Tweekin Records

Two years ago Tweeking would have received a 4.5÷5 vote from me. They have been going downhill quickly since then.
I remember when you were lucky to have one of the three listening stations open and ¾ of the wall space was filled with brand spanking new house /​tech house /​minimal /​techno and every possible variation.
Over the course of the last two years or so, the storage space of the vinyl has decreased by about 60%. The left half of the store now is a mediocre art studio. As for new vinyl, there really is no reason to go in here often anymore. I was in there about 4 months ago and I could count on two hands the number of new records they had that were put out in the last 4 months or so. They guy helping me was making terrible recommendations, seemingly in an effort to push stale wax on an unsuspecting victim.
The guys working are usually really ‘cool’ yet sometimes too cool to have a conversation with someone with lesser knowledge of records than thee.
On the plus side, they do still let you listen to records (Amoeba does not) and they have a nice back catalog of Tango/​Greyhound west coast tech house from the late 90s-​early 00s.
I know they will claim that the digital files and pirating have killed vinyl. I disagree… there are still plenty buying new vinyl, just maybe not as much as they used to. I mean, stand outside Amoeba for a little while and see how many people walk out with vinyl shopping bags.
Regardless, I still stop in here regularly as it’s on the same block as Toronado.

It’s been almost a year since I thought they were in a state of transition, but little has changed with the inventory. The small selection of used non-​electronic vinyl is way overpriced. The only reason I’m giving it two stars instead of one is the listening stations.

As an avid vinyl junkie, I love going to record stores to browse, discover new music and soak in the special curated flavour that I cannot get online or anywhere else for that matter. Sadly, Tweekin has not lived up to its promise/​potential as such an indie record store, especially given its wicked location in a musical city like San Francisco.
As the Governator did not say, I’ll not be back. 1 Star!

I loved this place for the past 10 years but it has changed drastically. «It is supposed to get better with new Records» they said 6 months ago but I think the old Tweekin is gone.
Here is to Tweekin. (40 ounce dripping)
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This place rocks, cool staff, good music and in the heart of lower haight. The people who work and hang out in this place are dance music legends in SF and beyond.

When I go out and buy music that isn’t being jammed down my throat by everyone, everywhere, this is one of the places I stop by. Old School S.F. House Rockers holdin it down. Not just House but Down Tempo Wax Selections too. Tweekin mos def pays homage to the days when House music ruled S.F. The cats workin there all were, or are, DJ’s in someway or another. But then again who in S.F. isn’t? If you’re into Late Nites, 4 on the Floor, Good Vibes and not some GerberBabyMusicBullSh! T stop by, take a listen, grab a flyer, ask some questions, and I’ll see you after 2:00 in the morning.

If you’re really into house music, then you need to check this place out.

Love this spot. This shop has been on steady rotation for me for quite some time now. They stock the newest and freshest beats in underground house music. Nice guys. Solid house.
Plus, all the good promoters are dropping off flyers here, so it’s a great way to keep your finger on the pulse of SF’s nightlife.

The new management has really cleaned things up, with a new downtempo/​funk section in the back room, underground clothing and accessories, exclusive 12″ promos from many US labels, and definitely the best selection of house & tech in the city.
Plus nearly every record is sampled online, so you can check their database and they can have the records ready for you when you arrive to the store!

Tweekin Records saved me!!!
(please refer to my review of MiniMax for further details)
After 5 frustrating weeks of trying to attain a record bag that I had ordered, I was starting to get a little perturbed.
I found that Tweekin Records was a distributor for UDG gear, so I decided to give them a call for one last attempt on tracking this damn bag.
Ring Ring–
«Tweekin»
Me:
“Hi, how ya doin’?
Tweekin:
«good, what’s up?
Me:
Well, I wanted to inquire about a record bag I’m in search of. You carry UDG right?»
Tweekin:
«Yeah, what bag are you looking for?»
Me:
«I’m looking for a the „Slingbag“ in black.»
Tweekin:
«Yeah, we’ve got that»
Me:
«What? Are you serious? Dude„ you’re gonna make me cry!»
Tweekin:
«Ah, please don’t cry, we’ve got your bag. Come on in.»
Alright, so you get the point. I’ll spare the entire conversation. I spoke to Ben, real cool and mellow guy. I told him I’d be in within the hour or so. I went, I got my damn bag and I was finally happy. The guys there were awesome. I would definitely recommend Tweekin and will most likely be back.

If you’re looking for the latest and greatest in underground house music… Tweekin’s the place! They stock the most new underground release of any other shop in the city… don’t sleep!

If you like your beats faster than 120 bpm, you’re going to love this place. My style is a little more laid back than their target DJ, but I’ve found some great music here. Plus they have a ton of listening stations for being such a small store, which is a major selling point. I have a few secret weapons that I bought here that I’m glad are in my crate.

Great selection… under new management now which has also improved customer service.

I had ordered from Tweekin online many times since the late 90’s for house tunes, and have just moved out here from the south east, I had to check it out in person.
I love it becuase its great on Sundays to walk down there from my place and scope out new tunes. They have a lot of fresh wax and alot of hot restocks too.
As far as customer service, I go to a record store and I usally know what I am looking for in the first place, I never really need that much assistance. On the other hand, the time I did ask, both ben and guthrie were more than helpful. They puleld some new tunes out for me and helped me locate the records I want. I think people expect to come into a record store and want the experince to be something similar to THE GAP or something. Its a record store. Go to genre you like, pick up a handful of tunes and listen. The whole point, in my opnion of record shopping is DIGGING! Find tunes on your own! Cant find something? Ask! That’s all I had to do.
Anyway, I reccomend this place to anyone who is into deep and funky house.

That Ben Davis that works there is pretty hot.

Tweekin’ has their ear to the drum of what is new and hot. The new owners have many years of experience between them and the knowledgeable staff know how to pick’em on the fly. Dope beats and cool digs make this my fav record buying spot in town.

yes, tweekin’ is in a damp basement, poorly organized and a bit elitist. however, it does carry some rare house and techno, has a bit of reggae, soul, funk and disco in the back room, and if you know your shit about house there are always people to bum a cig off and converse with.
they also have pretty good compiilation CDs. when i went they basically ignored me (because what girl would ever know anything about music?!) until i started listening to stuff and then they realized i might actually buy something and wasnt just hanging on the arm of some dj boyfriend ;)

Records being my first priority, it is important that I scout out all spots in the city where records are available. I’m certainly not the intended clientele for Tweekin, they mostly cater to the house/​downtempo/​dance crowd, but they do occasionally have records that I’m looking for. It is therefore unfortunate that I have to say: this place sucks. Employees won’t give you the time of day unless you’re part of their inner sanctum or danny tenaglia. You’d think they would want to make up for the fact that their selection is poorly organized in a dark cramped stuffy basement on haight street, especially since there are two other record shops (Zen City and Soundworks) only four or five blocks away who cater to the same crowd, not to mention the nearby Amoeba and Streetlight. I vow to never return to this hole in the ground. If I can’t find it elsewhere, I’ll get it online.