Why Buy From an Independent Guitar Shop?

Why Buy From an Independent Guitar Shop?

At SL Guitar Works, we’re a family run business and we’ve always wanted buying a guitar to be a personal experience. We’re not interested in rushing you through the door with a guitar under your arm. If you’re spending your hard earned money on an instrument, you should have the chance to take your time, play it properly and make sure it’s the right one for you. We think there’s a lot to be said for coming into a proper guitar shop, picking up a few instruments and having a chat with someone who knows them.

Try before you buy

One of the biggest advantages of buying from a shop is being able to actually play the guitar. You can look at photographs and watch as many reviews as you like, but none of that tells you exactly how a guitar is going to feel in your hands.

The shape of the neck, the weight of the guitar, the way it sits against you and the sound it makes can all make a difference. Even two guitars of the same model can feel slightly different. We encourage our customers to take their time, try a few guitars, play them unplugged, plug them in, compare them and see which one feels right. There’s no need to rush a decision.

Our guitars are set up before they leave

This is really important and. A guitar arriving from a manufacturer or distributor isn’t going to be playing at its best straight out of the box. Changes in temperature and humidity during storage and transport can also have an effect, and guitars can need adjustments to the neck, action and intonation.

We check and set up our guitars before they leave the shop. We want the guitar you take home to be playing properly and feeling good, rather than leaving you to sort out problems that could have been dealt with before you bought it.

It's suprising how many customers come to us with a brand new guitar that they've bought online for us to set-up and sort out.

You can ask questions

We’re happy to talk through the options and help you find something that suits you, rather than trying to steer you towards the most expensive guitar. Tell us what you play, what sort of music you like and what you want from the guitar, and we can use our experience to point you in the right direction. Sometimes the guitar you had in mind isn't the one you end up choosing.

We’re still here after you’ve bought it

Another benefit of buying from an independent shop is knowing where to come back to. If you have a question about your guitar, need some advice, want different strings fitting or need something checking, you can come back and speak to us.

We love seeing people returning to us for their next guitar, or bringing friends and family.We’re building relationships with people who share our love of guitars, rather than just processing orders.

Final Thoughts

If you’re looking for your next guitar, come and spend some time with us. Try as many as you like, take your time and see what feels right. You might know straight away which one is for you, or it might take a few visits and a few different guitars.

Either way, there’s no rush. We’d rather you found the right guitar than went home with the wrong one.