Altamira in the UK ...

cjl · February 2020

Hi, does anyone know which shops stock Altimira guitars in the UK, preferably in or near London?

I've emailed them twice and had no reply (which isn't very impressive!) but I'd still like to at least try a couple out ...

Thanks ...

stuology · February 2020

Yes I know - none of them, certainly not in London! It's better to start with the shops that actually stock any kind of gypsy guitar ... So in London that would be Hobgoblin, which has a range of Gitanes. A stroll down Denmark Street can occasionally bag you a gypsy guitar, but none of them stock them on a regular basis. I can't remember the last time I saw an Altamira in a guitar shop - there were a few about five years ago here and there. I know there's a lot of hype about them online and no doubt some happy customers but I've never been that impressed with them and they haven't really made much of a mark in the UK.

Beyond London, I recommend the Guitar Village in Farnham, which stocks the Eastman gypsy guitars. These are much better than the Altamira's in my opinion, and the vintage one looks as good in real life as it does in the pictures - https://guitarvillage.co.uk/products/eastman-dm-1-the-gypsy-satin-classic

If you're prepared to travel, I saw a very nice John Jorgenson Gitane for £800 at Bygone Times in Lancashire at the weekend.

If you just want to try them out, the best thing to do is go along to the Tuesday jam at Le Quecumbar and get talking to the players. People are usually happy to show off their guitars and there's bound to be an Altamira there somewhere.

cjl · February 2020

Thanks for the reply ...

Ivor Mairants had a few Altamiras in stock last year, and I tried a couple but didn't get back there before they'd closed up ... funnily enough they also had a couple of Eastmans but the guy in the shop was convinced the Altamiras were much better, especially at around 70% of the price!

The only time I've ever knowingly seen or heard an Altamira at the Q it sounded great, but that was a couple of years ago... the owner px'ed it for a luither made guitar a few months later ...

I'm not really that desperate to buy a guitar so I'm happy to make do with my old Cigano until something turns up!