The Knowhere Guide

Making Music in Brighton, East Sussex*

Brighton, East Sussex Guitars and Instruments, Recording Studios, Rehearsal Rooms, PA Hire

Musical Instrument Shops and DJ Gear

• Just bought from Star Guitars, www.starguitars.co.uk - just outside Brighton - worth the trip. Only have a limited range of guitars from Eastwood (reissues of retro classics) and funky DiPinto creations but they are dealers for both and can get any of those guys ranges direct. Run by Robin and his wife (Spike) and i not only got a great guitar but also got free strings, two cups of tea and fairy cakes:) Got a big Marshall stack there that you can just play with until you're happy. Robin says he does it for passion not profit - believe it - awesome, unusual, guitar buying experience.
• Not really any options besides GAK I guess
• GAK are, as mentioned above, stuck in a Not the Nine O'Clock News sketch from 1979 ("you want what Grandad, a gram-o-phone?"). They'd make Bootsy Collins feel inadequate if he dared walk into THEIR shop. Shop on Western Road has less gear but is run by human beings.
• re: GAK - hahahaha they truly are a bunch of cunts - i know way more than all of em put together and they still tried to talk down to me... BUNCH OF CUNTS!! respect to all those people who spoke out about it...
• pacific sound
• music shop in brighton
• Ackerman on Portland Road and Fab Music in Westbourne Place, both in Hove. Good for woodwind and brass stuff.
• The Brighton Music Scene including BIG ROCK is where you get the best advise the widest variety of stock including some fanatastic LIck Library DVDs I shop there I recommend you take a walk down western road.
• GAK the guitar amp and Keyboard center www.gak.co.uk - it's th the lane too!
• Of course Guitar and amp, although the people are arrogant and unfriendly and its mostly over priced, i prefer music scene on western road, not that i spend any money in there either, but there are loads- Bonners is good and actually snoopers paradise has sold some incredibly cheap and very nice sounding acoustic guitars, they always have a few cheap electrics/basses. To be worn again has a good shop above it now too, but snoopers is definetly the cheapest
• Guitar & Amp - It used to be much better when the owner Phil was behind the till every day. Maybe he was a bit grumpy but you always got service.
• re GAK Brighton, I've been a regular customer for over 5 years and have had fantastic service! The staff there are friendly, knowledgeable and patient with me, I've purchased equipment from every department, guitars mainly but also PA, recording gear and drums for my studio and I've always felt welcome! Admittedly, you have to pick your visiting times in order to get the most out of the salesmen - Saturdays are a total free for all and I don't envy anyone in there, staff or customers alike! Special praise for Mark, the young lad who mainly sells bass/PA gear for being a great help!
• When I got married I bought my Husband a guitar from The Guitar, Amp and Keyboard Centre as a Wedding Gift. I went in with £1000 but no idea of what to buy ! The guys in there were really nice and they even told me I didn't need to spend that much to get a good guitar ! Amazing, maybe they can help you too ? Thanks GAK.
• I've been playing guitar for 10 years and i've always got my gear from the Guitar,Amp and Keyboard Centre in Brighton. They used to be tiny but now i can get whatever i want and they always help me out !
• Bedrock Music in Burgess Hill. The guys there know their stuff and are amazingly helpful. Plus they've got a great range for such a tiny space! GAK in Brighton have a wide range of stock, but I wouldn't shop there if I had the choice. Girls, if you have to shop there, take a guy with you and train him to answers for you if you want them to give you the time of day.
• Guitar and Amp
• Regarding getting a good experience from GAK. There is a simpler one point plan. In general they are arrogant moody bastards. Been going there for years through lack of choice elsewhere in Brighton. Only decent blokes regularly in there were Karn and Stu who i believe set it up with Gary when it started. Hardly ever see them there these days but are apparently still involved somewhere along the line. If you actually get to speak with one of these chaps Its like a breath of fresh air. Not at all condescending and more knowledgable than the rest of the kids they have working there put together. Find or ask for one of these guys and you'll be sorted out and have a laugh doing it. With any of the others its every man for himself. Still possible to get a bargain, but not worth the hassle in general. It used to be a friendly local shop where you would get a deal and come out happy. How things change.
• Guitar and Amp... hmmm... here's a 5 point plan for a good GAK experience: 1)Be confident... they will intimidate you but stand your ground and never go intending to buy if you're with someone else... its one on one for this little venture! 2) Know what you want... if its a guitar then you should just full stop know which one you want (test em at Big Rock if you're not sure). If you're buying an amp go in with a budget, how much power you need and tell them what you want soundwise. 3) Always ask for credit! They are much nicer if they smell money... these guys are there to SELL stuff not to be your mates. 4) Act pro... if you're a kid then you've not got much chance but they will treat you how they see you. 5) If you've failed to get the service you need this is your last hope as if they don't like you they will try and give you shop soiled stock so ALWAYS ask for something from the storeroom and be prepared to wait. With all that in mind you should have a plesant experience... just bear in mind that even with all this behind you, if they're in a bad mood it'll be that much harder.
• the guitar and amp shop has a good acoustic showroom, and the guys up there are generally knowledgeable. downstairs its a bit of a scrum. Music scene in western road is great from sheet music, otherwise its pretty sheet.
• www.gak.co.uk is a sister company to The guitar amp and keyboard centre in brighton. It's just for on line buying. Ordered stuff at 4pm, got it the next day at 11am. Dont know about you but i think that level of service speaks for itself. recommended.
• GAK - the acoustic shop upstairs is good. the guys there are sound, but as others have said, downstairs its hard to get served/ fight your way through groms drooling over BC Rich kack.
• My addition to your comments on GAK. I am living in the Middle East and I saw GAK's advert on the internet. I wanted to buy two guitars from them for a total amount of fifteen hundred pounds. Their web site invites people to contact them via e-mail. So I did, placing my order for the two guitars. And I tried again a couple of weeks later. Still no reply. There's money to be made here but clearly GAK have plenty already because it's clear that they don't want mine, so I shall buy from somewhere else.
• Guitar Amp & Keyboard Shop. They advertise cheap deals on their webshite but they sell stuff at full rrp in the shop and won't match their own net prices. I went there to buy an Ibanez and it was over £100 more than their web price. The guy in the shop said "go and buy it on line then". What an asshole. Instead I bought a Maverick from Bedrock in Crawley where I got excellent customer service.
• GAK - Wankers
• Guitar Amp and Keyboard Centre. This shop has the most impressive stock level I have ever seen, But don't they just know it. Never before in my life have I been spoken to in such a patronising and condesending manner. If they were the last music store on Earth I would not have bought from there !
• GAK are a bunch of cunts !! They totally ignore you and then treat you like you have just shit in their mouth. Cocksuckers !!
• all musical instrument shops are rip off except YAMAHA SHOPS! rock on - Daffy
• The Guitar and Amp Centre in the Laines! Dude!
• guitar shop in North Laine
• imusic, hanover
• This site is well out of date. TIGER MUSIC closed in 1999! The only decent shop now is GAK. Big range of stuff, though you need to jump and shout to get noticed, and even then, most of the staff are clueless.
• Adaptatrap Percussion-Trafalgar street North laine
• adaptrap
• north rd
• There really is a lack of decent music stores considering the size of Brighton and the number of musicians.
• That percussion shop up Trafalgar street is pretty groovy....
• Drum Cavern
• Tiger Music, Sydney Street have just about every make of guitar in stock and they know about them too!!

Recording Studios, Rehearsal Rooms, PA Hire

• New recording studio - Transmission Studios - really great www.transmissionstudios.net
• Scream are well worth going too. Nice guys, OK gear and reasonable prices.
• Scream is a great rehearsal studio - not too pricey either!
• Monster Studios
• Machinehead studios - great staff, decent gear (mainly behringer). Nice and clean too! Unlike some I could mention, not naming names BRICKHOUSE
• Scream studio has some very cool looking rooms, but sound is always a bit dodgy, especially the mics/P.As. Warner studio is probably the worst in Brighton, Brick house is also bad, screams probably the best I've been to.
• Sound Locker Studios I found this yesterday,at last it looks like there is a new rehearsal complex opening in Shoreham this spring. This meens I can actually get an evening slot. They are taking bookings now. Get in soon as I recently found out there is another 650 bands in Brighton thinking just the same as me. www.soundlockerstudios.co.uk
• Scream studios
• Scream and Brickhouse in Portslade... Scream if you're not intimidated by good bands and hoards of little smartarse knobs from BIMM Brickhouse if you just wanna MAKE SOME NOISE!!!!
• i've just completed a long session at lumen studio in brighton and i'm over the moon!! i've worked in many studios over the years with various results but working with the team at lumen has given me the best reults ever, those chaps are so on it. I needed to re-track some monster guitar sounds over some electronic programming and finish the entire mixing process. i'm so happy with how it sounds ( and more importantly, so is our manager :) - thanx mat for booking it ) i would strongly recommend anyone who needs to do anything in a studio to do it at lumen. I know i'll be going back - see you soon P,T & M...i'm goimg to bed, i'm knackered...............
• i used to practice at anzac in st jamess street. it was clean, but soul-less
• Respec to Knowhere for pointing me towards Bluemoonhire. The guy sorted an ace DJ system for our houseparty with no notice, and threw in a couple of extra lights. I tried the place at bottom of New England and MBI, neither could be arsed.
• used to practice at grapevine. before and after it was torched. quite a small set up, and the bloke who ran it was a gimp. was ok though.
• The Esselle Beat Company in Dyke Rd Hove is small but well-equipped and has excellent staff who know their stuff (say hi to Kevin Stagg!)
• Good cheap recording and rehearsal studio is Mockinbird in Kemptown. Best PA hire / mobile DJ gear hire is Bluemoon (www.bluemmonhire.co.uk)They really took care of things for me. Very professional and pretty cheap too.
• Scream Studios-www.screamstudios.co.uk ground zero-www.g-zero.co.uk

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Last updated: 2008-04-11