My name is Neil. I've been a musician and avid vintage guitar enthusiast (collector, player, buyer, devotee etc) for the past 40 years now. My other main lifelong interests include photography, classic cars (I love my 1965 Gilbern GT1800!) and motorcycles. I decided to stop gigging (for some time I was the guitarist in Oozin' Blues), and enjoy living in Central Victoria, dabbling in my workshop, and travelling in Australia with my partner Patricia and our Border Collie, Ollie, in our classic 1973 Bedford/Dolphin campervan.

Grouse Guitars ceased trading around 2010, but I have left the website up as many regard it a valuable and accurate resource for information on the various instruments and amplifiers that passed through here. Below is our original "about".

The point came where my guitar passion (obsession?) had taken on a life of its own. For many years in a 'normal' occupation (yes, like most musicians I had a day job), I had the ability to experiment with the different sounds that various vintage instruments and amplifiers could give. Of course, like any other muso, I also had to also sell other instruments and amps to pay for them.

So some years back I decided to set up an internet-only vintage guitar shop. A shop that's exciting, enticing, interesting and fun. A shop where you can really get to know the classic, vintage and collectable guitars, basses and amplifiers on offer. A shop where you can browse without interruption. Where you don't even have to feel pressured to buy! In fact, I am probably more than happy if you simply browse and don't buy, as I really hate letting any of my 'babies' go. Nevertheless, many lucky customers have already bought some of my most-prized instruments. You might well be the next.

That's Grouse Guitars. These are all guitars, amps, basses and accessories that I am passionate about. Nothing here is 'ordinary'. It's all GROUSE. All the instruments here are my own. Because I love them for what they are - different, individual, interesting, awesome, quirky, rare, anything but ordinary. Some are quite expensive, while others are bargain-basement. The common thread is that they are all GROUSE, and that I own and PLAY them.

Grouse Guitars will never sell a so-called 'modelling amp', nor any solid-state amp (or other device) that tries (and always fails!) to replicate true vintage valve amplifier tone. That's simply because I have 35 years of experience (and a pair of good ears) and know what real tone is all about. Japanese guitars? Certainly! I use them and find them truly GROUSE. I will be totally single-minded in maintaining the character of the items I purchase and therefore offer for sale here. (It's my party and I'll buy what I want to...)!

Grouse Guitars is a one-man operation, based in a small rural town 250km from Melbourne in Victoria's north west. Grouse Guitars has been a registered business in Victoria since 2005, and we are fully GST compliant. My aim for personal reasons has always been to keep turnover and trading to a reasonable level (I never set this up to take over my life; more the product of a passion), and as of July 2013 I have deregisterd for GST as turnover for the past three years has been below the GST threshold.

I do the web page myself. I do the photography myself. I answer the e-mails myself. I do the buying myself. I research and describe them myself. I check the guitars (by gigging them live before shipment) myself. So please be understanding if there is a delay of a day or so (very rare) in my responses to your queries. I'll take the blame myself!

Grouse Guitars strives to describe all instruments as accurately as possible. In the rare event that a customer is not satisfied with an instrument purchased from Grouse Guitars, we will accept a return of the instrument and offer a full refund within 48 hours of delivery conditional only on the item being in the same condition in which it was delivered, minus the costs of shipping (including return shipping). We can not offer this guarantee with amplifiers for obvious reasons, but will consider any such case on its merits. Bottom line is, we want you to be happy, but we're not here to be taken for a mug or provide a vintage amp for a free hire during a recording session, and amplifiers can never be said to be 100% reliable, not even brand new ones!