Thought I’d start a thread on what’s your favourite guitar shop and why. This came about from a discussion on facebook about strings and string technique.
The Guitar Repairers is my favourite because it’s very unique / eclectic. There’s another shop in Brisbane that I really like because their service is excellent and friends of mine work there (Guitar Brothers). Guitar brothers didn’t laugh at me like other shops when I asked about hooking up a blue tooth speaker to my acoustic travel guitar. Instead they put me onto a vox headphone amp which does the job perfectly. But I digress.
I bought a 1927 Harmony parlor guitar from The Guitar Repairers back in 2014 and a scrap-o-caster (fender knockup from bits and pieces) a few years later. The guy who runs Guitar Repairers is a fascinating character as you’ll see in this video.
Looks like a great little setup at Red Hill. Would love to get up there from NSW one day and check it out. How much does that guy remind you of John Lennon ? Sounds like a good bloke too.
Cheers, Shane
Nearest shop was next to useless when I took one of my acoustics in for a set up, they said they’d get the local guitar teacher to look at it, no onsite tech !!. He said it was ok, despite the action being in the K2 region ! Decent shop in Rennes an hour away but that’s been a covid hotspot and I now have questions about their technician, who cut some of my nuts too low. Ooer missus !
So store wise its an online trip to Germany and Thomann, very few disappointments over the year but a good warranty service and no quibble 30 day money back system. Turnaround from order to doorstep normally 5 days.
But when it comes to repairs, I found this guy 7 minutes up the road from me working out of his home. Been playing for 40 odd years and building bespoke guitars for 30+ and his prices are reasonable and competitive with shops in the region. He’s a Geordie but has been over here for quite some time.
I’m stuck shopping online for all my guitar needs because locally the selection is extremely limited to say the least. My quick rating of shops I’ve had experience with:
5/5: good selection although some big brands are missing (Martin!), great customer service and quick shipping. Great return policy, never hesitant to shop there.
4/5: my guitar arrived in horrible condition but it’s on the manufacturer so I don’t blame the shop. The return policy is great and they took it back no questions asked. Would order again.
1/5: Got a Harmony Juno from the recently and it had both really bad fret sprout and enormous oxidation on the frets which means the guitar was kept in the worst possible conditions. Ended up fixing it up and keeping it because I’m in love with the damn thing. Definitely not buying there again.
?/5: I have a little something on the way from there so review pending but it did take them a full week to ship it out - probably means they were doing a thorough inspection and meticulous setup right guys? Right?
Amazon (any country)
0/5: never buy guitars from Amazon.
I don’t really have what I can call favourite locally, there are some “big name” ones but I’ve not really found them very good. So for choice I would travel to “Richards Guitars” because despite some people being derogatory about him he really is a genuine guy and does stock some great guitars.
Hi Roger, Yes, that’s a very key piece of information. For international buyers, I think their website is very informative and individually photographing the guitars gives that personal selection feeling. They also qualify check each guitar and professional set-up before dispatch. You should check out their YouTube channel.
I immediately started looking,…until now, take a break…am on page 18 of the electric guitars section…I only want 2,7 kg or lower, so the search is going fast…Found one PRS verry quick,but i started price high first …so I would like to look further
not a big fan of such a model, but it must be super light, but of course the weight is not there, … I’ll be busy for a while
Edit:found a variant weighing 2.44 kg (5.6 LBS)
In case anyone is interested … the guitar looks a bit handicapped … but yes, those are sometimes the nicest …
In Australia, I’ve bought my 3 guitars, and most of everything else from Artist Guitars in Sydney. All 3 guitars are made by them. They have an excellent reputation, and their service is beyond brilliant. For someone relatively new to the guitar world, I feel fortunate to have found them. The quality of their guitars is brilliant and the prices are low. I can’t recall ever seeing a poor review from a customer.
Locally, I have a great guitar shop, friendly guys, who’ve done setups for me, and their not elitist, like some guitar shops I’ve been in.
The local shop I use in Portsmouth, NH USA ( https://garysguitars.biz/ ) sells new and used gear and does tech work on guitars, amps and other string instruments. The primary people there are musicians, they are competent techs, helpful and laid back. It is easy to just go in and try things out. They host a weekly live stream, “Guitar Talk - Gary’s Guitars Weekly Q & A and Guitar Hang Out”, on YT where they talk guitars, amps, pedals, music history, whatever, largely driven by audience input. It’s informal, informative, fun and there are often local musician guests.
It’s a small shop so when there is something I need/want that they don’t have I use Sweetwater.
Amazon or monoprice.com, it’s a toss up. Free shipping and a good return policy is about all I need. My gear requirements are pretty straight forward. I liken guitar shops to the record stores of yore.
Sounds like a good bloke too.
…so I would like to look further 
