How's the bass selection in your town?

[foolforthecity]

In my hometown the couple of small local shops can't get the big names due to sales quota demands from the manufacturers. 1.5 hours to Corpus, 1.5 to Houston, 2 to San Antonio, and 2.5 to Austin, all nice drives but did wish I didn't have to do that all the time

 

[PJ Bassthumper]

@Bass Viking I live in a small town called Hawkesbury about 100km east of Ottawa and 90km west of Montreal. The selection in my town is pittyful. The one music store we have stocks only Fender and Squire Basses and on the guitar side they stock Fender, Squire, Epiphone and Gibson. To be fair they can get you pretty much anything you want and they will price match the prices in the big city and they are really nice people but when it comes to selection in store, forget about it.

I work in Ottawa and agree that the bass side of things sucks. L&M and Steve's have a few more options like you mentioned Ibanez and Yamaha come to mind but nothing spectacular. On the guitar side the choices are greater I've seen Ric's, Gretsch, Godin, Jackson,but not much else.

Montreal isn't much better. I think the stores sell what they think sells and don't carry stock that they fear will be on their walls forever and a day. I think 80% of people want either a Fender/Squire and or a Gibson/Epiphione product and I think Canadian retailers just don't carry other products because our population base is to small to make it worth carrying that other 20% of product that people want. Just my 2 cents.

 

[logicman69]

Nothing in my state. If I want a selection, its drive an hour and a half to Boston or hop a train to NYC. This is why I come to Talkbass. I can do all my shopping here.

 

[Kmonk]

I live in a small town half way between Boston and Cape Cod. There are no music stores here. The closest GC is 25 minutes away. There are a couple of small "mom and pop" type stores that are a little closer but they have very little inventory for basses and bass amps. The inventory these stores carry is usually aimed at beginners or players who are trading up from a beginner instrument to something a little better. Never anything of good quality for more experienced players such as MIA Fender, Musicman, Spector, higher quality Ibanez and so on, in either new or used. Their websites never list their current inventory and their customer service when I have visited their stores has been extremely poor. I have actually experienced the best customer service at GC.

There is one store which as moved multiple times in the last 15 years or so. His website lists brands that he carries but what it doesn't mention is that he has little if any inventory. For example, his website mentions that he carries Spector. When I went to the store, he didn't have anything in stock. He told me that he is an authorized dealer and can order something for me but I would have to pay shipping. If I don't like it, I have to pay a 15% restocking fee to return it. I have a deal with Spector so I can buy direct but I figured I would check out the local store to see if they had anything that I might like. There is another store which specializes in used gear but it's mostly very old low quality gear from the late 1970s and 1980s. As a result, I have only purchased one new bass in the last 20 years. I usually buy through Craigslist and only in person.

 

[MDBass]

In another thread I posted that I thought many bassists haven't played enough different brands to know what they really like, due to limited availability in local stores. I got in some hot water for that but I still stand by my statement. In my own city of 1 million people, the selection is not great. It's mainly Fender, Squier, Ibanez, Yamaha, Epiphone, etc. There's nothing wrong with these brands but it's the tip of the iceberg.

Brands I used to see, like Warwick, Lakeland, and G & L, have disappeared. You seldom see even a Gibson bass. You do come across a few Rickenbackers, Musicman, and the occasional Fender Custom Shop. Boutique? Forget it! Not even the Canadian stuff like Dingwall or F bass.

I currently own 11 basses. Only 2 were purchased in Ottawa stores. 2 I bought used and the rest I ordered from the USA. Even Club Bass in Toronto has reduced the number of bass brands they carry and changed their name to Club Bass & Guitar.

The store where I bought my Taylor guitar has a fantastic selection of acoustics and electric guitars, with high end Gibson, Fender, PRS, Taylor, Martin, Collings, Suhr. As for basses: Last time I was there they had 5.

We have the internet here, so it's pretty good

 

[electracoyote]

On-line shopping has fundamentally transformed how music stores stock basses and every other kind of music gear you can mention.

90% of my ridiculously obese guitar and bass collection came from shopping on-line.

If you shop smart, you don't get burned. "Try before you buy" doesn't have the same weight it used to with the advent of liberal return policies. I am very satisfied with my collection, it is one of the better achievements of my life. And even though I have Wildwood Guitars just up the road and three GC's in my area I've only made a few local purchases over the years.

I'm always a little surprised when musicians make an issue out of how poorly stocked most music stores are these days.

 

[LT131]

Weak, which was not an issue prior to joining TB. I've never seen, other than video, most of the basses other than Fender, Ibby and Yamaha discussed on this forum. Our CL is a wasteland and the pawnshops feature overpriced junk.

Never touched a G&L, Lakland, or any of the higher end stuff other than, once, an Alembic. I've held exactly one Ric and that was eons ago.

Not that I'm in the market but it would be nice to check it out. Maybe it's for the best!

 

[bass12]

The selection in Montreal is pretty much limited to the sure sellers (Fender, Ibanez, Yamaha, Musicman, etc.). One of the local chains used to sell F basses (they may still but I don't remember seeing any in stock last time I was there). Moog Audio, a small independent shop specializing mostly in bedroom producer electronics and guitar pedals has some Lull and Sandberg stock but it seems to move very slowly from what I can tell. Back when one of the local (now closed) music shops used to carry Warwick you would never find any neck-through models. Any of the higher-end models would have to be special ordered. Very few of the basses I've owned have been courtesy of Montreal shops.

 

[Oddly]

I just did a quick online search for the three main stores in Dublin city centre.
MusicMaker, Waltons and X Music.
Plenty of Fenders and Squiers, some Epiphone, Yamaha, Musicman, a couple each of Gibson and G&L.
No Warwicks or Ricks but I guess not a bad selection overall.

 

[Hevy T]

96000 here.

Fender, Squier and Ibanez mostly.

You never see any other brands unless you find something that was traded in. Occasionally if you drive 2 hrs to Calgary you will see more variation of the same really! I have yet to see a Lakland or Sawdosky up close for example

 

[cnltb]

It's ok here.

 

[walldaja]

Situation in Indianapolis is the same and getting worse. SA has significantly reduced the variety of basses offered and the GC has given up about 25% of their floor space to modular instructional booths. They had lessons before, but in the back. They even once had a dedicated bass area with instruments and amps. Forget trying to get a feel for a bass when some guitar heroes are making such a racket you can't hear yourself think. At least Sweetwater is nearby.

 

[Pedal2DaMeddle]

There's a single brick and mortar store near me licensed to sell Fender and Epiphone basses, but that's about it. They're the only music store around, but they've got some good stuff.

 

[Woofer]

Nothing worth speaking of. If I drive an hour+ up to Virginia Beach I can go to GC, but they're mostly Fender/Squier, EBMM, and Ibanez.

 

[alexbrownebass]

Austin, TX here - it's marvelous!

 

[cazclocker]

I'm more concerned about the lack of good drummers in my town than availability of new basses.

 

[Xandrell]

Situation in Indianapolis is the same and getting worse. SA has significantly reduced the variety of basses offered and the GC has given up about 25% of their floor space to modular instructional booths. They had lessons before, but in the back. They even once had a dedicated bass area with instruments and amps. Forget trying to get a feel for a bass when some guitar heroes are making such a racket you can't hear yourself think. At least Sweetwater is nearby.

Atlanta GC used to have a good selection of everything and lot's of customers. Now when I go in there I'm about the only one in there. They have a pretty decent selection of guitars and amps including a high end room. The bass selection isn't real bad but the bass amp selection is. I don't know what the Mark Bass thing is all about but it's irritating.

 

[kittywithabanjo]

Mostly the usual offender here in Vancouver but the chain store here does have carry Sadowsky metro (and has satin series coming in) as well as the occasional Dingwall and they are now carrying Bergantino as well.So not bad that being said only one of my basses NS Design CR5M came from a local shop. Although I have 3 basses from local builders

 

[chadds]

Including your house?

 

[jasonmatthews]

In Atlanta we have the Atlanta Bass Gallery, which is basically like bass heaven. Least expensive thing in there is probably a Fender American Standard J-Bass. All the high end stuff is there. Constantly rotating. Incredible.