Preferred retailers.

east_ldn

Grampa said:

Alterlifeson said:

Project Music in Exeter have also been great. Friendly staff who welcome you in and let me try out some pricey stuff without much bother. Cool shop with some different/unusual stuff on display.

Agree regards Project Music.

One of the best music shop in person high street experiences there is. Doesn't matter if you only want a plectrum or dropping 5k on a guitar the staff are genuinely friendly and superbly helpful.

Last guitar i bought was from here.  I could not decide between two colour variations of the same model, so they sent me  photos of both guitars side by side.  Really helpful over the phone and email, set the guitar up to my spec.  

57Deluxe

whoever is cheapest at the time

TheBigDipper

For guitars? 

Never went into a Guitar Guitar until the day I decided to try a Strandberg a couple of years ago. I'd say both Camden and Epsom have great attitudes towards helping customers buy a guitar. (Bought the Strandberg in Camden, didn't buy a Taylor T5 in Epsom, great experience at both). 

I really like Project Music in Exeter, too. I've bought two guitars from them in the past 10 years (a Brook Taw and a Cordoba C12). Again, they just put you in a room, leave you alone, and bring guitars when requested. 

Closer to home, Oasis in Ringwood are my favourite people. The shop is small and old school. I like that. Absolute Music in Poole have really well-trained staff, but are a bit more mainstream for my needs. The guitar team  don't know as much about some stuff as I do and I've caught them bluffing, sadly. The guitar workshop there is very good. 

NtS

I generally prefer to play stuff I am going to pay hunnerts of pounds on. I stay in Edinburgh and it is a bit of a desert for my tastes. There is a GG, which is OK and one or two others. I prefer a small shop... Vintage Rare and Retro in Gullane is worth a visit. And getting out of Glasgow without gear is a challenge... Jimmy Egypt, Merchant City and Kennys are all excellent.  I still mourn the loss of Strung Out, though.

Esoterick

I mainly use Andertons due to price and it being close enough that I can drive there and try guitars in one of their booths.

I found they were a bit rubbish when they messed up an order though and even custom shop priced guitars don't get cleaned before shipping if they were on the shop floor which seems a bit naughty.

Coda and Peach have both been fine, but really it was a case of ordering things and them arriving when they said they would.

joetele

Nothing local since my friend's shop closed at the end of last year, but I've had a lot of great experience buying online from Kenny's Music and Hippo Guitars (although Hippo's main focus is second hand anyway). 

tom54321

As a lefty I would try to buy from Guitar Guitar, Peach or Coda as they're the only retailers with decent ranges for left handed players. I wouldn't buy anything from Andertons as their left handed offering is very poor in comparison for a big retailer. Had good experiences with Sound Affects in Ormskirk too.

Offset

Hmmm.  This has got me thinking about where my current guitars came from.

1 from GG (ok in-store experience)
1 from Andertons (online - very good)
3 from Reverb (very good)
1 from Chandlers in Kew (fantastic experience)
3 from here - excellent
1 direct from luthier - straightforward

The Chandlers purchase still makes me grin even though it was c.34 years ago.  Very enjoyable.

Snags

Don't buy enough to have a preferred store, but if I was spending serious money I'd go to Coda.

Over the years GAK have made me regret some aspect of every purchase I've made from them. Either by fucking up the order, or by shipping woefully packed, or by lying about condition, or multiples. They also sold a mate a Taylor that should never have left the factory, although when all the faults were pointed out they did get it collected and rectified. 

For odds and sods Thomann, G4M, Anderton's, Strings Direct etc.

ToneControl

I wish I could have won the Euro lottery.
I'd open such an amazing guitar shop.
Trouble is I stopped buying tickets for it.

Fez

Sadly the last music shop in Crawley closed last year. So now I go to GAK usually by train as parking in Brighton is extortionate and its full of bus gates. Guitar guitar in Epsom is not too far and parking is ok. Guildford is a bit of a ride but I do occasionally go to Andertons. 

A local recording studio, the Hive in Horley have a little shop in their reception which is handy if you need strings or something in a hurry.

Like a previous poster my last guitar was from Feline.

StuartMac290

ToneControl said:

I wish I could have won the Euro lottery.
I'd open such an amazing guitar shop.
Trouble is I stopped buying tickets for it.

Lovely haiku

Broseley_Bob

Frailers

Sound Affects

Northwest Guitars for strings etc

other independents.  

I try to avoid the chains and Amazon if possible.   

MSedg

Coda. Coda, Coda, Coda.

Rkphilpot

This is a joke.
I have been wanting a Tom Morello Strat since they came out but regrettably didn't buy one upon release, when the RRP was only £899.
After a few months the retail went up to £1199 and has been there ever since.
Well Andertons are having a big sale and have the Strat at £1199 in the sale. Absolute BS, that guitar has never had an RRP of £1599. I know its capitalism but I thought Andertons were better than that.

https://www.andertons.co.uk/fender-tom-morello-stratocaster-black/?utm_source=google&utm_medium=organic&utm_campaign=surfaces&gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQjwhMq-BhCFARIsAGvo0KfmofLmU3YPKJLvpLA83ysq_MigrVqtkYsWQiGq2Swg7XHrJTsG3L0aAmPeEALw_wcB

chris78

fretfinder said:

Preferred retailers?
Coda Music.
And also Coda Music. 

This, this and this.

To the extent now that if they don’t stock it, I don’t want it.

Its how a music shop should be with knowledgable gear heads working there who care about their stuff, love to chat about it, happy for you to spend as much time trying what you want without any judgement on your playing!
Oh, and their tech is a wizard and they even set up all the used gear they get

Musicman20

Rkphilpot said:

This is a joke.
I have been wanting a Tom Morello Strat since they came out but regrettably didn't buy one upon release, when the RRP was only £899.
After a few months the retail went up to £1199 and has been there ever since.
Well Andertons are having a big sale and have the Strat at £1199 in the sale. Absolute BS, that guitar has never had an RRP of £1599. I know its capitalism but I thought Andertons were better than that.

https://www.andertons.co.uk/fender-tom-morello-stratocaster-black/?utm_source=google&utm_medium=organic&utm_campaign=surfaces&gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQjwhMq-BhCFARIsAGvo0KfmofLmU3YPKJLvpLA83ysq_MigrVqtkYsWQiGq2Swg7XHrJTsG3L0aAmPeEALw_wcB

Sadly, no I don't think they are.

Musicman20

If I was going to make a big purchase now, I'd go to Coda for guitar and probably Bass Direct for bass.

I tend to buy a lot of the 'big' brand pedals on Amazon now when they drop the prices. Terrible, I know. 

Not all the time though.

I don't really buy guitars now as I like what I have, same with the basses. I do however look, and as I said I think I'd go to Coda.

I've had mixed experiences with the below, but the past few years online, it's been fine:

- Andertons (although they tend to have the highest prices and charge you the lot at pre-order),
- Guitar Guitar, (much better than Andertons for a pre-order).

I started to use Gear4Music and they've been decent for pedals etc. Their showroom is quite nice (York).

I've not used Peach for a while. Every time I go on their website they seem to have an insane amount of high end gear and I do wonder if they've gone a bit hard on it, considering the economy.  I've had ok dealings with em, but the attitude people talk about puts me off. 

I don't like ANY attitude in anything related to music. It's selling me a piece of equipment. I work in the legal industry and there are a lot of 'problematic' types with attitude, but it is being pushed out in the modern day. I certainly do not expect to have anyone looking down their nose at me in a guitar shop. If they do I'll never go back. 

ragingben

I recommend Project Music in Exeter. I normally don't like trying guitars in shops and get a bit self conscious. They made it an awesome experience and couldn't have been more accommodating. Really nice knowledgeable staff as well and there was no pressure to buy anything.

Winny_Pooh

Not sure how true it is but the "employee owned" bit about Guitar Guitar would put them top of the list and my in store experience has been excellent.

Nowadays I buy obscure stuff so it's usually an ebay hunt.