Wow ok. That's not much of a discount. I shouldn't buy anything but I wanna stop by.
I was thinking a while back that it could possibly be a good spot for a little bit of a TalkBass meetup. I don't think there's anywhere else left in Midtown now.
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Sam Ash is closing 18 stores
- Thread starter bassfiddlesteve
- Start date
Wow ok. That's not much of a discount. I shouldn't buy anything but I wanna stop by.
I was thinking a while back that it could possibly be a good spot for a little bit of a TalkBass meetup. I don't think there's anywhere else left in Midtown now.
They don't have Sam Ash around here but I got a good deal online today. Ampeg RB-115 combo amp, normally $560, with a coupon code I got it for $475, plus they'll email me a $50 gift card next month.
- Feb 26, 2011
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- Endorsing Artist: Pyramid Strings
I'm guessing they won't go down very much. Not every store is closing and the internet isn't going anywhere. Or not.
Any more word on the Westminster store? I don’t go there often but I’d hate to see them close. I bought my first electric guitar from them.My first experiences at Sam Ash were at the Margate, FL location. I remember picking up and playing a Rickenbacker 4003 for the first time in that store and it was a life changing experience for 18 year old me! Playing that fireglo 4003 made me want one really badly. Eventually, 4003s became my main (and favorite) bass model. I also bought my 1st Gen Scarlett 2i2 DI there in 2013. I've been using that DI ever since to record music. I found out that 1st Gen 2i2s are rare nowadays as the 4th Gen models are out.
My current local Sam Ash is the one in Westminster, CA. I hope it's not closing, even though the bass selection isn't the best. If you're in or around Orange County, CA, check out International House of Music in Tustin. Unlike Sam Ash since the pandemic, they have a plethora of nice basses from budget options to high end ones. I got my 2021 Fender American Pro II Precision Bass from there.
I haven't heard anything locally, but I saw that the article below cited this TB thread for info.
Sam Ash to close 18 of its 44 US stores – reportedly including branches in Clearwater and Hollywood
I stopped by the 34th St store in Jan. to get a cheap keyboard gig bag and had a crazy negative experience. Salesman who claimed they didn't have what I knew they had, manager who went off on me when I tried to get him to do what the salesman was too disinterested to do (that was only after trying for an eternity to get another salesperson to simply grab one, listed as in stock.) It was a well deserved ghost town. I walked out as they went back to their facebooks and walked one block to B&H, where I had a delightful and informative conversation with a keyboard salesperson and walked out with exactly I needed.
The demise of 48th St pretty much synced up with my not buying much gear that couldn't find used, so my sentimentality about the whole thing, which used to be high, petered out long ago. Used to be able to count on a half hour in any music retailer, in any city I found myself, would be a fun diversion, but that's also long gone. I would have predicted Ash to have stayed around while GC shuttered entirely, but I also never predicted B&H would be the best, most diverse and well stocked and last standing decent pro audio and instrument brick and mortar store in NYC.
The demise of 48th St pretty much synced up with my not buying much gear that couldn't find used, so my sentimentality about the whole thing, which used to be high, petered out long ago. Used to be able to count on a half hour in any music retailer, in any city I found myself, would be a fun diversion, but that's also long gone. I would have predicted Ash to have stayed around while GC shuttered entirely, but I also never predicted B&H would be the best, most diverse and well stocked and last standing decent pro audio and instrument brick and mortar store in NYC.
Yes, B&H is just around the corner from Sam Ash, and every sales person I’ve dealt with there has been very nice and knowledgeable.
It wound be a silver lining to this story if B&H picks up even a little of Sam Ash’s business.
As spigmu said, B&H knows how to run a business.
And, everytime I’ve been in there, there are literally hundreds of customers all being taken care of.
Mike
It wound be a silver lining to this story if B&H picks up even a little of Sam Ash’s business.
As spigmu said, B&H knows how to run a business.
And, everytime I’ve been in there, there are literally hundreds of customers all being taken care of.
Mike
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All hail B&H! I get all my photography there, and I got my Eizo computer monitor.
Well now I’ll have to check out B&H the next time I’m in the city. I didn’t realize they had a store with actual music gear!Yes, B&H is just around the corner from Sam Ash, and every sales person I’ve dealt with there has been very nice and knowledgeable.
It wound be a silver lining to this story if B&H picks up even a little of Sam Ash’s business.
As spigmu said, B&H knows how to run a business.
And, everytime I’ve been in there, there are literally hundreds of customers all being taken care of.
Mike
I haven’t seen any music gear on display myself.
They have a decent sampling of bass amps online, but most are not in stock and have to be ordered.
I think B&H would like to keep their music department online only, as musical gear takes up a lot of room.
Think of the size of a camera or lens box; now, think of an acoustic guitar.
I could be wrong, but I hope B&H picks up some of Sam Ash’s business.
Mike
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I have had nothing but negative s experiences in that store. Guitars and basses missing saddles and strings, no employee ever being interested in helping, a long wait to find someone just to check me out with a set it strings…
Just popped in to my local Sam Ash (NYC, but not the 34th Street "Flagship"). Outside, signs all over saying "store closing." Inside, signs all over that say "5% off!"
Now I was not a business major but that is 5 cents on the dollar, right?
It seems to me that if you are closing a bunch of stores and liquidating some inventory, 5% off is not gonna cut it.
As it is, there was nothing much of interest but that location always struck me as the kind of place where you buy your kid their first trumpet, not a place to shop for bass stuff.
Now I was not a business major but that is 5 cents on the dollar, right?
It seems to me that if you are closing a bunch of stores and liquidating some inventory, 5% off is not gonna cut it.
As it is, there was nothing much of interest but that location always struck me as the kind of place where you buy your kid their first trumpet, not a place to shop for bass stuff.
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The store in White Plains, N.Y. is where my parents bought me my first electric guitar, a Gibson Melody Maker, 55 years ago. (Like Bryan Adams, "I got my first real six-string in the summer of '69.") They followed up the next year with a Gibson EBO, and the next year with a Strat.
In 2016, I went back to that store to buy my son *his* first electric guitar (Squier starter pack).
Unless I'm wrong, that branch has been there for 100 years.
I'd hate to see it go under.
In 2016, I went back to that store to buy my son *his* first electric guitar (Squier starter pack).
Unless I'm wrong, that branch has been there for 100 years.
I'd hate to see it go under.
Yes, the KoP store has seen a real decline. I've bought some gear there, and always liked the place, but it hasn't had much interesting stuff for a long time.
Totally agree. Its inventory has been pathetic for a long time, and I've been wondering whether it would close. It's a little better on the guitar side than the bass side, as usual, but it isn't great for guitars either. Meanwhile, as you said, the nearby GC seems to be doing well. The selection of used instruments is excellent, and they have more variety than Sam Ash in every category. It always seems busy, and the salespeople seem pretty good.
In the Philly area, the best Sam Ash, oddly enough, seems to be in the Philadelphia Mills Mall. I've often seen surprisingly cool basses there, like a Rickenbacker five-string a couple of years ago. It's smaller than some other Sam Ash locations, so maybe it can more easily pay the rent and will stay open.
I have fond memories of the Sam Ash in White Plains, NY, which was the go-to place where I grew up in Connecticut. Got my first electric guitar and amp there in 1981, and my first bass and bass amp in 1983. It was a cool place.
Right before Covid I got the Kiesel in my avatar from the KOP Sam Ash. Actually, considering how they priced it, I’m not surprised the company isn’t doing well.
I agree - the “Franklin Mills” Sam Ash is pretty good. I grew up going to the one in Carle Place Long Island. I stopped by there a few months ago - aside from some good electronic kits they didn’t have much. It’s clear retail isn’t what it once was.
Update - The Westminster store is still open, but their bass inventory is slim. I went there a few days ago because I had another errand to run nearby. They had only one (used) MIA 7ender and nothing high end. Before the pandemic, there were at least 3 Rickenbackers and other high end basses in that store at any given time. Their amp selection was cut in half compared to when I went there last. I left there unimpressed and disappointed that the store has gone downhill since the pandemic started.
NYC 34th st store has dwindling inventory but a few nice American Pro II fretless jazzes, now down to 15% off. Most of the decent cheapies are gone (if that black and maple 70s Squire CV was still there I may have left with it), and there are the handful of Sterling Ray34's still hanging on. I imagine those will leave at a steal once they come down a bit further.
I don't expect any real blowout prices with the internet store and more than a few brick and mortar locations staying open.
