Hello, I am a guitarist from Ottawa, Canada. My name is Mike Hansen.
I have been playing guitar since 1984 and lurking around this site for a little while, decided to finally post after realizing I wanted to participate in the dialog.
I have been trying to come to grips with the fact that after a few years of trying DWPS based on the initial view of the Yngwie Volcano videos from a few years back that I bought on gum road, that I am actually an UWPS. It took my a while to come to grips with this because Yngwie is such a favourite of mine, but I am starting to accept the facts and work with it, because it is so much easier to play this way.
Not directly related, but the David Grier video was humbling. What a monster player. I know, wrong thread…
Welcome to the fray.
I’m from the Toronto area, but I was in Ottawa earlier this year while the Tulip Festival was on.
Tulip festival is very nice, unless it rains they are very fragile. My wife and daughters really love it.
Don’t get me wrong, I would have preferred the chewing tobacco, lifting heavy things, and shaving with a bowie knife festival, but the timing just didn’t work out. 
Seriously though, it was my first time spending more than a few days in Ottawa outside of winter, and we lucked out with a few really good weather days. Funny part was we were playing a lot of the tourist-y stuff by ear, and discovered Hog’s Back Falls by accident while we were trying to find Dow’s Lake. 
Didn’t find the time to hit any cool guitar stores though. Any hidden guitar-nerd gems to recommend for my next visit?
I actually like the tulip festival I would be the first to hold the Bowie by the sharp edge inadvertently setting my guitar playing back even further …
Ottawa has little in the way of guitar stores that you would not find in Toronto, there are 3 Long & McQuade’s, all nice and new ( Ottawa, like Toronto, is now swallowing it’s suburbs, and therefore their music stores as well ). There is also a Steve’s Music, downtown, which is good, but parking is not always fun.
The best store is Lauzon Music, which is a family business that has been here since the 50s is still excellent, dealing mostly in high end instruments, I used to work with the owner’s wife, years ago, it’s where I bought my Les Paul.
For acoustic instruments, the Folklore centre is also very nice. Both it and Lauzon have (or at least last time I was there had) actual luthiers in their employ, you can get something made like a bone nut etc. for a replacement vs. just using a graphite blank and having some sadist dremmel it for you.
I haven’t been to Toronto for a while, I imagine you have these kind of things in spades there.
If you come to Ottawa again, let me know, I will point you in the direction of Lauzon’s, and maybe we can meet for knife sharpening before we go out and cut down some tulips
Mike
Ha! Might have to do that.
The day-to-day go-to guitar shop in downtown Toronto is the Steve’s on Queen West. But for top-shelf and sexy vintage stuff, the king of the hill is a smaller shop out east on Danforth Ave called “The 12th Fret”. They get some very cool stuff pass through that store, but priced to match. There are some cool indie places still scratching out an existence in the suburbs, but they don’t really carry anything more interesting than L&M does. And if you find yourself in T.O. with a car, the Cosmo Music superstore up in Richmond Hill is worth the drive.
Lauzon’s website looks like they’re geared toward the same kind of clientelle as The 12th Fret. Here’s 12 Fret’s instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/12fretguitar
Again, welcome to the forum!
I used to live in a place called Spalding , lincolnshire england , they had a tulip festival too . New on this forum today. All the best…paul
My family is several generations in Canada, but with British roots. Welcome to the forum.