GC snubs us bass players again

[Hounddog409]

So I got the new Guitar Center holiday catalog in today. The thing was huge, especially for a GC catalog. I got excited and started flipping through it, excited to see what they were going to advertise for basses... I flipped, and flipped, and flipped.

NOT... ONE.... BASS

Even brass and trumpets get a few pages, but no bass!

Just shows you what GC thinks about us.

(note: there actually is one bass pictured, on the last page... its in an add for their music foundation)

A trash GC post? I'm shocked i tell ya, shocked

 

[fhm555]

How big was the real bass ... sorry, i mean keyboard section?

 

[MynameisMe]

Honestly, I am personally glad there's a GC about a mile from my house. No they don't have everything I want but they're very convenient when I need a new cable or a set of strings and don't want to wait for mail order.
Also the folks that work there are good people.
If I want anything more complicated I order it from Amazon or Sweetwater.

 

[lownote67]

Fun fact about GC. I used to work at the one in North Dallas a few years back and all but one of the guitar sales staff were bassists. As a result our store saw a 40% increase above national average for bass sales.

It’s true though. GC is not what it once was. I think of it as the WalMart of music retail now. I buy my stuff mostly through zZounds and Sweetwater now.

 

[AboutSweetSue]

Good. More work for me in the future.

 

[bassrique]

Best post of week:

Maybe it’s a 2 book catalogue and you didn’t get book 2 which is entirely Bass stuff. Confront your post office delivery person, who probably plays bass.

 

[okcrum]

Didn't know they mail catalogs, I always find it odd when I get one from Sweetwater...because...Internet?

https://www.guitarcenter.com/Warwick-RI?N=1076

Uline (boxes and packaging materials) is the same way. I still get random catalogs from them decades after my last order. Same with the magazine from the university I attended.

 

[_One//Man//Mutiny_]

FYI, I too searched that catalogue disappointed, but..... There's a picture of not one but TWO people playing bass with each other a few pages from the back and a bass on the inside of the back cover! We are SPOILED!

 

[monsterthompson]

Yet several online retailers are bass-specific.
Bass San Diego
Bass Central
Bass Place
Bass Exchange
The Bass Shop
Bass Club Chicago
Bass Pro Shops
...

Where are the threads about the virtues of these vendors?

 

[Groove Doctor]

We do things properly in Australia....

Invalid Link Removed

 

[Shaggai]

I wonder if the first few pages are filled with guitars costing an average of 13K like last years.

 

[Dominic D]

This is nothing new. They've been putting out the occasional catalog with little to no basses for years.

 

[Kevan Campbell]

It would be nice if they considered the tremendous waste of resources that goes into printing that garbage. I'm fine with the snub.

This. Right. Here.

I fail to see why anyone would WANT a physical mailer or catalog of what GC considers its highest profit margin items. I’d imagine that the bulk of people who purchase actual instruments from GC have the savvy to use the internet, and I’d bet that GC would save a considerable amount of money by discontinuing these mailers. Same for Sweetwater.

 

[twinjet]

The Bass Shop

Because you asked:
30 minutes at The Bass Shop, or A Fleeting Appraisal of Low-Strung, Solid-Bodied Instruments.

My Trip to Chicago Music Exchange (lots of reviews! Alembic/Mayones/Nash/Fender and more)

 

[Vinny_G]

[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

 

[Rib 13]

This. Right. Here.

I fail to see why anyone would WANT a physical mailer or catalog of what GC considers its highest profit margin items. I’d imagine that the bulk of people who purchase actual instruments from GC have the savvy to use the internet, and I’d bet that GC would save a considerable amount of money by discontinuing these mailers. Same for Sweetwater.

I like old school catalogs. I don't think the internet is necessarily an improvement for all aspects of everything........maybe I'm just old .. although P-basses or flatwounds are Old school to me and I think much better basses happened with evolution , so much for that 'Im old' theory........

 

[mongo2]

I got one of those catalogs in the mail the other day. I took it from the mailbox straight to the recycling bin like I always do with any catalog I receive. I don't even open them.

 

[Ulf Buck]

Guitar Center panders to the masses. We of the bass are the elite. Hence no catalog for us.

 

[IamGroot]

GC is a business. They exist to make a profit. If basses outsold guitars, you might see that catalog exclude guitars. It's marketing. Promote what sells. Nothing new here.

Yes.
And its not only how many sold, but at what margin.

Profit = No. Sold x Margin.

Guitarists seem to be more willing to go with inflated prices. NBD is tough, but NGD is driven by the little brain.

 

[dbsfgyd1]

So I got the new Guitar Center holiday catalog in today. The thing was huge, especially for a GC catalog. I got excited and started flipping through it, excited to see what they were going to advertise for basses... I flipped, and flipped, and flipped.

NOT... ONE.... BASS

Even brass and trumpets get a few pages, but no bass!

Just shows you what GC thinks about us.

(note: there actually is one bass pictured, on the last page... its in an add for their music foundation)

Actually, there was more pages of drums, keyboards, band instruments, mics, pa equipment, DJ equipment, recording interfaces, and musicians I’ve never heard of than even guitars. My catalog is currently residing in our recycle bin.