Guitar Gear Forum

Anyone in the Phoenix area? Suggestions on things to do? I'm going to be there next week with my wife, but she'll be in training for work during the day. Craft brew places, good parks for some scenery, etc.

check out camelback mountain, then stop at the candy store.

I bought my favorite guitar ever at a GC there about 5 years ago. I don't have any great recommendations though.

I'd say go up to Sedona, but you'll have a hard time. This just happened to 89a recently:

Four Peaks Brewery by ASU makes great beers - try whatever they have cask conditioned
there's the botanical gardens if you like that kind of stuff, Heard Museum for Native American stuff
depends on what you're looking for - we just had some crazy weather but next week should be nice

check out the Musical Instrument Museum, I haven't been to it yet, but I hear it's awesome

If you like baseball, Cactus League Spring training is fun!

Keebz wrote:If you like baseball, Cactus League Spring training is fun!

Or if you're a hockey fan, you could check out a Coyotes game

Schweezly wrote:I bought my favorite guitar ever at a GC there about 5 years ago. I don't have any great recommendations though.

I'd say go up to Sedona, but you'll have a hard time. This just happened to 89a recently:

That happened near the Grand Canyon north of Flagstaff. Nowhere near Sedona! Besides, Sedona is fucking cold this time of year!

Arizona Beer Festival in Tempe March 2nd!

Theres Gun Shows just about every week here too!
Theres a lotta "scenery" on Mill Avenue too, near Arizona State University.

If you have young kids or are a train enthusiast, the McCormack-Stillman Train Park is definitely worth checking out. It's in Scottsdale just a little north of Camelback Mountain. There's also the Scottsdale GC near there too.

If you like Mexican food, give the Casa Reynoso in Tempe or Xavier's Casa Reynoso a try. Both owned by the same family (my cousin married Xavier, so I'm a little biased) but damned good food.

I'll think of more in a bit.

Thanks for the suggestions guys. We are thinking about heading up to Sedona, I'll definitely check out some of the other places.

Keebz wrote:

Schweezly wrote:I bought my favorite guitar ever at a GC there about 5 years ago. I don't have any great recommendations though.

I'd say go up to Sedona, but you'll have a hard time. This just happened to 89a recently:

That happened near the Grand Canyon north of Flagstaff. Nowhere near Sedona! Besides, Sedona is fucking cold this time of year!

Sorry, didn't know which side of Flag it was on. I went to school in Flag. Miss that place.

- Four Peaks is definitely worth checking out if you're a beer guy.

- Cooperstown isn't a bad restaurant if you are down in central Phoenix. It isn't overly expensive and has a cool atmosphere from what I remember. Not a big fan of their reuben, though. The corned beef isn't cut right.

- Pizzeria Bianco gets a lot of good hype, but you'll wait in line forever; at least I have the couple of times I've gone. If you do decide to go, you can at least get a few drinks at Rose & Crown pub that is in the same area before your wait.

- The Heard Museum is worth going to as it covers historical subject matter that is uniquely Arizonan.

- The Lost Leaf bar has about a million different beers, live music and no cover. I only went once, but it was cool. Two problems: It can be kind of hard to find if you aren't used to the area and there is a hipster element there. At least you won't get shot or stabbed like you would at the Clubhouse, though.

- The Musical Instrument Museum is neat. If you have the time, it is worth seeing.

- 7th street has a bunch of good Mexican restaurants like Los Reyes de la Torta. Carolina's Mexican Food on Mohave is a highly regarded restaurant out here, as well. It's closed on Sundays, though.

- Check out the desert. Go to the botanical garden or, better yet, go hiking at one of the billion or so trails out here. Camelback is popular. Deem Hills and Thunderbird are nice as well and perhaps a bit easier to hike. If you come out here this time of year and you don't go outside, you are really squandering a golden opportunity.

- Montezuma Castle would be pretty cool to visit if you have a kid. I know I would have loved to have gone had I lived here when I was a little guy.

- If you want to check out a guitar shop, there really is nothing spectacular here which is why I've always bough gear online. Bizarre Guitar can have some cool gear, but I always felt uncomfortable going there, like I would get scolded for playing a guitar. Boogie Music on Cactus is supposedly really cool, but I haven't been there. Someone told me they carry Bogner and Orange, but I cannot confirm that.

If you go to Cooperstown, you might meet Alice. I've never met him, but everyone I know who's met him says he's a really nice guy.

rock flag and eagle wrote:If you go to Cooperstown, you might meet Alice. I've never met him, but everyone I know who's met him says he's a really nice guy.

My friend and I met him at a book signing a few years ago and he was pretty cool. We talked about golf for about ten minutes.

I didn't really like Phoenix but I wasn't shown around by a local. I LOVED Sedona and I went in November so I imagine it would be about as cold and I thought it was fine weather. Sedona is so beautiful it could be 32 degrees and I'd love being there.

rock flag and eagle wrote:If you go to Cooperstown, you might meet Alice. I've never met him, but everyone I know who's met him says he's a really nice guy.

I met Alice here at my store in Orange County. I was so starstruck, but he was such a nice guy that it's hard to believe that a guy of his stature was down to earth and a gentleman.