Great service from Thomann

[dave_bass5]

[quote name='crez5150' post='842874' date='May 20 2010, 10:16 AM']Well... some think that.... but the music game is a funny business.... look at Sound Control.... Turnkey.... Arbiter.... Reverb.... to name a few recent demises.[/quote]

Yeah, i know its not as clear cut as i put it.
I used to love Turnkey. Used to spend hours in there when i used to play keyboards. I remember they used to be around the corner, I think they were called the Fender sound house in those days.

[EdwardHimself]

I agree that thomann has stupidly good customer service. Another shop that i would say has a great customer service is BANZAI music. They accidentaly forgot to send me a resistor and i ended up being able to have one sent, plus they sent me an allen key to adjust the knob i ordered that was the right size.

As for smaller music shops. There is a local guitar shop in my town that's good if you need something today and the staff are very friendly. But i agree that it's always too expensive to shop in places like that. Like for example once i accidentaly cut a bass string too short and was charged £7 for ONE string! Not coated or anything like that, just a standard rotosound bass string. It's a real shame that the smaller shop these days is being killed by big buisiness but at the end of the day people are always going to buy what's cheaper. The thing about local music shops though, is that you can barter on price, plus you can get some good deals for used stuff so i'm not saying it's always the big shops that win out in my case.

Edited May 20, 2010 by EdwardHimself

[Pkomor]

[quote name='EdwardHimself' post='842900' date='May 20 2010, 10:40 AM']I agree that thomann has stupidly good customer service. Another shop that i would say has a great customer service is BANZAI music. They accidentaly forgot to send me a resistor and i ended up being able to have one sent, plus they sent me an allen key to adjust the knob i ordered that was the right size.

As for smaller music shops. There is a local guitar shop in my town that's good if you need something today and the staff are very friendly. But i agree that it's always too expensive to shop in places like that. Like for example once i accidentaly cut a bass string too short and was charged £7 for ONE string! Not coated or anything like that, just a standard rotosound bass string. It's a real shame that the smaller shop these days is being killed by big buisiness but at the end of the day people are always going to buy what's cheaper. The thing about local music shops though, is that you can barter on price, plus you can get some good deals for used stuff so i'm not saying it's always the big shops that win out in my case.[/quote]

+1, its sad, but small shops need to focus on used items, dispensable stuff that people might need fast (strings, spare parts etc.) and setups/repairs so that they can provide things that the online giants cant.

[Bilbo]

'Local' music shops have served no purpose for me for over 15 years. Like local record shops, they are for people that have a superficial relationship with the industry. For anyone with an even remotely specialist interest, local high street shops just don't deliver anything of value. Its all lowest common denominator stuff.

[crez5150]

[quote name='Bilbo' post='843022' date='May 20 2010, 12:26 PM']'Local' music shops have served no purpose for me for over 15 years. Like local record shops, they are for people that have a superficial relationship with the industry. For anyone with an even remotely specialist interest, local high street shops just don't deliver anything of value. Its all lowest common denominator stuff.[/quote]

Well that really depends on a few things Bilbo.... Most local music shops serve a purpose.... maybe most of them will not be able to service specialist interests but most of them do service local tutors for things such as sheet music, Associated Board material, reeds, strings etc.... maybe they won't all be stocking that american/german/Indian Jazz bass you've been searching for... but they have value as a store

[Pete Academy]

[quote name='Bilbo' post='843022' date='May 20 2010, 12:26 PM']'Local' music shops have served no purpose for me for over 15 years. Like local record shops, they are for people that have a superficial relationship with the industry. For anyone with an even remotely specialist interest, local high street shops just don't deliver anything of value. Its all lowest common denominator stuff.[/quote]

I had a "mate" ring me up for two Boss pedals, which we had in stock. He asked me to price match the internet, which I did. He then asked for more discount, as he could get the pedals online, delivered next day. I said I couldn't, as the mark up was below our minimum. He then said: 'What incentive can you give me, then, for driving over to your shop?'

How about supporting your local store, my job, and our customer service? He bought online.

Lowest common denominator, indeed.

[Bilbo]

[quote name='crez5150' post='843026' date='May 20 2010, 12:33 PM']Well that really depends on a few things Bilbo.... Most local music shops serve a purpose.... maybe most of them will not be able to service specialist interests but most of them do service local tutors for things such as sheet music, Associated Board material, reeds, strings etc.... maybe they won't all be stocking that american/german/Indian Jazz bass you've been searching for... but they have value as a store[/quote]

I don't disagree with the principle of what you are saying but as a muso, purchaser of hundreds of books on music theory, musicans, scores etc and as purchaser of recorded music by the bucketload, I never visit my local shops and haven't for years: not because of their pricing structures but because they don't really sell anything that I want/can use. Odds and sods but nothing REALLY important. Can't get the strings I use, the plectrums I use, the leads I use, can't try a double bass locally, can't buy a bow locally, can't buy the music stands I like locally, can't buy a decent bass case locally; the list goes on... I am not saying that there is nothing at all in these shops that I could use, just that it amounts to so little that I can't get excited about their potential demise.

When you think about it, having a 'central' supplier like Thomann, GAK, Gollihur etc which can get you stuff at an affordable price means that musicians can also get the benefits of economies of scale normally reserved for food, clothing and furniture. Maintaining little local outlets is an honourable endeavour but I can't see that it reason enough for us to ask ordinary folk on limited incomes to pay over the odds to access the world of making music.

[dave_bass5]

I only get an hour for lunch each day, my options are to go to Denmark st or order on line for next day delivery (not Thomanns obviously).
Maybe i should start supporting the Bass Cellar lol.

Supporting your local shop is all well and good, but as Bilbo said, if they dont stock what you want then you have to go elsewhere.

[Prime_BASS]

[quote name='Pete Academy' post='842815' date='May 20 2010, 09:05 AM']At the end of the day a retailer can sell a product for whatever they want to, but it's frustrating, as a shop needs to make a certain mark-up to survive. Last week I was asked to price match Thomann on a Boss Me-50B at £173. Roland have ensured that shops advertise all their products at the same price online, which has worked well, but the retailer will still reduce that price.

We have had to stop doing Yamaha keyboards because of silly pricing. We were lucky to make 10% profit on a £2000 Clavinova trying to match the likes of Normans, etc.

Good news for the buyer, I have to admit. Worrying for the likes of me.[/quote]

I understand your point, as my parents own their own business and are always being undercut by others. Although we enjoy a healthy business thanks to it's location and great reputation (bobbersmill transport cafe : Mill cafe, nuthall).

If there was a local music shop nearby I would always go there first as I hate some sites un willingness to state weather something is in stock and delivery time.

I would happily by that bit extra to be greated by a fellow musician who is happy to help. I liked foxes when it was there you could pull the guitars off the shelf and jam, drum and guitar centre all the basses are hanging high so if I wanted to try I'd be looking at a full day of shopping in that one shop. Great stock but some staff don't seem to have a clue and I can't get to anything.

[crez5150]

[quote name='Bilbo' post='843078' date='May 20 2010, 01:06 PM']I don't disagree with the principle of what you are saying but as a muso, purchaser of hundreds of books on music theory, musicans, scores etc and as purchaser of recorded music by the bucketload, I never visit my local shops and haven't for years: not because of their pricing structures but because they don't really sell anything that I want/can use. Odds and sods but nothing REALLY important. Can't get the strings I use, the plectrums I use, the leads I use, can't try a double bass locally, can't buy a bow locally, can't buy the music stands I like locally, can't buy a decent bass case locally; the list goes on... I am not saying that there is nothing at all in these shops that I could use, just that it amounts to so little that I can't get excited about their potential demise.

When you think about it, having a 'central' supplier like Thomann, GAK, Gollihur etc which can get you stuff at an affordable price means that musicians can also get the benefits of economies of scale normally reserved for food, clothing and furniture. Maintaining little local outlets is an honourable endeavour but I can't see that it reason enough for us to ask ordinary folk on limited incomes to pay over the odds to access the world of making music.[/quote]

The problem with these Central Suppliers is the pricing they can offer... and the fact that they hold a lot of Manufacturers by the Balls as they are powerless to take a grip on advertised pricing. All good news for the consumer... but its only going to damage support for the products that are sold.... look at Fender and Gibson in the UK (Pete will understand from a retail point of view).

I understand what you're saying Bilbo about the specialist products you need but you have to realise that you're not paying over the odds for product it's just that some dealers will work on little margin. Last year I was working with a very large Pro-Audio supplier who had a major product release.... This product range was worth in the region of £15M in the UK market... Thomann put it up on their website on the day of release at nearly 35% below our retail price in the UK..... you can imagine the knock on effects of that, nobody bought it...... not for a long time anyway

[Adrenochrome]

[quote name='Bilbo' post='843078' date='May 20 2010, 01:06 PM']...I can't see that it reason enough for us to ask ordinary folk on limited incomes to pay over the odds to access the world of making music.[/quote]

That's it in a nutshell. About 3 years ago I needed to buy a load of band stuff such as XLR mike leads, guitar leads, stands, bags etc. I got it all delivered from Thomann for half what it would have cost me to source it all locally, including travelling and parking costs. The service was fantastic with updates on the packing/shipping texted to me regularly. I have tried to support my local shops for small items like strings, straps etc as well.

[gerryk]

I went into very large local shop on Monday, to try out an amp. This is no corner shop - it's the size of many a tesco! I intended to do a deal on the day, if they were willing to meet me half way between online price and theirs, in order to support local store etc. As it turned out, they didn't have the amp in stock, as it had just sold. They said it would be 3 weeks before another delivery for that supplier. My previous experience with this store on estimated waiting times (waited 4 weeks for word on m-box, eventually gave in to Thomann), meant that i came home and ordered it from Thomann. it's already winging it's way to me, and there's a good chance I'll have it tomorrow. The m-box arrived an incredible 2 days after I ordered it.
I think the only real avenue for the local music shops is to have a serious online store in tandem with street presence.

[bartelby]

I may not use local shops (well, shop as the others have closed) as they're pretty over priced. But I'll tend to use places that are actually shops as opposed to warehouses.
My last few purchases were from GAK and Bass Direct (both in person and online). I will use Digital Village if I have too.

I've looked on the Thomann site many times but always ended up using a UK source.

[Mog]

My local music shop stocks Cort, Squire Affinity and Vintage basses. Priced a Squire thinking I'd get my brother a P-bass for his birthday, €240! Strings are either Rotosound, or Fame. D'Addario make an apperance occasionally. Went in once when I saw a pack of Warwick red label thinking I'd pick up a set for spares. €29.50. A return ticket to the nearest city is €10, a pack of red labels is €11 in most of the shops there.Do the maths. Recently a young guy I know who's only playing for a few months rang me from the shop asking if €38 was a good price for Dunlop RT sigs. Smaller music stores, especially ones in smaller towns with no compitition have been ripping people off for decades. Thomann and Music Store have great CC, great prices and you dont have to deal with snotty, up their own ass counterboys that seem common in most music stores over here. Long may it continue!

Edited May 20, 2010 by Mog

[Musicman20]

Sounds great Clarky!

I support when I can, especially bass specialists.

I used my old local shop for Orange gear and setups/checkovers.

But, ultimately, the internet prevails with certain things.

[tauzero]

I think Fair Deal in Birmingham have got quite a good balance - a meatspace shop with a reasonable selection (but why were both the Stagg classical guitars that I'd have liked to try out left-handed?) and an online store. For some reason, the online store is a bit cheaper - I tried out a Variax guitar in the real shop then bought it from them online, something for which I feel no guilt. I happily mix my online and meatspace musical purchasing.

I don't know how representative the non-lurking BC members are of the general bass-playing public - there was a poll a little while ago about number of strings on people's basses, and of 143 responses, it went 84 4-string, 47 5-string, 14 over-5-string. That's a ratio of about 4:3 for 4-string against over-4-string. I'll be playing in a local Battle of the Bands soon, and of the 30 bands in it (oh, 29, just remembered that one band doesn't have a bassist), I'll lay odds on over 50% (probably 2/3) of the basses being Fenders or clones, and no more than 5 basses with more than 4 strings, and one fretless (that'll be me then). The point of all this blather being that the average BC contributor is less likely to be satisfied by a shop which contains assorted 4-string fretted Fenders and clones of all price ranges than the average bassist on the street. My quest to try out a few fretless 5-strings was doomed to failure, but the bassists from most of the local bands will be able to find something to make them happy from the stuff dangling on the walls at PMT (Reverb Sound Musical Station Exchanges would have been able to help too, before they went titsup*2).

Come to think of it, one thing that has declined over the years is second-hand music shops. Musical Exchanges in Brum was a marvellous place. Now it's all gone to ebay and Crack Converters.

[arsenic]

[quote name='tauzero' post='844773' date='May 22 2010, 12:52 AM']Come to think of it, one thing that has declined over the years is second-hand music shops. Musical Exchanges in Brum was a marvellous place. Now it's all gone to ebay and Crack Converters.[/quote]

Ahh! but which incarnation...

When they used to be in a little shop on Broad Street with guitars and basses on the ground level and mainly amps in the bassment - the selection was small but ranged from pocket money stuff to high end gear. They had a mint Burns Bison in there for about £25.00, hanging right next to the stairs to the basement. A couple of the guys from local band Cryer used to work there if I recall.

When they moved to Snow Hill and took over the old Yardleys store, the selection increased, but so did the prices....

There used to be a small one oppoite Dudley Zoo back in the 80's, I still remember trying out an Aria Cat Pro II in there in about 86/87.

Thanks for making me think of my younger days - now I do feel old

[TRadford]

I bought my first ever elec drum kit from Thomann. I was really nervous about spending that much with an overseas company.

After a week, the kit turned up.. Great I thought. After another week, I was just checking my bank statement online and noticed that the money for the kit still haddnt come out.

This went on for 6 months!!! So not only did they send the kit out before I had even paid for it, They wouldnt take the payment everytime I tried to pay for it. They wouldnt accept credit cards or something for first time buyers, but I had no other way to pay at that time.

Was most odd.

[tauzero]

[quote name='arsenic' post='845030' date='May 22 2010, 12:45 PM']Ahh! but which incarnation...

When they used to be in a little shop on Broad Street with guitars and basses on the ground level and mainly amps in the bassment - the selection was small but ranged from pocket money stuff to high end gear. They had a mint Burns Bison in there for about £25.00, hanging right next to the stairs to the basement. A couple of the guys from local band Cryer used to work there if I recall.

When they moved to Snow Hill and took over the old Yardleys store, the selection increased, but so did the prices....[/quote]
I went to both - I first went to the original one when I was still at school. It wasn't till they'd moved that I bought a bass there - my first Precision, as it happens. I remember Gary (who is now at PMT) showing me photos of the burnt out Broad Street shop.

[fatgoogle]

yep, my fiend bought some cymbals from them, and one cracked, and without thinking of the warranty he drilled it, and then cut a wedge out. Then he remembered the warranty and thomann still took it back. Very good of them i thought, its getting replaced for free.