South Shore Guitar Boutique — Local services in Town of Babylon

The word Boutique speaks volumes here. The instruments in this store are at the high price end of the spectrum. Most are brands that I have never heard of, manufactured in foreign countries. Does expensive mean better? In my opinion, the value of these instruments is quite subjective. Everything was great while I was shelling out 4800.00 for a guitar, but as soon as I had a problem with the instrument, the proprietor of this establishment became quite boisterous with me. He raised his voice to me several times and on two occasions he told me that if I didn't like what was happening I could take my guitar and get out of his store. Guitar Center has a 45 day return policy. The return policy at South Shore is 4 days which is in my opinion not enough time to get acquainted with a new musical instrument and with the prices in this "Boutique" it could be a costly and risky endeavor. By the time I found out that my 4800.00 acoustic guitar had a terrible and unforeseeable defect, it had been 3 weeks and the owner of this establishment would not take it back as a return. He would only send it back to the original manufacturer for warranty service. At the time of this writing my guitar has had the neck removed and they are going to attempt to change the truss rod, and I was told that they may have to remove the fingerboard and then glue it back on. Sounds like a defective instrument to me! I ask the reader to judge for themselves but proceed with caution. I am now stuck with a 4800.00 instrument that in retrospect, I wish I had not purchased. This establishment will be a "no" for me the next time I plan to purchase a musical instrument. *Just an update - Since the shop owner has chosen to misrepresent what transpired at the time, I offer proof in the form of an email from my luthier and an email from Mark Dalton himself. He sold me an already defective guitar that had to have an extensive repair by the manufacturer and refused to take it back as it was past his four day return policy. I have since sold this guitar and taken a $2500.00 loss on it, but the proprietor of this establishment in response to all of my reviews has insinuated that I do not properly maintain proper humidity levels in my home. I told him at the time that I keep 2 humidifiers running when necessary and maintain a level of in between 45 and 55% at all times. My question to him would be, If these guitars from his store are THAT sensitive to humidity in the first place, than what if I had a gig? Could I not bring them out of the house for fear of them becoming defective after his four day return...

Okay, there are lots of places where you can buy a guitar – there are far fewer where there are people who have the knowledge, connections, resources, and kindness to put your ultimate instrument into your hands. I sought out Mike at South Shore Guitar Boutique to help me get a Mirari because of the number of players that say it would be their choice to keep if they could only have one guitar. With SSGB’s deep and direct connection with Izzy Lugo of Ronin/Fiam fame, I acquired a beautiful dual-branded Mirari that bridges the space between Ronin and Fiam (standard Ronin labeling on the back of the headstock – the past / Fiam labeling on the front of the headstock – the future) … My gold Ronin/Fiam Mirari was as close to perfection as I had ever experienced, UNTIL I recently received my new Torn-ish Fiam Mirari F5. I now KNOW that I have arrived at my choice if I am ever forced to trim down the herd to just one guitar! The individual high-pass filters are a revelation (my Ronin Mirari has one that hits both pickups) - the improved Magic Button - the pickup range of completely musical choices - the Vega-trem - the body resonance – the build quality – the neck feel - and on and on and on!

Mike and John patiently worked with me as we worked our way through every step, from decision to delivery and beyond, and they have my deepest gratitude!

I honestly feel like I could now stop looking at any other guitars out there, but I will always keep an eye on what South Shore Guitar Boutique is bringing...

I recently purchased a TAO guitars Disco Volante model called ‘Ando’ from SSGB. The entire process of purchasing this guitar was a blueprint for how all boutique instrument dealers should operate.

Being an accomplished guitarist himself, Mike Termini of SSGB is able to provide actual (and useful) first hand knowledge of what each guitar is about and how it sounds. This is invaluable especially when making an online purchase of what is usually a one of a kind guitar. He really knows the ins and outs of what he is selling and this is the big difference between SSGB and other boutique dealers. My experience with many current boutique dealers is that they just say everything they sell is great because it is boutique and that is not really the truth: expensive parts/builds dont automatically equal inspiring tones. Mike has the skills to walk you thru the details of whats in his stock.

The TAO i purchased has become an important, inspiring instrument for me that ive been on the lookout for for awhile. Its just so great to have SSGB’s ability to procure these guitars, know what they are about and make them available.

SSGB is a top class operation and im lucky i found them-highly...