Widest choice of acoustics in the UK

bertie

just checked the Frailers website,  pretty good,  if you want a Martin................. disappointingly not a great deal else,  100+ Martins,  a few Taylors, 4 Lowdens,  couple of Gibsons and a Santa Cruz  and some cheaper stuff

ToneControl

bertie said:

just checked the Frailers website,  pretty good,  if you want a Martin................. disappointingly not a great deal else,  100+ Martins,  a few Taylors, 4 Lowdens,  couple of Gibsons and a Santa Cruz  and some cheaper stuff

I'm seeing 30 Gibsons

bertie

ToneControl said:

bertie said:

just checked the Frailers website,  pretty good,  if you want a Martin................. disappointingly not a great deal else,  100+ Martins,  a few Taylors, 4 Lowdens,  couple of Gibsons and a Santa Cruz  and some cheaper stuff

I'm seeing 30 Gibsons

OK,  still heavily weighted to Martin tho..............  I couldnt see any Larrys sadly -  but TBH I didnt look that closely cos the amount of Martins were hurting my eyes and taking my soul  

ToneControl

bertie said:

ToneControl said:

bertie said:

just checked the Frailers website,  pretty good,  if you want a Martin................. disappointingly not a great deal else,  100+ Martins,  a few Taylors, 4 Lowdens,  couple of Gibsons and a Santa Cruz  and some cheaper stuff

I'm seeing 30 Gibsons

OK,  still heavily weighted to Martin tho..............  I couldnt see any Larrys sadly -  but TBH I didnt look that closely cos the amount of Martins were hurting my eyes and taking my soul  

yeah, he used to have more variety before the crackdown on rosewood imports

bertie

ToneControl said:

yeah, he used to have more variety before the crackdown on rosewood imports

such a f****ng shame..........................

bertie

* double post *

ESBlonde

Coda in hitchin have a decent acoustic loft with some small makers featured.

tomjax

bertie said:

just checked the Frailers website,  pretty good,  if you want a Martin................. disappointingly not a great deal else,  100+ Martins,  a few Taylors, 4 Lowdens,  couple of Gibsons and a Santa Cruz  and some cheaper stuff

I was in there just before Christmas and I’ve never seen so many Gibsons in one store, used and new. They definitely way outnumbered the Martins available.

it was my first time in the store.  Got talking with Frank, the owner, he’s quite a character with plenty of stories to share, though sadly not in the best of health. 

Definitely worth a visit, not many stores like that left in the UK now.

Snags

ESBlonde said:

Coda in hitchin have a decent acoustic loft with some small makers featured.

Worth bearing in mind that they're actually in Old Stevenage, and have separate premises for acoustic vs electric. Both in the old town though. 

Hitchin used to have Machinehead, long gone. And John Myatt for more classical stuff. 

artiebear

No such store ( I wish there was ). Do you want the usual ( used = smelly / new = less smelly ) choice of Martin"s and Gibson"s,
that have been traded in because a) it's a dog or b) it's ok but been bought/abused by an idiot who had no idea how to cope with a decent guitar. ?
Beyond that, it's a roll of the dice.

The answer is to narrow down what you are looking for ( to some extent ) re tone|( what is that until you are what you perceive ?) , body size, etc. Then throw in budget. After that look at stores with a few guitars to check out Repeat and rinse until you get a shortlist, then work out why. 

Adamski

Peach have by far the biggest collection of Acoustic (and electric) guitars in the UK. It's not even close IMO. IF you haven't been to their place since they moved in to the massive warehouse in Colchester then it's basically like a Willy Wonka for guitars, that's the only way I can describe it. 

randella

tomjax said:

bertie said:

just checked the Frailers website,  pretty good,  if you want a Martin................. disappointingly not a great deal else,  100+ Martins,  a few Taylors, 4 Lowdens,  couple of Gibsons and a Santa Cruz  and some cheaper stuff

I was in there just before Christmas and I’ve never seen so many Gibsons in one store, used and new. They definitely way outnumbered the Martins available.

it was my first time in the store.  Got talking with Frank, the owner, he’s quite a character with plenty of stories to share, though sadly not in the best of health. 

Definitely worth a visit, not many stores like that left in the UK now.

I'll third, or fourth, Frailers. That's where my HD-28 came from. The owner was pleasant, treated me like an adult - basically gave me the run of the shop and told me to pick up and play what I fancied. Felt like the kind of guitar shop that's all but disappeared these days.

Shop stock is funny since Corona - places that used to hold a wide variety now with only a handful of midrange Fenders on the wall. It seems to be recovering a bit but, at the time, Frailers was the only place remotely nearby that had anything like a good selection.

guitarjack66

randella said:

tomjax said:

bertie said:

just checked the Frailers website,  pretty good,  if you want a Martin................. disappointingly not a great deal else,  100+ Martins,  a few Taylors, 4 Lowdens,  couple of Gibsons and a Santa Cruz  and some cheaper stuff

I was in there just before Christmas and I’ve never seen so many Gibsons in one store, used and new. They definitely way outnumbered the Martins available.

it was my first time in the store.  Got talking with Frank, the owner, he’s quite a character with plenty of stories to share, though sadly not in the best of health. 

Definitely worth a visit, not many stores like that left in the UK now.

I'll third, or fourth, Frailers. That's where my HD-28 came from. The owner was pleasant, treated me like an adult - basically gave me the run of the shop and told me to pick up and play what I fancied. Felt like the kind of guitar shop that's all but disappeared these days.

Shop stock is funny since Corona - places that used to hold a wide variety now with only a handful of midrange Fenders on the wall. It seems to be recovering a bit but, at the time, Frailers was the only place remotely nearby that had anything like a good selection.

I will have to try Frailers again as it simply doesnt sound like the shop I went into a couple of times.

artiebear

guitarjack66 said:

randella said:

tomjax said:

bertie said:

just checked the Frailers website,  pretty good,  if you want a Martin................. disappointingly not a great deal else,  100+ Martins,  a few Taylors, 4 Lowdens,  couple of Gibsons and a Santa Cruz  and some cheaper stuff

I was in there just before Christmas and I’ve never seen so many Gibsons in one store, used and new. They definitely way outnumbered the Martins available.

it was my first time in the store.  Got talking with Frank, the owner, he’s quite a character with plenty of stories to share, though sadly not in the best of health. 

Definitely worth a visit, not many stores like that left in the UK now.

I'll third, or fourth, Frailers. That's where my HD-28 came from. The owner was pleasant, treated me like an adult - basically gave me the run of the shop and told me to pick up and play what I fancied. Felt like the kind of guitar shop that's all but disappeared these days.

Shop stock is funny since Corona - places that used to hold a wide variety now with only a handful of midrange Fenders on the wall. It seems to be recovering a bit but, at the time, Frailers was the only place remotely nearby that had anything like a good selection.

I will have to try Frailers again as it simply doesnt sound like the shop I went into a couple of times.

Once upon a time I would have agreed. Have you checked the current  stock online ? Doesn't sound great.

ToneControl

artiebear said:

guitarjack66 said:

randella said:

tomjax said:

bertie said:

just checked the Frailers website,  pretty good,  if you want a Martin................. disappointingly not a great deal else,  100+ Martins,  a few Taylors, 4 Lowdens,  couple of Gibsons and a Santa Cruz  and some cheaper stuff

I was in there just before Christmas and I’ve never seen so many Gibsons in one store, used and new. They definitely way outnumbered the Martins available.

it was my first time in the store.  Got talking with Frank, the owner, he’s quite a character with plenty of stories to share, though sadly not in the best of health. 

Definitely worth a visit, not many stores like that left in the UK now.

I'll third, or fourth, Frailers. That's where my HD-28 came from. The owner was pleasant, treated me like an adult - basically gave me the run of the shop and told me to pick up and play what I fancied. Felt like the kind of guitar shop that's all but disappeared these days.

Shop stock is funny since Corona - places that used to hold a wide variety now with only a handful of midrange Fenders on the wall. It seems to be recovering a bit but, at the time, Frailers was the only place remotely nearby that had anything like a good selection.

I will have to try Frailers again as it simply doesnt sound like the shop I went into a couple of times.

Once upon a time I would have agreed. Have you checked the current  stock online ? Doesn't sound great.

surely still different to other shops, and where else is comparable in the north west?

TheMadMick

Why has no one mentioned Promenade Music in Morecambe? Maybe not stuffed with Martins and Gibbos but they have quite a range of quality and mid priced guitars.

randella

guitarjack66 said:

randella said:

I'll third, or fourth, Frailers. That's where my HD-28 came from. The owner was pleasant, treated me like an adult - basically gave me the run of the shop and told me to pick up and play what I fancied. Felt like the kind of guitar shop that's all but disappeared these days.

Shop stock is funny since Corona - places that used to hold a wide variety now with only a handful of midrange Fenders on the wall. It seems to be recovering a bit but, at the time, Frailers was the only place remotely nearby that had anything like a good selection.

I will have to try Frailers again as it simply doesnt sound like the shop I went into a couple of times.

@guitarjack66 - oh no, now the pressure’s on! Don’t kill me if it disappoints again!

Smellyfingers

I don't know if it's been mentioned but guitar guitar are the biggest retailer in the UK.

You can ask to sample any guitar from their chain in one shop location, the proviso is you have pay a 10% deposit on each instrument for them to collect them together for you, but my understanding is this is refundable.

Mellish

@Smellyfingers ; - that's right, it is refundable, or they'll take it off a purchase  

ToneControl

Smellyfingers said:

I don't know if it's been mentioned but guitar guitar are the biggest retailer in the UK.

You can ask to sample any guitar from their chain in one shop location, the proviso is you have pay a 10% deposit on each instrument for them to collect them together for you, but my understanding is this is refundable.

any idea why they have no store in the Liverpool-Manchester Area?