Musician's Friend Gripe

billiam5billion · #1 11-24-2010, 10:10 AM

Quick little rant about the MF catalogue, the actual paper one that mails out every other day it seems like-I read this thing when I'm eating alone, or on the crapper, or just bored and waiting for something. Got the big holiday issue yesterday. pages 16-33 are guitars. Pretty much every make and model of Fenders and Gibsons and others you can get. I keep flipping through, looking for the basses, and I'm blown away to find a one-page spread featuring maybe 10 different models of bass. One Rick, maybe 4 Fenders, a Gibson or two...What the hell man? Pretty much every band that has a guitarist has a bassist, so why the imbalance? There are more options in the MF catalogue for keyboards, microphones, and guitar PEDALS than basses. Am I alone in my frustration?

RFord04 · #2 11-24-2010, 10:14 AM

I'm with you on the frustration, but for every one bass player out there who isn't in a band, there are probably 50 guitar players who aren't in bands. So while the in-band-ratio of guitar players may be closer to something like 1.5:1, this doesn't really matter as there are a lot of hobbyists out there who are also willing to shell out big bucks, so it kind of makes sense.... Sucks for us though!

LilRay · #3 11-24-2010, 10:17 AM

Lotsa future low enders start on the skinny six. I did

. Bass isn't the glamorous star instrument, but one a musician gravitates to. If you stick with the 12 year old guitar itis, your more apt to consider bass. But lotsa 12 year olds have guitar itis for a few months and move to something besides music.

Us sick guys stick with music,

God Bless, Ray

Greyfin10 · #4 11-24-2010, 10:18 AM

I may be way off base here, but it seems to me a vast majority of guitar sales go to dreamers, many of whom have way more cash than sense. This being the case, most casual dreamers base their dreams off of what they see represented to them (unoriginal I know, but typical). And what's the ratio of guitar player shots to bass player shots in pictures, videos, etc?

This is reflected in almost any store I go to. There are usually a lot of more expensive guitars, but rarely any more expensive basses. I'm not necessarily talking "better", but more expensive. If you are really looking for the better quality instruments, the average store doesn't even CARRY quality bass lines. It sucks for bass players, but it makes hard economic sense for music stores.

billiam5billion · #5 11-24-2010, 10:19 AM

Yeah, my wife said the same thing-"There are more guitarists than bassists." I just feel like 1, ONE page is a little insulting, like they're basically saying that bassists don't need options because it's all the same anyway.

billiam5billion · #6 11-24-2010, 10:21 AM

Advertising every different option for the Gibson Les Paul while only featuring one Gibson bass is ridiculous, I don't care how many guitarists there are in the world.

C.Linton · #7 11-24-2010, 10:25 AM

I noticed this, but it doesn't bother me, as long as I'm able to get to their website, I'm good. Plenty of bassy goodness there. To me, the paper catalog is basically a teaser.

**jmattbassplaya** · #8 11-24-2010, 10:27 AM

What are you guys talking about? The MF catalog has been increasing the size of the bass section by leaps and bounds within the past few years. Heck, the holiday catalog I have in front of me right now has 27 pages dedicated to bass alone.

Is that as much as the guitars? Definitely not, but it's nothing to snark at either. Heck, they even have a section for Aguilar now!

Drifta · #9 11-24-2010, 10:30 AM

eh guitars are useless. I'm sure i'm not the only bassist who started on guitar, and now has a Fender Strat, Gibson LP studio, and an acoustic that get absolutely no love. haha. for every bass I got, i have 3 guitars i don't use.

My dad has 2 guitars he never plays. My sister has one, and my niece has two. Thats 8 useless guitars.

They make the coolest decor, and so when someone comes over "oh cool you play guitar!". lol.

hdracer · #10 11-24-2010, 10:32 AM

The one that just came with B.B. on the cover has 6 pages of bass stuff.

Gubna · #11 11-24-2010, 10:33 AM

as I have worked for a catalog company before, it all comes down to the square inch analysis. They sell more guitars, so they are going to put more of them in their holidays catalog.

but I agree, I'd love to see more selection in their catalog which I can peruse while using the john.

Greyfin10 · #12 11-24-2010, 10:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by billiam5billion

...like they're basically saying that bassists don't need options because it's all the same anyway.

They are just playing the odds. But this is why places like Bass Central exist. They see that a relatively small need is going unserved. Now if they depended only on local sales (Orlando metro area) it'd be a non-starter. But given the ability to reach out to a national (and in their case International I think) customer base, they are able to make a profit serving this small niche (aka real bass players who have real needs, as opposed to dreamers who don't know WHAT they want).

Of course, the huge downside is, you can get the Modulus (my fave, insert your own here), but if you aren't close enough to drive there, you aren't going to be able to play it first.

The local stores literally cannot afford to serve serious bass players in my opinion. I'd love for it to be untrue, but I don't think it is. MF could (man, what a unfortunate acronym now that I write it out that way), but again, they aren't going to spend the money printing the pages when they know their return will be so small (note: this is the exact point made immediately before this... I didn't see it when I wrote this). A full page of Fenders (Squier, MIM, whatever... it says "Fender" in big friendly letters) will more than pay for itself. Not so much a page full of $2500+ basses with names 99% of the recipients haven't even heard of.

I'm beating a dead horse, but it's mostly because this is something I have to tell myself constantly

. I can't even get DR strings in the town I live in. I can't even get decent strings here! THAT sucks much worse tbh.

pasta4lnch · #13 11-24-2010, 10:37 AM

a year or so ago they had a huge bass inner section (flea was on the cover) I think I sat at my mailbox stunned for an hour. they've since had a hundred guitar features but no repeat bass one.

they are getting better, but still would like to see more than the usual suspects.

personally, I've always thought this is where most people do their "dreaming". why you would not have a mix of low end for "reality" and high end for "dreaming" is odd. . . dreams DO come true . . . on occasion

drnknmstr · #14 11-24-2010, 10:41 AM

The guitar market is much bigger than the bass market. Simple economics.

However, looking at the content of the stuff they sell, it's not so bad. They're carrying more boutique items these days and I've become an addict to their free shipping, no minimums policy.

And they have some rewards programs. Sure beats messing around at Guitar Center, though they're the same company.

billiam5billion · #15 11-24-2010, 10:43 AM

Okay, I've cooled off, you guys make sense.

pgolliher · #16 11-24-2010, 10:43 AM

I am with you that say you would like to see more bass in the catalog- the last one I got seemed to have have as many ukeleles as basses! I do have to say that I am really thankful for the catalog. I end up memorizing almost the entire thing (because it is kept in a rack in the bathroom) and it's nice to know about other gear that is out there.

bassplayerbob · #17 11-24-2010, 10:46 AM

I notice that in my local GC stores. 50 billion acres of guitars and a closet for basses. A friend of mine manages a Daddys Junky Music near me and he tailors his store towards bassplayers. Most bass stuff I ever seen in one store.

bikeplate · #18 11-24-2010, 10:46 AM

HI

Youve just found the best reason not to shop there. Conversation over. Good night

Rob

jhfishn · #19 11-24-2010, 10:55 AM

Around my neck of the woods (south Jersey) MF used to be a store to be reconned with. They actually set up shop in the same plaza as Sam Ashe.

There were some serious deals going on from both stores on really nice pro gear. Sadly .... both stores have their token high end gear but pretty much make their bread and butter on student equipment. That's understandable but the down side is if you want high end gear you either have to drive quite a bit to more boutique shops or go online.

I only use the mentioned stores now for things I need right away and prefer to go online for other supplies.

The magazine they send usually finds it's way to the trash can within a day or two.

But ... I guess that's the way large stores have to operate to cover the overhead.

I really like dealing with the smaller but more personal stores like one located in the orlando FL area, or in Louisiana, etc (without naming names). Not to mention a great store in Connecticut for strings that always sends a bag of picks with every order. The picks don't make or break the deal but it's the thought that counts!

pasta4lnch · #20 11-24-2010, 11:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jhfishn

Around my neck of the woods (south Jersey) MF used to be a store to be reconned with. They actually set up shop in the same plaza as Sam Ashe.

MF actually had/has brick and mortar shops (like, not a GC)? and in Jersey? Never knew . . .

and it's not a matter of shopping anywhere - it's the lovely bass porn in catalog form.