Bristol music/bass shops????

[bubinga5]

Hey people. Can anyone tell me the best music shops in Bristol. Im talking higher end basses, if possible. I know Jam guitars. Just wondered if there were any others i should check out??

Thanks.

[bottomfeed]

Bristol's never been that good for music shops.... since [i]Sound Control[/i] got their teeth in & blew the smaller places out the water...

Electric Ladyland has been going for years in Old market if your looking for vintage instruments

Mickelburgh's in Stokes Croft has a Warwick dealership (the Basement)

& I guess it's worth checking out what Reverb (ex sound control) has to offer in it's clearance sale...

[Bass-ic]

Oh Blimey!
I struggled, and i mean really struggled to get help with the purchase of a bass. I cant beleive that it was so hard to get basic help. In teh end i went with an Ibanez from the Drum centre on the gloucester rd simply because the gut pluggged it in and said, hey , you can do this with it.
The chap from mickleburgh was ok, but not brilliant.
Sound control just used to ignore me because i wasnt looking at a Fender, and because i was a beginner.
Eugene was the best by far , be he had moved on when i finallywas ready to make a choice.
His ex boss stated that he thought all guitar shops will be shut in the next year simply because Fender will put them all out of business!
I looked at jam, but there was nothing for me in there, and the shop up the street had very little choice.
I really wish there was a good music shop in Bristol.
God knows what would happen if I wanted a decent bass.
Matt

[Mr. Foxen]

Mickleburgh tried to sell me a guitar lead when I asked for a speaker lead cause 'it would be fine.' Unimpressed. Drumbank are definitely more helpful and I've made most of my purchases there. I wouldn't listen to much Rikkaxxe Rich says, he's pretty annoying and up himself.

[OldGit]

[quote name='Absolute-beginner' post='256577' date='Aug 6 2008, 06:31 PM']Oh Blimey!
I struggled, and i mean really struggled to get help with the purchase of a bass. I cant beleive that it was so hard to get basic help. In teh end i went with an Ibanez from the Drum centre on the gloucester rd simply because the gut pluggged it in and said, hey , you can do this with it.
The chap from mickleburgh was ok, but not brilliant.
Sound control just used to ignore me because i wasnt looking at a Fender, and because i was a beginner.
Eugene was the best by far , be he had moved on when i finallywas ready to make a choice.
His ex boss stated that he thought all guitar shops will be shut in the next year simply because Fender will put them all out of business!
I looked at jam, but there was nothing for me in there, and the shop up the street had very little choice.
I really wish there was a good music shop in Bristol.
God knows what would happen if I wanted a decent bass.
Matt[/quote]


Oh stop whingeing you Bristol people!

You have about 10 guitar shops, independants, a famous vintage emporium, a specialist shop dealing in totally high end guitars who can get you exotica, a Warwick main dealer dealer (also Peavey and Fender last time I was in there), a Sound Control/reverb, and a bunch of others who will try hard for you and you are moaning????
Not Bristol Uni Students are you?


Get real and do what everyone else has to do .... buy off the web or get in your car and drive to Bass Direct in the midlands, (about 2 hours, maximum, from stokes croft,) the Gallery in London (2 hours drive) or the bass merchant in deepest Essex (Ok a bit further but still only 3.5 hours away)

Some people don't know they are born ,... kids these days .. etc

Edited August 6, 2008 by OldGit

[Bass-ic]

[quote name='OldGit' post='256719' date='Aug 6 2008, 09:01 PM']Oh stop whingeing you Bristol people!

You have about 10 guitar shops, independants, a famous vintage emporium, a specialist shop dealing in totally high end guitars who can get you exotica, a Warwick main dealer dealer (also Peavey and Fender last time I was in there), a Sound Control/reverb, and a bunch of others who will try hard for you and you are moaning????
Not Bristol Uni Students are you?


Get real and do what everyone else has to do .... buy off the web or get in your car and drive to Bass Direct in the midlands, (about 2 hours, maximum, from stokes croft,) the Gallery in London (2 hours drive) or the bass merchant in deepest Essex (Ok a bit further but still only 3.5 hours away)

Some people don't know they are born ,... kids these days .. etc[/quote]

youre missing the point, what we want is honesty and a decent amount of info. Granted, the shops are there, what we want is decent bloody service, and whats more CHOICE!
kids yerself, im too bloody old to put up with sh*t from meatheads after my hard earned cash!
matt

[WILD FROG SHOT]

I went into reverb yesterday, and not that I'm suggesting for one second that you actually buy anything from there, but their bass stock is much better than it has been for the past year or so.

Depends how high end you're looking really. They (obviously) had quite a few fenders (mainly USA P's, Jazzes and a Jag) and a few signature models. They also had about 5 or 6 musicman's.

[Rich]

[quote name='OldGit' post='256719' date='Aug 6 2008, 09:01 PM']Oh stop whingeing you Bristol people![/quote]Oh bog off, Taff

[Kev]

i walked into reverb last week whilst staff were engaging in a bit of football with what looked like a pack of strap locks...

[Bass-ic]

I rest my case.

[OldGit]

[quote name='Absolute-beginner' post='257048' date='Aug 7 2008, 11:22 AM']youre missing the point, what we want is honesty and a decent amount of info. Granted, the shops are there, what we want is decent bloody service, and whats more CHOICE!
kids yerself, im too bloody old to put up with sh*t from meatheads after my hard earned cash!
matt[/quote]


Oh sorry ...

Well we all want that and it does seem to be a bit hard to get that kind of service the first time you go into any music store, judging by the post on this forum.

What choices are you looking for?

I think we have to be realistic and be grateful we have those three bass specialists in the UK.
Times is 'ard in music retail ...

[OldGit]

[quote name='Rich' post='257124' date='Aug 7 2008, 12:38 PM']Oh bog off, Taff [/quote]

Ha ha Thanks.
So how [b]are[/b] the music shops in Nailsea?

[Rich]

You mean how [b]is[/b] the music shop, singular. That'd be the one that relies on the school market of descant recorders and 3/4 size classical guitars in order to survive. Last time I went in, the most exotic electric instrument they had was an entry-level Yamaha Pacifica. The folks who run it are nice people, but it ain't our kind of shop.

[alexclaber]

I see Treblerock is no more. What about the place that was opposite it? Also gone?

Alex

[bottomfeed]

[quote name='alexclaber' post='258010' date='Aug 8 2008, 12:45 PM']I see Treblerock is no more. What about the place that was opposite it? Also gone?

Alex[/quote]

Wow!... the place opposite was 'Pro Music'.... now that was a long time ago!

[aceuggy]

Has anyone checked out Holmes Music Store in Swindon?

[url="http://www.holmesmusic.co.uk/"]http://www.holmesmusic.co.uk/[/url]

[BassBunny]

[quote name='BassManKev' post='257127' date='Aug 7 2008, 12:41 PM']i walked into reverb last week whilst staff were engaging in a bit of football with what looked like a pack of strap locks...[/quote]
Those must be the missing ones from my Spector......

[elom]

[quote name='OldGit' post='256719' date='Aug 6 2008, 09:01 PM']Get real and do what everyone else has to do .... buy off the web or get in your car and drive to Bass Direct in the midlands, (about 2 hours, maximum, from stokes croft,) the Gallery in London (2 hours drive) or the bass merchant in deepest Essex (Ok a bit further but still only 3.5 hours away)[/quote]

Mansons in Exeter is about 1.5 hours away. Good range of kit including high end stuff and great service. Also +1 for Bass Direct.

[TheRev]

[quote name='bottomfeed' post='258325' date='Aug 8 2008, 05:10 PM']Wow!... the place opposite was 'Pro Music'.... now that was a long time ago![/quote]


Ah, Pro Music, what a great shop that was - good gear and helpful and knowledgeable staff. I bought my first 'proper' bass there. Good times

*sniff*

The Welsh bloke's right though, there are a lot of guitar shops in Bristol for its size so we should be grateful for what we've got. No, you're not going to be able to try a top end Lakland or a Fodera or whatever but those are niche instruments and no music shop, outside of a bass specialist, could be expected to stock a handful of 1.5K+ basses on the off chance someone wanted to buy one. Could you imagine what would happen to a top drawer bass in somewhere like Reverb? Doesn't bear thinking about.

Anyway, I quite like the chase of hunting down 'that' bass. What could be more fun that driving to somewhere like the Bass Merchant with a big stack of cash and all day to play whatever bass takes your fancy?

[Rich]

[quote name='TheRev' post='259149' date='Aug 10 2008, 10:33 AM']The Welsh bloke's right though[/quote]Nooooooo... don't tell him that, or we'll never hear the last of it... :lol:

[alexclaber]

[quote name='bottomfeed' post='258325' date='Aug 8 2008, 05:10 PM']Wow!... the place opposite was 'Pro Music'.... now that was a long time ago![/quote]

I remember trying out lots of Warwicks there - though when I came to buy one I got lucky and acquired an '87 Streamer for a song privately!

I got my first bass and amp from the secondhand guitar shop futher along St Michael's Hill opposite Tyndalls Road (IIRC) which then moved to Gloucester Road and then mysteriously vanished.

Alex

[OldGit]

[quote name='TheRev' post='259149' date='Aug 10 2008, 10:33 AM']The Welsh bloke's right though,[/quote]

Hey Watch it ..
I'm a Gloucetershire bloke

I just live here

[TheRev]

[quote name='OldGit' post='259789' date='Aug 11 2008, 11:11 AM']Hey Watch it ..
I'm a Gloucetershire bloke

I just live here [/quote]

Sorry... It's that Rich bloke - he stirs things up. Bloody Wurzel......

[TheRev]

[quote name='alexclaber' post='259740' date='Aug 11 2008, 10:05 AM']I remember trying out lots of Warwicks there - though when I came to buy one I got lucky and acquired an '87 Streamer for a song privately!

I got my first bass and amp from the secondhand guitar shop futher along St Michael's Hill opposite Tyndalls Road (IIRC) which then moved to Gloucester Road and then mysteriously vanished.

Alex[/quote]


It's still on the Glossie road, it just moved across the street and down a bit.

[BassBod]

Get on down to Mansons - best shop I've seen by far, and if you want to try something specific give them a call and see if they can get one there for you when you visit (no harm is asking, and if its mainsteam they should be able to help). Their service is usually pretty good, but you do pay a bit more for it.

Vintage and rare in Bath is worth a visit....just to see how much they try and get for a grotty old fender.

I haven't been to a guitar/bass shop in Bristol for a few years. Mainly because I buy "high end"used stuff, and shops just don't sell it anymore. Also because I've never been impressed with any of the shops here. Eugene was great fun, but I hear he has moved on.....

BB