Bland, bland bland!! -- a rant about music stores

[Rob Quail]

A couple of days ago I went to check out a music shop in the new neighbourhood; a place called Cosmo Music, it's one of the bigger stores in the Toronto area.

YAWWWWWNNNN!

Wall of fenders here, in the usual colours; 95% of them were strats. (Just how many fucking strats do we need on earth??) Wall of Pacificas and Ibanez there. A dozen Gibsons with "Please ask for assistance" cards tucked in behind the strings. About 10 of those PRS Santana #8 specials, and 5 "real" PRSs just to they could say they had 'em, hung up on the highest rack. A single, brown, dusty DeArmond on a floor stand, with two broken strings. Bla!! Just like a million guitar shops in a million neighbourhoods the world over.

Amps? 2 BJs, a Blues Deluxe, a DeVille; a Princeton with a fourteen year old plugged in playing Randy Rhodes really BADLY. A Peavey Classic 30, a Delta, and 2 Bandits, plus something called a "Rage" that smelled so strongly of silicon transistors it made me a bit queasy. A marshall somthing or other half-stack. A Line 6 thing. Bla!!! I spotted an Ampeg reissue, raced over to it, only to find that it was a bass amp. :(

Pedals? A big array of Boss things and Dan'o things in gawdy colours.

Acoustics? You bet...75% Yamaha, 10% Fender, 15% other assorted brands. Nothing exciting, except a wood-body resonophonic Fender that played so poorly it startled me.

I knew the price of everything before looking at the tags, except the MIM fenders, which continue to creep up.

Went to the counter. Asked for Ernie Ball 10-52's --- you guessed it, all out. "You want a set of D'Addarios in those enviro-packs?" "Not if it would bring world peace!!"

Went to the repair shop, asked about putting an fx loop in my BJ; a guy with a nametag that said "Bob" had a hard time understanding the question; he was sure I said "Blues Deville" but I pointed out that that amp already has an fx loop. "Oh yeah..." Bob, who according to the plaque on the wall is a Gold-Certified Fender Electronics Repair Technician, took my phone number and said he'd call back with a price. He hasn't.

There was nothing NOTHING NOTHING even remotely interesting or characterful in the whole store. I felt like jumping up on the counter and yelling "OOGA BOOGA!!" at the top of my lungs, just for a break from the oppressive blandness.

Ugh!!

- Rob

[deeperquest]

Personally I prefer to go to second hand / used music stores. There is always the dream of finding that special something that someone else has tossed, and nothing beats the rush of getting a great negotiated bargain basement price :)

[Smokey]

Guess they need some Kramers.

[deeperquest]

Originally posted by Smokey
Guess they need some Kramers. .... only in a perfect world :p

[babybatter]

I really like 'the guitar shop' on lakeshore in mississauga.

Small shop: for electrics they do have a lot of strats. :( But they have a dozen prs guitars (most of em ridiculously expensive) a few teles and gibbys...then theyve got:

Some nice hollow bodies by fender and gretch
Godin guitars.
Ernie balls
A couple of danelectros
And a few other nice electrics.
And they do bring in various other brands just to mix things up. :)

They have as many acoustics as electrics, and carry mostly the simon and patrick line (S+P, larrivee, seagul A+L) as well as some taylors, martins, and a few other semi-decent cheapie guitars.

Not too much in the way of amps for some reason. :confused:

[Rob Quail]

Originally posted by babybatter
I really like 'the guitar shop' on lakeshore in mississauga.


My three fave guitar stores in Toronto are:

The Twelfth Fret (http://www.12fret.com/)

Capsule Music (http://168.144.171.147/capsulemusic/capsule.html)

Songbird Music (http://www.songbirdmusic.com/torasp/Index.asp)

All three have a great selection of used guitars and amps, plus 12th Fret has lots of really neat new gear. Ben there, BB?

[babybatter]

'Ben' to songbird, I beleive. They had all the used gear, and all the clones and Heritage guitars, right? Not a shabby shop.

I know 12th fret does all the high end gear. Havent been there.

Dont know a darned thing about capsule.....whats the dirt?

[Rob Quail]

Originally posted by babybatter
'Ben' to songbird, I beleive. They had all the used gear, and all the clones and Heritage guitars, right? Not a shabby shop.

I know 12th fret does all the high end gear. Havent been there.

Dont know a darned thing about capsule.....whats the dirt?

Capsule are about 5 blocks west of Songbird, on Queen Street. They have every vintage gutar and amp you have ever dreamed about. Their guitar selection is great, and their amp selection is usually KILLER, especially smaller vintage tube combos like Gibson, Garnet, and Ampeg, plus the assortment of blonde and BF fenders. As reasonably priced as these things get. Great staff; nice atmosphere. It is like a Turbo-Songbird. Sadly they don't show more than about 20% of their stock on their web site, unlike 12th Fret and Songbird, who are pretty much up to date on the web.

You owe it to yourself to visit 12fth fret as well. Just a great store.

[Doc Wilson]

I've got a nice selection of stores in des moines, excellent in fact. I can usually find an example of anything I'm interested in buying. One guy that carries several boutique acoustics, including the brand that I ended up with.

My favorite is a vintage shop run by an old hippie who can only drag his ass out of bed for half a day 4 days a week. But he's got every amp that fender or vox ever made, strats from every year starting in '59, some rare old beatle era Rics, etc. Enough to make you sick. I bought an absolute mint SF champ from him for $225 this year. Dude will talk your ear off, though.

[Smokey]

Old grizzly dudes with vintage gear are cool !

[TeleCastrMaster]

I believe I might have been tempted to pick up one of those two Bandits, take a few steps back from the Wall o' Fenders, swing it back and forth 3 or 4 times, and then let it fly smack into the middle of all those Strats.

Just for the hell of it.

[ShatteredMindofBob]

Hey Rob, I was in T.O this weekend and got to check out the Songbird there....holy fuck, talk about a killer store!! It fucken' eats the Ottawa one for breakfeast! Really friendly staff, too (..and I thought all Torontonians were assholes...seems there's a small percentage that aren't...) I did go by The 12th Fret, but it was closed, :( which is too bad 'cause that's where I wanted to go most, they're like the only store in Canada that stocks high end replacement pick-ups, ah well, another time I guess....

[Rob Quail]

Originally posted by ShatteredMindofBob
Hey Rob, I was in T.O this weekend and got to check out the Songbird there....holy fuck, talk about a killer store!! It fucken' eats the Ottawa one for breakfeast! Really friendly staff, too (..and I thought all Torontonians were assholes...seems there's a small percentage that aren't...) I did go by The 12th Fret, but it was closed, :( which is too bad 'cause that's where I wanted to go most, they're like the only store in Canada that stocks high end replacement pick-ups, ah well, another time I guess....

Why the hell didn't ta look me up, you Ottawa fuchkead!! ;)

You shoulda gone 5 blocks further west to Capsule. It eats Songbird for lunch... :D

[Rob Quail]

Originally posted by TeleCastrMaster
I believe I might have been tempted to pick up one of those two Bandits, take a few steps back from the Wall o' Fenders, swing it back and forth 3 or 4 times, and then let it fly smack into the middle of all those Strats.

Just for the hell of it.
Har!!

Excellent post.

PS Scott Jones.

[Sjonesmusic]

Originally posted by Rob Quail

Har!!

Excellent post.

PS Scott Jones.

:rolleyes:

This post is SOOOO 2002

:p

[SomeGuyNamedRob]

Originally posted by Rob Quail
A couple of days ago I went to check out a music shop in the new neighbourhood; a place called Cosmo Music, it's one of the bigger stores in the Toronto area.


Mistake #1 - You went to one of the bigger stores.

Mistake #2 - You expected variety at a store that probably depends on high turnover to stay in business.

[gtrdave]

Originally posted by Sjonesmusic


:rolleyes:

This post is SOOOO 2002

:p

HAR!

Excellent post!

:eek:

Oops!?! Sorry...

:(

[ShatteredMindofBob]

Originally posted by Rob Quail


Why the hell didn't ta look me up, you Ottawa fuchkead!! ;)

You shoulda gone 5 blocks further west to Capsule. It eats Songbird for lunch... :D

heh, sorry man, I was visiting a uhh...lady friend...whose a tad on the possesive side....next time I'm down, I'll try to have more time for stuff....and will make sure to check out this Capsule Music place....Heh!! I did, however, glance in the window at Steves and yeah...can sorta see why you're not too fond of it...in that case, the Ottawa location eats it for supper.

[IAmTheStrings]

Doesn't sound that unusual. If you notice, most music stores have their less valuable stock closer to the front and floor. As you work your way back things are more exspensive and are higher up on a wall or behind the counter or behind glass. Fairly logical I think for a retailer if the store is getting robbed, but maybe not if there's a fire.

As to stock makeup, big retailers like Sam Ash and GC tend to have a wide selection of stuff though it's NOT always particularly deep. They may have 25 or 30 Telecasters of varying flavors but very often they won't have the one YOU want.

I actually like smaller/indie stores in this respect because they generally take better care of their stock. They're just as likely as not to have a unique or unusual model instrument when comparted to Ash/GC. Unlike Ash/GC they don't have everyone and their mother in to paw over any and ever guitar they can put their grubby hands on.

[Tonemaster2]

And what the fuck is wrong with a wall of Strats?? I wish that we( i say we Rob, becuz I`m 48 and your not far behind) had this kind of selection, and the reasonable pricng and choice of quality when I was learning and coming up the ranks. All I had to choose from in my price range back then, was Kents and Aria`s with action so high, you`d bleed in 12 bars. A young kid reading your review of Cosmo, would think that its a place to run away from. I wish they had Asat Packs when I was 13! oh,, sorry,, I meant Strat packs, same diff....lol
Music stores today, while highly commercial(after all it is a business), offer a lot more to today`s youth to choose from, and I think thats a good thing, no?? I know you carry a big stick around here, but but ya gotta call it for what it`s worth, and don`t give the new- to- guitar guys the wrong impression. Lighten up, pal. :)

Tonemaster

[jetboy]

by accident, kind of, I found a very nice new store here in denver. I was at the kinman pickup site and was looking for a dealer, surprise one I had never heard of was 5 miles from my house. called them, open 7 days a week and they had kinman pickups installed in 8 different strat/tele's (really g&l's) to try out.

hauled ass over there played 5 different sets and picked out my xmas gift. yeah:D

very nice selection of toys, warrior hand builts, heritages, g&l's and ashdown and couple other brands of amps. rainsong acoustics (the graphite composite ones)

the guy was laid off from some music company, can't remember the name and opened his dream shop 3 weeks ago.

check out www.guitarx.com he even has the seatbelt guitar straps (can't remember who wanted one)

didn't get a chance to play everything tho he offered, definately will go back often.

not as much selection as the best place in town, www.wildwoodguitars.com but a hell of a lot closer. a very nice addition to this town.

telecastrmaster, you defiantely need to check this guy's shop out, you too shovelhead, funky it's a bit far for you but when you're intown stop there.

it's on broadway 5+ blocks south of i-25

[ninja of love]

I have all my guitars, amps, effects, tubes, speakers, strings and picks built to my exacting specs in order to avoid enduring such places.

[skynyrd]

Originally posted by deeperquest
Personally I prefer to go to second hand / used music stores. There is always the dream of finding that special something that someone else has tossed, and nothing beats the rush of getting a great negotiated bargain basement price :)

A little less than a year ago I walked into a used music store looking for a strat. I walked out with a near-mint red Nashville Tele that I absolutely love. $300.

[anteater]

I wouldn't be seen dead in a store that stocks that Fender/Gibson/PRS cack :rolleyes:

[babybatter]

Originally posted by anteater
I wouldn't be seen dead in a store that stocks that Fender/Gibson/PRS cack :rolleyes:

Off to Wal-mart!

[Smokey]

Originally posted by Tonemaster2
And what the fuck is wrong with a wall of Strats?? I wish that we( i say we Rob, becuz I`m 48 and your not far behind) had this kind of selection, and the reasonable pricng and choice of quality when I was learning and coming up the ranks. All I had to choose from in my price range back then, was Kents and Aria`s with action so high, you`d bleed in 12 bars. A young kid reading your review of Cosmo, would think that its a place to run away from. I wish they had Asat Packs when I was 13! oh,, sorry,, I meant Strat packs, same diff....lol
Music stores today, while highly commercial(after all it is a business), offer a lot more to today`s youth to choose from, and I think thats a good thing, no?? I know you carry a big stick around here, but but ya gotta call it for what it`s worth, and don`t give the new- to- guitar guys the wrong impression. Lighten up, pal. :)

Tonemaster

Well he kinda a guitar snob. He only plays purple sparkly G & L's. :D

[Rob Quail]

Originally posted by Tonemaster2
And what the fuck is wrong with a wall of Strats?? I wish that we( i say we Rob, becuz I`m 48 and your not far behind) had this kind of selection, and the reasonable pricng and choice of quality when I was learning and coming up the ranks. All I had to choose from in my price range back then, was Kents and Aria`s with action so high, you`d bleed in 12 bars. A young kid reading your review of Cosmo, would think that its a place to run away from. I wish they had Asat Packs when I was 13! oh,, sorry,, I meant Strat packs, same diff....lol
Music stores today, while highly commercial(after all it is a business), offer a lot more to today`s youth to choose from, and I think thats a good thing, no?? I know you carry a big stick around here, but but ya gotta call it for what it`s worth, and don`t give the new- to- guitar guys the wrong impression. Lighten up, pal. :)

Tonemaster

I'm tired of the narrow selection at these places. There are lots of interesting guitars out there, but they are hard to find unless you go to the independents or used stores.

BTW, I'm 38. I just LOOK like an old fart like you. LOL

[Tonemaster2]

....geeze, I thought you were older, becuz you know so much!!!:D

T.

[SKEAMO]

i was thinking of you this past weekend, Rob (in a manly way, of course). i found a little mom & pop place i'd never been to before, called hoosier dad's (it use to be hoosier daddy's but someone saw racial overtones in that name so it was changed). i found a used G&L tele so old the white was turning yellow with many dings and scratches. it played very nice but had some serious fret wear. price? 699.00 U.S.
was this G&L overpriced or do they really hold their value that well?

[SuperMcFly]

At least you've got quality. The only music store within 30 miles of my house has one Gibson LP Studio. The rest are Epiphones and Washburns. Bleh.

[Rob Quail]

Originally posted by SKEAMO
i was thinking of you this past weekend, Rob (in a manly way, of course). i found a little mom & pop place i'd never been to before, called hoosier dad's (it use to be hoosier daddy's but someone saw racial overtones in that name so it was changed). i found a used G&L tele so old the white was turning yellow with many dings and scratches. it played very nice but had some serious fret wear. price? 699.00 U.S.
was this G&L overpriced or do they really hold their value that well?

Hmmmm. I'm not really a collector, but it seems to me that Leo-era G&Ls, with HIS sig in the neck pocket, should be worth more. But that does sound a bit steep, given that you can find 'em up here in Caaa-naaaaa-daaaaa in A1 shape for about $900 CDN which is about $600 US.

If you can call and get the serial no from them, I can see if I can date it...

Love the store name!!! LOL!!!

[Rob Quail]

Originally posted by SKEAMO
i was thinking of you this past weekend, Rob (in a manly way, of course). i found a little mom & pop place i'd never been to before, called hoosier dad's (it use to be hoosier daddy's but someone saw racial overtones in that name so it was changed). i found a used G&L tele so old the white was turning yellow with many dings and scratches. it played very nice but had some serious fret wear. price? 699.00 U.S.
was this G&L overpriced or do they really hold their value that well?

Never mind...I checked their web site. That's a 1986. First production year. I thot they were still called "Broadcasters" back then. Might be worth a bit as a collector's item.

But whoooaaaahhh!! They have an F100, like this one:
http://www.guitarsbyleo.com/PICS/F100/BTLMN801.JPG

I've been looking for one of these for ages. Too bad I blew the bank this xmas, or i'd be ordering it. I have never played one, but some G&L fanatics call this the ultimate G&L. Did you check it out?? How did it play??

How about their SC3? And their 1982 S500??

That store is like used G&L heaven: they have about 10 used guitars and 6 of 'em are G&L!!! And I love their choices in new guitars to carry!!!

[SKEAMO]

i didn't check models or numbers but i'm not real familiar with the G&L's. the guy told me there were two in the playing room along with a fender tele. the room was about the size of a small bathroom but it was just me, my wife, a cyber twin and those guitars. it was what trying out guitars should be: show me the good stuff, give me an amp in a private room & leave me alone. i just got started with the G&L when a bass player started up in the next room and he wasn't bashful. he was playing metal and i was doing blues riffs and never the twain shall meet. we left to check out another store.
when i get back there, i'll check models & numbers. he told me they have 300 guitars in the store (there must be a warehouse in the back. i counted about 18).
i bought an american tele at another store and have until sunday to decide if i want to keep it. decisions!

btw....your box is full, Rob.

[Luc The Tinkerer]

Went to Cosmo Music only once back in 1990 ... never more since, a pure waste of time. Song Bird ... they're ok on some stuff, way overpriced on other, and some of the staff seriously lacks in Customer Care skills, while others are a pure pleasure to deal with.

Steve's great prices, big improvement in Customer Service over the years, busy, busy place; don't go there if you're in a hurry.

Long and McQuade has a tendency to be a tad pricier than the other stores, but I find their customer service the very best in Toronto. They were the only ones to give me a break with a in store line of credit after I was discharged from bankruptcy back in 1997 and treated me with dignity and respect when nobody else would loan me a dime. Obviously, that made me a major L&M mark! :D

[babybatter]

Bleah! L&M is the store that made me start looking elsewhere!

[Luc The Tinkerer]

Personally, I feel they treat me with respect and I have a good consumer/store rapport with them. I used to find them a tad snooty the first few times I went there, but for the past 6 years I have no complaints at all.

I've dealt with too many morons at Song Bird to even take them seriously, and while the customer service at Steve's has improved tenfold since the late 80's, they still have too many "green" sales people for my own taste, and the screw up from last year (I'd finished paying off an Epiphone Sheritan II yet 2 monthly payments had been taken from my bank account after the fact) doesn't exactly fill me with the highest sense of confidence that they know what they're doing ... agreed, after discussing the issue with a manager the payments were refunded and all was well, but that's the type of screw-up I haven't experienced with L&M.

You may not like them, and that's fair enough, but they have been consistently great to me for 6 years straight.

[funky]

Brother Rob,

It's simple really. Large music stores could care less about selling to musicians. You see, musicians are poor, and they always want a deal. They are a pain in the ass if you're managing a music store.

Their target is the hobbiest. Hobbiests have a day job. They have money. They are not a big pain in the ass when it comes to the price. You can actually turn a profit. :D

Why do I believe this. I managed a mid-size full line music store for many years. We had all the stuff you described. You know where I made my money? Well, it was not from musicians. And it was certainly not from guitarists. It was from those who wished to be musicians. Remember, what you see as bla, hobbiests see as cool.

It's marketing man. And you ain't the target audience.

The music stores I like best are the ones run by folks who do it because they love it, not just some used car salesman crap. Also, you'll rarely find knowledgable salespeople at large music stores. The employee turnover is usually rather high because they don't want to pay comission anymore. It's kinda like a fast food restaurant now.

The sad final truth is this. Large chains and ebay are killing the small music store. Three great "small" shops went out of business in my area in the last year. They were the kind of place that you would have liked.

And what do you have against D'Addario? I've used them forever. Rarely break a string and always have consistant tone. Must be a Tele thing ;)

Sorry to rant back at you man, but I understand both sides of the issue.

[gtrjones]

Okay, if you have 3 great guitar stores in town, why are you crying about one full of low-end stuff... you know what that low-end store does? It keeps the 14 year old limp creed manson wannabes out of your favorite decent guitar store... you can't have it all and then some more, just get over it and quit whining...

low-end stores serve a valuable purpose... a place to get good deals on strings, cables, straps, etc. and a place for the little wankers to hang out so they don't annoy you...

[cygnusx1]

agreed. that's why i don't go to those places anymore. i like songbird and capsule better because they have nice, old second- hand guitars, amps, etc. i also like the support from the tech. department, especially the likes of tim dudley (songbird). he will look at optimizing your equipment for the best tone. he has performed absolute magic on some of my older tube rectified amps.

gonna check out grossman's any time soon? was there on the 18th of december. really dig macdonald's tone.

[burningred]

Originally posted by Rob Quail
A couple of days ago I went to check out a music shop in the new neighbourhood; a place called Cosmo Music, it's one of the bigger stores in the Toronto area.

YAWWWWWNNNN!

Wall of fenders here, in the usual colours; 95% of them were strats. (Just how many fucking strats do we need on earth??) Wall of Pacificas and Ibanez there. A dozen Gibsons with "Please ask for assistance" cards tucked in behind the strings. About 10 of those PRS Santana #8 specials, and 5 "real" PRSs just to they could say they had 'em, hung up on the highest rack. A single, brown, dusty DeArmond on a floor stand, with two broken strings. Bla!! Just like a million guitar shops in a million neighbourhoods the world over.

Amps? 2 BJs, a Blues Deluxe, a DeVille; a Princeton with a fourteen year old plugged in playing Randy Rhodes really BADLY. A Peavey Classic 30, a Delta, and 2 Bandits, plus something called a "Rage" that smelled so strongly of silicon transistors it made me a bit queasy. A marshall somthing or other half-stack. A Line 6 thing. Bla!!! I spotted an Ampeg reissue, raced over to it, only to find that it was a bass amp. :(

Pedals? A big array of Boss things and Dan'o things in gawdy colours.

Acoustics? You bet...75% Yamaha, 10% Fender, 15% other assorted brands. Nothing exciting, except a wood-body resonophonic Fender that played so poorly it startled me.

I knew the price of everything before looking at the tags, except the MIM fenders, which continue to creep up.

Went to the counter. Asked for Ernie Ball 10-52's --- you guessed it, all out. "You want a set of D'Addarios in those enviro-packs?" "Not if it would bring world peace!!"

Went to the repair shop, asked about putting an fx loop in my BJ; a guy with a nametag that said "Bob" had a hard time understanding the question; he was sure I said "Blues Deville" but I pointed out that that amp already has an fx loop. "Oh yeah..." Bob, who according to the plaque on the wall is a Gold-Certified Fender Electronics Repair Technician, took my phone number and said he'd call back with a price. He hasn't.

There was nothing NOTHING NOTHING even remotely interesting or characterful in the whole store. I felt like jumping up on the counter and yelling "OOGA BOOGA!!" at the top of my lungs, just for a break from the oppressive blandness.

Ugh!!

- Rob

I know the feeling.
There's a shop like that near me. It sells mostly Strats, a couple of Tele's, a few well over priced Gibson LP's, one SG, 5 Ibanez, and About half the amount of Strats in Epiphones. Piss poor. Mind you, that's a more commercial store. When I buy a guitar, I like to take the hours drive down to my favourite store.

[Rob Quail]

Originally posted by Luc The Tinkerer
Personally, I feel they treat me with respect and I have a good consumer/store rapport with them. I used to find them a tad snooty the first few times I went there, but for the past 6 years I have no complaints at all.

I've dealt with too many morons at Song Bird to even take them seriously, and while the customer service at Steve's has improved tenfold since the late 80's, they still have too many "green" sales people for my own taste, and the screw up from last year .

I havent been to the main L&M for years. The one on Steeles has such bad staff there it is a joke. Clueless. But I know some people who work at the Bloor store and I respect them. Luc, you also have clearly built up a great relationship with them over the years and that is as good as gold.

I have bought 3 guitars from Songbird and have dealt with their service staff as well, and they have always been top-notch. There is one guy behind the counter there who seems to know absolutely everything about every guitar that moves thru the place; pups, history, size of production runs, etc etc. As for their service staff I brought my S500 in there to have a buzz corrected on one fret, and the guy spent the whole day on my axe (which was all covered by their in-store warranty) doing the nicest fret dressing and set up I have ever seen. Free.

Steves has the worst staff and the worst prices in the GTA.

[Rob Quail]

Originally posted by funky
Brother Rob,

It's simple really. Large music stores could care less about selling to musicians. You see, musicians are poor, and they always want a deal. They are a pain in the ass if you're managing a music store.

And what do you have against D'Addario? I've used them forever. Rarely break a string and always have consistant tone. Must be a Tele thing ;)

Sorry to rant back at you man, but I understand both sides of the issue.

yeah, I understand the economics. But it still disappoints me. We all suffer, because the smaller guitar makers have trouble selling their stuff...

I got nothing against the strings. But I hate the damn packaging -- the so-called "enviro-paks" with all the strings in one plastic bag. Yecch!! (finicky bastard ain't I??)

[SomeGuyNamedRob]

Originally posted by Rob Quail
(finicky bastard ain't I??)

The first step to recovery is to admit that you have a problem.

[Jack E Martling]

Originally posted by SomeGuyNamedRob


The first step to recovery is to admit that you have a problem.

Rob, since you live in the Chi, have you ever gone to Midwest Buy and Sell?

[SomeGuyNamedRob]

Originally posted by Jack E Martling


Rob, since you live in the Chi, have you ever gone to Midwest Buy and Sell?

Nope. So far I've just stuck to the three in my area : Guitar Works Ltd, Flynn Guitars, and The Sound Post. IMO, those three are pretty good stores - they each carry a nice array of stuff at all budget levels, and have staff that help you without riding piggy back (ok, Sound Post is a bit more in your face than the other two).

Robochimp has been telling me good things about Maknn Music downtown, but I still haven't checked it out.

[Jack E Martling]

Originally posted by SomeGuyNamedRob

Robochimp has been telling me good things about Maknn Music downtown, but I still haven't checked it out.

Makn Music is all totally high end gear. If you are into funky vintage Fender/Silvertone/Marshall/Vox/Orange/Hiwatt amps and vintage Fender/Gibson/Rickenbacker/Kay etc guitars you should go. It's an old pawnshop located on Irving Park just west of Austin.

[SomeGuyNamedRob]

I'm not really a "vintage" kind of guy. But maybe I'll have a look before making my way back to the great white north.

[Matisse]

I wish there was a nice big music store nearby.

[fischman]

Originally posted by Matisse
I wish there was a nice big music store nearby.

Matisse, you must've been really bored to search through and find this relic of a thread.

;)

[Matisse]

Originally posted by fischman


Matisse, you must've been really bored to search through and find this relic of a thread.

;)

Yes.

You are right.

:(

[Andrewrg]

If ever you get to the UK,specifically Devon and more specifically,Exeter visit Mansons on Fore Street.Great staff,nice selection of all sorts of stuff and Hugh Manson is a well respected luthier-builds stuff for Tull,Muse,Zeppelin,Steve Howe etc.His brother Andy is a fine acoustic luthier and taught the guys at Brook guitars who,IMHO,build the best acoustics around.:)

[Matisse]

I like it when music stores carry some used gear.

:)

[dirtyragamuffin]

Gosh Matisse, if you weren't around, who would we trust to dredge up dusty old closed threads :rolleyes:

[Matisse]

Originally posted by dirtyragamuffin
Gosh Matisse, if you weren't around, who would we trust to dredge up dusty old closed threads :rolleyes:

I don't know.

Who would you trust?

Hmmmmm

'cept it's not closed is it?

:)

[dirtyragamuffin]

For all practical purposes, anyway.


And...no one :wave:


I'm going to go out on a limb here and conjecture that you might not be a "current events" sort of person. Do tell?

[Matisse]

Originally posted by dirtyragamuffin
For all practical purposes, anyway.


And...no one :wave:


I'm going to go out on a limb here and conjecture that you might not be a "current events" sort of person. Do tell?

I like events.

New and used.

Lately I have been transcribing letters written in March of 1797 by a United Empire Loyalist.

Yesterday I edited news stories that are being carried today by UPI.



:)

[dirtyragamuffin]

:D

[mikebc]

New Post for 2006!

Came across this thread and thought I'd ask others in Toronto...What the F#*% has happend to Steve's since around Dec 05?

I usually go to 12th fret, Capsule, and Songbird but Steve's is part of my circuit and I used to like going there to test out new models that the other stores are less likely to carry.

Used to be that you could walk into Steves grab a guitar plug in and go.

Now they've hired a staff of snotnosed wankers that will remind you that you should ask an "assist"ant first before you play a guitar. Then they'll stand over your shoulder while you play, tell you that what you are playing is god' gift to music, and will get really pissed if you choose to try more than one guitar out.

What the?!

This was the way that Long and McQuade used to treat their customers...and now Long and McQuade have cleaned up their act while Steve's has really gone to S#!%

Anyone know whether Steve's is under new management?

...yet again another good reason to stick with the stores that obviously cater to musicians.

[Timezarrow]

OOGA BOOGA!!

[Shuborno]

I bought my Strat at Steve's in Toronto.

I actually liked that their "Wall of Strat". I played several of them (MIM and MIA) and when I finally reached MY Strat, I knew it was special (a Highway 1 that played better than the American Strats costing $400+ more).

It was busy, but an employee didn't take too long to come help me. She knew what she was talking about and let me try the guitar in peace (didn't hover over me or pressure me or anything).

EDIT:
I believe this experience was in the summer of '05.

[uv7lng]

Hi, Im new here!:D :D

[Rob Quail]

Hi.

[Iamtheblues]

Howdy! :thu:

[rhythmonly]

Number 8's of the world, unite!

[blackpig]

Originally posted by Doc Wilson
My favorite is a vintage shop run by an old hippie who can only drag his ass out of bed for half a day 4 days a week. But he's got every amp that fender or vox ever made, strats from every year starting in '59, some rare old beatle era Rics, etc. Enough to make you sick. I bought an absolute mint SF champ from him for $225 this year. Dude will talk your ear off, though.

I have never been to the States but I would gladly travel there in the morning for a visit to this guy's shop.

:thu:

[Shakkal]

Damn! This thread is like a freakin' time machine! :eek:

[zendog54]

I haven't been in a music store in YEARS.




I buy everything I need online.




Including a beautiful new Vox AC-30.

:)