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I have been grumbling about a dealer....but just so that everyone doesn't get the impression that I am difficult to please...I want to add a nice comment about Sweetwater.
Help finding replacement tuners for a guitar I didn't even buy there; replacing a failed pedal out of warranty but covered by their free extended warranty...blah blah blah.
I have purchase guitar stuff and some pro sound renforcement equipment (think Crown amps, Tascam playback stuff) and have been happy to do business with them.
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03-09-2024 10:45 PM
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I’ve always liked Guitar Center.
I never had the mom and pop experience people romanticize about.
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I have had that mom and pop experience at several different shops over the course of 25 years. Only the best of them was romantic. Killer used music store where music friends were in charge=good discounts for me. And always made to feel welcome. Wanted, even, lol. Back when I used to hang out at the guitar store once or twice a week to sample new used inventory and shoot the breeze about the local scene before hitting gigs on the local scene with the same people. I wish the used $350-400 faded Gibsons was still a thing, that alone kind of brings the romance, or at least, the nostalgia. Mostly though it was the people as much or more than the gear. A poor selection crappy lil mom and pop with great staff is better than a monster store run by a bunch of dirtbags, to me at least.
Originally Posted by AllanAllen
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I was a repair tech for Guitar Center. I pleaded with them to let me do a cursory basic set up on their unboxed guitars (when they come direct from the factory, they're rarely set up in a way that I'd consider encouraging for a beginner player), I can do a fast setup in minutes, and I've seen them put guitars on the floor with serious issues then encouraged the sales staff to push them. Commissions and sales over product condition. They believed that "Unconditional return policy" forgives the transgressions needed for a quick sale. Originally Posted by AllanAllen
When I worked with a smaller store, they knew they needed to make a good impression and they told me "Make it play like a million bucks, the customer will fall in love".
Just my experience, albeit limited.
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I find Sweetwater a little over the top. The follow-up calls and emails kind of annoy me. I mean I’m ordering online because I’m a misanthrope, so leave me the f*ck alone already
Ok, kidding. Not. Sort of. It’s probably not realistic to expect a gear store to anticipate my personality flaws. But sheesh, chill already Mr. Water. I don’t need the candy.
GC: I like that you can walk in there and take anything that’s in reach off the wall and try it without having to deal with any sales pressure. But I don’t like that if you want to try (or even buy) something that’s not in reach you can’t get help there. There’s no one on the sales floor anymore. I’ve walked out and bought online because of that. But their online experience is actually very good. So on balance I can’t complain.
Mom and Pop: Mixed bag. Some good ones with a good range of stock, decent prices, and helpful staff. Some overpriced with obnoxious attitude (though now that I’m an older customer who gives the appearance of having money, I’m rarely treated obnoxiously anymore).
On balance I’d say you can’t really predict value or experience based on the mode of shopping.Last edited by John A.; 03-11-2024 at 12:02 PM.
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I was permabanned by the shop in Massholechussetts whose mere mention gets threads locked. It saved me from having to post unhappy stories online about the shop in Massholechussetts because I guess I am one finicky bastard too who expects a dealer who claims to be honest and upright to be honest and upright. As papa used to say to me: son, if you do not have a sincere thing to say about anybody, fake it till you make it. Sorry, mamma, I am never any good at faking sincerity. Tell papa I am sorry.
I was permabanned for the offence of asking for their best offer on a guitar each time on three separate occasions and not following through with a purchase. On one, by rhe time I was ready to buy the guitar was sold. On the other two, I decided I did not like their best offer and declined to counteroffer. When I made an enquiry about the 4th guitar I got a reply, not from Andy Cambria but from chief Masshole himself, JC. "Enough," he said. "Enough." It's that word again; they must love it on the eastern seaboard because over here, we simply say "geddefookouttahere". I was given one last chance to redeem meself. JC made me an offer on a John Lennonesque Collings 290DC in Cherry with a 3-point mount CC Blade pickup. Being a Jabberwockian I couldn't help meself; I countered with an offer $100 below JC's price. You're banned! Please do not contact this shop again.
You see, they really love the Boston Red Sox: 3 strikes and y'er out!
I guess it was the fairytale ending I wanted for it meant now that I could look and be tempted and know that I would never be able to spend a single dime at the shop. It saved me from me.
And that is a good story about the shop in Massholechussetts that cannot be named for doing so would cause a thread lockdown.
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Ah, Sweetwater. I told them not to call and not to include cheap sweets with my orders. They don't call but I still get those cheap diabetes-inducing American sweets with my orders! No wonder there are so many lardasses in America.
And their prices are terrible. I got a brand new Prism Sound Atlas from somewhere else and saved over $600 buying it from SW. SW sell things at full MAP. But guys who like to buy, try and return aka tyrekickers love SW. SW have generous return policies but I am not going to pay for the wishy-washiness of folk who buy, try, return. I am not getting someone else's returned aka used stuff at a brand new price either.
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That's funny... Originally Posted by Jabberwocky
Boston people are quite a hoot. Ever eaten at the old Durgin Park? Their waitresses--never saw a waiter there--were bossy as hell. I told one once I wanted duck, and she said, don't order duck, nobody orders duck. Only a idiot would order duck.
So I ordered the clam chowder and fried shrimp instead.
Just my impression of the big NE cities is that wheeling/dealing is a way of life. How can they get pissed off if you want to haggle?
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I have been wondering about how my thread got locked. Originally Posted by Jabberwocky
It is amazing that even after having threads locked people still have stories to tell about this shop. I had a similar bargaining session with SC, the other genius owner. I walked out on him and didn't return for 12 years.
Given some of the other unpleasant conversations on this site that go on forever, having mine shut down seems fishy.
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The only reason threads have been locked is because omphalopsychos requested it. The same thing happened on TGP. Omphalopsychos received a good amount of blowback for his anti-TME posts on TGP, even before TME responded to his criticisms. This prompted omphalopsychos to ask JGO members to go to TGP to defend him. The TGP thread was closed. He received a more supportive response on JGO. Yesterday, omphalopsychos posted TME's thorough response here. At least one JGO member questioned his account of the situation. That thread was subsequently closed, again in response to omphalopsychos' request. Originally Posted by Jabberwocky
Listen. We've all seen the gnarly pictures, and no one can argue that omphalopsychos doesn't deserve to own and play guitars that he likes and that satisfy his particular needs. Thankfully, both parties were able to come to an agreement. Now what we're left with is a long series of posts in several threads over multiple forums. Imo, omphalopsychos probably feels more than anger and disappointment over this situation. He might also feel victimized and vulnerable, hence the repeated need to explain himself and ask for support from others. I get it. We've all been there, and it feels crappy. Hopefully, in time omphalopsychos will feel "whole again" and we will all learn a valuable lesson from his misfortune. If all you take away from his unhappy experience is "TME is bad", then you're missing it. Then again, what do I know? I'm just a proud Masshole after all.
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It is amazing how these discussions get turned around.
After complaining about you know who, I started this thread to basically say there are dealers I get along with and enjoy purchasing guitars. There are a variety of experiences out there.
Maybe we can all discuss some dealer we like.
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Call me lucky, but I've had great experiences with GC here in Manhattan. Quality products, 2 fine used guitars, repairs, and pricing, plus a manageable return policy.
Not so much with Sam ASH here. After all the dough I spent there, the new store had a sales person who disappeared on me. I waited and waited. When I informed the manager I was still waiting (forever), he said something to the effect of " well that's the way it goes" ! I left then.Last edited by Jimmy Mack; 03-10-2024 at 09:54 PM. Reason: adding to it
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Long & McQuade in Canada is terrific. Consistent store to store, fair when approaching local stores for L&M branding and the founder Jack Long has been to many of my gigs and told me he took his bride on their honeymoon to hear Clifford Brown in NYC 1955. My only disappointment was calling the guitar tech about the howling feedback from my new 165 in 1994 and he said "Ted Nugent made a career with that".
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8th Street Music! I’ve been a loyal customer for over 60 years - if Mark and Randy have what I need, I get it from them. If they don’t have it and can’t get it, I usually find a substitute they do have. So I’ve bought very little from anyone else since I was a junior in high school. Originally Posted by SoftwareGuy
The 8th street music.com website is a bit clunky to use. But they have a huge warehouse full of great stuff, so I just drive over to their place in Pennsauken, NJ. Call them if you can’t find what you want on their website - they know their inventory well.
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Now that's cool. Originally Posted by A. Kingstone
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I have had okay experiences at GC. Made a couple of purchases. My only problem is that the GC really close to me has been hollowed out and doesn't carry anything interesting.
There used to be a place called Mars Music, where I got my Taylor acoustic.
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I like GC. I'm happy to buy there if they have the product I want.
I don't trust the salesmen to know fine details of the products but otoh, I can look that stuff up myself.
They match the best price I can find, sell with a return privilege and have cheerfully honored the return privilege each time I've used it.
I've also been happy with Amazon, although not for wooden instruments (which I want to try in real life).
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I'm living in a small provincial town in Denmark. We used to have a small music instrument shop (mostly with cheaper guitars) but it's closed by now. I was surpriced when the owner once asked me if I didn't play jazz. Then he brought out a Gibson case which turned out to contain a beautiful sunburst Gibson WesMo, which a customer had ordered. That may well be the only WesMo in Denmark - and certainly in our region. But normally they didn't have what I wanted like for example flatwound strings.
Thus in later years I have been doing most of my shopping at Thomann in Germany. Of course being a webshop there's no such thing as "mom and pop" treatment, but they do have everything and then more and they deliver fastly and reliably. I have never been let down by them. They also have a fine no questions asked return policy which I have used a few times. As always with webshops, it helps a lot if you know exactly what you want before you order.
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I got a brand new 2023 Byrdland from Sweetwater for $7K.
Thousands below MAP. I believe that was a smoking deal.
It arrived with a cracked pickguard from shipping.
Sweetwater immediately had Gibson send me a replacement.
I had the pickguard in 2 weeks. They were on it like stink on poop and made sure I was happy afterwards.
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"Hey, this is Forrest from Sweetwater, just checking out how those picks are working out for you"
My local Guitar Center is a pretty good one. It's also almost empty every time I go in there, so I'm a little concerned about it's longevity.
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I just got yet another round of calls and texts from Mario at Sweetwater for the same $5 order they called me about last week. Is it a cry for help? Originally Posted by mr. beaumont
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They're like locked in the basement of Sweetwater, chained to a wall, with only a rotary phone and a stack of "leads" to call. The only light is from a light bulb dangling from the ceiling, and there's the sound of water dripping. At noon each day, a heavy door bangs as it is unlocked and creaks open. Blinding light from above silhouettes a menacing figure in the doorway. A few handfuls Sixlets and Bit O' Honey are thrown down the metal stairwell, and then the door slams.
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Originally Posted by vinnyv1k
I got a brand new 2023 Byrdland from Sweetwater for $7K.
Thousands below MAP. I believe that was a smoking deal.
It arrived with a cracked pickguard from shipping.
Sweetwater immediately had Gibson send me a replacement.
I had the pickguard in 2 weeks. They were on it like stink on poop and made sure I was happy afterwards.
WOW!!!! NICE!!!!
I am happy with what I have but sometimes wish I could swing a Byrdland and/or a couple other very premium axes like that. I'm probably too rough on my players to make owning one sensible but every time I hear Fenton Robinson.....
About 3:30
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As I've already said before, Lawrence Wexer is excellent, TR Crandall is the most welcoming and friendly shop I've ever been to, Retrofret is great (I always ask if George is there to see if he has time to play some standards together although he hasn't been there on my last couple of visits), Gruhn is a class act, and Eric Schoenberg is a local friend. I love having an excuse to visit his shop and play the large selection of vintage flattops he has and the occasional pre cbs fender guitars. He had an unbelievable sounding D'Angelico Excel cutaway that I would have bought if not for the fact that it was left handed.
I'm going to give a shout out to two lesser known shops (at least on this forum) that I've recently transacted with.
(1) Guitar Riot in Cleveland. I called the shop owner after reading some great reviews and asked him straight up for his best price on a new Gibson Murphy Lab. He cut straight to the chase and offered a very agreeable price. He had three of the same model. I told him about my style and the kind of tone I like and asked him to play the three guitars and tell me which one sounded best to him. The next day we spoke on the phone and he gave me his assessment of each guitar's strengths and weaknesses and made a recommendation. I asked for a custom setup with 12s and they did an excellent job. They packed the guitar carefully, but UPS must have dropped it on the way. Fortunately the guitar had absolutely no damage but the case took a hit and the buckles no longer lined up perfectly. When I informed him of this, he offered to mail me a new case the same day and gave me a return label for the old case to send him once the new one arrived. This is the gold standard of how to address customers' concerns. One of the most positive experiences I've had. I will certainly come back to them next time I see something in their inventory that meets my needs.
Here's the youtube video I sent Guitar Riot, in case anyone wants to see my unboxing/documentation process.
And here's a photo of this exquisite ES 335 they custom ordered that I got from them. The perfect jazz semi.
(2) Dexter Music Center in Sikeston, MO. They seem to be a smaller shop but their listings came up when I was looking for an R9. They had one with a great weight and the best looking finish/flame I've seen on a les paul. They special order from Murphy Lab to not have the pickguard installed because they're so picky about their tops. Similar to Guitar Riot, I asked for their best price. They made a very reasonable offer which I accepted with the request for a custom setup and installation of the pickup. They obliged. Their packing job is among the best I've ever seen. The guitar was double boxed, with substantial padding between the case and the first box. The guitar itself was cushioned inside the case not with paper but with MICROFIBER TOWELS. Over the top wonderful service all around.
And just to repost the droolworthy photo I took of this one the other day:
And all this service goes along way. I know where I'm shopping next time I'm looking for a Gibson Murphy Lab.Last edited by omphalopsychos; 03-11-2024 at 02:05 PM.
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I'm not aware that we ever had one where I live. There's 1 shop in a town 30km away with an apparently ideosyncratic owner (so I've never been there) and another one in another town also about 30km away that has cheap guitars, sometimes a Takamine and a large selection of fashionable e-guitars and other stuff for cover bands. The more serious stores are all about 100km away, and they have online stores which save me from either a 2-3 hour drive or an expedition to Paris (which would probably kill off any desire I might have to try guitars). Originally Posted by oldane
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