What happened to the music stores?

[Guitar-Sam]

I dunno about in your areas but the music stores around here seem to have lost there coolness of being able to find cool gear.
I walked into guitar center in Syracuse the other day and well frankly they had all the top of the line gear but it SUCKED!!!!!!!!! It was like walking into a Musicians freinds catolog nothing with a vibe all shiny new souless instruments and not evan any unique new instruments.
The big local store in Utica has gotten to be the same way.I can remeber buying tons of used strats in there.My freind found his beatup les Paul in there I can remeber seeing a 75 strat sunburst I drooled over I remeber getting one used spray painted MIJ start that just screamed from there etc.........now anything used goes strait to ebay and its becoming a mini clone of Guitar Center.
Evan the small store downtown has(more lower class instruments)but all new stuff nothing with cool to it.
I don't wanna go to a staore and buy a new strat or les paul or schecter I wanna stumble on a used strat thats been butched thats just screams MOJO.
Why does it seem everyones going the way of the plastic disposable world of commercialized crap.I wanna go to a store and beable to wonder what they got not open my Fiend catolog and walkin and order.Not to mention When I started off I had a some decent instrumnets in my low price range cause they were beat up and used.Now a kid on a budget is stuck with some POS mexisquir subpar crap in the"kids budget"section wtf!!!!!!! Hell it would be refreshing to stumble on a crappy JCM900 used and beat up.Instead of "lets see its saturday afternoon which store do I wanna go look at the JCM2000s and new schecters at??"
Just a rant

[VelvetGeorge]

They're all going the way of the evening paper and rotary phones.

Between Ebay and Guitar Center it's hard enough for small shops to even stay open. I rarely see anyone trade stuff in anymore. It's all Ebay'ed.
And even if you do carry top lines, you have to match online and GC pricing. The margin is very slim.

George

[Guitar-Sam]

They're all going the way of the evening paper and rotary phones.

Between Ebay and Guitar Center it's hard enough for small shops to even stay open. I rarely see anyone trade stuff in anymore. It's all Ebay'ed.
And even if you do carry top lines, you have to match online and GC pricing. The margin is very slim.

George

Good points.
Its just the saturday afternoon thing I miss.I tried an AC15 in Guitar-Center and it was like trying to jam in Wal-Mart.All the flourescent lights and sales men trying to bother you and people walking about like its blue light special time at K-Mart.I played the opening riff to "tie your mother down" and shut it off.I wanna walkin to a small shop grab a guitar go in the corner and plug in and decide or just come in stand at the counter and run my mouth.
I don't evan see band ads on the bulitin boards no more.

[BBQLS1]

I think for the mom and pop type shops to survive, you have to get online. I know a great shop (at least to buy new stuff) with some pretty cool gear right downt the street from me. The thing is most of their money is made online. Technology (and marketing) is what will help the small shops sell enough volume to keep up.

[JD]

I quit trading in stuff locally years ago and went the eBay route. I mean why would I trade in a like-new, say $2000 guitar, for $800 off another retail priced guitar when I can get easily over $1200 cash out of eBay and then go buy whatever I want from whoever I want?

[Bluesgeetar]

There are some still really cool new gear out there at GC and other super saver guitar warehouse places. I plan to buy me 2 EH 12AY7 mic preamps and tear them open and replace all the junk parts with NOS CC and old Caps. I also plan to buy 2 EH tube Blackfingers and do the same to them. Have you been to the EH site and heard the jewels? They sound cool already, they just need some mojo put into them. I definately hear a almost dead ringer tone lying inthe Blackfinger to get me a Byrds "Turn, Turn" "Mr. Tambourine Man" tone out of the Black finger. GC also will custom order you stuff.

My list of what GC is good for cheap:

1. You can get Universal Audio stuff cheap; they will order you a Solo 610 if you want.
2. Electro Harmonix tube stuff and tubes (Black Finger and 12AY7 mic preamp)
3. Cheap GT stuff and will special order.
4. That new EVH Phase 90 dirt cheap if that is your thing. (ain't mine)
5. Cheap guitar parts.
6. Cool straps
7. Mic stands
8. Mic cables
9. Mics (nice ones to!) I got two Apex460 tube mics for $200 each. Then had Dave THomas in Canada mod them to AKG C12 specs for $174 each.
10. Focusrite stuff
11. Joe Meek stuff
and well other stuff as well

So GC is great for recording gear!
For Guitars? No cool stuff around except the big stores like in Hollywood and Seattle and stuff. But even the Seattle place is running low on cool gear.

Pawn shops are still cool! Got a Roland MKS50 for $60. Super fat and cool sounding synth from 84 it's a Juno 1 and 2 in a rack. Got my Fender bass at a pawn shop!

[tonejones]

And even if you do carry top lines, you have to match online and GC pricing. The margin is very slim.

Yep, One of the store owners said today that since GC moved in about 45 min. away that we now make more from off brands like Samick & the like than the name brand stuff.....

Also us teach's help (no student wants to mail order a set of strings or picks)......but then we do make a little jack by actually just setting up the guitars & rapairing the stuff they buy at GC (not much though).

Thank god for church installs!!!!!!

[Guitar-Sam]

There are some still really cool new gear out there at GC and other super saver guitar warehouse places. I plan to buy me 2 EH 12AY7 mic preamps and tear them open and replace all the junk parts with NOS CC and old Caps. I also plan to buy 2 EH tube Blackfingers and do the same to them. Have you been to the EH site and heard the jewels? They sound cool already, they just need some mojo put into them. I definately hear a almost dead ringer tone lying inthe Blackfinger to get me a Byrds "Turn, Turn" "Mr. Tambourine Man" tone out of the Black finger. GC also will custom order you stuff.

My list of what GC is good for cheap:

1. You can get Universal Audio stuff cheap; they will order you a Solo 610 if you want.
2. Electro Harmonix tube stuff and tubes (Black Finger and 12AY7 mic preamp)
3. Cheap GT stuff and will special order.
4. That new EVH Phase 90 dirt cheap if that is your thing. (ain't mine)
5. Cheap guitar parts.
6. Cool straps
7. Mic stands
8. Mic cables
9. Mics (nice ones to!) I got two Apex460 tube mics for $200 each. Then had Dave THomas in Canada mod them to AKG C12 specs for $174 each.
10. Focusrite stuff
11. Joe Meek stuff
and well other stuff as well

So GC is great for recording gear!
For Guitars? No cool stuff around except the big stores like in Hollywood and Seattle and stuff. But even the Seattle place is running low on cool gear.

Pawn shops are still cool! Got a Roland MKS50 for $60. Super fat and cool sounding synth from 84 it's a Juno 1 and 2 in a rack. Got my Fender bass at a pawn shop!

Yea they got some cool stuff,but its the whole........walk in"Hey Sam whats up hows the band" etc....etc..."Not bad,hows your band when you playin next"......."Were recording right now" blah blah etc...etc.... instead of having a guy in a GC uniform run up to me and go "Hi my name is Billy Bob Smith I'm your sales rep we have specials on this and that and how may I help you"Wal-Mart door greeter..........kinna scary to me.
Its the whole atmosphere.Were you walk in a mom and pop store and strike up a conversation about guitars,bands,recording,led zepplin whatever.
Just my thing I guess.

[blfrd]

Guitar Center is killing small business.

The upside to this is that sooner or later, people will get sick of all the garbage they sell and start to look elsewhere.

Namely, specialty shops that carry off brand/boutique stuff. As the smaller companies (like George) start to see increasing revenue, hopefully Guitar Center will fall flat on it's face.

[908ssp]

We still have a great family store here in the Michigan; Motorcity Guitar. Wide selection, internet pricing and friendly low pressure staff. Good independent stores can exist Motorcity is proof of that. GC is about 25 minutes away.

[45auto]

it's just 2006. no more mott's 5 & dime (where i rode my bike to buy alice cooper billion dollar babies lp for $4.99 wow pricey!), no more little hardware stores, 7-11's even disappearing. we all see the difference in the music industry. i always hope that natural law will cycle some of these back around again at some point.

[Flames1950]

I'm still amused that Sam claims someone working at a Guitar Center will come up and try to help you!!
Seriously, when I bought my sunburst 'Paul last week, if my favorite local guy had just been open when I had time to shop I would have gladly paid him $200-$300 more for the same guitar!!! The first stop I made at GC was Friday night when I was out with the family, and the guys "working" wouldn't even acknowledge my presence as I rifled through $2000+ guitars!!! But when I went to the local guy to see if he had what I wanted he was closed already. So I got off work the next morning to go see if the local store had a Les Paul to take home, and......they weren't open yet. So back to GC I went, defeated, to accept shitty service in the name of GAS.
That's what will kill places like GC in the end I hope, someday the utter lack of any service quality will drive us all away...........

[45auto]

if it's like a few years ago when i worked for gc (for like a month) they pay these guys minimum wage + commission IF you can sell more than a fairly large dollar value & then subtract your hourly wage from the commission total. also, they train you to target your customers into groups & kind of try to get into their heads with all kinds of prepared lines.(much like the art of pick pocketing) & test all new employees with these strategies.

[JD]

I'm still amused that Sam claims someone working at a Guitar Center will come up and try to help you!!
Seriously, when I bought my sunburst 'Paul last week, if my favorite local guy had just been open when I had time to shop I would have gladly paid him $200-$300 more for the same guitar!!! The first stop I made at GC was Friday night when I was out with the family, and the guys "working" wouldn't even acknowledge my presence as I rifled through $2000+ guitars!!! But when I went to the local guy to see if he had what I wanted he was closed already. So I got off work the next morning to go see if the local store had a Les Paul to take home, and......they weren't open yet. So back to GC I went, defeated, to accept shitty service in the name of GAS.
That's what will kill places like GC in the end I hope, someday the utter lack of any service quality will drive us all away...........

Flames, I have a great deal of respect for you and your opinion but I don't understand why you would gladly spend $200-300 more for a guitar that you already picked out? If the price was equal, yeah, I'd definitely buy from the small/local guy...

[St August]

The only thing I buy at GC are strings.. The other local stores Herters Music Center and Bogners really dont have anything Im looking for...