Instrument Makers
(Editor's note: There are far more instrument makers in the area than I ever expected.)
Guitars, Basses, Mandolins, Ukuleles
- Alembic, Santa Rosa
- Ken Bebensee Stringed Instruments, North San Juan
- Mark Berry Guitars, Cotati
- Beyond The Trees / Fred Carlson, Santa Cruz
- Bisceglia Guitars, San Jose
- Blackbird Guitars, San Francisco
- Blanchard Guitars, Los Gatos
- Boulder Creek Guitars, Gilroy
- Chandler Musical Instruments, Chico (apparently just pickguards now)
- Ed Claxton Guitars, Santa Cruz
- Dart Instruments, Philo
- DMT Guitars, Potter Valley
- Michael Dolan Custom Guitars, Santa Rosa
- Joe Dragony Guitars, Carmichael
- Dry Creek Guitars, Healdsburg
- Fleishman Instruments, Sebastopol
- Franklin Guitars, Ukiah
- Scott French Musical Instruments, Auburn
- Geiger Guitars, Carmel
- Goodall Guitars, Fort Bragg
- G. Gould Music, San Francisco (Modulus Guitars are now in Minnesota)
- Grez Guitars, Petaluma
- Halo Guitars, Cupertino
- Hemken Guitars, Saint Helena
- Hill Guitar Company, Ben Lomond
- Hive Ukuleles, Santa Cruz
- Kal Brand Music Co., Petaluma
- Kauer Guitars, Elk Grove
- Klein Guitars, Sonoma (no more)
- Klepper Guitars, Berkeley
- Randall Kramer Guitars, Truckee
- Leach Guitars, Cedar Ridge
- Maloney Stringed Instruments, El Sobrante
- Matsuda Guitars, Redwood City
- John F. Mello, Kensington
- Michael Guitars, Palo Alto
- Moonstone Guitars, Eureka
- The Music Link (Recording King, The Loar, AXL Guitars, Johnson Guitars), Brisbane
- Novax Guitars (moved to Eugene, Oregon)
- Perlman Guitars, San Francisco
- Prisma Guitars, San Francisco
- Ribbecke Guitars, Ribbecke Guitar Company, Healdsburg
- Saga Musical Instruments, South San Francisco
- Santa Cruz Guitar Company, Santa Cruz
- Schoenberg Guitars, Tiburon
- Jason Z. Schroeder Guitars, Redding
- Schroom Custom Guitar Works, Vallejo
- Sexauer Guitars, Petaluma
- Luthier Ervin Somogyi, Oakland
- Steen Gutiars, Walnut Creek
- Stephen Strahm Guitars, Santa Cruz
- S3 Guitars, Palo Alto
- Jeff Traugott Guitars, Santa Cruz
- Rick Turner / Renaissance Guitars, Santa Cruz
- Visionary Instruments, Oakland
- Voyage Air Guitar, Livermore
- Scott Walker Guitars, Santa Cruz
- Wayne (Charvel) Guitars, Paradise
- Yamamoto Guitar, Dublin
- Zon Guitars, Redwood City
Bowed Strings
- Scott Cao Violins, Campbell
- Fleishman Instruments, Sebastopol
- Michael Hemken, Saint Helena
- Maloney Stringed Instruments, El Sobrante
- David Morse Violins, Soquel
- Palo Alto Violins, Palo Alto
- Jordan Music, Concord
- Knutson Luthiery / Messenger Upright Electric Bass, Forestville
- Saga Musical Instruments, South San Francisco
- Zeta Violins (back in business, moved to Montana)
Synthesizers
- Buchla and Associates (Now Buchla Electronic Musical Instruments in Oregon)
- Roger Linn Design Berkeley
- Metasonix Vacuum Tube Synthesizers(!!!), Lakeport
- MidiTaurus Bass Pedals Stockton
- Tom Oberheim
- Dave Smith Instruments San Francisco
- Toppobrillo Oakland
- Zerosum Intertia Lakeport
More
- Hollywood Winds, Fremont
- John Phillips Harspichords, Berkeley
- San Francisco Drum Company, San Francisco
Accessories
- Italia Straps, Marina
- Jim Dunlop, Benicia
- Gravity Picks, Mateca
- HW Products, San Leandro
- Dean Markley Strings, Santa Clara
- Sfarzo Strings, Santa Rosa
- Shubb Capos, Rohnert Park
- Slidewinder Ring, San Francisco
- Snareweight, South San Francisco
- V-Picks (moved to Tennessee)