CHICAGO TRIP help!!! (chicagonians please chime in)

fenderbluesdude · #1 04-07-2005, 11:22 PM

i am going to chicago this june for three days, and i want to go to make N music, on 250 N artesian, i just want to know what would be the best way to get their, car is not an option.

it will probably be the "L" train but which stop and which line?

RAM · #2 04-08-2005, 04:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fenderbluesdude

i am going to chicago this june for three days, and i want to go to make N music, on 250 N artesian, i just want to know what would be the best way to get their, car is not an option.

it will probably be the "L" train but which stop and which line?

In that neighborhood, if you have the option to take a taxi, you're better off doing that. If you're only able to take the "El" (green line), I think, according to the map I'm attaching a link to, you'll want to get off at California. California is 2800 West, Western is 2400 West, and Artesian is 1 block West of Western.

http://www.transitchicago.com/maps/maps/F2004C.html

**HeavyDuty** · #3 04-08-2005, 06:42 AM

You're much, much safer in a taxi in this neighborhood! The store looks like the Green Zone in Baghdad...

Mitchell Royce · #4 04-08-2005, 07:06 AM

The green line used to be my way to school when I lived in Chi-town. Definitly an intersting neighborhood, so watch out. I also recommend that you head to the Belmont and Clark area. There's a great vintage store just a few blocks north on Clark that has some beautiful Fenders. It's also nightlife central, with some great Blues clubs just south on Halsted. Man, I miss Chicago.

fenderbluesdude · #5 04-08-2005, 10:00 AM

i went to chicago music exchange last year, and it was great!!!

fenderbluesdude · #6 04-08-2005, 10:02 AM

is the neighborhood really that bad, its just like a long walk away from the loop, which a really great place.

Mitchell Royce · #7 04-08-2005, 10:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fenderbluesdude

is the neighborhood really that bad, its just like a long walk away from the loop, which a really great place.

It's a bit more than a long walk from the loop, around 3 miles I'd guess. And yes, the neighborhood really is that bad as it's right in the vicinity of the projects. It's not as bad as some parts of the Southside but still pretty gnarly.
Take a cab, you will notice how things get worse fast once you're past Ashland.

fenderbluesdude · #8 04-08-2005, 10:10 AM

alright thanks for the tip.

its says on make n music website that ey are moving, does anybody know when?

fenderbluesdude · #9 04-08-2005, 10:15 AM

sorry for my posts, but it seems like the best thing to do is just to stay by the water. on the map ram gave me ashland is REALLY close to the loop a few stations west on the green line. is this just what they call the station or is it actually the bad part?

are there any other good music shops in chicago?

jive1 · #10 04-08-2005, 12:44 PM

That neighborhood isn't THAT bad. It used to be a bad neighborhood, but now it's improving and gentrifying, and it's just a matter of time until it becomes an expensive neighborhood. The location is excellent, and new homes and renovations are being built daily. I was there a couple months ago looking at property. Sure there's a housing project in the area, but it's a few miles from Makin Music. There's also a music conservatory in the neighborhood. If you go there during the day, and keep off the side streets it's not bad at all. But if you further west or south of there, or you're there at night it's a different story.

Makin Music is a secure store with a gate, so I'd call first just to make sure you can get in. If you plan on buying something, I'd take a cab for convenience and safety's sake. But if you're just looking around, it's no big deal. I took the L there myself. But, I grew up on the South Side so my perception is a little different.

BTW, Make N Music is a cool store.

As far as other stores:
Chicago Music Exchange near Clark and Belmont is a great place for vintage Fenders. There's also a guitar center on the block.
Musicians Network is a great place for used stuff, parts, and doodads. It's about 3 miles north of CME on Clark.
North and west of there is Midwest Music Exchange on Irving Park. The place is hit or miss, but I got one hell of a deal on my Fender Elite I got from there.
My friends also told me about a place call Tom's Rock N Roll cafe or something like that that's supposed to be a cool store. Never been there myself.
Guitar Works in Evanston is a neat place, and the neighborhood is pretty cool. Flynn's guitars is also in Evanston.
Park Ave Music in Lombard is a cool store with friendly people, but it's a ways from Chicago.
On the south side, there's a couple of little shops I can think of off the top of my head that I went to frequently when I was younger - The Music Crib in Oak Lawn, and Hidden Music in Chicago Ridge. Haven't been to either place in a while though. Another south-side place is Snukst music that has a great selection, but horrible prices, staff, service and upkeep of their instruments. You can look, but I don't recommend buying from there.

There's also the Lakland factory

Hope this helps.

RAM · #11 04-08-2005, 12:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fenderbluesdude

alright thanks for the tip.

its says on make n music website that ey are moving, does anybody know when?

Sometime in May.

RAM · #12 04-08-2005, 12:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fenderbluesdude

sorry for my posts, but it seems like the best thing to do is just to stay by the water. on the map ram gave me ashland is REALLY close to the loop a few stations west on the green line. is this just what they call the station or is it actually the bad part?

are there any other good music shops in chicago?

Chicago's not the greatest of bass-friendly towns. Music Exchange up in the Lakeview neighborhood has a huge vintage collection, and occasionally the pre-CBS Fenders they have are actually playable.

More often than not, though, they're overpriced pieces of junk. The selection is absolutely enormous, though.

Aside from that, there is a GC not terribly far from Music Exchange, and a few other little shops. Make'n Music is the only "high end" store that I know of in the city. Check out their selection on the website.

Ashland is 1600 West, which is way west of where you'd ever need to venture, unless you go to Make'n. On a map it may seem very close to the lake, but it really isn't.

PM me if you have specific questions. I live pretty close to Make'n Music (maybe 2 miles), and know the city very well. I could help with some suggestions...there's a TON to do here.

What brings you to town, anyway?

fenderbluesdude · #13 04-08-2005, 03:59 PM

well i am actually visiting my family in rockford michigan, but we are flying from tucson to chicago, and then driving to roackford. we went to chicago last year and stayed at the house of blues, which i think we will do again, beacuse we knwo where it is now.

i actually ment to say we are coming in july, 10 to 12

RAM do you have any clue were make n music is moving?

what are some good places to check out that ere near an "L"?

JPJ · #14 04-08-2005, 06:20 PM

*Jeff Foxworthy voice on*

If the store is surrounded by a chain-link fence topped with barbed wire, it might be in a bad neighborhood.

If you have to pass through an automated gate once you've contacted someone inside the store via a telecom service just to get into the parking lot, the store might be in a bad neighborhood.

*Foxworthy off*

Whether you make it to the store or not, enjoy your visit to Chicago.

RAM · #15 04-09-2005, 07:04 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JPJ

*Jeff Foxworthy voice on*

If the store is surrounded by a chain-link fence topped with barbed wire, it might be in a bad neighborhood.

If you have to pass through an automated gate once you've contacted someone inside the store via a telecom service just to get into the parking lot, the store might be in a bad neighborhood.

*Foxworthy off*

Whether you make it to the store or not, enjoy your visit to Chicago.

Jay, do you have a showroom or are you strictly internet based?

RAM · #16 04-09-2005, 07:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fenderbluesdude

i actually ment to say we are coming in july, 10 to 12

RAM do you have any clue were make n music is moving?

what are some good places to check out that ere near an "L"?

According to their website, their new address will be 1455 W. Hubbard. In relation to their current store, it's east, by over a mile, but slightly north (about 2 or 3 blocks). The neighborhood at 1455 W Hubbard isn't really bad. It's still not a great hangout neighborhood for a tourist, as there's no touristy stuff, but it's safe enough.

JPJ · #17 04-09-2005, 11:32 AM

Quote:

Jay, do you have a showroom or are you strictly internet based?

I'm working by appointment right now for local guys. While the majority of my business is internet-driven, I do have local players in the Chicagoland area that come by quite frequently and am more than happy to arrange time that works for both parties so that people have as much time as they need to spend time with the gear and make informed decisions. The average BHB visit usually lasts about 2 1/2-3 1/2 hours. Try pulling that off in a crowded music store on a Saturday afternoon!

jive1 · #18 04-13-2005, 11:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JPJ

*Jeff Foxworthy voice on*

If the store is surrounded by a chain-link fence topped with barbed wire, it might be in a bad neighborhood.

If you have to pass through an automated gate once you've contacted someone inside the store via a telecom service just to get into the parking lot, the store might be in a bad neighborhood.

*Foxworthy off*

Sounds like you're describing a gated community. I guess living in the suburbs isn't as safe as it seems.

RAM · #19 04-13-2005, 01:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jive1

Sounds like you're describing a gated community. I guess living in the suburbs isn't as safe as it seems.

The store is in a terrible neighborhood on the west side of the city, very close to the projects. And, it's in a gated parking lot.

jive1 · #20 04-13-2005, 01:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RAM

The store is in a terrible neighborhood on the west side of the city, very close to the projects. And, it's in a gated parking lot.

C'mon West Garfield Park used to be a real bad neighborhood but it's improving by the day. Have you been there lately? New condos and houses are popping up daily. When I was in West Garfield Park a couple of months ago, I couldn't believe it. A few years ago the area was a dump, but now yuppies are moving in all the time. Mayor Daley is doing alot of good things to improve the city.

Once Garfield Park gentrifies, it's only a matter of time till North Lawndale becomes yuppieville too.

Garfield Park isn't Sauganash, but it's not Ford Heights either.