I was wondering where would be the best place in shanghai to buy a guitar, havn't seen any stores around, it would be great if someone could point me in the right direction.

East Jinling Road(near Peoples' square) ,many many Guitar shops.~~~

There are a lot of music stores by the music conservatory on FengYang road near Huai Hai road. If you walk around the area, you will find many stores that sell and service musical instruments

Try Parsons Music 16 Fenyang Lu. Depending on what your after and budget etc they should have something there. Both electric and accoustic. Chinese made and better known makes for both types. Prices ranger from around just sub 1,000yuan to over 10,000yuan. Also has a great range in drum kits cymbals pianos etc. Good all round music store. Hope thats of help to you.

Rob

If you can wait until November when the Musical Instrument Expo comes to Shanghai, that would be your best bet. Guitars from all over Asia will be here and most will be on sale. I saw several electric Fender copies for under $50.00.

I bought a mandolin at a place on Jinling Lu. There are many guitars there. Good luck.

Any dates for the above expo?

One of the people I know bought a good quality guitar on Jinling Lu. He is very happy with it. It was an import and he was able to bargue with them.

Watch out for guitar strings here. Locally made ones are crap and even good quality ones have a tendancy to break, usually the wire wound lower strings. In summer sweat gets on them and the salt travels by osmosis down the strings windings and they pop at the bridge or the neck fret where the greatest tension is.

there is an international instrument shop on Nanjing Lu, near Shimen Yi Lu

The expo is scheduled for October of 2006. I know that is a long time to wait but you can score some serious deals there. Here is a related website:

http://www.messefrankfurt.com/corporate ... dsp147_634

The best advice was the first post. Jinling Road near downtown really has a buttload of guitar shops. I spent a day looking for mandolin strings and wasted alot of time in the Fenyang road area near the music conservatory as some people above recommended, by I found my strings almost immmediately in Jinling road.

Fen Yang Road is good for classical musicians (violin, piano, orchestra type instruments, sheet music, etc.) but for guitars you are better off going to Jinling Road.

Hey travelinjack!
I just now saw your post. What kind of mandolin music do you play? I'm a bluegrass fan personally. Unfortunately, I don't really know how to chop chords in accompaniment to any band, but rather only can be solos now, maybe I'll practise more later... hahaha

I try to play bluegrass but I suck. Pretty much just strum along. I was playing with some folks that played a wide range of styles: rock, jazz, BG. The thing has been gatherin dust for a couple of months (no dust really just sleeping in its case). I have just been too busy to play. I miss my BG buddies back in NC and goin to the BG festivals.

I have good experiences from Bestfriend music in Jungling Rd. Wanted a cheap electric guitar and bought Squier stratocaster copy (Made in China) for RMB800 with hardcase. In some other stores on the same road you can find lots of cheap guitars, but I noticed even Squiers were fake (they are making fakes of fakes). Acoustic guitars (made in China) start from 200 RMB. Forget importet guitars they are more expensive that in Europe of US. Avoid also Tom Lee music in Nanjing Xi Rd. The price for same guitar can be double compared to Best Friend Music.

yes, a lot of shops selling musical instruments on Jin Ling Road , it is near the Bund and Yu Garden.

Hi all, yes East Jingling is the way to go - last year I purchased a telecaster copy with a hardshell tweed case (plastic tweed? but a nice case) from best frieds music store for a combined price of only $610rmb....not bad really got me through the three months I was here.....I'm back now (to stay) and this time brought with me one of my 7 seventies stratocasters (it's a compiled 1972, sound beautiful...plays like butter.)

I have not seen one single vintage instrument in a shop in Shanghai....does anyone know of a place where I can find vintage guitars? I need to see vintage guitars....I like old guitars.....PERIOD.....if there is no shop featuring vintage instruments...then is there a private dealer market here for vintage rigs?

All thoughts are welcome and encouraged...if anyone else out there has a vintage instrument or two....let me know....just trying to understand the market here - is there a vintage market?

To get the ball rolling...how much should a 1970s twin reverb go for here - anyone? (I'm trying.....)

Cheers
Stephen

At the Blarneystone on a Sunday evening 6.30 is to 9 or 10 ish there is an open mic session. Paul Curren one of the managers and the head of entertainments welcomes along players. Mostly the music is Irish/Scottish but yound Alan plays a mean banjo and we have had one or two good mando players in there.

For vintage stuff you need to go to Tokyo. In SH there is nothing.

There is one good place in Shibya called "Nancy". Lots of vintage guitars. Web pages not that good but you may find something, http://www.nancy-g.com.

I have other links somewhere on my other computer and may post them to you if you want (assuming still have them)

http://www.tcgakki.com/menu/englishpage.html.

LOTS of Fenders and Gibsons including vintages.

hi , I just got a ascoutic bass, local made. bought for a month but hardly got time to play. it's a 4 string. it's a beautiful bass. I want to sell it as I'm going back to SG to bring back my Electric bass.. anyone interested to buy from me for RMB600. with softcase.. If you go to my Best friend, you can get it new for RMB 1000 after much discount...sms me at 13816586142. thanks. (no discount pls..., i hate that)

Does anyone know if one of those guitar stores also sell others related products as t-shirts and posters of rock n' roll bands? Marcus Pizzato

Hi Folks, there is a relatively new open stage at Dans Old Farm House 318 JuluLu Shanghai 8:30 PM every Thursday, it is a true open stage where you can sing ,play, do jokes all sorts of stuff and if you get up and do your stuff for at least 15mins you get a free 500ml of beer!. I also agree with LoopKicker , the Blarney Stone is a good jam and young Alen does do a mean banjo.

I'm wondering whether I'd be better buying a new electric guitar in Nanjing or Shanghai, I'll be in both during the next few weeks though I currently reside in Danyang, Jiangsu province.

I want to get a PRS Custom 22 ideally, but if the prices are western I'll settle for the SE range or similar, and seeing as they're manufactured in South Korea I'd expect the price to be good here.

Last time I checked Shanghai the shops weren't that great, though admittedly I'm not sure if I checked Jinling Road as has been suggested. Anyone know if Nanjing is good for electric guitars? I'll be there this weekend.

best friend music co on the corner of jinling road (parallel 1 street back from renmin lu) about 3 streets back from central t¡bet road (westin hotel road).
they have the best selection and some ok quality. They even have decent mics, and the staff are actually into music.

there is still not a single decnt cover nband in town since the old band left Luna at xintiandi.

hie. i have a few qns..

1) how much is a decent guitar? (an accoustic with a pickup plus hardcase)
2) what kind of brands tt are common in shnaghai? yamaha? taylor? fender? takamine?
3) how much are the pedals there in shanghai? like distortion or wah pedal etc?

i'm going in a few months time.. n am saving up money..
haha..

Hi everyone,

I know my reply to this thread is 2 years late. =) But at least I found it with goggle.

Summary:
1. Fengyang = classical instruments
2. Jinling = contemporary instruments

I assume that if I want to find a guitar luthier, I should head to Jinling. I won't consider myself an expert at fixing guitars so I think I better leave my precious guitar to the experts... =)

Any particular shops anyone can recommend?
1. They can dialogue in English
2. They are reliable and skillful
3. They won't rip you off

Help, help. =)

Yay for google search.

So like some of the other posters in this thread I'm looking to buy an electric bass here in Shanghai. I've been up and down Jinling Lu and was very unimpressed with the state of some of the instruments I was looking at (you'd think they would at least try to tune them).

One thing I am really wondering aout is all the Warwick bass guitars I am seeing. What's the cheapest place to get one of these basses? I know the "rock bass" is being made in China and it seems to me that 4000 RMB is fairly expensive for one of these.

For bass guitars check out Talent, Kramer and Epiphone, they are Gibson owned brands and I have found them to be surprisingly good. Everything depends on the setup though, in Shanghai you need to adjust the neck couple of times a year to compensate for the weather.

In most stores the setups are quite a bit off and for good reason, the necks are warped and the frets not even, so they set the strings way too high on purpose. Gibson seems to have pretty good quality control even on those cheaper brands.

For Warwick basses or Rockbass,.,.. come to see us (Warwick), we got a show room in Shanghai.
Zhao Jia Bang Road No 108, 3rd Floor, got guitars also, pedals, bags, cases.. picks.. strings..
lots of things...

Joey.asher wrote:Hi everyone,

I know my reply to this thread is 2 years late. =) But at least I found it with goggle.

Summary:
1. Fengyang = classical instruments
2. Jinling = contemporary instruments

I assume that if I want to find a guitar luthier, I should head to Jinling. I won't consider myself an expert at fixing guitars so I think I better leave my precious guitar to the experts... =)

Any particular shops anyone can recommend?
1. They can dialogue in English
2. They are reliable and skillful
3. They won't rip you off

Help, help. =)

Well since we're digging up old threads-

I like a guy called Jerry at 316 JinLing Lu. He's always been friendly and fair with me. If he can't fix your guitar, he'll certainly know someone who can

Hi all,

Can anyone recommend a decent beginners electric guitar and amp ( which can be bought here Chinese brand is ok as I am a total beginner ) don't want to break the bank but also don't want to buy total shite

Ideally I would be trying to learn blues but will be taking lessons so any information on good teachers also would be appreciated

Hey all.
so I am doing study abroad in china this summer, just outside Shanghai.

I am in the market for my first ukulele, and was thinking about buying a ~$200 (USD) ukulele to bring with me so that I can keep practicing an instrument while I am there.

However, my dad had the intuition that instruments would be cheaper over there. Do you think I could get a ukulele of comparable quality over there but for less money? I'm a beginning guitarist and am only concerned if the ukulele sounds good and feels like its a quality instrument. Could care less if its a knock-off, as long as the knock-off is a good instrument itself.

So should I get the ukulele now, or wait till I get there and look around? I have never played the uke before, so I am not sure what to look for in the instrument, so I may need a recommendation from an honest salesmen who speaks english.