Here’s a gallery of instruments that have previously graced our walls. For your enjoyment only, as these have all definitely been sold. You’re welcome to ask if we’re getting anything similar in future but there’s no guarantee given the rarity of some of these instruments.
Standard Series Jazz Bass Fretless in three colour sunburst.
Cabronita series Telecaster in White Blonde.
Femder Short Run Standard series stratocaster in black paisley.
Standard series in lake placid blue
LEFT-HANDED in mapleglo. I ONLY!
LEFT-HANDED in jetglo. Last one, probably for a very long time!
All solid sitka spruce and curly maple. Includes Hiscox hard case.
Second hand. C.1900s. Something a little out there even by our standards, this distinguished old lady is the nicest sounding Romantic guitar we can remember coming across. The elevated fingerboard was devised by JG Staufer in the 1820s, and is found on many Austrian guitars of the 19th Century, but our example has a fairly large body and Germanic styling that puts us in the mind of early instruments by Hauser. Sadly there’s no label, but this is a handmade instrument rather than a factory example, with exemplary woodworking and a very fine, sophisticated tone. True enough it’s not as loud or boomy as a modern classical, but the sound is very articulate with lovely treble response and a cleanly defined bass. The condition is fair, with a couple of long cracks in the Birds-eye Maple back which we’ve cleated, and the shellac varnish has been touched up. On the plus side there are no cracks in the top, and that ingenious neck mechanism works smoothly. An excellent period piece that plays and sounds as good as it looks.
Traditional Works No. 25 COMFORT. Smaller than standard body size with 630mm scale length. Handmade Japanese instrument all solid rosewood and spruce.
BEST OF BRITISH! Retrospective series. All solid East Indian rosewood and spruce.
All solid mahogany. Includes hard case.
All solid mahogany and spruce. Includes hard case.
Retrospective series. All solid flamed mahogany and spruce.
All solid mahogany and spruce
Second hand 2002 model in good condition. All solid East Indian rosewood and cedar handmade classical guitar. With case.
Handmade by Damien Burguet from all sold African rosewood and cedar with cypress double sides. A most exceptionally beautiful instrument in warmth and clarity of sound, playability and looks. One of the finest classical guitars we have ever seen.
All solid koa and spruce. Hard case included
An excellent condition and great sounding version of the 60s classic. The serial number dates it to 1965, the older headstock shape indicating early in the year. The Royal Tan finish is elegantly faded with some attractive figure in the wood. There is a crack running two inches from the neck pickup that is in the thin top veneer only and perfectly stable. The pick guard is missing but all the other hardware is original with some tarnishing and a couple of wonky tuner posts, although the tuners themselves operate smoothly. The neck is a comfortable C profile, not huge but less anorexic than later 60s guitars. There is one impact mark on the rear of the neck which isn’t enough to bother any of us on the staff, but it would be remiss not to mention it. It has been re-fretted a long time ago but the current frets are worn and low, and we would strongly recommend a re-fret – as its on consignment we haven’t been able to do this ourselves but will happily arrange for it to be done if required by the new owner. 1965 Casinos are inevitably associated with the Beatles – trainspotters will note that this one comes closest to the McCartney variant – but they’re also incredibly versatile guitars, tackling anything from soulful blues to indie jangle with equal aplomb. The P90s are wonderfully expressive and dynamic, and the hollow construction gives them a lively, responsive feel that translates well when plugged in. A truly great instrument.
High Gloss series. With hard case. All solid rosewood & spruce.
American Special series with hand-rubber honeyburst finish.
American Vintage 52 Telecaster reissue. Ash body and maple fingerboard. Butterscotch Blonde finish. With hard case.
Fender Select Series Stratocaster. The Fender Select Stratocaster is the sonic embodiment of tone-machine elegance, featuring a stunning Dark Cherry Burst gloss-lacquer finish on a sleek flame maple-top body. Its modern C shaped flame maple neck has a comfortable contoured heel, Bi-Flex™ truss rod system for rock-solid stability, a satin lacquer back finish and rear-headstock Fender Select medallion. The smooth-playing compound radius flame maple fretboard (9.5 inch-14 inch) has 22 medium jumbo frets, stylish black pearloid position inlays and gloss lacquer finish. Pure and singing signature sound comes from new Fender Select Stratocaster single-coil neck, middle and bridge pickups with five-way switching and a no-load tone control that delivers the natural uncolored sound of the bridge pickup when dimed.
Fender Short Run limited edition 'red october'
American Deluxe Series Stratocaster HSS - two N3 Noiseless™ pickups & DH-1 humbucking bridge pickup. Reconfigured S-1 switching. In Sunset Metallic with hi-tech moulded SKB case.
Johnny Marr signature model in Olympic White. Hard case included.
Fender short run cabronita telecaster. Mexican made.
Tele-bration series limited edition Old-Growth Redwood Telecaster. Hewn from centuries-old Northern California redwood that has aged into a fantastically strong and resonant tonewood. Paired with its modern-playing neck, vintage-style pickups and striking hand-rubbed oil-finish, the result is a highly elegant and distinctive take on the venerable Telecaster.
All solid spruce and East Indian rosewood with 3-piece back. Includes Hicox hard case.
2012 model second hand but as new. Only three months old. All solid walnut and cedar with Headway pickup system and Hiscox hard case.
All solid sitka spruce and rosewood. Includes Hiscox hard case.
All solid cedar and sapele tenor guitar. Tuned EADG as standard. Includes Hiscox hard case.
Ultra rare 1931 Gibson HG-20 with double sides. Gibson’s first short-lived attempt at a Hawaiian style guitar is a fascinating piece of engineering. Behind the strange looking set of f-holes is an inner wall, connected to the top and terminating an inch above the back, intended to boost bass response and projection. The tone is unusual as you might expect, with some of the bark and snappy attack of a wood bodied resonator but softer and sweeter overall than a resonator. Although not the most versatile of guitars, it excels at blues and ragtime, and of course as a slide guitar it is fantastic. Although marketed as a Hawaiian, it has the practical features of a standard Spanish guitar, with a comfortable C shaped neck, 44mm nut width and angled saddle slot for accurate intonation when fretting – no Roy Smeck monster neck profiles here. Our example entered the UK with a terrible home done refinish, and was adopted by one of our staff, who arranged for the finish to be redone, matching the colour to other HG-20s. A neck reset was performed at the same time, along with re-gluing a couple of loose braces and patching the bridge plate.
Nylon Encore
Second hand. Beautiful American handmade guitar. All solid koa and spruce in immaculate condition with hard case.
BEST OF BRITISH! In red with Tune-o-matic bridge
in Dakota red
in Competition Orange
in Shell pink
in sonic blue
LEFT HANDED! Electromatic Series in Aspen Green
Professional series. With Leather trim. Japanese made with hard case.
Professional series. Made in Japan. Selected rock maple back, sides and neck, fine-grained spruce top, finished in hand polished dark brown lacquer with sunburst shadings, the Synchromatic revitalizes musical history. The edges of the body, fingerboard, headpiece and guard plate are fully bound in extra wide black and ivory celluloid. Other fittings include the easy-playing, steel-reinforced neck, oval rosewood fingerboard with extra-broad nickel silver frets, Chromatic tailpiece and Synchronized bridge.
Professional series. Made in Japan.
White Falcon. Professional series. Made in Japan.
Professional series Chet Atkins Hollow Body w/ DynaSonic Pickups. Made in Japan
Standard series USA made all solid mahogany and spruce dreadnought with hard case.
American made. All solid mahogany and spruce 12-string jumbo. Includes case.
All solid mahogany folk body with hard case.
Standard series USA made all solid East Indian rosewood and spruce dreadnought with cutaway and D-TAR wave-length pickup. With hard case.
1968 model. Good condition, a bit of buckle rash but otherwise very clean. Great guitar. Includes hard shell case.
Description to follow
German made limited edition 1961 violin bass styled after Paul McCartney's Cavern Bass.
We've managed to find an example of a rare limited edition reissue of 120 Club 40 exactly like John Lennon played early on in the Hamburg days. The guitar is new but was uncovered hiding in a warehouse and we're pleased to be able to offer it for sale. Complete with a deluxe hard case and certificate of authenticity.
Composite and western red cedar top, Fishman AG pickup system
Second hand 2005 model in excellent condition. This guitar was displayed by Lowden at the 2005 NAMM show and has very striking all solid East Indian rosewood and cedar construction. With fitted Fishman pickup and Hiscox hard case.
All solid flamed mahogany and redwood.
in Koa and Sitka Spruce with K&K trinity pickup and low-profile neck. Left-handed.
with Honduras rosewood and Redwood
Tasmanian Blackwood & Cedar. Another gorgeous ringing and singing masterpiece from Downpatrick.
Golden Era-Marquis series. All solid Adirondack spruce and East Indian rosewood with nitrocellulose finish and intricate hand inlaid abalone inlays. Assembled using traditional methods including hand scalloped bracing and dovetail neck join. This is as close as most people will ever get to a pre-war Martin 000-42.
Second hand. 2007 vintage series model inexcellent condition. A small amount of buckle rash on the back but otherwise perfect. All solid East Indian rosewood and spruce with deluxe hard case.
All solid adirondack and East Indian rosewood.
UK Custom artist series
UK Custom artist series
All solid AAA sitka spruce top and Indian rosewood back and sides. Includes Hiscox hard case.
All solid east Indian rosewood and cedar. Includes hard case.
BEST OF BRITISH! 12 string all BEST OF BRITISH!solid cedar and rosewood with celtic knot inlay work and Gotoh 510 machines. Totally stunning guitar. Please call if you would like higher resolution pictures of the inlay work. Includes hard case.
All solid east indian rosewood and spruce 12-fret slotted headstock. Hard case included.
All solid myrtle and Italian bearclaw spruce with falling leaf rosette and inlay. Featured in Acoustic Magazine. AER AK15+ pickup installed and hard case included.
All solid East Indian rosewood and sitka spruce cutaway OM-style guitar. Includes hard case.
All solid maple and spruce acoustic baritone guitar 715mm scale. Includes hard case.
George Harrison model
SP semi-professional model. All solid rosewood and spruce.
Cedar top
in Fireglo
LEFT-HANDED in jetglo. I ONLY!
LEFT-HANDED in fireglo. I ONLY!
In mapleglo
in fireglo
From Liverpool in 1963 to the present day, this instrument meticulously recreates the greatest ancestor of the industry standard bass guitar. It is authentic in every detail, even to the 'horseshoe' bass pickup of 1931. A fully laminated neck with striped headstock runs the full length of the body for unparalleled tone and sustain. The only concession to modern technology has been a redesigned dual truss rod system permitting round wound strings as standard.
in jetglo
The British Invasion of 1964 initiated a rise in popularity of the model 325. The Model 325C64 duplicates the Model 325 as produced in 1964—complete with semi-hollow Maple body, re-shaped body and headstock, three vintage-style pickups, and Accent Vibrato. Offered in Jetglo finish.
in jetglo
in fireglo. 3 pickup model.
in fireglo. 12 string. Incredibly rare. One only.
in fireglo
Based on the classic 325 Series guitars, this vintage stylization updates the traditional design to full scale size and performance. Vintage Single Coil Toaster Top™ pickups, solid black knobs, replica tuners, and trapeze tailpiece hark back to another era, but offers the feel and sound which modern day guitarists demand. Like not going out of tune if you breathe on it.
An extraordinarily rare model from Rickenbacker. Indeed it's the first one we've ever seen in the flesh. Made in 2004 this example is in excellent condition with just a few minor scratches. The body is a sandwich of beautifully flamed maple and nice dark walnut all finished to a gorgeous high gloss. The single Rickenbacker high-output 'toaster top' pickup brings out all the brightness and jangle you would expect from a Rickenbacker and makes it the perfect complement to the mandolin form. No case.
All solid spruce and East Indian rosewood grand concert with gloss black finish. With hard case.
All solid Flame Maple and Spruce. Includes hard case.
All solid East Indian rosewood and cedar with cutaway. Includes hard case.
Second hand in excellent condition. All solid cocobola and cedar limited edition. Hard case included.
Second hand in excellent condition. All solid koa and spruce. Hard case included.
G9310 New Yorker Supreme mandolin.
American made all solid flame maple and spruce. With hard case.
All solid spruce and East Indian rosewood with 3-piece back.
Roots Series New Yorker Supreme mandolin.
All solid flame maple and spruce in f-style mandolin in rare blonde finish. Includes hard case.
Dated 19th June 1979, and purchased new from Forsyths by its previous owner, a fabulous replica of the classic Pumpkin topped Gibsons on the 1910s. The fine grained Spruce top is exquisitely carved and braced with the traditional single finger brace behind the sound hole. The back and sides are Mahogany rather than Birch or Maple, and again it’s a beautiful piece of timber. The neck is suitably vintage in feel with a deep V profile and wide, flat fingerboard. Less traditional is the brass nut and saddle, which we’d speculate is imparting a little extra zing to the high frequencies. The neck is straight as a die and it has a beautiful low action. Tonally it’s awesome: loud, full and articulate. We’ve thrown everything from bluegrass to Bach at it and it never fails to impress: quite possibly the best A Style we’ve ever had.
David Grisman model. A contemporary F-Style instrument designed in collaboration with Corrado Giacomel. Select Hand-carved Adirondack Spruce top, AAA Carved Highly-flamed Maple back & sides. A stunning, limited-edition instrument. Includes hard case.
Second hand American series instrument. Excellent condition. All solid maple and sitka spruce with hard case.
All solid western red cedar and English walnut. Includes Hiscox hard case.
Second hand (obviously) 1918 style a mandolin.
Gibson A mandolin from about 1921. Full description to follow. Modern hard case included.
An attractive early example of this popular model, these oval hole Gibsons lack the volume and chop of their F-holed descendants but make up for it with a sweet, chimey tone that for solo playing is extremely rewarding. There seems to be a resurgence in interest in oval hole mandolins, and we sell numerous examples of the excellent Eastman reissues, but whenever we come across an original example there’s still something special about them that new makers just can’t seem to recreate. This one has a slight kink in the fingerboard at the 10th fret that we’ve decided to leave alone as it doesn’t seem to compromise the playability, and the back, sides and neck have been over-sprayed. Beyond that it’s a nice, crack free example. The case appears home made but extremely sturdy.
Oahu series. All solid koa soprano ukulele. With gig bag.
All solid koa cutaway concert. Includes hard case.
All solid koa soprano ukulele. Hard case included.
All solid zebrawood cutaway concert
Pocket ukulele. All solid Acacia sopranino size with gig bag.
All solid mahogany soprano with gig bag.
Solid body electric tenor ukulele with gig bag.
all solid koa tenor ukulele. With gig bag
All solid mahogany tenor ukulele. Includes gig bag.
All solid koa tenor ukulele. Hard case included.
All solid mahogany soprano ukulele. Includes gig bag.
Second hand. Khaya series all solid mahogany tenor ukulele in excellent condition with deluxed padded bag
363mm scale travel soprano ukulele. Includes gig bag.
handcrafted, all solid koa.
Solid arch top mahogany steel strung low g tuning tenor ukulele. Includes gig bag.
Special Edition. All solid genuine mahogany soprano ukulele. Includes gig bag.
All solid koa handcrafted ukulele based on Nunes original ukulele design. An exquisite instrument with many period correct details. One of only 6 in the UK. Includes hard case.
1935-36 model all original save for refret and neck refinish.
Our latest addition to our selection of vintage tenors is super sparkly little thing hailing from Chicago in the 1930s. Solid Spruce top, solid Birch back and sides with dyed wood binding and, in case you hadn’t spotted it, a gold sparkle plastic veneer over the dyed pear-wood fingerboard. These little Regals have a mandola sized 21 inch scale length rather than the more common 23 inches used by Martin and Gibson, so it’s a very pleasurable thing to play, and the usual open, chimey sound that we’re looking for in a nice vintage tenor. It’s essentially all original: it’s had a recent re-fret and the bridge has been shaved slightly, although not enough that you’d notice beyond the finish touch up. We can’t claim to be hugely impressed with the original machine heads, but they kind of work, and we can usually source modern reproductions that fit into the original holes if you’d rather.
One of Gretsch’s first forays into guitar making, the Model 30 was the cheapest of the carved top instruments offered by the company, and our example is all the rarer for being in a tenor format. Solid Spruce top and solid Maple back and sides, with plenty of wear to the peculiar red sunburst finish, and there’s a repaired crack from the treble F-hole, but it plays well with a good action. Arch-top tenors can be a bit on the harsh side – we’re pleased to report that this one is warm and lively with a fantastic bass response. Non-original case included.
A handmade electric violin of British origin.
A handmade electric violin of British origin.
A handmade electric violin of Chinese origin with British design and electronics. Comes with a carbon fibre bow and case. In custom Green Marble finish.
A workshop made pochette or Dancing Masters fiddle of Chinese origin. Golden varnish with a violin shaped body and nicely figured back and sides.
A workshop made treble viol of German origin, dated 1997. Two piece back of attractive figure, golden varnish. Currently set up with Thomastik rope core strings but we can change to gut strings if required.
A workshop made viola d amore of Chinese origin. 14 inch body with carved back, set up with six melody and seven sympathetic strings.
A hand made violin of Chinese origin. Secondhand, originally sold in 2010. Highly figured one piece back, red varnish on a golden ground. Set up with Obligato strings. no 66
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