Best archtop store in DC area?

**jzucker** · 08-25-2015, 07:23 PM

*.*.*

**Greentone** · 08-25-2015, 08:22 PM

Used to be a great archtop guitar town...now...meh.

**Max405** · 08-25-2015, 08:28 PM

Jack, I was in Delaware yesterday. Forget the music stores. Go to Lewes, Jerrys Seafood and get the crab soup. Maryland style. Then when your done, get the crab bomb. It's a 10oz crab cake. Unreal!
Joe D.

**jzucker** · 08-25-2015, 08:52 PM

Originally Posted by Joe DeNisco

Jack, I was in Delaware yesterday. Forget the music stores. Go to Lewes, Jerrys Seafood and get the crab soup. Maryland style. Then when your done, get the crab bomb. It's a 10oz crab cake. Unreal!
Joe D.

Unfortunately, I can't eat tomatos anymore. I'm from DC and maryland crap soup in annapolis was THE BEST but no more for this old body...

**Max405** · 08-25-2015, 09:03 PM

Originally Posted by jzucker

Unfortunately, I can't eat tomatos anymore. I'm from DC and maryland crap soup in annapolis was THE BEST but no more for this old body...

I'm sorry to hear that buddy.

**MaxTwang** · 08-26-2015, 02:29 AM

Sounds like a good reason to skip the soup and eat the crab all by itself, and lots of it. I can't think of a better meal or a better way to make a mess in a socially acceptable manner than crackin' crabs.

**edh** · 08-26-2015, 04:12 AM

Originally Posted by jzucker

Unfortunately, I can't eat tomatos anymore. I'm from DC and maryland crap soup in annapolis was THE BEST but no more for this old body...

Hell...I wouldn't eat Maryland crap soup either.

Might be the ingredients.

**wintermoon** · 08-26-2015, 09:09 AM

there's a used to be a few on the strip in Cantonsville Maryland, but Jim's moved and I think some of the others are gone now.

**llazarides** · 08-26-2015, 09:16 AM

I'd love to know the good archtop spots as well...I know there's Action Music, Crossroads Guitar shop, and Chuck Levin's...none of those really strike me as great places for archtops. Of course, these are just impressions I get from their websites; I've never visited any of the stores in person. Might have a varying degree of used stuff.

Eventually I might make a trip to Crossroads and have some fretwork done on my Comins (they have one of those PLEK machines)

**Bluedawg** · 08-26-2015, 09:18 AM

Originally Posted by wintermoon

there's a used to be a few on the strip in Cantonsville Maryland, but Jim's moved and I think some of the others are gone now.

Bill's, Appalachian Blue Grass, and Guitar Exchange were still there last fall in Catonsville.

Appalachian is mostly flattops, but very nice ones ... and maybe some Eastman archtops .. worth checking out if you do go to Catonsville

Bill's may or may not have something of interest and if they do it is likely to be new

Guitar Exchange could be worth the trip up there if you want to kick some tires or if you have some money

We are the original GUITAR EXCHANGE

These stores are all within an easy walk of each other.

Chuck Levins in Wheaton, MD is worth a trip as well and near a DC metro stop

Chuck Levin's Music Instruments Store

**Max405** · 08-26-2015, 10:40 AM

Originally Posted by edh

Hell...I wouldn't eat Maryland crap soup either.

Might be the ingredients.

Darn spellchecker..

**ESCC** · 08-26-2015, 10:58 AM

Action Music in Falls Church does have nice used equipment. They had a nice Heritage Sweet 16, Guilds, Eastmans etc. checkout their website.

For new Chuck's in Wheaton, the problem is few stores carry much inventory.

Crossroads is a good shop but their instruments are not main-stream, no Gibsons, Guilds, Fenders. They do carry Peerless.

**HighSpeedSpoon** · 08-26-2015, 01:30 PM

Originally Posted by Greentone

Used to be a great archtop guitar town...now...meh.

I wonder if you mean The Guitar Shop on Connecticut between M Street and Dupont Circle. I used to work near there many years ago and it was a good store, even for violins etc.

My first guitar was an archtop I got in 1985 at Chuck Levin's (aka Washington Music Center). Chuck's is not archtop or jazz oriented, but it is huge, so they have a lot of everything.

I moved a bit south of DC some years back, so I am not current on either of these two stores, but I do recall that Chuck's had a good listening room. Go in the daytime on a weekday if possible.

**Greentone** · 08-26-2015, 02:05 PM

I used to like The Guitar Shop, Levin's Washington Music Center on Vier's Mill Rd (and John Sprung's store a couple of blocks south of it), Veneman's, Giant Music, and especially Zavarellas. WMC doesn't really have archtops these days and the other stores are more or less out of business. Once upon a time, all of those stores had oodles of archtops.

**jzucker** · 08-27-2015, 07:47 AM

don't forget bill fender's shop which closed some years ago.

**rpguitar** · 08-27-2015, 09:00 AM

You could visit PRS in Stevensville, MD - about an hour's drive according to Google.

Yeah, not the same thing I know, but...

**Bluedawg** · 08-27-2015, 09:23 AM

Originally Posted by rpguitar

You could visit PRS in Stevensville, MD - about an hour's drive according to Google.

Yeah, not the same thing I know, but...

The PRS factory tour is a worthy trip for any guitar player in my opinion

**DC Ron** · 08-27-2015, 07:52 PM

Originally Posted by ESCC

Action Music in Falls Church does have nice used equipment. They had a nice Heritage Sweet 16, Guilds, Eastmans etc. checkout their website.

For new Chuck's in Wheaton, the problem is few stores carry much inventory.

Crossroads is a good shop but their instruments are not main-stream, no Gibsons, Guilds, Fenders. They do carry Peerless.

This is exactly my experience as well. Action always has a few worth looking at. Bought my used Sweet 16 there and enjoyed the experience. Chuck's is more hit and miss. Bought a NOS Eagle Classic there, but the experience was painful. Been to Crossroads bunches of times. The folks are great but never found a guitar I would want to buy there. Then of course, I have too many archtops, so you COULD buy from me.