Chandler Guitars In Kew Closed

[Hobbayne]

Another shop in West London closed. Where can I go now?
http://www.chandlerguitars.co.uk/

[ambient]

Never been there, but it's very sad the way that these places close.

[chris_b]

Wow. That's bad news.

Doug started the shop with about a dozen guitars in the ground floor of his house (one of the 2 up 2 downs) about half way down the road. When they grew he moved to what is now the fish and chip shop on the other side of the road and then to the current site.

They had very little presence in the bass world but I always enjoyed looking around the shop and bought several pickups etc over the years.

[ezbass]

That's sad, it was an awesome guitar shop with staff that really knew their stuff; their workshop could perform miracles. Brinsley Schwartz was their amp tech at one time, a lovely chap.

[Hobbayne]

The Unfortunate thing for me, is that back in the summer they sold a guitar on my behalf and after they took their cut they offered me the choice of taking the cash or leaving the money as credit for strings, setups etc. I wont see that again.

[casapete]

Really sorry to hear this. Visited the shop a couple of months ago for the first time, and was well impressed with
the stock and the friendly staff. A sad sign of the times.

[pete.young]

[quote name='Hobbayne' timestamp='1478767613' post='3171425']
The Unfortunate thing for me, is that back in the summer they sold a guitar on my behalf and after they took their cut they offered me the choice of taking the cash or leaving the money as credit for strings, setups etc. I wont see that again.
[/quote]
Well the website hasn't gone entirely. I think that makes you an unsecured creditor, it's still worth dropping them a note to find out where you stand .

[toneknob]

I took my double-neck 4/8-string Shergold in there for a service. While talking to one of the Chandlers, another interrupted, "sorry mate, we've got Greg Lake on the blower with an urgent question, mind if your man talks to him?" "not at all. Ask him if he wants to buy a Shergold double-neck, yeah?"

Shame to see another piece of London guitar history gone

[synthaside]

There's always Charlie chandlers in Hampton wick which is still running , I knew the two guys fell out years back and that ended the link between the two shops .

[ras52]

That's sad, I was a customer when I lived in south-west London. My two main basses are still held up by Chandler-branded straps!

[Floyd Pepper]

I understand that the two guys that were running the workshop at Chandlers have set up in nearby Richmond to carry on the repairs, setup business.
I'll try and dig out their details

[chris_b]

Anyone running a business out of a shop should get their internet business going asap or this could be happening to others.

[molan]

The closure was announced around 20th September with a final closing date of 31st October. It was a very public closure announcement and widely reported at the time.

Definitely worth contacting them if you're a creditor.

The two guys who set up on their own are here:

http://www.richmondguitarworkshop.com

[chris_b]

I hope this works out for them.

The Chandler repair dept was always one of the shops strengths.

[MoonBassAlpha]

Was that the place that had one of the Plek systems for fretwork?

[Hobbayne]

[quote name='pete.young' timestamp='1478771635' post='3171459']
Well the website hasn't gone entirely. I think that makes you an unsecured creditor, it's still worth dropping them a note to find out where you stand .
[/quote]

Cheers, Will do.

[chris_b]

[quote name='MoonBassAlpha' timestamp='1478784029' post='3171611']
Was that the place that had one of the Plek systems for fretwork?
[/quote]
Yep. I believe Charlie developed and beta tested the Plek system with the company.

[pineweasel]

[quote name='chris_b' timestamp='1478790412' post='3171669']
Yep. I believe Charlie developed and beta tested the Plek system with the company.
[/quote]
That's Charlie Chandler's Guitar Experience, which is still going: http://www.guitarexperience.co.uk/ccgx-repairs

[skankdelvar]

Over the years I was accustomed to use Chandlers on many occasions. Then a run of seriously unacceptable incidents, evasion and rudeness led me to take my business elsewhere. No offence intended to anyone here but on a personal basis I'm fairly relaxed that they've gone tits-up.

As for the Richmond Guitar workshop, I can testify to Andrew Scrimshaw. He's a lovely guy, faultlessly reliable and did my repairs for many years.

Edited November 10, 2016 by skankdelvar

[fretmeister]

Doug thought the internet was the work of Satan and thought it would never last.

Blockbuster were already in the sh*t by then. The world changed.

[chris_b]

[quote name='fretmeister' timestamp='1478811447' post='3171903']
Doug thought the internet was the work of Satan and thought it would never last.
[/quote]
He's not wrong about the first part. . . . . but it will continue to go from strength to strength and continue to take over the world.

[TKenrick]

Used Chandlers many times for repairs and always found the work (and the service) top notch.

I recently moved closer to Charlie Chandler's Guitar Experience and thought I'd give it a try, not impressed at all - terrible communication, surly attitude from staff and pickups wired incorrectly. Lovely setup, but the overall 'experience' was less than delightful.

[Bilbo]

Charlie's wife was my boss for a year. I met him socially but never visited the shop :-D

[Low End Bee]

Blimey. Just noticed this. I've used the workshop many times so I'm glad that the 2 Andy's are carrying on. Lovely chaps who do great work.

Can't say I'm surprised to see the retail side go though. It appeared to be run very much like the shop I used to work in in the 70s.....

[lowregisterhead]

I hadn't been in there in years, but I used to frequent it in the 80's... which puts me in mind of another workshop down the road in Kew, Roger Giffin. I always wanted one of his beautiful custom basses, like the one Felix Krish played with SFX, with the late great Alan Murphy et al. God I feel old.