Pilgrimage worthy music stores.

[nightsprinter]

If you are in the Las Vegas area, definitely check out Roman Guitars which is a 5 minute drive away from the block where Palms, Bellagio (the one with the fountains), ARIA and Cosmo hotel/casinos are clustered together. One side of it is a museum/showcase area (some Dimebag pieces there for example) and the other is a store, and beyond that is their custom/repair shop. The guys and the overall vibe there are chill. It's a place I could easily see myself spending all day in. They have some amazing guitars there (saw a load of non-Explorer Hamers, an Ibanez Voyager and original Steinberger GTs on my recent stop by.) Just one hot electric after another in quite a spacious showroom. Their custom guitars are also out in the open to experience IRL which is a real treat if you only seen them on the internet since the early 00s, to finally be able to play one.

There is also Heartbreaker Guitars where you will find your heaven for PRS, Lowden, Rick Turner, Reverend, Eastman, Paoletti etc. Of all the places in Vegas to buy a really nice high-end acoustic (or electric?) they must be number one (they have so many brands of acoustic, some I have never heard of.) They carry Matchless, Soldano, PRS and Bogner Amps too. They have a beautiful showcase room/location however they are appointment only, it's north of the strip by the airport.

Sucks that Cowtown Guitars, who was ran by the guy that evaluated guitars on Pawn Stars, is no longer in business (or J&E because they had a great store and showroom too.) Have fun on your journey & safe travelin'.

Roman is still an operating shop? Holy shit. If they still have Abstract body blanks for real I might have to make a call.

 

[groverj3]

Roman is still an operating shop? Holy shit. If they still have Abstract body blanks for real I might have to make a call.

Maybe they're better without Ed?

As an early teen I actually went there during a family vacation to the southwest. Despite his rep the store did have cool stuff as I recall. I think most of the issue was building fakes, the questionable build quality of their "custom" stuff, and Ed's personality. However, I remember them having lots of production models and custom stuff from other makes.

 

[nightsprinter]

Classic. Guy was ridiculously over the top and I still can't believe this exists. I used to love reading his rant section on the old site. One of the OG guitar edgelords.

 

[will_shred]

Also, Paul's Boutique in Kensington Market, Toronto. one of my favorite music stores of all time.

 

[gunch]

Anderton's kinda sucks in real life. It's like any store in that it's mostly low end garbage. They have a room full of like Gibson and Fender custom shop stuff, but if you went looking to play anything more interesting than that you won't find it. They have a warehouse nearby with everything else, but unless you call ahead it's unlikely you'll get to try the thing you want to try.

I was merely jesting