SL @ CQ

 Finally, some Friday evening time to drop by the new Swee Lee outlet at Clarke Quay.

The overall vibe is that of an extended Star Vista outlet, those familiar hue & texture of the fittings certainly added to this feel. 

The store is divided into several focus areas. The one you see here is the instrument space, the very first sight that would greet you if you entered by the taxi stand entrance. Moving along, it's the software / hardware space with some dining space. A little further up would bring you to the vinyl listening space & more dining area. Order for F&B is located here. Nothing further beyond this space except the exit door.

Swee Lee had made it clear that this is a music lifestyle store & not an instrument outlet exclusively. For a gear geek like me, I find this place off-putting. I'm surrounded by people who are not into gear exclusively. In fact, I see couples having a meal date there, a job interview conveniently taking place at a strategic corner, vinyl enthusiasts talking loudly with their headphones on & a caucasian guy who plonked himself onto a very comfy seat, getting lost in his laptop computer. I was here for a good 20min & he didn't order any food, stayed put at the same place. I guess he might be an employee of the company. That's my best bet. 

Over at the instrument testing station, things are pretty much noise-free. You test the instruments with headphone amps (I believe those are the Fender Mustang Micro units). Nobody could hear your Smoke on the Water riffs which is a good thing. To me this is a definite no. Sometimes an instrument manifests inherent anomalies which cannot be realized through the headphones. However, there is one testing station near the entrance door which features a real amp & some effects unit but the volume was kept down.

I'm not contesting how a guitar store should be, Swee Lee is free to conceptualize stuff that works for them; lifting their business profile, appealing to a greater group of (potential) customers than merely gear buffs, providing an alternative venue for a quick bite, etc. For a gear-inclined individual like me, the place is excessive & not gear-centric. Coming back here for gear hunting would be very far down my consideration list. If you like this place, good for you. I'm very happy to check stuff out at the Star Vista outlet instead. A belated congrats to Swee Lee for their deserving extension into the other recesses of the island. Presence is everything.

PS: Thanks to store manager, David, for letting me take photos while I was there. I actually have more to share but these 3 are good for now.

EDIT: The headphone amps at the silent testing stations are the BOSS KATANA:Go