A few months back for some reason I decided my life was not complete unless I owned a Gibson Les Paul. Mainly because I do love the look of them, and because I grew up with these being one of the the guitars to have. I did my homework, and decided to look at a 2013 trad at Guitar Village in Surrey. It took me 3 and a half hours to get there as the M25 was a slow moving car park with me just wanting to get there. I really really wanted to love the guitar, but the damn thing left me completely cold. It was set up horribly and despite their reputation the sales bloke at Guitar Village was just not bothered, I felt like I had disturbed his afternoon tea. I realised that the original JJ guitar I had at home was, for me at any rate, just a better guitar all round. I suppose the point I am trying to make is that the guitar that feels right for you irrespective of the make is the one you should buy. And Denmark Street, go to a good local music shop some of these places are dying on their feet and once they're gone.... Enjoy whatever you get.....:-)
Love Laney amps. Other than Mesa Boogie, they're the best amps for metal/Rock
Yeh?
Yeh.
Marshall are the Apple of the amp world. Great at marketing.
The only thing they make reasonably well is cabs - and the quality of those has been getting worse for the past 20 years. They haven't made decent tube amps for decades (witness people still seeking out old jcm heads from the days when metal still meant Uriah Heep and Golden Earring) and their solid state offerings have always sounded like dogshit being slurped through a straw. .
Wibble.
That explains it - my last 100w Marshall head was of early 1970s vintage when Laney were still making things that generally sounded like large radiograms.
At a show like that, you play through the PA, not your own backline. Pointless showing all those cabs, but it's all part of the show. Of course, I've never played anywhere big enough to have a decent PA
Just what I remember from some gigs I went to in the 70's Marshall stacks were all the rage,seeing Sabbath and Van Halen together and the back line was floor to ceiling Marshall amps, ffing loud as well, deep purple was the same but it was about image I suppose.
Anyway enough of that And as 3 blokes says check out your LOCAL store, you might get a better service and go home happy.
those fake cabs are actually what was originally supplied to shops to fix to the wall to look like a wall full of amps.
As far as actually needing a backline like that, as far as festivals go- some do some don't, depends on the music-very precise bands tend to mic up one amp and put it through the p.a. for clarity, others insist on using the backlines volume and just have the p.a. as 'sound reinforcement' like it was back in the 60's/70's before p.a's were loud enough for anything other than the vocals. Of course some sound guys think the show is all about them, so there's often friction!
I remember going to a gig in Brockley in the 90s i think, in a squat that was three houses next to each other. One room the floor was missing, the other a motorbike was in pieces all over the floor, unless I am misremembering that bit, it sounds like a film.
Anyway one of the speakers caught fire in the garden where the band were and I recall putting it out with a can of lager, and arguing with someone about how to put out electrical fires - of course speakers don't have that kind of current going through them
A friend of mine, back in the early 80's when he was a crew member, had to design a cooling system for Iron Maidens backline, which kept catching fire.
Definitely this. Go to Denmark Street - Wunjo aren't too bad, if you see a guitar you fancy try it out for an hour or so, remember the make, model (on the label inside the soundhole usually), resist the hard sell you may get if they smell a sale, then buy on ebay from a seller with 100% feedback. Denmark street tend to sell SH guitars at anything up to double their value. Beware. --------------------------------------------------------------------
Good stuff mate! A great way to destroy the music retail industry in shop form! Soon there won't be any(or barely any) places you can actually go in & try stuff, because everyone else knows better, because they look/buy online.
I agree that there are some real twats in some of the Denmark Street shops, & some right rip-off merchants, but if you look around, & don't let those bell-ends tarnish your impressions of music stores, you can find some really good little shops with people who are really friendly, helpful & knowledgable, & can give good deals if you actually bothered to ask nicely.
Sorry to bitch, but I work in music retail, & I actually really enjoy it, & give a shit about what the customer actually desires. I ask them what they are into, what they are looking get with their sound, & do my very best to advise them of what they could go for to really give them what they need.
I'm not a muso who sits & shreds, in fact I prefer not to play for people, just show the bare minimum in terms of play/demo of features(depending on the product), & then let them get to grips with whatever instrument they choose, & let them see, feel & hear for themselves if it is the right fit, & giving them extra knowledge when they require it. I always try my best to give people the best information & deals possible, because I'm a "struggling musician" myself.
What you've got to realise that most of the people who work in those stores are human beings too, & are actually shoppers. We're not all there ready to suck your blood at the first opportunity.
Today, in the shop where I work, a guy wanted a drum kit for his 9 year old son. Turns out the dad already had an old kit, & after I asked him about it, & got all the details, told him that he didn't actually really need to buy a brand new one, because he needed a few replacement bits (snare, couple of cymbals & stands) to get it back up & running again. I saved him £300 between the cost of the above & the brand new kit, & he's actually got something better now than he would've, had he shelled out for the new one. Sure, I lost a bit of cash, but I'd never try & sell someone something they don't really need, & heaven forbid, something that is wrong for them, just to make a massive sale.
Sure, I probably haven't helped my business too much by not getting the extra £, but that guy has gone away happy, & his kid will be chuffed. There is nothing like seeing a kid get their first instrument too, & helping be a part of that, or a person who has never played an instrument, coming into it later than life. (An 87 year old Great-Grandmother buying a guitar because she finally had the time in her life to explore what had been a lifelong dream, was a truly wonderful & heart melting moment in my time so far!)
All shops know they have to be competitive in this now-now-faster-faster-cheaper-cheaper world we are in, so if you tell them of a web price, then they will most likely match or beat it, if it is a like-for-like business based in the same country.
What EVERYBODY HAS TO REMEMBER if you try a guitar/other instrument you really like in a shop, then decide to buy it online (without asking if the shop can match a price), the chances are you will end up with something that feels feels & sounds different to what you played, & you could end up disappointed, & also without warranty, if purchased from outside the country.
I hope this doesn't happen to you WMT, & I think it's a shame you would go into a shop, & try something & then bugger off home to buy it online without even giving the people the chance to alter the dismal perception you have on music shops in general (especially if it's a shop that you don't know, for example).
Don't tar everyone with the same brush mate. If you've got the inclination to actually go to a very decent music shop, & not waste their time, you should visit: www.drumshack.co.uk
Don't let the name fool you, they do an excellent range of guitars also, & many other instruments. They offer exemplary service & will give you very good deals if you enquire gracefully. (No, I don't work there, but if I did, I'd most likely tell you to piss off! - I'm just kidding! :-)) The people there are excellent, & really know their stuff, & not in a knobby way!
Another thing about Denmark Street, is the sheer volume of absolute time-wasters & tourists who go into those shops, so it's understandable to some degree, however small, that they may act a little more hostile initially. If you show you are genuinely interested, & not just in there to get a photo taken with a '58 Les Paul, then sometimes (& I do stress that word) you do actually get some very decent service. It happened to me a few times, & it did even the score between the good & bad experiences.
Razil, if you haven't got your gal a guitbox yet, its well worth a visit to the shop via the link above. Top notch people & fantastic after-service (oo-er) whenever you need!
You make some good points Stefco but I recommended a shop in the west end that I think provides a good service. In my experience the shops on Denmark St take the piss too often and deserve what they get. Sorry.
Knocked them down to web price, lovely guitar, has two channels/ stereo for a humbucker type pickup and conventional electro acoustic which you can blend, great morning bonding with the s daughter
I'm a keyboard player. Denmark gone downhill for keys. Not sure about guitars. Digital village worth checking out, even if just to compare prices and try out, then buy online. GAK in Brighton also good
Comments
I did my homework, and decided to look at a 2013 trad at Guitar Village in Surrey.
It took me 3 and a half hours to get there as the M25 was a slow moving car park with me just wanting to get there.
I really really wanted to love the guitar, but the damn thing left me completely cold. It was set up horribly and despite their reputation the sales bloke at Guitar Village was just not bothered, I felt like I had disturbed his afternoon tea.
I realised that the original JJ guitar I had at home was, for me at any rate, just a better guitar all round. I suppose the point I am trying to make is that the guitar that feels right for you irrespective of the make is the one you should buy.
And Denmark Street, go to a good local music shop some of these places are dying on their feet and once they're gone....
Enjoy whatever you get.....:-)
Its all eye candy
Anyway enough of that And as 3 blokes says check out your LOCAL store, you might get a better service and go home happy.
As far as actually needing a backline like that, as far as festivals go- some do some don't, depends on the music-very precise bands tend to mic up one amp and put it through the p.a. for clarity, others insist on using the backlines volume and just have the p.a. as 'sound reinforcement' like it was back in the 60's/70's before p.a's were loud enough for anything other than the vocals.
Of course some sound guys think the show is all about them, so there's often friction!
I'll bore off now...
Anyway one of the speakers caught fire in the garden where the band were and I recall putting it out with a can of lager, and arguing with someone about how to put out electrical fires - of course speakers don't have that kind of current going through them
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Good stuff mate! A great way to destroy the music retail industry in shop form! Soon there won't be any(or barely any) places you can actually go in & try stuff, because everyone else knows better, because they look/buy online.
I agree that there are some real twats in some of the Denmark Street shops, & some right rip-off merchants, but if you look around, & don't let those bell-ends tarnish your impressions of music stores, you can find some really good little shops with people who are really friendly, helpful & knowledgable, & can give good deals if you actually bothered to ask nicely.
Sorry to bitch, but I work in music retail, & I actually really enjoy it, & give a shit about what the customer actually desires. I ask them what they are into, what they are looking get with their sound, & do my very best to advise them of what they could go for to really give them what they need.
I'm not a muso who sits & shreds, in fact I prefer not to play for people, just show the bare minimum in terms of play/demo of features(depending on the product), & then let them get to grips with whatever instrument they choose, & let them see, feel & hear for themselves if it is the right fit, & giving them extra knowledge when they require it. I always try my best to give people the best information & deals possible, because I'm a "struggling musician" myself.
What you've got to realise that most of the people who work in those stores are human beings too, & are actually shoppers. We're not all there ready to suck your blood at the first opportunity.
Today, in the shop where I work, a guy wanted a drum kit for his 9 year old son. Turns out the dad already had an old kit, & after I asked him about it, & got all the details, told him that he didn't actually really need to buy a brand new one, because he needed a few replacement bits (snare, couple of cymbals & stands) to get it back up & running again. I saved him £300 between the cost of the above & the brand new kit, & he's actually got something better now than he would've, had he shelled out for the new one. Sure, I lost a bit of cash, but I'd never try & sell someone something they don't really need, & heaven forbid, something that is wrong for them, just to make a massive sale.
Sure, I probably haven't helped my business too much by not getting the extra £, but that guy has gone away happy, & his kid will be chuffed. There is nothing like seeing a kid get their first instrument too, & helping be a part of that, or a person who has never played an instrument, coming into it later than life. (An 87 year old Great-Grandmother buying a guitar because she finally had the time in her life to explore what had been a lifelong dream, was a truly wonderful & heart melting moment in my time so far!)
All shops know they have to be competitive in this now-now-faster-faster-cheaper-cheaper world we are in, so if you tell them of a web price, then they will most likely match or beat it, if it is a like-for-like business based in the same country.
What EVERYBODY HAS TO REMEMBER if you try a guitar/other instrument you really like in a shop, then decide to buy it online (without asking if the shop can match a price), the chances are you will end up with something that feels feels & sounds different to what you played, & you could end up disappointed, & also without warranty, if purchased from outside the country.
I hope this doesn't happen to you WMT, & I think it's a shame you would go into a shop, & try something & then bugger off home to buy it online without even giving the people the chance to alter the dismal perception you have on music shops in general (especially if it's a shop that you don't know, for example).
Don't tar everyone with the same brush mate. If you've got the inclination to actually go to a very decent music shop, & not waste their time, you should visit: www.drumshack.co.uk
Don't let the name fool you, they do an excellent range of guitars also, & many other instruments. They offer exemplary service & will give you very good deals if you enquire gracefully. (No, I don't work there, but if I did, I'd most likely tell you to piss off! - I'm just kidding! :-)) The people there are excellent, & really know their stuff, & not in a knobby way!
Another thing about Denmark Street, is the sheer volume of absolute time-wasters & tourists who go into those shops, so it's understandable to some degree, however small, that they may act a little more hostile initially. If you show you are genuinely interested, & not just in there to get a photo taken with a '58 Les Paul, then sometimes (& I do stress that word) you do actually get some very decent service. It happened to me a few times, & it did even the score between the good & bad experiences.
Razil, if you haven't got your gal a guitbox yet, its well worth a visit to the shop via the link above. Top notch people & fantastic after-service (oo-er) whenever you need!
In love with the epi ej200ce
You need a haircut by the way. ;-)
Normans in Eltham stock Lag Guitars, i'm going to have a butchers tomorrow.
Normans in Eltham stock Lag Guitars, i#m going to have a butchers tomorrow.