View Full Version : Intermountain guitar and banjo
tiltman
Dec-14-2005, 6:27pm
Hey all,
There's a shop in Salt Lake City called Intermountain Guitar and Banjo. Seem to have nice stuff on the website, has anyone here had any dealings with them?
Thanks for any input,
Kirk
fredfrank
Dec-14-2005, 6:36pm
I bought a Gibson Varnished Fern and a Gibson Granada banjo from them, not to mention numerous sets of strings. They are good guys to deal with, and they always dealt fairly with me on price.
tiltman
Dec-14-2005, 6:44pm
Hey Fred,
Thanks for the PROMPT reply and input.
It looks like a nice place but I wanted to hear about it from others.
Thanks again,
Kirk
Yes, I just made a trade with them and the whole experience was very positive. Nice guys, great inventory, very knowledgable
JimRichter
Dec-14-2005, 6:53pm
Leo and the guys there are very amicable and professional. I bought a '30 Martin tenor off of them once and the whole transaction was very pleasant. I've also made numerous inquiries and requests for pictures in the past and they were very obliging.
Jim
phriend2spin
Dec-14-2005, 6:57pm
I live here in Utah and was just down there last week. They have some killer used mandos that are priced just right. They seem to be an honest bunch of guys too.
Leo and Kennard have been in the business (and in the same location) for over 20 (25?) years... I think that says something about their reputation. They have the best cache of vintage acoustic instruments of anyplace that I know*, but I don't get much opportunity to shop instruments outside of Salt Lake valley.
Paul Doubek
*Edit: I should say any brick-and-mortar store that I know.
tiltman
Dec-14-2005, 7:06pm
Cool.
Has anyone said today how great the mando cafe is?
Thanks for the replies.
Kirk
Spruce
Dec-14-2005, 7:11pm
Leonard and Kennard are one-of-a-kind....
Or is it two-of-a-kind?
Great folks to deal with....
Ken Berner
Dec-14-2005, 11:22pm
Yessir, I had a very positive experience with them. I purchased my first "F' mandolin ('93 Flatiron F5 Artist) from them, and they described it perfectly. As a matter of fact, I called STE and they told me that they had a long, beneficial relationship with Intermountain. No problems in my dealings with them!
Chris Baird
Dec-15-2005, 12:02am
Those guys are straight shooters. They do great business but come off about as frank as is possible.
Charles Johnson
Dec-15-2005, 12:13am
Leo and Kennerd are upfront and honest dealers. I've done business with them for years and can recommend them without reservation. They know their stuff.
Charles Johnson
Owner
Mandolin World Headquarters, Inc.
stevem
Dec-15-2005, 12:28am
I bought a Martin guitar and a Flatiron mando from them and was very pleased with the entire process. (My brothers have also purchased guitars and mandos there.)
That said, in other mando shops around the country I've felt freer to play the super nice mandos than at Intermountain. Most of the sweet ones advertised on the net I've never seen in the store. In my opinion, they cater to the higher priced crowd a bit more and seem to keep grubby hands like mine away from their real gems. They let me play anything I can see though. http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif I'm not complaining; it's just a different philosophy of running a store than at some other places I've been. They do have an incredible selection listed online though.
Chris Baird
Dec-15-2005, 1:17am
Those guys are smart, they know a tire kicker when they see one.
Ken Sager
Dec-15-2005, 3:23am
I have purchased/traded 4 banjos, 3 mandolins, and 2 guitars from them. You'd think I'd learn... They're great guys, great repairmen, and shrewd/crafty businessmen. None finer.
Best,
Ken
mandolooter
Dec-15-2005, 4:15am
Leo's a great guy to deal with and they always have TON'S to drool over!!!
PlayerOf8
Dec-15-2005, 12:17pm
I think that these guys are two of the best in the business.
GM
Spruce
Dec-15-2005, 12:49pm
"...and they always have TON'S to drool over!!! "
What you see in the store is only a fraction of what's really there....
Lots 'o dusty cases in the back room....
luckylarue
Dec-15-2005, 12:59pm
FWIW, I picked up a used Mid-Mo M1 from them this past summmer for $300. It arrived clean, set-up and w/ a couple sets of strings. Nice folks and very helpful. I wouldn't hesitate to order from them again.
I may not know what a really fine mando is, but I've been very impressed with the stuff in the case behind the counter that they've let me kick the tires on. Last time I was in there I played a couple nice F4s and a F2, as well as some decent new instruments.
Kennard was actually the first builder of F5 mandos I ever met. In the early '80s he turned out some nice instruments. He was charging about $1000 to $1200 for them, which seemed pretty steep to me but I wish I had one now! He put "The Gibson" on the headstock, and I can't recall but I assume they are labeled with his name. I wonder how many are out there?
Paul Doubek
tiltman
Dec-15-2005, 5:17pm
Thanks again for all of the replies.
When there are so many threads about scamming it's good to find out about things ahead of time!
Kirk
Spruce
Dec-15-2005, 5:43pm
For you microphone hounds, Kennard is a collector and has a hundred or so on the shelves in the main showroom....
There are some real rare ones in there...