Topshelf Instruments

Topshelf Instruments Topshelf Instruments exists to help you make music better. We search the world for the best gear and Thanks for stopping by!

We search the world for the best gear and make it easy to buy, play and love right here in Australia. We import both new and used gear from around the world, handpicking items that you just won't find at your run-of-the-mill music store. We fully embrace the digital era of retailing, abandoning the traditional shopfront for an online model. This allows us to service customers from all over the cou

ntry from our home base in Hobart, Tasmania. We handpick products that we love, and we're not concerned with stocking every single thing you can buy at your local store. Especially in these early days, we'd rather stock a handful of awesome products than a swathe of stuff you can buy anywhere. As such, phase one of the business will see us specialise in:

* Hand made Turkish cymbals
* Handy drum accessories like Big Fat Snare Drum, Low Boy Beaters and more
* Used, vintage and Australian made boutique drums
* Used guitars and basses

As we grow, we expect to add more and more items to the catalogue and offer innovative new ways to buy the gear you need to play music better. Keep coming back, we promise to keep things fresh.

Fender ST62-85LS Strat, faded Surf Green, made in Japan 1992-3. I love this finish, it’s got a pleasing depth and varian...
09/06/2026

Fender ST62-85LS Strat, faded Surf Green, made in Japan 1992-3. I love this finish, it’s got a pleasing depth and variance to it you can’t really get on a newer guitar. Now that it’s yellowed for thirty years, I like to call it Shrek Green, although it’s been suggested Matcha Green might be more hipster friendly. This is an unusual model, we’ve only ever had a couple through the shop. Back in the the 80s and 90s, Eric Clapton reigned supreme in Japan, he was huge. Accordingly, Fender Japan did a Clapton-ish model: Lace Sensor pickups and an active mid boost strapped to a 1954 style Strat with a single ply guard and a big fat maple neck carved to a soft V shape; they sold a tonne of them. This isn’t that: it’s the much rarer 1962 style model, that came with those same Clapton-style electronics from factory, and was the only model in the early 90s catalog that came in surf green. Unfortunately some of those electronics and pickups were dead on arrival, so our friendly house tech has wired in a nice set of Noiseless single coils we had on hand, as well as a new set of pots, caps and switch to make the most of them. It’s a great sound: clear and balanced, heaps of plonk in the attack and a pleasing balance of round juiciness and angular snappiness. The neck is a dream: super tight maple and very dark rosewood carved to a glorious fast vintage C, which is very similar in shape to actual sixties examples. It feels fantastic, it’s the fastest of friends. This will make newer American stuff at twice the bucks blush for tone and feel, and that colour: perfect.

Fender J.Mascis JM-JM, made in Japan 2008-9, purple sparkle. What a beauty. J.Mascis is the frontman and guitar slinger ...
04/06/2026

Fender J.Mascis JM-JM, made in Japan 2008-9, purple sparkle. What a beauty. J.Mascis is the frontman and guitar slinger for punk/alternative cult favourites Dinosaur Jr. He’s well renowned in guitar-playing circles for pulling a thick, wall-of-sound tone with a generous dose of fuzz and effects. It’s pretty easy to find the Squier version of his signature Jazzmaster, but these Fender Japan models came out a couple of years beforehand and are a pretty different beast. Firstly, the finish: heck. It’s a glass glitter style sparkle, with big grainy flakes and plenty of depth, so it will look amazing under lights. The gold guard matching headstock set it all off perfectly. There’s a few functional differences from a regular Fender Japan Jazzmaster too: handy Adjust-O-Matic bridge, satin finish neck, taller frets, flatter radius. It feels awesome in the hands: the neck is smooth and fast, it balances well, the tuning is stable... it’s easy to play. This one has had a couple of functional mods: nicer pots, a buzz stop bar to save string slippage and sympathetic buzz from behind the bridge, and a chunky neck plate to transfer more vibration to the body. The tone is very enjoyable: bright and slicy on the lead circuit with plenty of space and eloquence through the mids, dark and doomy on the rhythm circuit. These have gone up and up in value over the last few years, and are getting quite tricky to find. This is the first example we’ve managed to score, and I’m quite taken with it. Cool, right?

Fender Victor Bailey Jazz Bass, natural gloss, made in USA 2009. Victor played bass for 80s funk giants The Weather Repo...
30/05/2026

Fender Victor Bailey Jazz Bass, natural gloss, made in USA 2009. Victor played bass for 80s funk giants The Weather Report; he’s regarded as one of the finest to ever do it. His signature model is a lux offering, and was made for ten whole years from 2001-11. You take the classic Jazz shape, and make it extra snazzy from top to toe: koa capped headstock, lightweight gold tuners, modern 9.5 » radius super fast neck, easy access heel joi, solid 12mm thick koa top, high grade mahogany body, SCN Noiseless pickups, active preamp and gold hardware... dang. This feels very nicely put together in the hands: the neck is tight and tidy and feels very smooth, the body is responsive and loud unplugged and all the little details are dialled to perfection. The sound is an aggressive, articulate take on the vintage Jazz Bass growl. The preamp has means you can get the sound kicking into your amp exactly how you like it, but the underlying character of the rich mahogany and defined koa is always there. These come up very seldom in Australia, so if you’ve been waiting for one, here’s your shot.

A couple of 1966 Fender amplifiers just arrived at the shop this morning and Oh boy, what a sound!Fender Deluxe Reverb, ...
28/05/2026

A couple of 1966 Fender amplifiers just arrived at the shop this morning and Oh boy, what a sound!
Fender Deluxe Reverb, holy grail of amps since its creation. And the big brother Pro-Reverb in all original condition.
If you’re around town you should come and check them out!
We’ll list them early next week alongside this beautiful 1964 Stratocaster 🤘🏻

Burny RSG-70, made in Japan 1989, gloss black. What a stunner! Burny guitars were made by Japanese guitar giants Fernand...
16/05/2026

Burny RSG-70, made in Japan 1989, gloss black. What a stunner! Burny guitars were made by Japanese guitar giants Fernandes, largely offering vintage Gibson-style models to the domestic market from the 1980s-00s. This sleek creature references the 1963 triple pickup SG Custom, or Les Paul Custom as it was then known. It’s made beautifully: tightly grained mahogany, nicely balanced, reassuring and resonant in the hands, finished with precision... it’s very impressive. The neck is a comfy slim 60s style shape and sits very agreeably in the hands, and balances nicely against the body both sitting and standing. The pickups are stock, although our friendly house tech switched out some pots that have seen better days. The sound on offer is great: creamy and snarly through the mids, fast and tight down low, chirpy and rounded up top, and amazing with a generous dose of drive. There’s not many examples of this model kicking around these days, so nab yourself a beauty while it’s available.

We just stocked some incredible fuzzes and treble boosters from our friend ! Handmade here in Tasmania with the best NO...
14/05/2026

We just stocked some incredible fuzzes and treble boosters from our friend !
Handmade here in Tasmania with the best NOS and Salvaged vintage parts you’re dreaming of.

Saito Guitars S622, Phantom Black, made in Japan 2026. The S622 is the cornerstone of Saito’s S series: S for solid body...
07/05/2026

Saito Guitars S622, Phantom Black, made in Japan 2026. The S622 is the cornerstone of Saito’s S series: S for solid body, 6 for six strings, 22 for twenty two frets. This is a stupendously good guitar, it ticks all the boxes for me. Firstly, the neck is fantastic. Saito’s ‘Standard Grip’ neck is a modern C style shape, moderate in profile, with a subtle compound 10-12” radius, bound and rolled fretboard edges and some nice tall frets, carved from some super high grade, tightly grained maple... it’s an absolute pleasure to play. This is our first Phantom Black finished example, and it’s appropriately titled: it has a bit of a ghostly look to it, with the wide wavy grain lines of the ash on full display. Paired with the black hardware, pickups and logos, it looks super slick. The body is light as a feather too, weighing in at a friendly 3.15kg. Plug it in, and it gets better. The single coils are punchy and rich, with a weighty low end, smooth gooey mids and a piquant treble; they’re clear and full and sound spot-on. The bridge pickup is fat and creamy, with a great mix of breathy wide complexity and focused midrange kick. This would easily cover everything from jazz and blues to punk and metal and sound perfectly at home all the while. To get a guitar this good from USA, you’d be up for at least $6-8k to land a Suhr or Tom Anderson; this will easily go pound-for-pound with the best of them. All hail Saito.

Fender American Standard Strat, limited 2014 Channel Bound model, Dakota Red finish. This is a cool little twist on the ...
07/05/2026

Fender American Standard Strat, limited 2014 Channel Bound model, Dakota Red finish. This is a cool little twist on the classic Strat. The 2014 version of the long running, well regarded American Standard series was a good one: simple and effective hardware, classic styling, and a set of excellent Custom Shop pickups. The Fat ‘50s single coils are probably my favourite factory model from Fender: they’re juicy and thick down low, warm and wide through the mids with a sweet and rounded top end. They’re a little thicker and warmer than the usual Am Std pickups, and I’m a fan. This model was released as part of the Stratocaster’s 60th anniversary shenanigans, and it took an idea applied to some of the Custom Shop models from the time: the channel bound fretboard. You get a couple of millimeters of maple around the rosewood board, which means they can roll the edge a little more assertively and hide all the fret ends. It feels fantastic, and the compound radius means it’s very quick and even on the higher frets. The red looks classy too, it’s a cool 60s style look. Classy!

We have this cute bunch of Paisley Strats in the shop at the moment. Keep an eye on the website for some freshies coming...
04/05/2026

We have this cute bunch of Paisley Strats in the shop at the moment. Keep an eye on the website for some freshies coming in the next few days ❤️

Rickenbacker 360, black, made in USA 1997. The 360 is Rickenbacker’s most recognisable six string model, delivering thos...
28/04/2026

Rickenbacker 360, black, made in USA 1997. The 360 is Rickenbacker’s most recognisable six string model, delivering those classic midcentury curves, chrome and class. This one dates to 1997, so it’s got some fading and play wear on the finish, but offers plenty of natural resonance for the trouble. The sound is all jangle and snarl: the Hi-Gain pickups deliver a perfect mix of chiming snap and shimmer and midrange creamy complexity. For playing big rock rhythm parts into a dirty amp, there’s very few better guitars than a 360. We haven’t had one of these in Jetglo through the shop for a couple of years, so it’s fun to be back in the game. Ric-roll yourself.

Address

113 Harrington Street
Hobart, TAS
7000

Opening Hours

Tuesday 10am - 5:30pm
Wednesday 10am - 5:30pm
Thursday 10am - 5:30pm
Friday 10am - 5:30pm
Saturday 12pm - 4pm

Telephone

+61362955324

Website

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