Andertons Music Co. has been at the heart of the UK music scene since 1964, when it was founded by current Managing Director Lee Anderton’s father and grandfather, Harry and Peter Anderton. What began as a small Guildford shop—where a 17-year-old Peter took just 9p on the first day—has grown into a globally recognised name in music retail. Still proudly family-run, we’ve spent over half a century supporting musicians of all levels, from local players to international artists.
About Us
Andertons Music Co. is a family-run musical instrument retailer based in Guildford. With over 60 years of experience serving the music community in the UK and now overseas, we’ve grown from a local music shop into a renowned international retailer with a stellar reputation for providing high-quality service to musicians worldwide. With an award-winning online store and popular YouTube channel, we continue to push boundaries and share our love for music across the globe.
Established in 1964
Back in the 60s, as rock ‘n’ roll took over the charts and icons like The Beatles and The Rolling Stones inspired a new generation of musicians, Andertons was right there in the middle of the action. Throughout the 70s and 80s, we continued to be a key part of Guildford’s thriving music scene, supplying gear and advice to musicians in a fast-changing musical world.
The Surrey town of Guildford has always been our home. Since 1990, our store has been based on Woodbridge Road—just minutes from the town centre’s train and bus stations, and under an hour from Central London. It’s a destination store for musicians from across the South of England, with a huge range of gear and expert staff on hand.
As the internet transformed retail in the 2000s, so too did Andertons evolve. Our online store gave us a worldwide reach, and we’ve grown alongside a new generation of musicians, including those studying at the nearby Academy of Contemporary Music—who we proudly support with great gear and generous student discounts.
The Surrey town of Guildford has always been our home. Since 1990, our store has been based on Woodbridge Road—just minutes from the town centre’s train and bus stations, and under an hour from Central London. It’s a destination store for musicians from across the South of England, with a huge range of gear and expert staff on hand.
Our online community & Andertons TV
Andertons were one of the first music shops to embrace the internet, and in 2001 first launched a website that people could buy gear from. We were also one of the first to embrace social media and YouTube, because they allowed us to bring a personality to our web presence.
Andertons TV features music gear reviews, demos & a thriving online community, proudly showcasing our products and passion for music to a worldwide audience. Now we’re winning awards for all three including the coveted YouTube Silver Play Button which marks 100k subscribers (at time of writing we’re approaching 1 million) – not many shops can say that!
Garnering millions of views and thousands of subscribers in the process, our videos aim to inspire, inform and entertain, and we have become an established part of the online gear community. We care about delivering content for all musicians. That’s why we now have dedicated channels for each of our departments. Check them out now!
Andertons TV Highlights
From reviews to riffs, here’s a taste of what makes Andertons TV the heart of the online gear community.
At the heart of the music industry
We take our place at the heart of the UK music industry seriously. We’re long-standing supporters of Music for All, the charity that helps get musical instruments into the hands of underprivileged children all over the UK. We love National Learn to Play Day and work closely with the ACM (it’s just around the corner!) to make sure that we’re doing everything we can to encourage and stimulate grass roots music making! We also work extremely closely with our suppliers meaning we get the best deals on gear, the biggest names in the industry at our masterclasses and the best long-term career opportunities for our staff! Andertons staff have gone on to work just about everywhere in the industry from top brand names like Fender, to recording studios, music tech start-ups and even touring with the likes of James Bay!
TROPHY CABINET
Our excellent level of service and strong reputation has also led to us picking up a number of prestigious awards and honours over the last few years, such as:
Feefo Platinum Trusted Service 5 Years in a Row
NAMM 2022: Top 100 Dealer
NAMM 2020: Customer's Choice
NAMM Dealer Of The Year 2018
Internet Retailing Top 250 Retailer
YouTube Silver Play Button Award
Why Andertons is a top destination for any UK Musicians
While London has its fair share of guitar shops - like those on the iconic Denmark Street - few can match Andertons Music Co. when it comes to expert service, a massive range of quality instruments and our renowned reputation for customer satisfaction. If you live in London, we’re only a short trip away, and we can guarantee that the travel will be worth it!
We have on-hand friendly experts covering guitars, drums, hi-tech, synths and keyboards to meet all your needs. Other guitar shops leave dusty outdated products on the shelves, but we take pride in keeping our wide array of stock up-to-date and ready to pick up and play. Take them into one of our soundproof rooms for a test drive. We’re more than happy for you to stay all day from 10.00am-6.00pm!
We’re straightforward to get to from anywhere in London. Refer to our Store Information to check the times for direct trains from Clapham Junction, Waterloo and Wimbledon to Guildford station. Coming by car? There’s a large public car park with over 1,000 spaces just minutes from our front door.
Why not make a day of your trip to Guildford? Check out the Boileroom music venue around the corner from Andertons for regular gigs, daytime experiences and even Andertons-hosted events. Plus, the historic town centre of Guildford is only a short walk away, packed with great places to shop, eat, and hangout.