Which guitar shops do you miss?

guitars4you

Found an old copy last night of Guitarist Magazine - amazing how many names don't exists anymore

Tempo
Sound Control
Axis Music
Trevor Durrant
The Flying Pig
Monkey Business
Hessy's
Woodroffes
Jones and Crossland
Greenhall's in Devon
McCormacks - Glasgow
Kitchens - Leeds
JSG in Bingley

impmann

guitars4you said:

impmann said:

Wing Music in Sidcup

Allbang and Strummits in London

Andy's Guitar Workshop on Denmark Street circa 1989

crikey - your going back a bit - I first met Barry from Wing when he handled UK sales of Rickenbacker - Then Jon Gold from Allbang when he handled Hamer in the days of Steve Stevens etc - Jon did very well for himself with a senior role at Fender

Yep. :-)

Wing was my local music shop when I was growing up - and Barry was a great guy. I'd love to know what happened to all the Electro Harmonix stuff he had - apparently he had the concession at one point, and he had *loads* of boxed new old stock 70s EH pedals, plus service parts. One of my big regrets was not attending his funeral a while back - apparently it was like a who's-who of South London musos from the 1950s to the present...

Fatfingers

Parker said:

Mansons (Plymouth and the older shop that was kooky and crammed with gear!). Swag Music in Plymouth, ABC in Exeter (which was a Musical Exchanges for a short time too), All the shops that once frequented St Michaels Hill in Bristol.  
 

Don't forget Wants!

crunchman

Stevepage said:

erky32 said:

did all that Denmark st disappear , it was decades ago since I visited that paradise, always thought I'd go back one day, but it sounds like it's vanished?? I live in SW France for last 13+yrs so a tad out of touch ....what happened?

There's some shops left but most of them have gone bust. It's certainly not the guitarist mecca it used to be.

Because of the Denmark Street reputation a lot of people still go there but the prices are generally pretty high.  At one point it was basically a Cartel.  I think 4 or 5 of the shops were owned by the same people.  Punters "shop around" and think that they are getting a good deal but they aren't.  They don't have the best selection of stuff either.

I would have to agree with those who mentioned Andy's.  I bought my first decent electric in there.

I'm going to miss Chandler's from next month.  It isn't what it was, but to have a shop of that quality, with a decent repair department 2 miles from home is great.

As also mentioned above the 3 shops in Hanwell:  Peter Cook's, Flying Pig, and Unplugged.

The original DV247 as well.  The Acton one was 5 minutes walk from my work.  The shop is still empty.

High rents and business rates are a major problem for retailers and other businesses.  I know the government is trying to reduce corporation tax to keep big multinationals here, but I think they would be better off reducing business rates and putting corporation tax up a bit and tax companies more on the profit they make.  It would help re-balance the economy, stop the dominance of internet retailers like Amazon, and also make our exports more competitive by removing an expense for businesses.

Dopesick

Machinehead in Hitchin was just down the road from me a few years back. Lovely little place. Eventually they just couldn't compete (some of their prices were a bit high).

officerdibble

It'Dopesick said:

Machinehead in Hitchin was just down the road from me a few years back. Lovely little place. Eventually they just couldn't compete (some of their prices were a bit high).

You're right.  The prices were high because they couldn't buy some of the stock as cheaply as some other retailers were prepared / able to sell it at.  Plus people aren't using High Street shops like they used to do (when there wasn't any alternative!)

randella

Jimbro66 said:

Kingfisher Music in Fleet, Hants. A great shop in its time with a serious selection of quality guitars and amps, plus PAs and recording gear. You might remember their long ads at the back of Guitarist mag.

And very soon I'll unfortunately be adding Chandlers in Kew as a sadly missed store

You're right there, @Jimbro66 - Kingfisher was great.  My favourite beloved Japan reissue Strat came from there in 1990, and it's still the first thing I'd rescue if the house was burning down.  Me dad's Martin D-35 came from there in '86 or thereabouts, every time I pick that thing up and play it sounds better.  It was a proper place, friendly, interesting stock, it smelled like a guitar shop and bits of the carpet were held down with gaffa tape. 

I gather it's still there although the stock doesn't seem so interesting.  Actually, scrub that - just been on the website and it's shutting tomorrow.  Sad times.  The whole reason we went there in the first place was because the Denmark St. shops were so intolerable - I'll never understand the Tin Pan Alley love as long as I live.

xSkarloey

For anyone who remembers Denmark Street as was, I can't resist posting this vid again from the late 80s of Mr Yngwie "where the *&^ is a guitar pick?" Malmsteen shopping in Andy's.

LooseMoose

Dopesick said:

Machinehead in Hitchin was just down the road from me a few years back. Lovely little place. Eventually they just couldn't compete (some of their prices were a bit high).

Sadly that wasn't their main issue in my view, the stock became far too narrow (and pointy!) and the service was dire from the 'rock d00dz' that worked there.  Used to spend over an hour browsing, by the end I was done in 5-10 mins

Jimbro66

randella said:

Jimbro66 said:

Kingfisher Music in Fleet, Hants. A great shop in its time with a serious selection of quality guitars and amps, plus PAs and recording gear. You might remember their long ads at the back of Guitarist mag.

And very soon I'll unfortunately be adding Chandlers in Kew as a sadly missed store

You're right there, @Jimbro66 - Kingfisher was great.  My favourite beloved Japan reissue Strat came from there in 1990, and it's still the first thing I'd rescue if the house was burning down.  Me dad's Martin D-35 came from there in '86 or thereabouts, every time I pick that thing up and play it sounds better.  It was a proper place, friendly, interesting stock, it smelled like a guitar shop and bits of the carpet were held down with gaffa tape. 

I gather it's still there although the stock doesn't seem so interesting.  Actually, scrub that - just been on the website and it's shutting tomorrow.  Sad times.  The whole reason we went there in the first place was because the Denmark St. shops were so intolerable - I'll never understand the Tin Pan Alley love as long as I live.

That's a strange coincidence! Another once-great shop gone, but they'd been in decline for quite some years now. From selling top-range gear in the halcyon days to becoming one of those little shops that sell budget copy guitars and multi-coloured ukeleles to school kids

Strat54

What about Mark Hopkins Guitar Gallery?  

Jimbro66

The interesting thing about Kingfisher music is that for any guitarists living in that Surrey/Hants region in the eighties Kingfisher was by far the major store and the place to go whereas Andertons was just a small backstreet shop. How things have changed, with Kingfisher apparently just about to close after years of decline and Andertons now one of the largest stores in the south-east and with a huge on-line presence. It's quite a case-study.

guitars4you

Strat54 said:

What about Mark Hopkins Guitar Gallery?  

you've got a good memory - pushing 20 years or so - I suppose it still exists now as Guitars4You - same principle regarding quality not quantity

RocknRollDave

Musical Exchanges in Brum. Not because I especially liked it, but I used to frequent it approx 25 years ago, and I miss those prices

ESBlonde

Way back in the mists of time there was a local shop doing second hand gear plus strings/stands etc. East End Bargains, Ivan was a legend (still is, although retired). Not only a great selection of gear to suit all pockets, if you wanted to try a PA it would be brought to your rehearsal and set up for you. Trying gear in the shop was relaxed and for many years there were ash trays scattered about too. A deal was always on the cards if you asked. I spent plenty of my saturday mornings there hanging out.

crunchman

Jimbro66 said:

The interesting thing about Kingfisher music is that for any guitarists living in that Surrey/Hants region in the eighties Kingfisher was by far the major store and the place to go whereas Andertons was just a small backstreet shop. How things have changed, with Kingfisher apparently just about to close after years of decline and Andertons now one of the largest stores in the south-east and with a huge on-line presence. It's quite a case-study.

Andertons jumped on the internet bandwagon.  Kingfisher, Peter Cooks, and Chandlers didn't.

markblack

Kebabkid said:

Chandlers (Kew) from the 80s & 90s
Allbang & Strummit (Central London)
Peter Cooks (West London)
Gigsounds (Mitcham)

my Dad owned Gigsounds. Nice to know it's missed

Tuscan777

Music Mart and Socodi Music in Canterbury (guess where I grew up...)

The Brixton Exchange Mart - I bunked off school one afternoon to go and try out a Marshall 100w head they had in, when I got there it was sold.....there's a lesson there somewhere.

xSkarloey

Tuscan777 said:

Music Mart and Socodi Music in Canterbury (guess where I grew up...)

The Brixton Exchange Mart - I bunked off school one afternoon to go and try out a Marshall 100w head they had in, when I got there it was sold.....there's a lesson there somewhere.

Yes. You should have had the whole day off and got there first thing. 

kjdowd

guitars4you said:

Found an old copy last night of Guitarist Magazine - amazing how many names don't exists anymore


Kitchens - Leeds

Not surprised they struggled if they called their guitar shop Kitchens. That's just confusing.