musician's friend

[lazaraga]

FAIL

[Toneranger24]

:facepalm:

[swarley]

sad but true :facepalm:

[iamgodsvek]

the only reason i like that site is for pics and relative pricing.

[swarley]

the only reason i like that site is for pics and relative pricing.

and wanking :facepalm:

[dr5euss]

Pics, relative pricing, wanking and reviews?

[Kramerguy]

I've never ordered from them, always heard horror stories. I usually buy local or from sameday music online. Never been disappointed online. Local... well that's another FAIL. (george's music = FAIL)

[olgluefoot]

FAIL

dont they own this site? i like em :)

[Dewysoss]

/thread

[lazaraga]

musician's friend sucks

[MV4824]

musician's friend sucks

I've boughten 2 mixers, a drum kit, and I'm about to buy a decent PA system for about 200$.

If there's a better site, recommend me it. I'm new to these boards.. HC doesn't sell anything, right?

[lazaraga]

you've boughten the shit my barefoot friend

[MV4824]

you've boughten the shit my barefoot friend

Pardon?

[GuitarPlayerFL]

I think they're pretty good. Free shipping over $99 and NO SALES TAX. :thu:

They're OK by me.

[TOOL_5150]

you've boughten the shit my barefoot friend

i think he boughten the farm :cop:

~Matt

[Sonic Jedi]

Musicians friend is okay as long as you know what you want. It's not the best for calling in and asking a salesperson their expert opinion. I know this because I was a salesperson there (I was the exception that proves the rule). There were a lot of fresh out of high school kids with no musical instrument experience working the phones.

If you already know exactly what you want, they are a good inexpensive resource for getting stuff.

But don't apply for the MF Platnum card, and thing twice about that Gold Coverage the sales guy is pushing on you.

[bassred]

I've boughten 2 mixers, a drum kit, and I'm about to buy a decent PA system for about 200$.

If there's a better site, recommend me it. I'm new to these boards.. HC doesn't sell anything, right?
Boughten... the word is bought. for $200 you are not getting a decent PA system, trust me... Craigslist.org .... look in your area, find used stuff that is not the bottom of the barrel.

[springheeljack]

I have ordered a few things from Musician's Friend and was satisfied. I got a Gibson ES-335 and a Fender FM 200 amp and other various and sundry items and everything arrived quickly and in good shape. I can't comment on customer service because I haven't had any issues. Other similar places are Music123 and Sweetwater. While I haven't ordered from Sweetwater yet the customer service seems pretty good. I was having trouble getting a catalogue by ordering one online and from the amount of contact and personal service I recieved you would have thought that I was ordering a $6,000 guitar instead of a free catalogue. Also, the rep and I have swapped a few emails on some items that I am looking for and he seems to be pretty knowledgable. Well, there's my 2 cents.

[BlueHeaven]

I usually buy local or from sameday music online.

I'm have a gut feeling SamedayMusic, MF, SamAsh, Sweatwater, zzound, 123music, etc are all the same exact companies with different names, giving the illussion of online shopping options.

It really makes no sense to order anything off these places if you can get them locally, as you will never get a better deal or lower price online, and only more hassle when you need to return. I've only ever ordered things I new I would never return, like guitar stands, picks, a rack case, maybe a stomp pedal.

[Sonic Jedi]

I have ordered a few things from Musician's Friend and was satisfied. I got a Gibson ES-335 and a Fender FM 200 amp and other various and sundry items and everything arrived quickly and in good shape. I can't comment on customer service because I haven't had any issues. Other similar places are Music123 and Sweetwater. While I haven't ordered from Sweetwater yet the customer service seems pretty good. I was having trouble getting a catalogue by ordering one online and from the amount of contact and personal service I recieved you would have thought that I was ordering a $6,000 guitar instead of a free catalogue. Also, the rep and I have swapped a few emails on some items that I am looking for and he seems to be pretty knowledgable. Well, there's my 2 cents.

I agree that sweetwater customer service is great. They have some reps that are salesmen and not just check out clerks. :thu:

[jenksdrummer]

MF is the online store everyone loves to hate, but buys from anyway.

Tip: They pricematch. Find a lower price, they'll match it. On my past 4 orders, I've saved nearly $1000 doing this.


Knocks:

Orders take too long from clicking to shipping. They hold the order an exta 24hrs compared to what they used to do a few years ago - you ordered in the morning, it shipped that night!

I've had items arrived that were obviously returned as "damaged" items, but sold as new. Not since the move, but before then I ordered some high dollar stuff, returned it, ordered again, and the same stuff arrived back even though I told them that it was damaged/defective.


Pros:

They ship from Kansas, I live in Oklahoma. I usually have things on the 3rd or 4th day after I order.

Pricing isn't bad, but could be better (see above)

Great return policy, great price-matching.

NO tax, No shipping costs...sometimes I've used that to get local vendors to come down on their prices...other vendors say they can't do it, then it's a matter of if I want to leave with it or not and if it's worth that extra money...most of the time, it's not.


I've probably spend over $20K with MF over the past 8 years....overall, I'm 7.5-8 of 10 with them.

[deadagain6591]

Sweetwater is the way i normally go, until recently only because ive been ordering boutique items, they dont stock Bad Cat and Dr Z Amps

[MV4824]

Boughten... the word is bought. for $200 you are not getting a decent PA system, trust me... Craigslist.org .... look in your area, find used stuff that is not the bottom of the barrel.

Boughten is an interesting word...

[lazaraga]

Pardon?

FAIL

[slapjaw]

I've used MF alot of times, and have never had any problem with them.:thu:

[boogins]

FAIL

[Nibbles]

Musicians Friend was OK until they ceased to double box their items. The last item (and I mean LAST) not only shipped in its original box, but it wasn't even taped shut. The box was open and the instruction manual fell out upon delivery. Not acceptable on a $500 item.

I emailed customer service and did not get a response.

Their customer service phone reps seem disinterested/ill-informed and often end the conversation with "Thank you for calling Music 123".

[mstreck]

SDOTD FAIL

(see attached image)

[freetime]

I've boughten 2 mixers, a drum kit, and I'm about to buy a decent PA system for about 200$.

If there's a better site, recommend me it. I'm new to these boards.. HC doesn't sell anything, right?:facepalm:

[TN.Frank]

I've used MF alot of times, and have never had any problem with them.:thu:

Same here. Been using them for years, no problems at all. Stuff gets here quickly and intacted. Even bought a "scratch n' dent" Fender Jazz bass and didn't care for it so I sent it back, no fuss, no muss, no problems. I've got the Plat Card, makes it easy to order online(wife thinks it's TOO easy,LOL) and never had a problem with it either.

[mstreck]

For the SECOND day in a row, their Stupid Deal of the Day price is EXACTLY the same as their regular price.

WTF?

[TN.Frank]

For the SECOND day in a row, their Stupid Deal of the Day price is EXACTLY the same as their regular price.

WTF?

Maybe you need to give em' a call and see what's going on. :wave:

[modulusman]

$200.00 PA system = epic fail.:facepalm:

[dionysusolympus]

they do take a LONG time from packaging to shipping.

geez.

[ChiRocker]

I once ordered a guitar from them. This would've been about 6 or 7 years ago now. It was a Parker P series of some sort. They sent me one, and something just wasn't right. I couldn't get it to tune up properly, so I took it to the local shop and had Dave do a setup on it...

Long story short, the neck was warped. I called MF, told them what the problem was, they said "No problem, we'll send you a shipper" After eliciting a promise that as soon as they received my guitar they would send me a new one, same model, same color, I hung up.

I got the shipper, sent the guitar back to them, and 3 weeks later (I gave them the benefit of the doubt for 3 weeks) I called to see where the hell my new guitar was. They told me "Oh we don't carry that model anymore." I informed them that just a few weeks prior, I had been guaranteed a replacement. They said "Well we don't have one to send you." I then asked why they didn't bother to send me back my money. "Oh we don't do that. We wait for you to call us about the credit balance."

Long story longer, they WOULD NOT send me a refund. I HAD to use the credit balance on goods from them, even though they didn't have the guitar I had bought (wanted) anymore.

Fucking asshats...

I know who I won't buy from anymore...

[yrfuneralmytria]

For the SECOND day in a row, their Stupid Deal of the Day price is EXACTLY the same as their regular price.

WTF?

-Truth in advertising at least. I've used them a lot over the years and never once had a problem. Where I live, it was us using MF's pricing to bring local stores back to planet Earth. Now we have a GC which I do use. It's 2 miles from my house and I'm actually friends with some of the asshats that work there.

[BlueStrat]

For the SECOND day in a row, their Stupid Deal of the Day price is EXACTLY the same as their regular price.

WTF?


That's why it's called 'stupid'. The customer would have to be stupid to think it's a deal...:idea:

[BlueStrat]

I've boughten

Boughten?

a decent PA system for about 200$

AHAHHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!

[Luigi]

I've done plenty of business with MF. Only one mix up, and they straightened it out. They've price matched several items. I also have done much business with sweetwater. Only had one problem , they straightened it out. Either company is OK by me.

[puckdude66]

[QUOTE=BlueHeaven;29971965]I'm have a gut feeling SamedayMusic, MF, SamAsh, Sweatwater, zzound, 123music, etc are all the same exact companies with different names, giving the illussion of online shopping options.QUOTE]


Musicians Friend, Music123 and Musicians.com are all owned by Guitar Center. ZZZounds, SamAsh, and Sweatwater are independant companies. I asked the local GC manager about this a month of so ago. What tipped me off was that the GK goldline series cabs and head. GK didn't list them on their site, and only MF, Music123 and GC listed them. Other sites that had GK stuff, didn't list the goldlines.

[Emerica167852]

i think there decent, ive had a few problems but also a few things that were good.


i blew the el84 in my vj and called them up. and they said k well ship you out some tubes. so they overnighted me 4 Gt el84, like 80 bucks worth of tubes for free. cool !

[Eminence_Front]

Did I just see "boughten" up early in the thread ?


Wow, instead of bitching about MF, why not bitch about the lousy elementary school teach you obviously had.

[Dwellar]

At sweetwater most of the reps have 4 year degrees in the music field. They have to pass extensive test and also train for 8-12weeks before they hit the floor. They are based out of Ft. Wayne, IN so I use them as my local store also. My sales rep is Mike Picotte 800-222-4700 ext 1268. He really knows his shit...but my favorite thing about them is when you leave a message they call you back and when Mike is out of the office it doesn't really matter who I talk to, they all know their shit.

800-222-4700
Ask for:

Mike Picotte ext 1268

Paul Lea and Mark Magdich are good guys too.

Too answer the ownership question...they are private owned...kinda a cool story...started in a Trailer in the 70s and now does 150 million a year in sales. Their studios are unbelievable also...they just moved to a new facility and if you are ever traveling thru the area do yourself a favor and stop by.

[Polk Salad]

The only reason I use MF is because it takes about a day to receive my order from their distribution center. I can get "next day" for the regular price.

No epic "fails" yet.

[lazaraga]

musician's friend sucks

[Zon5string]

SDOTD FAIL

(see attached image)

http://lh4.ggpht.com/markbock/SP-nsF1IJaI/AAAAAAAABZE/mcSCiBdQ2Ic/s800/gk_head.jpg

Shipping fail. 4 lbs? What, do they ship it in a 3 foot by 3 foot box?

[mybelle]

Lol. MF has been going back and forth from being publicly owned, to private again. Right now they are a private company, so hopefully things will change in the future. I agree with a lot of the comments previously. But for what MF really is, it's not that bad. Everyone thinks that the rep for the company can speak for the whole company. --not true in this case. because MF is a dealer, the only thing they have control of is advertising. They have gone through a few shipping companies because no one can handle the massive amount of orders that come in all the time. The one they have now (UPS) is struggling. The warehouse depends on every manufacturer to send them *enough products and *fast.
The manufacturer is like dealing with the IRS and the shipper is the reason why 1/2 of the inventory sent out is either missing or damaged.

(yes, I work at MF. And I actually like my job a lot).

[Nibbles]

I'd be happy if they would just start double boxing their items again.

[tinfish]

here's my m.f. story...ordered a fender gig bag for a washburn ab 20 I got off craigslist (it's yours for the taking, by the way, pm me). got it a couple of days later, it's in this huge box, I know, weird, right? so, I open the box, and the dumbass who was picking orders that day sent me a case of gigbags, instead of just one!!!. So, I kept one (it's actually a pretty nice bag), sold two of them on craig's, and here's the kicker....I sent the last one back and got my money back! so, any of you who feel like they've gotten the treatment from them, here's a virtual high five!!!:poke:

[mmmiddle]

I prefer shopping from zZounds (http://www.zzounds.com/a--1786918). Not paying sales tax is such a nice feeling right now!

[fumetti]

Long story longer, they WOULD NOT send me a refund. I HAD to use the credit balance on goods from them, even though they didn't have the guitar I had bought (wanted) anymore.


Their policy may have changed since then. I know that's what it says on the website, but I called to return a defective amp and they offered to refund the money. No hassle.

[koti123]

I have used MF for many years and have alway been taken care of. Music 123 is slow shipping and you don't get any notice from them on shipping or recieving the orders.Zzounds seems to be the best when it comes to sells knowledge and shipping.:)

[mybelle]

I have used MF for many years and have alway been taken care of. Music 123 is slow shipping and you don't get any notice from them on shipping or recieving the orders.Zzounds seems to be the best when it comes to sells knowledge and shipping.:)

"Sales knowledge" : RELATIVE. KNOWLEDGE IS RELATIVE. Everyone bases their experience with the company unfortunately by the first person they speak to.

Music 123 ships out of the SAME warehouse as Musicians Friend. They
are practically the same company.

[clayface74]

At sweetwater most of the reps have 4 year degrees in the music field. They have to pass extensive test and also train for 8-12weeks before they hit the floor. They are based out of Ft. Wayne, IN so I use them as my local store also. My sales rep is Mike Picotte 800-222-4700 ext 1268. He really knows his shit...but my favorite thing about them is when you leave a message they call you back and when Mike is out of the office it doesn't really matter who I talk to, they all know their shit.

800-222-4700
Ask for:

Mike Picotte ext 1268

Paul Lea and Mark Magdich are good guys too.

Too answer the ownership question...they are private owned...kinda a cool story...started in a Trailer in the 70s and now does 150 million a year in sales. Their studios are unbelievable also...they just moved to a new facility and if you are ever traveling thru the area do yourself a favor and stop by.

was the old shop out by leesburg rd? I applied there once after working in sales for a few years and was told I did not meet the requirements. Great support, I love the place. Went in for a few speakons, came out with the speakons and a bag of candy!! +1 for the facility..totally state of the art.

GC=Fail

[captainobvious]

I've never ordered from them, always heard horror stories. I usually buy local or from sameday music online. Never been disappointed online. Local... well that's another FAIL. (george's music = FAIL)

What?-nothing in stock, higher prices than anyone else, and staff that don't have a clue doesn't do it for you? :facepalm:

Agreed. Georges Music=FAIL

[aliensporebomb]

Bought a six string bass from them and everything went well.

The day came when the bass was to arrive.

I had a bad feeling over my lunch hour at work so hightailed it home (it was
raining like cats and dogs fighting at the time).

I get there, the box the bass is in is literally sitting out in the middle of my front yard with pouring rain coming down on it! WTH? I told the UPS idiots
to put the thing under the eaves of the front porch. Maroons.

I open the box and the box is more or less soaked but the bass was okay.

Actually recorded a bass track with it before going back to work and the
bass was even in tune.

That was close!

[drummer_14_92]

small stuff, picks, stands, cases, strings, big stuff always in person

[chaosinborn]

musiciansfriend sent me a free ltd v-500......you can call it epic fail on their part, or epic win on mine. :D

[noisegag]

MF is ok, but I'd rather go through Sweetwater...they at least have some idea of what's up.

[FlipFlopFly]

I'm have a gut feeling SamedayMusic, MF, SamAsh, Sweatwater, zzound, 123music, etc are all the same exact companies with different names, giving the illussion of online shopping options.

It really makes no sense to order anything off these places if you can get them locally, as you will never get a better deal or lower price online, and only more hassle when you need to return. I've only ever ordered things I new I would never return, like guitar stands, picks, a rack case, maybe a stomp pedal.

I don't know about all the rest but MF and Music123 are the same.

[thetrooper9]

ive done a lot of looking on MF but i only bought from them once and everything was fine. I usually go to my local store unless they dont have what I want then I have to make a dreaded trip to GC. I got a bad monitor from them so I was taking it back to exchange for another and to buy 2 cables. it seems like no one there knows how to use their computers. it took 45 mins to make the exchange then I bought the cables and I was stopped at the door by someone who checked my receipt. She said that they charged me for the wrong cables and they owed me 2 dollers. they said it would be in my account as credit. I got home and the new monitor I got was bad so I took it back and got a different monitor. It took a long time to make the exchange again. I told them about the credit in my account. they looked in the computer for like 20 mins and couldnt find it. while they were looking i had to listen to people playing metalica songs through those line 6 amps. by then i just wanted to get out of there so i said whatever ill try it next time and left.


MF there ok by me but I would not buy any guitars or amps. without seeing or playing them first.

GC=FAIL

[skuller]

Musicians friend is okay as long as you know what you want. It's not the best for calling in and asking a salesperson their expert opinion.

Harmony Central is okay as long as you know what you want. It's not the best for browsing to and asking in a new thread for expert opinions.

Okay wait, so what's the dif? People will give good answers if THEY'RE a motivated individual? Or people get irritated with dumb wankers who post here "what should i do microkorg or micron" and then immediately call MF or any company and ask the same question a hundred thousand times?

do YOU give good answers to questions you're asked repeatedly? how much effort do YOU put into knowing answers about your passion?

EVERY single person who complains about this is the source of their own problem.

[RiseToRuin]

I live not far from their warehouse. The clearance center is flippin wicked and you can haggle the shit out of them for their returned/broken gear.

I've gotten so many treasures from them for garage sale prices.

I <3 Musicians Friend.

[lazaraga]

musician's friend sucks

[Engel]

I have never had any trouble with them. I have had trouble with guitar center though even though I still buy from them occasionally. I will either buy local, musicians friend or guitar center depending on what it is i'm buying. Picks, strings, cables, capos... little stuff I buy at local shops. It makes sense to buy the smaller, cheaper stuff since all of their stuff is overpriced anyways. You can get accessories cheaper online or at guitar center but I like to buy some stuff at local shops just to support them. No way I would ever buy anything big though because the prices are so jacked up. Usually I buy medium to large purchases from guitar center. I bought a couple things from them that stopped working after a few uses but I didn't hold a grudge. The upside to ordering, lets say a guitar, form musicians friend is that you know it's brand new and hasn't been played and beat up by every 14 year old metallica freak like the guitars at guitar center. If it's something that I want really bad and cant wait for or cant find a better deal then I will get it from guitar center. If there is something i want that I can wait for a better deal I get it from musicians friend.

[lazaraga]

lol noob shill musician's friend sucks

[HaloJem]

I've boughten 2 mixers, a drum kit, and I'm about to buy a decent PA system for about 200$.

If there's a better site, recommend me it. I'm new to these boards.. HC doesn't sell anything, right?

I've had smooth dealings with American Musical Supply (www . americanmusical dot com ) .... great installment payment plan.

My previous band had great dealings with them. We returned a PA power amp after a week or so for credit towards another one - no issues - and also swapped PA bottoms the same.

[Nijyo]

The upside to ordering, lets say a guitar, form musicians friend is that you know it's brand new and hasn't been played and beat up by every 14 year old metallica freak like the guitars at guitar center.

This is kinda true, but then again, you can pretty much tell if the instrument is fucked up by playing it, and tell if its a dud or not. There's plenty of new instruments that play like rocks, and some that sound better when "broken" in. I know for my part that I bought a guitar at GC a few months ago (posted about it in another thread) that looked like just a standard Ibanez RG GC model, but man does it play and sound good, and it ran like $450 for it. It's tons harder to luck into the occasional gem like that when you're buying online, regardless of the model you're buying (look around HC for folks talking about Gibson QC problems, for example).

Only problem is that some GCs don't carry some models (like, for some reason, the local GCs around here don't carry the Schecter Blackjack :confused: ) but other than that, I can't see many advantages to buying online.

[Spitshine]

Harmony Central is okay as long as you know what you want. It's not the best for browsing to and asking in a new thread for expert opinions.

Okay wait, so what's the dif? People will give good answers if THEY'RE a motivated individual? Or people get irritated with dumb wankers who post here "what should i do microkorg or micron" and then immediately call MF or any company and ask the same question a hundred thousand times?

do YOU give good answers to questions you're asked repeatedly? how much effort do YOU put into knowing answers about your passion?

EVERY single person who complains about this is the source of their own problem.


This makes no sense. You're saying it's cool if I call up MF to ask a question and they feed me some BS line because it's something they've had to answer before? I could care less if they've heard the question a thousand times, I've asked it once, and I expect them to be attentive if they want my business. To say that people perpetuate their own lousy treatment because they call up looking for some honest answers is just silly.

[Invader.CC]

Guess what all who owns M.F ?Answer Guitar Center or i should say it's the other way around...

[faileddrummer]

I've never had any trouble with MF... And I bought a Wuhan off them once.

[Cvrst_Drums]

when I bought my first kit and cymbals for it, I got it all from MF and at a decent price. Funny part is, they sent me four sets of Zildjian ZBTs instead of one. Worked out though, because the crashes kept breaking, cheap pieces of sh** that they are. Went through all four of them. MF isn't bad if you don't mind getting B stock.

[skuller]

This makes no sense. You're saying it's cool if I call up MF to ask a question and they feed me some BS line because it's something they've had to answer before? I could care less if they've heard the question a thousand times, I've asked it once, and I expect them to be attentive if they want my business. To say that people perpetuate their own lousy treatment because they call up looking for some honest answers is just silly.

it should be noted, that MF is open to make sales.

it should also be noted, that if you have an inquiry to make regarding a product, musician's friend is very helpful in answering most of those. when you start getting super specific, is when they start losing credibility, but when you start getting super specific, you have to consider how responsible it is to put all of your information acquisition on someone else.

one that really irritates them is a question regarding replacement bridges for les pauls. as you may or not be aware (same with the MF rep) les pauls come generally in 2 forms. the first is with a (typically mahogany) back, with a (typically maple) top. the second is a solid mahogany body.

these two replacement bridges are different only in title, the first is a "large post" replacement bridge, the second is a "small post" replacement bridge.

http://accessories.musiciansfriend.com/product/TonePros-Metric-Locking-TuneomaticTailpiece-Set-large-posts?sku=306142

http://accessories.musiciansfriend.com/product/TonePros-Standard-TuneOMatic-Bridge-Small-Posts-with-Graph-Tech-Saddles?sku=300219

now, my question to their tech team was:

"I have a mahogany back, alder top les paul. I want to replace the bridge. Which of these 2 bridges is the appropriate bridge replacement for my les pauls body style?"

their initial response was something about additional research being needed.

now, it should be noted, that the sole fact they didn't answer immediately, and instead told me additional research was required, is cause for some people to become agitated. more than likely people who have had this experience have posted rants about how terrible they are, and how they know nothing about the products they sell here on this forum, or others.

now, in my case, i waited it out and eventually was emailed back. i needed the large post replacement bridge, because my les paul has a cap. if you have a solid body les paul, you need the small post replacement bridge.

the biggest thing to consider, is "am I asking the right question?", and next in line is "am I asking in such a way that I do not come off as a dick?".

sure, you're not required to act in a refined manner. consider that they will still try to help you, but the attitude and willingness to help may be effected by your presentation.

also, it should be noted, that anyone with a serious inquiry, is probably researching the information for them self. either here on this forum, other gear forums, friends, manufacturer website, namm coverage, blogs, google, etc.. so to place all responsibility on MF to research, get their response (whatever it is, elaborate, or ignorant), and then complain that they aren't doing their job is asinine and selfish.

also consider that the "additional research" they needed, was more than likely them sending an inquiry to the manufacturer of the product. something one can do them self, if the desire is there.


once that's established, we can address the fact that they're charging us an arm and a leg for this stuff. are their profits going exclusively to the big shots running the show? apparently so. why else wouldn't they educate their reps better?

why in the hell do they have someone on the tech team that doesn't know the diff between a cap top and solid body les paul, let alone which bridge i should put on there?

so they do ask too much, considering how little the majority of their reps know. the guys that do know probably aren't treated very well by management, otherwise they'd probably establish some medium of information exchange that will better suit customers needs and the needs of their own employees.

MF needs to reevaluate where their profits go.

[faileddrummer]

I live not far from their warehouse. The clearance center is flippin wicked and you can haggle the shit out of them for their returned/broken gear.

I've gotten so many treasures from them for garage sale prices.

I <3 Musicians Friend.

So, if we tell you what we're looking for, you can go look for it, get us a price, and ship it to us? :D :thu:

[skovol007]

was the old shop out by leesburg rd? I applied there once after working in sales for a few years and was told I did not meet the requirements. Great support, I love the place. Went in for a few speakons, came out with the speakons and a bag of candy!! +1 for the facility..totally state of the art.

GC=Fail


Actually, I think it was on Bass road, which I think turned into Leesburg. You know how a lot of those Fort Wayne Roads change names 3 times in two miles!:confused::mad::confused: Did you know you can get some items special order, s long as it's by a brand they carry? IE: I wanted a JSX cab to match my head. They don't carry the JSX cab,but they carry Peavey. (The wait on the cab was 2 months, so I just tried out a few in the showroom and one they brought up from the warehouse.)
The drawback is, special order items are non-returnable.

Also, I know the Woodwind and Brasswind in South Bend used to be privately owned, but I've heard rumors that MF bought 'em out. Dunno:idk: But I'm pretty sure they're no longer an authorized Mesa dealer.

[skibob]

I've never had any trouble with any of the big online guys. I've order tons of stuff from Musicians Friend, Music 123, American Musical Supply, Zzounds... I just made my first purchase from Sweetwater, we'll see how that goes. But I've always done my research on my own, and I don't call them to ask questions, I just order online, so I don't have any experience with their customer support.

I agree that Musicians Friend shipping used to be a lot quicker. But any problems I have had have been problems with the shipper (usually Fed Ex).

[Sparkytfl]

They say pay before noon and it ships the same day. I paid before noon, it shipped two nights later. Why'd I waste $25 for faster shipping hoping to get my wireless in time for the show if they wont get it in the mail on time?

It also says if they fail that to call and get some refund, need to try, but not expecting much.

[mondaymonkey]

Musicians Friend ships to Canada with decent shipping prices.

When im in my house in the states, they have always delivered, on time, usually for free, and always very helpful.

The same cannot be said from Zzounds, or any other online store.

Instead of dissing out MF, try to explain why.

[Sparkytfl]

If you'd pay attention, plenty of people have explained why.

[AKC_Underdog]

MF is ok. I have had trouble with slow shipping times; sometimes it is ther shipping company's fault, sometimes it is MF fault. I usually check with my local dealer before ordering. Nine times out of 10, he will beat MF's price by 20 bucks on large items.

I would never ask a technical question of their people only because I prefer to speak to my local guys instead. If I can't explain to them what I need, I can show them either on my guitar or on one of theirs. This way there is no confusion whatsoever. But then, I have not had the need to speak dorectly to anyone from MF since I order online.

[samson3382]

they did me good, in the end. i foolishly ordered a scratch n dent item, SVT6PRO. got it and it was junk. don't know if something was wrong with it or if they're all like that. Anyways i returned it and got a screaming deal on my GBE1200. it took two weeks total but im very happy now :)

[Pyrokanetis]

I just bought a Line 6 UX2 (with POD Farm and all the stuff it comes with) scratch n' dent for $150 ($50 off!). Paid nothing for shipping and it came the next day with absolutely no problems. Good for buying stuff cheap if nothing else.

[BJH]

I think they are good for ordering peripheral gear (heads, sticks, brushes, cases, stands, etc.) I've ordered a lot of these things from MF because they have great selection, free shipping (over $99), and no sales tax. The orders have always been sent correct and complete and fairly quickly. I have had no problems returning items. I've never spoken to a salesperson on the phone, so I can't comment on that. I always order online which works well.

I doubt I would buy primary instruments there (drums, cymbals). Those I usually buy used from private sellers.