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A Summary Overview of Central London's Denmark Street Gear Haven

Jul 14, 202608:00 by

Stefan Karlsson

B.R.A.T.BossDawsonsDenmark StreetFlat Iron Steak RestaurantsGear MaintenanceGuitar Gear ResourcesGuitar Gear RetailHanks GuitarsNo. Tom GuitarsRegent SoundsRolandRoland StoreRose MorrisRough TradeSixty Sixty SoundsStairway to KevinWunjo Guitars+-

When I first visited Denmark Street in the Mid 80’s - both sides of the row were all fully bustling Musical Instrument Shops - mostly guitar-related. I bought my first guitar here - a black gloss Ibanez RG440 Roadstar II Deluxe back in late 1985 - around my 16th birthday. It was a brand new instrument - but I can’t recall what I paid for it, or which shop I bought it from - it was on the North side of the street for sure. While for a period I was crossing the street back and forth in considering 2 competing superstrats at the time - for whatever reason I preferred the SSH Roadstar with the Floyd Rose - but soon got to dislike that bridge type. Great guitar otherwise - which I butchered over the years - loading in EMG 81 and 85 pickups - and ruining the electrical harness and 5-way switch in particular - which worked barely intermittently from then-on.

Very originally Denmark Street was London’s equivalent to New York’s Tin Pan Alley - full of music publishing houses and songwriters. But the Beatles soon put an end to most of those. Throughout the 60’s, 70’s and 80’s - Denmark Street evolved into one of the World’s premier destinations for Musical Gear Acquisition. Where things seemed to tail off a little in the 90’s and into the noughties - and there has been a gradual decline in the Musical side of the street since then - where barely half those addresses are now musical gear and instrument vendors.

Interestingly the whole of that area is now owned by Outernet London - including both sides of Denmark Street - and the magnificent Now Building - which has all those massive digital billboards - inside and out - which kind of make is the equivalent of New York’s Time Square! In any case all residents of Denmark Street now have Outernet London as their landlord - which developer is doing great things in refurbishing, modernising and future-proofing that area.

When I got back into guitar in 2016 - the pedal cabinets of Denmark Street were full to bursting - and I bought a fair number of pedals from both Regent Sounds and Wunjo back then - Mostly Chase Bliss from Regents, and mostly Skreddy from Wunjo - where neither of those brands are stocked there any more alas.

In fact those overflowing cabinets of yore look somewhat skinnier now - but like any vinyl crate-digging expedition - there are still gems and unique brands to be found at large. Stock turnover is slower than say at Andertons - and so there is not the same degree of price fluidity - but there are still bargains to be found if you’re smart about it.

I still stop off at Denmark Street fairly regularly - at least once or twice a month - I’m on particular friendly terms with my friends at Roland / Boss, while generally I get along pretty well with everyone.

I’m thinking of doing a series on Denmark Street - doing the stores one by one - probably ending with Roland / Boss, and starting with No. Toms Guitars whom I’ve gotten acquainted with very recently! And where my good friend Joe Light / Joe’s Pedals got his start!

I may though wait and see which of the stores reacts first to this article - and let that play a part in what order I tackle those stores.

So in this overview I will be picking out the remaining active stores on Denmark Street, other musically related outlets and landmarks - and naming the key brands covered by each.

Numerically - starting with Denmark Street #4 - Regent Sounds - this Overview will follow the below pattern / order :

#04 : Regent Sounds
#05 : Wunjo Guitars
#05 : Stairway to Kevin (2nd Floor) Guitar Maintenance / Upgrades / Repairs
#06 : No. Tom Guitars
#08 : Rose-Morris
#09 : Flat Iron Steak House
#10 : Boss / Roland
#11 : Roland
#20 : B.R.A.T. Beautifully Romanticised Accidentally Traumatized (Youngblud Store / Space)
#23 : Dawsons
#24 : Rough Trade
#27 : Hanks Guitars
#28 : Sixty Sixty Sounds

I may also touch on a few other Denmark Street spots in passing!

Enlarged Map

#04 : Regent Sounds

www.regentsounds.com

As can be seen from the store window signage - Regent Sounds leans into the Fender and Gretsch brands. They used to have a formidable double pedal cabinet just inside the door - but that's been looking quite spartan of late!

PEDALS

Not sure what's happened here - pedals used to be very prominent on the Regent Sounds website, but they've now all but disappeared - with just a few second-hand ones listed. Hudson Electronics is listed in the home page footer - but there is nothing in stock for that brand! The only recent in-stock pedal arrival seems to be the DOD Badder Monkey!

ELECTRIC GUITARS

ACOUSTICS

Auden | Fender | Rathbone

AMPS

Cornell | Fender | Vox

MISCELLANEOUS

#05 : Wunjo Guitars

www.wunjoguitars.com

Wunjo used to be on the other side of the street originally! But they seem to be thriving on the south side. A very impressive pedal selection, and a broad selection of gear in general. This one seems to be one of healthiest residents of Denmark Street!

PEDALS

ELECTRIC GUITARS

ACOUSTICS

BASSES

AMPS

MISCELLANEOUS

#05 : Stairway to Kevin (2nd Floor) Guitar Maintenance / Setups / Upgrades / Repairs

www.stairwaytokevin.com

A couple of floors up from Wunjo - you will find Kevin Bourque - the finest and friendliest Guitar Tech on the Street! Kevin used to recommend Frank at JPF Amplification for Amp Repairs - while alas Frank is semi-retired now! I will need to get further recommendations for Amps!

Note that the upper decks of #5 have recently been under refurbishment, while Kevin expects to be fully back in business by the end of this month - check in with his above referenced website!

#06 : No. Tom Guitars

2026-GPX-No.-Tom-Guitars-Store-Front-700.jpg

notomguitars.com

No. Tom leans into D'Angelico, Guild, and Ibanez Electric Guitars, Hofner Basses, and Faith and Tanglewood Acoustics, and has a really decent Pedal roster with some cool exclusives among them.

PEDALS

ELECTRIC GUITARS

ACOUSTICS / BANJO

AMPS

Fender | Laney | Milkman Sound | Supro

MISCELLANEOUS

#08 : Rose-Morris

rosemorris.com

Rose-Morris leads on Aria, Cort, Danelecto, Spira, Taylor and Tokai Guitars, with only a handful of brands in the Pedal Cabinet!

PEDALS

Digitech | DOD | ProCo | Shaftesbury | T-Rex

ELECTRIC GUITARS

ACCOUSTICS

Crafter | Taylor

BASSES

Aria | Rickenbacker

AMPS

Ashdown | Fishman | Kustom

PIANOS / KEYS / DIGITAL PIANOS

Kawai | Nord

MISCELLANEOUS

#09 : Flat Iron Steak House

flatironsteak.co.uk/restaurant/tottenham-court-road/

Great Value Quality Steak Restaurant!

Make an afternoon of Gear Scoping on Denmark Street - and grab a great value Steak Dinner thereafter. You can also grab drinks at Thirteen at Chateau Denmark @ #1-3, or The Lower Third @ #26!

#10 : Boss / Roland Digital Pianos

rolandstorelondon.com

The legendary Effects Pedal Pioneer and its Synth Pioneer Parent!

No. #10 is the original Roland Store on Denmark Street - where they then also acquired #11 next door - and moved the Drums and most of the Roland Gear into the second Unit.

The Front Boss Half of the #10 Store includes - Katana Amps, Roland / Cube Amps, Loop Stations, Pedals, Devices and Cables in the front, and Roland Digital Pianos in the rear!

#11 : Roland / Drums

rolandstorelondon.com

A solid London base for this legendary Synth Pioneer

Upstairs we have Merch, Synths, DJ and Music Production Equipment then banks of superior Synths!

There's a New Drum Department in the Basement : Roland Acoustic + Digital + V-Drums, also DW (Drum Workshop), PDP, and Slingerland.

A fantastic looking / feeling store all-round with a cool touch of artistry and hi-tech - and with a killer continuously evolving light-show!

Recap!

#20 : B.R.A.T. Beautifully Romanticised Accidentally Traumatized (Yungblud Store / Event Space)

www.brat-clothing.com

Yungblud's Store and Event Space, featuring : Apparel | Accessories | Jewellery | Home | Live Performances

I thought this was originally just meant to be a popup store - but it's going the distance now - very cool artist-based store / space!

#23 : Dawsons

www.dawsons.co.uk

Recent arrival on the Street - leads on Fender, Heritage, Manson, PRS and Squier. Mostly Jim Dunlop and TC Electronic Pedals.

PEDALS

ELECTRIC GUITARS

Fender / Fender Custom Shop | Heritage | Manson Guitar Works | PRS | Squier

ACOUSTICS

Harmony | Martin | Sigma

BASS GUITARS

Fender | Squier

AMPS

AER | Marshall | Orange | Vox

KEYBOARDS / SYNTHS

Nord

MISCELLANEOUS

#24 : Rough Trade

www.roughtrade.com

2-storey Vinyl / Music Store

My favourite 'Chain' of Music / Vinyl Shops in London - Rough Trade West on Talbot Road (Portobello), Rough Trade East at Old Truman Brewery (Brick Lane) [My Favourite!], Rough Trade Vintage on Beak Street Soho, and this diminutive Branch on Denmark Street, Covent Garden. It's a cool compact and bijoux store - while there's a better Vinyl Shop just around the corner - Fopp on Shaftesbury Avenue; I still though pop into Rough Trade on Denmark Street every time I pass though that area!

I often take in the Soho Trio too - of Sister Ray, Reckless Records, and Sounds of the Universe - which are all in and around Berwick Street. Occasionally hitting Phonica on Poland Street too - depending on what genre of music I'm looking for! I recall when there were a good 30 record shops in Soho - those are somewhat decimated now too, a little like has happened to Music Instrument Shops on Denmark Street!

#27 : Hanks Guitars

www.denmarkstreetguitars.co.uk

Famous Vintage Guitars Store arranged across Three Floors. Electric Guitars on the Ground Floor, Acoustics on First, and Vintage / Unique / Pricey on the Top Deck!

PEDALS

British Pedal Company

ELECTRIC GUITARS

ACOUSTICS

BASS GUITARS

AMPS