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Sam Ash is closing all stores, evidently

#142
N4860 said:
This doesn't really affect me since I'm in Canada and we don't have Sam Ash here but I sympathize with those that will miss it or are sad to hear of brick & mortar stores closing. We have Long & Mcquade here as what I believe is essentially our GC equivalent. Where I am we have some mom & pop independent music stores though and they seem to do OK as brick & mortar.

I'm curious, does GC and/or Sam Ash do much for rentals? We have an independent music store here that has a pretty large stock of instruments, but the majority of their revenue is from the rental side of things. They rent out PA's but also have large trucks that transform into stages with lighting rigs and everything.
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I'll be honest, I always hated going into Sam Ash for guitars and basses. But their orchestral and band instruments store was top notch. And after Colony closed in Manhattan, it was the best place to get sheet music.
 
#144
For anyone thinking of going to the Atlanta location, I went a couple days ago and it looks like an empty wasteland in there. Lots of stuff 30-40% off, I assume a lot of the good stuff got snagged in the beginning. The stuff it looks like they do have a good amount left from a quick glance are keyboards, cheaper guitars, guitar amps, PA systems?, drums. Was able to pick up some nice cymbals for cheap. Last I checked they had a new Zildjian A sweet ride pack for $670.

It is a liquidation, so you can literally buy almost any furniture inside the store if you want to make your own sam ash in your house.
 
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#146
I bought my first good bass at 16 years old at the Sam Ash in White Plains New York. My father said he would go in half with me. I Worked all summer to save for it as a lifeguard at a local pond. Purchased a brand new Rickenbacker 4001 in fire glow red. One of the fondest memories of my life. The stores were a revelation back then. So much bigger than anything in my small town of Bethel Connecticut. Sorry to see them go. In their hay day, those stores were magnificent.
 
#147
My reaction to the stores closing:
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#148
N4860 said:
...We have Long & Mcquade here as what I believe is essentially our GC equivalent. Where I am we have some mom & pop independent music stores though and they seem to do OK as brick & mortar.
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The only thing is Long and McQuade despite having 95 stores all across Canada is still family owned and financially doing well. There was a good renowned mom and pop shop that did close 8 years ago in Montreal but as far as I know all the others seem to survive. I watched a Rush interview lately where Geddy and Alex mentionned going to Long and McQuade with their advanced money from record company when they got signed to buy their first professional instruments which included Geddy's first Rickenbacker
 
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#156
jimmydean said:
The only true loss is to the people out of work and the only one I ever went in was across the street from Manny's on 48th Street and I really didn't care for it .
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I went in when they were on 48th street and it felt like the most un-NYC of the musical instruments stores compared to Manny's, Rudy's, 30th St Guitars, etc. It was a big box that could've just as easily been in Springdale, Arkansas.
 
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#157
I have been buying from Sam Ash since 1976.

I bought my first decent bass, a Fender Precision at their Hempstead, Long Island store in 1976.

My father knew, Paul Ash in passing, so buying from Sam Ash almost seemed like buying from family.

I witnessed West 48th Street rise to its zenith and then collapse into only a memory, and all because I was a kid who lived in Queens.

Manny's, Sam Ash, Alex Music, Rudy's and We Buy were all my local music stores.

This is why I miss them all.

Mike :(
 
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#158
Michael Jewels said:
I have been buying from Sam Ash since 1976.

I bought my first decent bass, a Fender Precision at their Hempstead, Long Island store in 1976.

My father knew, Paul Ash in passing, so buying from Sam Ash almost seemed like buying from family.

I witnessed West 48th Street rise from its zenith and then collapse into only a memory, and all because I was a kid who lived in Queens.

Manny's, Sam Ash, Alex Music, Rudy's and We Buy were all my local music stores.

This is why I miss them all.

Mike :(
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Remember the Electro-Harmonix store? I grew up in Queens around the same time and our experience is almost identical. Anybody that didn't step into any of those stores from the early 70's-late 80's for the first time just doesn't get it.
 
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