Promenade Music

Promenade Music, a long-established instrument shop in Morecambe

Promenade Music is a music retailer based in Morecambe, on England's north-west coast, founded by David Wood in 1989. The business describes itself as award-winning and presents its shop as one of the largest and best stocked music shops in the north of England, a claim it repeats in its own promotional wording rather than as an independently verified ranking.

The store operates as a dealer for a long list of instrument and equipment brands and combines retail with a set of music-related services that go beyond simple sales.

Guitars and amplification

The guitar department is the most visible part of the catalogue and includes solid body electrics, semi-hollow electrics, acoustic and electro-acoustic guitars, bass guitars, twelve-string and travel guitars, classical and flamenco models, resonators and lap steels, pedal steel guitars and left-handed instruments. The shop identifies itself as a Gibson dealer and highlights newly arrived premium guitars; at the time of writing this profile the latest stock listing included a limited-edition Fender Player Telecaster in olive green, an Epiphone SG Prophecy with gig bag, and several Gibson Les Paul Standard 60s and '50s models, among them a left-handed Gold Top version.

Amplification and effects are grouped by instrument: guitar combos, heads and cabinets, bass combos, heads and cabinets, acoustic amplifiers, plus guitar, bass, acoustic and vocal effects. Accessories cover electric, acoustic and bass strings, straps, pickups and preamps, and pedal steel accessories.

Keyboards, pianos and organs

The keyboard range spans home digital pianos, portable digital pianos, upright and grand pianos, and classical organs organised by manual configuration, including one-, two- and three-to-five-manual instruments and a group of portable classical organs. The catalogue also lists synthesisers and workstations, MIDI controllers, bass pedalboards, piano stools and keyboard and piano accessories.

Drums, percussion and tuned percussion

Drum and percussion stock covers electronic drums, drum kits, snare drums, cymbals, percussion, hardware, cases and bags, sticks, rods, brushes, mallets and drumheads listed by diameter from 8 to 22 inches. A separate tuned percussion section is unusually detailed: timpanis from Adams (Universal, Revolution and Pro Gen 2 ranges in fibreglass, copper and hammered copper) and Yamaha (TP3300, TP4300R, TP6300R, TP7300R and TP8300R), marimbas grouped by range from three to five and a half octaves, glockenspiels, xylophones, vibraphones, tubular bells and chimes, and orchestral snare drums, tom toms and bass drums.

Orchestral, wind and folk instruments

String instruments are offered across sizes, with violins from 4/4 down to 1/32 and 1/64, violas from 12 to 16.5 inches, cellos and double basses in fractional sizes, and electric violins, violas, cellos and double basses, alongside bows and string accessories including sets and single strings.

Woodwind includes clarinets, flutes, piccolos, soprano, alto, tenor and baritone saxes, oboes and bassoons, wooden recorders and digital wind instruments. Brass covers trumpets, trombones, French horns, cornets, flugel horns, tenor and baritone horns, euphoniums, and tubas and sousaphones.

The folk and world section lists soprano, concert, tenor and baritone and bass ukuleles, banjos, mandolins and mandolas, accordions, concertinas, melodeons, harmonicas, harps and other world instruments.

Recording, live sound and home studio

For live and studio use the shop stocks portable PA systems, PA speakers and subwoofers, mixing desks, digital recorders, audio interfaces, drum machines, microphones (handheld vocal, studio vocal, instrument, speciality and wireless), headphones and in-ear monitors, studio monitors, DJ and lighting equipment, and related accessories.

Services beyond retail

Alongside instrument sales, Promenade Music lists a range of services:

• Printed sheet music
• Music lessons
• Gift vouchers
• Instrument hire
• Moving and storage of instruments
• Valuations and reports
• Repairs and restrings
• The AIPS VAT-free scheme
• Faith and Hope catalogue

The shop also maintains a YouTube channel where its premises and activity are shown.

Brands represented

The dealer list is extensive and organised alphabetically, covering instrument makers and equipment brands such as Gibson, Fender, Epiphone, Gretsch, Guild, Martin & Co, Faith, Faith & Hope, Larrivee, Godin, Hofner, Hohner, Kawai, Korg, Nord, Roland-related lines through Boss, Marshall, Orange, Ampeg, Markbass, Pearl, Mapex, Adams, Yamaha, Deering, D'Addario, Elixir, Ernie Ball, Electro Harmonix, MXR, Digitech and many others.