Thunder Road Guitars Seattle

Today marks the one year anniversary of Thunder Road Guitars being in business and I must admit that I am absolutely floored with how things have come together and how we have grown in just 12 months. When we launched the website on January 1st of 2012 I was not really sure what to expect. [...]

Let’s get one thing straight, I am very, very proud to be where I’m from. I’ve had the luxury of visiting close to all 50 of the united states and some parts of the world and I still wouldn’t live anywhere but West Seattle, WA. I wear the West Seattle tattoo on my right arm [...]

Friends,

I am thrilled to announce that next month Thunder Road Guitars will be opening the doors to our new showroom in the heart of West Seattle. If you’ve done business with us this year you probably know we have operated Thunder Road Guitars mostly online, selling instruments to folks all over the globe. This has been a blast and we’ve had the pleasure of meeting some really cool guitar fanatics, but we haven’t done a whole lot of local business. Come mid November Seattleites will have the opportunity to get the full Thunder Road experience at our showroom, where we will showcase our fine vintage and used instruments!

I’ve always been a fan of independent businesses and growing up absolutely loved checking out local record stores and guitars shops. I must say when I was a young kid Seattle had it’s fair share of both. There were many locally owned business that thrived for most of 80s and 90s throughout the city, a few of which are still around today. With the rise of the internet and large chain stores however a lot of these locally owned business were forced to change or chose to close up shop forever.

I say this time and time again, but a big part of what I love about vintage and used guitars and our worldwide customer base is getting to know folks from all over the globe and getting to hear about their journey with the electric guitar. Below is a cool story from Rodger in Fort Worth, TX. Rodger purchased a beautiful 1961 Fender Musicmaster from us last month, and in doing so was able to re-connect with an old friend. Below is Rodger’s story.

In 1957 the Les Paul model was given a bit of a facelift, ditching the then previous P90 pickup combination for the now widely recognized and loved Humbucker pickup. This went on to eventually change the face of the electric guitar, the sound and ambience of a Les Paul, and music in general.

When I think about Thunder Road Guitars and the business we’ve been building this year I think back to some of my favorite and most exciting times being on the road. You see, we do a TON of driving and really put in the hours on the road hunting and searching each and every corner of the pacific northwest, leaving no town un-turned, seeking out cool, rare, and beautiful vintage and used guitars and amplifiers. Don’t get me wrong, when someone calls us up and says “Hey, I have a Gibson, Fender, etc (inset model here) and I would like to sell it or have it appraised” it is great, and you never know what someone is going to bring in. But I really enjoy traveling and meeting new and interesting folks who share the same passion we do for instruments. Hands down it one of the best parts of this “job”.

Here at Thunder Road Guitars we specialize in fine vintage and used guitars and amplifiers. For those of you who don’t know, we also carry a locally owned custom brand called Fastback Custom Guitars and Amplifiers.

Well, here we are, 6 months into Thunder Road Guitars being open for business. These last 6 months have really flown by, which is funny to me because when TRG was in the planning stages it seemed like it took forever for our opening day to come. I must say I could not be happier with how things are going, the amount of COOL guitars that are coming in and going out, and the great folks we’ve had the pleasure of meeting this year from all over the globe. I’ve worked in a guitar shop for the better part of my adult life, it just catches me off guard sometimes that I am the boss and call the shots, but I love it and can honestly say I love my “job” and this shop. I wanted to take a second and thank you! You being someone who sold us a guitar, bought a guitar from us, traded gear with us, told a friend about us, or just checked out the website. I cannot thank you enough, and if it weren’t for you we would not be able to do what we do. So thanks!

Hit the breaks man, hit the breaks!!!! Those were the last words I heard before almost bringing me and my band to a fiery Montana death. You see, being a pacific northwest band you generally have two ways to get home from a trek out on the road playing the dive-bars of America. Those two highways are Interstate 90 and Interstate 5. We generally would route our tours around playing Portland off I5 before coming home to Seattle, or playing eastern Washington or Montana off of I90.