As guitar manufacturers, we meet retailers from all over the world, ranging from small independent stores, to ones with legendary status. Recently, we were invited to enjoy a night of good company, wine and guitar talk with none other than our good friends at Hungary’s exclusive Furch dealership, Stageshop. We asked them all the questions you might want to ask veteran guitar store owners, and a few more.
Stageshop: Genesis
“One moment I’m making flight cases in my basement as a part time job, the next day we’re suddenly looking at real estate rental listings for the new shop’ s location.“
Zoltán Tóth
As we’re being served a glass of beautiful Hungarian red, founder and manager Ernő Galambos starts painting a picture of the store’s history: “In the 90’s I was a pro gigging musician – recording, touring, all that stuff. Later I operated a backline rental service, where I worked with all types of productions, ranging from small venues to arenas. My first encounter with Furch was in 2002. I was looking for an acoustic for myself and a friend recommended this great luthier that I needed to check out in Brno, Czech Republic. I spent about 3 hours testing all the guitars in the store and instantly fell in love. I returned home with a lovely new Furch OM-25 SR. What’s more, since many of my musician friends loved my new guitar, I decided to try and become a Furch distributor myself.”
In 2003, Ernő submitted his first order of 12 Furch guitars. Shortly after, he met his current business partner and luthier Zoltán Tóth. Zoltán explains: “I’d been a violin maker ever since I got my degree, so I jumped right in and moved from violins to guitars. After a brief cooperation, we decided to open the best acoustic guitar store in Hungary – by our standards, of course. One moment I’m making flight cases in my basement as a part time job, the next day we’re suddenly looking at real estate rental listings for the new shop’s location. Fast forward to 2005 and we had a tiny 18m2 store with an even tinier upstairs workshop. We were importing only a couple of brands at the time, but Furch was there with us from the beginning.”
The store’s showroom and repair shop began gaining popularity, and Stageshop quickly became one of the most prestigious guitar hubs in Hungary, visited by the most prominent of both local and international musicians.
The Finest Around
“We first met Tommy at one of his shows where we had a booth set up, then we simply stayed in touch. Recently, he was kind enough to bless us with a visit during the 15th anniversary party of our store three years ago.”
It is clear that the combination of Ernő’s and Zoltán’s expertise has made Stageshop what it is nowadays. ”We’ve had our ups and downs over the last 20 years, but we wouldn’t change anything. This experience taught us a lot about being open-minded, flexible and taking risks. Nothing beats the pleasure of being able to do what we’re passionate about”. Ernő adds jokingly: “If I worked with this much passion in any other industry, I suppose I would be a lot richer.”
Around 140 Furch guitars yearly head to this dealership which specializes in sales and repair of high-end acoustic and electric gear from various manufacturers – both via their store, as well as online. “We strive to provide the best in-store experience for those who come in person, but since Hungary is a small country with a limited local market, we do our best to focus on building up the online store too. At first, when we started it in 2008, we were serving mostly European customers, but now we have Furch clients in Chile, Mexico, New Zealand, Hong Kong and even as far as South Africa.“
One of Stageshop’s strengths is also their extensive stock of spare parts: “We usually have at least 2000 different parts in stock at any given moment, from guitar parts to tubes and amp parts. If you think about it, most people buy spare parts at the last minute, not in advance. By having this many parts at hand, we are able to carry out most repairs on the spot.”
Truly One-of-a-kind
You can usually find about 80 Furchs in Stageshop’s showroom. “We love the Color Series, but we make sure to have some Rainbow units in the showroom as well, as our customers simply love seeing those unique custom builds. We once even got confused for a custom shop branch of Furch, because of the amount of unusual customized Furchs we had in stock. While it was still possible, we had some unique builds commissioned, such as an O (parlor) or OOO shape (12th fret neck joint predecessor of the OM).” On top of that, Ernő’s special order for the first Sinker Redwood Furch guitar ever marked the beginning of this material in our portfolio.
Their extensive knowledge and a portfolio that includes rare high-end instruments make this cozy Budapest store the dream place for every guitar aficionado.
When asked about his favorite Furch guitar, Ernő proudly produces an OM-35 LIMITED from the back of the showroom. “We got this beauty at the Musikmesse fair in Frankfurt, directly from Petr Furch. It was made in 2013 as 1 of only 5 limited edition OM-shape units. What’s so special about it is its serial number, which is precisely 50 000. At first Petr was reluctant to sell me such an important milestone of Furch history. However, since this one sounded the best to me out of all 5 of them regardless of the serial number, in the end we managed to come to an agreement. I feel like this guitar is important as a symbol of our partnership and friendship. Since Furch has been with us from the start, we consider them an integral part of our history and I won’t ever sell this guitar.”
Zoltán’s favorite is another limited run: “For me, it is this G25-ANNIVERSARY, the 25th anniversary special with a Sitka top in combination with quilted maple, produced in the quantity of only 25 units.”
What about the single most valuable item in Stageshop’s guitar collection? “It is undoubtedly this Gibson Style O from 1923. Not only is it the first Gibson acoustic to ever feature a truss rod, but it’s in pristine condition, which renders it practically priceless for many collectors.”
Stories to Tell
Stageshop’s legendary status is underscored not only by the rare guitars they collect and sell, but also by the wide range of famous musicians that visit them.
“Our very important endorsee and a dear friend is none other than Al Di Meola. He’s had a Hungarian guitar tech and a Hungarian drummer for many years, so we know each other well. We were asked to do repairs for Al many times, and we also sold some of his old guitars through our store. He had initially visited us before recording his new album, looking for a steel-string acoustic. He immediately fell in love with a beautiful cedar-cocobolo Furch G23, and the rest was history.”
The legend, Tommy Emanuel himself, is another prominent friend of the store. “We first met Tommy at one of his shows where we had a booth set up, then we simply stayed in touch. Recently, he was kind enough to bless us with a visit during the 15th anniversary party of our store three years ago, as he was on tour nearby.”
Ernő continues citing the notable names from the musical world that visited the shop. “One morning during our cigarette break, a guy turned up, hurriedly asking about spare parts for a 60’s Jaguar. It took us a minute to realize he was the guitar tech for the Red Hot Chilli Peppers, who at the time were performing in Hungary. He gave us tickets to the concert, which was awesome.”
Some prominent musicians pay a visit to Stageshop due to its proximity to the venue of the world-famous Sziget Festival. “Every year right when Sziget starts, we get customers who come asking for a certain specific piece of gear for their show, or even a last-minute repair.” In this way, Stageshop staff has repaired guitars for Suzanne Vega or Muriel Anderson, and met with the likes of Robbie Williams’ producer Guy Chambers, Billy Joel’s bass player Andy Cichon, and the lineup of Judas Priest.
When asked about the most famous celebrity to ever set foot in their store, the guys provide a rather unexpected reply. “Many might not know it, but Aquaman himself – Jason Momoa – is a guitar collector. Sadly, when he came here our employees didn’t recognize him immediately, so we didn’t take a selfie with him. We were equally unlucky when Mike Stern showed up one day but the store was closed.”
Come check for yourselves
With over 40 years of combined experience between them, Ernő and Zoltán operate undoubtedly one of the most renowned boutique guitar stores in Central Europe. Their extensive knowledge and a portfolio that includes rare high-end instruments make this cozy Budapest store the dream place for every guitar aficionado. It is also why we have loved working with them for the last 20 years and prompt all of our readers to pay these gentlemen a visit, the same way many famous guitarists do.
Did you enjoy this issue of Furch Insights? Please feel free to contact us at with any questions or feedback. We look forward to hearing from you!
