Dusty’s Music Store

Dusty knows how to set up guitars… brought in an older Kramer Ferrington as it had lost some of the magic. Man i was supper impressed when i picked it up the next day. Lower action, new strings with attention to the pickup and overall condition = Finding it hard to put it down again. Very satisfied with results… Also brought in a Gibson Roadie (small scale guitar) and learned a few things on it as well… Dusty is currently setting up my 30 year old Ovation 12 string and i cant wait to see/​hear what he does with that!

Love this place, I’m local to Oceanside so it’s a privilege having this shop so close. The shop guy Tyler is super nice and always takes care of me when I come in. I’ve had the shop work on my acoustics and electrics, they always sound better afterwards.

I went in with my wife to just to look around, I ended up buying a 500w bass amp for a great price! I was able to try it out using their guitar, the owner and staff were very nice and helpful enough to make a happy purchase! A very positive experience!
Thank you!
Rudy & Josie
Osiders

This shop is in Oceanside, so the nearest Guitar Center is San Marcos.
Take the 25 minute drive, don’t stop at this store is my advice, not worth it.
The guy that works there is a nice guy.
The owner, not the same. If your going
To run a small shop, I won’t say boutique
Because that means typically handcrafted or high end guitars, not the case there, ask what they want or what they are interested in. I don’t care how long you’ve done something, if you’ve lost the passion to care about your customer, sell! Want a good place to buy a guitar, keep on driving. I will never
Stop in again and I live in O’side!

If you enjoy being treated like crap, this is the guitar shop for you. Full of middle of the road and low end guitars. Has a case of quality guitars but locked and I’m sure you need to give them a blood sample and your first born to even touch one.
The old guy who I’m guessing owns this place is obviously not interested in selling guitars since he yells at you if you touch one. I was planning on buying a new 5 string bass but after a rude encounter he lost that sell.
I’m am very about supporting the small shop but this guy can shove his low end guitars up his keester!

I’ve never been so offended. Worst service ever. It wasn’t Dusty, but some other guy working there told us to go to Guitar center if we wanted to try guitars, and barely gave us a greeting. We went in excited to play some guitars to see which one to buy and he said: «unless you’re buying you’re not trying.» I’ve bought my strings here for years because I support local shops, but after the way he treated us we are never going back again. Moreover, we live across the street and decided to ride our skateboards to the shop. He stereotyped us as loser skater kids saying, «usually people on skateboards don’t buy a guitar». As a proud member in military and a North Country San Diego native, I will make it known to all the musicians, and military musicians I know that Dusty’s Music store ought to be boycotted. DO NOT SUPPORT THIS STORE.

Dusty’s is by far the best music store ever! My 9 year old son was given an electric guitar for Christmas. We went to Dusty’s to buy him an amp. (Our first time there.) Dusty was there and he was extremely helpful and very nice right off the bat. Sold us a great amp for an awesome price and included a free guitar lesson! The lesson (with Tim Flood. highly recommend!!) was great, and my son has continued going to lessons there for over 3 months.
I am now there once a week and hear Dusty deal with many customers. He is extremely helpful, greets every single person as they walk in, and is very knowledgeable about every single instrument in there (mostly guitars, but he also carriers ukelele’s, violins, drums etc.) I have no idea what other Unilocalers are talking about by saying he doesnt allow people to touch anything unless they plan to buy… My 2 year old comes with me weekly to her brothers lesson and plays the drums and bongo everytime we are there. Not to mention during the time I am there, at least 2 people will come in and test out guitars… I have never ever heard Dusty be rude to anyone in his store before. My son loves going here and even my 2 year old LOVES going to Dusty’s and hanging out with him, watching him fix the guitars and playing the bongos.
When my son is ready for a new guitar (or needs anything music related) I will absolutely be purchasing it from Dusty’s. I know that he is honest, and has his customers best intrest/​needs in mind. He must be doing something right since hes been here for 30+ years!!!

I stopped in for a quick buy for my husband’s birthday. I gave a price point and what I was looking for. The saleman was very passionate about guitars and it showed. He took me to the one he thought would fit and talked about it at length and dropped the price to accomadate my price point (and the guitar came with a case!). They throw in 30 minute guitar lessons with guitar purchases. Great find. I feel comfortable recommending this local shop!

Lots of sweet looking vintage fender amps on display, with a big sign that says they are not for sale. Then why are they there? ‘Do not touch’ sign on an epiphone les Paul. Charging 40 dollars for a 15 dollar plastic danelectro chorus pedal. Unhelpful employees.

What’s the point of supporting a «privately owned» or «local» store if management/​employees are jerks? After being in the store a few minutes, we were told not to touch the guitars unless we were going to buy one. Well, I’m sure not going to buy one now, or ever, from Dusty.

Being a gigging musician and somewhat okay at what I do, I found Dusty’s years ago. I like supporting local «privately owned» small businesses and the big box music stores, whom I call the «evil empire» just don’t do the trick for me. Sure the selections at those places are huge and the prices, at times reasonable, however, the cold and sales driven atmosphere leave me feeling a bit neglected and put off.
At Dusty’s it feels like a place you would want to get to know the people working there. The selection is okay but the service is outstanding every time I have been in there weather it be for a question or to by some accessories or strings and what not.
Recently my wife purchased for me (not from Dusty’s) a used Fender Jaguar from a private party. Though the guitar was really nice and had a freakin awesome tone and sound it had some set up and intonation problems. It really needed a pro to address the issues so I took it into Dusty’s on my Friday afternoon errand run.
Dusty himself was there and explained they would take care of it, making string selection recomendations and quoting me a 35.00 to rectify any issues the guitar had. 35.00 for a complete set up, strings and adjustments… are you kidding? what a great deal. The best part was it would be done by the next afternoon.
Well, the guitar absolutely sings and what a deal. Thanks Dusty!!!

As an Oceanside local and musician, I support local music businesses. These guys are always friendly and informative. Thank you dustys!

Got my first ukelele here and I love it! They were really helpful in picking mine out. I plan on going there for a few lessons!

Dusty has an attitude problem. Look, you are no Yngwie Malmsteen, Yngwie can have an attitude. why? because he shreds, and he’s part of a supergroup with Steve Vai, you know. You’re not. So don’t go on a hissy fit with me, brah.
I don’t appreciate employees at a business who comes off as prudish, especially owners. The crap in here is overpriced anyway! That’s what you get on coast highway. It’s like used car salesmen, but guitars instead. Woopee.

Unfortunately, I had to give them at least one star :/
This guitar shop sold my parents a guitar that MSRPs for $ 340 for almost $ 400 because they didn’t know much about how much it should cost and wanted to get me a nice birthday present. (I can find the same guitar NEW online for $ 237 and $ 140 on e-​Bay!!!) The guitar has a bowing AND twisting neck that wasn’t obvious to my parents or I when I got it, as well as sound quality issues and a bad buzzing (which Dustys later tried to fix with tape). This was a NEW guitar. UGhhhhhh I took it to a Luthier because I noticed there was obviously a problem, he then informed me about how screwed over my parents got and the issues with the guitar. He even wrote a note explaining every issue and stating that I should receive a refund. When I went to Dustys to calmly discuss the situation and maybe get my guitar repaired or traded they REFUSED and the owner yelled at me, telling me «You will never get a dime back from us, the guitar is your problem» (I was about a month past their return date) and he basically kicked me out of the store.
They were rude, sleezy, and should be ashamed of themselves for swindling good and hardworking people out of their money. Thanks for trying to make a quick buck and screwing someone over. Also make sure to research what you are getting and the price if you are really set on going here!
I will NEVER go to this shop again, and I hope someone reads this review and decides to not OVERSPEND and get SWINDLED out of their money here.

The selection is representative of the store owner who is more interested in profiting off of a sale than making life long customers. Though there are a lot of cheap options, most are from brands that a decent musician would not recommend. It is nice that the options they offer are cheap, but even then they are priced above most retail.
My experience was pretty much awful. Traveling up the coast visiting a few music stores, good amount cash in pocket and intent on buying a guitar that day… I walked into Dusty’s. The kid behind the counter was nice, but really had very little information. When I asked about the «better» guitars, a dozen of so in a glass case, he talked about them like they were unobtainable. Then, when I seriously inquired about one, he referred me to a tired old guy on a stool. The guy said something like «those are real expensive, like a grand.» When I replied that that was well within my price range, he said, «Well Dusty doesn’t want us to get those out unless you’re really going to buy.» I replied that I was interested in buying that day. He looked at me like I must be joking, stating, «I don’t even know the price on those. I guess they’re not for sale.» Not for sale? The guitars in the front case of the store? The one’s with price tags on most of them?
Whatever ol’ fella, I will carry on. Dusty, it seems like your employees don’t have any desire to make you money. Don’t know if they were judging me and my buying power, but just know, you missed out on a sale to someone who would’ve been appreciative for a long time.
I will go to Buffalo Brothers, Music Mart, Randy’s, or Guitar Trader.

Decent selection of guitars, but not an exhaustive one. The fellow I talked to knew his stuff. I didn’t find what I needed, but it was pretty specialized. Price ranges from inexpensive to stupefying (older American guitars have become astoundingly expensive), but otherwise a good variety.
This is largely a guitar store, so not so much in other instruments. The accessorizing is very good, but not extensive. A nice independent music/​guitar store in the midst of huge competition on El Cajon Blvd in San Diego. Start here.

After consulting my fellow Unilocaler’s of course I decided to take my dusty old acoustic guitar to, as fate would have it — Dusty’s Music Store along Coast Highway. It’s right across from the DAV (yes, I’m guilty for stopping in and scoring on a few boys tees I might fit into that cracked me up for less than a buck each) on the right side heading South in case you need help finding it.
I’ve been meaning to put new strings on my guitar for sometime so I could learn a few basic chords to play along while I sing my favorite songs to, ummm… myself. Ha.
The man at the counter was very friendly — I told him I consulted Unilocal in choosing his shop and he seemed a bit out of the loop and hadn’t heard of it but now he knows where some of his customers are reviewing and finding him from! He first responded with– oooooh, Unilocal,GREAT GUY! I laughed to myself…
I think I might have gotten bamboozled but I’m not sure since it’s costing $ 40 to put silken steel strings on my guitar. Plus an included polishing of my frets? Um, ok. Can’t hurt I suppose.
I’m just happy to be one and done even though I’m sure I could find a friend to string it. Ya, I probably should have had a friend re-​string it. $ 40 is a bit steep.
Strings are definitely easier on the fingertips than regular steel strings. I’d go back again for sure.

The BEST guitars and the BEST people! So nice, so friendly and the most knowledgeable. Definitely the best guitar shop in all of san diego

Definitely like this place or picking up strings, picks and extra stuff I need for my guitars. The guys are friendly and don’t get all weird and condescending like at Guitar Center because I’m a girl.