Music shops -any wonder they're going under?

[stingrayPete1977]

[quote name='skankdelvar' timestamp='1475087385' post='3142993']


£1850 and the previously considered alternative was a £729 Martin DRS. I suspect the shop probably made more out of the deal.

Anyway, I wasn't [i]actually[/i] looking for thanks; experience has taught me to expect very little from guitar shops
[/quote]

But the shop doesn't just buy them all in for £500 each and earn more off more expensive sales, it's quite possible sometimes that the cheaper version has more in it for the shop, less so for the same brand granted but a known brand that sells like Squier can force a better deal for themselves than the shop, lots of £50 cuts from lots of Squier basses is better than a £100 cut from a bass that doesn't sell.

The chinese P bass deal with an amp and strap could be bought in for say £100 and sold for £199 many times over coming up to christmas, the no doubt much nicer and better value for money Squier deal selling for lets say £249 might be costing the shop £175, that expert advice has got the buyer a better bass and a useable amp but you've cost the shop £25!

Stack 'em high sell 'em cheap!

[grandad]

I generally use 4 music shops, PMT Birmingham, The Little Guitar Shop in the jewellery quarter, Fair Deal Music and Rockstar Guitars in Blackheath.

To date all have given good advice and excellent service. We appear to be well served here in the West Midlands.

[Froggy]

[quote name='skidder652003' timestamp='1475076275' post='3142858']
hmmm, never had that sort of experience in Mansons, always very very good, sales and repairs, both excellent, mind you, its not a chain...
[/quote]


I've had nothing but good experiences with Mansons, both online, over the phone, and actually in the store.

[skankdelvar]

[quote name='stingrayPete1977' timestamp='1475088717' post='3143020']
But the shop doesn't just buy them all in for £500 each and earn more off more expensive sales, it's quite possible sometimes that the cheaper version has more in it for the shop, less so for the same brand granted but a known brand that sells like Squier can force a better deal for themselves than the shop, lots of £50 cuts from lots of Squier basses is better than a £100 cut from a bass that doesn't sell.

The chinese P bass deal with an amp and strap could be bought in for say £100 and sold for £199 many times over coming up to christmas, the no doubt much nicer and better value for money Squier deal selling for lets say £249 might be costing the shop £175, that expert advice has got the buyer a better bass and a useable amp but you've cost the shop £25!

Stack 'em high sell 'em cheap!
[/quote]

Yes, but I wasn't talking about Squiers. Neither was I under the mistaken impression that the shop were buying in DRSs and D18s at the same price.

I suppose there's a possibility that a retailer might make less profit off a D18 than a DRS at less than half the price, but I doubt it. Perhaps the retailers here could weigh in with a view?

[molan]

[quote name='Twigman' timestamp='1475085271' post='3142965']

go on then humour us
[/quote]

I never kiss and tell

[Lozz196]

[quote name='lojo' timestamp='1475088619' post='3143017']
I think when dealing with anything these days it's about your point of contact , if I arrange something with a specific person I'll always now ask if they'll be there on my return or what days / times they are in and even sometimes call to check . Don't assume anything , but at least if you deal with the same person at least they'll remember the conversation so you don't have to start again

It's not just music shops
[/quote]

Very good way to go about things imo.

[molan]

[quote name='ricksterphil' timestamp='1475087787' post='3143004']
Best music shop experience I ever had was in a store in Birmingham

Me and my band were buying a Traynor PA.....well actually the drummers dad Harry was paying (we were in our teens)

How much we asked? £400 said the salesman (should point out this was the 70's)
How much can you knock off asks Harry (the drummers dad...keep up folks)
Oh I reckon no more than 10% off says salesman bloke. Well Harry wasn't happy with that and a session of good old fashioned haggling went on which culminated with us half way out of the shop, with Harry sticking to his offer, before the manager gave in and we got the PA. £240 Harry paid ....that's a 40% discount!

Never forgot that encounter, learnt much about the art of haggling that day
[/quote]

Is the shop still there?

[drTStingray]

[quote name='molan' timestamp='1475103213' post='3143158']


Is the shop still there?
[/quote]

My recollection is that no music stores which were in operation in Birmingham in the 1970s still exist and I suspect few if any in the UK do....

Listening to you guys talking about the Squier v Encore is interesting - I did exactly the opposite and bought my lad the Encore set up for several reasons - firstly it didn't sound any different, secondly it was cheaper, thirdly I knew that if he decided he didn't want to continue with it he could sell it, fourthly if he did make a go of it he'd probably want a shiny new expensive bass, and finally I knew the shop owner who belly ached a lot about one of the 'name' manufacturers forcing him to stock all sorts of extraneous instruments which would clutter his shop for months if not years in order to sell their starter kits - effectively using his showroom as a parking lot for its over-production of instruments - hmmm I had some sympathy with him, having sold me various clarinets and the like for my daughter and seen his shop cluttered with this stuff!!

I can quite imagine the shop probably made more money from their own starter kit sale than the Squier.

He still has the Encore, which covers his desire for that sort of sound but progressed to Ibanez and Musicman for higher quality instruments.

A different perspective perhaps but there you go.

Edited September 28, 2016 by drTStingray

[josie]

A good word for Dawsons. We bought my son's Ibanez acoustic guitar from their Stockport branch (now sadly closed) and the staff were super-patient and helpful, even let him use the staff toilet to change his baby son's nappy in the middle of carefully testing five or six guitars. I pop into their Manchester branch occasionally and the staff are always friendly and knowledgeable.

Johnny Roadhouse (now a branch of Hobgoblin) are patchy - a couple of the staff are fine, but there's one who tried to sell me a set of heavyweight nickel-wound bass strings when I asked for bronze-wound strings for an acoustic bass.

Promenade Music in Morecambe Bay are awesome. Put a 2nd hand Stingray aside for me for two weeks on spec and no hint of a grumble when I got there and didn't like it. (I bought my GMR instead.) A couple of years later when I phoned about a Jazz Plus 5, they not only put it behind the counter but tuned it up before I got there. (I bought that too.) It's a good thing they're two hours train ride away or Gok how many basses I'd own by now

[Billy Apple]

[quote name='molan' timestamp='1475097548' post='3143112']


I never kiss and tell
[/quote]

It's a pity the store is closing, the kissing was the best bit.

Edited September 29, 2016 by Billy Apple

[FinnDave]

[quote name='josie' timestamp='1475106585' post='3143184']
A good word for Dawsons. We bought my son's Ibanez acoustic guitar from their Stockport branch (now sadly closed)
[/quote]

I bought my first half decent bass from Dawsons in Stockport, a Framus Jazz bass in 1976 or 7. I don't suppose the Rhythm House on Hillgate is still there? Seemed like a relic from a bygone age 40 years ago!

[Barking Spiders]

I recently went into a store in Stratford where normally they have blokes who know their stuff but on this day they had two young giggly girls behind the counter more interested in You Tube whatever. I asked for a pack of flatwound strings but one of the two looked at me as if I said summat in Hungarian. I could see they don't know their arses from their elbows and went elsewhere.

[ianrendall]

The problem I have with music shops, at least where I live where there are 3 or 4, is the stock they carry. Fine if you want a Tanglewood acoustic, drum sticks, 10 watt Stagg practice amps, a Squier Tele or an Adele songbook. The only bass I've seen is an overpriced Mex Jazz.

[KevB]

New PMT due to open in Nottm this Sat, looks a decent sized space when I looked in the window a couple of weeks back. I'm told the one in B'ham is massive so hopefully this one will give a bit of competition to the (largely uninspiring) current choices here.

[JTUK]

[quote name='gareth' timestamp='1475072536' post='3142813']
I would phoned on the day they said it would be in to ensure it was infact in
[/quote]

Yes..before setting off.

[jezzaboy]

I`ve gotta say that the 3 shops I use in Glasgow - Guitarguitar, Merchant city and Strung out, have all been good for me. Some have better prices on strings, effects pedals etc but I try and use them rather than internet shopping. Strung out is a fantastic repair shop with really helpful staff.

Overall

[Jakester]

[quote name='JTUK' timestamp='1475147876' post='3143411']


Yes..before setting off.
[/quote]

Did this time... guess what? Not in. I shall be going elsewhere...

[Funky Dunky]

[quote name='jezzaboy' timestamp='1475164430' post='3143665']
I`ve gotta say that the 3 shops I use in Glasgow - Guitarguitar, Merchant city and Strung out, have all been good for me. Some have better prices on strings, effects pedals etc but I try and use them rather than internet shopping. Strung out is a fantastic repair shop with really helpful staff.

Overall
[/quote]

Strung Out are fantastic. Everything I look for in service.

By fabulous coincidence, I have a story to add. My amp crapped out, so I did some quick scouting for a new combo and found one that appeared to fit the bill. Went on the website, there it was, but it said "Currently out of stock. Back in stock soon." It also said "give us your name and email address and we will contact you blah blah blah."

So, I did just that.

Got a nice email yesterday saying "Dear Duncan, we are expecting this amp back in stock soon, in the meantime feel free to contact us with any questions".

So, I did just that, and asked if they could tell me when it would be coming back in stock, because I'm eager to try it.

Got a reply - from the same person, I must add - saying "This is not something we currently have on order."

Well, that's piss poor, isn't it?

But if I want to buy one, they will order one in! I replied to tell them that their second email was in direct contradiction to their first, and that I wouldn't commit to buy an amp I've never played through. I eagerly await their comeback.

Edited September 29, 2016 by Funky Dunky

[Ruiner]

[quote name='Big_Stu' timestamp='1475081660' post='3142923']


Yeah, it's a venue now, but I thought Sound Control was on the main road near Music Ground? Was it not A1 or something like that? I'm suddenly feeling very old.
[/quote]

It used to be A1 but then became Sound Control if memory serves. The big Sound Control at Regent Road became PMT when Sound Control went bust.

[mep]

[quote name='skidder652003' timestamp='1475076275' post='3142858']
hmmm, never had that sort of experience in Mansons, always very very good, sales and repairs, both excellent, mind you, its not a chain...
[/quote]

Me too. Glad it's the nearest music shop to me. Always great service.

[molan]

[quote name='Billy Apple' timestamp='1475126874' post='3143208']


It's a pity the store is closing, the kissing was the best bit.
[/quote]

You can always pop round mine for a snog 😘

[synthaside]

While I've been on the receiving end of of plenty of bad guitar shop employee's advice and general haughtiness none of them stick in my mind like the one bit of great advice I received from a small guitar shop miles away from home .

We were at a store which my dad had driven me to because they were one of the few places with what i wanted in stock and i refused to buy it without trying it
I was after an Epiphone explorer bass , in my defence I was 15 obsessed with rock and spikey guitars , i'd been playing a hand me down basses of a neighbour and had also saved enough to buy a pile of junk bass from paper round money from the local classifieds. This was to be my first new instrument a gift from my parents for by upcoming 16th birthday and to be used for our Upcoming gig at the "Rifleman .... ( local Dog n Duck " . )

The explorer hung on its strap like an elephants trunk , but I really wanted it over anything else in the shop , Until the member of staff said who was maybe 22 or so said ....
"Its a great guitar for when your posing in your next music video , but wear it for 4 hours or turn up at a rehearsal for a slightly differnt band and you'll be wishing for something more comfortable and understated "

He suggested I try an Epi T bird which was " Different enough to be what I wanted " He also popped out back and put a strap button on underneath the bolt for the neck-plate which sorted the balance issues .

By the time i was 20 i'd have never been see dead with an explorer, but was still gigging my Tbird.

[Funky Dunky]

I received an email from the Glasgow shop this morning to say that the email informing me of the impending arrival of my amp of choice was a generic one (even though it was addressed "Dear Duncan" and signed by a named member of staff) and that no, my amp of choice would not be coming in soon and if I want one it has to be a special order. No apology, no sorry for the confusion, just a general tone of "tough titty, mate".

They will therefore never see a pound of my money. I have expressed sufficient interest, they more or less lied to me, didn't apologise, weren't polite and, it seems, don't much care about trying to get the sale. I understand they can't necessarily order something in on spec, but the whole back and forth has been very shabby, so I'll take my money elsewhere.

Edited September 30, 2016 by Funky Dunky

[josie]

[quote name='FinnDave' timestamp='1475132924' post='3143235']
I bought my first half decent bass from Dawsons in Stockport, a Framus Jazz bass in 1976 or 7. I don't suppose the Rhythm House on Hillgate is still there? Seemed like a relic from a bygone age 40 years ago!
[/quote]

Rhythm House is long gone I believe. There is a small independent, Fab Music, on Hilllgate a few doors down, they were efficient and helpful when I went in for headphones for my amp a while back (I shop local not internet whenever possible) but limited stock and I don't know what they'd be like if I'd been looking for a bass. They do seem to promote local bands and venues.

[FinnDave]

The first bass I actually owned rather than borrowed came from the Rhythm House. No idea what make it was but I do remember stripping and re-spraying it. I think small shops like that were the backbone of the retail music business in the late 60s and most of the 70s.