Praise for Peach Guitars

[BassAdder60]

Based in Colchester this store operates on an appointment only system, took me a few attempts to time my visits but this weekend they had a time slot available!

 

The store is amazing laid out to mimic an old western saloon and the vibe here is awesome 

Stock is very good too, separate rooms to demo and they make you a coffee as well. 
 

No feeling of being rushed and a great buying experience 

 

Service is absolutely spot on and I would say they are probably the best store I’ve visited and will become my main supplier now based on their service etc 

 

If you are near to Essex it’s worth checking them out but get an appointment first !  

Edited January 22 by BassAdder60

[Mykesbass]

I think they had to move to appointment only after a fairly substantial theft 😟

 

What's their bass stock like now - they always had a great reputation for guitars, but limited stock for us low enders?

[alexa3020]

I had a really good online experience with them, after I received some faulty Fender goods. They were super helpful in getting the issue resolved.

[dave_says]

Really nice place, staff are lovely. Bass selection not the greatest but could be much worse. Recommended.

[Lfalex v1.1]

Nice to hear positive feedback on retailers, but I've never been to Peach Guitars in spite of driving past it quite frequently.

The whole appointment thing is just an absolute deal-breaker for me.

What if I want to just pop in and grab some strings, have a look for a strap or maybe grab a couple of patch cables?

Or even just browse some instruments. 

 

If it is a response to a major theft, it's understandable,  but I still find it off-putting. They're not the only retailer I avoid because of a policy like this. 

[Brucegill]

They moved to appointment only after Covid. 
 

have to say, it’s put me off unfortunately. And I’ve shopped there for at least 25 years, probably more (way back to when they had the tiny shop outside of Dunmow). 
 

but it’s good to hear you can still browse when you get an appointment. I’d sort of assumed you had to pick what you wanted to see before you got there. 
 

been a great shop though, will have to message them and see what’s what. 

Edited January 22 by Brucegill

[Cato]

I'm not keen on 'by appointment only'  guitar shops.

 

There's a pretty good independent guitar place near me that went that way during covid and has kept the system. 

 

Most of the time if I pop into a guitar shop I'm doing it on a whim, I might buy something if I'm really impressed by it but most times I won't buy anything more than a pack of strings, if that.

 

If I have to make an appointment I feel like there's more pressure on me to buy, it's like if I don't make a purchase I'm wasting everyone's time.

Edited January 22 by Cato

[JohnR]

I bought my LH Fender Jazz online from them and got terrific support. I had opted for their Plek service and they were were very patient with my many requests including stringing the bass with my preferred strings to ensure the Plex process was as accurate as possible. 

[Mudpup]

I've been in there with an appointment and to be fair they didn't put me under any pressure at all. Just grabbed the basses I was interested in and left me in a room to myself then popped back in after 15 mins to see if I was ok. 

 

The only issue is that they haven't actually got any decent bass amps in there to play through. I was offered a tiny little Mark Bass combo (maybe an 8" speaker but I could be wrong) which sounded like a shoebox. Eventually we found another combo with a headphone socket which I used and that was much better. I went in there with £1000 to spend on the day but wasn't going to buy anything if I could only try it through their gear because everything sounded rubbish. Probably best to take your own amp if you're having a serious look at basses 

Edited January 22 by Mudpup

[Lfalex v1.1]

A NUX Mighty Plug or similar and decent headphones is great for such things. 

I've been known to try out instruments in Cash Converters etc. with it, much to people's  bemusement.

[Old Horse Murphy]

I've only ordered online from them. The first time was disappointing as they weighed a bass for me and when it arrived it was 1lb+ heavier. 
 

To be fair, they couldn't have been more apologetic and when they received it back they had the courtesy to call me in person to apologise again. 
 

The second time they again weighed a bass for me and I ordered it with a future delivery date as I was away. They left a message to confirm the order had been received and they'd booked it for the delivery I wanted, so please don't worry. The bass arrived exactly on the day as promised and was absolutely spot on weight-wise and had been set up beautifully. 
 

I'd definitely use them again 

[TheGreek]

I think it's amazing when people leave positive feedback for retailers - I love the fact that BC isn't just a place where grumpy old men get together to moan about stuff.

 

If this retailer has been forced to go to appointment only due to theft then that is a poor reflection on people not on the shop owners whose Insurance et al probably jumped up as a result.

[BassAdder60]

3 hours ago, Brucegill said:

They moved to appointment only after Covid. 
 

have to say, it’s put me off unfortunately. And I’ve shopped there for at least 25 years, probably more (way back to when they had the tiny shop outside of Dunmow). 
 

but it’s good to hear you can still browse when you get an appointment. I’d sort of assumed you had to pick what you wanted to see before you got there. 
 

been a great shop though, will have to message them and see what’s what. 

I rang them last Saturday and asked for an appointment which they gave me that afternoon.

 

I just said I wished to try various basses and would bring a list of the models showing in stock.

 

They brought them from the warehouse for me to try ( very helpful ) 

[Mudpup]

3 hours ago, Lfalex v1.1 said:

A NUX Mighty Plug or similar and decent headphones is great for such things. 

I've been known to try out instruments in Cash Converters etc. with it, much to people's  bemusement.

Yep, I have one and it's an excellent bit of kit. But I was expecting a shop that had some very high end and expensive basses in stock would have something better than a front room combo to play them through. I bet the guitarists don't get such a rough deal in there ....

[BassAdder60]

4 hours ago, Mudpup said:

I've been in there with an appointment and to be fair they didn't put me under any pressure at all. Just grabbed the basses I was interested in and left me in a room to myself then popped back in after 15 mins to see if I was ok. 

 

The only issue is that they haven't actually got any decent bass amps in there to play through. I was offered a tiny little Mark Bass combo (maybe an 8" speaker but I could be wrong) which sounded like a shoebox. Eventually we found another combo with a headphone socket which I used and that was much better. I went in there with £1000 to spend on the day but wasn't going to buy anything if I could only try it through their gear because everything sounded rubbish. Probably best to take your own amp if you're having a serious look at basses 

They rigged up a Laney Combo which was decent enough to try in a store 

 

[neepheid]

I'm not a fan of having to make an appointment to visit a shop.  I've never had to - none of the shops I've been in work that way.  Makes it feel more like an event than it needs to.  I'm usually timewasting anyway, because I don't go in all "I have x budget and I want to buy a bass today", I'm more of a "I'll buy something that takes my fancy and blows me away when I try it" - the appointment system does not lend itself well to this way of shopping.

 

But nice to hear good experiences - nothing stopping me using their services online...

[BassAdder60]

I would add that business was good or appeared to be at Peach and very busy 

 

I think it was brave business move that will irritate the tyre kickers and usual try stuff but less likely to buy.

 

We have all done it, popped in for strings and try a guitar or two with no real intention to buy.

 

The system they run must work as they moved to very large premises which has been set up with a great style and not cheap I would imagine. 
 

Maybe this is the way ? Certainly worked for me 

 

[pete.young]

38 minutes ago, BassAdder60 said:

I would add that business was good or appeared to be at Peach and very busy 

 

I think it was brave business move that will irritate the tyre kickers and usual try stuff but less likely to buy.

 

We have all done it, popped in for strings and try a guitar or two with no real intention to buy.

 

The system they run must work as they moved to very large premises which has been set up with a great style and not cheap I would imagine. 
 

Maybe this is the way ? Certainly worked for me 

 

 The way they run the appointments system isn't onerous. I'm in Ipswich , round trip is about 50 miles so even before the appointment system, I'd ring and check they were open. It's nowhere near a high-street so there are no walk-ins anyway.

 

The value of their stock is mind-blowing - several millions of pounds and that's just the acoustic guitars.

[BassAdder60]

45 minutes ago, pete.young said:

 The way they run the appointments system isn't onerous. I'm in Ipswich , round trip is about 50 miles so even before the appointment system, I'd ring and check they were open. It's nowhere near a high-street so there are no walk-ins anyway.

 

The value of their stock is mind-blowing - several millions of pounds and that's just the acoustic guitars.

Yep it’s on an industrial estate ( moved from their old location Cowdray Centre ) now Severalls Estate 

As you say the stock is mind blowing and if not on display it’s in the back stores. 

[Brucegill]

Peach used to be at Blake House Craft centre at Blake End, between Dunmow and Rayne. Then moved to the massive warehouse on Severalls Industrial Park. 

 

They were open to walk ins up until Covid. The Guitar theft was pre Covid, in 2018!

 

I'm really in two minds about the appointment system - On one hand, I've been to get strings or a pedal and come out with a Guitar 😬

On the other, I've been into a shop to try a guitar and not been able to get to hear it properly due to loads of customers being in store doing the same thing. 

I've certainly gone in a number of times to look at a specific guitar, only to come out with something completely different, that I'd only tried as I could walk around and just have a go. That will never happen for me, if appointments are based on giving them a list of instruments you want to try. 

 

I was in Coda trying a Custom Shop Strat a while back. Two kids, maybe 14-15 were both playing through amps, together, running through Reign In Blood as best they could. Now there was no way I could hear what I was playing, no way anyone else in the shop could either. But man, they had fun. It was great to see tbh. Brought back many memories of visiting shops with no way of being able to afford anything at the time. The lads walked out, bought some picks and went on their merry way. I've also been in there when a really young kid came in with his dad to try a guitar out - The guy on the floor plugged him into a Two Rock and let him at it. Those times will stick in their heads and keep them coming back, one day, hopefully,  to buy a guitar and not just some picks etc. 

 

I feel peach would be damned if they did and damned if they didnt. But I do miss just saying "f*** it, I'm off to Peach" 

 

I'll drop them an email once Namm has finished and see if I can go and browse some acoustics. Would be good to see John again as it's been a while. 

 

 

 

[franzbassist]

I've never bought from Peach but have emailed and called a few times with queries about stock: top notch responses each time.

[pete.young]

21 minutes ago, Brucegill said:

P

 

I've certainly gone in a number of times to look at a specific guitar, only to come out with something completely different, that I'd only tried as I could walk around and just have a go. That will never happen for me, if appointments are based on giving them a list of instruments you want to try.

 

 

That's not how it works - once you're in, you can look round the shop and try what you like. If you do have something in mind beforehand, they'll get it ready for you. Last time I bought a guitar from them, they let me try it in a separate room so other  customers making noise wasn't an issue.

[Brucegill]

2 minutes ago, pete.young said:

 

That's not how it works - once you're in, you can look round the shop and try what you like. If you do have something in mind beforehand, they'll get it ready for you. Last time I bought a guitar from them, they let me try it in a separate room so other  customers making noise wasn't an issue.

 

That's great to hear! 

[Alfie]

I've had good experiences with Peach. In fact I wouldn't buy from a shop that allowed walk ins. A bass that has been played by umpteen people is not a new instrument, it is a demonstrator/ex display/used, and should be priced accordingly. If I am going to pay new price, I want a new instrument.

[Brucegill]

4 minutes ago, Alfie said:

I've had good experiences with Peach. In fact I wouldn't buy from a shop that allowed walk ins. A bass that has been played by umpteen people is not a new instrument, it is a demonstrator/ex display/used, and should be priced accordingly. If I am going to pay new price, I want a new instrument.

I think John even mentioned this about being one reason for going appointment only. Honestly, I thought it was BS, I couldn’t imagine anyone having an issue with a guitar off a shelf being seen as “used”. Guess I was wrong! Interesting to hear this opinion.