London Bass shops

[King of Loss]

Alright, I'm going to London on Wednesday for a week and I want to get around a few of the bass stores while I am there. I am thinking about visiting

The Bass Centre
The Gallery
Denmark Street


Is there anywhere else I should think about checking out?

Also, anyone know of any decent events going on from this Wednesday to the next Wed? I'm already going to a masterclass with the Jamiroquai band, and to a couple of other things.........but I'll have some spare time so if there's anything worth checking out, it'd be cool to know.

Cheers.......I think there was a thread about this on the old bassworld forums but I couldn't find one here

[Geejay]

Hi,
Have a good trip.
Possibly Ivor Mairants (mainly guitars but he used to have a few basses). Chappels (no longer on Bond Street now Wardour Street Soho) mainly Yamaha basses but a good selection of sheet music, books etc. Foyles bookshop has a good selection of music books, Turnkey on Charing Cross Road, Soundcontrol on Oxford Street, and a couple of other seond hand instrument shops near Denmark Street but I can't remember their names. I used to take my daughter to London every Saturday and walk round them all. Happy to give directions if required. They are all within a few minutes walk of each other and Denmark Street.


Geejay

[Platypus]

As Geejay has already mentioned - Sound Control in the basement of the Virgin Megastore, corner of Oxford st. and Tottenham Court rd. is always worth a visit. I know they get a lot of stick for not be very knowledgeable about the basses, however they have a very decent stock and you could stay there all day playing different basses and nobody would care/notice. From memory they have all the Musicman range, including the H, HH, HJ ones, big selection of Fenders, Yamaha, Spector including the high end US made ones, plus various other makes. Amp include Ashdown, Trace and Mesa In my experience they also price match with any Internet price you quote. Just don't expect in dept advise....

[Oxblood]

Just to sound a negative note...

If you're doing Denmark St., by all means pop your head into the Bass Cellar, but don't expect to get a welcome or anything approaching actual service. They're a bunch of idiots, and everything in there is vastly overpriced.

[url="http://www.wunjoguitars.com"]Wunjo Guitars[/url], OTOH, have a nice little assortment of new and 2nd hand bass gear, and are very friendly.

[King of Loss]

[quote name='Oxblood' post='14602' date='Jun 9 2007, 01:27 PM']If you're doing Denmark St., by all means pop your head into the Bass Cellar, but don't expect to get a welcome or anything approaching actual service. They're a bunch of idiots, and everything in there is vastly overpriced.[/quote]
I know what you mean. I've been before, not exactly the most caring/helpful staff in the world....

[Happy Jack]

+1 on Wunjo's - Brian's a really nice guy, too.

Don't forget Macari's on Charing Cross Road, main dealers for Hofner and Dean, and still run by actual members of the actual Macari family. When they say "where the Beatles shopped", they're not joking. Anthony Macari is another pretty genuine guy.

Chris Bryant Guitars, now on the corner of Denmark Street and Charing Cross Road, are another nice bunch of people, but their basses are strictly low-end (no pun intended) stuff. If you're happy with Crafter and Westfield (no sneer intended - nothing wrong with cheap, well-made gear) then they're worth a visit.

[kevbass]

Wouldnt bother with the bass centre, a fair bit of stock granted but crap customer service since Dan left.

[Platypus]

I think anyone walking into the Bass Cellar, would get a shock if they'd seen the ad's they run in Bass Guitar magazine. Think they would be expecting a sizable shop and stock - it’s definitely not for the claustrophobic. Then again they probally wouldn't be expecting a shop with Cellar in the name to be at ground level....

[Nick80]

+1 on the Bass Centre comment. Don't waste your time there, go to the Gallery, it's a great shop! Alex is a great bloke and they have an impressive selection of basses there.

[krazy_olie]

The bass cellar is fine if you go n a weekday IMO. Mostly overpriced but I got a good deal there.

[dave_bass5]

[quote name='krazy_olie' post='14848' date='Jun 9 2007, 11:33 PM']The bass cellar is fine if you go n a weekday IMO. Mostly overpriced but I got a good deal there.[/quote]

And if you do go be aware that it always looks shut. you need to press the buzzer to get in.
Alex is a good bloke to deal with but they do seem to have mostly higher end gear there.
totally the opposite of the Bass Centre IMHO.
And i have got to agree with the other poster, since Dan left (and before he was there) service and attitude form some of the staff isn't great