MichaelDean Posted February 23 Share Posted February 23 Similarly, the guitarist in my band has Gibson SGs, a Les Paul, a Heritage and a Dunable. All very nice instruments. The other day he bought an Epiphone Les Paul Modern on a whim. The ones with the chambering and sculpted heels. It sounds better than the others in the context of our band and plays as good as the USA counterpart - better if you consider the heel joint. Plus, he doesn't have to worry about taking an expensive instrument with a stupid neck design to gigs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
badger Posted February 24 Share Posted February 24 On 09/08/2023 at 14:47, Happy Jack said: A shop selling over-priced, badly-made guitars is now a "global music destination"? where else are dentists going to buy their wall ornaments? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mediocre Polymath Posted February 28 Share Posted February 28 As others have mentioned, they've occupied this building (just round the back of Oxford Street) since before the pandemic (I work in that neck of the woods). They acquired the space during their ill-fated drive to diversify into pro audio, consumer tech and suchlike. I'd guess they got saddled with a long lease and are trying to find something to do with the space. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
uk_lefty Posted March 11 Share Posted March 11 I went there this weekend. It's impressive, even for me as a left handed bass player! It's a bit more of a "lifestyle" thingy, i.e. think of it as the Hard Rock Cafe but with guitars you won't buy instead of food you won't buy. People will go in there to gawp, as I did, at the guitars and it is worth a trip up that end of Oxford Street. On the ground floor it's all Gibson, tons of t shirts and hats etc. but get this, £69 for a Gibson t shirt(!!!). Or you can go downstairs to the Epiphone and Kramer area and pay half that for a t shirt that's just as good, I'm not joking. In the downstairs bit there's a stage set up where I guess they plan to have some minor performances and there's Mesa Boogie amps everywhere for people to try guitars and basses. Lefties are surprisingly well catered for, as are bassists. No left handed Jack Casady basses though, sadly. In fact, no lefty basses at all, but that didn't stop me having a go on an Epiphone Newport. Everything is at full RRP which is a bit silly as I can't imagine they provide a set up like the established decent guitar shops do. Also, there are security staff everywhere, as is understandable when there's probably well over £1m (at full RRP) worth of guitars in a very, very busy shop. They're also really bl00dy annoying, won't leave you alone for a second asking if everything is ok or if you like a guitar, but the staff that know the guitars etc are a lot better to be fair. I didn't think I was a Gibson person until I was in the shop and thought out of my five basses and one electric guitar I've got one Epiphone bass, one Kramer bass and an Epiphone electric. So I guess I am a "Gibson guy". Overall, whether you like Gibson or not, it's worth a visit. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neepheid Posted March 11 Share Posted March 11 13 minutes ago, uk_lefty said: So I guess I am a "Gibson guy". Don't feel dirty, they have their fingers in a lot of pies - they'll get to you one way or another 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
uk_lefty Posted March 11 Share Posted March 11 23 minutes ago, neepheid said: Don't feel dirty, they have their fingers in a lot of pies - they'll get to you one way or another Haha there's no shame in what I'm saying. Maybe I'm a Gibson hipster, I like the stuff that was cool before Gibson bought it, and only in left handed! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woodinblack Posted March 11 Share Posted March 11 1 hour ago, uk_lefty said: Everything is at full RRP which is a bit silly as I can't imagine they provide a set up like the established decent guitar shops do. Its because they can't be competing with their suppliers, and if they have an RRP they have to use it. And setup? That would be like implying they weren't setup fantastically out of the box! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
uk_lefty Posted March 11 Share Posted March 11 9 minutes ago, Woodinblack said: Its because they can't be competing with their suppliers, and if they have an RRP they have to use it. And setup? That would be like implying they weren't setup fantastically out of the box! Yeah, you're right. I bet they do sell a handful of instruments per day at full RRP and if I were one of the big retailers buying hundreds of these a year I'd be p!ssed off if they were undercutting me or even price matching. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michael2003x Posted March 11 Share Posted March 11 It will be like Denmark street, a place to try out over-priced, poorly finished guitars, while being watched over by shoe gazing Emos which will then be purchased on-line from a retailer that has far more realistic prices. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lidl e Posted April 8 Share Posted April 8 I popped in today to check it out. I saw dozens of guitars. I asked the girl working there "where are the thunderbirds?" And she looked puzzled and asked me "what's that? Docyou mean firebirds?" Lol... After i explained it's the bass version she copped on and showed the bass wall. Two reverse t-birds and a gene simmons signature. Downstairs they had some epi t-birds. I tried out the reverse. The neck was like a baseball bat which i was surprised at since a regular tbird neck is nice and slim. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neepheid Posted April 8 Share Posted April 8 28 minutes ago, lidl e said: And she looked puzzled and asked me "what's that? Docyou mean firebirds?" Lol... Depressingly predictable 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lidl e Posted April 8 Share Posted April 8 5 hours ago, neepheid said: Depressingly predictable It was pretty egregious. I felt like this: 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woodinblack Posted April 9 Share Posted April 9 14 hours ago, lidl e said: I saw dozens of guitars. I asked the girl working there "where are the thunderbirds?" And she looked puzzled and asked me "what's that? Docyou mean firebirds?" Lol... Pretty poor considering how few models they actually sell that ou don't know all of them, if that is your job and you haven't just started yesterday. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigRedX Posted April 9 Share Posted April 9 Last week, I went completely by chance past the Gibson Garage on the way to somewhere more interesting. Back in the 20th century I would have probably been sidetracked and spent an hour or two drilling over the instruments. This time I simply glanced at what was visible in the widows and went on my way. Until they make a 5-string Thunderbird that is essentially a 64 model with an extra string, I'm unlikely to be interested in anything they produce. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neepheid Posted April 9 Share Posted April 9 15 minutes ago, BigRedX said: Last week, I went completely by chance past the Gibson Garage on the way to somewhere more interesting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woodinblack Posted April 9 Share Posted April 9 37 minutes ago, BigRedX said: Until they make a 5-string Thunderbird that is essentially a 64 model with an extra string, I'm unlikely to be interested in anything they produce. I would buy that Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dmccombe7 Posted April 9 Share Posted April 9 What Kramer basses do they have ? Nothing on the website ? Dave 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SumOne Posted April 9 Share Posted April 9 In a way, I quite like this trend for flagship shops as basically a place to visit/advertise and not to actually buy stuff (although perhaps this Gibson one is trying to sell cheaper tat too). That's the impression I get from things like the Yamaha London store - it seems it can't possibly be immediately profitiable as a shop for the location and size and selling at RRP, but the point is more about the bigger picture of advertising the brand, they aren't trying to compete with online costs - they're giving you the idea to buy their brand though. I don't know about the Gibson place, but the Yamaha shop is good to just go and try out stuff and give you GAS, but not to actually buy from there e.g. Yamaha CK 61 is £1,680 from the Yamaha shop where you can try it out in-person, £769 online from Scan - where you'll think 'that's a great deal, I've saved £900'). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
uk_lefty Posted April 9 Share Posted April 9 1 hour ago, dmccombe7 said: What Kramer basses do they have ? Nothing on the website ? Dave There was one, is it called the Disciple or something? The black single pickup one. There's so much more they could do with the Kramer brand in basses and really compete in the £300-£600 bracket, the old Striker and Baretta designs from the Musicyo days surely still have a market (or not, because Gibson is a business and they probably do more research than me on these things). The Kramer section is neon, 80s gaudiness, beautiful. I bought a t shirt from there! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lidl e Posted April 9 Share Posted April 9 2 hours ago, dmccombe7 said: What Kramer basses do they have ? Nothing on the website ? Dave They did have a kramer section downstairs but i didnt check it out for some reason. They had all maestro effects pedals. Are they a gibson product? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
borntohang Posted April 9 Share Posted April 9 Maestro are Gibson, yes. They have Steinberger, Wurlitzer, and Dobro under the brand too. Kramer just have the one bass , the D-1. We played the Kramer UK launch in what was the Gibson venue before it became the Garage, so you can see me playing it while pulling a stupid face at 00:47 of the below video. It was fine but nothing I'd ever use - weird setup where each coil of the humbucker had a volume control and I didn't get a lot out of it to be honest. We were supposed to be getting some gear as part of the deal but the little sod from the support band legged it with the one bass they had on hand after the show, so I didn't even get a freebie! We did get two of the guitars which were nice though. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lidl e Posted April 9 Share Posted April 9 3 hours ago, borntohang said: Maestro are Gibson, yes. They have Steinberger, Wurlitzer, and Dobro under the brand too. Kramer just have the one bass , the D-1. We played the Kramer UK launch in what was the Gibson venue before it became the Garage, so you can see me playing it while pulling a stupid face at 00:47 of the below video. It was fine but nothing I'd ever use - weird setup where each coil of the humbucker had a volume control and I didn't get a lot out of it to be honest. We were supposed to be getting some gear as part of the deal but the little sod from the support band legged it with the one bass they had on hand after the show, so I didn't even get a freebie! We did get two of the guitars which were nice though. That video is rad! Which bassist are you? The one with the tatooed fingers, the bald fella or the young hipster kid at the very end? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
borntohang Posted April 9 Share Posted April 9 31 minutes ago, lidl e said: That video is rad! Which bassist are you? The one with the tatooed fingers, the bald fella or the young hipster kid at the very end? I'm the one entering the Richard O'Brien contest. Tattoos is Ray Loverock (hence the knuckles) who we also worked with when I was sessioning on guitar - nice guy and great player. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lidl e Posted April 9 Share Posted April 9 They did have a new gibson guitar shape i hadn't seen before. I asked the guy about it and he said its brand new based on some found drawings. The gibson theodore. It looked alright in person Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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