-
Spent Saturday afternoon with a friend wandering around the shops of Denmark Street and at Mak's Guitars, who have recently relocated. Mak's is great, of course. They let us try a vintage George Benson prototype (I think), and a 7-string Buscarino Monarch. The GB played and sounded great - very lively and bright (strung with round wounds), and very easy to play. Around £2.5k if I remember rightly. I've been lusting after a Buscarino for a long time, but this one was not for me. Both my friend and I were defeated by the 7th string. Seems just ignoring the extra string is not enough - we both found ourselves struggling a little to play on the other 6. I'm sure this is something that can be overcome with familiarity. Sounds was considerably quieter and more mellow than that of the GB. The strings (flat wounds) were heavier than I'm used to, and the action a little higher than I'm used to also. Looked absolutely beautiful, as you might expect. This was a little under £8k. They also had an old Gibson L-175 which maybe somebody here would be interested in? Sorry, don't remember the price.
We stopped in another shop in Denmark St (sorry, I forget which, but one of the smaller ones that specialise in vintage gear), which had a 1937 Gibson Super 400 for around £10k. I know nothing about old Gibsons, but this doesn't seem like an outrageous price to me. Also a couple of other old Gibson archtops, but models I'm not familiar with. Might be worth a visit if you're in the market for this kind of thing.
-
03-01-2026 01:18 PM
-
Ah, this takes me back. I used to visit charing X rd and Denmark st with a friend back in the early sixties and lust after guitars we couldn't afford. There were also a couple of shops in Euston area I think I recall, and I remember one of them had an acoustic non cutaway Super 400 for under £100. We didn't really check it out as no cutaway! Uncool back then.
-
Ha! This one was not for me. No pickup! You'd think they'd put one on for that price
I used to skip college with a mate back in the 80s to visit Denmark Street and do the same. I did eventually buy a Charvel from Rose Morris with the paycheck from my first job with the rest on my credit card. Got laid off two months later and spent a long time paying that down
.
-
Love Denmark Street. Temptation everywhere!
-
Do you mean ES-175 or L-7?
-
In the mid-60s the guitar shops even extended down shaftsbury avenue, notably including Sound City. There were even some dubious walk-up stores over clubs, which you'd find via the Melody Maker paper. There was one place called Pan, over the Flamingo all-nighter I think, which used to advertise " fender strats, choice of 12, any colour, £75". Surprisingly, strats went through a period of being deeply unfashionable in the UK, especially red ones; many players used to strip them and varnish them.. they didn't like the well-used look when the paint started wearing off....
Originally Posted by bananafist
Ah, this takes me back. I used to visit charing X rd and Denmark st with a friend back in the early sixties and lust after guitars we couldn't afford. There were also a couple of shops in Euston area I think I recall, and I remember one of them had an acoustic non cutaway Super 400 for under £100. We didn't really check it out as no cutaway! Uncool back then.
Who knew???
-
Pan Music! Yes I remember it well. I bought a Precision bass for £80 and later a Gretsch Tennessean for £85 back then. As you say, there were strats for similar amounts too. The first time I went in there they had a Rickenbacker on the wall with the neck bent so far back it was clearly visible. The guy said 'oh, it just needs the truss rod adjusting' - yeah, right.
-
I used to visit London regularly in 1987-2003 as part of my job in investor relations. Whenever traveling alone, I tried to find time for Denmark Street. I wasn't playing actively then but my son often needed a gimmick not available in Finland. The last time, around 2009 when I was already retired, Mak's was still Mairants. Bought a Vestax D'A NYL-2 for a good price. Much of the rest in the area looked overpriced. IIRC, there was a plan to tear down the whole zone. Looks like that won't happen. Good.
-
Well, that certainly hasn't changed in 60 years......... Originally Posted by bananafist
-
Something happened today that I can't quite understand.
This morning, ads for about 20 very interesting Gibson guitars were posted on Reverb.com.
About 12 Gibson L-5s and several Gibson L-5s.
The prices were very low, and in some cases, VERY LOW.
A 1970s L-5 was under €5,000 and a 1974 L-5s was €2,700.
Unfortunately, I didn't take a screenshot, but after a few hours, the Reverb.com page for the seller of all these guitars (DENMARK STREET MUSIC in London) was taken down and is still unavailable.
Just a moment...
I'm curious to know what happened.
Ettore
-
Believe that just means they nabbed a scammer: "Account Disabled" Originally Posted by equenda
"The prices were very low, and in some cases, VERY LOW." = Too low to be credible.
-
Grazie! Ho imparato qualcosa..... Originally Posted by Mick-7
Thank-You! I have learned something...
Ettore
-
Yeah, I meant ES-175. £4999 on their website. Originally Posted by jads57
-
I had a look at the 175 on their site. Shame you have to trawl through all the sold guitars! Is £4999 a fair price considering the side crack and refret? Originally Posted by CliffR
-
I wouldn't know, to be honest, but on a guitar that old, I'd view a refret as a bonus, not a problem. Originally Posted by garybaldy
-
As long as you like the new frets. Some people are fussy. Originally Posted by CliffR
Reply With Quote
Recommandations for Hollowbodies for $600 and under?
Today, 05:20 AM in Guitar, Amps & Gizmos