Shopping for basses in Denver

[SamanthaCay]

Hey everyone,
I just found out today that I’m going to get a hefty tax return this year and I plan on looking for a new bass.
I like to buy locally because I get to test drive it before I buy it.
So I’m looking for the names of some good places here in Denver to go and test basses with.
I plan on going to drum city guitar land as I know they have a great selection and I like the staff.
My current main bass is a highly modified p bass made up of a couple different squiers.
As I have been playing this thing for almost three years now I have realized it’s flaws
And would like to find a bass to correct that so most likely another p
I prefer fretless but fretted is fine as I know how to do a proper defret.
So I guess what I’m looking for the most is places with a good selection of p basses.
My budget is around $900 and I would also like to mention that I prefer to spend my money at a mom and pop rather then guitar center.

Thanks in advance,
Samantha.

[metron]

There aren't a ton of places in Denver that aren't guitar center. Drum city is cool as is the staff but they don'y carry a ton of stuff. Guitar X might still be around but I think they closed the store some time ago. National Speaker has some basses but it's sort of an odd place. Rockley is local but again they have a limited bass selection.

Honestly most of the basses I buy are off TB but obviously you can't try first. Denver craigslist has lots of sketchy activity but there are plenty of legit sellers and some cool basses pop up frequently. Good luck!

[zachoff]

Not really Denver, but...

Robb's Music in Boulder (my favorite shop around)
Guitars, Etc. in Longmont (don't seem to have any Ps in stock right now)
Wildwood Guitars in Louisville can get basses and they might have something in stock, but most of their business is guitars and they'll probably have to special order if you want a bass, but they're awesome people.

Musican's Superstore is kind of Guitar Center lite, but not bad. I've bought a couple guitars from them.

[tsunami1052]

+1 to Robb's in Boulder.
Guitar X still has a web site.
I think there is a Prosound in Colorado Springs.
GC in Fort Collins & Denver.
Gravity Music.
Musicians Superstore.
Etc.

How about best buy? They have guitars (bass)?


Back in the day there was a bass only shop, they had Warwick, Spector, Lakland, Ibanez & Sadowsky. That was maybe 5-6 years ago and I do not remember the name.

[WoodyG3]

Robb's has the best non-Guitar Center selection. They have a pretty good selection of amps and cabs, too. They have several Spectors, Fenders and Gibsons right now. Lots of Squiers and Epiphones. From time to time they have Laklands. I've seen Washburns and Warwicks once in a while, as well. Oh, yeah, they always have Ibanez, too.

[Denial]

I live in the Rocky Mountains about an hour west of Denver. Not much in the way of bass specialty shops. We used to have First Bass, which I believe went bankrupt in 1999 or 2000. We also had Planet Bass in Littleton, which I believe has been sold and relocated to MN with no storefront (appointment only) but they do have a website.

I was just in Colorado Springs last week and visited several music stores. ProSound has only low end stuff <$500, other small shops were horrible on bass selection (not to mention the stores were just cluttered with junk), and the only nice stuff Guitar Center had was 8 MusicMan basses. That's it for Colorado Springs. I had some GAS, but nothing inspired me.

I've been to Rockleys, Musicians Superstore, and the Guitar Centers (3 of them in the Denver area) and they are all disappointing from a bass perpective. I did buy my son's Tama drumset at Musicians Superstore, and they were nice and I feel I got a decent deal (but I did spend about $2,500!). They did have 14 sets on display, and the 3 Guitar Centers here had *NONE* on display. Too bad they don't have more nice bass stuff. Still, it is pretty much GC Lite.

In Denver, Drum City seems to have a few nice pieces, and Robb's in Boulder has some as well. I'm hoping this Friday to visit most of the stores in Denver/Boulder and Ft Collins area, so I'll report back what I find.

Gee, maybe I should open up a bass specialty store in the Denver area. Is there a market to support it?

[SamanthaCay]

Hey guys I just wanted to pop back in here and say thanks for your replies.
I think to start I’m going to go around and check the pawn shops as I know of a few that generally have a decent selection.

Oh and Denial,
On the note of starting up a bass specialty store in Colorado, if you’re serious about it I would recommend trying to track down the former owners of first bass and ask a few important questions and if all looks good from there hire a good web site designer cause you’ll probably still get most of your business online.
And lastly give me a job, I’ll make all your basses play like butter.
Happy hunting,
Samantha.

[Ric5]

You got 2 Guitar Centers in Denver .... sometimes they can have a nice bass.
You also have Music go round ... sometimes they have a nice bass.

I use ebay and craigslist to get stuff also.

And sometimes you can luck out at a pawn shop.

I moved here from Michigan 4 years ago. I don't know all the good mom and pop shops.

[superdick2112]

Samantha,
tsunami1052's suggestion to check Best Buy is solid advice. The Best Buy at Park Meadows has a very nice musical instrument section. I purchased my Gibson 50-Year Commemorative Flying V from them, they are pleasant folks, and they will work with you on pricing.
I was there yesterday, and they have an American Standard P-Bass in sunburst in stock, a Gibson Thunderbird, and a few other decent basses in stock.

If you are a fan of Jazz-style basses & natural finishes, DrumCity has a fretted Modulus vintage-style Jazz in stock, as well as a Modulus fretless neck that would fit this bass - you could get the bass & both necks for well under $3k.

Lastly, if you are into Rickenbackers, then Wildwood has some nice ones right now, with more due to arrive soon.

[thombo]

nothing new to say, but...

+1 on Guitar X- Gary is great, really quick to reply, and great to work with. They don't have a store front, but don't let that stop you from contacting them. gary is a lakland dealer, so maybe you can land a fretless from him.

drum city guitarland is cool, good selection, but they are pricey.

the music pawn shops are also worth looking at. my two favs are Wedgles Music & Loan and Music Gear Guys, both of which are on broadway.

the only bass i bought in CO was at the GC in arvada... scratch and dent P5 that is awesome and was severely discounted.

[cassius987]

I like the GCs for MusicMan stuff and Fender, Wildwood for Rickenbacker, and... that's about all I've figured out. The area I live in near Broadway Street has a cool smaller shop called Guitars On Broadway that doesn't have the best selection, but occasionally a good deal comes through. Almost got a Stingray from them once--dead ringer for what's now the Stingray Classic, except this was the real deal, and they wanted $700. Broadway also has pawn shops dedicated to music like Wedgle's, which is where I played a T-40 recently.

Drum City Guitar Land--forgot I had been there once. Not bad but nothing mind blowing. They did have some rarer Schecters.

If you're really after P Basses you need to go just about everywhere. With Fenders I have to play at least ten to even get an idea of what I'm really after, they vary so much. GC will give you five-six examples usually, then you can go other places armed with a bit more knowledge about what your hands and ears are after.

[RMay]

There are couple oddity music stores downtown like...

Wedgles Music & Loan, 1122 Broadway, Downtown. The staff seems helpful, sorta knowledgeable with basses and very knowledgeable of six-string guitars. They seem to maintain a rotating selection of used string instruments from the entry level, to vintage and to the top-end. They sell most of their inventory on Ebay.

Music Gear Guys, 220 S Broadway, Downtown.http://www.musicgearguys.net/content I bought an '84 USA BC RICH Mockingbird there, I found it stashed behind a Tama drum set wedged between guitar cases. The owner Gregory enjoys hiding the gems in his store alike an Easter egg hunt deal. If the item stays hidden for too long it goes on display or Ebay.

[zachoff]

Originally Posted by tsunami1052

Back in the day there was a bass only shop, they had Warwick, Spector, Lakland, Ibanez & Sadowsky. That was maybe 5-6 years ago and I do not remember the name.

First Bass!!! That shop was killer.

[larryelwood]

Originally Posted by zachoff

First Bass!!! That shop was killer.

Yeah, I used to loiter at first bass all the time. The owner was Michael Hawkins. He had a HUGE selection of basses, most in storage when he was running that shop. He may be around still google him...

[57fenderjazz]

Hawk was a big knife collector also, one hell of a guy! It seems like you guys don't like drum city/guitar land. You got them wrong. They are great guys. Check out their selection on their website. Craigslist is the place to look here in denver. GC is well, GC.

[JoeVictim]

Any shops where I could buy a nice p bass and an old Peavey 2-15" or similar?

[Bassist Jay]

I live in Sterling and other than Guitar Center, I have not found anything with a good selection anywhere in Colorado. The Fort Collins Guitar Center has treated me good but almost all of my bass I now buy from Bass Central out of Florida. They are great people to deal with and have always taken care of me.

[Josh Emmons]

I wish first bass was still around... best place ever.=)

[SamanthaCay]

Originally Posted by JoeVictim

Any shops where I could buy a nice p bass and an old Peavey 2-15" or similar?

I was just down at national speaker and sound a couple weeks ago and they had a really sweet 60’s style Nash in sunburst, nicely relic’d

[Denial]

OK, way later than I promised but here's a quick summary of music stores in Denver/Boulder, Colorado Springs, and Fort Collins. Keep in mind that these are my observations and your mileage may vary.

There's no really great bass shop in the area. If you want Fender, go to Guitar Center or Robb's Music in Boulder. If you want MusicMan, it's Guitar Center. If you're looking for something unique, there's honestly not much.

Denver / Boulder Area

Drum City – Guitar Land in Wheat Ridge has a very unusual storefront, more like a warehouse with way too much on display (stacked drums, crammed guitars). They do carry a fair number of higher end basses on their website – MusicMan, Fender Custom Shop, Modulus, and more. In the store the only upscale bass on display was a Modulus, and there were only a few other basses on display. Not really shopping friendly.

Guitar Center Arvada is a small sized Guitar Center. On the showroom floor they had a dozen MusicMan basses, and a couple dozen Fender products (Squier, Made in Mexico, USA). Only a small number of amplifiers were on display from Ampeg, Gallien Kruger, and Markbass.

Guitar Center Denver is the largest and most well-stocked Guitar Center of the five stores located in Denver, Colorado Springs, and Fort Collins. They had about a dozen MusicMan, and a dozen Squier basses, a dozen Fender Made in Mexico, and a dozen Fender USA basses on display. They also had a decent selection of amplifiers from Ampeg, Acoustic, and Markbass, plus one high end Mesa amplifier. There were no used or vintage basses on display.

Guitar Center Englewood is a small sized Guitar Center, very similar to Guitar Center Arvada. On the floor they had a 6 MusicMan basses and a couple dozen Fender products (Squier, Made in Mexico, USA). Only a small number of amplifiers were on display from Ampeg, Gallien Kruger, Markbass.

Musician’s Super Store in Westminster is “Guitar Center lite” (as someone else pointed out), all the way down to the central checkout and turnstile entry/exit and backpack check in at the register. The bass department had all low end mass market basses and amps. Lots of “selling” from the sales staff showing discount from list price that no one sells for (and most customers know this).

Music Go Round in Littleton is a typical cookie cutter franchise setup. Lots of low end gear, a few nicer pieces (e.g. an Ibanez Prestige for $1,000 and a Warwick Corvette for $850). The only item greater than $1,000 in this store was a Warwick FNA Jazzman, priced at $2,000.

National Speaker and Sound in Denver is primarily focused on the professional audio and sound system market, but happens to carry some bass gear. They had 6 basses in stock (1 Yamaha, 1 Nash, 1 G&L and a few low end products). 2 bass amps were in stock – a Hartke combo amp and a custom Mesa amp and cabinet covered in red “alligator” leather (about $4,000).

Rockley Music in Lakewood had only eight beginner basses in stock from Peavey and ESP, plus a few small practice amps. They claim on their website to carry a few high end bass lines (like Rickenbacker), but never seem to have any in stock over the last 12 years I’ve stopped in and didn’t have any at this visit.

Guitars Etc in Longmont is a nice store with friendly employees. They had a total of ten basses in stock: 1 Fender USA, 1 Modulus “Flea” signature bass, and the rest low end models. They only had a few practice amps in stock. Don’t bother with Miller’s Music next door.

Robb’s Music in Boulder is a nice store with friendly staff. They carry a lot of Fender product (Squier, Made in Mexico, USA), plus six import Spector basses (<$700). For amplifiers, they carry Eden, SWR, and a few small practice amps.

Wildwood Guitars in Lousiville really caters to guitar plays. Only three bass guitars were on display – two used Fenders and one Rickenbacker 4004Cii which was originally transparent blue, but has faded to purple by being displayed in the window. The website shows 3 Rickenbacker 4003 models in stock, but they were not on display. Storefront was a bit of a letdown.

Fort Collins Area

Guitar Center Fort Collins is one of the most generic Guitar Centers I’ve ever seen. Bass products include Squier, Fender Made in Mexico, a few Fender USA, and a few MusicMan. They had 6 small Ampeg combo amps, and a few low end Acoustic amps.

Spotlight Music in Fort Collins is a nice store, locally owned, with friendly employees. They had about eight low-end basses in stock (Fender, Ibanez, and ESP). The nicest bass was a Fender Steve Harris signature bass ($1,300). They had one used Fodera Victor Wooten “Ying Yang” model bass on consignment for $6,000 (it belongs to an employee). For amplifiers they had one Mesa with a 2x10 Mesa cabinet, a Mesa Walkabout Scout 15, and a Fender Bassman 300 tube amp with a 4x10 cabinet.

Colorado Springs

Colorado Guitar Emporium is a small locally owned store that carries a few low basses and is also a G&L dealer. There is not much inventory in stock. They seem more focused on lessons and service than sales.

Guitar Center Colorado Springs is a medium sized store, with a decent selection of low priced basses, most $600 and under. They did have 8 MusicMan basses on display. Amplification on display included 1 Ampeg SVT with a 6x10 cabinet, plus a few smaller amplifiers from Ampeq and Acoustic.

Music Central is small storefront in the same shopping center as Prosound Music Center. The store is overstocked and messy, with very little good merchandise.

Music Exchange has a great downtown location but very little inventory in stock, and what they had was all budget items that compete directly with Guitar Center. Their website makes it seem like they specialize in vintage and unique gear, but the inventory on hand says otherwise.

Prosound Music Center had about a dozen basses in stock, most less than $500 and all less than $1000. Nothing interesting to me.