The Knowhere Guide

Making Music in Southampton, Hampshire*

Southampton, Hampshire Guitars and Instruments, Recording Studios, Rehearsal Rooms, PA Hire

Musical Instrument Shops and DJ Gear

• M&M Music in St Mary's genuine shop and staff, excellent gear and good prices, nice place to spend time in. Sound Control - fairly crap, kind of like a noisy supermarket, I walk in look around and walk out again, don't feel inclined to stay. The Music Shop, Bitterne, great people and some very nice gear, definitely worth a visit. Fret Music, Church St, good range, some people say they are unfriendly but I've never experienced that. Digital Village, St Marys St - the absolute best (in the UK as well as Southampton) for anything hi-tech and they can get hold of any real instruments for you as well - fking brilliant shop. Becketts, boring. Music World, East St, very helpful and although it looks like a junk musical instrument shop, they have some very good gear in there.
• East street, SOUND CONTROL!!!! sound control is AMAZING!! i love love love it
• BEWARE when buying equipment from M&M music in st marys. i bought a 'new' marshall amplifier which, on checking the serial number turned out to be 8 years old!!
• Theres a guitar shop near Hoglands sk8park, down a dodgy blood stained street. Watch your back! good shop tho let u try guitar before buying.
• If you want quick but good service and most importantly, the best prices around, go to SOUND CONTROL opposite Debenhams in town. We got our complete FOH from there and it's fantastic and even better than internet prices. They have a great range and you can try anything out until your heart's content. NOT a great fan of Fret Music, they are very insular and unless you spend loads of money, they don't care too much about treating you well, also the after service is crap! Music World is good if you're a spotty teenage wannabe who can only play a few basic chords but think you're Hendrix! Crap guitars, except for the reasonably priced Ovation acoustics. SOUND CONTROL ROCKS!!
• M&M Music (the guitar store) in st. mary's street is the place to go, the only shop in the city that doesn't just sell the same old shit. loads of awesome amps, pedals, and new and vintage guitars (loads of high end gibson, fender, and PRS!) as well as a big acoustic department. great guys too, always helpful!
• Don't bother buying music gear in Southampton, buy it from Absolute Muisc in Poole. They mail order and they are much more polite than the Soton lot!
• Sound Control now (Jan06) have a big store opposite Debenhams, 91-101 Queensway (their website said Southampton is in Scotland).
• The Music Shop in Bitterne all the way. Genuinely nice people who know what they're talking about and enjoy talking about it. After being scowled out of every other shop in town for 'taking too long' and having Fret Music trying to sell me back my old guitar with a few new dings in it at a 75% markup, it was a pleasant change.
• Southampton music shop are useless. Always go to Kimbers in Fareham.
• Always liked Frets in Shirley (The home of my first bass!) and Tevilles, sorry, Music World. Good, friendly, helpful staff. and they don't mind you wandering around wishing you could buy half the stuff in there. Also have to mention John Boots in Hythe (other side of Southampton Water) for being the most patient person on the planet. Putting up with us missing payments, begging for guitar setups, changing our minds every 10 minutes and being general pains. And thretening us with "I'm going to tell your mum, I know where you live" even though we were all working and most of us hed moved out long ago. Aug 05
• Music World, Eaststreet Shopping Centre! The only good shop in there, unless of course you want pine!
• M&M Music in St. Mary's Street is awesome, loads of great guitars and amps, and awesome dudes working there who all know what they're talking about. Beckett's is only good if you want a recorder, music world is only good if you're 12 and want mummy to buy you a pointy guitar. Fret Music in Shirley are really rude, they're too expensive, and the guy who runs it is a total asshole!
• Instrument Zone Musical instruments and accessories second hand, used, new, rare wanted and for sale by musicians. http://www.instrumentzone.co.uk
• k now im gonna tell you the truth, The Music Shop, 1 Brook Rd = wally is a god, he's really friendly and helpful and best of all he knows what he's talkin about, this shop is great, you can find some real finds. Music World, East Street Center = personaly i hate fender and BCrich and as this is just about all they stock in guitar terms, i hate this shop, BUT the female employees are top notch, in general the staff arnt very helpfull at all M&M's, StMarys Street = Excelent range of guitars, the staff are helpfull, but if walking there beware, as it's StMarys there are chavs everywhere and they dont like guitarists. Becketts, cant remember the name of the road = one word SNOOTY they dont do rock, steer clear unless into classical music Fret Music, somewhere in Shirly = absolutly great shop, the staff are the most helpfull if not the most friendly, the selection of guitars is diverse to say the least, from Rickenbacker to Ibanez to Orange Amps, I love this shop.
• Good guitar shop in the East Street Centre
• there's one by the station
• in bitterne theres a great 1. around penny street and commercial!
• music world in the eastreet centre sucks, its full of dumb numetal monkeys! the one in st marys is the place to go (if you wanna find your stolen kit)
• Becketts is a good general music shop but admit they don't have much support for the rock musician. Fret has an excellent range of rock gear and their own drum booth, most of the assistants are fine but after the last experience with the old guy I'm never going back. Instead try Music World in the East Street Centre (they've got a particularly good selection of BC Rich).
• I'd rather sit in a morgue all day than go to tevilles. Get better conversation and advice there!!
• Fret Music in Shirley, Music World in East Street Centre for Ovation guitars etc
• Got to go to Shirley to Fret Music in Park Street they are musicians not just salesmen.
• Becketts is the best musical instrument shop and it's in the yellow pages. It sells anything you could want. It sells instruments, accessories, music and anything else you could possibly want.
• bees
• East Street Shopping Centre in town and Commercial Road near SOuthampton Central
• the little shop in the east street center sells excelent fluffy guituar straps, and the staff are very easy on the eye!
• Fret music in shirley church street just off of shirley high street
• M and M music, St.Mary's Street. Cool staff, loads of (often overpriced) guitars that you are more than welcome to play on all day long if you like. Good noticeboard for bands seeking members/people seeking like minded musicians. Haggle for EVERYTHING - they'll be offended if you don't.
• Fret Music is definitely the best music shop in southampton, you can find it on church lane i think.
• The Music Shop. 1, Brook Road, Bitterne, Southampton...023 80 437937 If Wally hasn't got it,you don't want it....and if you do,he can propably find it.
• Beckett's is a good musical instrument shop in the row of shops next to the Mayflower Theatre and Southampton Central Station. There is also a new shop in Portswood Road - it's down the road from Safeway.
• There's a new music shop in Portswood (near the university) called Music Exchange.
• Wide range in St Marys, selling new and second hand. Also in Civic Centre Road, close to KFC.

Recording Studios, Rehearsal Rooms, PA Hire

• mostly private studios- ORBIT STUDIO-SWAYTHLING. i went there, its real nice lil place. blokes name is ROB
• Best recording studio in Southampton has to be HL Studios. Place looks the business, the gear is amazing and the bloke is really friendly and knows his stuff. Ain't cheap but I've tried cheap and I wouldn't do it again!
• Unit 6!!!! Owen is a god. Lots of rooms, friendly welcome, always happy to hand out cups of coffe to the poor women driving (me)! Also organises nights at the Hobbit to promote the bands that practice there. Does PA Hire cheap, lots of space to chill out in when the drummer starts smelling too much. It rules. Aug 05
• This is near southampton, try mountbatten school! you can hire there music facilites for like £4 and hour and dey have loadsa amps! ring them! trust me! plus half the time the caretaker forgets to collect da money off you! do it out of school term time otherwise BEWARE OF THE CHAVS!
• Soundbarrier Systems concentrates on high quality sound for hire can also come with live recording. 07709 815242 or visit www.soundbarriersystems.com
• DNA records sound (owned by myself) is up for hire. two large bass scoops tops and 4k sound. very cheap. ring: 07810 392679 (toby)
• Planet Sounds Rehearsal Rooms...Fully open Feb 2004 at Terminus Terrace... WWW.planet-sounds.com
• Audio Solutions in Bittere concentrates on high quality sound for hire & installation. phone them on 023 8063 2473

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Last updated: 2008-02-16