C.B. Perkins Co

C.B.Perkins is a treasure. The set-​up/​adjustment work they did on my Seagull Artist has given me a guitar that plays so sweet and smooth again I just can’t put it down. They even recommended SIT strings which believe it or not really DO what their initials stand for = Stay In Tune. Kind of mind blowing after 48 years of tuning! This is a third generation, family-​owned luthiers and instrument sales and it shows big time. I really enjoy talking to Kent and Josh — and not just about music and guitars — they have time for life in general as well. The kind of guitar store you dream about really does exist!

Excellent customer service and professionalism! I am new to stringed instruments and have just recently purchased a vintage bandurria (a filipino folk mandolin) like my dad used to play when he was young, intending to take it up as a hobby. (I used to play wind instruments in the past.)
It needed a good refurbishing and new strings. The attention to detail, professionalism, and extra information I got from this shop was above and beyond expectations. First, I was pleased they even knew anything about such an obscure instrument (it’s a bit different than the Spanish bandurria in the amount of strings and tuning). Second, I got advice on string instruments and enjoyed chatting with Kent. We talked about their shop being a third generation family-​run business, about the history of the bandurria I’d brought in, and my personal reasons for wanting to learn how to play. Last but not least, the cost to restore it wasn’t outlandish since I’d gotten a good deal on buying the used instrument, and I left feeling encouraged to learn because of all the advice, rather than the newbie I really am.

Incredible customer service!
I just visited their shop for the first time. I am a new guitar player and just received a Seagull S6 Original acoustic guitar as a Christmas gift from my family. Being close by, reading all these great reviews and learning Perkins sells and works on Seagull guitars, I decided to take the guitar in to get an initial setup.
Kent was there. I explained this was my first acoustic guitar and I was interested in an initial setup. He was extremely patient, checked out the guitar, tried it out, told me it’s a great guitar. He explained the difference between this and other guitars, both styles and materials. He told me how to maintain it, store it, and mostly, to play the heck out of it.
He told me I didn’t need a setup and that the guitar was in perfect shape. Since I didn’t know any better, he could have easily taken my money and made a small/​quick adjustment. But instead, he acted in my best interest and was genuinely interested in sharing some of his vast knowledge.
Class act, great customer service. It’s the kind of shop that I feel good giving my business to. I will be going back with any and all future service needs!

I’ve been there on several occasions since moving to the Bay area. This is a family business, and it’s always a pleasure to talk to the staff.
Most recently I brought a somewhat expensive Martin acoustic with a deep ding on the top (my own doing), this guitar has a vintage toner which greatly complicates repairs.
Kent explained that since the ding was quite deep, and the guitar had a toner in its finish, the repair would likely not be visible.
When I picked up the guitar I was pleasantly shocked that the repair was invisible and the ding was completely gone.
The price was extremely fair too.
Doing flawless repairs like this one takes time, and IMHO they didn’t charge me enough for it. I’ve been to another local store for a similar repair, it was more expensive and far worse quality-​wise.
Another time I brought a Strat body with a stuck screw (damaged head) for a tremolo claw, they were able to get it out nicely and the price was right. I also had couple electric guitar bodies routed for active pickups and battery.
It’s not like I want to visit them too often, because every time I do I bring something broken for repair, but if I ever need a guitar repaired they’ll be the first ones I’ll visit.

Just heard of this place a few weeks ago. It was one of those «Where have you been all my life» discoveries. I enjoyed, I mean really enjoyed, talking with Kent. He is just one of those people you can talk to for hours and it only feels like five minutes. His knowledge is phenomenal. I was treated like I was a star instead of a customer. I tried them out by having them work on my Takamine. Neck adjustment, restring. I was very happy when I got it back. Perfect strings for my playing style, my action was a little lower and they oiled and polished. Super great results. My under $ 300 Takamine now plays as well as my Martin. Sounds almost as good too. I will be bringing my others guitars in here to have them worked on as well. I’ve always been hesitant about leaving one of my babies with anyone, but at this place, after talking to them, I felt good about leaving one of my babies in their hands. The shop and the Perkins are the way things ought to be.

I like this place. Unlike guitar center, they really care for customers. Pricing is expensive but you get what you pay for. I had wiring harness installed on my Es339 and the wire came loose, they were happy to fix it with no additional charge. Will come again if I need to get anything done for my guitar.

This family owned business is very honest, takes allot of pride and integrity in their craft and it shows big time in their awesome work! They did an awesome job on a fret job for my Gibson flying V over 30 years ago. I recently started doing small gigs in my band 37/​North. This family recently did awesome work on a couple of my guitars at an extremely affordable price and got my guitars ready for show in good timing! Highly recommended!

This place is staffed by 3 or 4 main people. All of these people are generally very friendly, very helpful and very willing to discuss guitars with you and take the time to understand what you’re trying to ask. Their prices are decent and it seems to me like they gave me the best deal they could (of course, that is in their best interest as well). Honestly, the staff was just extremely helpful and I have had nothing but pleasant experiences here. As a sidenote: I have probably spent at least an hour talking to a couple staff members about my pickups and they answered every question in depth, gave me tons of options and best of all, they knew what they were talking about. Highly recommended.

I have played guitar for 35 years and have been playing professionally for over 20 years.
To the discerning guitarist or bass player who knows what they want all the way down to the serious beginner, I simply cannot say enough good about CB Perkins.
The staff: CB Perkins is indeed a family business. It is run by Kent and Erik Perkins. if you are looking for the hard sell this is not the place for you. Approaching the counter you will see craftsman in their sawdusted work aprons with tools sticking out of the pockets. They are friendly, conversational and supremely knowledgeable in their craft. The beginner need not fear that they will be pushed an instrument out of their range and too high-​end. You are not simply a customer here. You are a lifelong client. They also offer lessons in a variety of styles. In speaking to the students constantly walking in and out of the place I hear only good things. If they don’t have what you need on the spot they will order it for you. If the guitar you purchased there is having issues they will take care of you. Their repair work is A-​list
Selection: As has been mentioned by many a reviewer, CB Perkins is small. They don’t have the room nor the need to have a Guitar Center or Guitar Showcase selection. What they lack in quantity they most certainly make up for in quality. Having said that, they don’t ONLY carry the artisan boutique brands that the big places won’t stock. They have a great selection from the fantastic Canadian guitar maker Godin, and all of their lines. They also stock guitars and basses from the magnificent G&L company. They also have a decent selection of affordable beginner guitars and bases which, to my experience, are all easily good enough as performance instruments.
Prices: Having shopped at CB Perkins for a number of years now I have come to the conclusion that they are most definitely not out to get rich. They do what they do, for generations now, because they love it. The very high quality instruments in the shop are expensive, of course, but no more expensive than the chains. The professional musician will be totally understanding of this. The beginner is in equally good hands. Prices for beginner instruments, which as mentioned are very good, are quite reasonable, and, again, as inexpensive as the chain stores.
Check CB Perkins out. You will be glad you did and you will be a customer for life

If you need a guitar or a repair or set up no better place in a satisfied customer over 40 years!

i started to use CB Perkins at the recommendation of my friend Craig
i bought a consignment guitar from them, and sold another one on consignment
they gave me good advice on what i could expect, and were able to get that amount
i have found kent, eric and josh to be very friendly and give sound advice when it comes to work that needs to be done on guitars. i brought my old Goya in, its nearly 50 years old, and they recommended only to change the strings, as the other flaws were only cosmetic.
currently i have one Martin in for a k and k pickup, and will be bringing the other one
in for a pickup installation as well.
their prices are reasonable, and i know that places like guitar showcase, send them work, as they know what they are doing.
chris

This is a TINY shop. The selection of guitars is scarce. The location is tucked away on some lot away from the main road. That said, I enjoyed my time here.
I came on a Wednesday at about 2pm and there was only one customer. That’s good because there isn’t enough space for more than 2 people in the playing space. Seriously. There were about 20 steel string acoustic guitars, classical guitars, and electric guitars each. That’s a very, very low selection and a few of them are used.
But here’s the thing: these guitars are quality guitars that range from $ 350 to $ 1,000. Most of them are Seagulls and Simon and Patrick which are part of the Godin family. You can’t find S&P ones at Guitar Center and larger stores. Godin guitars are better than half of the guitars at larger chain stores so this place is definitely worth checking out if you want the best bang for your buck.
I was able to play for about 45 minutes without much interruption from the owner/​employees. The owner and his sons are very nice and welcoming. I sat in the room no larger than a living room, but I immediately felt comfortable because there was at most one other customer around so I could browse unobstructed.
If you’re looking for a guitar in the aforementioned priced range, I highly suggest you check out the Godin guitars at C.B. Perkins. They are set up better than Guitar Center and other mass market guitar stores.

I have taken many guitars to C.B. Perkins. They are a family run business that is as honest it gets. These guys know their stuff and they will treat you right. My ONLY stop for any repairs.

I just purchased a used Ramirez classical guitar. Probably due to the recent severe weather and humidity condition during shipping, there is a hairline crack on the top soundboard. I was not sure whether this damage is structural, so I looked for professional help to have a thorough check. Luckily I found Perkins from Unilocal.
Erick courteously and promptly replied my query with a quote by email. I thought it might be worth paying a visit to this family-​owned business. Kent, the Dad, helped me out by checking everything from inside out and found that the fan bracing was damaged as well. He estimated the work would be one week.
Next came the fun part when I started to have a chat with Kent. Wow, he is like a walking library of classical guitars, and I bet he is an excellent player too. He knows a lot of famous people in the music and industry. We had a conversation for more than one hour and I absolutely learned a lot from Kent.
7 days seemed hard to pass, but surprisingly I got a call from Erick two days later. Everything was fixed as expected. Wow. Kent also changed the strings, cleaned the fretboard, adjusted the action with a new bone saddle. All together comes with a very reasonable charge. My Ramirez finally comes back to its optimal health.
It is rare for me to see a local service so courteous and friendly. I will definitely visit Perkins once I have a need.

I’m giving this place 3 stars because my past experiences with them have been great. I had my acoustic guitar set up last week and it sounds phenomenal, except the 12^th fret high E string sounds flat when fingered. Came in to voice my concern, wondering if it potentially could be a fret issue, and my entire conversation with the older man (Kent?) wasn’t pleasant. He spoke to me as if I was an idiot and just had a rude demeanor. I will say, shout out to the other guys (Josh and Erik?) for always being nice.

I HAVE DOING BUSINESS WITH THE PERKIN’S FAMILY SINCE THE EARLY 70’S!
I highly recommend the Perkin’s family in repairs, parts and service!
Customer service is number one and their knowledge of instruments is second to known!
I have been a professional musician since the 70’s and these guys, all the way back when their Grandfather hand made Guitars are the best at their craft and they take good care of all their customers!
The teaching staff has been excellent as well, take the time to check them out and meet the Perkin’s family and yes 3 generations of a family own business speaks for itself!
Professional guitarist and studio musician. Jim L. Buhisan

Had three great encounters with Kent. He took 20 minutes the first time I walked in to help me pick a good classical guitar for my son. (I don’t play) The second time he again took 20 minutes to help my son understand how to try out guitars. Of the three guitars in our price range he recommended two of the cheaper ones because they better suited my sons style of playing. The third time he gave me a good deal on a used near mint condition Takamine. Will be back whenever we need to upgrade or have repairs done.

The customer service here just cannot be beat. My family has been coming here for years, and now I am coming here for my boys’ guitars. It is a family owned business (father and sons). The father deals with us the most since he deals with classical guitars. There is something to be said about small boutique stores that still cares about their customers.

Excellent repair shop. Had a crack in my Fender Jazz Bass fixed up for cheap and they are very happy to talk you through the process.
Small but decent selection of instruments for sale — I like their selection of G&L guitars.

I went to CB Perkins today to get the pickup repaired on my Ibanez, because they’re an authorized repair center. The guy took it in the back and repaired it in 10 minutes. Free because it was under warranty.
In the meantime, my boyfriend & I started asking Kent for advice on. He was extremely helpful, super patient, funny and answered everything. I mentioned that I had a hard time playing bar chords and he sat me down with my guitar and showed me a few tricks on the spot. Needless to say, I signed up for lessons with him.
They’ve also got some beautiful guitars & Uke’s in the store. Prices seem very reasonable — even a tuner that’s listed online for $ 30 sells for $ 20 there.
Seems like a great family owned business.