Guitar Center’s financial issues are widely discussed and debated, and a lot of people think they’re going to go under. I hope not, but my hopes don’t matter. Not sure about the financial situation for Sam Ash. My sources tell me that the company is fine, though it’s not the greatest place to work.
For those wondering, I have an AAS in Music Merchandising and a Bachelor of Science in Music Business. Music retail was my career plan originally, but I quickly discovered retail was not for me. But as a lifelong music lover, I still find it interesting.
Back to the point. Guitar Center is definitely in trouble, but it could be argued that Sam Ash is not in trouble, at least financially. That might be true, but they’re still in trouble. So are every mom & pop music store that doesn’t get the web. Two weeks ago I stopped by a small local music store and asked if they had any 12AX7 tubes. The 12AX7 is the most popular guitar amp tube in the world. The store said no, they didn’t have any, but they could order some for me. Uh… I can order some for me, too. It’s 2016! Everyone orders via the web now. And they’ll come right to my house, probably as fast as you can get them, and maybe faster.
That same “I can order some for you” response can be heard daily at all of the big box stores, too. There might be some old timers that don’t trust putting their credit card over the Internet, but the majority of customers are already used to ordering via Amazon. If you have something in stock, I’m willing to drive 40 minutes to get to your store and try it and buy it. Otherwise there’s no reason for me to come in.
So having a large inventory is important to success. I bought a Plexi-Drive from Sam Ash instead of Guitar Center simply because they had one in stock. My favorite Guitar Center currently has no Wampler pedals. They don’t have any Keeley pedals either. But to Guitar Center’s credit, at least in the stores near me, you can walk in, take a guitar down from the wall, sit down and plug it in and play. You can’t do that in either of the two Sam Ash locations near me. You have to ask someone for a cable. IF you can get their attention.
The mom and pop shops are apparently the prefered method of shopping in every guitarist forum I’ve seen, but people lie. And they lie even more in forums. Like someone saying they’ve been a studio guitarist for 20 years but they misspell “Stratocaster.” I’m not going to lie – I like the mom and pop shops once in a while, but I don’t shop at them much. They don’t have the stuff I am looking for, outside of used electric guitars. If I want to hear what a Strat sounds like with a Shawbucker through a Marshall tube amp, that’s not going to happen at the mom and pop shops near me.
But wait… am I not the “Budget Guitarist?” Did I not just spend $75 on a cheapo Strat with a plywood body? Which came from a mom and pop shop to begin with??? See the part in the last paragraph about “outside of used electric guitars.” I would buy a used budget guitar from a mom and pop shop. But honestly, the Guitar Center in Tampa almost always has a much better selection of used guitars than any other place I’ve been. It’s Tampa. People bring in their used guitars all the time because they need to pay the rent. Or maybe they need drug money. Kids, don’t do drugs… not unless you can really afford it. I keed, I keed.
People say the big box stores are all the same, which they are, because they’re a chain… they’re supposed to be. But here in Florida, the mom and pop shops are all the same, too. Here’s what you will find: Some Jay Turser guitars, some Dean guitars, some Squier Strats, sheet music, strings, recorders (the plastic kind), some acoustic guitars from companies you’ve never heard of, some inexpensive used PA speakers, and one other customer in the store the same time you are. There are exceptions, but that pretty much nails it.
A music store should be a hub for musicians. It should welcome them and make it easy for them to try things, and it should have a large inventory that spans from cheap to expensive. It should treat musicians well. The best thing that could happen to the musical instrument retail industry would be for Gibson, Fender, Marshall, Vox, Martin, etc to lower the amount of instruments you have to order to be an authorized dealer. If small mom and pop shops had the ability to sell the same stuff as the big box stores, I’d go to the mom and pop shops. I know why things are the way they are – it’s all about money.
Oh well. Today I’ll play through the Fender Bassbreaker amp they have at Guitar Center, again, because I am trying to decide if I want to have them order the 7 watt head version. I might (gasp) trade in my Hot Rod Deluxe for it. I’ve tried to get along with the HRD, I really have. But I never use the thing – I always end up playing the Peavey Valveking Microhead. It just plain sounds better. So I need to see if I really want the Bassbreaker low wattage head. Only way to do that is to keep playing it and see if my opinion changes.
