When Gracie Abrams needed a new acoustic guitar, she didn’t wait for the dust to settle at Truetone Music’s new Santa Monica location.
The shop was still an active construction site—drywall dust in the air, ladders everywhere, and a worker installing light fixtures overhead. But Abrams found a cleared-out corner, tried a handful of Martins, chose one, and walked out. Months later, she was playing that same guitar on Saturday Night Live.
“That’s just kind of how it goes around here,” says co-owner Sunir Patel. “People don’t want to just order something online. They want to sit down, play it, and know it’s the one.”
Truetone is the kind of place where Paul McCartney’s guitarists prep for world tours, where an ’80s rock legend might casually turn a product demo into an intimate acoustic set, and where a recently retired regular named Bill shows up every other day just to hold the door open.
It’s not a showroom. It’s a living room—with better gear.
A Store That Became a Scene
For decades, Truetone Music has quietly built a reputation as one of the most respected guitar shops anywhere.
Roughly half of its business happens online, with gear shipped across town and around the world. But step inside the new Santa Monica store at 1102 Broadway, and it’s clear the physical space still matters.
“A big part of why we didn’t go warehouse-only is simple,” Patel says. “We like having people come in. We like the interaction. We like the community.”
On any given day, the floor might include a touring professional dialing in a pedalboard, a hobbyist rediscovering guitar after 20 years, and a first-time player buying their “starter” instrument.
“These are people with regular jobs—teachers, doctors, professors,” Patel says. “But when they’re in here, they’re guitar players.”
The Accidental Magic
That sense of community leads to moments you can’t plan—like a recent in-store performance by Ben Harper and Jackson Browne.
Harper was releasing a signature model and suggested the store. Browne, already planning to stop by, decided to stay.
About 50 customers, invited through an email list, watched the two perform together in a space never designed for live music.
“I didn’t even know they were going to play together until right before,” Patel said. “That’s what made it special.”
Truetone isn’t trying to become a concert venue. Events like that are too complex to produce regularly. But the fact they happen at all speaks to something harder to replicate: trust.
Artists don’t show up because it’s a marketing stop. They show up because it’s fun.
Old School, New Reality
Truetone’s story is one of survival and reinvention.
Founded in the late 1990s as a 1,000-square-foot storefront at 714 Santa Monica Blvd., the shop steadily expanded over two decades. By 2018, it was nearing collapse.
A change in ownership marked what Patel calls “Truetone 2.0,” blending old-school guitar shop culture with modern e-commerce.
Then came the pandemic.
“It forced us to figure out how to operate without a storefront,” Patel recalls. “At the same time, the guitar industry exploded.”
That surge helped stabilize the business—until it was time to relocate.
The original location had become logistically difficult and the neighborhood less desirable.
“There wasn’t really a sentimental sadness about leaving,” Patel says. “It was more like, ‘Let’s get to a better spot.’”
The move itself was massive. Hundreds of guitars, amps, and nearly 1,000 pedals had to be packed, cataloged, and transported—while the business kept running.
For weeks, Truetone operated as a kind of retail ghost: closed to the public, but still selling gear out of boxes.
A Local Institution, Still Evolving
Despite its global reach, Truetone remains deeply rooted in Santa Monica.
It collaborates with other independent shops, sends customers elsewhere when needed, and maintains a neighborhood mentality—even as independent music stores continue to disappear.
“There used to be a shop like this in every town,” Patel says. “Now there aren’t many left.”
📍 Business at a Glance: Truetone Music
- Address: 1102 Broadway, S.M.
- Phone: (310) 393-8232
- Hours: 11:00 am – 7:00 pm (Closed Sundays)
- Website: truetonemusic.com
- Instagram: @truetone_music
- Known For: Wide selection of guitars for all ages and levels.
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This page is maintained by the Santa Monica Sun Editorial Desk. Last updated: July 20, 2026. Have an update, correction or missing information to add? Contact us at hello@santamonicasun.com
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