Guitar Shops

[Machines]

Dave Sheriff is great. He knows what he's talking about but isn't a show off.. if I ever go in there I hope he's there as I know we can have a great chin-wag.

[Guest TheBigBeefChief]

Not sure if anyone here is an Angler, but tackle shops seem to be exactly the same as Music shops. There are a few decent, friendly and informative stores but also plenty of shops owned/ran by people who obviously have an interst in music/fishing but no interst in retailing and customer service. I think a lot of this is because stores are opened by people who like the idea of opening a shop surrounded my their hobby, but don't want to deal with the hassles (such as customers) that come with it.

It always annoys me when you go into a store and realise that your surrounded by the owner, a shop assistant and about 5 of their friends sitting round drinking tea and cracking "in jokes" - often at your expense.

As someone who is relatively new to bass playing, its not a particularly welcoming atmosphere.

Having said that, I'm lucky in that my local store is pretty friendly, although massively overpriced. Also, as I refuse to use ebay, it really cuts down the options of shopping online.

[john_the_bass]

[quote name='TheBigBeefChief' post='100817' date='Dec 7 2007, 12:15 PM']It always annoys me when you go into a store and realise that your surrounded by the owner, a shop assistant and about 5 of their friends sitting round drinking tea and cracking "in jokes" - often at your expense.[/quote]

i find the jokes usually stop when you say something like "right, well which one of you [expletive deleted]s is the manager then" or "is your dad in?".

[Sparky]

[quote name='TheBigBeefChief' post='100817' date='Dec 7 2007, 12:15 PM']Not sure if anyone here is an Angler, but tackle shops seem to be exactly the same as Music shops. There are a few decent, friendly and informative stores but also plenty of shops owned/ran by people who obviously have an interst in music/fishing but no interst in retailing and customer service. I think a lot of this is because stores are opened by people who like the idea of opening a shop surrounded my their hobby, but don't want to deal with the hassles (such as customers) that come with it.

It always annoys me when you go into a store and realise that your surrounded by the owner, a shop assistant and about 5 of their friends sitting round drinking tea and cracking "in jokes" - often at your expense.

As someone who is relatively new to bass playing, its not a particularly welcoming atmosphere.

Having said that, I'm lucky in that my local store is pretty friendly, although massively overpriced. Also, as I refuse to use ebay, it really cuts down the options of shopping online.[/quote]
BigBeefChief - just one question - did you have your avatar pic taken specially for this forum and for the amusement of its users? I can't imagine why else you'd have a photo of yourself dressed (or undressed) up like that. Good effort mate. Muschos Rrrespect.

[Merton]

Good shops:

Electromusic in Doncaster, had many a pleasant trip there while at Uni in York (god, over 4 years ago now )

Er, that's it.

Oh wait, Andertons in Guildford *can* be OK. It's hit and miss to be honest. Recently it's been hit, but in the past it's most definitely missed.

I think there's one "other" high street shop which many could learn from: Richer Sounds. Never, ever, ever put a foot wrong with me, even if only buying some speaker cables. And that's the new Reigate one, Croydon, Leeds and Guildford all acoounted for. Cracking service.

[G-bitch]

Bloody good point about Richer Sounds - always been superb for me and heard lots of praise of friends/relatives too.

[Guest TheBigBeefChief]

Sparky, its actually an old pic I had knocking around. The sad thing is I took in one friday evening when I was home alone for no other reason than to amuse myself. If you look closely you can see my bare arse reflected in the window behind me. However, I do often play bass naked whilst wearing a wrestling mask. Habit I suppose.

[Rich]

[quote name='Telebass' post='100480' date='Dec 6 2007, 07:56 PM']But remember, the Internet will NEVER be clever enough to be able to give you personalized advice and a chance to fondle the goods. THAT is what a [b][u][i]good[/i][/u][/b] guitar shop can do, and it IS worth the extra to those who can't get a bass off the net then sdet it up on their own.[/quote]And with that one single word, there it is in a nutshell.

Good shops:
[b]Anderton's[/b] in Guildford -- a mate of mine was after an electro-acoustic gtr a while back, they found 4 or 5 in his price bracket and let him spend as long as he wanted trying them out before finding the right one. Well over an hour he was playing them, and they didn't hassle him once. It reminded me of...
[b]Bass Centre[/b], [b]circa late 80s/early 90s[/b], the Wapping glory years -- oh if only we could go back to those days...
[b]Bass Gallery[/b], Camden -- wonderful, I just wish it wasn't so far away...
[b]Sound Control [/b]-- when they're good, they're very very good...
also
[b]Richer Sounds [/b]-- +1 on what the others have said.

Bad shops:
[b]GAK[/b] -- miserable bastids, the lot of 'em.
[b]Bass Centre[/b], [b]now[/b] -- so very, very sad. When you see what's it's become and then remember back to how it was in '88, it's like looking at Muhammad Ali now and remembering him in his prime...
[b]Bass Cellar[/b], Tin Pan Alley -- the last time I tried to buy something there, the experience was so bad that it became the last time I will [i]ever[/i] try to buy something there. A object lesson in how absolutely [i]not [/i]to treat customers.
[b]Sound Control [/b]-- ...but when they're bad, they're fcking abysmal.

[quote name='TheBigBeefChief' post='100878' date='Dec 7 2007, 01:40 PM']If you look closely you can see my bare arse reflected in the window behind me.[/quote]
Look closely?? Man, I am never even going to [i]glance[/i] at that picture again.

[Cantdosleepy]

Richer Sounds = warm bath of love.


PMT in Oxford was lovely the last time I was there.

[teen t-shirt]

i actually bought my first bass from cash converters! (only £70 it's the one in my avatar)

the guys in there knew more and gave me better advice and knew alot more than the people in the music shop just next door.

because i'm a teenager the guys in the music shop didn't even look at me and they had the smallest bass section i've ever seen. there were 4 over priced basses hanging on the one little section of the wall.

the way people in shops stereotype teens is outragous...

thats my lil rant...

now back to skool...

Edited December 7, 2007 by teen t-shirt

[Sparky]

[quote name='TheBigBeefChief' post='100878' date='Dec 7 2007, 01:40 PM']Sparky, its actually an old pic I had knocking around. The sad thing is I took in one friday evening when I was home alone for no other reason than to amuse myself. If you look closely you can see my bare arse reflected in the window behind me. However, I do often play bass naked whilst wearing a wrestling mask. Habit I suppose.[/quote]
dude, i aint gonna look closely at your pic so i can see your bare arse reflection... that sh*t aint my bag!!! what's the story with the wrestling mask? apart from concealing your true identity (understandable when you're a top chief with major operations going down in the smoke), does it makes you play meaner, rock harder when you're on stage?.. or is it just a 'thing' like the edwina curry 'thing'> yeh, that's right man - i saw that!

[Grand Puba]

As a new and late bass player wannabe, just starting out, I think that the collective music shops had better pull their fingers out and get their acts together.

The next generation of bass players take their lead from the current generation. Failing to satisfy the current generation wiil mean the next generation wiil purchase their first bass from the internet or eBay.

The only advantage a shop has is the personal touch that gets a costomer coming back again and again even if the store is tens of miles away.

They are cutting off their noses now to spite their faces in ten years time.

[mikehumph]

I can put in another very positive vote for The Gallery at Camden. Fantastic range of stock, exceptional staff. Happy to let me play as long as a wanted on as many basses as I wanted. Martin is such a nice guy.

Also Andertons in Guildford have been OK, but gets quite busy, and lots of different staff, so you may not always get a good one.

Mike

[16Again]

[quote name='Ou7shined' post='100615' date='Dec 7 2007, 12:06 AM']Word.
You live on the green then bud? :ph34r:[/quote]

yip, i live on the green.
really handy for gettin to gigs cause all the decent venues are only a 2 minutes stumble home

[Machines]

Went into guitar shop by me to kill a few minutes.. it's the kind of shop you go to buy a Squier starter kit for your 12 year old, anything more exotic is likely amazingly overpriced. Anyway - they had an EHX Mini Q-Tron which I fancied trying, asked them to let me have a go. I was plugged into the smallest and least powered bass combo they had available (15w Ashdown, they had a 100w available), which the worst bass i've ever picked up (Johnson P-Copy).

Oh well I thought - I just want to hear the pedal... but it didn't work ! Every note I played seemed to clip the pedal and I couldn't get a note out of it, just random farts and buzz. The response from the shop worker "Yeah it's been here ages i'm not suprised it doesn't work haha !". He offered to get me another one in, I declined the offer and departed.

[mcgraham]

I have to be honest, I don't think I've had any particularly bad encounters with guitar shops, but I do remember the good ones. I won't deny I've had less than stellar service but then I don't expect a shop catering to the general mass consumption of interests to tailor exactly to what I'm after.

Props to... John Williams @ Noiseworks in Coventry, the guy does a fab setup for a great price and is always up for a chat about music or even technical advice. The dude even walked me through how he does setups for no charge, even told me what tools to use and what to do/not to do. Legend

Scott @ Soundcontrol Nottingham, really friendly guy, will take the time to chat and is uber helpful. Not been in as much as I had been in the above store, but Scott's great.

Some guy @ Soundcontrol Brum, I cannot for the life of me remember his name but he was incredibly friendly (and in a genuine way, not a yes-man kind of way), wasn't pushy and gave a great deal when I got my JS guitar last year. Can't remember his name but he was what you should expect from a guitar store employee. Enthusiastic, patient, attentive (in a good way) and accommodating.

Thumbs down to... Another guy @ Brum Soundcontrol, impatient sums him up. Didn't annoy me or frustrate me, I just don't expect to be rushed or treated as if I'm asking too much if I'm parting with my hard earned cash. Bill Bailey-esque hair cut. Avoid if you're like me.

Another guy @ Soundcontrol Nottingham, nothing too major here, but I asked for some info about some rewiring on that Ibanez I was selling, the guy had it a week and hadn't even taken off the cavity cover, despite me coming down personally 3 times to ask and despite 3 assurances he'd look at it that evening and he'd call me the next day. He is the techie so I understand he's busy, but that's just not on in my books. Honesty is important.

And the clueless award goes to PMT in Cov. They told me the truss rod in my Geddy was maxed out. Seeing as how I'd JUST received it I wasn't too impressed. Took it to John (Noiseworks) and he said 'the muppets were trying to adjust a screwhead nut with a normal screwdriver, if it's stiff you need to use a T-bar or something that will exert some torque rather than just stripping the head'. Lesson learned, don't trust muppets!

Like I said, nothing offensive or serious, just enough to make me look elsewhere to ensure I get my money's worth.

Mark

[tauzero]

My experience may well be coloured by the fact that I've been going to Musical Exchange (as it was then) in Brum since it was in Broad Street, which was mid-70s. Since then it's moved halfway across town, and more recently, changed to being a Sound Control. Obviously, over the years, I've got to know the staff a little bit, and as I occasionally spend money in there, they'll humour me.

PMT in Brum is AFAIK run by Gary, who is a former Musical Exchange man (I think he owned it), and there seems to be the old ethos of Musical Exchange to the place, helpful enough and also not pushy.

What I miss is the second-hand instruments. Musical Exchange used to be mainly second-hand instruments (or "pre-enjoyed" if they're something like Parker Flys). Now it's all new, with a little corner for slightly injured or unloved instruments. Hmmm, I feel another visit to Bob at Stirchley Musical Exchange (which is a second-hand shop) coming on.

[teen t-shirt]

OMG!!

you'll never guess what i found this afternoon!

i found the perfect guitar shop in the world!

there was a substantial bass section! Amps and bass's ready to be taken down and played on!

friendly staff!

a bass expert in store to answer any questions! also he is a builder of basses and guitars!

one slight problem it's in Ripon in Yorkshire and all the bass's were made by Vintage which means it won't cost you an arm and a leg to purchase one. the most expensive was bout 200 quid.

and my god the sound that came out of them all that i tried and played with for a good hour and a half was amazing.

i was literally in heaven...

highly recommend you look for ripon city music shop if you're ever near the cathedral take a wander!

Phew! back to kerrang!

[elom]

[quote name='pnefc42' post='100772' date='Dec 7 2007, 11:18 AM']+1 for Mansons - Adrian is a top bloke and will go out of his way to try and accomodate - I've dealt with him for a good few years now and it's exactly the reason that I keep going back - shame places (and more specifically people) like this are the exception rather than the rule

Cheers
Dave[/quote]

Couldn't agree more. Fantastic shop that actually values the customer.

[wotnwhy]

my local guitar shop is this little place about 15ft squared, only 3 or 4 basses and a couple of amps, only 1 person works there, the owner Sarah. and she's been the 5 days a week for the last dacade. always friendly, always up for a chit-chat and always more than happy to let schoolkids try and shred, which although something that annoys me a bit now, was a real good thing when i was a kid.
because of this i make sure that if there's anything i can get through that shop, i do so, even if it is a few quid more. and i think just about every other musicial in a 20 mile radius does the same.

also, i was up in Cardiff a few weeks ago with a couple of hours to kill. so me and a mate were wondering round the music shops, and although we weren't asking to play things or talking to the staff, there was a bit of a chill in the air for them. that is until we hit upon a little one tucked away in a corner. we go in and are immediatly greated by this big grinning fellow. the convo went something like this:

'hi! how are you? is there anything i can do to help?'
'thanks but no, were just browsing really'
'musicians are we?'
'yes, i'm a bassist, he's a guitarist'
'ahh brilliant, you play in a band?'
....

and so on for the next 10 minutes, asking what instruments we had, what we thought of them, what sort of music we play etc. but not just to make convo, he seemed genuinly interested. we left the shop with big smiles on our faces, told several people about the shop, and will no doubt return in the future, which is more than i can say for most shops i've visited.



so i guess it really does pay to be kind! it's a shame more buisnesses don't realise this...

[s_u_y_*]

[quote name='wotnwhy' post='103687' date='Dec 13 2007, 02:37 AM']so i guess it really does pay to be kind! it's a shame more buisnesses don't realise this...[/quote]

Amen.

[Telebass]

Amen also. It's what we try to do, and lo, it seems to be working!

[Davetbass]

Was gassing for a natural finish maple spector and tracked down the only supplier in Edinburgh (sound control). Phoned the shop and was greeted by an enthusiastic young dude who told me to ask for him personally and he`d take me through all the basses they had. Good so far! When I got to the shop the next day he was really friendly and showed me all the stuff in my price range £800. Problem for me was...EVERY single bass was horrifically set up and sounded crap as a result! This didn`t inspire me to buy anything so I left empty handed and a bit deflated. Another shock was an £800 Spector doesn`t come with a hardcase!

I now own a Warwick Streamer stage 1.

Surely they would sell more high end basses if they at least attempted to set them up.

[teen t-shirt]

Thats pretty crap really,

especially if u have that much money to spend...

and no hard case?!?

[DaveDDF]

[quote name='urb' post='100688' date='Dec 7 2007, 09:32 AM']I actually can't imagine a more miserable job - if you are into to or work in music - than working in a guitar shop - I think it'd drive me mental.

Cheers

Mike[/quote]

Nah for me it was my favourite job I have ever done! Our shop was more like a community meeting place for muso's. Shame we just couldnt sustain the business - we price matched heavily with the big internet stores/names/deals and still were fighting a losing battle.....


[quote name='wotnwhy' post='103687' date='Dec 13 2007, 02:37 AM']my local guitar shop is this little place about 15ft squared, only 3 or 4 basses and a couple of amps, only 1 person works there, the owner Sarah. and she's been the 5 days a week for the last dacade. always friendly, always up for a chit-chat and always more than happy to let schoolkids try and shred, which although something that annoys me a bit now, was a real good thing when i was a kid.
because of this i make sure that if there's anything i can get through that shop, i do so, even if it is a few quid more. and i think just about every other musicial in a 20 mile radius does the same.

also, i was up in Cardiff a few weeks ago with a couple of hours to kill. so me and a mate were wondering round the music shops, and although we weren't asking to play things or talking to the staff, there was a bit of a chill in the air for them. that is until we hit upon a little one tucked away in a corner. we go in and are immediatly greated by this big grinning fellow. the convo went something like this:

'hi! how are you? is there anything i can do to help?'
'thanks but no, were just browsing really'
'musicians are we?'
'yes, i'm a bassist, he's a guitarist'
'ahh brilliant, you play in a band?'
....

and so on for the next 10 minutes, asking what instruments we had, what we thought of them, what sort of music we play etc. but not just to make convo, he seemed genuinly interested. we left the shop with big smiles on our faces, told several people about the shop, and will no doubt return in the future, which is more than i can say for most shops i've visited.



so i guess it really does pay to be kind! it's a shame more buisnesses don't realise this...[/quote]


Which shop was that mate? Cranes? GM? Gamlins?