Vintage And Rare Guitars

[Stag]

had my first trip to Denmark Street yesterday, id never really bothered before as its a bit far outta the way for me.

And well... is it just me or is everything £300 more than it should be? V&R stands out as one in particular. Some beautiful kit but surely a bit overpriced? BC was much the same.

[john_the_bass]

I had a stroll in on Saturday, some nice stuff, but waaaaay over priced and moreso compared to what the rest of the market seems to be trading at - although if somebody buys the guitars they are selling at the prices they are selling them for, then somebody thinks they're worth it.
I tried a 79 Ric 4001 - was very nice, not quite my bag, also spotted that apparently original Ampeg flip-top thing that was not for sale.

[Stag]

ah was that the Black one at the end of the room? I nearly had a plunk but wanted to try the EB3 at the back out, but at £1395 for a 71' example I just couldnt even bring myself to pick it up incase I fell for it. (desperately want an EB3 you see, hence me doing to Denmark St in the first place)

[wateroftyne]

I get the feeling V&R is for utterly, utterly minted people who just want to go and buy a guitar, not giving a toss about what it costs...

It must be nice. *sigh*

[Stag]

yeah, I get that feeling too (hence the amount of celebrity visitors).

Shame really, if the prices were a little bit less ridiculous I might have bought that EB there and then. I probably didnt look like a bloke with a lot of money though with a Roger Waters T-shirt and a rucksack! lol

[ahpook]

overpriced ? well, it [i]is[/i] denmark street...

[Tee]

Try 'Angel Music,' above what was Music Ground (now relocated to what was Andy's). It's a bit more competitive than V&R. Most people will never see it, as it's not on the ground floor, but on the first floor. It's small, but stocks vintage gear: Acoustics, electrics, basses, amps and pedals.

I know V&R is ridiculously pricey, but it's nice to browse in. I find the second hand stuff far more interesting than the majority of the new stock for sale.

[vegas_hooker]

[quote name='wateroftyne' post='202881' date='May 20 2008, 02:31 PM']I get the feeling V&R is for utterly, utterly minted people who just want to go and buy a guitar, not giving a toss about what it costs...

It must be nice. *sigh*[/quote]

Last time I was in there, some 'suit' walked in, pointed at a les paul custom and paid about £1400.00 without flinching.


It was for his kid!!!!!!

[Lo.]

I daren't even look at a V&R list.....if someone mentions a 62' p-bass I'd have to ram-raid the place or sell a kidney or something...

[The Funk]

I really like Vintage&Rare. I don't think they're overpriced. After all, they're selling vintage and rare guitars (and basses and amps). And they're nice enough to let you try out guitars they know and you know you can't afford. And they have vintage basses in there that are cheaper than the new basses across the road at the Bass Cellar (who are a bunch of ****s).

As for the rest of the shops on Denmark Street, yes, they're overpriced (with the exception of Wunjo).

[Happy Jack]

[quote name='The Funk' post='203115' date='May 20 2008, 06:29 PM']As for the rest of the shops on Denmark Street, yes, they're overpriced (with the exception of Wunjo).[/quote]

I refer you to a previous Denmark Street thread ... "the rest of the shops" are ALL departments of Music Ground.

[budget bassist]

There's some nice stuff on denmark street, but they key is to haggle them down a bit, i found them expensive too. If they think you're genuinely interested in an instrument they'll most likely let you do it considering most of the shops down there aren't owned by big companies and the people working there don't get a fixed paycheque.

[Stag]

i imagine going into those shops with a name like yours might be a bit of a wheeze...

:-)

[warwickhunt]

Everything that I've ever seen on eBay from V&R has been priced way above the going rate! I've no doubt they aren't the only ones but they are an eBay shop that regularly enters my line of sight... mainly because I often list my searches by price in descending order and they are at the top I'm not likely to ever be popping in there but I'd tend to be put off by the price tags regardless of whether they are up for a haggle.

[sixshooter]

Went into one of the shops in Denmark Street about a year ago, (may have been Hank's), looked at a 62 strat, (yes I know its a guitar not a bass!, I play on the dark side as well). £12,000 pounds was the price tag, showed lots of interest but said it was way too pricey, an hour later I got a phone call from them saying they would take £7,000!!!!

Just shows you how over priced those places are, I politely declined the offer, the only reason I was interested was that I was getting a 62 strat built for me and I wanted to play as many originals as I could to get details for the build.

[BassBod]

I sometimes visit the V&R in Bath, usually to use the services of their excellent tech (Mr Manners, down in the basement). They are there for the investors and serious collectors, not scruffy skint musos like me. They're always polite, let me try things out etc but I'm never going to pay their prices in this lifetime.

There are sometimes items that aren't given daft prices (less collectable things like musicmasters, heavily modded stuff) so its worth looking out for "players" instruments that collectors wouldn't want.

I checked out a Fender Jaco relic (the expensive one) and it was nice, but the body "work" was very fake looking. They wanted £2k secondhand. I've put together a fantastic Bravewood Jazz from leftovers here on BC for something like £600. Thats more like my world...

BB

[pete.young]

[quote name='sixshooter' post='203623' date='May 21 2008, 11:50 AM']Went into one of the shops in Denmark Street about a year ago, (may have been Hank's), looked at a 62 strat,[/quote]
Probably wasn't. Hanks only do acoustics.

[molan]

I stroll down "Tin Pan Alley" pretty much every day as I work right around the corner & have to go past to buy my lunch.

Always do a bit of window shopping but never buy anything.

Took an incredibly rare guitar into one of the Vintage shops one day & they offered me about £700 for it - they had one up for sale that was not as rare & in worse condition for £2,100.

Their argument was that the difference was mostly cost of premises & VAT - a 300% mark up, I don't think so!

Often spot the odd interesting thing though, the Rickys make me laugh somtimes, I own a '73 & paid less than half the price most of the Denmark St shops want for any 70's Ricky.

[wordsetcetera]

Mmmm.

While I would agree that V&R are pretty darned pricey. Are you, or the people that actually pay those crazy prices, buying a guitar/bass, or are you/they paying for the kudos-the dream?
I sell lots of old second-hand books, some of them are tatty old paperbacks/hardbacks, but some are first editions often signed by the author.
Now, to yer penny-pinching-ebaying-car-booting-3for2ing-peacocks-shellsuitwearing-mofos these are "HOW MUCH!?!".
People are paying me for my knowledge, wheat from chaff sorting skills, and my Bernard Black sunny disposition.
It's kind of the same reason that so many of us continued to go to the BassCentre, despite the off-hand treatment we invariably received, sadly they never recaptured the vibe/mojo of Wapping, and now...
So, I don't think we should knock 'em per se, rather applaud them for keeping the dream alive, yeah they're expensive, but they are in probably one of the highest rent/rates areas, and, if you ever spot a truly under-priced bargain do you offer to pay the extra that it's worth?

Simon

[BassBod]

Its also worth remembering that there are plently of people around with the readies to pay these prices, or V&R and the like wouldn't exist. I'm definatley in the low income bracket....so I'm happy to look.

BB

[budget bassist]

[quote name='Stag' post='203256' date='May 20 2008, 09:08 PM']i imagine going into those shops with a name like yours might be a bit of a wheeze...

:-)[/quote]
Haha yeah

[Marcus]

Everyone likes a bargain.... me included but if you're not shopping on a budget then there are very few places you can go and try out a wide range of "vintage & rare" guitars / basses under 1 roof

Places like V&R and the Gallery have tens of thousands of pounds tied up in stock (I know many will be on commission sale) premisis, staff and marketing to pay for. Unfortunately they can't operate and give the service they do and offer the choice they do without charging a premium for it.

I guess we can either wait forever for a 1960 stack knob Jazz to appear in cash generators for £80 or look for an ellusive bargain on ebay..... if you want to buy something special today and have a choice, then we have to be realistic and expect to pay for it.......

That said..... I don't expect to be shopping at V&R any time soon !

[Stag]

This wasnt really a thread designed to knock any of the Denmark Street shops, more a first timer shopper's observation, I mean - its a business, and things are only worth how much someone will pay for it etc. My point was there are quite a few other shops selling the same stuff around the country that DONT charge an extra "Denmark Street Premium". I was warned before I went by a rather esteemed BC'er that the prices were inflated to say the least.

As I said, fair play to them if they can pick a guitar up for £700 and flog it for £2100 because of their name. I think I may be in the wrong job thats all!

[Owen]

[quote name='BassBod' post='203753' date='May 21 2008, 04:16 PM']I've put together a fantastic Bravewood Jazz from leftovers here on BC for something like £600. Thats more like my world...

BB[/quote]

I often wondered where that sunburst Bravewood Jazz body went.

If you ever want to sell give me a nod!

No, really!

[skankdelvar]

Fair play to Vintage Ben for sticking his head above the parapet.