mooseguy Posted January 25, 2010 Share Posted January 25, 2010 To our Brit Forum friends Have any of you had any experience with Vintage & Rare Guitars-London & Bath I am considering a transaction with V&R and am most curious to learn what your experience was and/or what you may know about their reputation? Any information would be very helpful and greatly appreciated. Moose P.S If desired, your reply will be kept strictly confidential Either PM me or EMail: d.dogs@verizon.net Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johnt Posted January 25, 2010 Share Posted January 25, 2010 To our Brit Forum friends Have any of you had any experience with Vintage & Rare Guitars-London & Bath I am considering a transaction with V&R and am most curious to learn what your experience was and/or what you may know about their reputation? Any information would be very helpful and greatly appreciated. Moose P.S If desired' date=' your reply will be kept strictly confidential Either PM me or EMail: d.dogs@verizon.net[/quote'] Hi Moose PM and stuff sent. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
albertjohn Posted January 25, 2010 Share Posted January 25, 2010 Hi Mooseguy. Never dealt with them but I have browsed (and drooled) around their shop in Denmark St on several occasions. Their name is accurate. They do have some beautiful guitars. You will pay a premium but they are serious about guitars, know their stuff and as far as I know are v reputable. I'm often in London - approx once a week and Denmark St is not too far from the office. If you see anything on their website and need someone to check it out, let me know and I'll see what I can do. Johnt - I feel a beer coming on old boy! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flight959 Posted January 25, 2010 Share Posted January 25, 2010 They have stock which hangs on the wall for ages.... I think they are overpriced and they wont budge the price down.... They do have some nice gear.... (The London shop) Regards Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johnt Posted January 25, 2010 Share Posted January 25, 2010 They have stock which hangs on the wall for ages.... I think they are overpriced and they wont budge the price down.... They do have some nice gear.... (The London shop) Regards Actually Flight the Bath shop always used to be better. I am from Bath and have spent many years drooling outside at 50s Esquires etc etc. The Denmark Street shop was a bit of a disapointment but it's what is inside that counts Moose, Flight is right they stand out for their prices! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jinder Posted January 25, 2010 Share Posted January 25, 2010 Mondo overpriced, and I found the service in their London shop pretty disappointing. I'd just come from an all-day session at EMI in Rathbone St (just up t'road from Gibson themselves!), and I had come to London direct from a gig the night before, and as a result had had little sleep. However, the band I was playing with at the time had just signed to a major label and I had some brass in pocket (ah, that was the day...I would say "those were the days", but I'd spent my modest advance in guitars before it could become "days"!) and serious GAS for a vintage acoustic. Despite this, I wasn't served for over 15 mins (the staff were chatting to one another, before one made a phone call at great length and decibels), and when I was finally served, I was treated with suspicion and not taken particularly seriously. Perhaps the chap and chapess at V&R London prefer their guitar buyers suited, salaried and looking forward to sealing their prospective purchase in a glass case for observation...they didn't seem to take kindly to a tired, road-worn musician who was looking for something to play! I left feeling pretty disillusioned, and went along to Wunjo, where a tall chap who CLAIMED (more on this later!) to be a shop assistant, ambitiously tried to sell me an early '70s ('73 I think) J200, with barely a glimmer of saddle left and action you could ride a horse under. He maintained that it was a vintage classic and would only ascend in value, etc etc, and didn't take it well when I (very diplomatically, I might add!) told him that the guitar would need a neck reset, at the very least, to make it playable, and, given that the Norlin era was considered a nadir in the timeline of Gibson guitars, I didn't want to spend over £3000 on a '73 J200 that needs another £300 spending on it to put the neck angle right. He promptly started HOLLERING at me (not even shouting, this guy was hollering apoplectically!) that he was one of the foremost scholars in this country on the subject of Gibson guitars, and that I should NOT question what he was telling me...after another minute or two of him bashing my ears with the names of magazines he'd written articles on Gibsons for, he turned on his heel in a Zorro-esque fashion, and strutted out of the shop! It struck me as rather odd that he'd just flounced out of the shop he claimed to be working in-whether he was in fact an employee or just a random lunatic, I have no idea...I soon left Wunjo and Denmark St altogether, though! The best service I have ever encountered in London (or on the outskirts at least) is that of Glenn Sinnock at www.glennsguitars.com I found him on the Internet, one way or the other, and after my confusing experience in Denmark St, I checked out his website and saw he had several LG0s, LG1s, B15s, B25s and several other small-bodied Gibsons, which was what I was specifically after at the time. I gave Glenn a call, and asked to arrange a viewing. He works from home, and invited me to his apartment in Enfield, where waiting for me were three guitars on stands and four more in cases (two B15s, a B25, two LG0s, two LG1s). He invited me in, made us both a cup of tea and I spent the whole afternoon playing the guitars he had hand-picked for me, each as luscious as the last. I ended up buying a tremendous all-Mahogany B15, which I unfortunately had to sell back to Glenn when I hit some tough times later that year (he gave me a great price, incidentally), but I would wholeheartedly recommend buying a guitar from him to anyone. His approach is such a refreshing a friendly change from the cash-grabbing, cynical london guitar shop scene. Plus, he let me play his personal '62 Hummingbird when I was trying out the small bodied guitars I was hunting for...that guitar is otherworldly. Playing it is like having honey drizzled into your ears from upon high. Before any conclusions are leapt to, I must hasten to point out that Glenn is not a personal friend of mine who I'm trying to drum up business for, just a guy who sold me a guitar in a way that I found extremely pleasing! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
albertjohn Posted January 26, 2010 Share Posted January 26, 2010 Mooseguy - I have meeting in the afternoon on Monday 1 Feb 5 mins from Denmark St so can call in if required. Let me know beforehand so I can try and remember my camera. I'll more than likely have a wonder around in any event so it's no bother at all. Johnt - you around then? Around 3.30/4 pm. Or, indeed, anyone else who may care to share a pint or two. Jinder - I'll be in a suit and tie so hopefully I'll get someone's attention within 15 mins. I think I know the bloke you refer to in Wunjo. If my memory is correct, the day Johnt and I met and played a nice Taylor 12er next door, we popped in there and he waxed lyrical about a Guild 12 he had "in his private collection" which was the best he'd played..or something like that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ponty Posted January 26, 2010 Share Posted January 26, 2010 Like some of the other guys, I have never bought from them - but often been in there overpriced shop. They have to be over priced being on Denmark St. Its like NYs 48th street. I emailed them about 6 months ago rearding a recent 00-28. They never reponded to that email, other than to put me on their 'spam' list. Only today did I recieve the 'new stock' list. I suspect the will be reasonable to deal with, but as I said, I have never bought or ordered from them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mooseguy Posted January 26, 2010 Author Share Posted January 26, 2010 To all you kind Brits who have answered my inquiry re:V&R guitars I send my appreciation for your time, trouble and great help in answering my question. Best Regards, Moose Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gearbasher Posted January 26, 2010 Share Posted January 26, 2010 Hey Moose, Knowing you...The Epi Frontier? Right? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mooseguy Posted January 27, 2010 Author Share Posted January 27, 2010 Hi Gear Wal Mart doesn't tell Target but I can dream, can't I? Thanks any way for your suggestion. Regards, Moose Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gearbasher Posted January 27, 2010 Share Posted January 27, 2010 I thought it was Macy's and Gimbel's....but, that would be showing my age. Wouldn't it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mooseguy Posted January 28, 2010 Author Share Posted January 28, 2010 Hi Gear: I just upgraded the remark not to show my age LOL- Moose Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johnt Posted January 31, 2010 Share Posted January 31, 2010 Hi Gear: I just upgraded the remark not to show my age LOL- Moose Know the feeling Moose! Have a big birthday coming up and as a member of the Peter Pan Fan Club and Impersonators I am hiding from it BIG TIME!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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