Guitar Center...

Here in western CT, I like the East Coast Music Mall. They have a pretty wide selection, from MIMs to PRS, and a solid crew of guitar techs. Some people don't like them for reasons unclear, but I've always had good luck there.

They also do online and overseas sales.

It's The Music Shop in Bitterne ( website).

I've been to that website a number of times but haven't been into the shop yet. Don't know why cos it's almost on my way into Southampton. I'll definately give it a look next time I'm going into town.

Cheers form reminding me about it.

8)

I started out at Guitar Center because a) I've been away from playing music and buying gear for about 20 years, and b) I'm from a different state and didn't have a "local favorite" shop. I loved it at first. The selection was amazing and I couldn't believe some of the newfangled things that had come out! I was mesmerized by all of that stuff being in one store. So I hooked up with the first salesman who approached me in guitars, and the first one in drums. I found out quickly that the drum guy was knowledgable and fair with prices and opinions. I can't say the same for the guitar guy. Not only is he not aware of many of the details of what he sells; he doesn't care to find out. And he's given me plenty of false info due to his laziness. But when it comes time to make the $$$ he's right there (unless he's waiting on someone with a bigger sale). So, here's what I now do...

If my local shop (I've found 2 great ones who will match or beat GC's prices) doesn't have what I'm looking for, I check out GC and try out, say, a particular guitar. If I decide I want to buy it, I order from my local store. That simple. My latest acquisition was a Strat Deluxe Ash in wild cherry sunburst which just happened to be at a music dealer (who has at least 5 stores in Michigan) where my husband and I were out of town on business. I bought it there for less than I'd have paid at GC. I ended up exchanging it at a closer store for the same one with a rosewood fretboard and the guy even set it up for me free of charge! He made absolutely nothing on the deal (other than the tip I gave him for being so thoughtful and good at his job). That has never happened to me at GC. I've gotten some pretty good deals after haggling a lot, but never have they done a free set-up which is criminal, I think. And as big as the place is, they don't even have a regular guitar tech onsite other than on Sunday, and he doesn't officially work for GC. He gets paid in cash only and charges $45.

So, sorry for the rant, but I appreciate GC's selection and that's about it. Even their prices (especially if you count the $40 or so for set-up) can be matched or beat by my local shop, who can and will order for me. And they include set-up. And they actually care to know what they're selling!

If you're in the Detroit area, I recommend Gus Zoppi Music Center (no website). If you're in Michigan, try Marshall Music Co.

:twisted:

Well since we're plugging our local shops, I'll give a shout for Melodee Music in Sterling, VA, and Classic Axe which was in Manassas but just moved to Gainesville, VA.

I got my Seagull Folk at Classic Axe; lightly scratched up floor model with a nice hard case for about the same as I could get one on ebay. They have a cool selection of G&L and Rickenbackers, too.

And the Breedlove AC25 I just bought from Melodee was about 15% less than it's going for at Guitar Center or any online shop. Melodee had Breedlove long before GC did.

In my area, there are three Guitar Centers, and probably four top-level music stores. Of late, I've been buying a lot of gear, building up a PA for my new sound company. Here's what I've found ....

The supposed "top dawg" in the area, Washington Music Center, has become a hangout for elitist snobs, and, for the most part, the sales staff hasn't got the time of day for you. The senior, knowledgeable people (for instance, Bill Brooks in guitars), passes you off to some junior sales plebe after he figures you're not buying that new Godin ACS-SA, or the new Taylor T5, or some other esoteric instrument.

Appalachian Bluegrass, one of the nations "leading" acoustic shops, is staffed by gruff-mannered bikers. I haven't figured that one out yet.

House of Musical Traditions is a lovely place to buy acoustic things. Nice people, knowledgeable, but very pricey.

Bill's Music House has gone to hell in a hand-basket. Sorry, Bill, I love you, and I even like Brian and many of the folks there. But, they just never seem to have what I need any more.

Moving on to the Guitar Centers. There's one north of Baltimore, and it's a trash-bin. The place is always a mess, and the sales people there are less than useless. I just say no to this place.

Then, there's one down near DC, in Rockville. There are some really knowledgeable folks working there, and they are very well stocked with stuff at excellent prices. I've never been led astray there. It's just not terribly convenient to me.

Finally, there's the Guitar Center in Glen Burnie, which is south of Baltimore. There's a lot of young guns in there, but these guys seem to have gained a lot of good knowledge somewhere, and the customer service is simply amazing. Frankly, it's become my go-to store when I need something in a hurry. They usually have it, or can get it for me in a day or two.

So, as much as I'd like to support the locals, that Guitar Center store makes it real hard to justify the extra expense and time. And, it seems that they're attracting good people to work there, by motivating them with competitive pay and benefits. If you were a musical sales guy (or gal) who knew your stuff, and you had the choice of working for a large company with good pay and benefits, and a good stock of the latest gear -- or working for Billy-Bob's Guitar Shack with a bunch of off-brand stuff, bad pay and no bennies, which would you choose?
Hey everyone. I have been noticing lately that a LOT of you shop at Guitar Center. I just felt the need to throw out an obligatory "support your local music store" message. Sure, Guitar Center does have some great deals, but before you know it your local music shop thats filled with extremely knowledgeable _musicians_ who have been doing what they do for a looong time are gone. Then you see the prices at GC start to climb a little bit.

I cant blame you if there isn't a local shop within a reasonable distance, but if there is, at least stop in and see if they can get their prices a bit closer to what GC does.

Does anyone else feel the same way, or is it just me? :)

I just bought from a Guitar Center for the first time ever. My local shop couldn't get what I wanted -- that electric 12-string. So I reluctantly bought at the "Guitars r us" shop. But I really like the guitar!

Otherwise, I say support the local, small business whenever you can.

My local shop is large like GC, but thier stock is still very limited, mostly all fender stuff, and now recently they said they had a problem with gibson, so they quit stocking and won't even order anything for you from gibson or epi.

Scott

The supposed "top dawg" in the area, Washington Music Center, has become a hangout for elitist snobs, and, for the most part, the sales staff hasn't got the time of day for you. The senior, knowledgeable people (for instance, Bill Brooks in guitars), passes you off to some junior sales plebe after he figures you're not buying that new Godin ACS-SA, or the new Taylor T5, or some other esoteric instrument.

...

Then, there's one down near DC, in Rockville. There are some really knowledgeable folks working there, and they are very well stocked with stuff at excellent prices. I've never been led astray there. It's just not terribly convenient to me.

I had a bad shopping experience at Chuck Levin's (aka Washington Music Center.) I won't go back there again. Service was terrible, and the salesman was not knowledgeable in the least.

I agree that the Rockville GC is a good shop, and it's just 10-15 minutes up the road from my office. :)

P.S. Great first post - welcome to GN!

Not even sure if we have music store chains up here. I've yet to see a Guitar Center though. Wish we did because the local stores don't have many brands. If you wanna try a Fender, Gibson, Ibanez and an ESP, that's 3 stores in 2 directions.

Guess I'm lucky here, lots of mom and pops to choose from. This is my favorite http://www.drumcityguitarland.com/ It's like you died and went to heaven walking into this place, and there is a good chance of running into a guitar idol here.

My favorite local shop is huge, but their guitar selection is really limited.

Still, it's fun to go in there and browse the string instruments, the harps and violins and double basses and they have a great brass selection, plus they're sheet music area is as large as some book stores!

But I've found I have to order stuff special from the most of the time. They have their guitar area set up to quick sell to kids with money and no clue.

We have some real guitar stores in our area, including a fantastic vintage shop, but I haven't found anyplace that I just felt at home in yet.

I have to say Tele that does look like a neat shop..kinda of like a big toy store for kids.

Personally I've bought all my gear from GC, mostly because of selection..the mom and pop shops just don't have enough variety to choose from.

I'm not a real haggler by nature but once I know what I want for gear I look for where I can get it the cheapest. I'm usually an impatient person so mail order doesn't work for me so I usually end up at GC.

I ask you - do you shop at Walmart, Home Depot, Lowes, Office Max, Staples, Sam's Club, etc. etc. etc.? All of these stores are also putting local stores out of business. Personally, I don't find Guitar Center to be "evil." I also don't find all of those other stores to be evil or bad either. The reality is, that they have succeeded using the same model, namely to lower prices by buying in large quantities and offering a larger selection for their customers. The unfortunate result is that smaller stores can't compete. But, that is the way our economy works - the best competitors survive and make $$$ for their shareholders, those that can't compete go out of business. Sure, customer service is not as good as in a small shop, but consumers everywhere have voted with their money, that low prices are more important than personalized service. The big box stores are just giving the customers what they want. If customers REALLY wanted great customer service, and were willing to pay more to get it, you better believe that the big stores would deliver it! People always say that, once they put the locals out of business, prices will go up - NOT true! If prices go up, another big box store will come in and lower prices and take market share.

So you are right, it can be frustrating to visit a GC on a Saturday afternoon and witness all of the crowds, noise, lack of customer service, etc. But, then look at the price tags - much lower than years ago when you went to a local music shop. I'll take the headaches at GC, if I can save $100 on a new guitar!

We don't have any of your large chain stores here in Norway. But then there are lots of the "old" usual stores forming / joining a chain in order to increase turnover and reduce prices. That is not really a bad thing IMO.

But on the other hand there are some 'hyper markets' too which have absolutely everything including music instruments. I visited this one some time ago - I'm pretty sure you can live an entire life never having to shop anything elsewhere. You can have guitars from SX, Washburn and Ibanez - but I wouldn't really buy a guitar from someone more skilled in detergants or coffee brands -actually I prefer online stores with even lower prices and better customer service then.

Me? i've bought 3 guitars over the past 15 years - all of them second hand :-)

I ask you - do you shop at Walmart, Home Depot, Lowes, Office Max, Staples, Sam's Club, etc. etc. etc.?

No.
All of these stores are also putting local stores out of business.

Yes.
Personally, I don't find Guitar Center to be "evil." I also don't find all of those other stores to be evil or bad either. The reality is, that they have succeeded using the same model, namely to lower prices by buying in large quantities and offering a larger selection for their customers.

Not really.
The unfortunate result is that smaller stores can't compete. But, that is the way our economy works - the best competitors survive and make $$$ for their shareholders, those that can't compete go out of business.

Political reality is that large corporations are legal entities, not natural entities, and are granted competitive advantages by the government against the smaller companies. They aren't the "best competitors," so much as they are the most well funded.

Shareholders, while somewhat important, are not the entirity of an economy. Making money by destroying communities is not our economic ideal. Nor, frankly, is it necessary as CostCo and similar business show.
Sure, customer service is not as good as in a small shop, but consumers everywhere have voted with their money, that low prices are more important than personalized service. The big box stores are just giving the customers what they want.

That's also debatable. Plenty of people act contrary to their desires when given sufficient rewards for negative behaviors. Plenty of alcoholics want to be sober but line up for their next drink just the same.
If customers REALLY wanted great customer service, and were willing to pay more to get it, you better believe that the big stores would deliver it!

The lie here is that customer service is a necessary casualty. Again, compare CostCo to Walmart.
People always say that, once they put the locals out of business, prices will go up - NOT true! If prices go up, another big box store will come in and lower prices and take market share.

Yeah, actual market studies are far less reliable than assertions.
So you are right, it can be frustrating to visit a GC on a Saturday afternoon and witness all of the crowds, noise, lack of customer service, etc. But, then look at the price tags - much lower than years ago when you went to a local music shop. I'll take the headaches at GC, if I can save $100 on a new guitar!

I've never paid more at a local store than I would have at a GC.

Moreover, the selection isn't that great at GC. Ignoring color variations, count up how many actual different models are on display. It's not particularly impressive.