Music/ukulele stores in San Francisco

Aloha, I am taking a quick trip to San Francisco on Saturday and was wondering if there are any good ukulele stores in San Francisco. Do any of you know? Thanks.

Aloha Roxy,
Check these places out:
Guitar Solo
230 Townsend Street
San Fransisco94107-1720
http://wwwgsguitar.com
Ph. 408-249-0455
Aloha Warehouse
1731 Buchanan Street
San Fransisco 94115
PH. 415-346-7553
http://www.alohawarehouse.com/
I hope it helps, Have a Nice trip to San Fransisco....MM Stan
Check this out...tons of places ...http://www.yelp.com/search?find_desc=ukulele&find_loc=San+Francisco,+CA

Good suggestions from Stan (Aloha, Stan). I've been to both places. The owner of Aloha Warehouse is a friend of one of my ukulele instructors and a very nice guy. The shop has lots of Kala ukuleles and some mid-priced and higher end ukuleles (for example, Pono and Kanile'a) as well.

Guitar Solo is mostly a guitar shop, but the people there are passionate about stringed instruments. The variety of the ukuleles ebbs and flows. I've seen ukuleles from both Kala and Kamaka there, although the selection is usually somewhat limited.

In San Francisco itself, there are also ukuleles at:

Noe Valley Music
3914A 24th Street
San Francisco CA 94114
Ph. 415-821-6644

It's a small place with only a few ukuleles, although when I was there, one of the ukuleles was a Kamaka concert.


The Haight Ashbury Music Center
1540 Haight Street
San Francisco CA
Ph. 415-863-7327
http://www.haight-ashbury-music.com/

It's a big music store and it has a moderate selection of mostly Kalas. The people who work there don't tend to be all that knowledgeable about ukuleles.

I'd prioritize my browsing time in this order:
1. Aloha Warehouse
2. Guitar Solo
3. Haight Ashbury Music Center or Noe Valley Music

If you have time to venture out of San Francisco, I would recommend

On the peninsula (south of SF)
Gryphon Stringed Instruments
211 Lambert Avenue (at Park)
Palo Alto CA 94306
Ph. 650-493-2131
Ph. 888-493-2131
http://www.gryphonstrings.com/

Gryphon has a wide selection of ukuleles, from Kalas to Kamakas, an on-site luthier for repairs and consultation, and its employees seem to be knowledgeable. Gryphon is highly regarded both at UU and on Yelp.

In the East Bay (across the Bay Bridge)
Music Works
11225 San Pablo Avenue
El Cerrito CA 94530
Ph. 510-232-1000
http://www.ecmusicworks.com/

Music Works has a nice selection of less expensive and mid-priced ukuleles, including Kala and Lanakai, and the owner is an ukulele player who is knowledgeable and very patient. I bought my first ukulele there. Music Works gets good reviews on Yelp.

Unfortuately, Gryphon and Music Works are in opposite directions from each other.

I hope that helps.

You can get to Gryphon on the CalTrain, and I HIGHLY recommend them.

Wow, this thread has perfect timing! I was going to post something similar as I was just accepted into the San Francisco State University museum studies masters program and will be moving to San Francisco in August. I am so happy for these fantastic suggestions as on my many previous trips to the city, I have never really searched out music stores. Thank you, even though the thread was not aimed at me, it has been beyond helpful.

Thank you very much Stan and mds725. That was very helpful!

Yes, timing. My wife has decided that we are taking the girls to San Francisco for the weekend. We'll be there Saturday through Tuesday. Spring Break time for the girlies. And they are getting older, so there aren't too many more of these trips on the schedule.

We plan on seeing the Winchester House (south of SF) and Alcatraz. Nothing else was on the list until this thread popped up. We usually just wing it and enjoy. Now I can keep my eyes pealed for a quick stop. "Well, Honey, I think the warf is over this way. Oh Look! A ukulele shop!" heh heh

snowball6 said:

Wow, this thread has perfect timing! I was going to post something similar as I was just accepted into the San Francisco State University museum studies masters program and will be moving to San Francisco in August. I am so happy for these fantastic suggestions as on my many previous trips to the city, I have never really searched out music stores. Thank you, even though the thread was not aimed at me, it has been beyond helpful.

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I am an SF State Alumni! I graduated in 2001! Wonderful school, and an awesome city to live in. Some of the best years of my life were spent there.

if you make it to the Berkeley, Mike Da Silva's studio is worth a visit. I don't think it's always open to public unless there is a class/ performance/open studios.

There is a Steven Strauss and Friends concert on April 17, 4:30pm. It's a benefit concert for Strauss because 5 of his ukuleles and other music stuff were stolen from his car.

Da Silva's studio is a great cozy venue for ukulele jams/ concerts. So many interesting ukes there too, including the ones in progress.

http://ukemaker.com/Calendar.html

If you are going to San Jose, the uke shops I would recommend are Ukulele Source at Jackson and 5th in Japantown and Guitar Showcase on S. Bascom Ave. Ukulele Source sells the higher end ukes (the 3 K's) and a few low to mid-priced ukes while Guitar Showcase has a larger selection of low to mid-price range ukes (Kala, Lanikai, Cordoba). The prices are reasonable in both stores and they have people who know ukuleles. There is Guitar Center on Stevens Creek Blvd, but their selection of ukes is pretty poor and the staff help is non-existent.

It would be a two hour drive (one way) from SF, but spend Thursday, April 21 in Santa Cruz. You could stop in at Sylvan Music on Bay Street and try out their quite good selection of ukes, then go to the Beach and Boardwalk with the arcades and amusement rides, then attend the monthly meeting of the Ukulele Club of Santa Cruz. I think it is the largest uke club in the country. This Thursday it is Amateur and Open Mike Night. The meeting starts at 7 but if you want a seat you have to get to Bocci's Cellar at 5.

Thank you everyone for all your replies.

mendel said:

I am an SF State Alumni! I graduated in 2001! Wonderful school, and an awesome city to live in. Some of the best years of my life were spent there.

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Ha! I am an alum of SF State as well! Although I have worked at another state university for most of my career, I always feel like SF State days were among my best!

All good suggestions. IMHO, the best of these starting from SF and heading to the South Bay (1-1.5 hrs) would be Aloha Warehouse (Koolau, Pono, Kanilea, Kala et al there), Guitar Solo (Kamakas et al there), Ukulele Source (KoAloha, Kamaka, Kala and many other reputable brands), and Gryphon.

RyanMFT said:

Ha! I am an alum of SF State as well! Although I have worked at another state university for most of my career, I always feel like SF State days were among my best!

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I am very excited about being a SF State student, but the move to the city is a bit daunting... I am very excited!

I will be keeping this thread for my reference, I have a feeling I will be visiting all of these stores in the next couple of years.

GVlog said:

All good suggestions. IMHO, the best of these starting from SF and heading to the South Bay (1-1.5 hrs) would be Aloha Warehouse (Koolau, Pono, Kanilea, Kala et al there), Guitar Solo (Kamakas et al there), Ukulele Source (KoAloha, Kamaka, Kala and many other reputable brands), and Gryphon.

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Just to clarify two small points: First, it appears that you're listing these places north to south, but Gryphon in Palo Alto is north of Ukulele Source in San Jose. In addition, Guitar Solo, when I've been there, has had a relatively small selection of all ukuleles; finding a Kamaka there has been hit-or-miss. Both Gryphon and Ukulele Source have a healthy selection of ukuleles. Gryphon almost always has at least one Kamaka, but I'm not sure if it sells KoAlohas (I didn't see any there when I was there). Ukulele Source didn't have any Kamakas when I was there, but it had a nice selection of KoAloha and Kanile'a ukuleles, and a wall of mid-priced and lower-priced ukuleles.