Guitar Shop

I go back 10 years with Steve Crisp. I’ve recommended him to many others. Everyone says he does awesome work. He’s one of the most skilled instrument technicians in the world, let alone Santa Cruz. We’re all lucky to have him. With that said, you gotta understand he prioritizes working musicians and some folks wait a while to pick up their instruments. He’s a one man shop and he’s busy, but he’s also got a huge arsenal of information about your instrument, and maybe every worthwhile musician who has ever played through your model of amp or guitar. I’ve had him do a few jobs over the years. All stellar results. Going the extra mile. He recently set up my Stratocaster and I never knew the guitar could do the things it does now.

Steve is a master of guitar repair/modification and we’re incredibly lucky to have him here in Santa Cruz. He’s always done great work for me and I wouldn’t take my guitars anywhere else.

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!

Steve is a wizard! Put a new bone nut on my Martin tripolo 28EC and dressed the frets.

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. I've gone to Steve a few times in the past for repairs and he's 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. Steve's 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.

Steve Crisp is THE MAN! Best guitar tech ever. He's 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 don't know why a guitar would ever go anywhere else.

Steve is hands down the best luthier I’ve ever gotten work done from. He really goes the extra mile to make your guitar sound amazing, and for an affordable price at that. You’ll learn a lot of cool stuff about the craft just from chatting with him. Worth every penny.

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 wouldn't take my equipment anywhere else. If you buy a guitar here you'll likely get something good because he's not the type to sell junk. Occasionally he can be busy and seem a bit curt but over the years I've figured out he doesn't 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.

Steve is by far the most skilled and experienced guitar tech that I've 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 I'm 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.

Crispy is the man. Got Mr Walker helping him tote the barge. Excellent people who know what they're doing. And, the folks here are part of our Arts in Corrections and William James Association programs with generous support for our Veterans/Returned Citizens guitar workshops. Awesome support.

Cant say enough good things. Steve is very much in demand but he'll try to make time for you if your in the shop. He's worked on several guitars for me and the work is always, I mean always above expectation.
83 Tele
74 SG
07 LP Standard
79 SL500
Always a pleasant surprise to pick up my guitar after a visit with Steve.

New customer for life! Steve and Tom helped me out with my Gibson Custom Shop guitar, which wasn't 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.

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.

Friendly owner, small shop but interesting merchandise. Purchased a nice vintage speaker at a reasonable price. Tech gave us good information about how it was restored.

What can I say - I recently purchased a PRS Silver Sky that played great out of the box. Nonetheless I wanted to make sure it's setup hadn't been affected during shipping so I brought it on up to The Guitar Shop and wow! Didn't think it could feel or play that much better but I was wrong. The team here knows their trade. They've 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.

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.

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 I'm in town I will definitely be bringing it here to have the frets replaced. I highly recommend this guy. If he doesn't 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 someone's guitar, and he runs the operation solo.

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.

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

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 guy's number. :)

You know what... I think I will.