New Gibson London store

[Albatross]

Just saw this on the news. Gibson are opening a store just off Oxford St.

[Random Guitarist]

I wonder how the big Gibson retailers in the UK feel about this?
Can't imagine they'd be thrilled by the news.

[Sam Spoons]

I don't know, I suspect the Gibson store will not be offering discounts off the posted retail prices so other retailers will be able to undercut them. If they do offer discounts they are just another store but with a limited range of products.

[Wonks]

They may do price matching if asked, but as advertised, Andertons are £400 cheaper on a 50s LP Standard. £2399 vs £2799. That's 15% more.

I see it more as an outlet for Custom Shop orders, with the standard guitars tagged on to fill up space and look nice. Saves you having to deal with Gibson direct in the US and importing the guitar yourself.

IIRC they once had a showroom in London before, somewhere to meet Gibson-playing stars and hold press events etc, so it's not an entirely new concept.

And Fender had the Soho Soundhouse, and the other guitar stores survived.

Gibson in the past have killed off dealers more by sales attitudes than direct competition in making them take loads of guitars they didn't want to get the ones they did. Guitar Village stopped selling Gibsons for several years. Hopefully things are a bit better now for retailers.

[Dynamic Mike]

I did the Gibson factory tour in Memphis where they made the semi-acoustics a few years before they closed it. It wasn't a great experience because I went on Labor Day so there was only a skeleton staff on hand. In fairness they did explain it would be unusually quiet but it was my last day in Memphis so I didn't have any other option. What made me smile was the chief luthier in the Memphis factory was a Yorkshire lad from Leeds!

The factory incorporated a small shop, which probably had less than 3 dozen guitars, (iirc mostly Midtowns & ES-175's) so was no great threat to local dealers. I got the impression it was mostly there to accomodate people looking for custom builds.

If you search the new London store website by 'show in stock' they don't seem to have a great deal of stock available either.

[ajay_m]

But to be celebrated at least is a small resurgence in actual shops where you can actually pick up and play an instrument. When I first came to London we had a real thriving collection of great shops around Denmark St plus that basement store just up the road on Oxford St and now it's just so much quieter, though some of the guitar stores have at least survived. But we've lost Macari's and PMT in Clerkenwell quietly closed their store at Christmas, so that for the really big stores you've gotta go down to Brighton for GAK, out to Romford for PMT and DV247 or off to Guildford for Anderton's (arguably the best of the bunch).

Now we do have the little Roland store in Denmark St now which is something, I guess, and having Gibson open a store is also I think good news because it'll bring people back into the area and perhaps we'll see some more retailers have a go. I'd hate to think of a future where you could only buy stuff on the internet, that's just not what music making is all about, it's looking, touching, playing....

Looks like after the success of last year's GearFest we're having another one this year, which is really really good news as I used to love the music expos and then they, too, died out for a while.... but it looks like we may have a resurgence here, and so the Gibson initiative is very encouraging. I'm not a guitarist but I'm sure gonna pop in and have a look....

[Arpangel]

Is this going to be like Roland London, you can’t actually buy anything.

[muzines]

Here’s a video about the new shop:

https://youtu.be/bE1bcSe2caM?si=zZMnyQd5FEeeBqoi

[Sam Spoons]

I was out looking at new bikes with #2 on Monday and the 'showroom' concept happens in cycle shops too. The manufacturer shops we visited had not many bikes, maybe 20-30 where one of the 'proper' bike shops had 450 (and the other I guess, about 300) and virtually no accessories in a fairly large space, all displayed to look good rather than to pack plenty of stock in. Not sure if you could actually buy a bike off the floor at the Ribble store in Lancashire but, apparently the one in Bristol only takes orders as they carry no stock in store.

That Gibson store had a fair few guitars and lots of merch available which I assume are available to buy and take away with you so is, more or less, a conventional guitar shop..

[6120]

This has to be good news and it’s only a few minutes from the Yamaha flagship store in Wardour St which after its recent major refurb really is a superstore.
Mak’s Guitars, stocks loads of Eastmans, is nearby in Rathbone Place too, and Hobgoblin folk instruments up the road so you’ve got some great choice’s covering all genres in a very small area (and that’s not forgetting Denmark St)!

[Dynamic Mike]

All of this would be great if only us Northerners had some kind of high speed rail link.

[arkieboy]

This feels to me more like an 'Apple Store' kind of thing than a competitive retail outlet. Supporting brand loyalty and making it easy to order and buy high markup custom build instruments isn't going to really detract from Andertons or GuitarGuitar sales selling stock Gibsons and Murphy Lab customs.

Don't get me wrong, both Harris guitarists in Bicester are big Gibson fans, will definitely visit, and currently mulling over custom truss rod covers (there's a LP called GBH and a Firebird called Fawkes begging for that service ... ). But honestly I'm not sure I could ever justify a new Gibson at current prices. Not without a serious pay rise, anyway.

Except. Why was a certain Mr. May present at launch? Are we going to get a high end Red Special with 'Gibson' on the headstock? That could be difficult for my wallet.

[Wonks]

Except. Why was a certain Mr. May present at launch? Are we going to get a high end Red Special with 'Gibson' on the headstock? That could be difficult for my wallet.

https://www.musicradar.com/news/brian-m ... ith-gibson

Looks like you’ll probably need to get a promotion, Steve.

[The Elf]

I did the Gibson factory tour in Memphis where they made the semi-acoustics a few years before they closed it.

I didn't know they closed it. That's sad. I really enjoyed that tour. As I recall it they also had a quite sizeable shop when I went.

[ajay_m]

I walked down Eastcastle St last night to get a shufti en route to Selfridges where I intended to purchase an ex demo xgimi elfin projector and I believe opening day is today. Usual bunch of heavies and nervous minions in there giving it a last minute inspection.
It looks very attractive with a bunch of iconic guitars in cases on the walls like a museum with a bit of history for each, along with what looked like a reasonable range of stuff I assume you could actually buy and the usual t shirt and hat merch which they probably will sell a lot of since if you're in London why not pop in anyway. Missed a trick getting the Hard Rock Cafe to relocate next door

[Drew Stephenson]

All of this would be great if only us Northerners had some kind of high speed rail link.

Just pop across to York and got to G4M instead, I'm sure it'll be much the same experience!

[IAA]

G4M instead, I'm sure it'll be much the same experience!

But with a Yorkshire welcome!

Seriously the staff in the G4M guitar section are great. No pressure and you can sit all day noodling if you need to. I enjoyed trying a Gibson Les Paul Standard and the sales guy was an absolute star. Left me to play and contemplate…..

Not that time but next time Im sure I’ll just buy one!

Ian

[amanise]

There's nothing like sneaking into your nearest music store, grabbing a Strat and smashing out Smoke On The Water on number 11. Then running off.

[arkieboy]

I did the Gibson factory tour in Memphis where they made the semi-acoustics a few years before they closed it.

I didn't know they closed it. That's sad. I really enjoyed that tour. As I recall it they also had a quite sizeable shop when I went.

Sadly, yes. I did the tour too - I was at a meeting in Memphis so had to swing by. They had a stage there to to put gigs on, but that had lapsed when I visited

(Not that there wasn’t enough music in Memphis. Live band with dinner every night)

Didn’t buy a guitar, which is a shame because I absolutely adore Gibson Semis.

[amanise]

I did the Gibson factory tour in Memphis where they made the semi-acoustics a few years before they closed it.

I didn't know they closed it. That's sad. I really enjoyed that tour. As I recall it they also had a quite sizeable shop when I went.

Sadly, yes. I did the tour too - I was at a meeting in Memphis so had to swing by. They had a stage there to to put gigs on, but that had lapsed when I visited

(Not that there wasn’t enough music in Memphis. Live band with dinner every night)

Didn’t buy a guitar, which is a shame because I absolutely adore Gibson Semis.

Best thing I did I reckon. Bought my ES335 Lucille while I was staying with friends at a place called Blue Note Music in Berkeley CA when the pound was very strong compared to now, 2007 just before everything fell to poop. It ended up about half the cost of getting it here - even after paying the import duty on it. American guitars cost silly money now.

[Dynamic Mike]

All of this would be great if only us Northerners had some kind of high speed rail link.

Just pop across to York and got to G4M instead, I'm sure it'll be much the same experience!

Chester to York only takes 3 hours and 41 minutes by train. That's a long pop to play northern powerchords

[Drew Stephenson]

Quicker to get to London!

But you didn't mention you were starting from the midlands...

[Dynamic Mike]

Quicker to get to London!

But you didn't mention you were starting from the midlands...

The midlands? Really, wow. I'll phone my mum and tell her I think we might be middle-class. She'll be chuffed

[Wonks]

You’ll be cutting the crusts off your cucumber sandwiches before you know it!

[S.Crow]

Here’s a video about the new shop:

https://youtu.be/bE1bcSe2caM?si=zZMnyQd5FEeeBqoi

It’s a rather luxurious place when you include all the secret rooms that Joe Public will never see.
Justin Hawkins was deliciously irreverent and possibly because he immediately sensed that Agnesi was taking the whole thing too seriously.
Impressive, although maybe a bit indulgent!
But if you want to keep selling £50K+ new guitars, you probably need to have a setting to sell the dream.
I suppose the JP double neck will be launched there soon.
Do I hear £100K from the man with the black Ferrari?