The Best Guitar Shops in Bristol
You’re really spoilt for choice when it comes to finding somewhere to buy a guitar in Bristol. There are loads of great music shops all over the city. Some are almost exclusively guitar-centred, whilst others generalise and sell loads of great music gear. A few of my favourites are listed here. Remember that when you’re buying a guitar the shop is looking at you as someone who will potentially be coming back regularly to buy new strings and music books, have repairs done and maybe even one day buy a much more expensive guitar when you’re really good. With this in mind a little shopping around and haggling may well get you a cheaper deal or a few extras thrown in. (A free guitar bag and strap is pretty standard these days).
Mickelburgh’s. To be found at the Bristol end of Stoke’s Croft, (near the Bear Pit) this independent music shop is my favourite guitar shop in Bristol. They have a great range of guitars for players of all types, a huge library of music books in the basement section and an in-house luthier (guitar repair chap to you and me) called Eltham Jones who works above the shop three days a week. They also have very reasonable rates on guitar strings and other accessories, and the staff are the most helpful and accommodating of all the guitar shops in Bristol. New guitar players in Bristol couldn’t do much better than getting their equipment here. 10/10. Call them on 0117 924 1151
PMT. Located in central Bristol this guitar shop is part of a huge national chain of music stores. As such they are the stockists of some of the most reasonably priced guitars in Bristol. In particular they have one of the biggest ranges of electric guitars and electric guitar amplifiers. And having bought my own bass guitar from there not too long ago I can definitely say that their prices are reasonable, and, if you’re after a pricier instrument, their twelve month 0% finance offers are also worth a look. 9/10. Call them on 0117 934 9955
Hobgoblin. If you're looking for a great acoustic guitar you won't go wrong here. Also located on Park Street, my favourite thing about this shop is the boutique nature of the shop. They are predominantly a folk music shop, and so you'll find plenty of traditional instruments as well as a good range of modern acoustic guitars. If you're considering buying a nylon stringed guitar then this is the first place you should look. 9/10. Call them on 0117 929 0902
Lindo Guitars. This is a great independent guitar makers just off Bath Road in Bristol. They make high quality beginner level guitars. A guitar student of mine recently purchased a guitar from here only to find out when he brought it to me that it wasn’t quite set up right. Lindo immediately replaced the guitar with an identical, but properly set up, guitar and it now plays beautifully. I’d definitely recommend this shop to anyone looking to buy their first guitar, if nothing else because of their honesty and customer service! 7/10. Call them on 0117 300 9806
Treblerock Music. Don't let the size of the shop fool you, you can get everything you want here. Right in the centre of Clifton since 1991 the best thing about this shop is going in and having a chat about what you're after and being recommended something you never thought you needed. I've found a few little gems in this shop one way or another over the years. They're also a great place to go to get your equipment fixed. They've done great jobs with some of my guitar pedals and speakers before and the rates are pretty reasonable too. 10/10 Call them on 01179 737 666
Electric Ladyland. The fact that this shop has only two reviews on Google at the time of writing, one of them five stars and the other a one star, kind of tells you everything you need to know about the place. It's almost not a shop at all, it's more somewhere you go when the eight year old inside you wants to remind you what it first felt like to pick up a guitar. You enter through the back because the front door is piled up high with guitar amps, and the inside feels somewhere between a Hard Rock Cafe and the wand shop from the first Harry Potter movie (with a small dash of the house from Steptoe and Son).The owner, Steve, doesn't particularly seem to care if you buy anything or not, but will talk to you for hours if you have the time. There's music equipment piled three or four layers deep, but if you tell him what you're after he'll dig out something he thinks will suit you. He also might tell you to go away, that's sort of part of the charm. He doesn't have a website and there's not much to gain from trying to call him first. Just go. 11/10
Now that you know where to get your guitar, head over to my guitar lessons page to find out how I can help you learn how to use it!
Martin Sean McConnell Guitar Lessons - 10/09/20
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