The End of Guitar Center
February 5, 2015 10:40 PM Subscribe
"Guitar Center, gutted and broken, meets its sad end. Guitar Center's financial condition (previously) - along with bad management and the hyper-financial dynamics of private equity - have finally taken this retail musical instrument powerhouse to the end of its long and winding road.
And with the demise, several years back, of NYC's Mannys and Sam Ash and all the other shops along Music Row (48th Street) the end of the awful Guitar Center would appear to leave NYC with almost NO music stores, correct?
posted by flapjax at midnite at 11:01 PM on February 5, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by flapjax at midnite at 11:01 PM on February 5, 2015 [1 favorite]
Huh, I wonder if they'll have a Super Sale this Sunday Sunday Sunday featuring Gibson guitars and Fender amps for as low as $99?
posted by mathowie at 11:04 PM on February 5, 2015 [19 favorites]
posted by mathowie at 11:04 PM on February 5, 2015 [19 favorites]
Interesting how he ties together the demise of Guitar Hero together with crappy land-use plans, even crappier "lending" (if what we did between roughly 1998 and 2008 can be called lending) standards, and our shifting culture on how and where to live.
"For a few years, unwise urban planning and unregulated banks created a new bubble in the American suburbs. People bought homes they could not afford and turned their houses into lines of credit. This swindle eventually brought the economy to its knees and has taken most a decade to regain some state of uneasy equilibrium. Still, it was particularly stimulating to a certain type of retail that also depended on constant growth and financial trickery. The objective truth is that the growth of the last decade was financed by banking fraud, and that financial trickery of this sort only fools people in the short-term. Eventually, you must have a product people demand, sold by competent people who care about the business, financed in a way that makes sense."
Also, a former executive of Guitar Center showed up in the comments on the original post made to Eric Garland's blog in order to rebut Garland's assertions.
posted by fireoyster at 11:04 PM on February 5, 2015 [2 favorites]
"For a few years, unwise urban planning and unregulated banks created a new bubble in the American suburbs. People bought homes they could not afford and turned their houses into lines of credit. This swindle eventually brought the economy to its knees and has taken most a decade to regain some state of uneasy equilibrium. Still, it was particularly stimulating to a certain type of retail that also depended on constant growth and financial trickery. The objective truth is that the growth of the last decade was financed by banking fraud, and that financial trickery of this sort only fools people in the short-term. Eventually, you must have a product people demand, sold by competent people who care about the business, financed in a way that makes sense."
Also, a former executive of Guitar Center showed up in the comments on the original post made to Eric Garland's blog in order to rebut Garland's assertions.
posted by fireoyster at 11:04 PM on February 5, 2015 [2 favorites]
And with the demise, several years back, of NYC's Mannys and Sam Ash
Sam Ash still lives! Just not on Music Row.
posted by Shmuel510 at 11:20 PM on February 5, 2015 [2 favorites]
Sam Ash still lives! Just not on Music Row.
posted by Shmuel510 at 11:20 PM on February 5, 2015 [2 favorites]
From the article:
posted by benito.strauss at 11:22 PM on February 5, 2015 [8 favorites]
Second, it did so just as the housing fraud and financial insanity which characterized the late 1990s and early 2000s nearly destroyed the U.S. dollar and left us with martial law.Martial law? I'd understand if they referred to Marshall Stacks, but martial law? Is this just the usual right-wing bull crap one finds in Jim Cramer investment types, or are they actually insane?
posted by benito.strauss at 11:22 PM on February 5, 2015 [8 favorites]
I'll say this about them, they made it possible for me to get an XLR cable on a weekend now that Radio Shack only sells things that go in or on or around a cell phone.
posted by en forme de poire at 11:22 PM on February 5, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by en forme de poire at 11:22 PM on February 5, 2015 [1 favorite]
(For the benefit of those who haven't read the article, it should be noted that, sensationalist lede aside, Guitar Center is not actually dead. Rather, a blogger asserts that it inevitably will be soon.)
posted by Shmuel510 at 11:30 PM on February 5, 2015 [18 favorites]
posted by Shmuel510 at 11:30 PM on February 5, 2015 [18 favorites]
an irrational addiction to growth, and the scourge of unregulated structured finance.
That's just a description of modern capitalism. It's not going anywhere (although I confess I'll be going back to study the article more, it's quite dense).
Personally I buy guitars online because they are hardly ever set up properly at any guitar shop small or large. Just spend a nice weekend setting it up and replacing the nut/machine heads/strings as appropriate.
posted by colie at 11:43 PM on February 5, 2015 [1 favorite]
That's just a description of modern capitalism. It's not going anywhere (although I confess I'll be going back to study the article more, it's quite dense).
Personally I buy guitars online because they are hardly ever set up properly at any guitar shop small or large. Just spend a nice weekend setting it up and replacing the nut/machine heads/strings as appropriate.
posted by colie at 11:43 PM on February 5, 2015 [1 favorite]
Martial law? I'd understand if they referred to Marshall Stacks, but martial law?
It's a convention in some circles of finance writing to talk about the 2008 bailouts as a near mutiny or literally an extra-judicial action. It's that odd axis that is equally bonkers libertarian and weird hard nosed classic liberals, but definitely not conservative, since most everything they discuss or do is like one massive NWO dog whistle. Basically, the Zero Hedge crowd. (Zero Hedge is super slippery to me in terms trying to suss out the ideological bias -- I guess radical corporatist would be how I describe them). It's also not far from how some segments of the left characterize the bailout.
posted by 99_ at 11:54 PM on February 5, 2015 [3 favorites]
It's a convention in some circles of finance writing to talk about the 2008 bailouts as a near mutiny or literally an extra-judicial action. It's that odd axis that is equally bonkers libertarian and weird hard nosed classic liberals, but definitely not conservative, since most everything they discuss or do is like one massive NWO dog whistle. Basically, the Zero Hedge crowd. (Zero Hedge is super slippery to me in terms trying to suss out the ideological bias -- I guess radical corporatist would be how I describe them). It's also not far from how some segments of the left characterize the bailout.
posted by 99_ at 11:54 PM on February 5, 2015 [3 favorites]
The Guitar Center videos are pretty great, I hope those continue. The Jane's Addiction video is a perfect example of how to adjust your vocal range as you get older, and the Coheed and Cambria video is a perfect example of how badass heavy rock can be.
posted by Brocktoon at 11:58 PM on February 5, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by Brocktoon at 11:58 PM on February 5, 2015 [1 favorite]
I hate Guitar Center. The one in Hollywood is horrible, absolutely horrible. I bought and returned the same keyboard there three times before giving up. Now I do all my shopping at Sam Ash across the street. Way better. I used to love the one on Music Row (RIP).
Also, the author of that post seems to have gone out of their way to make it as difficult and annoying to read as possible. But maybe that's just me.
A quick summary tells the tale of how close we are to the end, but first we should revisit the beginning.
Oh, for the love of...
posted by teponaztli at 12:01 AM on February 6, 2015 [1 favorite]
Also, the author of that post seems to have gone out of their way to make it as difficult and annoying to read as possible. But maybe that's just me.
A quick summary tells the tale of how close we are to the end, but first we should revisit the beginning.
Oh, for the love of...
posted by teponaztli at 12:01 AM on February 6, 2015 [1 favorite]
Martial law? I'd understand if they referred to Marshall Stacks, but martial law? Is this just the usual right-wing bull crap one finds in Jim Cramer investment types, or are they actually insane?
You don't remember how Guitar Centers were turned into government "reeducation" camps in 2008? My brother did a two-year stint in one. He came a proud, patriotic, obedient American who can badly play the Stairway to Heaven riff.
posted by Sangermaine at 1:06 AM on February 6, 2015 [18 favorites]
You don't remember how Guitar Centers were turned into government "reeducation" camps in 2008? My brother did a two-year stint in one. He came a proud, patriotic, obedient American who can badly play the Stairway to Heaven riff.
posted by Sangermaine at 1:06 AM on February 6, 2015 [18 favorites]
Filter out the buzzwords ("disruptive future") and the awkward phrasing. I think he intends the "martial law" phrase to be kind of an add-on , so "nearly destroyed the U.S. dollar and left us with martial law" might be better understood by substituting "thereby leaving us" for "and left us."
Otherwise, his critique is pretty good, imo. When history is written about this period, Michael Milken and his bastard spawn will not be spared. Junk finance is junk finance despite the successful PR campaign for these bad actors to re-brand themselves as hedge funds.
Too bad we aren't raking this particular class of blood-sucking financier over the coals now, when the people whose lives have been "disrupted" could at least get some visceral satisfaction.
posted by CincyBlues at 1:19 AM on February 6, 2015 [1 favorite]
Otherwise, his critique is pretty good, imo. When history is written about this period, Michael Milken and his bastard spawn will not be spared. Junk finance is junk finance despite the successful PR campaign for these bad actors to re-brand themselves as hedge funds.
Too bad we aren't raking this particular class of blood-sucking financier over the coals now, when the people whose lives have been "disrupted" could at least get some visceral satisfaction.
posted by CincyBlues at 1:19 AM on February 6, 2015 [1 favorite]
This one is louder. It goes up to Chapter 11.
posted by Devonian at 1:48 AM on February 6, 2015 [78 favorites]
posted by Devonian at 1:48 AM on February 6, 2015 [78 favorites]
I'll actually be sad if this happens. I've never bought anything but guitar stands, strings, etc there, but it's nice to be able to go eyeball all the guitars
posted by thelonius at 2:10 AM on February 6, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by thelonius at 2:10 AM on February 6, 2015 [1 favorite]
I am not crying for Guitar Center's demise. There are loads of small local music shops and custom guitar makers still in business. Guitar Center was the Walmart of the instrument biz. Only good can come of this for small businesses. (And Ebay...) Also, Guitar Center used to buy vintage guitars off of Ebay and jack the prices sky high for the unsuspecting masses of teen consumers. (Hey kid, what you need is a 1962 Telecaster!)
I miss the row of shops on Manhattan's 48th Street, but they were hardly big box stores - they were a quirky part of new York music folklore. Manny's was where you went to watch famous rock stars buying pricey instruments. "We Buy and Sell" was where they had a few hundred vintage instruments strung haphazardly around the walls and you could luck into a fix-me-up National or Martin for a couple of hundred bucks. Heck, Sam Ash Music was started by a tone deaf Klezmer musician named... Sam Asch... who was kicked out of Dave Tarras' band with the suggestion that he find work in some other, less musical line of business.
posted by zaelic at 2:32 AM on February 6, 2015 [2 favorites]
I miss the row of shops on Manhattan's 48th Street, but they were hardly big box stores - they were a quirky part of new York music folklore. Manny's was where you went to watch famous rock stars buying pricey instruments. "We Buy and Sell" was where they had a few hundred vintage instruments strung haphazardly around the walls and you could luck into a fix-me-up National or Martin for a couple of hundred bucks. Heck, Sam Ash Music was started by a tone deaf Klezmer musician named... Sam Asch... who was kicked out of Dave Tarras' band with the suggestion that he find work in some other, less musical line of business.
posted by zaelic at 2:32 AM on February 6, 2015 [2 favorites]
The McDonald's of music stores, where men are men and a guitar is an AXE. No tears from me either.
posted by Sing Or Swim at 2:34 AM on February 6, 2015
posted by Sing Or Swim at 2:34 AM on February 6, 2015
Say what you will about GC, but I can't find any other places in LA that are open on weekends and will let me noodle on synths without an appointment. (If you know of any shops that will, please let me know!)
posted by infinitewindow at 2:59 AM on February 6, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by infinitewindow at 2:59 AM on February 6, 2015 [1 favorite]
Guitar Center has always been lame. If this makes more independent and regional chain shops able to fill the niche and thrive, I'm all for it.
posted by Miko at 3:56 AM on February 6, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by Miko at 3:56 AM on February 6, 2015 [1 favorite]
Huh. Eric's a friend of mine, and I just emailed him saying we been talking 'bout him behind his back. Let's see if he shows up to defend his rhetoric and forensics!
And GS sucked, yes, but I did end my two-year search for the perfect J-45 at their New Roc store. A rare occasion when whomever was pricing things up had NO idea what they actually had.
posted by digitalprimate at 4:01 AM on February 6, 2015 [1 favorite]
And GS sucked, yes, but I did end my two-year search for the perfect J-45 at their New Roc store. A rare occasion when whomever was pricing things up had NO idea what they actually had.
posted by digitalprimate at 4:01 AM on February 6, 2015 [1 favorite]
I'll give credit where credit is due: a Guitar Center salesman tried to talk me out of purchasing a Monster Cable guitar cable (sale price brought it down to just north of their store label cable) just on principle, but I'm one of those mulish guys who digs in when my judgment is questioned, an attitude that has cost me far more than, say, a vintage gold-top.
posted by Chitownfats at 4:29 AM on February 6, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by Chitownfats at 4:29 AM on February 6, 2015 [1 favorite]
I bought and returned the same keyboard there three times before giving up
dafuq?
posted by toastchee at 4:45 AM on February 6, 2015 [1 favorite]
dafuq?
posted by toastchee at 4:45 AM on February 6, 2015 [1 favorite]
A rare occasion when whomever was pricing things up had NO idea what they actually had.
Isn't Gibson famous for having no official recommended price for its guitars, i.e. it was traditionally whatever the shop could get for it?
posted by colie at 4:54 AM on February 6, 2015
Isn't Gibson famous for having no official recommended price for its guitars, i.e. it was traditionally whatever the shop could get for it?
posted by colie at 4:54 AM on February 6, 2015
That link, with the tipjar and ads all over the place, is aptly named.
posted by clvrmnky at 5:21 AM on February 6, 2015
posted by clvrmnky at 5:21 AM on February 6, 2015
I guess they shouldn't have bought that stairway to heaven.
posted by The 10th Regiment of Foot at 5:22 AM on February 6, 2015
posted by The 10th Regiment of Foot at 5:22 AM on February 6, 2015
We used to kill time noodling at the local Guitar Center when I was in high school in Dallas. Once a weekend on average. The salespeople knew what the score was and left us alone unless we walked in with a parent.
Where do Kids These Days kill time btw?
posted by radicalawyer at 5:34 AM on February 6, 2015
Where do Kids These Days kill time btw?
posted by radicalawyer at 5:34 AM on February 6, 2015
I seem to remember a story about a Manny's where a guy got into a head cutting session with an unseen guitar player on the other end of the store. By the end of it he got thoroughly trashed and his opponent poked his head around a stack of gear and gave him a smile and a wink. It was Mark Knopfler. Apparently he could shred a lot faster than Dire Straits albums would indicate, which makes sense.
Marshall Plan.
posted by Ber at 6:18 AM on February 6, 2015 [3 favorites]
Marshall Plan.
posted by Ber at 6:18 AM on February 6, 2015 [3 favorites]
I bought and returned the same keyboard there three times before giving up.
Isn't that the manufacturer's fault, not Guitar Center's? And GC let you exchange it multiple times and then gave you your money back, that seems pretty OK to me.
That said, I fall into the 'only bought strings there' camp. It was a fun place to look/play around when I was a teen with no money, though.
posted by Huck500 at 6:19 AM on February 6, 2015 [2 favorites]
Isn't that the manufacturer's fault, not Guitar Center's? And GC let you exchange it multiple times and then gave you your money back, that seems pretty OK to me.
That said, I fall into the 'only bought strings there' camp. It was a fun place to look/play around when I was a teen with no money, though.
posted by Huck500 at 6:19 AM on February 6, 2015 [2 favorites]
I dislike GC myself -- employees rush around talking into headsets and pointedly avoid eye contact with customers holding stuff they want to buy, or god forbid, ask questions about. Eventually a critical mass of customers builds up and someone shows up at the register to clear out the crowd.
But (as many people are lamenting in their own cities) there are almost no alternatives in St. Louis anymore. There are a few scattered closed music stores around (alas for Drum Headquarters), and maybe a couple of pretty small stores, and probably still a place in a mall where people who don't know music can go to buy a piano.
posted by Foosnark at 6:40 AM on February 6, 2015 [2 favorites]
But (as many people are lamenting in their own cities) there are almost no alternatives in St. Louis anymore. There are a few scattered closed music stores around (alas for Drum Headquarters), and maybe a couple of pretty small stores, and probably still a place in a mall where people who don't know music can go to buy a piano.
posted by Foosnark at 6:40 AM on February 6, 2015 [2 favorites]
This doesn't seem to be quite as immediate as Radio Shack's troubles, but Garland clearly thinks a similar situation is a month or two away at most.
I'm curious to see how a collapse/bankruptcy/restructuring would affect their online businesses, since they've got three of the big ones; Musician's Friend, Music123, and Woodwind & Brasswind.
Behringer's separation from GC in June of last year is . . . . ironic, maybe? Considering the two companies had a mutually enabling relationship for a long time - Behringer needed a mega-chain to provide a level of market saturation and dominance, while Guitar Center needed a super-cheap line of "pro" audio gear to sell to broke musicians and hobbyists. I don't know if either company could have reached their positions without each other. Although it sure seems like Behringer did a better job of keeping all that money.
posted by soundguy99 at 6:47 AM on February 6, 2015 [1 favorite]
I'm curious to see how a collapse/bankruptcy/restructuring would affect their online businesses, since they've got three of the big ones; Musician's Friend, Music123, and Woodwind & Brasswind.
Behringer's separation from GC in June of last year is . . . . ironic, maybe? Considering the two companies had a mutually enabling relationship for a long time - Behringer needed a mega-chain to provide a level of market saturation and dominance, while Guitar Center needed a super-cheap line of "pro" audio gear to sell to broke musicians and hobbyists. I don't know if either company could have reached their positions without each other. Although it sure seems like Behringer did a better job of keeping all that money.
posted by soundguy99 at 6:47 AM on February 6, 2015 [1 favorite]
My local Guitar Center was fun to shop at for about 6 months last year, right in between the time the staff got the fear of God put into them about sales being down and whenever the store inventory was completely gutted and replaced with low end crap. In the 90s there was a serious attitude problem with the staff who thought they were cooler than you for working at GC, but recently, at least at my local ones, they've seemed to turn that around. I've noticed that the staff at mine does seem to skew a bit older, so maybe that sets the tone a little differently.
I almost feel a little bad walking in there these days, you can tell the manager is under immense pressure to make sales, during their Labor Day sale he made sure to give me the 15% off of a $2800 guitar they really shouldn't have given me the discount on and I picked up a mint $2200 guitar for $900 there that even a cursory eBay search will tell you goes for at least $1400 used.
It's a great time to be a customer if you can find something you actually want there, but you can feel the sense of desperation growing. Thing is, the mom and pop shops are still around, but mostly they're terrible as ever. Bad selection, high prices, shitty staff with attitudes. There's a few awesome ones still left, dealing with both quality lower end and good higher end stuff, but if your kid is really excited about learning to play an instrument, GC still feels cool, while the mom and pop in a strip mall with a terrible selection of Squires is totally going to take the wind out of their sails.
posted by mikesch at 7:02 AM on February 6, 2015 [1 favorite]
I almost feel a little bad walking in there these days, you can tell the manager is under immense pressure to make sales, during their Labor Day sale he made sure to give me the 15% off of a $2800 guitar they really shouldn't have given me the discount on and I picked up a mint $2200 guitar for $900 there that even a cursory eBay search will tell you goes for at least $1400 used.
It's a great time to be a customer if you can find something you actually want there, but you can feel the sense of desperation growing. Thing is, the mom and pop shops are still around, but mostly they're terrible as ever. Bad selection, high prices, shitty staff with attitudes. There's a few awesome ones still left, dealing with both quality lower end and good higher end stuff, but if your kid is really excited about learning to play an instrument, GC still feels cool, while the mom and pop in a strip mall with a terrible selection of Squires is totally going to take the wind out of their sails.
posted by mikesch at 7:02 AM on February 6, 2015 [1 favorite]
Where do Kids These Days kill time btw?
The internet.
posted by hwyengr at 7:13 AM on February 6, 2015
The internet.
posted by hwyengr at 7:13 AM on February 6, 2015
It's a great time to be a customer if you can find something you actually want there, but you can feel the sense of desperation growing. Thing is, the mom and pop shops are still around, but mostly they're terrible as ever. Bad selection, high prices, shitty staff with attitudes. There's a few awesome ones still left, dealing with both quality lower end and good higher end stuff, but if your kid is really excited about learning to play an instrument, GC still feels cool, while the mom and pop in a strip mall with a terrible selection of Squires is totally going to take the wind out of their sails.
In this neck of the woods many of the mom and pops had the final nail driven in by Guitar Center's arrival about 8 years ago. If GC were to go belly up, there are very very few places around here to even get a set of strings.
I take my 13-year-old who's just learning guitar to GC and he's slackjawed. It's initimidating in a way, but to see all the high-end guitars hanging off the walls and to think One day I could play one of those, I really think it is inspirational. The Squires at the strip mall - not so much.
posted by kgasmart at 7:16 AM on February 6, 2015
In this neck of the woods many of the mom and pops had the final nail driven in by Guitar Center's arrival about 8 years ago. If GC were to go belly up, there are very very few places around here to even get a set of strings.
I take my 13-year-old who's just learning guitar to GC and he's slackjawed. It's initimidating in a way, but to see all the high-end guitars hanging off the walls and to think One day I could play one of those, I really think it is inspirational. The Squires at the strip mall - not so much.
posted by kgasmart at 7:16 AM on February 6, 2015
Good riddance to scumbag ripoff thieves.
I have previously written about the original Hollywood GC location and how they tried to rip me off one last time when I bought my stolen guitar back from them.
It appears they were looted by Mitt Romney's Bain Capital. Karma is a bitch.
posted by charlie don't surf at 7:19 AM on February 6, 2015 [2 favorites]
I have previously written about the original Hollywood GC location and how they tried to rip me off one last time when I bought my stolen guitar back from them.
It appears they were looted by Mitt Romney's Bain Capital. Karma is a bitch.
posted by charlie don't surf at 7:19 AM on February 6, 2015 [2 favorites]
f@m: thankfully we still have
30th Street Guitars
Rudy's Music Stop (on 48th!)
Ludlow Guitars
Southside Guitars
Retrofret
Mandolin Guitars (just a ferry ride away)
and a few others I'm not thinking of right now.
The reason all those music stores cropped up on 48th St all those years ago, I assume, was due to the proximity to recording studios (back in the Days of the Jingle) and Broadway theaters - great places to kill time and/or pick up an emergency set of strings/piece of gear in a rush. That is becoming more and more difficult, especially if you'd rather not give your shekels to the likes of Guitar Center. But it's okay, because all the recording studios are closing, and as for the jingle? That scene dried up loooooong ago.
posted by fingers_of_fire at 8:21 AM on February 6, 2015
30th Street Guitars
Rudy's Music Stop (on 48th!)
Ludlow Guitars
Southside Guitars
Retrofret
Mandolin Guitars (just a ferry ride away)
and a few others I'm not thinking of right now.
The reason all those music stores cropped up on 48th St all those years ago, I assume, was due to the proximity to recording studios (back in the Days of the Jingle) and Broadway theaters - great places to kill time and/or pick up an emergency set of strings/piece of gear in a rush. That is becoming more and more difficult, especially if you'd rather not give your shekels to the likes of Guitar Center. But it's okay, because all the recording studios are closing, and as for the jingle? That scene dried up loooooong ago.
posted by fingers_of_fire at 8:21 AM on February 6, 2015
(back in the Days of the Jingle)
I found an old Guitar Player magazine, from maybe 1981, in the parents' basement. It had a feature profiling three Chicago studio guitar players, who worked all the time. You think there are guys in Chicago making a living just by playing guitar on ads and demos any more? I don't. I think the end was already coming by then, although it was probably mostly drummers who were feeling it at that time. By the end of the decade, guys like Bob Babbitt were finding that they had to move from NYC to Nashville to even hope to keep working full-time in studios. And then they had to deal with the Nashville guys not wanting to hire an unproven person in their scene.
posted by thelonius at 8:28 AM on February 6, 2015
I found an old Guitar Player magazine, from maybe 1981, in the parents' basement. It had a feature profiling three Chicago studio guitar players, who worked all the time. You think there are guys in Chicago making a living just by playing guitar on ads and demos any more? I don't. I think the end was already coming by then, although it was probably mostly drummers who were feeling it at that time. By the end of the decade, guys like Bob Babbitt were finding that they had to move from NYC to Nashville to even hope to keep working full-time in studios. And then they had to deal with the Nashville guys not wanting to hire an unproven person in their scene.
posted by thelonius at 8:28 AM on February 6, 2015
We also have the immensely popular YouTube gear reviews of guitar shop nerds Rob 'Chappers' Chapman and his boss, 'The Captain.'
It's exactly like Wayne's World, but real.
Chappers and the Captain's Pedal Board Quest.
posted by colie at 8:49 AM on February 6, 2015
It's exactly like Wayne's World, but real.
Chappers and the Captain's Pedal Board Quest.
posted by colie at 8:49 AM on February 6, 2015
Small Businesses can be saved. People just need to care, not after the place closes but while it's around. Care, and go buy stuff there instead of online or at the box. Do it, NOW!
posted by Potomac Avenue at 9:09 AM on February 6, 2015 [4 favorites]
posted by Potomac Avenue at 9:09 AM on February 6, 2015 [4 favorites]
Around here, it's GC or pawn shops. One local guitar store was run for decades by a man who was, without fail, described as a giant asshole by every single person he interacted with. GC ran him out of business. It was hard to shed a tear. If they go, it'll be online stores or nothing for most people. Maybe a new independent will pop up, but how long will that take, and will they be any good? Who knows.
I am actually about to spend 1k at the local GC in grant money for a nonprofit music venue, so that I don't have to pay shipping on a set of monitors and so I might as well get the cables and mic stands there too. We have our first performer in March, I need them to stay open for a few more weeks so we can get ready. But I also know the guys that work there and I know they're not going to try to rip me off.
As with the demise of Borders, which also brought books to a former wasteland of no choice whatsoever for my town, it's hard to feel glee.
posted by emjaybee at 9:28 AM on February 6, 2015 [1 favorite]
I am actually about to spend 1k at the local GC in grant money for a nonprofit music venue, so that I don't have to pay shipping on a set of monitors and so I might as well get the cables and mic stands there too. We have our first performer in March, I need them to stay open for a few more weeks so we can get ready. But I also know the guys that work there and I know they're not going to try to rip me off.
As with the demise of Borders, which also brought books to a former wasteland of no choice whatsoever for my town, it's hard to feel glee.
posted by emjaybee at 9:28 AM on February 6, 2015 [1 favorite]
I have no great love for Guitar Center, but I do lament the apparent demise of the well-stocked, full-line music store.
In my town there are a couple of decent guitar/amp shops, maybe one specialty store each for drummers, wind players, and violinists, and a handful of mom & pop places that each carry only a few manufacturers' lines.
There used to be a local, family-run store founded after WWII that had grown to a pretty impressive size, carried a lot of gear in stock from many different manufacturers, had an in-house service department, and so on. Musicians certainly griped about the place, just as they do about GC, but they had just about anything a typical working (or aspiring) musician/band might need. Then a while back the second generation of the family decided to sell the business to an out-of-state chain, who managed to run it into the ground in a couple of years. Their building, expanded several times over the years as the store grew, is vacant now.
My fear is that, once GC dies, it's going to be hard to find an actual local store with a reasonably wide selection of keyboards, effects, PA and recording gear, and other things that aren't sold in any of the existing specialty places.
posted by Nat "King" Cole Porter Wagoner at 9:44 AM on February 6, 2015
In my town there are a couple of decent guitar/amp shops, maybe one specialty store each for drummers, wind players, and violinists, and a handful of mom & pop places that each carry only a few manufacturers' lines.
There used to be a local, family-run store founded after WWII that had grown to a pretty impressive size, carried a lot of gear in stock from many different manufacturers, had an in-house service department, and so on. Musicians certainly griped about the place, just as they do about GC, but they had just about anything a typical working (or aspiring) musician/band might need. Then a while back the second generation of the family decided to sell the business to an out-of-state chain, who managed to run it into the ground in a couple of years. Their building, expanded several times over the years as the store grew, is vacant now.
My fear is that, once GC dies, it's going to be hard to find an actual local store with a reasonably wide selection of keyboards, effects, PA and recording gear, and other things that aren't sold in any of the existing specialty places.
posted by Nat "King" Cole Porter Wagoner at 9:44 AM on February 6, 2015
When I was a poor teenager who wanted to be Eric Clapton in Cream I was lucky enough to live in London and have lots of guitar shops I could visit.
But 'Guitar Shop Guy' was exactly like 'Comic Book Guy' and he seemed to run all of them. So I don't miss the independent shops.
posted by colie at 9:53 AM on February 6, 2015 [1 favorite]
But 'Guitar Shop Guy' was exactly like 'Comic Book Guy' and he seemed to run all of them. So I don't miss the independent shops.
posted by colie at 9:53 AM on February 6, 2015 [1 favorite]
It's worth loading the NakedCapitalism page, if only for the first 30 seconds of the Times Square Guitar Center "gateway to hell" video (previously), which is no gateway to hell at all, if, as I've said before, you enjoy things like 'Metal Machine Music' and 'Silver Session for Jason Knuth' and the like.
And I don't know about all of the 'death knell for big box retailers' stuff, but Guitar Center killed my favorite locally-owned guitar store, one in which I took lessons as a kid, where I bought my first "real guitar" (hey, it was 1987!) after saving up all summer when I was 16, and where the owner and staff treated me like a member of the tribe (quite the opposite of what some of you are describing), so I don't mind watching them crumble.
posted by SafetyPirate at 9:59 AM on February 6, 2015
And I don't know about all of the 'death knell for big box retailers' stuff, but Guitar Center killed my favorite locally-owned guitar store, one in which I took lessons as a kid, where I bought my first "real guitar" (hey, it was 1987!) after saving up all summer when I was 16, and where the owner and staff treated me like a member of the tribe (quite the opposite of what some of you are describing), so I don't mind watching them crumble.
posted by SafetyPirate at 9:59 AM on February 6, 2015
I bought a Martin D-12-20 at the Hollywood Guitar Center in, like 1971 or so. $200. At the time I did not know that this was a chain.
Since then, strings occasionally, but not often.
I would not miss the one in this town as we have a small vintage shop also that has a good array of stuff.,
posted by Danf at 11:37 AM on February 6, 2015
Since then, strings occasionally, but not often.
I would not miss the one in this town as we have a small vintage shop also that has a good array of stuff.,
posted by Danf at 11:37 AM on February 6, 2015
I bought a Martin D-12-20 at the Hollywood Guitar Center in, like 1971 or so.
Impossible, there was no such place. The Hollywood Guitar Center did not exist until 1985. I remember it vividly because they bought the Oriental Theater and shut it down, it was two blocks from my house. The theater used to show movies just finishing their first run, I think the matinee (two shows for one price) was about $3.50.
According to their own history page (sorry not going to link to those bastards) the shop was probably called "The Organ Center" or "The Vox Guitar Center" in 1971. You bought a Martin guitar from an organ dealer LOL.
posted by charlie don't surf at 12:24 PM on February 6, 2015
Impossible, there was no such place. The Hollywood Guitar Center did not exist until 1985. I remember it vividly because they bought the Oriental Theater and shut it down, it was two blocks from my house. The theater used to show movies just finishing their first run, I think the matinee (two shows for one price) was about $3.50.
According to their own history page (sorry not going to link to those bastards) the shop was probably called "The Organ Center" or "The Vox Guitar Center" in 1971. You bought a Martin guitar from an organ dealer LOL.
posted by charlie don't surf at 12:24 PM on February 6, 2015
I hate Guitar Center, but it's physically closer to my house than any of the smaller, local music stores. Nevertheless, I won't miss it when it's gone.
I frequented Sam Ash in Hempstead since it was down the street from where I took Driver's Ed. That location is gone now but there's one not far from that location. I stopped in when I was on Long Island not too long ago. Not the same as I remembered but still great to them still in business.
posted by tommasz at 12:42 PM on February 6, 2015
I frequented Sam Ash in Hempstead since it was down the street from where I took Driver's Ed. That location is gone now but there's one not far from that location. I stopped in when I was on Long Island not too long ago. Not the same as I remembered but still great to them still in business.
posted by tommasz at 12:42 PM on February 6, 2015
You bought a Martin guitar from an organ dealer LOL.
Better than buying a Hammond guitar from a Martin dealer.......
posted by thelonius at 2:37 PM on February 6, 2015
Better than buying a Hammond guitar from a Martin dealer.......
posted by thelonius at 2:37 PM on February 6, 2015
Isn't that the manufacturer's fault, not Guitar Center's? And GC let you exchange it multiple times and then gave you your money back, that seems pretty OK to me.
Yeah, I'm not mad that they let me return it more than once (and actually, I guess it was only twice), but I really shouldn't have had to. The detail that sticks out for me is that the first two they sold me had obviously been opened and returned. Both had some problem with a part (I know a knob had been pulled off on the first one, and I think a key was broken on the second one). Once I got the third one, it was wrapped up in a way that the other two weren't, which made me realize that this was the only one that had actually come straight from the factory.
I'm fine with people returning stuff after a change of heart, but GC obviously didn't check to see that all the parts were there and working, and that's just lousy. I ended up going to the Guitar Center in the Valley, and the guys there were like "oh yeah, Hollywood is a terrible location."
posted by teponaztli at 4:33 PM on February 6, 2015
Yeah, I'm not mad that they let me return it more than once (and actually, I guess it was only twice), but I really shouldn't have had to. The detail that sticks out for me is that the first two they sold me had obviously been opened and returned. Both had some problem with a part (I know a knob had been pulled off on the first one, and I think a key was broken on the second one). Once I got the third one, it was wrapped up in a way that the other two weren't, which made me realize that this was the only one that had actually come straight from the factory.
I'm fine with people returning stuff after a change of heart, but GC obviously didn't check to see that all the parts were there and working, and that's just lousy. I ended up going to the Guitar Center in the Valley, and the guys there were like "oh yeah, Hollywood is a terrible location."
posted by teponaztli at 4:33 PM on February 6, 2015
infinitewindow: Say what you will about GC, but I can't find any other places in LA that are open on weekends and will let me noodle on synths without an appointment. (If you know of any shops that will, please let me know!)
I don't know if I've ever noodled on a synth at Sam Ash, but I've definitely messed around with effects pedals a bunch of times and it was no big deal - I just had to ask at the counter and they put me in a little room (the one on the first floor) with like $4000 guitars to try them out on. It was great. Open all weekend. I pretty much exclusively buy from them now.
Also, I don't know if they let you noodle, but Future Music, in Highland Park, is an awesome store for vintage synths I'll never be able to afford.
posted by teponaztli at 4:40 PM on February 6, 2015 [2 favorites]
I don't know if I've ever noodled on a synth at Sam Ash, but I've definitely messed around with effects pedals a bunch of times and it was no big deal - I just had to ask at the counter and they put me in a little room (the one on the first floor) with like $4000 guitars to try them out on. It was great. Open all weekend. I pretty much exclusively buy from them now.
Also, I don't know if they let you noodle, but Future Music, in Highland Park, is an awesome store for vintage synths I'll never be able to afford.
posted by teponaztli at 4:40 PM on February 6, 2015 [2 favorites]
Isn't that the manufacturer's fault, not Guitar Center's? And GC let you exchange it multiple times and then gave you your money back, that seems pretty OK to me.
Teponaztli explained it already, but what they're talking about is what i like to call the fry's electronics problem. It's to the point that you seriously have to open the box and make sure it's still wrapped to be certain you're getting an actually new thing, not a "new" thing. Any time someone returns something, they just put it back on the fucking shelf without inspecting it in any way.
It's GREAT if you spilled something in your brand new keyboard or whatever and want to pull a scam and fuck over the shop, but shitty for any customer. So much junk gets put back on the shelf that really should just be processed through some other channel outside the store if they're really going to accept returns like this. It's the best buy shrink wrapped xbox box full of socks and a weight routine.
That said, i'll miss guitar center for two things. The first being a selection of cables for $6 that should be $6 dammit, not $19 like they are everywhere else, and second, because me and my loser friends managed to pawn a bunch of halfway decent guitars and stuff there in college and were instantly cut a check... for way more than they really should have paid us. We got like $475 for some hunk of crap that would have been maybe $250 on craigslist.
I'll always respect them at least a little bit for helping my friend pay rent, and helping me eat teriyaki and get fuckhoused drunk essentially for free.
posted by emptythought at 4:57 PM on February 6, 2015 [1 favorite]
Teponaztli explained it already, but what they're talking about is what i like to call the fry's electronics problem. It's to the point that you seriously have to open the box and make sure it's still wrapped to be certain you're getting an actually new thing, not a "new" thing. Any time someone returns something, they just put it back on the fucking shelf without inspecting it in any way.
It's GREAT if you spilled something in your brand new keyboard or whatever and want to pull a scam and fuck over the shop, but shitty for any customer. So much junk gets put back on the shelf that really should just be processed through some other channel outside the store if they're really going to accept returns like this. It's the best buy shrink wrapped xbox box full of socks and a weight routine.
That said, i'll miss guitar center for two things. The first being a selection of cables for $6 that should be $6 dammit, not $19 like they are everywhere else, and second, because me and my loser friends managed to pawn a bunch of halfway decent guitars and stuff there in college and were instantly cut a check... for way more than they really should have paid us. We got like $475 for some hunk of crap that would have been maybe $250 on craigslist.
I'll always respect them at least a little bit for helping my friend pay rent, and helping me eat teriyaki and get fuckhoused drunk essentially for free.
posted by emptythought at 4:57 PM on February 6, 2015 [1 favorite]
Last month I was in the market for a digital piano and hit up Guitar Center. It was like shopping at a goddamned Best Buy. None of the staff were interested in talking to me, and when I pinned people down to ask questions they didn't know anything. I ended up finding one I liked on the show floor and then buying it for $100 cheaper on Musician's Friend while still in the store.
posted by danb at 5:58 PM on February 6, 2015
posted by danb at 5:58 PM on February 6, 2015
I found some more pieces analyzing GC's recent history of financial issues on The Tone King - some very interesting reading.
posted by soundguy99 at 6:40 PM on February 6, 2015
posted by soundguy99 at 6:40 PM on February 6, 2015
Unfortunately, this doesn't help bring Music Lab back from the dead. 8(
posted by MikeWarot at 7:10 PM on February 6, 2015
posted by MikeWarot at 7:10 PM on February 6, 2015
You bought a Martin guitar from an organ dealer LOL.
I wouldn't LOL. There really weren't specialty "guitar stores" or even rock/pop-focused instrument stores prior to the late 70s/early 80s or so. There were just music stores that sold all kinds of musical instruments, for school band and for movie theatres and homes and everything else, all of them basically locally owned or small regional chains. And there was Sears, source of many a first guitar.
posted by Miko at 9:38 AM on February 9, 2015
I wouldn't LOL. There really weren't specialty "guitar stores" or even rock/pop-focused instrument stores prior to the late 70s/early 80s or so. There were just music stores that sold all kinds of musical instruments, for school band and for movie theatres and homes and everything else, all of them basically locally owned or small regional chains. And there was Sears, source of many a first guitar.
posted by Miko at 9:38 AM on February 9, 2015
I wouldn't LOL either. Did you buy a good guitar at a good price? I can't see what else matters at all.
posted by Wolof at 12:03 AM on February 10, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by Wolof at 12:03 AM on February 10, 2015 [1 favorite]
Did you buy a good guitar at a good price?
I bought a good guitar, at a good price
became a rock star, and that was real nice
but then my band flopped, I sold my sports car
and now I hope you... will buy my gui-tar
posted by flapjax at midnite at 3:04 AM on February 10, 2015 [2 favorites]
I bought a good guitar, at a good price
became a rock star, and that was real nice
but then my band flopped, I sold my sports car
and now I hope you... will buy my gui-tar
posted by flapjax at midnite at 3:04 AM on February 10, 2015 [2 favorites]
I bought my gui-tar from an organ store
The salesman told me that he'd sold four or more
It's not an organ but it blocks under the door
My Martin Draught Excluder gets me roars from the floor.
posted by Wolof at 2:12 PM on February 10, 2015
The salesman told me that he'd sold four or more
It's not an organ but it blocks under the door
My Martin Draught Excluder gets me roars from the floor.
posted by Wolof at 2:12 PM on February 10, 2015
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