I visited Richard's Guitars in September, and buying was not remotely on my mind. I had accompanied a left handed friend (Jeremy) who was attracted by the large stock of lefties that they maintain, but he knew that not all the guitars he wanted to try were lefties, and needed someone to play the right hand versions to establish exactly what he wanted.
You have to make an appointment to try the guitars, and are given a nice long time slot, which is just as well because their stock of quality instruments is extensive. The display room is amazing. We were left alone to try as many as we wanted.
At one point, Jeremy put what I took to be a parlour guitar into my hands, and, although it didn't turn out to be what he wanted, it just felt at home in my hands. But I wasn't intending to buy so I put it back.
Any road up, Jeremy eventually decided what he wanted and went to order it, leaving me in the room alone with this plethora of great instruments. I was drawn back to that litttle "parlour" and noticed a little silver catch at the dusty end of the neck. So I asked whether it was a travel guitar, and it was confirmed that that was just what it was.
The breakdown prcedure is incredibly clever, and the whole thing fits into a small backpack. Now, the only travel guitar I owned was just a scaled down guitar, and although it fits into a bag only a little larger than a uke, it was still pretty awkward to carry, and really doesn't sound all that great, so the Little Jane, sounding and playing as brilliantly as it does made me immediately get my credit card out and buy it.
The whole experience at Richards Guitars was fantastic. I love the fact that the appointment system means that one can try the guitars without competing for space with other customers. Everybody there is welcoming, friendly and knowledgeable, and the buying process is no-nonsense and easy.
I have no hesitation in recommending Richards Guitars wholeheartedly. It's by far the best guitar buying experience I've ever had.