No matter your take on the Royal family, the importance of shopping local and supporting British manufacturing cannot be understated. So this Jubilee weekend we thought we’d showcase some of our favourite British brands, in no particular order, that are currently in stock at Promenade Music.
Number 10 – Glenlaw Cables
Glenlaw Cables are a specialist UK-based custom cable maker that design and hand build great-sounding high specification cables. Using the highest quality components these cables are crafted to help you achieve the best tone possible. Glenlaw supply clear sounding cables that can withstand the rigours of gigging musicians and are perfect for studio and live sound. Glenlaw create custom specification for the FullHz instrument cable for full range frequencies, and LowHz instrument cable for lower range frequencies, plus a range of Glenlaw patch, speaker, and microphone cables.
Number 9 – JWJ Guitars
JWJ guitars are hand-built, individually in a small workshop in rural Shropshire in the UK. Each high-quality piece of tonewood gets matched to each other by sound, look and feel to create truly unique instruments. Inspired by the classic designs and sounds of the ‘Golden Era’, JWJ guitars put the emphasis on tone, feel and value in the aim to produce home-grown, hand-crafted guitars at a price that might surprise you. With striking choices of tonewoods, sturdy handcrafted construction and premium hardware the JWJ series of guitars are something you need to check out for yourself.
Number 8 – Levin Straps
You can’t sling your beloved instrument round your neck with just any strap! Levin straps are comfortable to wear, durable yet stylish, fantastic value for money, and British made! Made in the north west of England, Levin straps are handmade from the finest of leathers; so if you love, and value, excellent craftsmanship combined with superb quality materials, you’ll love the Levin strap range. If shopping local is a priority because of the environmental impact global shipping possesses, you may also be interested in the Levin range of Vegan straps made with cork instead of leather.
Number 7 – Beverley Mallets
No, not Timmy’s sister – Beverley Mallets offer percussionists a range of handmade professional quality mallets that are made in the North of England. The artisan mallet maker uses cutting edge technology along with the finest quality materials including beautiful custom-made yarn; injection moulded mallet heads and hand selected strong, straight and smooth South East Asian Rattan and North American Maple. Aerospace graded glues bond the mallets onto the handles and are then coated in a natural sealant to preserve the wood and give the most natural feel.
Number 6 – Ted Brewer Violins
Ted Brewer made his first acrylic electric violin in 1993 in Lincoln, England, and after four years of research and development, started selling them. After being commissioned to make an electric violin by renowned player, Vanessa Mae things really started to take off and now Ted Brewer are still making beautiful electronic violins, by hand and in small batches here in the UK. Award winning Ted is still as passionate about violins, and the crafting of the instruments, as he was when he first started. So you can be assured that when you purchase your Ted Brewer Violin, you know you will own a beautiful violin that has been made with years of expert knowledge.
Number 4 – Thorpy FX
Thorpy pedals are crafted not built. Out of the family workshop in Wiltshire, Major Adrian Thorpe MBE was encouraged to follow his passion for tone making devices by his wife, Georgia, after he retired from his career in the British Army. It’s possible that Major Thorpe’s army background is why so many of the pedal range have military names such as the Bunker, Field Marshall and Fat General. One thing that is for certain is that Thorpy pedals use the highest possible quality components, are built like proverbial outhouses and are crafted to sound as good as they possibly can.
Number 3 – Bennet Lap Steels
Ronny Bennett is well known in the steel-guitar world both as a player and maker of over fifty years experience. From his workshop near Inverness, in the Scottish Highlands, he still produces pedal steel and lap steel guitars which exhibit an incredibly high degree of engineering quality, much of the hardware being individually machined to fit the purpose. Both his 6-string and 8-string models are made with a solid ash body, colour coded position markets, specially machined nut and bridge and an awesome vintage-style handwound pickup. All combine to make a great sounding, industrious instrument built wi8th impeccable quality.
Number 2 – Collard & Collard Stools
Each Collard & Collard piano stool is beautifully crafted from start to finish in the Oxfordshire workshop of expert stool builder, Dean Watts. Beautiful design and the using the highest quality materials, fittings and finishes to ensure maximum durability, Collard & Collard stools aim to use materials from sustainable sources wherever possible. The superior build quality of these piano stools has ensured that they remain the first choice of the discerning pianist who is seeking a high specification, combined with exceptional value; and are solidly built to withstand the stresses and strains imposed by even the most vigorous player.
Number 1 – Marshall Studio Series
The Marshall name is synonymous with amplifiers and the Studio range are still built by experts in the factory in Milton Keynes. With the Studio series, Marshall have shrunk down some of the famous classics so that players can enjoy the vintage sounds at home or in the studio and to great effect as they are used by artists from The Darkness, Bring Me The Horizon and Slayer. Shrinking down an iconic amp requires clever design and the folks at the UK headquarters are experts in their field. They use the same hand assembly techniques that the name Marshall was built on. Every single Studio amp is designed, engineered and constructed at the UK factory, where it gets the experts seal of approval before it hits the shelves.
