Ben in the Big City


I had occasion to travel to London yesterday to put some money down on a new amp (more on this later), and with the few hours I had spare I took a trip to Denmark Street, London’s famous home of the guitar. I’ve heard many different opinions on the quality of the shops but it’s impossible to dispute the quality of their instruments:

 

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Note some serious high-end Ibanez and ESP guitars! This is with my back to the dozen Les Pauls lined up above the counter.

 

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Custom Shop V and refin Explorer for stupid money.

 

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The most gorgeous Telecaster I’ve ever seen.

 

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Delicious FX. Even these high-end shops seem to be all over Mooer pedals.

 

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1979 LP Custom that very nearly caused me to make a Bad Financial Decision. Luckily I decided to eat and pay rent instead, but it was a close call!

 

All these pictures were taken in “Hank’s”, which I have to say was by far the best shop on the street. They had the nicest gear, the least ridiculous prices (though fairly optimistically priced) and decent guys working there. Every other shop had ludicrously over-priced gear (case in point being Vintage & Rare trying to sell a Westone Thunder 1 with a broken switch and replacement knobs for £395. I mean, seriously??), and keen assistants who only want “serious buyers” to touch their stuff.

 

Denmark Street is a great place to visit and you may find a real treasure, but I would advise anyone looking for a new or reasonably-priced guitar to look elsewhere.

 

Stay tuned for what I DID bring back from London 😀

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