Who buys a Rolex to tell time? LOL[/QUOTE]
I do. Mine hasn't need to be wound in over 5 years...matter of fact, last time was when it went in to the Jeweler for maintenance. Rolex Sub Mariner. Wife gave it to me for our Anniversary.....
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What Happened with Big Box Music Stores?
- Thread starter Greg Pruitt
- Start date
Who buys a Rolex to tell time? LOL[/QUOTE]
I do. Mine hasn't need to be wound in over 5 years...matter of fact, last time was when it went in to the Jeweler for maintenance. Rolex Sub Mariner. Wife gave it to me for our Anniversary.....
There's a small store in the city I used to live in that had a small front display area, and all the good gear was in the back and invite in only. I went with a friend once as he was looking for a guitar and looked money in his exxy suit whereas I was in (nice) jean and a hoodie. After going into the rear section I asked if I could try one of the guitars, and as the shop owner looked at my friend for the OK ("Don't assume by the way he dresses he doesn't have money, the only way he wears a suit is a wedding or his own funeral"), I was already peeling off my belt and taking off my wedding ring (I don't wear a watch). This got me a pleased look and I tried a couple of guitars, one of which I really liked, but couldn't justify. I did it simply out of respect for the gear and would do it in any store. My MI store version of the "shopping cart effect".
I do. Mine hasn't need to be wound in over 5 years...matter of fact, last time was when it went in to the Jeweler for maintenance. Rolex Sub Mariner. Wife gave it to me for our Anniversary.....[/QUOTE]
I'll say this. Your wife is a keeper, the rolex meh
Mine was my grandfather's (Oyster Perpetual Datejust) and I wore it all the time. I even used it to tell time, despite being surrounded by clocks at work.
That maintenance bill though... the Datejust stopped justing.
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Interesting thesis.
The issue here is that the instrument market has bifurcated along socioeconomic fault lines... the difficulty for stores is in the aspirational crossover between economic classes, where a musician might aspire to own a Fodera, want to try one, but absolutely cannot afford one on their musician's income.
This is partly the fault of the manufacturers, who sell their instruments as gig-worthy holy grail instruments for elite musicians, but then price them so high that only an orthodontist or lawyer can afford them. This isn't to impugn the legal profession (they do that on their own and don't need my help), but it's a disconnect between what's being advertised and the reality of what's being sold. Even if they manage to get the scratch together, no working musician who plays bars and schleps their own gear is going to take an instrument that cost as much as a car to a gig that pays the band only a few hundred dollars. The risk of damage or theft are too great, versus the paltry reward.
So, bringing this full circle - is the store at fault for not stocking these instruments? Absolutely not. No lawyer is going to buy the musical equivalent of a Bentley that's been dinged up by Joe Schmo Off the Street with a stagnant income and moths in his wallet. And Victor Wooten isn't going to Guitar Centre for his basses either - he'll receive his parcels directly from Fodera. Let's be honest here as well: social mobility hasn't been a thing in the US since Reaganomics. So, the odds that the aspiring Fodera owner will ever actually make the purchase is vanishingly small too, regardless of the false ideal of the "self-made man".
So, why would a store stock instruments that only the economically deluded will ever play, will get beaten to hell, and will never sell, except at a steep discount? Unless there's a strong correlation between people walking through the door to see a Fodera and walking out with a Squire or Fender, there's simply no business case to have it.
The issue here is that the instrument market has bifurcated along socioeconomic fault lines... the difficulty for stores is in the aspirational crossover between economic classes, where a musician might aspire to own a Fodera, want to try one, but absolutely cannot afford one on their musician's income.
This is partly the fault of the manufacturers, who sell their instruments as gig-worthy holy grail instruments for elite musicians, but then price them so high that only an orthodontist or lawyer can afford them. This isn't to impugn the legal profession (they do that on their own and don't need my help), but it's a disconnect between what's being advertised and the reality of what's being sold. Even if they manage to get the scratch together, no working musician who plays bars and schleps their own gear is going to take an instrument that cost as much as a car to a gig that pays the band only a few hundred dollars. The risk of damage or theft are too great, versus the paltry reward.
So, bringing this full circle - is the store at fault for not stocking these instruments? Absolutely not. No lawyer is going to buy the musical equivalent of a Bentley that's been dinged up by Joe Schmo Off the Street with a stagnant income and moths in his wallet. And Victor Wooten isn't going to Guitar Centre for his basses either - he'll receive his parcels directly from Fodera. Let's be honest here as well: social mobility hasn't been a thing in the US since Reaganomics. So, the odds that the aspiring Fodera owner will ever actually make the purchase is vanishingly small too, regardless of the false ideal of the "self-made man".
So, why would a store stock instruments that only the economically deluded will ever play, will get beaten to hell, and will never sell, except at a steep discount? Unless there's a strong correlation between people walking through the door to see a Fodera and walking out with a Squire or Fender, there's simply no business case to have it.
Rolex tastes but Timex pockets.
Not that this is a bad thing though. As with the incredible quality and value that we're seeing from low to mid-market basses these days (they really are super good compared to the crap that we had to learn on in the 1980s), there really isn't that much, other than shape, to distinguish a Fodera from any other Jazz-bass derivative out there.
Ditto watches. A Timex with a regulated Miyota 9039 4hz movement tells time exactly as well as a Rolex, has the same smooth second hand sweep, uses the same grade of stainless steel for the case, looks as good (unless you read time with a loupe), and costs 1/20th the price. And when it needs servicing in 5-10 years, it'll run you dozens of dollars, rather than the $350 it costs to simply open the case on a Rolex.
