Music shops in Toronto?

[Arto]

Hi friends,

I´m going to Canada for a vacation for a few weeks, and will be staying mostly in Toronto. I would be happy for any information and suggestions about music shops worth a visit. I´m interested about mandolins and equipment (strings, picks etc - the assortment is somewhat limited in Finland).

Because of some friends´ posts on this board, I might also be interested in those somewhat obscure but cute small instruments: baglamas, charangos or ukuleles (sorry... ukuleles are not that obscure ;-)

thanks a lot,
Arto

[Eugene]

Definitely, see The Twelfth Fret (http://www.12fret.com/). No surprise, their guitar selection is probably the most impressive, but they do tend to favor the obscure more than most shops. My favorite 19th-c. guitar came from their shop.

[Eugene]

PS: You probably won't find many baglamas or music shops up there, but if you can muster a bit of a northward trek along the Georgian Bay and North Channel of Lake Huron, that is some of my favorite terrain on the continent.

[Mike Crocker]

12th fret, Steve's, Songbird...check the yellow pages. 12th fret is the best. Mooh.

[Dru Lee Parsec]

Yes, the 12th fret on Danforth is a must see! I absolutly fell in love with an Allan Beardsell acoustic guitar there last year and then DIDN'T buy it. Oh the pain!

I can spend a whole day there. Say "hi" to David Wren for us. http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/wink.gif

[jasona]

Steve's is not too good for mandolins. I never stopped in at Songbird. There is a place on Bloor at Ossington, forget its name, that has mandolins that aren't Fenders or Kentuckys, but by far your best bet is 12th Fret. Also be sure to catch the Crazy Strings no cover show at the Silver Dollar Room on Spadina at College on Wednesday night--Andrew Collins featured on mandolin. Great good fun!

[BBarton]

12th Fret, and check out Folkway Music in Guelph, about 55 miles west of TO.