Whether you are thinking of buying a guitar from the other side of the planet - or from our showroom in Stratford - You will want to know a little more about WHO you are dealing with, and I hope this page can go some way to put your mind at rest that you are dealing with someone you can not only trust but has your long term interests at heart and will be here to support you in the future should you need us to.

I (Richard) have specialized in guitar sales for 29 years - since the age of 22 (evidence of which can be seen in the pictures my mum compiled for a scrap book many years ago - which I have included for you at the bottom of the page!)

Since DAY 1 - My promise was to ensure my customers got better care than I did growing up as a child playing guitar - and that every single guitar sold would be personally recommended and set up to perfection pre sale.

Watch the video below to see the tech at work - when watching - please believe me - this is done to every single guitar - FOR FREE! :)

I won't bore you with every twist and turn here but needless to say whilst my excitement and passion for what I do has never dwindled - I did find many aspects of the industry truly depressing.

In my first 14 years I made some truly wonderful "finds" such as Gordon Smith & Furch guitars. I found the manufacturer who was responsible for producing nearly all the mainstream brands I was selling (Cort). I was however being completely bogged down with enquiries for brands that meant very little to me other than there was a high demand for no other reason than they were extremely well marketed or sold on their Heritage rather than quality.

It was upsetting to realise my biggest brand (Fender) relied on Fujigen manufacturing to restore its own reputation in the 1980s! Shouldn't my customers know about Fujigen? (read this blog for details)

My business grew exponentially year-on-year and was soon turning over 2 Million pounds a year and 10 guitars sold every day of the week.

At the time, I referred to myself as "the most unsuccessful successful person alive" and so would anyone who actually cared about selling guitars of real value.

"Sales" didn't make me happy at all - As I felt every sale of an instrument I didn't believe in was a step away from being true to the knowledge and experiences I was gathering

I realised the only way to be happy doing what I do - was to remove any brand that depressed me - that made me feel I wasnt being true to myself and ONLY sell guitars I KNEW were the benchmarks with values I could be passionate about - guitars I would recommend to my best friend.

I closed my Gibson account - utterly appalled at the disgusting abuse of their name to make sales of the poorest quality and despite my huge sales with Fender - I had no connection with this corporate entity whose business model relied on re-inventing the wheel every 6 months and feeding it to gullible onlookers desperate for the very latest revision to something that needed no change! The best Fenders were made by Fujigen anyway!!?

15 years ago - Emotionally drained by my realisation that despite our popularity as a dealer - I personally didnt fit the mould as a mainstream guitar shop - I closed Regent Guitars & continued life as "Richards Guitars"

Ive never looked back and am grateful for my past experiences - along with my current ones - that have shaped my incredible collection of personal recommehdations. I like to believe that my sales now are generated through honest advice, direction, information, education and 29 years of genuine experience with most guitar brands in the market.

NO marketing - NO hype - NO BS

I began selling guitars 28 years ago at the age of 22 - Inspired by local guitar hero "Tom Crocket" (who remains one of my most valued friends) who taught me for several years. I continued to have lessons privately in London with Shaun Baxter from the Guitar Institute who was also the most incredible inspiration.

At the age of 19 I underwent radiotherapy and Chemotherapy for Hodgkin's Disease. Blessed with a second chance at life - I felt now was the time not to dream but to live the dream.

An inheritance of £8000 from my grandfather financed my humble beginnings.

I had a genuine passion to provide a unique approach to guitar buyers (and my pupils) - as many of my pupils guitars seemed to play so poorly - I wanted to make sure every guitar we sold was set up beautifully - as I knew this would make so much difference to the people I was teaching!

My mother (bless her - Thank you mum! x) documented my earlier years and created a scrap book - Here are some pages from it which I thought you may find funny to see -and for any long term customers - a blast from the past!

You will see my now wife (Teresa) in the pictures - who has supported me throughout our lives. When we met she was 16 and I was 18. 4 years later - she had supported me through my illness and then we were in business together! She has been working with me to this day