The B Side, India’s first appointment-only boutique guitar studio, hosted a five-day residency at Theme Piano World in Indiranagar, Bengaluru, showcasing a curated selection of high-end and boutique guitars, amplifiers, effect pedals and pickups, alongside a vinyl record popup by Bengaluru-based independent label SirCuss Records.
Sanky Chaturvedi and Aastha Mishra of The B Side enjoy the lively sound of guitar players playing over each other. That would be one way to describe the energetic atmosphere at the The B Side’s Bengaluru Residency, where visitors were invited to try out the instruments on display. While there was no sign of anyone playing “Stairway to Heaven“, visitors witnessed guitar shredders melting the faces off anyone who cared to pay attention.
The B Side, India’s first appointment-only boutique guitar studio, hosted a five-day residency at Theme Piano World in Indiranagar, showcasing a curated selection of high-end and boutique guitars, amplifiers, effect pedals and pickups, alongside a vinyl record popup by Bengaluru-based independent label SirCuss Records.
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The residency, running from July 10 to 14, is part of the brand’s ongoing effort to expand access to premium instruments across the country. The B Side, founded in 2024 as the boutique guitar-focused arm of Theme Music Group, a 35-year-old music and performing arts enterprise headquartered in South Delhi, claims to hold the country’s largest collection of high-end and boutique instruments, with a presence in Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Kolkata, Gurugram, and Goa.
The showcase featured guitars from several international boutique builders, including Paoletti Guitars from Italy, known for using reclaimed chestnut wood sourced from century-old wine barrels, and used by musicians such as Johnny Depp and Keith Richards. Other brands on display included the Czech Aviator Guitars, Nik Huber Guitars from Germany, James Tyler Guitars and LSL Instruments’ Era Series (both from California), and Mayones guitars, played by musicians such as Acle Kahney of TesseracT, Keshav Dhar, and Mohini Dey. Prices for the instruments ranged between Rs 2 lakh and Rs 6 lakh.
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The residency also featured amplifiers from ENGL, a German brand associated with rock and metal tones, and BadCat, a Southern California-based boutique amplifier maker known for hand-wiring its units. The effect pedal setup on display included BadCat’s Burmese Drive, a range of LSL and ENGL pedals, and Lollar pickups.
Alongside the guitar showcase, SirCuss Records set up a popup stall promoting limited-edition vinyl pressings of Indian independent music. Their roster includes acts such as Parvaaz, Taba Chake, Space Is All We Have, The Down Troddence, and Sameer Rahat.
The pairing of boutique instruments with vinyl reflects a broader shift in India’s independent music ecosystem, where niche formats are increasingly finding an audience as the market expands.
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