Im from Ireland and will say that we dont have a huge amount of music shops here. Prices are fairly high, and as shops are spread out over a fair distance, you dont have the choice to shop around so much.

So, im wondering, anyone from ireland, where do you get your gear?
Do you go to a specific store, an online store, 2nd hand, and if 2nd hand, how did you source it?

Just curious as im in the market for a MIM strat for modding, but even 2nd hand guitars are all almost 3/4 of the price of a new guitar.

To get the ball rolling:

1st guitar was a dire cheapo honer acoustic bought from a mom and pop shop in Boyle, Co Roscommon. Black painted fretboard, no truss, action of a crossbow. cost my mum £80 about 8 years ago. Still have it though as my mum worked hard to buy it for me so it has centemental value.

2nd guitar was(and still is) Epiphone LP-100, gotten in an overpriced music store in Co Sligo with a 10w marshall for about £300. Still have it, although dont play it much. again, 300 punts was a whole lot back then and my dad got it on lay away over about 12 months for me so it has massive centemental value. could never part with this baby.

3rd guitar was a ibanez rgt42, bought in the old muzician inc store in dublin,with hardcase for just under 1000 euros. was young and didnt know better so picked the prettiest thru neck i could afford. terrible pickups and worse bridge. spent tons putting in new pickups and schaller FL trem before selling it as i just never felt it. strange how you can have a guitar that you just dont feel.

4th Guitar - Am Dlx Strat, my pride and joy, bought from GuitarAmpKeyboard.com. Good price, great service, awesome player. got real lucky with this one.

5th guitar, Tanglewood acousitc. Again, musician inc in dublin. Played a bunch of martin's and takemine's for about the 1000 euro mark, then played this tanglewood that cost 350 bucks and it was equal to all the ones for thrice the price. bargain. would never have picked this up if not for playing it first in a bricks and mortar store.

5th guitar - Squier CV tele. Again from GuitarAmpKeyboard.com. just changed the jack to an electrosocket. dont play this enough. set up for 12's.

The last two guitars were online purchases, and i got real lucky with both. Im afraid to go online again though as i think ive been so luch thus far id be stretching my luck a bit. This is why i ask how you source your guitars in Ireland.

I thought you were in Dublin man? Some good places down there. What about Joe Lynch/McCollough Pigott or Waltons?

I'm in Belfast and there are a few good places between here and Lisburn but the best, The Belfast Guitar Emporium has just closed which I'm gutted about. We still have the three branches of Matchett's as well as Marcus Music and now we have Music Matters opening here too.

I get my tubes/valves online though, usually from hotrox-uk.

CC

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Fender Stratocaster (parts build)
Fender Telecaster 72 Custom RI
Fender Telecoustic Deluxe
Gretsch Electromatic Pro-Jet
Gibson Les Paul Standard Plus
Gibson ES-135
Zenith Type-17
Marshall 70's JMP Superbass 100w
Blackstar HT-5

I quite like music galleria in lisburn, matchettes in belfast, cash converters though the one in dublin isn't great if i remember,I got my tele in the one in belfast, ebay and guitarampkeyboard are good, perfect pitch, the other one down the road and waltons in dublin, theres a great shop in blackrock, its a custom shop dealer and everything and a department store in either dundolk or drogheda that has a good selection of guitars and bairds near yorkgate in belfast.
That's all I can think of off the top of my head.

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Rated "M" for meaty.

Tochai bro, your Tele doesn't happen to be a black MIM standard with maple board, a chip at the top and 666 in the serial number does it?

CC

_________________
Fender Stratocaster (parts build)
Fender Telecaster 72 Custom RI
Fender Telecoustic Deluxe
Gretsch Electromatic Pro-Jet
Gibson Les Paul Standard Plus
Gibson ES-135
Zenith Type-17
Marshall 70's JMP Superbass 100w
Blackstar HT-5

Close, a midnight wine mim standard with maple board, chip at the top and seventh fret and 622 serial number.
That would have been some good guitar fate.

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Rated "M" for meaty.

Big time! It was just when you said that, I sold the black 666 one in there a few years ago. It sold to someone else and then a year ago I saw it back in their window with a new pickguard.

CC

_________________
Fender Stratocaster (parts build)
Fender Telecaster 72 Custom RI
Fender Telecoustic Deluxe
Gretsch Electromatic Pro-Jet
Gibson Les Paul Standard Plus
Gibson ES-135
Zenith Type-17
Marshall 70's JMP Superbass 100w
Blackstar HT-5

Maybe the universe was telling you to buy it again.

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Rated "M" for meaty.

Your right, im in Dublin at present but went to College back West. Regarding those stores, tried'em all.

Musicmaker, Pigott, Waltons,Perfect Pitch,godins etc etc. in all of them , there was only 1 Am Special strat. wanted to give a few of em a go, but just one in Xmusic, behind a glass case too.

Xmusic had maby 3 Am Std, Musicmaker had 2 and Godins had one or two also.

Not a huge amount of choice, thats my problem. you also have to do a fair bit of travelling to cover all those stores.

I would recommend x music in Dublin and beat it music in blackrock co louth.

The latter is a lovely quirky shop with up to date fender gear with also some vintage stuff

_________________
Fender DG8
Fender MIM Sunburst Telecaster.
Fender American Vintage'52 Reissue Telecaster
Fender Frontman 212R
Fender Mini Twin
Fender Super Champ XD
Fender Champion 600

A guy i used to go to school with owns a Music shop in Swords in Dublin:

http://www.themusicoutlet.ie/

He will generally match the internet prices of the likes of Thomann and Musicstore, the online German sites. He usually has them in a week after you order them.

I would also recommend this: http://www.adverts.ie/showcat.php?cat=191

The Guitar and Bass sections of Adverts.ie. I have done some amazing trades on here recently.

I am no Irishman, but for 5 days, some 6 weeks ago, I pretended to be one in Dublin.
I stayed at Brooks Hotel at Drury Street, a location I was soon to find out is extremely central concerning instrument shops. I found several, but as I was looking for a strat, I found Music Maker Exchequer St. to be the best. I came in there the first day, spotted Classic Player, and asked him much it was. As a reply I got €669. The next day I got in there, thinking to by the guitar. I talked to some other guy, and he said it was €799. I then told him that I had been told a much cheaper price the day before, which obviously was from the boss. He said that was fine, no hassle.
Since I was travelling by plane, I needed a hardcase. Luckily enough they had a perfect Fender one, 2nd hand, looking pretty new.
I got it all for €700.
So, basically, they just sounded very eager to sell anything at all, no matter to what price. The service was fairly good, though.

I would like to know as I know a guy named Doug in Ireland that plays in a Vanhalen tribute band and has one of the best collections of EBMM EVHs and Peavey Wolfgangs including all four first year quilts plus some custom shop models. Also has a green EVH which is a very rare ax as they only made 96 plus a pink which they only made 200. He has over 30 in total and you are talking big money there. I still wonder how he got all these rare and beautiful axes.