Exactly!
My GC used to have 95 basses or more.
For the longest time they only had 20 to 25.
Today, they have 59.
It was bound to get better and it has.
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My GC used to have 95 basses or more.
For the longest time they only had 20 to 25.
Today, they have 59.
It was bound to get better and it has.
buying from sam ash in store or online or by phone always takes insanely long, and often there are strange issues. i've been buying from sam ash hollywood for more than two decades, and only once has a purchase taken under 20 minutes from the time i got to the cash register to when i left, and that was one item under $20 and i paid cash, and it still took over 15 minutes. we once sold them a gibson victory bass, and we were there long after they closed LOL
once they lost my husband's layaway guitar for an hour, tried to tell me it wasn't there, and they never found the case. it took them 2 hours to open my husband's sam ash card in store. and every time i order, i can't place the order without overwriting the phone number with the exact same phone number LOLOL
I'm also an infrequent customer/visitor at the Sam Ash location in Madison, TN, and when I was last there in the winter last year, there was still a lot of stock, but . . . . . every Fender piece seemed to have vanished en masse. I wonder if SA is in some kind of situation with FMIC ?
I dated a girl that I met at Sam Ash NYC store in my mid 20's. Short duration but sweet. She was trying one of those Takamines, I was buying strings. I had an Eminence Alnico loaded guitar 212 cab that was Sam Ash branded. It sounded really good - better than the Fenders it copied. . It is now in San Diego - I gave it to my friend.
I wonder if they close down, will a decent store in the Cincy area pop up? It's a mid to high end bass desert around here....
At my local Sam Ash (NE Philly, also pretty empty) an employee simply said "We can't keep anything on the shelves, it's all selling faster than we can get it in."
They're gonna be ok
They're gonna be ok
Not music related but our fridge conked out yesterday and I thought Oh no, it will take months to get a new one! Luckily, we found one at the first store we went to and it will be delivered on Wednesday. 
Tomorrow I’m meeting up with some friends at Long and McQuade (the Canadian equivalent of Guitar Center) and we’ll see what the selection is like.
There’s a local independently owned store that has an amazing guitar inventory. Their stock of basses has always been relatively small but at the moment they only have 3!
Tomorrow I’m meeting up with some friends at Long and McQuade (the Canadian equivalent of Guitar Center) and we’ll see what the selection is like.
There’s a local independently owned store that has an amazing guitar inventory. Their stock of basses has always been relatively small but at the moment they only have 3!
Not music related but our fridge conked out yesterday and I thought Oh no, it will take months to get a new one! Luckily, we found one at the first store we went to and it will be delivered on Wednesday.
Tomorrow I’m meeting up with some friends at Long and McQuade (the Canadian equivalent of Guitar Center) and we’ll see what the selection is like.
There’s a local independently owned store that has an amazing guitar inventory. Their stock of basses has always been relatively small but at the moment they only have 3!
We were lucky too with our fridge replacement. My neighbor's sister had to wait three months.
Fortunately we also have a fridge in the basement so I can store the food there. But I had to remove some beer to make room.
BurningSkies
CRAZY BALDHEAD
- Feb 20, 2005
- 27,956
- 20,348
- Disclosures
- Endorsing artist: Dingwall Guitars
"The Device" is something that offers way more gear options and choices than most humans have from 'walking out the front door'. Even with a 'big box' instrument store or two in town there's just such a wide and huge variety of instruments and gear that are accessible now that never used to be. If you're not interested in the same middle of the road gear that lots of people buy, going to music stores can be really boring and unfulfilling.
Example:
Even when I played Fender instruments if I wanted a decent set of hand-made pickups, I'd have to buy a bass magazine, look up in the back to find the little advert for Lindy Fralin then call him (most likely ruining his work flow), get a quote, in his case send him a check/MO by mail (since he didn't want to do CC), wait a week for that to get to him, clear, get my pickups made then sent. Slow and inconvenient.
Now if I want to find out about who the top tier makers of say Jazz pickups are RIGHT NOW. I can do a search, find a thread here, or a bunch of other places. Hear samples, see video reviews, or post up a question and get more than a handful of replies from both pros & regular guys with experience in what I'm asking about.
Pedals...Small production hand built effects are a HUGE part of the market these days. This wouldn't exist without the internet. Same for gear I truly love, my Jule Amps units, etc. Small builders that you'll never walk into a store and find, but will build you the most amazing amp, preamp, pedal or bass.
I remember calling Carvin to request a catalog so I could look through it at the minimal specs and try to decide on a speaker cabinet if I didn't want the few professional grade options within 100 miles.
I'll buy locally if I can, but really many of us are pretty over 'browse shopping' for gear. I'll go into a local shop for something like a stand or maybe a strap or some other widget, but not really interested in going out of my way for a specific item that there's an overwhelming chance will not be there.
Buying from small businesses is still valid on the internet. Whether that's someone making the gear or someone selling it.
+1. Not every city has a Bass Central. If you want something boutique or out of the ordinary buying off the internet is your ticket. What I see in local stores is just the tip of the iceberg.
BurningSkies
CRAZY BALDHEAD
- Feb 20, 2005
- 27,956
- 20,348
- Disclosures
- Endorsing artist: Dingwall Guitars
Even small boutique shops, while awesome may not have the breadth of gear specificity that some of us want or use. While I used to love all the indie shops in town and the vintage gear that showed up, most of those are dead now, thanks to two or three chains that moved into the area (now there's only a single middle-to-lower tier GC left).
We did have someone open a pretty nice boutique shop (Ish Guitars: Ish Guitars - A Curated Collection of Fine Instruments ) but still, there's so many good well made options for gear online. I really have no desire to be limited to buying only what happens to make it to my specific geographic area.
Back in the early 1990's I remember the Bass Player new gear guide issues that came out that were just packed with instruments and gear that I knew I'd never ever see or have an opportunity to buy. The original Dingwalls stood out as mind benders to me at that time. Now that stuff IS available to players no matter if you're living in NYC, LA London or a rural crossroads that has 50 people.
Also 'buying online' doesn't have to mean GC, Sam Ash or a big behemoth company. Most of the guys I buy new bass gear from...we're on a first name basis. Guys making stuff in small shops, basements or kitchen tables making really nice stuff.
Even when it comes to techs...I had a bass that I had the 'best' guy in the area work on and it wasn't as good as I hoped. I emailed a tech on the west coast and sent my bass out and he did a brilliant job.
The 'local' in my 'buy small, buy local' is just a larger radius than some.
I'm in the DC / Baltimore metro area and while not a music mecca, you would think you could find some interesting gear. People are not afraid to spend some money on guitars and I assume basses in the area. But in the 25 years that I've been here I've seen only a handful of "interesting" new basses on the wall. Jive Sound is about an hour away and a Sadowsky dealer, but I think he's had the same Modern Metro listed for 5+ years. Maybe there are other basses and he doesn't update the site often? There are a few Roscoes, but those don't appear to move often. Chuck Levin's has a few Brubakers and had one or two Ken Smiths, but that's about it for high end bass gear in the area. Enter the Internet.
Great examples. I wanted to add in the ability to look up product specifics in more seconds. 25 years ago I was a dumb high school kid that wanted better pickups/preamp in my Ibanez Soundgear. The local store had a few older boxes of Bartolini pickups and preamps. Unfortunately, they couldn't find the product sheet in their big binder, so we had no idea what was what.
Now, I can look up models and differences on my 'device' on my own right there in the store. I call that a win.
BurningSkies
CRAZY BALDHEAD
- Feb 20, 2005
- 27,956
- 20,348
- Disclosures
- Endorsing artist: Dingwall Guitars
Remember the days of having to go to 4 or 5 stores in your area to look in the case to see what pickups they had or the off chance they had a pedal you wanted in their case? Ugh.
Yeah, the "good old days" is largely a myth!
Very true.
I would have to drive all day just to see a beat up Warwick in person. That whole try before you buy thing is a luxury that some people don't have.
Back in 1996 if you broke a string, and had none left, you had to fill the tank and made a day of getting a new set. Now we have one click, one day shipping with Amazon prime and pizza delivery robots.
Went to a studio closing sale to see what they had. There were some interesting pieces of older gear and I whipped out my "device" to see what the current price is for a compressor and the owner told me something to the effect of, "That's the problem now. People can look up prices on their phone." I don't see any other way to interpret that than, "I have a harder time ripping people off." So I mumbled something and left without looking at anything else. Maybe a "power to the people" moment?
One other thing abut shopping locally: Some of us are more knowledgeable about gear than the people working in the stores. I saw an older F bass at a guitar store. It was listed as an Italian-Made Furlanetto Bass. I asked the clerk about it, he said the same thing. F Basses are made in Hamilton, Ontario.
