Too bad you're on the other coast.
One of the good things about my local GC is that it has always had a small section dedicated to lefty guitars and basses. They don't have a whole lot of course, but at least they have something.
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Went into Guitar Center, Wow
- Thread starter stuntbass77
- Start date
Too bad you're on the other coast.
One of the good things about my local GC is that it has always had a small section dedicated to lefty guitars and basses. They don't have a whole lot of course, but at least they have something.
I've lived in NJ since I was 3 (I'm 45 now) and I've been playing bass since I was 12. I JUST discovered this place a couple weeks ago. We wheeled and dealed on a trade for a couple things in the store. It was like a little (dusty) piece of heaven. An adventure of "wait ... You have that?" Pretty awesome. The owner was such a great guy. Sadly, when he is gone, he seems to be the last of a dying breed of guitar stores.
My favorite local shop just closed their doors. It's hard to make a business case for being a mom and pop music store with decent stock (or even a guitar center for that matter) unless you are in a place that can stock and sell good gear. Sam Ash in 34th in NYC is the only place to find "good" fenders in the flesh.
Not one MIM, MIJ, or MIA fenders or any other brand! I didn't go in for a bass but felt I should check out their stock. I the VM jazz basses look very well made but all were very heavy, not that it matters in terms of time. I must saying the neck joints were outstanding and very tight.Times must be really tough that they had no fenders,music man, Warwick Rock bass, Or higher-priced Ibanez.I remember a time when it was the opposite.A lot of the lower priced basses nowadays are made much better than they used to be and that's a good thing but still no real options.for people who don't live near big city may have to go to my mom and pop Store and those stores cannot always afford to carry much stock. Sorry for any errors, dictated but not read
I commented on this a while back in another thread and your comments basically mirror what I found at my local GC.
There was a time when they were awash with nothing but Fender basses and now all they have are mostly all middle-priced Ibanez products along with the other usual "suspects" that you would find in any music store, but Fender definitely doesn't dominate anymore.
One of the salesman that I know pretty well told me it was mainly due to the buying trends of a lot of young beginners coming in asking for Ibanez and other brands with less & less demand for Fenders..........
I am very fortunate to live near a GC and Sam Ash. The GC in Winter Park FL has a nice selection of Fenders along with several other brands. Sam Ash also has a nice selection of basses. 
I got to GC for used stuff, mostly. Basses and guitars sit on the walls, and rarely get sold. Neither do amps. My GC has remodeled, though, with the rentals and lessons taking a lot of space now. GC is handy to have around for a quick place when I need something, but it's not often I go in to browse new stuff. Typically I check used stock online and might check something out if I'm interested. Of course, GC is my only local guitar store that stocks much of anything. There are a few other local stores, but most stock school type instruments or very low level bass and guitars, no pedals, no decent amps, nothing. 1 local store has a good pedal selection, but they still don't carry the stuff I'm interested in. I pretty much always go used. For that, GC's used inventory is great online!
The only basses my local GC ever has is Fenders and 5 string Ibby's. I can't really whine though because I live a stone's throw away from Sweetwater.
Sweetwater is definitely a player in the sales business now but really when it comes down to it, they only offer the same services that GC or Amazon do but they do it with a bit more knowledge (sometimes). They probably have a wider selection to browse online but no used stuff as far as I know.
Guitar Center is a crap store that has ruined the local music store scene. For as big as they are, they carry a vary limited amount of gear by brand, it's kind of a slap in the face to musicians. I went in and they had a awful selection of basses locally. They used to carry Warwicks, now they just had Sub and Ibanez and a few of the low end music mans. Guitar selection isn't much better unless you only like Les Pauls. No Prestige Ibanez or anything over $300 from Ibanez. All the employees there are semi knowledgeable at least, but look like they all play in a rockabilly band lol.
We used to have a guitar store in St Louis called St Charles Guitar Exchange, that place slayed, they sold JEM's and had mulitple nice Ibanez stuff, Charvel etc etc.
We used to have a guitar store in St Louis called St Charles Guitar Exchange, that place slayed, they sold JEM's and had mulitple nice Ibanez stuff, Charvel etc etc.
A lot of people don't like Guitar Center but they've come through for me.
$379.99 and $599.99...both brand new!
That's awesome. I walked in there two weeks ago wanting to buy new svt 3 pro and 610hlf. They had neither in stock. They said that no store in the se Texas region had a 3 pro. They offered to order me one. Lol, I can order one myself. That's $2k they lost out on.
Used to?!?! That place was killer -- I bought a metric tonne of gear there when I lived nearby...back in the mid 90s...
Anyhow, I was just at Guitar Center yesterday (returning an internet purchase) and it was really empty -- bass amps, in particular, were an empty shell; small combo amps, and the ONLY large amps they had were GC-exclusive brands like MarkBass and Acoustic.
No Ampeg, no GK, and Mesa has been gone for a couple years.
On the bright side, the guy who processed my return was quick, polite, and helpful.
Millbury, MA location is a dire, dismal joke.
I only go in there if I'm in the area and need a pack of strings, as they always have Slinky 5string sets...which really isn't out of the ordinary, but hey, damned with faint praise.
I only go in there if I'm in the area and need a pack of strings, as they always have Slinky 5string sets...which really isn't out of the ordinary, but hey, damned with faint praise.
Unless they're "losing" to Musicians Friend or Music 123, since they are essentially the same company and 90% of their merchandise ships from the same warehouse.
My local GC has a pretty poor selection. A lot of really low level instruments and Acoustic/Markbass amps but little of anything else. If it had more Id be in there more often. Also, I don't think I've ever been to a music store that actually has strings I've wanted. Maybe I'm just to specific idk.
Yeah it went out of business at least 10 years ago.
Bass Northwest went out of Business this September.
Times are changing
i would think that one of ares's bigger mistakes is to build more guitar centers. there are lots where i am, yet they added a new one not long ago. it costs money to start and stock a store, and i'm within an hour and a half of 7 stores that we go to plus it looks like several MORE we haven't been to in the OC and brea (is brea part of OC?). i know los angeles is pretty packed with people, but it seems like they're cannibalizing their own sales to have so many stores in the same area. they used to put other stores out of business - the valley couldn't support west l.a. music, the carvin store and sherman oaks GC, but why would similar areas have enough buyers to support multiple GCs?
are you seeing people take lessons at the stores that offer them?
btw, when i recently went to the hollywood store, all the used non-vintage gear was gone!
are you seeing people take lessons at the stores that offer them?
btw, when i recently went to the hollywood store, all the used non-vintage gear was gone!
My friend bought quite a few guitars from Jay and the nice thing was, he wouldn't hurry you on layaway purchases...he'd always give you a few extra weeks to finish paying your bill.
I bought a walnut Epiphone Les Paul bass from him years and years ago...wish I still had it!
Jay's a businessman, of course, but he really likes what he's doing.
