The musical instrument shop is more than just a store. It’s an institution. Bands form there, collaborations are discussed. You’re always likely to hear the famous line, “My mate’s band are looking for a guitarist.”

As well as letting you try out new equipment, these stores offer advice you just can’t get anywhere else. The people behind the counter understand the importance of owning a good instrument. They also appreciate that your budget might not stretch as far as that ’60s Stratocaster you’re always trying out.
The industry is weathering the recession surprisingly well. Globally sales even rose by 0.5% for the month of September. An arguably bigger threat is the internet and online retailing. What the web cannot offer, of course, is face to face expert advice.
Happily, it is possible to have the best of both worlds by giving your business to one of a number of Irish stores which combine bricks and mortar and online sales. Crucially, these stores offer a follow-up service. So if your guitar packed in hours before a big gig they can arrange a replacement. Try doing that via an international webstore with no physical presence in Ireland.
The good news is that the Irish music instrument sector has never offered better value. Perfect Pitch in Dublin has dramatically reduced prices across their wide range of products. The stunning Martin D18V acoustic guitar, which normally retails at €2,699 has been cut to €1,999; the Martin D16RGT Fishman Elipse Installed acoustic is also on offer at €1,599. The visually and sonically impressive Taylor 616CE is available at the knockdown price of €3,509. The Tanglewood TW-45-NSB is also on sale at €615. There are further savings to be made on the Taylor GA6 and GC7 as well as hundreds of further reductions at the Exchequer St. store.
Whether you’re a young amateur buying your first instrument or an experienced professional, XMusic have everything you need at their huge store at Red Cow Retail Centre, Dublin 22. The shop boasts a guitar and amplifier workshop, in-store clinics and demonstrations, and their most recent addition: a Neumann vocal booth, where their extensive range of Neumann studio microphones can be tried out. XMusic stocks hundreds of brands including Roland, Epiphone, Fender, Martin, Tanglewood, Casio, Ableton and Moog which will appeal to guitarists, drummers, DJs, synth enthusiasts and even bedroom electronic producers.
XMusic have a huge range of special offers this Christmas season. The Fender Mustang II 40 Watt Amp with Digital FX is available at the discounted rate of €209. The amp contains 24 highly accurate on-board presets, is great for practice and jam sessions, and pumps serious volume. The Numark Mixtrack Pro DJ Controller is a complete DJ system compatible with Mac and PC, and is on sale at €199. The Yamaha FG700S acoustic guitar is reduced from €279 to €245, and is an excellent entry-level guitar that features a solid spruce top, steel strings and rosewood fingerboard. The Roland GAIA SH-O1 Synthesizer is also on offer at €669. The synth combines hands-on ease with old school charm and comes with three virtual analog engines, each with a dedicated oscillator, filter, amplifier, envelope and LFO, that allows the user to layer up to five simultaneous effects. Also from their extensive range of Roland products comes the V-Drums TD11K electronic drum kit. Roland has enhanced the kit with SuperNATURAL technology that results in a natural and realistic playing kit for drummers of any skill and budget. The kit has been reduced from €1,399 to €1,099.
KnB Music in Maynooth is offering impressive pre-Christmas savings. Electric guitar packs start from €139, full size guitars are available from €79 while children’s guitars are competitively priced at €49. The shop also stocks a range of drum-kits starting from €299, and bass guitar packs for €199. KnB Music stocks banjos, mandolins and violins, as well as a comprehensive range of music books. The shop, which is run by brothers Ken and Ben Pearson, is celebrating 10 years in business this year at their premises in The Square, Maynooth, Co. Kildare.