This place is so cool! Lots of interesting Used Guitars and a nice staff. I cant wait to go back. The hours are a little tricky right now because of the pandemic I think but theyre open on Saturdays. Plus you can call and make an appointment. If you love interest guitars its definitely worth checking out.

Very nice shop packed wall to wall with all sorts of guitar gear! I got some new strings for an extremely good price. The best strings in town you can tell by the sound.

Greeted immediately as I walked in the door by a nice gentleman who was friendly and polite. Kinda cluttered but a lot of goodies for guitars. Came during a sidewalk sale and there were some really bargains on entry level guitars. Lots of parts and plenty of weird stuff to check out. I bought a capo and the price was good.

This is a special place. Ive had a blast playing one of their custom Broadcaster guitars for several months now. There is wisdom in the construction of this guitar, witnessed by the tooling of the nut, the alignment of the strings, and the feel of the frets. For comparison, I think it plays as well as, or perhaps better than, my Fender American deluxe Stratocaster (which I paid 4X as much for, in 2010).This shop prioritizes whats really important--sharing in the joy of playing guitars. Heres a piece of anecdotal evidence. About two months ago, I brought the Broadcaster by the shop to have the string retainer looked at. FatDog himself handled it and, when I asked him what I owed him, he said, You know what you owe me? Have a lot of fun playing this guitar.Oh, and *Taj Mahal* was playing at the shop that day. As I said, this is a special place.

A true guitar lovers dream store. Funky, exciting and fun. Packed floor to ceiling with used inventory of guitars and amps of various makes and models with just the right amount of used broken-in character. This place is genuine and could never be duplicated. Let the music play on, forever...

Will definitely come back! Made an appointment and got a new, nicer ukulele. They taught me how to change the strings and it was just generally a really good experience! Nice people, cool instruments.

100% recommend this store. The owner is old school and way down to earth. Great guitars and very need posters on the ceiling and walls. Loved it here. One of the stickers outside the building.

Amazing shop. These are real pros. I had the pleasure of going in there once time in person for a decent $500 purchase and would do business there if i lived in the area (or even passed through regularly). I used to look at the old webpage and drool. But then a few years ago i was looking for something in particular .. they used to have shipping containers full of stuff they would go through or so they claimed... so I called to ask for a callback if they ever came across something. I felt very condescended to while staff member wrote my contact info in the big book, talking to me like i was a 5year-old asking Santa for a rocketship. Nothing crazy or rare, just a specific mainstream model from the 60s. Three months later after no call back, the exact guitar i was asking about appears on the webpage and had been sold before I saw it. oh well. i was ready to fly a cross the country to come pick it up, and havent looked at the webpage since until today and was reminded of this. love the shop, but will also feel forever miffed.

Legendary

Theres an amazing assortment of inexpensive and high end guitars. Rey replacement part I needed. They are known for their excellent repair services. Must be 2-3000 guitars here.

Old school guitar shop. Kinda dingy, kinda dusty, kinda cool. Lots of guitars and some decent treasures. Prices are fair and the owner has a reputation for giving back to the community and local kids. They also have a 2 week return policy in case of buyers remorse. Seriously? What’s not to love?

Real professional staff, will feed your starving musician, with many helpful information about everything to do Guitars, as a percentage I would suggest this to my own musically inclined peoples, very knowledgeable and if your guitars your best friend and your bestie needs a tune up or is damaged bring it here for a reprieve and renewal, ten stars,

This is a great store! The nut on my guitar chipped, and I couldnt use it. They took it, repaired, replaced the strings, and it sounds like new again. So grateful!

An utterly amazing experience! Such a unique approach that you simply will not see in todays world. Fatdog was gracious and friendly, very helpful and I really enjoyed taking with him. Of course the place is a mess but just incredible what you will see when there!

Go to Subway if you want to have a memorable and (if youll relax a minute and enjoy the ride) fun experience buying a guitar from someone who gets guitars. It seems people prefer homogeneity over character these days, I think its a shame. Subway is a great little community fixture. Unpretentious, laid-back, and they wont sell you things you dont need or that dont suit your needs. Go to Guitar Center if you want the box-store approach, or you want to be lied to or misled for the sake of them making a sale. Subway will buy back your guitar and theres a 2-week try-anything policy. Very cool.

Really cool guitar shop, with multiple types of string instruments. Really great selection for such a small place. Guys are really knowledgeable, allow you to trade in, resell etc. Cash only. Very cool and a must see for guitar fans.

Amazing place!! Super cool friendly staff that will help you find the exact guitar you are looking for. They have so many beutiful electrics filed away in cases like a library. Awesome sgs from the 70s. Fair prices also. I will def be buying my next guitar here.

I enjoyed visiting this store. Subway guitar has a wide variety of guitars. They have a great buy, try, trade policy that lets you find the guitar that fits you. They do not try to up-sale you.

Loved it. Great conversation, loads of information, and a mass of stringed instruments to choose from! The complete opposite of the big box store experience. Thanks for your help Ed✌️👍

Amazingly knowledgeable and super sweet! JC got my Taylor 414 playing top notch again, thanks guys!

This is a fantastic old guitar store where youll find great deals on unusual vintage guitars and amps as well as one-of-a-kind guitars and basses assembled from guitar manufacturers overstock and salvage. Ive bought a guitar, a ukulele and a bitchin Sunn guitar amp here and have been very happy with all the purchases and prices. The people who work there are very helpful in my experience but the owner Fat Dog is not. Cash or check only. 2 week return policy.

Genuine freaks with a wonderful assortment of guitars. The best and most affordable tune-up in the bay. Plan to sit a spell and do some treasure hunting.

Great eclectic collection of older guitars in a small shop. Fun to place to browse and friendly laid back atmosphere to try different guitars.

One of a kind. You gotta love guitars to appreciate this place. No time, or room, for poseurs!

I havent been there in nearly 30 years as I live in Maine and dont get to CA anymore. However, I visited there once and ordered a 9 string guitar! It was made from NOS parts and featured a Danelectro long horn body and Silvertone neck. It had a single coil in the neck position and a humbucker with coil splitting in the bridge. The extra strings were double course on the G, B, and E strings. I had it for a few years and finally traded it although I probably should have kept it. They did a good job assembling it; it just didnt sit very well in my lap. But if you want a cool one of a kind guitar, these guys can build it for you!

Interesting shop, but their inventory is mostly busted up / Frankensteined guitars on the walls and literal piles of beautiful classics that are rotting away in forgotten cases. I went in looking for an older pre-60s Gibson and was given a lot of lip about, Do you even have the money for this guitar? Its a frustrating experience to see so many guitars that could use a good home sitting latent in a dusty pile while the owner brags about this only being a fraction of his collection and Lords his own mystique over you.If you can see through the Berkeleyness of the shop, you can presumably conduct business in this shop, but expect to pay collector prices for unkempt dogs.

Great place for used and vintage guitars.

Legendary location with unique guitars that you cant find anywhere else.

Too small to really try out a guitar, lots of loafers. Did not see any amazing vintage guitars, mostly beater guitars in terrible shape. As I was leaving, someone managed to pull themselves away from a very dismal conversation to ask me if I needed any help :)Sorry, a major flunk.One positive- I did notice a few nice vintage tube amps...

My experience has always been stellar! Its never been a spot I go to when guitar/bass shopping but for strings and any issues with my axe. He rarely charges anything at all for solving any minor issues Ive had. Fat Dawg has been a main consultant Id visit for the past 15+ years. Hes a swell, helpful and knowledgeable cat...err...I mean dawg!

Strange, local, hip, awesome. Go for a good conversation

One of the coolest guitar shops.....ANYWHere u will see!!!!!Fatdawg or. Fatty...is one of the coolest. Humans on this earth and owner...operator....!!!!!Treat yourselves...and just go there!!@!!!

It was cool and they let you take a guitar home for a week or two for free.

Good selection, low prices. But the sanctimonious Old Left shlock is a bit too much.

This is the holy grail of guitar shops. Its a horrible mess and its utterly fantastic. I walked in, it was silent, no music nothing, and i scanned the guitars stacked 3 high on the walls. Old archtops are hung from the ceiling. The service is beyond garbage but i really dont care with such a spectacle

Nice shop collection of use guitars good service.

A large selection of new and used guitars as well as amplification equipment are available here, supported by a staff who offer great customer service. NOT the typical large-scale retail guitar/instrument shop, but rather a setting where you never know what potential stringed gem may be hiding in the nests of guitars suspended from the ceiling above the store. Too bad the place does not have a little more space to play with the merchandise.

Look long and deep when you go there. I found a Larivee solid body electric that is amazing. there are gems in there, among the filthy dusty crowded heaps of guitars.

I cant decide whether its great or shocking or ?? that a place like this can still exist in the 21st century... from a business standpoint its a mess (the guy who helped me didnt seem to know where anything was, not surprising given the chaos of their nonexistent filing system), and the ambience is definitely vintage stoner (the guy did take time to talk to me about what needed doing to the guitar, which was nice). I was a little dubious of whether theyd ever be able to find my guitar again, let alone perform the service needed within a reasonable time frame, but amazingly, he called me two days later and told me it was ready to pick up, and they did a good job for a very reasonable price, so clearly somethings going right. They also let me take the guitar trusting that I would mail them a check because I didnt have enough cash (which was unnecessarily nice of them) and because they dont take credit cards (sweetly vs frustratingly (?) antiquated). I mailed them the check the same day, and it was cashed shortly thereafter, but they just called me to ask whether I had mailed them the check yet, so, again, see comments above re: the filing system. Not the usual bright shiny Customer Shopping Experience you get at more upmarket places, but definitely a breath of fresh air in its own grubby eccentric way ;) Recommend to anyone who dislikes shopping malls.

A DUMPY guitar store which looks like it hasnt been vacuumed in 30 years and owners who dont know a thing about their inventory. We went in with money to spend on a cheap guitar but after digging through many guitars carelessly stacked in corners covered in dust and given attitude for no reason from the owner. They didnt have great prices considering how dirty their showroom was. Go to Broken Guitars or Starving Artists shop instead, Subway needs a complete overhaul

Love this place fat dog great guy

Same old shack its always been. Weird cast off parts that are comically installed. Rectangular pickups in trapezoidal routs? Place is the epitome of a junk shop. Its like visiting a zoo where the zebra is a spray painted donkey.

Owner is a total A HOLE! Super self absorbed. I play guitar for many well know blues artists around the county and every time I take anyone here or go there myself I am always left pissed because the guy is such a fool. You ask for a price on a guitar, he says i dont know what i want for it. Make me an offer, you make an offer and he literally wants %50 more than anyone on earth. 90% of the stuff in the store is in horrible condition and most things do not work and are missing lots of parts. Dust everywhere. Owner and employees really have no idea about any of the guitars. There are no amps in the store besides a few POS. This place is a waist of good honest american soil. BEWARE

I love coming here to look at the guitars but i never got a chance to buy them!

I think small shops with vintage old guitars of various qualities is GREAT... but when then shop has a holdback narcissistic [and/or grandiose] hippie running things, it ruins it. Couldnt get a straight answer on price on 3 items, and he wouldnt even open a case to see what a blue guitar pedal was under some things. Just wanted to sell a reissued overdrive pedal for 3x what it was worth. I was pleasant the either time, engaged in chatter, and that was the way I was treated the entire time there. Not heading back. Maybe if this was a free admission guitar museum I would rate it higher, but as a guitar store it was a withholding experience. Stay away until stores attitude changes.

I talked on the phone with fatdog from North Carolina. We agreed to meet at the shop on Tuesday.So, I spent a total of 80 bucks to just get out there and back. Not counting the cross country flight, hotel, etc.Fatdog said he had many options for me due to bone cancer in my right arm. 5 SGs to be specific.Fatdog was not only not there but the guy working there couldnt get him on the phone and knew nothing about the inventory.I found one worthless SG.Most of what I saw were pieces of crap.Too bad because musical instruments should be fun, amazing......etc. I dont need mint.Sorry, I cant stand those who show no respect to cancer patients with limited time in this beautiful are.Spend your hard earned money elsewhere.

What a wonderful encoraging experience - the best Ive had in the last 5 years! Going to Fat Dawgs was a journey to give my grandgurl (girl urging real living) authentic experiences. This goes to the top of the list for her! Also, Ive decided to learn to play the 38 inch guitar I bought for her when she was born and as I turned 60 on 7/27. Bailey is just 6 months old and curious. We parked and Fat Dawg along with Maestro and Bake pulled in behind us! It was a reunion for Fatty and Matt(our neighbor friend) whom brought us to this gift of an experience. The men were very welcoming to us and Fatty invited us into Subway providing chairs and warmth. We met 20 y.o. Jon Paul (an accomplished guitarist-whom I hugged when I learned he spent time near Cleveland-my hometown) and his grandmother, Margo (an Anthropologist)-both of whom were engaging with beYOUtiful Bailey. Maestro played a Ukele and Bake picked up a Mandolin. Maestro instructed me to breathe as I just belted out Amazing Grace!We all shared about ourselves-Maestro has 10 grands and Im a communitarian. As I connected with Ethan for guitar lessons my little Bailey was creening her neck looking at the ceiling so I thanked her for reminding Grammie to look towards the heavens--Fat Dawg shared that the pics/posters were of his favorite people. Others entered the shop and were warmly welcomed as well. Look at the ceiling to see if B B are there! Beverly and Bailey! See me at the recital as Ill be playing and if I perfect the breathing...Let it be me! Guess to whom I shall sing it!

Luthier, JC, VERY GOOD.

Very friendly and feels cozy.

Good choice and knowledgeable stuff.

Pretty nice little place

One of a kind! a true gem

Awesome store!!

Strange shop. Got a fair deal on a gig bag

Love this place!

Be cool, and speak guitar

Lots of guitar s

Anything you want they have it