Is it just me

musicman100

is just me or do others on here that get disappointed with guitar shops in general when visiting a new city.
Maybe I’m just spoilt but still!!!!!
My last day in the beautiful city of Helsinki today so I thought I’d do a bit of guitar window shopping, what a load of crap. 

Not much choice n ridiculous prices?? 

That said i did play a lovely 5420 in gretsch orange which played great but not a €1100 guitar!!!!

thecolourbox

In fairness, Scandinavia is not the place to go for cheap stuff in general I think

musicman100

Tbh I have been paying nearly £10 for a pint of beer for two weeks so i guess €1100 for a gretsch electromatic must be a bargain, ha ha ha ha 

Philtre

musicman100 said:

Tbh I have been paying nearly £10 for a pint of beer for two weeks so i guess €1100 for a gretsch electromatic must be a bargain, ha ha ha ha 

Surely a modest cocaine habit would be cheaper?

wrinkleygit

Think yourself lucky you didn't visit Plymouth !!!

skunkwerx

Thats mad. 

I've got a mate out in Stockholm, who I've known for a few years online. 

We got talking over both having uploaded a few cky guitar videos to youtube. 

I keep meaning to go over and actually hang out for a weekend. I've got £50 of nectar points so I'm hoping that will help with the travel there! 

But the prices, I'd need a hotel for a few nights and gluten free food.. 

I've never looked into it properly, but I hear its expensive.. 

thegummy

I think with globalisation and the internet, it's basically just going to be the same stuff everywhere except the used guitars.

Won't be like it might have been in the old days where a new shop could mean seeing dozens of guitars you hadn't seen before or didn't know about.

Incidentally, I always liked walking past Kenny's Music in Glasgow as they tended to have really nice basses and high end Gibsons in the window to have a gawk at. The other day I walked past and they had a Harley motorbike for some bizarre reason and a couple of second hand Squiers!

guitars4you

The 2 largest markets for guitars in Europe are the UK and Germany - As such we have a larger selection of products and dealers - I know there is a street in Paris with a nice selection of vintage stores - Not visited it yet - So in such countries, with such a small population anyway, so even fewer who are interested in playing a guitar, don't expect to much

You can see why so many UK dealers sell guitars in to Scandinavia - I sold 2 last week alone - 1 to Sweden and 1 to Finland

Babones

I've found stock in UK shops uninspiring for a while now. It's not necessarily their fault. I blame the manufacturers really. It's either same old same old, or just completely wrong (referring to spec), nothing 'Wow, take my money!'

57Deluxe

I have Guitar Village and Andertons in my catchment so I never go anywhere else to red-brick browse

toescantalk

Wonder if Eastern Europe shops still have their cold war era guitars or they've all been ebayed. As some of them are very cool looking and might play nice too.

sev112

wrinkleygit said:

Think yourself lucky you didn't visit Plymouth !!!

I bought a guitar in a shop down by the port bit back in 1992. I guess that little shop has gone ?

prowla

Whenever I'm going somewhere I tend to check out what guitar shops there are.

prowla

57Deluxe said:

I have Guitar Village and Andertons in my catchment so I never go anywhere else to red-brick browse

I've never bought anything at Guitar Village, but have had some oddments (cases, Pedaltrain, EBS flats) from Andertons.

NelsonP

I was in the US last year with work and had to spend an evening on my own in Joliet, Illinois. 

So I went to the guitar centre there which was within walking distance of my hotel.

It was a thoroughly disappointing experience.

Maybe we're more spoiled with the guitar shops we have in the uk than we think.

Strat54

NelsonP said:

I was in the US last year with work and had to spend an evening on my own in Joliet, Illinois. 

So I went to the guitar centre there which was within walking distance of my hotel.

It was a thoroughly disappointing experience.

Maybe we're more spoiled with the guitar shops we have in the uk than we think.

Guitar Center are to blame for spreading that dull type of guitar shop around the globe, it happened here in the late 90's....every store seem to get the same refit with just grey metal bland walls and shelves ala Sound Control and their ilk. One by one the shops with character, dust and wood vanished as the corporate look spread....kind of like Debenhams with guitars.The kind of shops you don't want to linger in.Up north we have Reidys....a glass palace of huge propoertions and dullness where guitars are 20ft up off the floor.
 Nice to see though that some of the character shops like World and Guitar Village have survived. Refreshing also to visit some good old style stores in the US last year like Rudys, and Carmine St. The street in Paris with the guitar shops is okay too.

octatonic

toescantalk said:

Wonder if Eastern Europe shops still have their cold war era guitars or they've all been ebayed. As some of them are very cool looking and might play nice too.

They don't and they don't.

Wonky

Babones said:

I've found stock in UK shops uninspiring for a while now. It's not necessarily their fault. I blame the manufacturers really. It's either same old same old, or just completely wrong (referring to spec), nothing 'Wow, take my money!'

I find that there's generally nothing of interest in most guitar shops in the UK.  I simply find walls of Fenders and Gibsons boring to be honest.  Not that I don't like playing a good Strat or Lester or even a nice Ibanez for that matter, but I think that there's so much more out there. 
I get Pinterest emails every day that simply floor me with the beauty and ingenuity of guitar makers and only a very few are made by major manufactures.  I decided that from the end of last year I'm not gonna buy another off the shelf from a big maker any more, for this reason. 
If you play what everyone else plays you are only ever gonna sound like everyone else.
I bought a one off prototype guitar from a guy end of last year and it's really opened my eyes to what can be done with innovation and an absolute other level of quality that just isn't possible from any of the major manufactures.
I think maybe the problem is that guitarist in general are so resistant to moving on.  I visit many guitar forums regularly and the only thing that any one ever talks about is Strat's, Tele's and Lester's.  It's that constant focus on the past that stifles the instrument in many ways.  The thing most guitarists are interested in buying are from another era, not that they don't do the job of course, but it's that very thing that drives a stagnant industry.  Most guitarists are interested in buying a commodity rather than the best, most original and personal thing they could possibly have.  Music is an art, as is making an instrument, it's not and should never be an industry.  What happened to something special?
Just my opinion of course and I know it won't be popular, but I thought I'd say it anyway.
Apologies if I offend anyone

skullfunkerry

Wonky said:

Babones said:

I've found stock in UK shops uninspiring for a while now. It's not necessarily their fault. I blame the manufacturers really. It's either same old same old, or just completely wrong (referring to spec), nothing 'Wow, take my money!'

I find that there's generally nothing of interest in most guitar shops in the UK.  I simply find walls of Fenders and Gibsons boring to be honest.  Not that I don't like playing a good Strat or Lester or even a nice Ibanez for that matter, but I think that there's so much more out there. 
I get Pinterest emails every day that simply floor me with the beauty and ingenuity of guitar makers and only a very few are made by major manufactures.  I decided that from the end of last year I'm not gonna buy another off the shelf from a big maker any more, for this reason. 
If you play what everyone else plays you are only ever gonna sound like everyone else.
I bought a one off prototype guitar from a guy end of last year and it's really opened my eyes to what can be done with innovation and an absolute other level of quality that just isn't possible from any of the major manufactures.
I think maybe the problem is that guitarist in general are so resistant to moving on.  I visit many guitar forums regularly and the only thing that any one ever talks about is Strat's, Tele's and Lester's.  It's that constant focus on the past that stifles the instrument in many ways.  The thing most guitarists are interested in buying are from another era, not that they don't do the job of course, but it's that very thing that drives a stagnant industry.  Most guitarists are interested in buying a commodity rather than the best, most original and personal thing they could possibly have.  Music is an art, as is making an instrument, it's not and should never be an industry.  What happened to something special?
Just my opinion of course and I know it won't be popular, but I thought I'd say it anyway.
Apologies if I offend anyone

Gets a wis from me... can I see a picture of your guitar?

Bill_S

TAMCO in Brighton is an amazing shop if you are looking for a top end acoustic. So many guitars, and mandolins for that matter that you won’t find anywhere else in the UK. I wish I knew of an equivalent for electrics, but I don’t! 

Grocer_Jack

guitars4you said:

The 2 largest markets for guitars in Europe are the UK and Germany - As such we have a larger selection of products and dealers - I know there is a street in Paris with a nice selection of vintage stores - Not visited it yet - So in such countries, with such a small population anyway, so even fewer who are interested in playing a guitar, don't expect to much

You can see why so many UK dealers sell guitars in to Scandinavia - I sold 2 last week alone - 1 to Sweden and 1 to Finland

That street in Paris near Montmartre is bloody amazing! I was there last year and will hopefully be back soon. There's also a pedal shop nearby with the front windows shaped like a giant pedal.