Bass Northwest Closed. Now What?

[Cliff Bordwell]

Wow, that sucks... great guys there.

 

[BluesWalker]

I have not been in a music store for several years. GC is a pain to deal with and the independents are usually more expensive than the on-line sellers. I do all my buying on-line, including my basses. One day I will get in a trip to Elderly, when I visit my son in East Lansing, for the historical value. It appears they have a lot of cool, older instruments.

 

[Smooth_bass88]

Man, I ain't got an all bass music store near where I live. There are 4 Guitar Centers within 2 hours drive but darn it I wish there was an all bass store nearby. I suppose I could fly to Florida and go to Bass Central. Seems like if someone opened an all bass store around here it would do well...just my feeling.

 

[Brian D]

Man, I ain't got an all bass music store near where I live. There are 4 Guitar Centers within 2 hours drive but darn it I wish there was an all bass store nearby. I suppose I could fly to Florida and go to Bass Central. Seems like if someone opened an all bass store around here it would do well...just my feeling.

Pssh, nearest bass store to me is in another country! Some of the guitar stores here carry only a handful of basses, while others are better. There's one that has a nice selection of used basses mostly mid to high end and vintage.

 

[higain617]

There's also Trading Musician and The Guitar Store in Seattle. They both have a fair amount of bass stuff.

 

[Smooth_bass88]

Pssh, nearest bass store to me is in another country! Some of the guitar stores here carry only a handful of basses, while others are better. There's one that has a nice selection of used basses mostly mid to high end and vintage.

The last Bass store I went to was The Bass Centre in London...I bet that's closer to you than Bass Central is to me!!

 

[Brian D]

The last Bass store I went to was The Bass Centre in London...I bet that's closer to you than Bass Central is to me!!

Possibly, I could leave here in the morning and be there before lunch. I prefer the Bass Gallery in London myself, but Bass Centre is nice too.

 

[groucho]

Yes, I think the big boxes and online outlets, not to mention a weak economy, have laid to rest a whole lot of independents.
But, on the other hand, there are some independents that have survived because they have the business savvy to change their model and do what is necessary to compete with the big guys.
Others, not so much. One local said he would meet the big box stores. I asked for a price and it was higher. He said it incudes the shipping I would have to pay if I ordered through GC. I told him I could pick it up in the store and pay no shipping. He got snarly and I haven't been back.

Local single store operations cannot compete on price. ( I worked in one years ago) with big box. The BB literally get a different dealer cost
due to the number of units . The customers also "need to get savvy" and realize the importance of supporting a local place that is there
for them when they need them (emergency repairs, rental/loaner try before buy etc) I am really lucky as I am only
40 min from Alto Music (the flagship store) and they have the most comprehensive selection and best prices in the NY area.
The owner is a brutally effective businessman (and a nice guy) he levers end column prices from the manufacturers and the website sales
help support the brink n' mortar locations. Not too many places you can walk into and see 4 Rics on the rack!

 

[friskinator]

Sounds like a place called Hames Music here in the Upstate of SC. I used to love going there in the mid to late 90's to play the newest Alembic, Zon, Warwick, Trace Elliott, and other high end basses. It was such a wonderful place. I bought a lot of stuff from them. Then a few years passed before I visited them and they now had LTD and Ibanez basses in those spots. Then a few more years and they are out of business. So sad.

I spent a lot of cash at Hames back in the day. Got my first "real" bass there (a Warwick Fortress One) in the early 90s, and me and my band mates used to go there to browse all the time. I don't live in the upstate anymore, but the last time I drove past there, it was an outdoor/hunting supply store. Sad indeed.

 

[PortlandBass77]

I don't know about Seattle, but Portland is in the NW too, and my shop of choice is Trade Up Music.

 

[Bajo Clarkko]

This is all bumming me out; I knew that BNW closed down, I didn't know that Apple Row Music had closed down, too.
My Brother would fly into San Diego from Kaui, and we'd take these awsome road trip, Bass Hunting Safaris, destination, Pacific North West. We'd shoot up the 5, where the first stop was McKenzie River Music, in Eugene. I've bought a couple of guitar amps there over the years. (Helpful, friendly staff.)
Next stop was Apple Row, where he had picked up a couple of pieces. (Again, helpful staff.) from there we'd also check out Portland Music. Not a huge selection, but what they do have is pretty cool, not belt-buckled to death. (Yep, nice staff.)
Once we got to Seattle, we'd have a look-see at Emerald City Guitars. Jay Boone (The Soul Proprietor, super nice guy.) Finally...
We'd get to Bass North West. Disneyland for Bass players. (sigh...) Awsome selection, new and used, Evan was always super nice. I got my Lakland Skyline Bob Glaub there, my Brother got at least 3 or 4 Basses (plus amps) there over the years. BNW, and Evan will both be sorely missed.

 

[Bajo Clarkko]

I don't know about Seattle, but Portland is in the NW too, and my shop of choice is Trade Up Music.

Hmmm... Trade Up Music, you say? We'll have to check them out next year. Thanks for the heads up.

 

[Marial]

In Portland I like Old Town Music.

 

[Bajo Clarkko]

In Portland I like Old Town Music.

I've been there before. Probably have to go back there next time, too.

 

[Krantz]

God bless Evan. I loved BNW. Purchased the Ibanez Prestige 5006 you see in my avatar from them as well as many others (Mostly Warwick thumbs that I later sold).

 

[bobba66]

I just try to hit GC when the kids are in school. Arlington has a decent bass section.

 

[Toptube]

WAAAT NOOOOOOOOOO

 

[gregbackstrom]

This is all bumming me out; I knew that BNW closed down, I didn't know that Apple Row Music had closed down, too.
My Brother would fly into San Diego from Kaui, and we'd take these awsome road trip, Bass Hunting Safaris, destination, Pacific North West. We'd shoot up the 5, where the first stop was McKenzie River Music, in Eugene. I've bought a couple of guitar amps there over the years. (Helpful, friendly staff.)
Next stop was Apple Row, where he had picked up a couple of pieces. (Again, helpful staff.) from there we'd also check out Portland Music. Not a huge selection, but what they do have is pretty cool, not belt-buckled to death. (Yep, nice staff.)
Once we got to Seattle, we'd have a look-see at Emerald City Guitars. Jay Boone (The Soul Proprietor, super nice guy.) Finally...
We'd get to Bass North West. Disneyland for Bass players. (sigh...) Awsome selection, new and used, Evan was always super nice. I got my Lakland Skyline Bob Glaub there, my Brother got at least 3 or 4 Basses (plus amps) there over the years. BNW, and Evan will both be sorely missed.

I lived in Eugene, OR for years and knew Bob November--owner of McKenzie River Music--well. His sudden and unexpected death was a shock to many of us. I was also surprised when Kelley Howard--owner of Apple Music in Portland--finally decided to retire and close his store. Both of these guys had a great run, but time catches up to us all!

 

[Gravedigger Dav]

Local single store operations cannot compete on price. ( I worked in one years ago) with big box. The BB literally get a different dealer cost
due to the number of units . The customers also "need to get savvy" and realize the importance of supporting a local place that is there
for them when they need them (emergency repairs, rental/loaner try before buy etc) I am really lucky as I am only
40 min from Alto Music (the flagship store) and they have the most comprehensive selection and best prices in the NY area.
The owner is a brutally effective businessman (and a nice guy) he levers end column prices from the manufacturers and the website sales
help support the brink n' mortar locations. Not too many places you can walk into and see 4 Rics on the rack!

I agree with you, but this particular guy is a jerk. He doesn't do any repairs. His stock of accessories and parts is pitiful.
I understand the part about the cost to the dealer differences, but I'm trying to get the best deal for me.

 

[itsalljustaride]

I have not been in a music store for several years. GC is a pain to deal with and the independents are usually more expensive than the on-line sellers. I do all my buying on-line, including my basses. One day I will get in a trip to Elderly, when I visit my son in East Lansing, for the historical value. It appears they have a lot of cool, older instruments.

I am lucky enough to have lived most of my bass/guitar-playing life only an hour away from Elderly at most. It is a fine shop, but their selection of basses has dwindled over the past 20 years or so. I used to be able to walk in there and see stuff that would blow my mind every month like clockwork. They used to have a fine selection of Warwicks, all the way up to the Infinity, but I assume they stopped being a licensed dealer when their US distributor changed hands and that was a huge bummer for me. They also used to stock a nice selection of Kingston Zs, but no more. They're mostly a Fender shop now as far as bass goes. Not even much in the way of Earnie Balls anymore. They used to have EBs for days.

If you're into guitar or folk instruments though, it is a wonderland.