Denmark Street

Haych

I spent the weekend in London with Mrs Haych since we'd booked tickets to see Tedeschi Trucks on the Saturday night, and it's a significant distance enough from home to not want to bother doing London and back in one day.

While I was there I thought I'd take the opportunity to visit Denmark Street and all the guitar shops.

So, I did.

How disappointing!

Nothing really out of the ordinary.  Not a fantastic choice, most shops didn't have much stock even,  and the same stuff you can buy pretty much anywhere but at inflated London prices.  Not much used or vintage gear at all - Hank's had some interesting stuff but nothing extraordinary and still very overpriced.

I went armed with my credit-card and told myself that if I saw something I really wanted I'd just treat myself. 

My credit card balance remains zero.

Still, at least I can say that I've been there and done that, even if I didn't buy the T-shirt (Denmark Street T-shirts were on sale!).

darius

 It was good in the 80s when I couldn't afford anything.

crunchman

Denmark Street was good when i first moved to London 30 years ago.

These days you are better off going elsewhere.  If you have a car, Guitar Village, Andertons and the Epsom Guitar Guitar are all within a half an hour or so drive of each other.

Haych

darius said:

 It was good in the 80s when I couldn't afford anything.

Internet kills the high street store to the tune of The Buggles!

crunchman

Haych said:

darius said:

 It was good in the 80s when I couldn't afford anything.

Internet kills the high street store to the tune of The Buggles!

Denmark Street was going downhill way before internet shopping took off.

Haych

Fair enough. I don’t do London very often (although might have to change that as otherwise had a blast) so wouldn’t really know. 

It’s one of those fabled places you hear about and attach a degree of romanticism to before you’ve set foot near the place. 

Fuengi

I went there for the firs time a couple of weeks ago, it was a hot day and there were lots of guys leaning in doorways, smoking a fag and doing deals over the phone. Not for me, I just did a bit of window shopping.

Whitecat

I still like Wunjo and stop in there most times I’m in the hood. Their prices are pretty aggressive now - the building work-slash-online competition must be really hammering them. 

Dontgiveupyourdayjob

Haych said:

Fair enough. I don’t do London very often (although might have to change that as otherwise had a blast) so wouldn’t really know. 

It’s one of those fabled places you hear about and attach a degree of romanticism to before you’ve set foot near the place. 

I had a very similar experience back in November - was down in London with the wife, and was all excited to go to Denmark St while she was at a work meeting thing on the afternoon. The shops just seemed cramped, too busy, no great difference in selection from my local GG/PMT in Newcastle, and the sales staff seemed overly attentive/desperate for a sale.

Probably a tale of having too-high expectations when I think about it, but can't see myself returning any time soon.

Stevepage

You're about 15 years too late

ChuckManual

I did this on Saturday too (same reason as well; Tedeschi Trucks) ...and, as much as the general state of the street is pretty awful (thanks to the seemingly never-ending redevelopment of the area), I've got to say, No.Tom Guitars remains a place that's always worth a visit.

Haych

ChuckManual said:

I did this on Saturday too (same reason as well; Tedeschi Trucks) ...and, as much as the general state of the street is pretty awful (thanks to the seemingly never-ending redevelopment of the area), I've got to say, No.Tom Guitars remains a place that's always worth a visit.

Ha! A small world indeed (on an even smaller street). There’s every chance we might have been mooching around Denmark Street at the same time!

terada

I've been going to Denmark street for over 20 years. Bought my first guitars there. 

Over those 20 years it has fallen apart. Over priced, pretentious feel, low stock often shared between the stores, very poor after sales support, often sales advice is completely misleading (if you don't let on you know your stuff), and stores so small you have no space to try anything without annoying others/hearing what you're playing over someone else's wailing.

Yet I still go back every couple of months just to see whats happening in the hope it'll turn around. I always leave nostalgic for the place it used to be, and disappointed in the place it has become. 

Clecko

I work a short walk from Denmark Street and have bought my fair share of stuff from them over the years. Some of the pricing is high compared to online deals, but everyone price matches and isn't afraid of telling you that. I've kind of run the gamut with that street, from loving it when I first lived in London back around 2000, to hating everything about it 10 years ago, to really liking having it down the road just now. But it is not the Mecca.

I tend to think that most of the pretentiousness is gone, there are always - always - interesting things to root out (though the vintage stuff is often ridiculously expensive and I believe there are shops with a reputation for selling the same thing from the same player multiple times, so caveat emptor on that...), but overall I declare Denmark Street to be on the side of good. 

If anyone is travelling a long way just to visit Denmark Street, there's going to be some dissonance as it's mythologised and romanticised so much - especially at the moment with all of the building work, shops in temporary accommodation and so forth. 

Jimbro66

Stevepage said:

You're about 15 years too late

^^ This!  -  at least.

There was a time when Charing Cross Road and Shaftesbury Avenue were the guitarists' Mecca. Now I think there is only Macaris left. These places all have their day.

peteri

I've got a better selection than Denmark Street, and live closer to the Palladium, could have saved yourself a walk

Henrytwang

I used to visit the Denmark St area back in the 60s. The prices were high back then, (£120 for a 330), but there was an amazing number of great guitars available. In recent years visits have been disappointing , very overpriced old guitars and new guitars that I can buy elsewhere a lot cheaper.

peteri

I think since the 90's/early 2000s it's been on a slow, painful fall to where it is today.

I enjoy Notom (although not the prices) - but really the era ended long ago when Soho Soundhouse closed, not saying it was an amazing shop, but at that time there was a full street, full of guitars - now half the street is shut or a cafe.

Stevepage

^loved Soho roundhouse, they always had great guitars in. Bit like guitarguitar is now really

SouthpawMark

I had a similar visit last week. That said, Regent Sounds did have the pedal I wanted, and I was thrilled to be able to give them my business. Shops like Andertons and GuitarGuitar will eventually put them out of business. Not just because they’re bigger shops, but because they do interweb shopping infinitely better than the Denmark St shops.  

springhead

It’s a sad shadow of its former self. The shops have been hit by money grabbing landlords trousering big rent increases on the back of the cross rail development hitting the north side of the street. Plus all the Harrison’s Music Ground crime hasn’t helped.  You used to be able to go there, plus Soundhouse, Turnkey and Maccari’s nearby and see a great selection of kit and haggle for a deal. I’ve been recording in our drummers studio today with the Strat I bought in 1987 in the long since gone Boogie’s in Denmark St when I first moved to London. Got that one on a good deal with a hardcase too!