened up the back to examine my active electronics and took a dust blower back there and cleaned them out...voila!! They work like a champ and he didnt charge me a dime. I'll be bringing my basses in here for repairs from here on out. Word. read more

ECGs is TOP NOTCH! Their staff is both freindly and knowledgeable! So friendly that owner Jay personally introduced himself and son Trevor [shook hands] with me...and then my wife [Side Note: My wife was so impressed with the friendliness that she took an interest in all the gear they had! You all know what this means...freedom to purchase! Nicely played Guys!] I dropped off my Tele and SG to be setup, and Jay and Trevor poured over options and my preferences...by the way, these were not vintage instruments, they were a Tele MIJ and a SG Special. The guitars were setup by Eric and they both played and sounded better than ever! Their turn around time was about a week and their prices for work were good. What blew me away was that Eric called me to ask me questions regarding my setup preference, crazy! There is something special about these guys! They really know how to run a business based on customer service and knowledge! If you love your guitars, and want them taken care of, I strongly encourage you to take them to ECGs! read more

Friendly owner and staff with an amazing selection of vintage guitars ! Got good professional tips on fixing the buttons for my Strat! read more

Emerald City Guitars - Hidden gem - Guitar Stores Near Me - Seattle, Washington