Bygone music/bass shops you were fond of?

[kiat]

I just answered here the 3 bass question (first, most practical, most "you") thread and it got me thinking about where I saw and bought my first bass.

 

It was Macaris on Charing Cross Road in London in about 1980. I lived in a flat but was starving, no job, no money and had to sell my beautiful tenor sax* I'd previously spent half a year saving for, effectively making it difficult to fulfil my dreams of becoming a full-time musician.

 

The owner of Macaris apologised that he could only offer me £300 for it, as he could see I was upset, so he said he'd let me have a bass, amp and lead for £100, at cost he said. A Westone Thunder 1A black and a Traynor Bloc80b (which miraculously has followed me over 20 home moves later).

 

 

Although an unhappy time, it did start me on the road to being a bass player, which I think, by sheer luck, suits my character better.

 

I went back later (in the early 80s still) to get my first and only pedal, a new Boss Chorus. 

 

On a recent trip to London I looked out for Macaris and was sad to see the shop gone, replaced with a horrendous building devoid of character. Denmark Street has held out, but the old rehearsal rooms seem to have gone. But a quick browse online today and it turns out Macaris improbably moved to Haywards Heath, which means I'll give them a visit one if these days.

 

* Conn Connqueror 30M "Naked Lady"

 

What shop do you have fond memories of?

[Terry M.]

GAK and PMT 🥲

[neepheid]

Bruce Millers in Aberdeen - where I bought my first bass.  Closed 2011.

 

[SuperSeagull]

3 hours ago, kiat said:

I just answered here the 3 bass question (first, most practical, most "you") thread and it got me thinking about where I saw and bought my first bass.

 

It was Macaris on Charing Cross Road in London in about 1980. I lived in a flat but was starving, no job, no money and had to sell my beautiful tenor sax* I'd previously spent half a year saving for, effectively making it difficult to fulfil my dreams of becoming a full-time musician.

 

The owner of Macaris apologised that he could only offer me £300 for it, as he could see I was upset, so he said he'd let me have a bass, amp and lead for £100, at cost he said. A Westone Thunder 1A black and a Traynor Bloc80b (which miraculously has followed me over 20 home moves later).

 

 

Although an unhappy time, it did start me on the road to being a bass player, which I think, by sheer luck, suits my character better.

 

I went back later (in the early 80s still) to get my first and only pedal, a new Boss Chorus. 

 

On a recent trip to London I looked out for Macaris and was sad to see the shop gone, replaced with a horrendous building devoid of character. Denmark Street has held out, but the old rehearsal rooms seem to have gone. But a quick browse online today and it turns out Macaris improbably moved to Haywards Heath, which means I'll give them a visit one if these days.

 

* Conn Connqueror 30M "Naked Lady"

 

What shop do you have fond memories of?

The HH shop is a very poor substitute for the Macaris you and I recall. I brought one of their own brand Craftsman J bass copies in the mid 70s and later took my youngest son there for a Lag acoustic guitar in the late 90s. And my old boss worked there in the 60s selling coloursound pedals. A wonderful place. 

[Mykesbass]

@kiat Anthony from Macari's now owns the music shop in Haywards Heath, very close to the station. 

[BlueMoon]

Hodges & Johnson in Southend.

 

[Cato]

Musical Exchanges in Birmingham was the first guitar shop I ever went into as a teenager in the 80s

 

Might be rose tinted memories, but no guitar shop I've been in to since has come close to the sheer eclectisism and variety of new and used stock that Musical Exchanges had in those days.

 

For a while me and my mates would go there just to hang out & try stuff we couldn't afford just about every weekend & the staff seemed more than happy for us to do so.

 

It was a genuine Aladdins cave.

Edited 3 hours ago by Cato

[Bassman68]

The Bass Centre Wapping, coz that was just haloed ground in the 80/90’s

but also my two favourite local music stores that actually catered for bass players .. Monkey Business in both Southend & Romford,

also honourable mention to Honkytonk music Southend, where I bought my first two basses..

[casapete]

So many really.

 

Probably the one I miss the most was Electro Music in Doncaster. A wonderful shop, crammed with

so many instruments. They had separate departments for guitars, basses, drums and studio stuff,

as well as a brilliant second shop over the road for PA related gear. The owners and staff were all

lovely people, knowledgeable and friendly, it really was a pleasure to visit there. Me and the various

bands I was in bought a lot of things there over the years, including a PA - the Electro guys brought

3 different set ups to a club where we rehearsed near Hull so we could try them out side by side to

make sure we were happy. Brilliant service and shop, very sadly missed

 

Music Workshop / later Antones in Hull was the first call for all bands in my area. Again, well stocked

and staffed by musicians, it was always a friendly and interesting place to buy from. Owned by a good

friend of mine, it closed when he retired.

 

JSG / Spectre Sound in Bingley near Bradford was another superb shop. You entered down a long 

tunnel like corridor into a shop rammed with guitars and amps. Plenty of new and s/h kit,

I bought many items there over the years, and well worth the 100 mile round trip for me. 
 

Last but not least, the shops run and owned by the late Lynn Blakeston in Hull, a well known

and respected man who sadly recently passed away. Lynn started out with Gardner Music which is

where 14 year old me used to hang out and get to meet all the great local musos. Lynn lent me

some brand new Marshall amps for my band’s first ever gig, and then went on to make flightcases

under the ‘Greyhound’ name as well as establish a popular PA sales and hire business ‘ The Gig Shop’.

His influence and help with the local music scene could not be over estimated, and without his shops

I would probably never have chosen the route I took. I genuinely feel sorry for young musicians who

will never know what it was like to have great shops to receive advice, try / buy stuff, and meet 

other players. 

 

 

[Lozz196]

Hammonds in Watford was a great shop, bought my first decent bass & amp there, on HP. 

[Steve Browning]

Another shout for the Bass Centre in Wapping. I bought a number of Entwistle basses from there, and my 66 slab bass. 

 

Locally I recall the original Telecomms in Portsmouth, a small shop that moved location a couple of times. It eventually became a branch of PMT, lost its soul and finally closed. 

[NancyJohnson]

"Eee, when all this was fields, I was early in my teens with a pocket full of money from my paper round..."

 

There was a little music shop called Adam Music on Station Path, Staines.  The limited stock was all cheap/copies, but to us, kids whose exposure to electric instruments was either TOTP, Beat Instrumental or the Bell catalogue, Adam Music was heaven.

 

Beyond this, we kind of progressed on to ABC in Addlestone.

 

 

[Dad3353]

4 minutes ago, NancyJohnson said:

... Adam Music on Station Path, Staines...

 

Ah, nostalgia..! There were also a few in Kingston (-Upon Thames...), Bell Music, Bell Road, Hounslow (pronounced 'Arnsler' by the natives...) and, for the brave, a 'front room of a terraced house-shop' in Hampton Hill; Mrs Nicholls opened the door. I don't think I ever saw the son whose 'shop' it was. Only s/h stuff, and pretty tatty, but it was all we could afford. Happy daze. 

[lowdown]

1 hour ago, Bassman68 said:

The Bass Centre Wapping, coz that was just haloed ground in the 80/90’s

but also my two favourite local music stores that actually catered for bass players .. Monkey Business in both Southend & Romford,

 

 Same for me really...

 

Although, back in the 80's, for me, it was mainly the Bass Centre in Wapping.

Apart from buying nearly all my gear from there (lots of it - especially strings), I found it to be a good socialising place. Well, that and the pub around the corner that we all used to visit.

I lived just the other side of the river near Tower Bridge, so it was an easy walk for me.

[snorkie635]

Mev Taylor's Music in Edinburgh. Always something of interest there.

 

The original Live Music shop in Nicolson Street - 2nd hand heaven.

 

 

Really not much happening in Edinburgh and its environs nowadays re music shops. GG is about it.

[Reggaebass]

There was 2 I vaguely remember in Leytonstone high road, Freedman’s and Holiday Music, would’ve been around 78/80, I was having bass lessons as a teen and it was probably the first place I saw a fender jazz for sale but couldn’t afford anything like that then, I’ve made up for it since 😁, I found one pic but nothing for freedman’s 

[kiat]

8 hours ago, Terry M. said:

GAK and PMT 🥲

 

Been to GAK many times when I had GAS 😁. A dedicated bass room. It was there that I realised new Fender vintage models cost an awful lot of money.......

[kiat]

7 hours ago, neepheid said:

Bruce Millers in Aberdeen - where I bought my first bass.  Closed 2011.

 

Good to see a person's name above the shop, it makes it more personal for me.

[kiat]

3 hours ago, BlueMoon said:

Hodges & Johnson in Southend.

 

This one? (source)

 

Edited 2 hours ago by kiat
Added source

[Alba]

Whites in Sunderland and Windows in Newcastle. Spent a lot of my youth drooling over basses that I could never afford at the time.

[kiat]

2 hours ago, Cato said:

Musical Exchanges in Birmingham was the first guitar shop I ever went into as a teenager in the 80s

 

Might be rose tinted memories, but no guitar shop I've been in to since has come close to the sheer eclectisism and variety of new and used stock that Musical Exchanges had in those days.

 

For a while me and my mates would go there just to hang out & try stuff we couldn't afford just about every weekend & the staff seemed more than happy for us to do so.

 

It was a genuine Aladdins cave.

Sounds a fantastic place, I never had the pleasure. Wanted to see what it had looked like from the outside, but found this cool image instead with a bit of story... (source)

[BlueMoon]

29 minutes ago, kiat said:

This one? (source)

Yes. They had several branches locally in Essex during the 1970’s. Not specialists, but at that time they served my need for strings, straps, picks etc. 

 

For serious bass stuff I’d often take a trip to Liverpool Street and walk to the Bass Centre in Wapping. Although that was probably in the 80’s or later.

[Bagman]

Charlie Jemmet’s 

Cashel Street Christchurch 

[knirirr]

Sound Control in Dundee; I bought a Gibson Flying V there in the early 90s (worn out and so "cheap") and it was a source for tutorial books, accessories etc. when I was an undergraduate there. 
They closed fairly recently after spending years under another name:

https://www.thescottishsun.co.uk/money/14363301/music-store-to-shut-after-20-years-dundee/

[casapete]

Honourable mentions also go to -

 

Carlsbro Sound Centre, Mansfield / Sheffield etc

Wavelength Music, Sheffield.

Guitar Player, Rochdale.( vintage stuff)

Alpha Music Leeds ( bought my first P bass there)

Kitchens, Leeds ( Acoustic bass amps!)

Tim Gentle, Southend ( bought a Les Paul there)

Chandlers, Kew ( great vintage gear)

Bernard Deans, Scarborough

A1 Manchester - great shop

Cranes, Cardiff - missed out an a lovely old Kay bass there.

Guitar Zone, Halifax.

 

Used to visit as many shops as we could when I was in a touring band, sad to see so few now remaining.