I know nothing at all about guitars, but I work near Denmark Street and its still all music shops, would imagine it's exactly the same as it was last time you went there, even if that was 20 years ago.
taking her to size her up and get her too choose, kind of a ritual coming of age thing, first pwoppa guitar, she does a few 'concerts' a year so needs something decent, she's still playing on an old jumbo fender with a diy pickup that doesnt work and loads of holes in it
Ah Denmark St. Should have gone the way of the dinosaur years ago. Shop after shop of overpriced guitars with moody pricks working in them the equivalent of the comic book store owner in The Simpsons.
Last time I went (about 2 years ago) was bitterly disappointed. Ended up coming back to my local shop; infinitely better than anything in Denmark Street.
Could not agree more re Leroy's comment. The worst thing about being a musician is when you pop in to a guitar shop and have to deal with the 'superior' young cretins who work there who are all obsessed with gear and posing rather than music.
Unfortunately I'm also a great believer in trying instruments out myself.. sometimes something you wouldn't have thought of will just 'feel' right.
Last time I did that, I went to guitarguitar in Brum, and the owner set up an amp in a soundproof room, picked about twenty guitars, and let me get on with it for an hour. Couldn't recommend more, won't get that in Denmark Street.
I realise this recommendation is probably of little use!
Leroys right in that some of the places have a lot of (bad) attitude. I'll mention an honourable exception in Hanks, which is all acoustic so not much use for Razil this time, but the people in there are always pretty good and very helpful.
Another good one is up the road a bit in Rathbone Place, is Ivor Mairants - they do electrics and acoustics. I bought a guitar in there a few years back, they were a bit short staffed so the bloke said to go down in the basement and try out whatever I wanted - it was like being let loose in Aladdins cave. Just up the road from them is Hobgoblin which is again acoustic, worth a visit to see some bizarre instruments as well as the usual guitars etc.
I traded in (on behalf of my son) an Epiphone Les Paul custom for £200 against a Fender Telecaster. The list price on the Fender was around £1200, whilst I know nobody pays full wack I got the guitar for £1000 less the £200 on the Les Paul. Also I got a hard case and a hand full of picks. My son bought the Les Paul from the same shop 18 months previous ex-display £270. I have also bought a Tanglewood semi-acoustic from the same shop and got a deal on that too. 3 guitars from Rockers, Demark St. no reasons for complaint. These shops know they have to compete with others and the net, you just have be a little bold and you will get a reasonable deal.
I have also bought an Ibenez bass from GAK at Brighton via internet and over the phone, no problems there and very competitive with price but its nice to handle what your buying. I have been to their shop, it carries great stock.
If you're buying hand made mega expensive instruments I would think its fair to ask for time and place to give it a workout but the price range I'm into they are all produced by the bucketful to a consistent standard.
Absolute worst of the lot is Rose Morris. Never seen so many arseholes in one place at the same time outside of Selhurst. They used to be the de facto shop for metal guitarists because they had a sweet deal with Jackson and ESP (pretty much metal standards) that meant they got a lot of custom cast-offs in there. Nothing like having to play with some arsewipe who spends eight hours a day watching Al Di Meola videos and practising fusion solos sneeringly critiquing your technique.
A bloke I played in a band with once got so sick of one of the wankstains in there that he went in to try out a guitar with 800 quid in cash in his pocket - waited for said wankstain to give it the attitude then peeled out his wad of notes, riffled through them and told him he was going next door to buy the same guitar.
I used to work in an office in Denmark Street and, based on my recent visit, it seems to be one of the few central London roads that hasn't changed much. Of course, it used to be known as Tin Pan Alley. I can't vouch for the quality of its merchandise, but there again I couldn't have vouched for the quality of the merchandise that the company I worked for in Denmark Street in the early 1980s.
Could not agree more re Leroy's comment. The worst thing about being a musician is when you pop in to a guitar shop and have to deal with the 'superior' young cretins who work there who are all obsessed with gear and posing rather than music.
Unfortunately I'm also a great believer in trying instruments out myself.. sometimes something you wouldn't have thought of will just 'feel' right.
Last time I did that, I went to guitarguitar in Brum, and the owner set up an amp in a soundproof room, picked about twenty guitars, and let me get on with it for an hour. Couldn't recommend more, won't get that in Denmark Street.
I realise this recommendation is probably of little use!
it could be, i've bought online from Guitarguitar with no problem at all.
Tuneinn in Lee is a good local shop, they have a large selection of new and secondhand electro acoustics.
It aint, they ripped me off, £139 for a used bass that's completely shit.
What were you expecting for 139 quid?
Something better than what I got.
Then you need to learn how to manage your expectations. When you can't buy a decent bass brand new for less than 400 quid, why would you expect to find a decent used one for less than half that price? Especially since instruments tend to retain their value much better than most things.
Perhaps you should have taken someone with you who knows about instruments before buying it? Or, you know, actually playing it before you shelled out?
Absolute worst of the lot is Rose Morris. Never seen so many arseholes in one place at the same time outside of Selhurst. They used to be the de facto shop for metal guitarists because they had a sweet deal with Jackson and ESP (pretty much metal standards) that meant they got a lot of custom cast-offs in there. Nothing like having to play with some arsewipe who spends eight hours a day watching Al Di Meola videos and practising fusion solos sneeringly critiquing your technique.
A bloke I played in a band with once got so sick of one of the wankstains in there that he went in to try out a guitar with 800 quid in cash in his pocket - waited for said wankstain to give it the attitude then peeled out his wad of notes, riffled through them and told him he was going next door to buy the same guitar.
Now this is odd. I was looking for a direct-drive bass-drum pedal in Rose Morris a couple of years ago, and they couldn't be more helpful. Allowed me to try out about four or five different pedals on a kit for as long as I liked. Didn't hassle me and basically gave me the room and the time to make up my mind. Maybe they're friendlier in the drum department downstairs.
Comments
He suggested this place.
He also teaches if you're interested.
GAK - In Brighton but also have next day delivery to your door - opening up
to 9pm - to order
http://www.gak.co.uk/en/epiphone-ej-200-jumbo-ebony/16591?gclid=CMXy9oOj8boCFU_MtAodNykAXQ
Buy the guitar on eBay instead.
Only from first impressions I thought the same as what the two guys above said about the prices and the staff. But I could be totally wrong
http://www.pmtonline.co.uk/
Unfortunately I'm also a great believer in trying instruments out myself.. sometimes something you wouldn't have thought of will just 'feel' right.
Last time I did that, I went to guitarguitar in Brum, and the owner set up an amp in a soundproof room, picked about twenty guitars, and let me get on with it for an hour. Couldn't recommend more, won't get that in Denmark Street.
I realise this recommendation is probably of little use!
Another good one is up the road a bit in Rathbone Place, is Ivor Mairants - they do electrics and acoustics. I bought a guitar in there a few years back, they were a bit short staffed so the bloke said to go down in the basement and try out whatever I wanted - it was like being let loose in Aladdins cave. Just up the road from them is Hobgoblin which is again acoustic, worth a visit to see some bizarre instruments as well as the usual guitars etc.
The list price on the Fender was around £1200, whilst I know nobody pays full wack I got the guitar for £1000 less the £200 on the Les Paul. Also I got a hard case and a hand full of picks.
My son bought the Les Paul from the same shop 18 months previous ex-display £270. I have also bought a Tanglewood semi-acoustic from the same shop and got a deal on that too.
3 guitars from Rockers, Demark St. no reasons for complaint. These shops know they have to compete with others and the net, you just have be a little bold and you will get a reasonable deal.
I have also bought an Ibenez bass from GAK at Brighton via internet and over the phone, no problems there and very competitive with price but its nice to handle what your buying. I have been to their shop, it carries great stock.
If you're buying hand made mega expensive instruments I would think its fair to ask for time and place to give it a workout but the price range I'm into they are all produced by the bucketful to a consistent standard.
A bloke I played in a band with once got so sick of one of the wankstains in there that he went in to try out a guitar with 800 quid in cash in his pocket - waited for said wankstain to give it the attitude then peeled out his wad of notes, riffled through them and told him he was going next door to buy the same guitar.
What they don't do is the Les Pauls /Telecasters etc
Is Nathan real or have missed a joke somewhere? Not just on this thread.
it could be, i've bought online from Guitarguitar with no problem at all.
Perhaps you should have taken someone with you who knows about instruments before buying it? Or, you know, actually playing it before you shelled out?
http://www.andertons.co.uk/steel-string-acoustic-guitars/pid20427/cid677/ibanez-aw250ece-acoustic-guitar-in-low-gloss-finish.asp