I (Richard) have been providing specialist advice for 16 years. My previous business Regent Guitars ran from 1995 to 2008, starting with just 6 guitars and closed selling 8-10 guitars a day with a turnover well in excess of £1,000,000.
So why did it close?
In 2008 I closed Regent Guitars and opened Richards Guitars with a desire to get back to ONLY selling guitars I love, that I have a true passion for - which should also mean a volume that I could handle personally from beginning to end - like my previous business USED to be!
Regent Guitars had left me disolusioned and "too close" to the reality of how most guitars are sold. I didn't want to be part of the Gibson or Fender "machines". It just wasn't me and I believe anyone who is truly passionate about guitars and in my industry will know exactly what I mean.
My reputation now spans Locally, Nationally and Internationally with customers from Leamington to Singapore.
I specialise in a select range of guitar brands—Brands which I believe represent something unique in the market be it value, quality, tonal range or shear beauty. Personally recommended guitars range from £119.
Guitars sold on personal passion, not marketing hype
Heard of Godin, Stonebridge, G&L, Cort, Faith, Gordon Smith & Burny? If you haven't then you need to have a chat with me before you spend your hard earnt cash on your next guitar.
The brands I stock are 100% personal recommendations - recommendations built on quality, value, beauty and unique stand out features - benchmarks in the Industry.
I am aware that many people do not buy for "quality only" but for image and prestige. If you want a Fender, Ibanez, Shecter, Gibson, Jackson etc. then you are talking to the wrong man entirely (although I do specialise in used examples which will play better than new and won't lose value on resale) - you can find these products hung on a hundred guitar shop walls around the UK, sold by people who will push all the marketing and hype generated by Global marketing campaigns.
Just remember when you are talking to the next salesman that he probably cares not for you, but for his employer. His job is to sell you what is hung on the wall - not to ensure you get the very best guitar available in the market.
Want to know about real guitars with heart and soul? I am your man. With honesty and integrity central to my philiosophy in lfe and business I assure you that you are in safe hands and I will guide you based on your needs and requirements. If I can't help I will tell you and point you to "a man that can".
Try guitars in a welcoming environment..
I try and make your stay at Richards as enjoyable as possible, which may include boring you to death about the guitars available, their history/pedigree etc. or it may just be you want to spend some time on your own tryig out the guitars available. Either way you should find the shop welcoming and totally unintimidating.
Richards History - From Birth to Now!
I hope this brief insight into my 36 years on this planet will help illustrate how my life has been pretty much domindated by my love of guitars. More importantly for you it should give you some peace of mind that you can ask my advice at any time and be confident that you are dealing with someone with true passion and focus on your best interest.
1972
Born into the World! My mum ran a bed and breakfast business from home whilst my dad was an avid guitarist, playing all his life. Little did I realise how influencial both of these skills would become in my own life. My mothers ability to be self sufficient by ensuring she looked after the interests of her guests - always ensuring they were well looked after - and my dads love for guitar would later become important building blocks for my own business and provide me values to take through life in general.
1980
My parents bought me my first guitar. I was 8 years old and up until this point I had enjoyed a few lessons from my father. Clearly they had noticed my interest and fascination with the guitar and wanted to encourage me. I enjoyed private lessons from local tutors and played a few chords or so in school plays and remember playing the pink panther to a school audience. I don't think the pink panther is quite in vogue these days but at the time I felt like Jimi Hendrix (not sure whether I even knew who he was!!).
1992
At 20 my University life came to an ubrupt end due to a life threatening illness (Hodgkins Disease). Following many months of radiotherapy and chaemotherapy, I followed the old stereotype that you always hear and decided to make sure I followed my dreams today - not tomorrow! Off I went to the Guitar Institute to hone my playing skills and theory in order to begin a teaching career. Following a 3 month course I continued to have weekly private lessons in London with Iian Scott (blues) and Shaun Baxter (instrumental rock/jazz) for over year. A 3 hour round trip per lesson from Stratford to London and back!
1993
Advertising in local newspapers I rapidly became fully booked as a local guitar tutor from my parents home near Bidford On Avon. My emphasis was very much on getting people to understand why/how things work IE chord/scale relationships and the theory that makes music what it is. Helping people to really understand what they were playing was so important to me and I am really proud of what I achieved during my teaching years.
1995
Regent Guitars was opened in July 1995! 6 guitars on sale and teaching upstairs to make ends meet. Right from the start I wanted to ensure my customers had their guitars set up to the highest of standards and took on a local technician to set up every single guitar sold. Utilising the internet to raise awareness of my service ethic Regent Guitars grew rapidly and it wasn't long before our turnover was well in excess of 1 million pounds per annum.
2000
Utilising my knowledge of the industry and my keen interest in business I created an internet based support mechanism to enable enquiries for guitars to be passed onto local business/guitar shops. I was extremely proud of the project which supported indipendent guitar shops in an attempt to counter the negative effect internet trading would have on them in the future. Despite the backing of many suppliers (every one I approached), the personal endorsement from the then head of the MIA (Music Industry Association) and the true ethos of the system it was doomed to fail due to....the shops it was designed to support. It was only when I introduced a system to save indipendent stores that I realised how few of them deserved to be in business in the first place. A sad but true reflection on my industry.
2008
Several years of continued growth, managers coming and going, continual fraud and other staff related issues left me completely drained. Indistry politics, marketing hype and brand "bullying" (IE you will say all our guitars are great or don't sell them) made me feel like my input and personal passion was being removed/watered down in terms of how my business was perceived both by the public and industry alike. I had suffered several emotional "breakdowns". I loved guitars, I loved talking about them, demonstrating them, talking to the public but I had come to hate what my business had become. We were selling 8-10 guitars every day but my feelings were that it was more like a production line than a personalised, specialist store. I closed Regent Guitars on March 31 2008 in one final state of depression.
August 2008
With an incredible show of support from the trade, past customers and a mother in law with a sudden interest in guitars (!!) I have been able to assist in the opening of Richards Guitars! Same premises, same number, same guitar tech! I have re-ignited my passion by focusing on what made Regent Guitars so great for the first 10 years. Personal passion, personal recommendations, one to one advice and beautifully setup guitars. I will never deviate from this path as it is what I love. All I want is to put my hand on my heart and know that I am doing the very best I can for every person who asks for my advice. If I can achieve this I will remain more than happy.
February 2010
Saw the launch of the guitars.co.uk classifieds. A free service enabling people to advertise their guitars for sale. To this date there are nearly 1000 followers on Twitter and adverts rank extremely well via Google. If you want to sell your guitar, this is a great place to start!
June 2010
June 2010 saw Richards Guitars move back to my home town of Stratford Upon Avon. I had been based in Leamington for 15 years so the change was very scary. However, with the business now just 1 mile from my home it was the most natural experience right from the off. I immediately felt at home in Stratford Upon Avon and really proud to offer my services to the "locals" where I was born and bred! In fact, I was born 1 mile down the road and my father lived 100 yards down the road up until his teens - so this really does feel like home. Moving to Stratford also gave me an extra hour of my life back (no more travelling) which of course means one more hour a day available on line via my live help facility!
Lots more to fill in when I have time!
NO STAFF OR INDUSTRY TRADE ALLOWED UNLESS BY STRICT APPOINTMENT.
Best Selling Items
Stonebridge 23 SF (GS,OMS,SS, DS)
£1,399.00(Euro 1,586.47)
Why have I never tried the SF range before? Utterly exquisite and possibly a new favourite ?- certainly appeals equally to me to the GS23 CR which I have been raving about for years.
I just love this guitar and know that anyone who loves Stonebridge tone will fall in love too.
You can also chose from body body shapes D, G & OM top (solid) sitka cedar soundhole decoration abalone ring + b-w lines back & sides flamed maple (solid) binding tortoise imitation fingerboard, bridge ebony fingerboard inlays Abalone flower inlay endpins tortoise imitation neck mahogany tuning machines Schaller Gold/tortoise pins strings Elixir Ph-Br Nanoweb 012-53 wide of nut 45 mm No.of frets 20 scale 650 mm finish high gloss pickguard transparent,anti scratch case arched-top, hard case cutaway optional 12-string version optional lefthand version optional slotted paghead optional electronic optional
Cort M 600 Electric Guitar (Over £100 Added Value FREE)
£399.00(Euro 452.47)
From the producer of Ibanez, Schecter, G&L & other leding guitar brands is the M600. A true benchmark example of why so many guitar brands use Cort manfucturing.
Bottom line is you will not find a nicer example of this genre of guitar at the money. Forget PRS SE! find out more
Gordon-Smith Gypsy Honey Burst
£650.00(Euro 737.10)
A stunning example of the Gordon Smith Gypsy.
The Gyspy has a thicker body than the GS2 and features an adjustable bridge as standard along with a nicely polished lacquered gloss top.
Twin hand wound pickups, both coil tapped is also standard.
This won't be around long so get your order in if you want to save a 3 month wait for production! find out more
Faith FNHG Neptune Hi Gloss Acoustic Guitar
£608.00(Euro 689.47)
The Faith Neptune is possibly my favourite of all Faith guitars. The body is deep enough to provide enough volume and bass response which I personally love in an acoustic. As you will see from the pictures the build quality and general asthetic beauty is second to none.
As with all Faith guitars the Neptune comes with fitted hardcase and if you want your guitar to look as good as it sounds you will not find a better guitar on the market.
A1 condition. Set up to your personal specification. A true investment opportunity and stunning guitar. find out more
Unique & Exclusive Added Value with Every Guitar (worth over £100)
When you buy a guitar from Richards guitars the first thing to take into account is that I (Richard) overseas the entire process beginning to end. The only aspect not handled by myself is the setup itself. I even personally pack the guitar after I have tested the guitar post setup.
Quality Control & Setup (worth £55)
Your guitar will be meticulously setup to the very highest of standards - even to your personal specification if you have one. This only occurs once the guitar has been inspected visually for any cosmetic flaws that occur in production instruments. Nobody in the industry cares more about the quality and playability of their guitars - guaranteed.
6 Month & 12 Month Checkup/Reset (worth £25 a visit)
Every day my workshop is responsible for checking guitars that have been brought back for their 6 and 12 month checks. During this process my technicians will check the setup, make any adjustments necessary and give the guitar a general overhaul bringing it back to its former glory. This healthcheck sets my service apart from all other retailers in the UK. I believe this service to be unique and am extremely proud to offer it to every customer if they wish to take advantage.
Showroom Opening Hours
10am to 5pm, Tuesday to Saturday. Closed 1pm to 2pm for lunch
For Showroom Visitors...
I offer a bespoke service and deal with every sale personally. I follow the progress of each sale from beginning to end, personally book deliveries for dispatch and wrap and pack the guitars. I do this to provide a consistent, meticulous level of detail, giving myself the peace of mind that the beautifully setup guitars we generate do not get spoilt in transit. 1 guitar damaged in 3 years of delivering guitars around the World (around 10 a week) is testiment to the quality of my packing (Sad as it sounds I could bore you to death on how to deliver a guitar sucessfully!). This all takes up my time of course. For this reason I DO NOT promote the sale of accessories. My showroom opening hours enable customers to try and test my personal collection of recommended new and used guitars - whilst allowing me time to handle the various aspects of my customer enquiries (in store and online) - and of course deal with customers requiring guitar workshop repairs.
I DO NOT sell 3/4 size guitars. It is impossible to provide any level of taylored service at this price point and would feel nervous about supporting these guitars under warranty as they are built to a price. However, I will always be available to offer help and advice. I am here if you want some honest, professional direction.
I warmly welcome all guitar enthusiasts to visit me any time!
