London bass shop

[lidl e]

22 hours ago, Earbrass said:

If you're going to Camden, there's a branch of GuitarGuitar there. Not very bass-focused, but last time I was there (a few years ago now) they had a fair few fx and stuff.

Ill be popping in tomorrow to have a quick look. 

 

Doubt I'll buy anything,  but you never know 

[Waddo Soqable]

6 minutes ago, lidl e said:

Ill be popping in tomorrow to have a quick look. 

 

Doubt I'll buy anything,  but you never know 

It's probably become a challenge now 😁

[lidl e]

Popped into guitarguitar today. A few nice basses, not all fender which was nice. Didnt pull anything down. 

 

I qas staring at that Sunn O))) lifepedal, but in the end left empty handed. I was right next to the gallery, but didnt bother. 

 

I was also roght next to denmark street, but didnt want to drag thr family over and i know it's not great anymore.

Edited April 8, 2023 by lidl e

[Waddo Soqable]

2 hours ago, lidl e said:

Popped into guitarguitar today. A few nice basses, not all fender which was nice. Didnt pull anything down. 

 

I qas staring at that Sunn O))) lifepedal, but in the end left empty handed. I was right next to the gallery, but didnt bother. 

 

I was also roght next to denmark street, but didnt want to drag thr family over and i know it's not great anymore.

Last time I went down Denmark St it was purely "vintage collectible" as I recall, & stupid prices... Tho I'd still have had a wander down there just for old time's sake if I were passing... 

[Jackroadkill]

2 hours ago, lidl e said:

it's not great anymore.

 

9 minutes ago, Waddo Soqable said:

Last time I went down Denmark St it was purely "vintage collectible" as I recall, & stupid prices...

 

Sadly you're both right; I used to frequent Denmark Street quite a bit in the late 1990's and it was very different then.

[ezbass]

Denmark St and the environs became a tourist trap and parody of what it once was and this not recently, the signs were there 25+ years ago. Fortunately, the likes of GG, The Gallery and others have made this change more than palatable.

[lidl e]

3 minutes ago, ezbass said:

Denmark St and the environs became a tourist trap and parody of what it once was and this not recently, the signs were there 25+ years ago. Fortunately, the likes of GG, The Gallery and others have made this change more than palatable.

Back when i was living here, even HMV on oxford street had a nice instrument section downstairs. 

 

I believe guitarguitar said theyre londons biggest showroom and even they didnt have that many.

[Waddo Soqable]

12 minutes ago, lidl e said:

Back when i was living here, even HMV on oxford street had a nice instrument section downstairs. 

 

I believe guitarguitar said theyre londons biggest showroom and even they didnt have that many.

I'd forgotten about the downstairs at HMV !  I was nearly tempted by a headless double neck thing they had in there once. 

It was great being able to swan around a fairly small locality with loads of guitar shops, and try stuff out at leisure, spent many an afternoon at that game 😁

[ezbass]

10 hours ago, lidl e said:

Back when i was living here, even HMV on oxford street had a nice instrument section downstairs. 

 

I believe guitarguitar said theyre londons biggest showroom and even they didnt have that many.

The downstairs section at HMV was short lived, sadly. However, I did see Marcus Miller do a clinic of sorts there.

 

Guitar Guitar’s Epsom branch is the biggest guitar showroom in the UK. I visited the Camden branch pre refurb and it didn’t seem that big. However, I can’t think of a bigger store in Greater London, so perhaps their claim is correct, but not by much I’d guess.

[NHM]

I recall Chappells in Bond St had a good bass selection, I bought a Yamaha BB from there about 20 years ago. Now long gone (both shop and BB).

[Waddo Soqable]

13 minutes ago, NHM said:

I recall Chappells in Bond St had a good bass selection, I bought a Yamaha BB from there about 20 years ago. Now long gone (both shop and BB).

I remember Chappells, they were mainly pianos as I recall, I didn't know they did basses, I went in there a couple of times for something or other, but didn't notice anything guitar or bass related, possibly they had a downstairs bit or something that I missed! 

[NHM]

they had a fair bit of 'band' gear, but thinking about it it was mostly or all Yamaha.

[Waddo Soqable]

14 minutes ago, NHM said:

they had a fair bit of 'band' gear, but thinking about it it was mostly or all Yamaha.

That makes sense as they probably were a Yamaha piano dealership, so had some other Yamaha products in stock too.. 

[floFC]

Bit (too) late to the thread, but there is also the big PMT store in Old Street, not far from the City.

[Waddo Soqable]

2 minutes ago, floFC said:

Bit (too) late to the thread, but there is also the big PMT store in Old Street, not far from the City.

Good to know 👍 if I'm ever wandering about up that way I'll go and have a look.. 

[MrCrane]

8 hours ago, NHM said:

I recall Chappells in Bond St had a good bass selection, I bought a Yamaha BB from there about 20 years ago. Now long gone (both shop and BB).

I still have a Tokai VSB80 PJ that I bought from Chappells back in the early '80s and a suede own brand strap I got at the same time.

I think they were absorbed by Yamaha who now have a showroom in Wardour Street.

[nekomatic]

Well this discussion is making me feel better about walking up or down Denmark Street three times within thirty-six hours during a recent London trip with the family and not going in to any of the shops. 
 

And yes, it is a brilliant city to visit, don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. 

[lidl e]

1 hour ago, nekomatic said:

Well this discussion is making me feel better about walking up or down Denmark Street three times within thirty-six hours during a recent London trip with the family and not going in to any of the shops. 
 

And yes, it is a brilliant city to visit, don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. 

Ya, we had a great time. 

 

 

[Guest Gabriel1918]

Planning a similar trip to London and wondered if anyone could recommend any decent places for bass amps whilst I'm there? (anywhere except the Bass Gallery in Camden: I've never had a good experience of them, and this week has been the worst experience ever).

[peteb]

11 hours ago, Gabriel1918 said:

Planning a similar trip to London and wondered if anyone could recommend any decent places for bass amps whilst I'm there? (anywhere except the Bass Gallery in Camden: I've never had a good experience of them, and this week has been the worst experience ever).

 

You've just ruled out the only decent bass shop in London...! It is better in person than online if that's any help... 

 

[ezbass]

Just now, peteb said:

It is better in person than online if that's any help... 

Infinitely so IMO.

[lidl e]

Guitarguitar in camden had a few nice basses and lots of nice effects

[NancyJohnson]

I used to frequent the Wapping shop.  Bass Centre is just down the road from me (in Bagshot), but it's not a retail location as such.  

 

I got my NS EUB from there.  It was nice to catch up with Barry again after over 20 years.

[Misdee]

The Bass Centre in Wapping was the best shop in the world ever.

 

In its heyday they had a stunning array of basses, amps and everything else. Just as important though, was that Barry and the rest of the staff were always very decent people to deal with, whether you were buying or just trying stuff out. There was something about that shop that epitomised playing bass in the 1980s. I went to the other branches in Manchester, Birmingham and LA, and they were all good, but Wapping was the best.

[pbasspecial]

I used to go there in the late 80’s and 90’s. Absolute bass heaven. Got to see Billy Sheehan do a couple of clinics there and even got the chance to play his actual bass too. Must have been around 91-92ish. Good times.