Big Box Music Stores

[mightymike]

You know who I'm talking about. Every once in a while when I'm just killing time when layed over ( Sioux Falls, Sd this time)I drop by one, and they are getting worse. All those guitars, and only a few that are decent (but pricey), and absolutely no amps worth a flying rats ass. Just modeling and solid state crap. The market is ripe for a decent priced tube amp to compete with these POS amps. I know the bean counters are making those decisions, and marketing to the kiddies. But come on.... When Best Butt has better gear than you, there is something wrong. There must be a huge markup on those crappy amps, but what good is it when anyone who knows good tone, walks away in disgust. In that case, there's no markup. I'm just saying that there is decent gear in same price range as those MG stacks that would have people wanting to play in their store.

On a side note, when I walked in, I had my Metroamp TShirt on, with the "I built my PLEXI. Who built yours. " on the back. Walk through the Amp section, then the guitar section, and didn't get as much as a hello. Pretty Stupid on their part, because I was carrying enough cash on me at the time to buy anything they had in the whole store a couple times over. GC rant over.

[fillmore nyc]

GC rant over.

ALMOST, Mike...

I agree 1000%. Its kinda bizarre on an aesthetic level too... if you've been in a number of GC's, including ones in different states, have you noticed that once you walk in, you cant tell which GC you're in??

I swear, the GC in Jacksonville Fla is EXACTLY the same as the GC in Westbury NY, which is the same as the GC in Manhattan... which is the same as the GC in San Francisco.
I dont know why they make them so "cookie cutter", completely lacking in individuality, but they do. And of course, the other end of it is just what you've said. There is NOTHING to keep me in those stores more than a quick 5 minute sweep-thru before I leave.
My wife hates going into guitar stores, and it USED to be that I'd drop her off at some clothing store while I spent an hour looking thru shit... now she just waits in the car, and inevitably says to me "you're DONE"??? when I come out within a couple of minutes.
Its one reason Im really grateful to have NYC at my disposal. There are a few good stores left where I can spend an hour+ checking shit out... much to my wifes chagrin.

[vanhalen5150]

We have the same thing in Canada. A company called Long & Mcquade bought out all the larger musical instrument stores and pretty much forced the smaller ones to close up. They have the same junk as GC. I wouldn't be surprised if they are the same. Any decent guitar is in the $1800- $3500 range. What average person is going to pay that, even before buying an amp?I know many of us drop serious money on gear but who are they targeting? And then there is 21% sales tax for us. That's right 21%. They don't have musicians behind the desk, they have accountants. Gordon Gecko running the place.

There is one guy left here in town that won't pack it in. He's about 100 yards from the big guys. If I need anything, I always check there first, or ask if he can get it. There use to be 5 places like his in town. Even he can only deal mostly with used gear. He just can't compete with new stuff the Empire mass imports from the Death Star.

Its our own fault though. Pretty sad how we have become. We're pathetic consumers that need to pull our heads out of our ass's, give it a good shake, and when it falls off, give it a hard kick.

And that concludes our rant schoolin' for the day.

[fillmore nyc]

And then there is 21% sales tax for us. That's right 21%.

WHAT??!!



Is that 21% no matter what kind of store you're in, on any kind of item?? WOW!! Thats really stunning.
Do you pay some sort of Federal or State tax like we do here in the States on your income? There was an idea floating around here called "Fair Tax" where you paid 23% on any purchase, from chewing gum to a house, but you paid no taxes at all on your income.

From Wikipedia:
As defined in the legislation, the tax rate is 23% for the first year. This percentage is based on the total amount paid including the tax ($23 out of every $100 spent in total—calculated similar to income taxes). This would be equivalent to a 30% traditional U.S. sales tax ($23 on top of every $77 spent—$100 total)

It eliminated the "Rich-Man" loophole. Of course, the wealthy in this country shot it down, cause number one, they control the money in the first place, and number two, they already HAVE those loopholes, so they dont pay income tax anyway... they can "hide" it, so all Fair Tax would mean is that they hadda pay 23% on shit they bought.

And so the more shit changes, the more it remains the same.

[demonufo]

Sounds like you guys got it easy, tax-wise, coming from this side of the pond...

[vanhalen5150]

21% sales tax on everything except food. It varies from province to province. The lowest I think is 12%. Income tax is based on your income. I paid 36% income tax last year. Vasoline is free.

Keep in mind...this pays for everyone's healthcare. Whether you get a band aid or a quadruple bypass, you pay nothing. At 65, everybody gets 2 monthly pensions from the government. Your also allowed to put up to 22k/year into a registered retirement savings plan, which you pay no tax on until you begin drawing money from it. Like other countries though, the Banks control everything. The housing market here has exploded as it did in the US. The banks love it because they simply lower the borrowing/interest rate. Everyone can now afford a overpriced house. They pay nothing on your savings but trap you with a 30 year mortgage were they rake in shitloads of of cash in compounded interest over that time. Talk about crimes against humanity? The big banks and stock market puppet masters are just waiting for the final blow. A world wide recession is exactly what they want. Exactly what happened in the 30's. Banks made a fortune.

[frenchie]

seriously hope this magnificent post of absolutely brilliant common sense won't end up in the trash bin of political uncorrectness like did so much of mine vanhalen5150 ... keep it driftin' friend ..... you can use images if you wan't .... all this shit is pretty much why i could try a 74 lp custom on a 68' AC30 during 2 or 3 hours while having a coffee beeing bring to me in the 1997-2000 years without problem in the superb small shops there was in my town , while now you can just stare at 4000 euros lps behind locked glass and korean tiny terrors in big chains of shops who kicked all the others out of the game ( but gotta be honest , internet gear stores played a role too ) ... no more little boutiques where the boss is always up to a little jam on the fly with you using off the rack gear ...did someone said mondialisation ??
honestly it's time someone reintroduce a little bit more warmth and traditionnalism in the music buisness ... i know all the shark tooth type of atmosphere help increase sales of antidepressants but come on
.... hence the explosion of DIY these last years , you know what you buy when you make it yourself at least ,but i'm still not up to build my own guitars though , lots of expensive tools to be able to do so

[vanhalen5150]

Don't forget what eBay has done to the used market. The little jem you'd find at a swap meet/garage sale/pawn shop etc., is now price at "market" value because someone is "asking" a ridiculous price on eBay.