links

	The Martin Guitar Company The most famous acoustic guitar company of them all. Established in 1833 and still making excellent instruments, albeit in huge quantities. They have a great factory tour too.

Collings Guitars This company from Austin, Texas makes some of the most beautiful guitars (and mandolins) available today. Absolutely stunning!

Davy Stuart Based in Christchurch, New Zealand, Davy's one of the new breed of independent luthiers producing really good stuff. Specialises in stringed instruments, but has been seen with a bdhrn...

	Oakwood Instruments The West Yorkshire company Oakwood manufactures a wide range of high quality instruments. They have an interesting custom department too.

John Pearse Strings Having got your dream guitar from one of the folks listed above, you'll need some decent strings to make it sing. JPS make a wide range for all types of stringed instruments. I'm partial to the light-gauge phosphor bronze sets - they sound great and last forever! (You can get them in the shop...)

Calton Cases Keith Calton's been making really excellent instrument cases for a long time. They're also made under licence in Canada.

	Pegasus Cases Another safe place to put your pride & joy. Made in Scotland, they're very heavy but do the job.

Tortis picks Unless you're an exclusively fingerstlye player, you're going to need a pick or two. These are really good and look and feel like tortoiseshell, but without the need to actually kill anything.

	Cairde na Cruite The main aims of Cairde na Cruite are to revive the long dormant interest in the Irish Harp. They run a week-long summer school every July at Termonfeckin, Co Louth - Máire's taught at every one so far.

Wm Rees Instruments Based in Rising Sun, Indiana, William Rees makes really beautiful harps of all sizes. Máire tried out a few at the Irishfest in Dublin, Ohio in 2003 and was so impressed she ordered one!

	Camac Harps Camac makes harps of all shapes and sizes, including the instrument Máire routinely uses. A very innovative company that's always coming up with new and interesting ideas, particularly in the electronics area.

Elderly Instruments In my opinion the most interesting music store anywhere! They have a great website, but nothing prepares you for the shop itself! I spent two days there and finally walked out with a new guitar. With hindsight I'm surprised it was only one...

	Music in Scotland An excellent site whose title is pretty much all the description you need - except there's a fair bit of Irish stuff there too.

	Folk and Roots A guide to the folk and acoustic scene, with information about UK folk gigs, folk concerts, folk festivals and hundreds of links!

Kiwifolk The name of this site is pretty much self-explanatory. If you want to know anything about the New Zealand folk scene, click the icon on the right.

	The Mudcat Café A great read! Lots of music content here, as well as all sorts of other stuff. Generally good fun.

Folk Roots magazine The site includes a fantastic links section - click the netrooting icon to go there.

Flatpicking Guitar Magazine A terrific resource for the genre, with regular articles by the great and the good of the flatpick world.

	Acoustics Records If seriously high-class mandolin playing is your thing go visit the website of Simon Mayor and Hilary James. Their CDs and books are available in the Old Bridge Music shop too.

Dartford Folk Club I think I've played there with almost everyone I've ever worked with...Diz Disley, Fred Wedlock, Paul Buckley and, of course, Máire. Their venue is terrific - an air-conditioned room with about a dozen real ales on tap. If you're in the area on a Tuesday, go take a look.





	this page updated 23 April 2007

Old Bridge Music
PO Box 7, Ilkley, West Yorkshire, LS29 9RY, UK
Tel: +44 (0)1943 602203 Fax: +44 (0)1943 435472