With a beautiful mix of serious vintage and more modern second–hand guitars and amps, Some Neck Guitars was the first shop in Dublin to dedicate its inventory to both rare vintage and broken–in workhorse gear.
Today the shop is established on Reverb, gracing the marketplace with some incredible specimens laid out on its now–familiar red Chesterfield sofa.
We took some time to talk with owner Owen McQuail about how the shop started, how he builds its brand with personality, and which of his listings he's most excited about.
How did Some Necks Guitars get started?
Some Neck Guitars was conceived out of necessity. I was unemployed for four years. I had a bit of a guitar and amp collection. I had also been buying and selling guitars for over twenty five years, as well as doing repairs in my spare time.
I noticed a gap in the market for vintage and used guitars in city centre Dublin, so we started with a very small inventory – about 12–14 guitars and the same amount of amps.
You seem to have a really diverse range of vintage guitars. Could you tell us about one or two of the most notable instruments to come through your doors?
We get in a great range of guitars, especially some lovely acoustics. One particular gem was a 1919 Gibson L-3 - a beautiful piece, came with the original case and everything. It ended up to going into Jack White's hands.
1959 Gibson ES-345 Stereo
1962 Fender Stratocaster
We currently have a great 1959 Gibson ES-345TD, one of first the stereo models, in amazing condition for its age. We have a particular soft spot for it. It only ever had one owner. It's all original apart from a refret and a bridge change. The PAFs sound amazing. It's on our Reverb store if you wanna take a look.
Our trio of ‘60s Strats are also really cool.
One of the things we love about Some Neck is the classic red Chesterfield. It makes for such nice photos that are immediately identifiable. How important is it for you to find ways to show personality as a shop?
First and foremost, the Chesterfield is a place for people to sit down and chat or have a coffee. We've built up a bit of a community in the shop of local musicians and friends, so they all hang out around there.
I used to have a black leather couch in our old shop that didn't really have any personality, so getting the Chesterfield when we moved to our new shop was a big thing for me. It's also very comfortable. We find it pretty cold to just have generic shots of guitars. We like to give the vibe of checking out a guitar in our shop, regardless of where you actually are.
Some Neck Guitars owner Owen McQuail
What’s the guitar market like in Dublin? How does it compare to the worldwide market you’ve been able to access online?
The market here is quite vibrant. There's a lot of musicians – guitar players, especially. There's a very large community aspect for guitar players here, too, as it's a relatively small city. We have lots of music colleges like BIMM, Pulse, and more, so we cater to all players and all price ranges of equipment. We try to be very people–oriented.
The online market has certainly helped us, as so many people buy online now. It helps us a lot, between customers in Ireland who see our stuff online and sales further afield.
What does the future hold for Some Neck Guitars?
We'll keep doing what we do. We do lots of repairs. We just fitted out a new workshop/repairs area downstairs, which is a large part of our work. We're always keen to continue buying and selling guitars that we really love.
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