Once upon a time ... and it still is today ... and should still be in twenty years' time. That was the short version. For those who like longer stories, here's the GT story:

It all started in "Slowhand", the insider tip for lovers of quirky guitars behind Zurich's main railway station. Thomas Fessler and Reto Fürst looked after the store - and soon set up a small workshop on their own to heal the ailments of their best customers' loved ones. When the store fell victim to the station extension, two things were clear: Thomas and Reto wanted their own business. And the program was to become the name: "Gitarren Total". The now impressive clientele was quickly redirected to the charming new store on Aemtlerstrasse - which, in keeping with GT's reputation as a real insider tip, was only accessible through the backyard.

The backyard remained, but it wasn't a secret for long: soon a growing crowd of guitar lovers brought not only their guitars, but also their amps. It was time for Carlo Milan to perform. As a well-known guitarist and trained specialist in tube amplifiers, he was the ideal person to take over the amp department. Since then, all kinds of amps have been repaired, maintained and optimized under his direction. GT also began developing new, innovative products such as the legendary BPA2, a preamp for vintage basses that really brings out the wimpy sound of these gems.

When Reto Fürst left GT in 1995, a replacement had to be found as quickly as possible. In Werner Sahli, we found the man who could do everything: As a great connoisseur, he had not only acquired many years of experience with paintwork and repairs in his own workshop, but also knew a lot about electronics. After Thomas Fessler, an increasingly sought-after producer, was only rarely available for his store, Patrick Geser stepped up to the plate. Patrick had run a small guitar shop in the Zurich Oberland, kept his head above water with lessons and repairs and definitely only had guitars on his mind. As the new managing director, he completed the team.

Where true enthusiasts are at work, new ideas are not long in coming. GT soon made a name for itself with innovative developments. Werner, for example, developed GT's own brand Chat Guitars - which unfortunately became a loss-making business due to a fraudulent guitar maker and had to be discontinued. Despite such setbacks, we still try to turn our ideas into innovative or simply practical methods and products, and delight the string world with things like our pedalboard cables or the popular GT strings.
Thanks to Patrick's good nose, the store gradually filled up with an ever-increasing number of high-quality instruments - and would probably have been bursting at the seams long ago if our neighbor's rooms and later also the cellar and the store on the street had not become available. The backyard store became the charming, winding mecca for guitarists and bassists that you know today - with the workshop as the heart, the store with all the wonderful instruments as the soul and the amp test room for the ears. And with a proper, official store entrance!
Of course, we are also thinking about the future of our store in terms of personnel: since 2007, we have been doing something with our guitar-enthusiastic apprentices not only to combat youth unemployment, but also to rejuvenate GT.