Lozz196 Posted May 21, 2015 Share Posted May 21, 2015 [quote name='BigRedX' timestamp='1432209353' post='2779181'] The internet has "spoiled" it for everyone, by showing us just what a massive range of bass guitars, amps etc. is available. So it's little wonder that most of the people on here who have a higher than average interest in gear are going to be disappointed at what is available in the shops. [/quote] Add to that the availaility of such great gear, 2nd hand on Basschat, and the shops really are on a loser. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris_b Posted May 21, 2015 Share Posted May 21, 2015 Shops like GAK, Guitar Guitar and Andertons have sorted out their business model, so the shop is now just the front for their internet operation. That is the future of higher value musical instrument sales. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Annoying Twit Posted May 21, 2015 Share Posted May 21, 2015 Given the size of the city and the shops in it, I think that Leicester shops do a reasonable job of supplying bassists. Can't compare to the specialist shops in Brum, but Leicester is a smaller place. I'm not sure how many bass amps there are in the shops though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigRedX Posted May 21, 2015 Share Posted May 21, 2015 [quote name='anaxcrosswords' timestamp='1432226541' post='2779462'] The online thing is interesting though. In all but one of my purchases a necessary part has been trying the instrument out first, for the usual reasons of feel, playability, evaluating whether or not it's 'the one'. Plus, I suppose, the opportunity to haggle a little - maybe not a price reduction, but would you be preapred to thrown in a bag, couple of leads... Are we all happy to have moved away from that? [/quote] Is trying before you buy that important? IME you can't know if a bass is going to really suit you until you've actually used it for whatever musical projects you are currently working on. The last bass I tried in a shop before buying was moved on within 6 months. The basses that I currently use were all bought simply as a result of seeing their pretty pictures on the internet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drax Posted May 21, 2015 Share Posted May 21, 2015 The Gallery is still great, a lot of varied stock. I've bought a lot online, but twice bought basses from there I didn't walk in expecting to buy. Must be a real headache trying to stock a shop with mass appeal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul_5 Posted May 21, 2015 Share Posted May 21, 2015 More often than not it's the distributors of the 'big companies' (Fender, Gibson etc…) who want a wedge of cash up front, then dictate what stock a particular shop can sell. Small and Medium sized independent music shops often don't have the capital to 'invest' in becoming a dealer, particularly when you get no say over which models you sell… Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Norris Posted May 21, 2015 Share Posted May 21, 2015 I agree that often the distributors have a lot to do with it. A mate of mine stopped selling a lot of new stuff and moved into the second hand market because the distributors wanted him to sell X amount of stuff a month or he couldn't get any stock at all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TimR Posted May 22, 2015 Share Posted May 22, 2015 [quote name='TheGreek' timestamp='1432223696' post='2779403'] My local music shop has less than 5 basses in, loads of guitars and tons of keyboards. I was talking a drummer friend recently about how difficult it is to find a good keyboard player - if there are so few why do shops dedicate so much more room to keyboardists?? [/quote]r There are thousands/millions of keyboard players around. They just don't want to play in bands. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris_b Posted May 22, 2015 Share Posted May 22, 2015 Shops will contain what they think/know they can sell. Look in a shop and that's what people are buying. It's actually pretty easy to kit yourself up as a beginner bass player. Just get one of the starter packs. The next step is easy as well. Yamaha's or Fenders etc, they are around. After that becomes harder, but by that time most have reached the natural conclusion of their "hobby". If your interest is still alive you'll find out where to look next. It just won't be on your door step. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Machines Posted May 22, 2015 Share Posted May 22, 2015 My local music shop (Express Music in Solihull) is fairly small, but I think has a reasonable stock of basses for it's size. It has about 8 in total being a mix of Ibanez and Squier. None are high end (£500 tops) but I think there is a good enough mix of styles to suit most players (there's a couple of 5 strings in there too). Bass amps are a different matter though, a Fender Rumble combo is it. I am spoilt with a few good shops in Birmingham though, I have PMT and GuitarGuitar of which both have something for pretty much every player. PMT is only a 10 min drive from my work, so some lunchtimes I pop in for a browse (GAS). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ziphoblat Posted May 22, 2015 Share Posted May 22, 2015 There's also a much greater variety of bass gear in frequent use than guitar stuff. Generally speaking, guitarists are a lot more stuck in their ways. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jezzaboy Posted May 22, 2015 Share Posted May 22, 2015 A local Glasgow store owner told me a few years ago he sold 10 guitars to 1 bass. Easy economics. Having said that, Glasgow, being the major city in Scotland , is well served. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seashell Posted May 22, 2015 Share Posted May 22, 2015 [quote name='Machines' timestamp='1432292177' post='2780058'] My local music shop (Express Music in Solihull) is fairly small, but I think has a reasonable stock of basses for it's size. It has about 8 in total being a mix of Ibanez and Squier. None are high end (£500 tops) but I think there is a good enough mix of styles to suit most players (there's a couple of 5 strings in there too). Bass amps are a different matter though, a Fender Rumble combo is it. I am spoilt with a few good shops in Birmingham though, I have PMT and GuitarGuitar of which both have something for pretty much every player. PMT is only a 10 min drive from my work, so some lunchtimes I pop in for a browse (GAS). [/quote] Yes I think we are lucky in Brum. I got my TC Electronics combo in PMT. The bass guy , Matt, was really helpful. But I got my Fender P in Stirchley Music Exchange. It's a very small shop, and I've never seen a Fender bass in there before or since. It was there among the Squiers and Arias whispering 'I'm yours, I'm yours'.... :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geoham Posted May 25, 2015 Share Posted May 25, 2015 [quote name='jezzaboy' timestamp='1432293885' post='2780083'] A local Glasgow store owner told me a few years ago he sold 10 guitars to 1 bass. Easy economics. Having said that, Glasgow, being the major city in Scotland , is well served. [/quote] I suppose it depends on what you're after, but I'm not sure I agree. I've not been able to get what I've been after for my past few purchases. The only place with a reasonable level of bass gear is Guitar Guitar, and I've never been impressed about their staff's bass knowledge. (In fairness, they were decent enough when buying a guitar for my kid). Other than that, McCormicks is long gone, Merchant City, Kenny's Music and CC Music have quite a restricted choice. Can't think of too many other places Fender P - Wunjos in London were considerably cheaper than anyone locally, and got a good quality Fender gig bag thrown in. Also very impressive service! Bass ukulele - got it from Thomann TC Electronic BH550 (any similar head would have been good enough!) - Bought from Bass Direct at the London Bass Show Lakland 5501 - Ordered from Guitar Guitar (No stock in their Glasgow shop, just Newcastle and Epsom) Same with smaller bits - pick-ups, bridges, pickguards - all ordered on-line. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bobthedog Posted May 25, 2015 Share Posted May 25, 2015 (edited) My two LMS are quite different, one has very little in the way of bass and is mostly guitars and keyboards. No bass amps usually. Very sadly it has downsized to half the size it was and I suspect was purely to try and make a business case to continue. Having said that I did get my Fender P Bass from them in stock (one of only 5 bass guitars they had in entirety) and subsequently ordered my Fender Jazz through them. I try to support when possible. The second LMS is a small warehouse with a recording studio attached and carries more bass kit, but it is extremely budget stuff with one or two second hand higher end pieces occasionally appearing. I have to travel to Northampton for PMT for a better, although imho still limited, selection. Bass Direct are only 35 miles from me so they are an option, but I have yet to go there. I tried to get hold of some strap locks from the first place, they had nothing. I picked up some Schaller ones from the second shop at £22 for a pair. Subsequently I bought another pair online for £ 10. That sort of no stock / economics does make it tough to support any LMS though. Edited May 25, 2015 by Bobthedog Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blue Posted May 26, 2015 Share Posted May 26, 2015 We are lucky to have Cream City here in Milwaukee. Walk in there and they will have anything you want from vintage 60s Hofners to any Fenders Gibson Warwicks Rics Sadowsky etc ... They have it all. Blue Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrtcat Posted May 26, 2015 Share Posted May 26, 2015 [quote name='blue' timestamp='1432660302' post='2783714'] We are lucky to have Cream City here in Milwaukee. Walk in there and they will have anything you want from vintage 60s Hofners to any Fenders Gibson Warwicks Rics Sadowsky etc ... They have it all. Blue [/quote] Putting my house up for sale and looking into green card lottery... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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