My local Sam Ash is closing :(

BeZo said:
My local Cleveland area Sam Ash is still open.

On a related note, I also have a new Shure Wireless coming soon. I didn't even know there was a plus model before you guys and your stupid wireless thread. Thanks.
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I used to love this store. They always had better gear than the GC that was close, had actual knowledgeable people and there were good deals to be scored.

the last couple years though, woof. Any time they had halfway decent gear, it was priced sky-fucking-high. They will negotiate, but still - when the price starts off on the moon, it's hard to get it back to earth.

I scored a $400 diezel 412, a $350 Gibson sh faded, and a $400 marshall jcm 2000 there. Rip those deals.
 
LPMojoGL said:
Dang. Better get over the Dallas store and see if they're closing. Not sure how they stay open with so many GCs around here, 2 of which are great.
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I thought Sam ash was now owned by the same parent company as guitar center/musicians friend?
 
fuck-nobody-cares.gif



Take their old, busted, dented, dirty inventory of Squires and Fender Frontman Amps and die.
Bunch of fucktards that work there, with their I-know-more-than-you attitude because they have 90s tribal tats and gauges in both ears, with a Nickleback T-shirt.

I hope all the GC stores close too.
 
If all Sam Ash and Guitar Centers were to close, there would be literally nowhere to buy and try gear in person since most mom and pop shops are gone already.
 
Wizard of Ozz said:
fuck-nobody-cares.gif



Take their old, busted, dented, dirty inventory of Squires and Fender Frontman Amps and die.
Bunch of fucktards that work there, with their I-know-more-than-you attitude because they have 90s tribal tats and gauges in both ears, with a Nickleback T-shirt.

I hope all the GC stores close too.
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You don’t want that.

When’s the last time you went into an average mom & pop guitar store? For every half way decent one with half way knowledgeable people, there are probably 30 with prices almost double what you'll find in GC or Sam Ash, and it’s staffed by complete assholes who will tell you that no you can’t play their $299 Schecters into that Peavey Bandit because that rig is “too nice for just anybody to play unless you’ve got cash in hand I can see and I don’t want you to scratch the pickguard.”

Most mom & pop stores honestly fucking suck. A rare few are fantastic but those are definitely the exception. The majority are run by clueless assholes jealously lording over cheap improperly setup beginner gear.

Guitar Center, Musician’s Friend, Sam Ash, and Sweetwater are literally almost entirely responsible for basically any sense of competitive pricing standardization within the industry. Losing any one of them brings us ever closer to a chaotic Wild West of zero pricing standardization and dealer accountability.
 
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Wizard of Ozz said:
fuck-nobody-cares.gif



Take their old, busted, dented, dirty inventory of Squires and Fender Frontman Amps and die.
Bunch of fucktards that work there, with their I-know-more-than-you attitude because they have 90s tribal tats and gauges in both ears, with a Nickleback T-shirt.

I hope all the GC stores close too.
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not even close to what my sam ash was like.
 
My mom and pop store closed in the early 90's when GC came to town.. That was a cool place to go back in the day. Even took my 1st lessons there..
In the last decade, I could probably count on 1 hand how many times I've been inside a music store and I would have fingers left..

It's a new online game. People want shit NOW and want it delivered..

I was on the way out forever when everytime U went to buy something quick and simple, you would need an email and a phone and a name from the latest jackass. My name is CASH MOTHERFUCKER.. Ring it up so I can get the fuck outta here..
 
Metalhex said:
If all Sam Ash and Guitar Centers were to close, there would be literally nowhere to buy and try gear in person since most mom and pop shops are gone already.
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Not in DFW, the best shops here are the smaller places, Guitar Sanctuary, Music Zoo, Killer Vintage, The Tone Shop, etc....

FWIW, I have a friend who works for Sams Ass, and said they were closing 18 stores.
 
Gitfiddler said:
Maybe MARS will reopen
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Heck yes. Mars music in Minneapolis was stacked deep back in the late 90's. The inventory is probably why they folded but dang they had a great wall of china made out of decent quality and top shelf guitars that stretched forever. Full Marshall stacks. Tons of amps. Probably the gnarliest music store I've ever been in.
 
VonBonfire said:
Heck yes. Mars music in Minneapolis was stacked deep back in the late 90's. The inventory is probably why they folded but dang they had a great wall of china made out of decent quality and top shelf guitars that stretched forever. Full Marshall stacks. Tons of amps. Probably the gnarliest music store I've ever been in.
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Last time I saw a rack wall :D
 
TheGreatGreen said:
You don’t want that.

When’s the last time you went into an average mom & pop guitar store? For every half way decent one with half way knowledgeable people, there are probably 30 with prices almost double what any GC or Sam Ash has, and it’s staffed by complete assholes who will tell you that no you can’t play their $299 Schecters into that Peavey Bandit because that rig is “just too nice for just anybody to play unless you’ve got cash in hand I can see and I don’t want you to scratch the pickguard.”

Most mom & pop stores honestly fucking suck. A rare few are fantastic but those are definitely the exception. The majority are run by clueless assholes jealously lording over cheap improperly setup beginner gear.

Guitar Center, Musician’s Friend, Sam Ash, and Sweetwater are literally almost entirely responsible for basically any sense of competitive pricing standardization within the industry. Losing any one of them brings us ever closer to a chaotic Wild West of zero pricing standardization and dealer accountability.
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Yes... yes I do.

Brick and motor stores are dying. Look at shopping malls and most specialty stores. Online shopping is here to stay and is the future.

GC/MF do not need brick and motor stores to do business. Neither does Sam Ass.

Going in to a Mega Music Mart filled with entry level crap gear that has been beaten to death, scratched, dented, dropped, bought and returned half a dozen times, then to be greeted by some pustule that thinks Korn is still cutting edge music, just to find out that the guitar or amp I called and asked about was sold yesterday, but said pustule will happily order one for me... is tiresome at best.

I can order stuff online myself. Why do I need to go to some old, dusty, dirty, burnt out shithole to do that?

There will always be a few mom-n-pops here and there. The good ones will adapt to have a bigger online presence, and survive, the others, sayonara... let them die. I have 2 Sam Ass and 3 GCs within driving distance, and they are all the same. They all look like they might close tomorrow.

I guess I'll just have to buy my next Hello Kitty Strat online I suppose.

Oh the agony.
 
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TheGreatGreen said:
You don’t want that.

When’s the last time you went into an average mom & pop guitar store? For every half way decent one with half way knowledgeable people, there are probably 30 with prices almost double what any GC or Sam Ash has, and it’s staffed by complete assholes who will tell you that no you can’t play their $299 Schecters into that Peavey Bandit because that rig is “just too nice for just anybody to play unless you’ve got cash in hand I can see and I don’t want you to scratch the pickguard.”

Most mom & pop stores honestly fucking suck. A rare few are fantastic but those are definitely the exception. The majority are run by clueless assholes jealously lording over cheap improperly setup beginner gear.

Guitar Center, Musician’s Friend, Sam Ash, and Sweetwater are literally almost entirely responsible for basically any sense of competitive pricing standardization within the industry. Losing any one of them brings us ever closer to a chaotic Wild West of zero pricing standardization and dealer accountability.
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I cannot agree more with this. before Sam Ash came to my city, all the guitar stores were this way. Sam Ash had a real return policy and and way better service and prices. Many of the Mom and Pop places died after that and I did not mind it. Their service and casual disregard for the customer was annoying.
 
I stopped by my local GC on the West side of Cleveland over the weekend to meet someone for a sale. Sections of the store had been cleared out. Empty walls and empty floor space. The employees were different too. They used to wear black GC shirts and this group had on red GC shirts. I am not in that store very often but I usually recognize an employee or two. Not this time.
 
Juggernaut said:
Not in DFW, the best shops here are the smaller places, Guitar Sanctuary, Music Zoo, Killer Vintage, The Tone Shop, etc....

FWIW, I have a friend who works for Sams Ass, and said they were closing 18 stores.
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Dig Tone Shop and Sanctuary, but also like Arlington and Farmers Branch GC. Would hate if they closed.
 
Wizard of Ozz said:
Yes... yes I do.

Brick and motor stores are dying. Look at shopping malls and most specialty stores. Online shopping is here to stay and is the future.

GC/MF do not need brick and motor stores to do business. Neither does Sam Ass.

Going in to a Mega Music Mart filled with entry level crap gear that has been beaten to death, scratched, dented, dropped, bought and returned half a dozen times, then to be greeted by some pustule that thinks Korn is still cutting edge music, just to find out that the guitar or amp I called and asked about was sold yesterday, but said pustule will happily order one for me... is tiresome at best.

I can order stuff online myself. Why do I need to go to some old, dusty, dirty, burnt out shithole to do that?

There will always be a few mom-n-pops here and there. The good ones will adapt to have a bigger online presence, and survive, the others, sayonara... let them die. I have 2 Sam Ass and 3 GCs within driving distance, and they are all the same. They all look like they might close tomorrow.

I guess I'll just have to buy my next Hello Kitty Strat online I suppose.

Oh the agony.
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While I disagree with you because you’re generalizing, I agree on what you’re describing in your experiences because I’ve experienced just about all of that myself. Depends on the town/city you’re in for sure.

I loathe Hollywood and Los Angeles these days but damn they have some great gear shops including GC and Sam Ash. I guess they have to since they are by all the big recording studios. You described Bakersfield GC almost to a tee btw 🤣 Majority of the remote areas have shithole gear shops and service.
 
It's pretty funny because I am paying less for strings today than I was in 1990 at my local rip off shop. They were trying to get $650 for a junk CB1000 drum kit back then, haha. The cheapest item in the store was 30 cent bottled sodas downstairs. They folded up like a cheap suit before the decade was out when another mom and pop shop easily under cut them. The next shop lasted about 15 years and the dude retired and closed it down, but had a good business cause his prices were sane and he was capable of servicing electronics.

As for the big box stores......2k for a piece of shit TRRI now? Let them burn right to the damn ground. I haven't tried out a piece of gear at a store in a decade. If I want something I just order it. If it sucks, I sell it to someone else who wants it. A musician's budget keeps me sticking to tried and true gear anyways.
 
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