Ordered a new amp

[Simon D]

Cranes is still going. They've got branches in Cardiff and Swansea (where I live).

I'm originally from Swansea.  :)  

When I was a lad there were a few music shops, a place called John Hams (where I got my very first guitar!) and a couple of branches of Duck, Son & Pinker - whose main branch is in Bath, where I went to University.  Don't suppose they're still there?

Ah, cool, another Swansea-ite!
John Hams and Duck, Son & Pinker are both long gone I'm afraid, and were well before I started my playing career 13 years ago.  Best places for gear around here are Cranes (a recent addition) and Rowlands, which you may or may not remember as a small second-hand shop. It's now a full-blown music store with some decent stuff, staffed by a cool bunch of guys.

[Philly Q]

Best places for gear around here are Cranes (a recent addition) and Rowlands, which you may or may not remember as a small second-hand shop. It's now a full-blown music store with some decent stuff, staffed by a cool bunch of guys.

The only second-hand shop I remember was a place we called the Exchange & Mart (I don't think that was its actual name) on St Helen's Road.  A real old-fashioned junk shop with all sorts of stuff including a few cheap guitars - I used to get obscure '70s albums on vinyl there.  One of the blokes who ran the place was (reputedly) an ex-member of Budgie.

I am going back 25 years though!  :lol:

[PhilKing]

I did a guitar repair course with Steven Delft back in the seventies, and one of the other guys on it was from John Hams.   If you are looking for custom guitar work or great setups, Will Scott in Pembrooke is worth contacting.  He has made me a couple of guitars and also repaired a Thunderbird bass which was in pieces when I bought it and fixed my friends 63 SG a couple of times (my friend broke the headstock off twice, and his son broke it the third time - at which point Will made a new neck for it!!).

[Simon D]

Best places for gear around here are Cranes (a recent addition) and Rowlands, which you may or may not remember as a small second-hand shop. It's now a full-blown music store with some decent stuff, staffed by a cool bunch of guys.

The only second-hand shop I remember was a place we called the Exchange & Mart (I don't think that was its actual name) on St Helen's Road.  A real old-fashioned junk shop with all sorts of stuff including a few cheap guitars - I used to get obscure '70s albums on vinyl there.  One of the blokes who ran the place was (reputedly) an ex-member of Budgie.

I am going back 25 years though!  :lol:

There's a chance Exchange and Mart became Rowlands. It built up from having a few cr@ppy, beat up second-hand guitars into stocking new stuff as well, then the music/guitar side moved to a bigger shop on the same street.

Don't know anything about an ex-member of Budgie though!