Shopping With The Acoustic Centre

The House Music Group - incorporating the Acoustic Centre, the Bass Centre and Brian May Guitars - is committed to great customer service which, as musicians ourselves, is backed by a hands-on, working knowledge of all of our products.

In the Acoustic Centre's 20+ year history we've had some very distinguished clients (incl. Brian May, David Gilmour, Pete Townsend, Mark Knopfler, Steve Howe, Justin Sullivan, Richard Thompson, Johnny Marr, Radiohead, The Charlatans, Dave Stewart and Pete Doherty amongst many, many others) and we are committed to ensuring that, regardless of what you buy or how much you spend, you will get the same great service that our professional customers get.

Here you will find comprehensive information about our sales, pricing, order processing & support policies, as well as details about how we are committed to protecting your online security & personal privacy. 

If you have any further questions about our products and services, please CONTACT US by e-mail or telephone.

Secure Ordering

All Acoustic Centre sales transactions are processed by Barclaycard ePDQ Essential - a robust, world class system for online card transactions that provides you with a fast, efficient payment solution and the complete assurance of 128 bit end-to-end SSL encryption.

Once you have have finalised your purchase choice on the Acoustic Centre website and proceeded to the checkout, you will be transferred to a dedicated hosted page where your payment will be processed.

Payment is accepted by Visa, Mastercard and Maestro debit or credit cards.

Once the checkout procedure is complete, you will be returned to the Acoustic Centre website for confirmation that your order has been received.

If, for whatever reason, authorisation has not been successful, please refer to your card provider for clarification as we will be unable to provide you with further details.

Please note that for maximum security, we do not retain your credit card details.

Pricing & Currency

As a United Kingdom based company, all Acoustic Centre sales transactions are processed in UK STERLING and all product prices are displayed in this currency by default.

Standard UK Price

Our UK prices are displayed inclusive of UK VAT (20%) which applies to all orders dispatched to destinations within the United Kingdom

Worldwide Export Price - Save 20%

All orders shipped outside of the United Kingdom are zero-rated for UK sales tax. Customers in the European Union, United States Of America, Australia, and worldwide should therefore refer to the 'Worldwide' export price displayed for each product, which includes an effective tax-free 20% discount (in addition to any other promotional or standard discount).

Customers are advised that they will be responsible for the payment of any and all VAT, import tariffs, taxes, duties and customs clearance charges according to local rates and rules. For clarification, we strongly advise customers to contact the relevant customs authorities.

Alternative Ordering/Payment Methods

If it is more convenient to do so, customers are invited to contact the Acoustic Centre sales team directly by telephone to complete their purchase using their credit/debit card.

If you do not have access to a credit or debit card, payment can also be made by direct bank transfer. To obtain bank routing instructions for the House Music group (incorporating the Bass Centre, Acoustic Centre and Brian May Guitars), please complete this online form.

Please note that we do not accept payment by PayPal.

Unfortunately, we are unable to offer extended credit terms, stage payment plans, or cash-on-delivery options.

Order Processing

If all of the contents of your order are in stock we endeavour to despatch within 3-4 days.

Please allow additional time for orders including instruments with custom appointments and personalised set-up requirements.

If there are any problems processing your order, or if your order contains any products that are unexpectedly out of stock, a member of the House Music sales team you will contact you as soon as possible.

As soon as your order is prepared for despatch you will receive a confirmation email, along with the details of the delivery service used and an online tracking number, where applicable.

You may cancel your order at any time before despatch by contacting the Acoustic Centre sales team either by email, or by telephone.

UK Shipping

Shipping is charged at cost to all UK destinations.

UK orders including instruments and/or cases are shipped via DHL with tracking numbers provided at time of despatch.

Accessories, hardware, strings, electronics and apparel are despatched via Royal Mail with tracking numbers provided where applicable. Please allow 3-5 working days for delivery.

European Shipping

Shipping is charged at cost to all European destinations.

All orders including instruments and/or cases are shipped via DHL.

Once despatched, standard shipping time is normally 3-4 business days, depending on exact location, local conditions, and customs clearance.

Accessories, electronics, and apparel are sent via DHL or Royal Mail with tracking numbers provided where applicable. Please allow 7-14 days for delivery to most mainland destinations.

International Shipping

Shipping is charged at cost to all destinations.

All orders including instruments and/or cases are shipped by our logistic partners DHL or UPS, with door-to-door tracking and full transit insurance. 

As soon as orders are prepared for despatch, customers will receive a confirmation email and an online tracking number, allowing them to monitor the progress of their delivery every step of the way.

ESTIMATED SHIPPING TIMES FOR ORDERS INCLUDING INSTRUMENTS *
USA / Canada — Approx. 2-3 working days
Australia / New Zealand / Worldwide — Approx. 7-14 working days
* Depending on exact location, local conditions and customs clearance

Orders of accessories, hardware, strings, electronics, apparel and smaller items are despatched via DHL or Royal Mail with tracking numbers provided only where applicable.

Warranty Policy

All new items carry a 12 month warranty.

Some new items may have a longer warranty period and this will be noted in the product description.

All used items carry a 3 month warranty.

Goods will be replaced/repaired in this time if a manufacturing fault is found.

Goods returned will be inspected by our own, dedicated onsite engineer (21 years service) prior to repair or replacement.

On-site repair means a faster service for our customers.

Goods will be sent back to the manufacturer where appropriate.

Returns & Refunds

Should you wish to return anything bought from us, you may return unwanted items within 7 working days after the day of delivery with the following stipulations...

  • Items should be returned with the original packaging as received complete 'AS SOLD' and in 'AS NEW' resalable condition with all components, manuals and accessories.

  • If the packaging has been opened to examine the product/s we advise that it is done so without damaging the packaging or the product/s in any way and must be re-packaged as received.

  • If the product returned is not in fully resalable condition or the packaging is damaged, we reserve the right to refuse a refund on the item, or deduct up to 20% of the original selling price from the refund amount. This does not affect your statutory rights.

  • Goods must be returned within 7 days from authorisation.

  • We are unable to accept returns of unwanted, non-faulty items after the 7 days

  • All return costs are the customer's responsibility.

  • Goods ordered specifically to meet a consumer's requirements (e.g. custom guitars) cannot be returned.

  • Before returning a product, please let us know either by phone or by email.

Privacy Policy

This Privacy Policy sets out how The Acoustic Centre and its associated company House Music Ltd. uses and protects any information that you give The Acoustic Centre when you use this website.

The Acoustic Centre is committed to ensuring that your privacy is protected. Should we ask you to provide certain information by which you can be identified when using this website, then you can be assured that it will only be used in accordance with this privacy statement.

By using The Acoustic Centre web site, you signify that you agree with the terms of our current Privacy Policy as posted here.

The Acoustic Centre may change this policy from time to time by updating this page. You should check this page from time to time to ensure that you are happy with any changes. This policy is effective from 1st January 2015.

If you do not agree with any term in this Statement, please do not provide any Personal Information on this site.

As used in this Privacy Statement, "Personal Information" means personally identifiable information such as your name, street address, telephone number, credit card information, screen name and email address. The site you entered may collect some or all of these types of Personal Information.

When you supply Personal Information at this web site, we will use it for the express purpose for which it was collected (e.g., for the purposes of shopping on the site). It may also be used by us to send you information and/or offers about our goods and/or services which we believe may be of interest to you, or to invite you to participate in market research. At any time, however, you may opt out of such future contact by unsubscribing from our newsletter which is achieved through editing your account details.

We will not pass your personal information on to any third party for any use whatsoever.

Please note that we will release your Personal Information if required to do so by law, or by search warrant, subpoena or court order.

Cookies, which are files or pieces of information that are stored by your browser on your computer's hard drive. The Acoustic Centre uses cookies to track your unique session during your visit to our web site, for purposes of maintaining the shopping basket and processing your order.

Most browsers are initially set to accept a cookie. If you'd prefer you can set yours to refuse cookies or to alert you when cookies are being sent. Refusal of cookies at the site you enter will result in an inability to use the site effectively.

Note: You must have cookies enabled in your web browser to use this website.

What we collect

We may collect the following information...

  • Name and job title

  • Contact information including email address

  • Demographic information such as post code, preferences and interests

  • Other information relevant to customer surveys and/or offers

What we do with the information we gather

We require this information to understand your needs and provide you with a better service, and in particular for the following reasons...

  • Internal record keeping.
  • We may use the information to improve our products and services.
  • We may periodically send promotional email about new products, special offers or other information which we think you may find interesting using the email address which you have provided.
  • We may use the information to customise the website according to your interests.

Security

We are committed to ensuring that your information is secure. In order to prevent unauthorised access or disclosure we have put in place suitable physical, electronic and managerial procedures to safeguard and secure the information we collect online.

How we use "cookies"

A "cookie" is a small file which asks permission to be placed on your computer's hard drive. Once you agree, the file is added and the cookie helps analyse web traffic or lets you know when you visit a particular site. Cookies allow web applications to respond to you as an individual. The web application can tailor its operations to your needs, likes and dislikes by gathering and remembering information about your preferences.

We use traffic log cookies to identify which pages are being used. This helps us analyse data about web page traffic and improve our website in order to tailor it to customer needs. We only use this information for statistical analysis purposes and then the data is removed from the system.

Overall, cookies help us provide you with a better website, by enabling us to monitor which pages you find useful and which you do not. A cookie in no way gives us access to your computer or any information about you, other than the data you choose to share with us.

You can choose to accept or decline cookies. Most web browsers automatically accept cookies, but you can usually modify your browser setting to decline cookies if you prefer. This may prevent you from taking full advantage of the website.

Links to other websites

Our website may contain links to enable you to visit other websites of interest easily. However, once you have used these links to leave our site, you should note that we do not have any control over that other website. Therefore, we cannot be responsible for the protection and privacy of any information which you provide whilst visiting such sites and such sites are not governed by this privacy statement. You should exercise caution and look at the privacy statement applicable to the website in question.

Controlling your Personal Information

You may choose to restrict the collection or use of your personal information in the following ways...

Whenever you are asked to fill in a form on the website, look for the box that you can click to indicate that you do not want the information to be used by anybody for direct marketing purposes

If you have previously agreed to us using your personal information for direct marketing purposes, you may change your mind at any time, either by clicking the "Unsubscribe" link on any newsletter, or by contacting us by e-mail directly with your request.

We will not sell, distribute or lease your personal information to third parties unless we have your permission or are required by law. We may use your personal information to send you promotional information about third parties which we think you may find interesting if you tell us that you wish this to happen.

If you believe that any information we are holding on you is incorrect or incomplete, please contact us by email as soon as possible. We will promptly amend any details found to be in error.