Even 10 years ago, it was pretty easy to find mom-and-pop shops in LA. There was even a few that had in-house luthiers, but I don't know of any like that these

Even 10 years ago, it was pretty easy to find mom-and-pop shops in LA. There was even a few that had in-house luthiers, but I don't know of any like that these days. I now live in Austin and there is a healthy amount of small shops around town who carry a decent selection* of guitars made by local luthiers along with big brands, plus the strings are half-priced. *I'm assuming they are decent. I play left-handed, so can't speak of the quality.