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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
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
hauled ass over there played 5 different sets and picked out my xmas gift. yeah
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
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.
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.
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
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:
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!!!
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!
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!
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.
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.
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.
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.
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 [SIZE=4]NOTHING [/SIZE] 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.
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