Guitar Center Struggling

[Adhesive_X]

Screw 'em. They don't cater to bass players so I couldn't shop there even if I wanted to.....

And how about having a coupon that works on something besides kazoos, egg shakers and
Gene Simmons bobble heads.

The only thing I would use them for is the used department and that's dwindled significantly

 

[Jeff Hughes]

GC used to be so cool. Tons of people making a cacophony of racket on all sorts of instruments, bored girlfriends, sales people running back and forth, phones ringing, tons of cool used and new stuff.

Now it is a ghost town. There is usually only one person making a racket in front of a bored girlfriend.

Last time I was there, I noticed a customer who needed lots of help, and the employees were probably just looking at porn behind the counter of an empty store.

So I decided to help him out and sell him a guitar. I used to work at a music shop so it was kind of fun. I think he bought it.

 

[Adjectives]

The GC in downtown Seattle closed about a year ago, and for their last week open I bought them out of Tortex .88 pick packs at 50% off. I think it was...40+ 12 packs. Not like I don't use them and lose them. The space was bought by Google to be rebuilt. Now they are EVERYWHERE in my house and studio. *shrug*

 

[Ellery]

GC should have put more into customer service at the stores ahead of time. Also it's hard to find deals there anymore. One used to be able to come in and haggle, now they look you with a blank face and tell you take it or leave it.

 

[rashrader]

It’s hard for me to take GC seriously when they don’t even take themselves seriously.....

 

[Xjenrbcjsmsbfjw]

I'd love guitar center to go down, because competition IS good and I'm all about the independent stories, and I don't see them coming back while guitar center is around. I don't want people to lose their jobs, I do feel for them but I think the end of guitar center would be wonderful.

 

[Pings Bass]

Their huge brick and mortar presence, which killed a lot of small local retailers when they rolled in, has become an obvious liability. Chickens coming home to roost, and it couldn't happen to a nicer hedge fund-owned big box retailer.

 

[Killing Floor]

Also, putting on my mean hat!

Please don’t not refer to them as “your local”.
Is Best Buy your local music store? Is Starbucks local? GC ain’t local and they do not know you.

 

[Nephilymbass]

Looks like Guitar Center (which also owns Musician's Friend and Music 123) is struggling amid the pandemic. Meanwhile Sweetwater just expanded again. Not sure what's happening with Sam Ash. Whatever you may think of individual retailers, competition is good for us consumers.

We have a special relationship with Sweetwater because they do photography of our charity projects, but I also have many great memories of browsing the local Guitar Center and Sam Ash stores with my son over the years as well as buying his first guitar and my first bass (among other things) at the Guitar Center in Villa Park, Illinois.

Let's hope they all make it. When they reopen pay a visit to your local store and buy something. We can all afford to buy a set of strings, picks, lesson book, etc and some can put that $1,200 toward a new bass.

Guitar Center Downgraded After Distressed-Debt Exchange

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I still go to my local GC every once in a while but it’s mainly for little stuff like cables and strings. GC has changed a lot over the years in my area. They no longer carry many of the brands that attracted me to their stores back in the day. I bought most of my warwicks from GCs, I bought my conklin used there also. But it’s pretty rare that mine has anything interesting unless something used comes through. Really the only reason I continue to go there is every once and a while they’ll have something for sale used that is hard to find. For example that was my introduction to Dingwall. They had a combustion 5 used at one point I got to try out. A friend of mine actually bought it but a few months later I bought my Dingwall NG2 new as the used prices on them are so high I was like screw it I’ll buy a new one.

 

[Adhesive_X]

I don't feel sorry for the large retailers. They didn't have any issues putting mom and pops out of business. Now with things like Amazon or reverb (i know the negatives of Amazon....) but they give small independent retailers a chance to sell product without the need of having a brick and mortar.

If I can buy a pedal from a guy that runs a company out of his house or drop ships I'd do that over GC any day.

 

[Skillet]

I've gotten dozens of great deals at Musician's Friend with their emailed coupons and other deals. I bought a "blem" Fender Dimension that was perfect to my eye. I'd hate to lose that option. Also GC is the Only brick n mortar option in some markets. I wouldn't like to lose either.

 

[ajkula66]

I'd love guitar center to go down, because competition IS good and I'm all about the independent stories, and I don't see them coming back while guitar center is around. I don't want people to lose their jobs, I do feel for them but I think the end of guitar center would be wonderful.

Independent stores are not coming back, period.

They couldn't afford the rent and were unable to offer anything else apart from high-and-mighty attitude in most places. There are exceptions to this rule but they are far and few between IME.

GC online is the best place to shop for used gear IMO/IME and I would absolutely hate to see it disappear.

 

[Xjenrbcjsmsbfjw]

Independent stores are not coming back, period.

They couldn't afford the rent and were unable to offer anything else apart from high-and-mighty attitude in most places. There are exceptions to this rule but they are far and few between IME.

GC online is the best place to shop for used gear IMO/IME and I would absolutely hate to see it disappear.

IME that is not the case, I liked them before and I like them now. I've seen at least two grow to relatively healthy businesses over the last decade. If you get the megalithic Walmarts of music out of the way, more will have the opportunity. Not saying it will be easy or perfect, but you and I are both guessing at the outcome here and I choose to bet on the side of the indy stores.

 

[jd56hawk]

Looks like Guitar Center (which also owns Musician's Friend and Music 123) is struggling amid the pandemic. Meanwhile Sweetwater just expanded again. Not sure what's happening with Sam Ash. Whatever you may think of individual retailers, competition is good for us consumers.

We have a special relationship with Sweetwater because they do photography of our charity projects, but I also have many great memories of browsing the local Guitar Center and Sam Ash stores with my son over the years as well as buying his first guitar and my first bass (among other things) at the Guitar Center in Villa Park, Illinois.

Let's hope they all make it. When they reopen pay a visit to your local store and buy something. We can all afford to buy a set of strings, picks, lesson book, etc and some can put that $1,200 toward a new bass.

Guitar Center Downgraded After Distressed-Debt Exchange

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Yes, I heard it's over for Guitar Center.
Of course, I heard it six or seven years ago, so...

 

[HeavyJazz]

No love for the chains. Support the locals. They are your friends and neighbors. They are the ones who have been a critical backbone of your music scene. So IMO I don’t care at all if GC is struggling as they are usually built on the ashes of the small business who sold you or your parents your first bass.

I’m also not shocked that Sweetwater is doing well because they have a high service model.

Spot on.

 

[Jeff Hughes]

I think the appeal of wandering around a store where you might find some cool used or B stock pieces still has appeal, but GC really just has multiple copies of new things that you could easily look at on the internet. They are usually setup horribly, so you don’t even get a real playing feel.

I worked at a music store from 1997-2005, and in that time, GC was a big competitor, and the internet came knocking just as I left the business. I still remember people bringing in GC mailers and catalogs for price matches.

Every time I travel, I try to buy something little from the local family music store. There are still some good ones out there, but until all of the cool guitars leave Japan or Norm’s, it is getting a little boring out there for cool instruments.

 

[Sid Fang]

Won’t be the first time GC died, and probably won’t be the last. If there is one useful thing that this pandemic does for society, it may be to demonstrate that who owns the capital isn’t as important as what is done with it. Many, many shops and restaurants are going to go bankrupt for their inability to pay rents and loan payments. But their owners and managers will still be there, as will their customers, once there is broad immunity to the virus. They will re-incorporate, take out new leases, and start over. It is the banks and vulture capital groups (like Bain in the case of GC) who will take the hit. And doubtless get bailed out with our money by the government they paid for.

 

[Jeff Hughes]

The pandemic does seem to have a kind of economic mass extinction effect. Some species survive, some don’t. Or the species with the right adaptations make it just fine.

 

[basszillla]

one of the independently owned stores around here recently shut down - he just couldnt afford to stay open any longer with no income/revenue while being forced to close its doors .......
Michigan Music Store Owner Weeps as He Loses His Dream Due to COVID Lockdown

 

[scuzzy]

my wife just bought a Beautiful Taylor 320e, used, from the guitar center in youngstown ohio. it arrived in 2 days after placing the order, was wonderfully packed and appeared brand new. the price was better than anything else we could find online by $300. props to them.