The store changes name from Jam Gitarrer to Oscar Guitars!
Stockholm's finest guitar shop (if we may say so ourselves) is changing its name. Why? How is this connected? Is my favorite store Jam still around?
Yes, JAM still exists, and we recommend a visit to them at Roslagsgatan 19 in Stockholm. Today they carry a huge inventory of synthesizers, studio equipment, PA systems (also for rent) and live equipment such as mixers, lights, mics, etc.
Many may not know that JAM was originally a pure synthesizer shop, and originally JAM stood for Johan Antoni Mediaproduktion which later became Jerker Antoni Musik and then they went back to the name Johan Antoni Musik after Jerker's retirement. Anyone looking for analog synthesizers, keyboards, studio equipment, etc. should definitely go to www.jam.se and make sure that the few passionate music stores that remain in Sweden have a chance to survive the invasion of international chains on the Internet, not easy, but if you appreciate that get to grip and feel stuff, get service and support on site and to have a local place where you can make trade-ins, sell stuff on commission, meet other like-minded people and get tips and advice, you have to keep shopping locally.
But how does all this relate to Oscar Guitars? In 1968 the Papa Smurf Jerker Antoni started the Musikbörsen store chain, which he then lost in 1985. When his son Johan started the synthesizer store JAM in 1998, he soon tagged along and transformed it into a modern version of the old Börsen. The rest is history.
In 2000, Jerker, Örjan Jacobsson (from the import company Eagle) and the guitar building student Oscar met by chance at the Frankfurt Music Fair and started talking about what the nice shops in the USA looked like. This led to a twinkle in the eye and a plan to meet at home to get a shop up and running as soon as possible.
In August 2022, it will be 25 years since Oscar Björklund entered the guitar industry full-time to study guitar building, and we therefore count 1997 as the year of birth for the company Oscar Guitars. After 4 years of training as a Guitar Builder (Zupfinstrumentenmacher in German, where the journeyman test was taken in 2001) and 2 years in the USA as a repairman at a vintage guitar shop in NY, there were several ways to go and at the same time discussions were held with several serious players in Sweden to launch the dream shop. A guitar museum? A workshop? A combination? Move abroad for good and settle in the US?
But the most interesting option was ultimately to collaborate with the JAM.se store chain, which for a while had many stores all over Sweden; Malmö, Gothenburg, Örebro, Västerås, Enköping, Lindesberg, Skellefteå, Södermalm and the 3 specialist stores on Roslagsgatan in Stockholm.
And now they wanted to invest in our idea of vintage guitars, hand-built instruments and a workshop combined with major brands.
We are eternally grateful for the cooperation and support that the industry legends Johan (son, founder) and Jerker Antoni (father, entrepreneur) gave us to establish what was first called Jam Akustiskt (2002-2007) and then Jam Gitarrer (2007-2022).
Along the way, Jam Gitarrer also took over the company Eagle Instruments, which managed the import and Swedish distribution of world-renowned brands such as Tanglewood, Eagle, Team International, Hiwatt, Orange, JJ Labs, etc.
When the many franchise stores disappeared one by one during the period 2008-2010, the 3 stores Jam Gitarrer, Jam Syntotek and Jam Stage & Proaudio chose to continue under a common banner and run www.jam.se together.
But now the time has come to take back the name Oscar Guitars and be clear that we are an independent store run by the owner/founder with personal service and long experience, which makes it easier when we recommend what musicians should buy, make purchases and trade-ins or when we handle large fine collections both locally and internationally. Those who have a collection of fine guitars and leave it to us to handle sales and purchases often want personal contact. And we can offer that.
At the same time, we are launching our large, fine and up to date website where all our products can be seen with the best imaginable exposure. Customers expect to see what's in stock and to get as much information as possible instantly, and with the help of modern technology it's possible, but it's taken a long time to get to today's results, and development continues with input from all our customers.
Pictures, descriptions, certificates, demos, and publication on all major sales sites allow us to reach out in a way that a private ad would never do.
Then add the experience we have gained by handling instruments and accessories for a long time and customers worldwide can feel safe doing business with an established player.
Feel free to check the website www.oscarguitars.se and see if you find something you like!
And feel free to tell a guitar friend where to turn for help and we'll be eternally grateful!
/Big O