Went into Guitar Center, Wow

[Geekydad]

Every single Guitar Center I've been in hasn't has a single bass I could play. (Sucks to be a lefty, sometimes.) Then again, neither has my local music shop. The owner's always apologetic about that- his brother is a left-handed bass player. But he still doesn't have any in stock.

 

[pcake]

Having gone to Hollywood GC over so many years (same here), do you share my memory that 2007 - 2009 was some kind of crazy golden age for Precision basses in their vintage room? Rics too, for that matter... It was virtually a ' vintage showroom' downstairs. Last time I was there, the vintage stock was a shadow of that epoch. Wonder what happened?

these were a LOT of p basses in the late mid 2000s. there were some in the vintage room the other week along with some gibsons, but not even close to what they had in their vintage hayday. remember when hollywood still had reverends, zons and modulus?

My local is GC Sherman Oaks was in the midst of an aisle-widening last time I was there. They were featuring Gibson stock; I marveled how crummy their new six strings looked. The bronze age is indeed upon us!

oh, dear - we were heading off to sherman oaks either this week or next. haven't been there since december, but were hoping for more. a month ago west l.a. (our closest GC) had empty spaces in their bass room.

That remodel is terrible IMO. They somehow shrunk the store.

seems like they're shrinking all the stores

 

[InhumanResource]

I'm just outside of Philly and the GC here has NOTHING for bass. I keep waiting for someone who works there to chime in and confirm whether they are exiting the bass market or not. They have a bunch of squires and Musicman SUBS, maybe one or two brand new Fenders that cost waaay to much...and the rest is a mix of Schecters and Ibanez. Amps? Ampeg combos, Orange combos, and maybe a Markbass. Forget used equipment too, there's none to be found.

Fortunately, the local Sam Ash is way better.

 

[AltecGreen]

My understanding is that GC owes Fender a boatload of money. It may be that Fender has cut them off until the debt is reduced. I've also heard the GC is for sale and they may be reducing stock in preparation for a sale of the company.

GC became debt ridden because it was first bought by Bain Capital under a leveraged buyout. That is to say the purchase was done using borrowed money and GC was in debt to the tune of 1.4 billion. Of course, you have to understand in business, debt like this is not handled the same you or I would. Ares Management held most of the debt and they did a debt for equity deal with Bain in 2014. So Ares now has controlling interest in GC with Bain having a minority stake. Basically, Bain owed money to Ares and Ares wiped out part of the debt in exchange for control. This effectively reduced the debt load of GC down to about $500 million which is still a lot but gives them some operating room. GC still has trouble but they are in a far better position than they were 3-4 years ago. They were also able to refinance much of the remaining debt at lower interest rates. Still Ares seems to be making the same kind of greed driven business decisions that plague many private equity firms.

But let's face it. When you think of high end instruments, you just don't think of GC. Even if GC carried Fodera, I would not buy such an instrument from GC. This is not their market. To be fair, Sam Ash and Sweetwater don't carry those kinds of instruments either. As for the OP's original point, the inventory varies a lot from store to store and region to region. There are plenty of Fenders of all types including custom shop models my area. But checking stores in a different part of the country, what the OP says seems to be true. In this day and age, I think retailers have to control their inventory to compete against online stores. Since GC will ship gear to store, there is no point in stocking more expensive models at every store. A customer can always have something shipped to their store.

 

[Dropzilla]

I live in NYC. The Guitar center selection is awful here. mostly half broken ibanez/fender/musicmans. and recently, the union sq store decided to move all their basses higher up on the wall. so unless you're fairly tall, you cant reach the second row of basses. This is doubly annoying for me as im often asked to reach or put back basses for other players because of my height.

sam ash is okay, but mostly just the one on 34th. They have a decent selection and at least their stock is playable/set up.

Also they do carry Fodera basses there. Sadowsky and rickenbacker as well

 

[tbx59]

I just upgraded my whole rig and Guitar Center's website was a great resource to hunt down basses, amps and cabinets to try, of course, in the LA area there are dozens of stores so lots of options including American Fenders. Sam Ash's website isn't as helpful but much better place in store to try out basses and not hear sweaty guys play slap bass at 11 in tank tops.

 

[Marikk]

Vancouver's L&M Terminal Ave. has a lot of expensive and boutique basses in stock, ranging from MIA Fenders to a few Rickenbackers to AVRIs to really expensive non-Fenders. They have a section for Squiers and a section for Ibanezes, Musicmans, and others. It's crazy. All those amazing basses I want but can't have/don't need.

Let's not even talk about their guitar section.

L&M in Saint john has a dismal selection, so bad that ive suggested they stop calling it a slection and use the term "after thought". The rest of the maritimes is not much better. When i wanted an MXR M85 Bass distortion
and an MXR Bass compressor not only did my local store have no Bass specific pedals at all. The neither pedal existed at all in any store in the Maritimes.

There was a family owned Music store in Thunder Bay that blew all the maritime L&M stores away and its Freaking Thunder Bay

 

[Bajo Clarkko]

Back in the day, meaning the early to mid 80's, the San Diego Guitar Center stocked Fender, Ibanez, Gibson, and Charvel on the low to mid end, to American Jackson, Alembic and even Pedulla on the high end. they had pretty much everything that was available at the time.

I was there the other day. They still manage to have a decent selection. American and import Fenders, Squier models, EBMM and Sterling, Ibanez, Yamaha, Epi.
On Nov 27, a Sam Ash store will be opening 10 minutes from the local GC, so we'll have to see how that plays out.
I suggested they could probably ratchet down the the number of wankers by making the amps coin operated. One of them brought up that point at a sales meeting, and almost got fired. Lol!

 

[KohanMike]

In late August, after a gig where my Phil Jones Double Four just wouldn't cut it, I made a bee-line to the W.L.A. Guitar Center to look for as powerful and light a bass rig as I could find, but they had nothing that would work for me, and the sales guy was not very helpful. I go to that store fairly often and it's so obvious that their eliminating product all over the place. Where you used to have to traverse an obstacle course in the walkways, now they're completely unobstructed (I actually like that a lot).

I then made my way to the Hollywood Sam Ash, didn't even bother with the Hollywood GC. Sam Ash is packed with equipment and the sales guy was very helpful. I was so anxious to get a rig that, I ended up settling for GK 5000 and a used Fender 112 box. At least they had something. (I actually ended up returning it because 1stnamebassist turned me onto the Carvin MB15 and 115MBE, which is the perfect choice for me.)

A couple weeks ago I did go into the Sherman Oaks GC store and it's as sparse as the WLA. It would not surprise one little bit if a good many of their stores close. Consolidating might be a good thing for them.

 

[SanDiegoHarry]

Freedom really was a great shop. There were several good ones back then. The good old days...

I used to work / teach at Guitar Trader back in the '80s - it closed a few months ago. Very few non-GC shops left down here. The Repair Zone is still here - I'm having Freddy do some work for me tomorrow.

 

[Bajo Clarkko]

I used to work / teach at Guitar Trader back in the '80s - it closed a few months ago. Very few non-GC shops left down here. The Repair Zone is still here - I'm having Freddy do some work for me tomorrow.

I really miss the Guitar Trader. Lauren hooked me up with a lot of great deals there over the years. Those were a really good bunch of guys. They are sorely missed.

 

[AltecGreen]

A couple weeks ago I did go into the Sherman Oaks GC store and it's as sparse as the WLA. It would not surprise one little bit if a good many of their stores close. Consolidating might be a good thing for them.

It seems GC is actually expanding rather than contracting. The number of stores is increasing. There were 210 stores in 200 and the number stands at over 260. It seems their strategy is to add recording studios and lesson rooms to the stores and add more rentals. Several of our local stores has space dedicated for lessons. They might be trimming space on things that don't sell in volumes (i.e. basses) and adding other means to generate income.

 

[Yaralag]

It's probably because online stores are killing them. I remember when going to the guitar store was fun and what they carried was all you knew existed. Now there are so many choices you can just order whatever you want and send it back no charge if you don't like it. What physical store can even compete with that?

 

[NortyFiner]

My local GC used to have one entire wall of nothing but Squiers and Fenders; now it seems to have more and more used guitar gear encroaching on the bass section, and the new bass inventory has grown smaller and much less impressive. Of course, it doesn't help that a fair chunk of the bass inventory hasn't moved in years; lots of Markbass stuff (they badly overestimated how many people want to spend four digits on ugly orange amps), a few expensive EBMM's in hideous colors that no one with working eyes will ever buy, et al. They really need to just clean out the bass section and start over, IMHO...send it all back to GC's warehouse and bring in stuff that people will actually buy.

 

[NortyFiner]

It seems GC is actually expanding rather than contracting. The number of stores is increasing. There were 210 stores in 200 and the number stands at over 260. It seems their strategy is to add recording studios and lesson rooms to the stores and add more rentals. Several of our local stores has space dedicated for lessons. They might be trimming space on things that don't sell in volumes (i.e. basses) and adding other means to generate income.

Agreed. I've noticed these changes in my local GC. They used to have one small room that was nothing but sheet music, tab books, et al. That room is now all boxes of rental gear. They've also expanded in pedals and accessories.

 

[JEBassman]

It's probably because online stores are killing them. I remember when going to the guitar store was fun and what they carried was all you knew existed. Now there are so many choices you can just order whatever you want and send it back no charge if you don't like it. What physical store can even compete with that?

I would think the online availability has to hurt all brick and mortar stores. My local GC has always had an emphasis on starter to intermediate instruments in general. The stock varies. Personally I've always been more impressed with their bass amp selection than their basses. They always have some basses lined up on the floor and hanging low, with more up high and out of reach.

One interesting thought though: Locally there has always been a tradition of thinning their stock in the fall, then bringing in a lot more stock prior to December and then having sales for the holidays, then the new year. The aisles get a lot thinner in late November. It's a pain to walk around then, but fun to see the new inventory. Hopefully that tradition will happen again this year.

 

[russosborne]

Funny timing.
I was just in both the local to me Sam Ash and GC. Local to me being Metrocenter area of Phoenix.

The Sam Ash store had a lot of more expensive basses. At least expensive to me, $1000 range, as well as a fair amount of stuff close to my range. They were easily got to, although I wasn't there to look at basses and I suck at playing so I don't sit there and play. Seemed to also have a fair selection of bass amps, but again I wasn't paying that much attention.
The sales kid who did come up to me had a hard time understanding that I wanted a stool, though.
First time ever for me in a Sam Ash.

Then I went to the GC. Again, not looking for bass stuff other than some books and maybe a stool. Seemed pretty much like the GC I used to go to about 15 years ago in Tempe/Mesa area as far as quantity. Other than how they have the instruments. I am over 6 feet and I would have had to asked for help to try out most of the basses. Again, just based on price they had a fair variety, but I wasn't paying attention to brands or models. Why look at food when you can't afford to eat?
They did have the stools I was looking into, but again mounted up on a wall with the most expensive being probably 10-12 feet off the floor. So I just bought a how to dvd and a little scale book.

I really really prefer local for buying for just about everything. I like to hold it in my hands, and in the case of an instrument or amp, be able to play it before buying. Yes, you can return stuff you buy online, but I'd much rather try it first and not have to deal with that. Yes, I am an old fart.
And being on the poorish side, odds are I would never be in the market for much more than an entry to mid level type bass, so the lack of the high end stuff doesn't bother me.

Russ

 

[NortyFiner]

The only big store in my area is GC; the nearest Sam Ash is two hours away in Richmond. Almost all the local stores here are either student or "school band" stores with basic gear, or specialized in classical instruments like pianos. There are no bass-centric stores within a reasonable day-trip drive that I know about.

Alpha Music is the exception to a lot of rules. It is a large local store that competes head on with GC; they're literally on the same road, just a few blocks from each other. Alpha has the best pedal inventory in the area, among other things.

Russell's Music is primarily a student store, but it also has an odd lot of interesting used and older gear; the owner is a drummer who I don't think knows what all he's got. Last I was there, the stock included a pretty green Lakland J, a classic Mutron pedal ($600!) and an Epiphone ET-288N bass which would make a neat collector's item, among other things.

 

[dabbler]

I haven't been in my local GCs in a while but I don't attribute their changes to the economy but rather:

1. Fewer young people learning to play

2. More players buying online.

Actually, I do most of my buying online and that's not likely to change fur a number of reasons, but I AM concerned about number one above. We, musicians both pro and amateur, need to support/promote music in the schools and introducing young people to playing, IMO.

I'm not saying I have a thought out plan, nor am I placing blame or anything like that, only sharing my opinion that for a number of reasons (video games, reduced music programs in the public schools etc.) relatively fewer people are taking up instruments than in times past. Making it less profitable for bricks and mortar music stores in general.

 

[lbbc]

There isn't a GC very close to me (closest is about 2 hours north), but I have stopped by the one at Montage PA a few times in the past 3 years while on vacation. 3 years ago they carried Music Man Classics, MIA Fenders and a wide selection of Bass Amps (Ampeg, Acoustic, Aguilar, Fender, MarkBass, GK). On my last visit I noticed most basses were in the $600 price range and fewer amp selections (I was hoping to buy an Aguilar). I guess they are going for the beginner/hobbyist.....just a guess