Cranes in Cardiff has gone, I see

[NYCBlue]

Do you have Guitar Center (or an equivalent) over there?

http://www.guitarcenter.com

[Vimana.]

Do you have Guitar Center (or an equivalent) over there?

http://www.guitarcenter.com

Not really.
Mainly independents, though some quite big - e.g. Andertons and the like - but dotted around the country, and usually just one main outlet.

[NYCBlue]

Not really.
Mainly independents, though some quite big - e.g. Andertons and the like - but dotted around the country, and usually just one main outlet.

So what's left in Cardiff if you're looking for a music gear.

[Cyclops]

So what's left in Cardiff if you're looking for a music gear.

Nobles is still trading. They shifted from Llanishen (where I bought my Washburn Hawk a long time ago) to Crwys Road and thence to Old Church Road at Whitchurch. Different Noble now behind the counter to 1979. That luthier at Dinas Powis seems to have disappeared.....

[Veg1960]

Nobles is still trading. They shifted from Llanishen (where I bought my Washburn Hawk a long time ago) to Crwys Road and thence to Old Church Road at Whitchurch. Different Noble now behind the counter to 1979. That luthier at Dinas Powis seems to have disappeared.....

Personally I'd take the Washburn Hawk over a PRS SE any day of the week. I do have a soft spot for that lovely old Jap stuff

[Cyclops]

Personally I'd take the Washburn Hawk over a PRS SE any day of the week. I do have a soft spot for that lovely old Jap stuff

I still love playing the Hawk - it's my instrument of choice and cost me about £750 in 1979. I'm buying the PRS for the Floyd Rose whammy bar - and the neck dimensions are very close to the Hawk; so the playability is almost the same. The pick-up configuration is also similar to the Hawk, and a selling point of the PRS SE Floyd is its 85/15 pick-ups

[Veg1960]

I love those old Washburns - never had one of the Hawk Series but have an A15 and A20. The A20 is killer! Those EMGs may take a bit of getting used to, with the Floyd should be very different from the Washburn

[NYCBlue]

I bought a Hohner 335 copy in blonde from Nobles on Crwys Road in about 1990. It was a surprisingly good guitar. I think my son has it now.

[Vimana.]

I still love playing the Hawk - it's my instrument of choice and cost me about £750 in 1979. I'm buying the PRS for the Floyd Rose whammy bar - and the neck dimensions are very close to the Hawk; so the playability is almost the same. The pick-up configuration is also similar to the Hawk, and a selling point of the PRS SE Floyd is its 85/15 pick-ups

I'd never seen a Washburn Hawk, or at least I had forgotten if I had - I had to google it.
Looks like it comes from the same factory or 'gakki' (Matsumoko I guess) as the venerable Westone Thunder.
But yeah, it's much prettier ;)

I like old late 70's - 80's Japanese guitars too, mainly the F style.
I've bought and sold a few over the years, Greco, Fernandes, early Tokai, Antoria , early Ibanez etc . Early JV Squire's too.
Not kept any. Doh...
My Strat still has an old Tokai body though ;)

[Cyclops]

Not really.
Mainly independents, though some quite big - e.g. Andertons and the like - but dotted around the country, and usually just one main outlet.

I think for PRS guitars for example, PMT are as good an outlet as any. The local branch get an order number from their HO and raise the order. The price for the model I pre-ordered seems to be be fixed for the moment wherever you buy, so I welcomed the chance to support my local store. And I had the chance to check out the playability of a similar guitar without feeling I was using the shop. When it's ready for collection I'll have a chance to play it and check it over for dins - something I worry about when buying blind. So far, all good - and there was a guy in there who obviously loved PRS guitars.