Re: So Cal/Inland Empire/San Diego Mandolin Dealers? Buffalo Bro
McCabes in Santa Monica has the most mandolins I have seen in LA. Mostly Kentucky or Eastman, but the always have a small selection of better instruments like Collings or Weber. They had some beautiful Collings A Styles, F and O, the last time I was there. They have an old Gibson or two usually. It is a good place to go anyway because Santa Monica is beautiful and they have a great selection of other instruments to check out.
http://store.mccabes.com/home.php?cat=261
There is also Norms Rare Guitars in the Valley. They are not a very perky or friendly bunch in there, but it has an astounding selection of guitars etc. They have a small selection of mandolins, but it usually includes a group of old Gibson Af and AO models. Then they will have an old martin or two. They do sometimes have a higher end Gibsons F-Style or two, but they are usually in a counter, or in the back. I think they actually have a Lloyd Loar, as I have seen video of it being played there, but don't know if it is there now.
http://www.normansrareguitars.com/mandolins
There is also The Fretted Frog in Pasadena. They had a great Weber Gallatin F and a Weber BitterRoot when I was there, but the rest were Kentucky and Eastman. Really nice little store, beautiful guitars, some decent mandolins.
http://www.thefrettedfrog.com/mandolin
There is also Boulevard music in Culver City, but I have never been there. I have been told they usually have a selection of Gibsons etc. http://www.boulevardmusic.com
As for the Bay area, Schoenberg has a nice selection of vintage mandolins, especially A style.
http://www.om28.com/CategorySearch?id=PC-02-04.
For more modern mandolins, Gryphon in Palo Alto has a pretty good selection.
When I was there they had about 4 Collings A & F, a Lebada, Weber, and a few Northfields.
You can see what they have on their website. www.Gryphonstrings.com
Mandolins: Northfield 5-Bar Artist Model "Old Dog", J Bovier F5 Special, Gibson A-00 (1940)
Fiddles: 1920s Strad copy, 1930s Strad copy, Liu Xi T20, Liu Xi T19+ Dark.
Guitars: Taylor 514c (1995), Gibson Southern Jumbo (1940s), Gibson L-48 (1940s), Les Paul Custom (1978), Fender Strat (Black/RWFB) (1984), Fender Strat (Candy Apple Red/MFB) (1985).
Sitars: Hiren Roy KP (1980s), Naskar (1970s), Naskar (1960s).
Misc: 8 Course Lute (L.K.Brown)
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