Widest choice of acoustics in the UK

Adamski · March 2022

Peach have by far the biggest collection of Acoustic (and electric) guitars in the UK. It's not even close IMO. IF you haven't been to their place since they moved in to the massive warehouse in Colchester then it's basically like a Willy Wonka for guitars, that's the only way I can describe it.

randella · March 2022

tomjax said:

bertie said:

just checked the Frailers website, pretty good, if you want a Martin................. disappointingly not a great deal else, 100+ Martins, a few Taylors, 4 Lowdens, couple of Gibsons and a Santa Cruz and some cheaper stuff

I was in there just before Christmas and I’ve never seen so many Gibsons in one store, used and new. They definitely way outnumbered the Martins available.

it was my first time in the store. Got talking with Frank, the owner, he’s quite a character with plenty of stories to share, though sadly not in the best of health.

Definitely worth a visit, not many stores like that left in the UK now.

I'll third, or fourth, Frailers. That's where my HD-28 came from. The owner was pleasant, treated me like an adult - basically gave me the run of the shop and told me to pick up and play what I fancied. Felt like the kind of guitar shop that's all but disappeared these days.

Shop stock is funny since Corona - places that used to hold a wide variety now with only a handful of midrange Fenders on the wall. It seems to be recovering a bit but, at the time, Frailers was the only place remotely nearby that had anything like a good selection.

guitarjack66 · March 2022

randella said:

tomjax said:

bertie said:

just checked the Frailers website, pretty good, if you want a Martin................. disappointingly not a great deal else, 100+ Martins, a few Taylors, 4 Lowdens, couple of Gibsons and a Santa Cruz and some cheaper stuff

I was in there just before Christmas and I’ve never seen so many Gibsons in one store, used and new. They definitely way outnumbered the Martins available.

it was my first time in the store. Got talking with Frank, the owner, he’s quite a character with plenty of stories to share, though sadly not in the best of health.

Definitely worth a visit, not many stores like that left in the UK now.

I'll third, or fourth, Frailers. That's where my HD-28 came from. The owner was pleasant, treated me like an adult - basically gave me the run of the shop and told me to pick up and play what I fancied. Felt like the kind of guitar shop that's all but disappeared these days.

Shop stock is funny since Corona - places that used to hold a wide variety now with only a handful of midrange Fenders on the wall. It seems to be recovering a bit but, at the time, Frailers was the only place remotely nearby that had anything like a good selection.

I will have to try Frailers again as it simply doesnt sound like the shop I went into a couple of times.

artiebear · March 2022

guitarjack66 said:

randella said:

tomjax said:

bertie said:

just checked the Frailers website, pretty good, if you want a Martin................. disappointingly not a great deal else, 100+ Martins, a few Taylors, 4 Lowdens, couple of Gibsons and a Santa Cruz and some cheaper stuff

I was in there just before Christmas and I’ve never seen so many Gibsons in one store, used and new. They definitely way outnumbered the Martins available.

it was my first time in the store. Got talking with Frank, the owner, he’s quite a character with plenty of stories to share, though sadly not in the best of health.

Definitely worth a visit, not many stores like that left in the UK now.

I'll third, or fourth, Frailers. That's where my HD-28 came from. The owner was pleasant, treated me like an adult - basically gave me the run of the shop and told me to pick up and play what I fancied. Felt like the kind of guitar shop that's all but disappeared these days.

Shop stock is funny since Corona - places that used to hold a wide variety now with only a handful of midrange Fenders on the wall. It seems to be recovering a bit but, at the time, Frailers was the only place remotely nearby that had anything like a good selection.

I will have to try Frailers again as it simply doesnt sound like the shop I went into a couple of times.

Once upon a time I would have agreed. Have you checked the current stock online ? Doesn't sound great.

ToneControl · March 2022

artiebear said:

guitarjack66 said:

randella said:

tomjax said:

bertie said:

just checked the Frailers website, pretty good, if you want a Martin................. disappointingly not a great deal else, 100+ Martins, a few Taylors, 4 Lowdens, couple of Gibsons and a Santa Cruz and some cheaper stuff

I was in there just before Christmas and I’ve never seen so many Gibsons in one store, used and new. They definitely way outnumbered the Martins available.

it was my first time in the store. Got talking with Frank, the owner, he’s quite a character with plenty of stories to share, though sadly not in the best of health.

Definitely worth a visit, not many stores like that left in the UK now.

I'll third, or fourth, Frailers. That's where my HD-28 came from. The owner was pleasant, treated me like an adult - basically gave me the run of the shop and told me to pick up and play what I fancied. Felt like the kind of guitar shop that's all but disappeared these days.

Shop stock is funny since Corona - places that used to hold a wide variety now with only a handful of midrange Fenders on the wall. It seems to be recovering a bit but, at the time, Frailers was the only place remotely nearby that had anything like a good selection.

I will have to try Frailers again as it simply doesnt sound like the shop I went into a couple of times.

Once upon a time I would have agreed. Have you checked the current stock online ? Doesn't sound great.

surely still different to other shops, and where else is comparable in the north west?

TheMadMick · March 2022

Why has no one mentioned Promenade Music in Morecambe? Maybe not stuffed with Martins and Gibbos but they have quite a range of quality and mid priced guitars.

randella · March 2022

guitarjack66 said:

randella said:

I'll third, or fourth, Frailers. That's where my HD-28 came from. The owner was pleasant, treated me like an adult - basically gave me the run of the shop and told me to pick up and play what I fancied. Felt like the kind of guitar shop that's all but disappeared these days.

Shop stock is funny since Corona - places that used to hold a wide variety now with only a handful of midrange Fenders on the wall. It seems to be recovering a bit but, at the time, Frailers was the only place remotely nearby that had anything like a good selection.

I will have to try Frailers again as it simply doesnt sound like the shop I went into a couple of times.

@guitarjack66 - oh no, now the pressure’s on! Don’t kill me if it disappoints again!

Smellyfingers · March 2022

I don't know if it's been mentioned but guitar guitar are the biggest retailer in the UK.

You can ask to sample any guitar from their chain in one shop location, the proviso is you have pay a 10% deposit on each instrument for them to collect them together for you, but my understanding is this is refundable.

Mellish · March 2022

@Smellyfingers ; - that's right, it is refundable, or they'll take it off a purchase

ToneControl · March 2022

Smellyfingers said:

I don't know if it's been mentioned but guitar guitar are the biggest retailer in the UK.

You can ask to sample any guitar from their chain in one shop location, the proviso is you have pay a 10% deposit on each instrument for them to collect them together for you, but my understanding is this is refundable.

any idea why they have no store in the Liverpool-Manchester Area?

Gomers · March 2022

Another big fan of Frailers here. I've had umpteen guitars from Frank over the years. My modus operandi seems to be, take current guitar to Frailers, play a few in store, trade my current guitar, come home, enjoy......and repeat....and rep. etc..

Was there 2 weeks ago and came away with a lovely 00-18. His stock levels aren't the same as they were pre-pandemic, it used to be a proper Aladdin's Cave. Still more stock than most and much more interesting too.

He likes a chat does Frank, he said his trips over to the US guitar shows are at an end now, a combination of Covid of course and I think his own health is not the best. We were discussing the lack of shops around the North West these days, since the demise of Dawsons and Sounds Great. He now seems to stock a lot more new guitars than used, his only used stock coming from trade-ins. He's been a Martin dealer since the mid '80s so can pretty much get anything in their current line up.

The Guilds and Larrivees have all vanished now and his Taylor stock is a fraction of what it used to be so the sheer variety of different maker's guitars is not the same now, unfortunately.

Think the previous poster about the bad experience must have caught them on a bad day. I've always had a great experience and some of my best deals have been done in Frailers. I'm a 90 minute round trip and must have been 15 times since my first visit and only once have I come away empty handed.

It's a great shop and maybe one day in the future, some of us could perhaps form a consortium to keep Frailers alive and kicking

It'd be a crying shame to lose that shop.

Forsyths Manchester also a great shop.

Cryptid · March 2022

Guitarguitar, PMT and The Little Guitar Shop... Birmingham is a decent place to be for trying acoustics.

I ventured out to Express Music in Coventry yesterday and was impressed with their setup, relaxed vibe and good choice of Taylors, Martins, Guilds and Atkins. I came home with a secondhand Atkin D37... and very nice it is too

guitarjack66 · March 2022

I found some strings today,unopened,and remembered I'd bought them from Frailers about 2 years ago. Not everything was bad then!

artiebear · March 2022

And this thread continues. GG have a huge choice, Peach looks great ( I live beyond the wall , quite jaunt these days ). Problem being that, there are so many UK builders working to a high standard not "represented in a local store near you" , I would only hope that you would look beyond the boring output available on your local guitar emporium,

guitarjack66 · April 2022

artiebear said:

And this thread continues. GG have a huge choice, Peach looks great ( I live beyond the wall , quite jaunt these days ). Problem being that, there are so many UK builders working to a high standard not "represented in a local store near you" , I would only hope that you would look beyond the boring output available on your local guitar emporium,

I think that the boutique guitar prices are so high that their market is a lot more limited than your major brands in your average guitar shop. I simply couldnt afford to consider Luthier builds and I expect many others cannot either.

DeepBlueWitch · April 2022

ToneControl said:

guitarjack66 said:

ToneControl said:

I'd recommend also trying the newer brands that are more hand-finished or made in a small workshop
I started with a Taylor, and was disappointed once I'd tried the brands below

Lowden - plenty of these around the UK shops
Avalon - very good value in the UK

Bourgeois
Santa Cruz
Goodall
Collings

In particular try Frailers in Runcorn - they have new Lowdens and many used Gibsons, Martins, Larrivees
and Coda have lots of new stuff including Lowdens

I live in Runcorn but dont use Frailers at all due to the horrible attitude of the fella that runs it when I went in there my first couple of times. I always shop up the road at Ideal Sounds,but Karl tends not to sell new. He also has a second shop across the road for storage.

wow, you're the first person I've heard say a bad word about him, everyone I know thinks he's ok

I also found him to be off hand and a little dismissive, not rude but also not very friendly.

guitarjack66 · April 2022

DeepBlueWitch said:

ToneControl said:

guitarjack66 said:

ToneControl said:

I'd recommend also trying the newer brands that are more hand-finished or made in a small workshop
I started with a Taylor, and was disappointed once I'd tried the brands below

Lowden - plenty of these around the UK shops
Avalon - very good value in the UK

Bourgeois
Santa Cruz
Goodall
Collings

In particular try Frailers in Runcorn - they have new Lowdens and many used Gibsons, Martins, Larrivees
and Coda have lots of new stuff including Lowdens

I live in Runcorn but dont use Frailers at all due to the horrible attitude of the fella that runs it when I went in there my first couple of times. I always shop up the road at Ideal Sounds,but Karl tends not to sell new. He also has a second shop across the road for storage.

wow, you're the first person I've heard say a bad word about him, everyone I know thinks he's ok

I also found him to be off hand and a little dismissive, not rude but also not very friendly.

I thought it was just me. Probably 'curt' is a good description of my experience too.

ToneControl · April 2022

guitarjack66 said:

DeepBlueWitch said:

ToneControl said:

guitarjack66 said:

ToneControl said:

I'd recommend also trying the newer brands that are more hand-finished or made in a small workshop
I started with a Taylor, and was disappointed once I'd tried the brands below

Lowden - plenty of these around the UK shops
Avalon - very good value in the UK

Bourgeois
Santa Cruz
Goodall
Collings

In particular try Frailers in Runcorn - they have new Lowdens and many used Gibsons, Martins, Larrivees
and Coda have lots of new stuff including Lowdens

I live in Runcorn but dont use Frailers at all due to the horrible attitude of the fella that runs it when I went in there my first couple of times. I always shop up the road at Ideal Sounds,but Karl tends not to sell new. He also has a second shop across the road for storage.

wow, you're the first person I've heard say a bad word about him, everyone I know thinks he's ok

I also found him to be off hand and a little dismissive, not rude but also not very friendly.

I thought it was just me. Probably 'curt' is a good description of my experience too.

Frank has always been friendly and chatty when I've been in there

guitarjack66 · April 2022

I was in Frailers today having a look around and the fella in there was pretty much ok with me this time. I just said I was looking around(some beautiful guitars there) and he said fine and left me to it. Had a brief exchanging of pleasantries when I left and all was good.

Howdy, Stranger!

Categories

In this Discussion

Become a Subscriber!

Widest choice of acoustics in the UK

Comments