Vintage guitar lending library Guitar Club, is looking to extend its reach beyond London by creating a nation-wide network of dealers and vintage guitar owners and enthusiasts.
The brainchild of guitar collector and entrepreneur Sean Williams, Guitar Club is a unique new concept that loans members high-end vintage instruments – normally the reserve of wealthy collectors – for a fraction of their cost.
Members simply pay a weekly fee (the cheapest being £10 and the most expensive £40, which includes delivery and insurance) and you can choose a guitar to take home, for a maximum of 12 weeks, straight away. The treasure trove of classic axes includes guitars from Gibson, Fender, Gretsch, Rickenbacker as well as niche instruments from smaller boutique manufacturers. New guitars are added all the time.
Williams was inspired by ‘sharing economy’ successes such as budget accommodation scheme AirBnB and car sharing schemes like Greentomato.
“We’ve had a very promising response just in and around London so far,” said Williams, “but in order to be able to offer the breadth of range for our existing members and to increase our reach further afield I would like to establish a network of lenders across the UK.
“I’m open to discussions about exactly how we make it work but I see the Guitar Club website being used as the hub around which our partners can operate. I think for dealers, rather than being an alternative to people actually buying guitars, which is of course what they ultimately want, it would bring in extra footfall and, with stores becoming so multi-faceted these days, add yet another function to their existing retail offering.”
If you’re interested in becoming part of Guitar Club’s network contact rareguitarclub@gmail.com
