Bygone music/bass shops you were fond of?

[chris_b]

2 hours ago, jonno1981 said:

Bassgear 🥲

Salt of the earth blokes running it. Brands you couldn’t get anywhere else. Interesting secondhand selection. No horrible salesman pressure to buy anything. 

 

+1

 

Bassgear was a great place. Played my first Fodera basses there.

[Mykesbass]

Used to regularly visit Shaftesbury Avenue and Charing Cross Road as a kid, but the shop I remember most fondly, and the cause of my Peavey T40 gas was Nolan's in Forest Hill, South London. Run by two very friendly Irish guys. Had one of their own amps, a very good, but very impractical copy of a Fender Twin.

[Skybone]

Hessey's in Liverpool is long gone. Only ever bought a couple of things from them, as they were too expensive for my pocket at the time, but tons of drool-worthy gear. Famed for where The Beatles bought some of their equipment.

 

There used to be another shop on Woolton Road IIRC, but I can't recall the name.

 

Curley's was always my favourite when it was on Stanley St. (next door to Hessey's, and round the corner from Probe Records), always used to have a good selection of basses in. They're still going, now on Renshaw St. where Taskers used to be.

[asingardenof]

I bought my trusty Squier Precision from John Scheerer & Sons in 1998. At the time it was based in the Merrion Centre in Leeds, and had been trading for around 140 years at the time of its closure about 15 years ago.

 

Photo credit: https://highwooddrums.co.uk/news/140-years-a-musical-instrument-institution

 

It's now a Costa.

Edited 10 hours ago by asingardenof
Added photo

[djc63]

17 hours ago, Mykesbass said:

Used to regularly visit Shaftesbury Avenue and Charing Cross Road as a kid, but the shop I remember most fondly, and the cause of my Peavey T40 gas was Nolan's in Forest Hill, South London. Run by two very friendly Irish guys. Had one of their own amps, a very good, but very impractical copy of a Fender Twin.

I remember Nolans. Being originally from forest hill I remember my dad taking me there at a very young age. That shop sparked a life long passion for all things guitar!

But most of all I remember Music House in Catford, SE London.  I'd spend most Saturdays there annoying the staff! Bought my first proper bass there, Yamaha bb800, got my first real gig there thanks to Brian the manager recommending me. 

Great times they were.

[Mykesbass]

18 minutes ago, djc63 said:

I remember Nolans. Being originally from forest hill I remember my dad taking me there at a very young age. That shop sparked a life long passion for all things guitar!

But most of all I remember Music House in Catford, SE London.  I'd spend most Saturdays there annoying the staff! Bought my first proper bass there, Yamaha bb800, got my first real gig there thanks to Brian the manager recommending me. 

Great times they were.

Crazy to think how many there were - Len Stiles in Lewisham, one on Peckham Rye, and one just around the corner from Camberwell Green. All just a walk or short bus ride away! Getting proper nostalgic now 

[djc63]

1 hour ago, Mykesbass said:

Crazy to think how many there were - Len Stiles in Lewisham, one on Peckham Rye, and one just around the corner from Camberwell Green. All just a walk or short bus ride away! Getting proper nostalgic now 

Forgot about Len stiles, my first job was a stones throw from there so often had a lunchtime browse in there. 

There was also gigsounds in Streatham and Wing music in Sidcup.

[casapete]

5 hours ago, asingardenof said:

I bought my trusty Squier Precision from John Scheerer & Sons in 1998. At the time it was based in the Merrion Centre in Leeds, and had been trading for around 140 years at the time of its closure about 15 years ago.

 

Photo credit: https://highwooddrums.co.uk/news/140-years-a-musical-instrument-institution

 

It's now a Costa.used to regularly go in Scheerer’s, a proper old school shop.

I’d forgotten this one! I used to call in there regularly when in Leeds on gear safaris.

Classical instruments and sheet music on the ground floor, with band stuff upstairs.

You had to ask to be allowed past the stair gate to get upstairs to view the good stuff -

mainly new but some s/h as well. A member of staff was sent upstairs to watch you

look around. I bought an acoustic guitar from there I think, probably late 70’s.

[Stub Mandrel]

Just made my last visit to Nobles.

 

Bought some leads and a footswitch, bade him farewell and thanks.

 

Nice to see someone retire rather than go bust.

[Shaggy]

22 hours ago, Skybone said:

Hessey's in Liverpool is long gone. Only ever bought a couple of things from them, as they were too expensive for my pocket at the time, but tons of drool-worthy gear. Famed for where The Beatles bought some of their equipment.

 

There used to be another shop on Woolton Road IIRC, but I can't recall the name.

 

Curley's was always my favourite when it was on Stanley St. (next door to Hessey's, and round the corner from Probe Records), always used to have a good selection of basses in. They're still going, now on Renshaw St. where Taskers used to be.

 

I loved Hessey's - bought my one and only brand new bass there in 1979: an Ibanez Musician MC900 (because Sting had one.....)   I still have loads of LP's that I bought at Probe records too, it was a great place to hang out.   Only a vague memory of Curley's though.

 

Growing up in Cambridge; the only shop for secondhand band gear was Cambridge Rock, on Newnham Rd; (Millers in the city centre did a very limited range of new gear).   Run by a Jeff Lynne lookalike with a very dry sense of humour.   I remember drooling over the stock of mainly 1960's Fenders, Gibsons and Rics - nothing costing more than a couple of hundred, but still way outside my pocket money budget.     When I first saw an Ovation Magnum I vowed I'd have one one day, and 25 years later on I did....

All that vintage exotica, and all I actually managed to buy there was my first "proper" amp - a Carlsbro Stingray 100 head and a 4x12" cab DIY kit.