My more independent streak want's to give this place less stars, and bang on about how the staff…read moreare unfriendly an aloof and this place just doesn't have a feel for the people like Badlands Guitars (which their is some truth in). The big BUT is though, that this place is simply the biggest and most wide ranging guitar shop in Brighton, and stocks the most things. Electrics, Acoustic, Basses, Amps, Keyboards, Stomp boxes, recording equipment, song books etc etc... will be found here. I was half expecting the store employee to eat me alive or stand around me whilst I played one of the guitars and point and laugh, as I had heard some less than good things about this place, but I was pleasantly surprised to be served by a nice, chilled out dude who was helpful and unpushy. I bought a direct jack to USB to record on garage band, though could have stayed for days just looking at the guitars and dreaming. If your wanting to get a starter electric guitar as well as a high end option, this place will no doubt come in handy due to the sheer amounts they have here. I would though recommend starting at Badlands and chatting to the owner first, as he can really spend a bit of time with you and maybe take you through things, in a less frantic and busy environment.

If anyones ever been to a guitar shop in the States, then they'll know that this shop is pretty…read moresimilar. Its pretty big as the place goes back a fair old way and there is just about evey different kind of guitar, amp or drum kit to chose from. I recently bought a Squire Telecaster from them and a little practice amp as I hadn't played for yonks and they were so helpful. No hard sales and no trying to impress you with long complicated solos. I do pop in now and again for the odd tip and bit of advice and they're always happy to help. Fantastic shop!

I've had a fair few singing lessons in my time, attempting to train my incredibly loud and unruly…read morevoice into the dulcet tones that will make me into the next Christina Aguilera. Needless to say, I haven't quite managed it yet. When a group of Brighton Qypers met in a darkened booth at Lucky Voice, we were lucky enough to have singing coach Zoe joining us for some vocal coaching before we hit the cocktails and karaoke mic. I was probably more nervous than anyone else since quitting my singing lessons at sixth-form college and my half-hearted Latin chamber choir contributions two years later, I hadn't dared to let anyone else hear me sing in public. But thankfully, 'Sing Confidently' is an entirely apt name for Zoe's business. We started off with the familiar breathing exercises (in through the nose, hold, out through the mouth) and moved on to the standard singing of octaves. Instead of the usual La-La-La-La-La-La-La-La-Laaaa, we sang the word yawn instead. A great idea, as I always remember my singing teacher saying that if your warm-ups make you feel like yawning then you're relaxing and breathing properly. As the only girl at the warm-ups, I embarrassingly had to sing the scales on my own, but Zoe is so good at putting you at ease that it didn't seem to matter after a couple of attempts. We then moved on to the inspired exercise of singing Happy Birthday whilst acting out a particular emotion, while everyone else had to guess what it was. Reassuringly, the point of this was that if you're performance is well-acted and convincing, it doesn't really matter what you sound like. Good, eh? In just one hour, Zoe did wonders for my vocal confidence and I'm definitely considering taking a couple of lessons with her before my next karaoke session.

I had an hours group vocal coaching from Zoe as part of a trip to Lucky Voice, a private room…read morekaraoke bar in Brighton. I was a bit nervous to start with as my singing is terrible. However, Zoe was lovely and soon made everyone feel relaxed no matter how talented or terrible they were. She had us doing all sorts of exercises to warm us up and get us singing. These were not only fun but confidence boosting too. Wow! Maybe I could sing after all? Unfortunately things reverted back to normal pretty quickly after the session but for one very enjoyable hour I thought maybe just maybe.....

My flatmate- pre-moving in with boyfriend- played the sitar. So cool, I know. It was a lovely…read moreinstrument to hear wafting through the floor and looked incredible in the living room but was understandably hard to maintain. It is because of this sitar that I first entered Adaptatrap- in search of sitar strings. Boy! Does the shopkeeper/owner know his stuff! He was a mine of useful information about sitars, as well as all the other percussion items I picked up and played with. This is a brilliant place to go for an unusual gift, for something small and fun for kids (maraccas, small bongo drum, kazoo!) or for anyone who happens to play an unusual instrument. They stock some lovely African and South American instruments in here as well- really interesting stuff. The prices range from just a few pounds to a fair chunk- go and have a peek, the owner's passion is contagious.

If someone told you they'd just been to a shop called Adaptatrap, you'd not be crazy for thinking…read morethat it was a ridiculously niche shop focused on helping people who needed to tinker and customise or turn their mice and rat traps into something completely different. But...It is not. What Adaptatrap is though is probably the best shop in Brighton to look at/talk about/purchase percussion instruments. My old flatmate was really interested in African music and Adaptatrap was always his first port of call. He brought I think what was called a Tuning drum from their. which is an African drum where the tuning is changed by squeezing it (like a bagpipe, in a way). What a crazy instrument. If your into similar things, COME HERE.

I bought an Irish Bouzouki from them over the phone, but I had some very specific questions about…read moreit, and some requirements on how I would like the instrument to be set up. After the stand-offish treatment I'd had in person at a rival folk instrument shop (whose name begins with 'H' and is the name of a mythical creature) I was really impressed. The shop manager listened to what I wanted, and took notes, and gave me reassurances (this was after I told myself I'd never buy an instrument without touching it first). He told me about their professional luthier who does instrument setup, who would set up the bouzouki to my exact requirements, which I duly explained. There was no pressure on me to buy there and then, and I needed to have a think about it. Having been impressed with my initial call, not to mention the price, I called back the next day. I spoke to someone else, who had actually been briefed about the conversation the day before, and had the notes to hand. I explained that I was ready to buy it, and he was very helpful, informing me when they would get the instrument from the warehouse, confirming my setup requirements, which day the luthier would set it up, and which day it would be shipped. I haven't had such courtesy from a shop in a very long time. It arrived today, exactly when they said it would, perfectly packaged, and most importantly, set up beautifully. I will buy from The Music Box again in a heartbeat!

These guys must have been in business for just over a year now. I remember them opening just after…read moreI started working as a workshop manager for a nearby cycle shop. I also remember wondering if they were going to survive. When they first set out they seemed to stock exclusively weird and wonderful guitar based things like twelve strings and guitars with seventy three necks. They seem to have calmed that side of things down now though and focussed mainly in the folk side of things. The service is still the warm personal experience that I have always had from them though, when I looked in briefly today , only after a business card, the man who I spoke to was so welcoming I thought he was about to offer me a cup of tea. Not only have these guys got their stock to be a bit more down to earth but they now offer a really comprehensive range of services too such as set ups for all your string instrument needs and lessons for about every folky device you can imagine. Don't worry though, if you do still want and axe with a neck sticking out at either end or a thrash metal Ukulele this is still the place to come.