SUBWAY GUITARS

Subway Guitars has an extensive inventory of more than 3000 new, used, vintage, retro and custom-designed acoustic and electric guitars, basses, amplifiers, and parts awaiting you. For 45 years, Subway Guitars has been the choice of professional musicians and beginning guitar pickers.
! The website is somewhat like the store itself: old, weird, full of awesome guitars
but not necessarily the height of modernity. Some of what you will see as you
meander aimlessly through these dusty corridors may have been sold back in 1997 or turned into
post-post-modern planter boxes. However, we have a ton of great stuff, and are always making more.
This site is something of a museum honouring our pre-digital past and giving you some idea of what we're all about.
If you see a 1957 Harmony something or other, we may or may not still have it, but we certainly have others of its ilk. As a used, repair and custom shop, our inventory is changing constantly, so, if you have any
interest or questions just call
510-841-4106
between noon and 6 any day but Sundays and our expert staff of curmudgeons and crackpots will
be glad to help you out.
Bargains for musicians.
Custom built, factory-direct, weird and crazy string instruments.

FatDog Portrait by Johnny Otis, 1995

"Pha T. Duag" 
Our Founder

Vintage And Collectible Guitars Holiday 2015

Unique Vintage Guitars From The Beyond

Vintage And Collectible Guitars From The Unknown

A Tremendous Collection Of Very Special Instruments

Vintage Estate Sale

Interesting And Vintage Collectibles

Black Friday And Beyond! Vintage Treasure Trove and Still More Subway Holiday Specials

Subway Holiday Specials

Lucky '13 Winter Sale

New: Fatdog's Bazaar of 10,000 things
Antiques, memorabilia, customizations and components for collectors and DIY enthusiasts

Retrospective Tryptophantasmagoria

Estate Sale

Now Offering Small Group Guitar Lessons

Vintage And Custom Guitar Bonanza

Vintage Guitars

Custom Guitars

Archaic Inventory

SUBWAY MORPHS	COOL LINKS
CUSTOM CREATIONS	TYPICAL SUBWAY BARGAINS
FLEA MARKET	FREQUENT QUESTIONS
NEW STOCK	BASS
DAN ELECTRO	ACOUSTIC
FENDER® AND OTHER 'MERICAN CLASSIC SINGLE- AND DOUBLE-CUTAWAYS	GIBSON-STYLE
JAZZ & HOLLOW	LEFT-HANDED
EUROPEAN	KOOKIE JAPANESE
METAL & PUNK	WEIRD GUITARS
BANJOS AND MANDOLINS	AMPLIFIERS
PARTS	INTERNET SPECIALS
POSTCARDS	STRINGS & CASES
NEWS ARTICLES AND REPRINTS	REPAIRS
PARLOR GUITARS	WORLD KOOKIE GUITARS
DOGHOUSE	CHESTERS BARN
SUBWAY PHOTO ALBUM	JIZZBLASTERS AND MORE

Subway Guitars
1800 Cedar Street
Berkeley, California 94703

(510) 841-4106
noon til six, Monday thru Saturday
Pacific Time

More than 3000 
old guitars, basses and amps in stock.

Bargains for musicians

Custom built, factory-direct, weird and crazy stuff

The Guitar World's Bargain Basement

Howlin' 4 over a quarter century

Fender Bassman, circa 1950

$3400

3 Buttons -- 47 Tones from your Strat! It's G-Wir!

• THE HOLY GRAIL ... AND MORE SURPRISES Patience is rewarded.... Fatdog has unearthed an eclectic group of real beauties you've just got to see, and touch, and play. You'll find a little bit for every taste, right here: even a genuine FENDER BASSMAN amp from the late 50s. And now he's added even more....

• NOTES AND THOUGHTS ON CUSTOM GUITARS Fatdog writes: "I'd like to present my perspective and address my philosophy on our custom instruments, hopefully to prevent any disappointments and misunderstandings...."

• FAMILY ESTATE GUITAR SALE This is a special consignment sale of a truly remarkable collection of both rare and quirky instruments and sound equipment. You've got to take a look at this stuff.

• WILD CARD ELECTRIC GUITARS Here's the first of Steve Card's beautifully hand-crafted electric guitars, presented to whet your appetite for more! Fatdog took one look at these and knew you'd just have to see them to believe it! Check out the inlays on the back! Card's wild, I tell you! Wild!

• LET SUBWAY BUILD YOUR DREAM AXE! Got some good ideas for an axe? Put your head together with Fatdog and his creative technicians for the axe you've dreamed of! All it takes is time....

• HIGH QUALITY CUSTOM BASS GUITARS Here's a new series of top quality custom basses that my buddy, Romain, is building and assembling out of alot of old stock and parts -- like Alembic, Warmoth and Bartolini. I call it a new world/old world fusion, combining to make these fabulous new basses.

• KOOKIE DOOKIE! Fatdog is unleashing upon the world weird, wild, bizarre and demented Eurodrek instruments -- including 60s guitars made in Sweden, England, Italy, Holland, Germany. See rollerwheel pots, switches and weird tremelo systems, push buttons and (of course) glitter! Bizarre 60s and 70s Japanese guitars (MIJ) -- psycho-stuff with raised chrome pickguards, pegheads as long as the fretboard with elements of design and style coming from some foreign minds. NOW HE'S ADDED EVEN MORE -- AND THERE'LL BE STILL MORE TO COME! Give Fatdog a call about pricing; these babies are tagged to move!

• NEW PICS! You've been looking for some new pictures -- Dave Kinnecut thought he'd interject some different style -- something other than what Fatdog sees as the bomb. Here they are!

• NEW PIXS! Fatdog's busy alright -- too busy. But somehow he managed to pick out a few new guitars and basses for you to check out. More to come!

• RECESSION BUSTING AT SUBWAY GUITARS Since we're moving into what's anticipated as "tough economic times" (so when wasn't it just so?), FatDog thought he'd remind you that SUBWAY GUITARS is now -- and has ever been -- the place to go for great deals on guitars, basses, amps and accessories. Check out this reprint of the July/August 1993 story, written by Thomas Wictor and published in BASS PLAYER MAGAZINE, chronicling the history of FatDog's incredibly inexpensive instruments.
• RECESSION BUSTING SPECIALS -- Unheard of bargains -- while they last! Looking for a high quality electric or professional bass at a great price? How about a high quality replica of a D-18 acoustic? Straps? Picks? Distortion boxes? Top-quality strings at unheard of prices? Here's the beginning of LOTS of holiday specials to set you on your way. More instruments and guitar parts will be added to this list, so keep looking -- much more to come!
• NEW AND REFRESHED STOCK. Hot new and refreshed stock, consolidated in one place! MORE! and MORE! and MORE! Check out the HUGE herd of Sovereigns from Regal, Silvertone, Harmony and Harmony Sovereign Deluxe; the quartet of 000s including the Lead Junior Stella 12, Silvertone and Stella 6-strings; FatDog's proletarian specials from the 50s and 60s including Kay D-size, the Harmony Classic and 0-size beauties; Hoyer clones -- 175s and 335s, J-200 copies -- with and without cutaway -- bass guitars, acoustics, weird, demented one-of-a-kind instruments. You've GOT to see these guitars! You won't believe FatDog's prices!
• SUBWAY CUSTOM CREATIONS. FatDog's 43 exclusive, custom-designed and retro guitars and basses, available to you at factory-direct, wholesale prices. FatDog thought of them and we make them -- at prices you can afford!
• REPAIRS Here's the low-down on Subway Guitars' Repair Shop. The repair shop has been operating as a technicians' cooperative for 32 years. That means, workers receive 100% of the repair fees generated, resulting in charges that are sometimes 50% less than those charged by most repair shops. Check out the repairs menu and service charges and GET THAT SWEET AXE FIXED!
• INTERNET SPECIALS. Guitars, amplifiers, strings, cases, cords at wholesale bargain rates.
• FATDOG'S DANELECTRO CUSTOM PROJECT. Take a look inside the inner workings of Fatdog's mind as he walks you through a custom redesign of classic Danelectro instruments....
• DAN ELECTRO GUITARS AND BASSES. The ORIGINAL Dan Electro guitars, manufactured from new/old stock parts FatDog scored in the 60s. Subway Guitars has been synonymous with Dan Electro for more than 30 years -- so point your browser here for the 4-1-1 on FatDog's take on the history of these screamin' guitars, perspective on the deeper significance of the axe and availability of these true blasts from the past.
• ACOUSTIC GUITARS. Hundreds of new and used, vintage, custom and retro acoustic guitars, ranging from budget models for the beginner to professional quality instruments suited to the accomplished musician. Now even more for you to see!
• PARLOR GUITARS. Look what they found in the corner, in the back, in the dark: twenty-six distinctive parlor guitars from WAY back in the day.
• FENDER® AND OTHER 'MERICAN CLASSIC SINGLE- AND DOUBLE-CUTAWAY GUITARS. Everybody wants a Fender® and a Strat®! FatDog has dozens of used Fender® guitars and many related classic single- and double-cutaway guitars, including Fatdog's own high quality custom-designed cutaways that compete -- strongly -- with the genuine article.
• GIBSON-STYLE GUITARS. Scores of Gibson-style guitars, ranging from FatDog's own custom Les Paul to those produced by Kay, Supro, Guild, Heritage, Regal, Hohner, Seville, Harmony, Standard, Framus, Epiphone, Gibson and more. And now MORE for you!
• JAZZ AND HOLLOW-BODY GUITARS. Dozens of new and used jazz, hollow body and semi-hollow body guitars featuring FatDog's new, high-quality custom designs, as well as instruments from Voss, Harmony, Kay, Airline, Hagstrom, Guild, Eko, Gretsch, Kawai, Epiphone, Framus, Aria, Kramer, Stewart, Yamaha and more.
• BASS GUITARS. FatDog's entire inventory of new, used, vintage, custom-designed, and downright freaky basses.
• LEFT-HANDED GUITARS AND BASSES. Fatdog offers a countless array of necks and bodies made of different woods. He makes many custom instruments -- just for you, Lefty -- from new, old stock bodies that are finished and bound -- and at almost no (that's $ZERO$) extra charge.Fatdog has just today unearthed eight (8) new lefty bass bodies and eighteen (18) lefty stratocaster bodies. He thought he'd run out, but (once again) too much was in the pile to see.
• EUROPEAN GUITARS AND BASSES. An eclectic selection of European guitars from Eko, Goya, Hofner, Hagstrom, Vox, D'Scala and FatDog's own customized reprises.
• KOOKIE JAPANESE GUITARS. A kookie selection of Japanese guitars from Tiesco, St. George, Kent, Yamaha, Univox and Zimgar.
• METAL AND PUNK GUITARS. Cheap!
• WEIRD AND DEMENTED GUITARS AND BASSES. Check out FatDog's collection of new and used, custom-designed acoustic and electric guitars and basses. They're as freaky as our times.
• BANJOS AND MANDOLINS. Banjos, mandolins, mandocellos, balilaikas and dulcimers. FatDog has collected an interesting range of some of the coolest, most beautiful new, used, custom-designed and retro instruments available anywhere -- and at very affordable prices.
• BARGAIN STRINGS AND CASES. Buy 10 sets of these USA-manufactured strings and save $$$ like you'd never imagine on electric, acoustic and bass strings. FatDog offers excellent cases at remarkable prices. Special orders for strings and cases are also entertained at 25% above FatDog's wholesale cost.
• AMPLIFIERS. Tons and tons of amplifiers -- new, used and retro. FatDog is continually unearthing loads of NEW 60s and 70s Fender®/Fullerton amp parts -- including small and large transformers, loaded fibreboards, amps, tubes, doo-dads and 100-watt amp kits (complete with stamped chassis, boogie cabinet and transformers). FatDog also has a fine selection of amplifiers for the "plug-and-play" musician who simply wants the SOUND! and right now.
• PARTS. You'll find necks, bodies, all kinds of parts, pickups and gears, assorted oddities, Vox replica kits, strings and amps. FatDog will custom design and/or special order virtually anything you can think to want -- and at 25% above his wholesale cost. And then there's his HUGE accumulation of vintage, often one-of-a-kind parts he's collected over the part 30 years....
• WAREHOUSE EXCAVATION! Its a work in progress: Fatdog's FINALLY begun the long-promised excavation of his warehouse -- home to 1000s of his accumulated equipment (and untold stories) over the past 30 years. He's just started, so stay connected to see what comes up next. From amazing treasurers to remarkable dookie longing for a fresh face, you'll find it here. Look at this!
• FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS Fatdog's noticed that many of you have very similar questions about Subway and its broad inventory, so he's organized an approach to same everybody some time. Can't find the answer you need here? Call him at (510) 841-4106 between noon and six (Pacific Time), Monday thru Saturday
• FLEA MARKET. Fatdog's been finding weird inventory leftovers and he's going to be displaying them at the Flea Market Station. This is your next Subway stop to get off on.
• POSTCARDS AND POSTERS. 24 full-color postcards of bizarre guitars, presented in three sets or poster form -- PLUS Dennis Geaney's very hip posters of old guitars and old shoes. You've GOT to see these!
• CONDUCTING BUSINESS. Here's everything you need to know about contacting Fatdog (please telephone), ordering merchandise, payment options, shipping, and FatDog's no-fault money-back guarantee.
• LINKS TO COOL VENDORS. Here are some hot links that won't give you gas. FatDog works with the best musical instrument vendors and wants to hip you to their merchandise. This "heads-up" translates as phenomenal price breaks -- 25% above FatDog's wholesale cost of acquisition. So come see what's available in the world at a price you'll appreciate.
• ARTICLES & REPRINTS. Ignorance is not bliss. George Orwell once noted that in free societies, censorship is more sophisticated and thorough than in dictatorships because "unpopular ideas can be silenced, and inconvenient facts kept dark,without any need for an official ban." Come see how very right he was....
• THE DOGHOUSE. Fatdog's journey from the pound with assorted mutts and dogs on the block through the musical universe.

• MUSIC MAKER RELIEF FOUNDATION is a non-profit organization dedicated to helping the true pioneers and forgotten heroes of Southern musical traditions. Check out their work with artists from down home, such as Cool John Ferguson, Cora Mae Bryant, Etta Baker, Preston Fulp, Essie Mae Brooks, Carl Hodges and many, many more.
• $50 BIKES.We're back! Authentic Berkeley hoopties -- 1-speed, 3-speed and 10-speed roadsters -- in good riding condition, from the 60s and 70s.
• MUSIC NEWS. Chet Helms aka Family Dog celebrated.

$50 BIKES = FATDAWG.COM

---

Miscellaneous Notes 
from FatDog 
Our Founder and Conductor

We have a store policy: whatever we can order, you can get for 25% above wholesale. We'd like to extend this policy to our Internet and mail order customers.

There's a small amount of freight to get the merchandise from the manufacturer to us -- and then to you -- but its cheap, regardless. Sometimes we can even arrange a drop shipment directly from the vendor to you, the customer.

Unfortunately, we don't offer our full cash-back refund on these special orders, but in the rare instance that a customer is dissatisfied, we'll sell the item on consignment. The only thing: You've got to know what you really want.

 
 

Ordering Merchandise

Here are five key points to put your mind at ease:

• Your purchase will definitely arrive in good, undamaged condition AND in a timely manner.
• Your purchase is insured against damage in transit.
• If you don't like what you've ordered, you can return it within two weeks of purchase.
• You have the option of a full CASH refund or a trade-in for something else you like. All you pay is the return shipping, which amounts to about $15-$20 within the Continental United States.
• You just can't lose.

Policy

NOTE: There is no refund for shipping.

Trade-ins are seriously considered at a high value.

Subway Guitars
1800 Cedar Street
Berkeley, California 94703

(510) 841-4106
noon til six, Monday thru Saturday
Pacific Time

Please don't email, we can be reached by phone!
If you emailed us while the email link was active,
please accept our apologies for not responding.

Matt Harra Sonoma County, California

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