Conference napalm::guitar

    Is it part of the Guitar Center chain based in California?  I've heard
    they have some good prices at times.
    
    Greg

    
    They've been advertising a lot on the radio. Recently they said they
    were having an acoustic guitar blowout sale at prices 70% below list.
    I rarely get to Boston, so I wasn't paying close attention to sale
    dates...
    
    JP

    Yes, it is part of the Guitar Center chain.  They were featured in an
    article in the Globe recently.  A picture of the store showed the usual
    lines of stuff being carried.   It's turning Boston into a buyer's
    market for now, because you have three chains competing for our
    business.  
    
    							Brian

    I haven't been yet, but have spoken with several people who have.  They
    say it's a constant wall of noise inside (even moreso than usual).  I
    believe they encourage "hands on" browsing.
    
    /manny_ash

    
    
    
       The store is right across from the BU bridge.  
    Take Comm out of Kemore Sq heading towards Brighton,
    BU, or the Paradise, (choose which ever you know 
    best) before the split. 
    
       Rick.
     
    

    
    
    The ads sure sound like the good ol' Guitar Centers we've got out here. 
    It's amazing though, that even at 70% off, the prices seem about the
    same as the stuff you see everywhere else...
    
    

I've been there. In general there are no price tags on equipment. They have 
a *tremendous* selection of everything and it's well organized. 

It's well worth the trip just to see the recording room with complete with 
3 Alesis Adats, 3 Tascam DA88, Session 8 stuff and other goodies. And they
let you touch and fiddle with everything.

When you walk in they greet you cordially and tell you to ask them if you have
any questions. Then they invite you to take your time, try things out, etc. 

I purchased a pair of studio monitors for $300 and received a telephone call 
two weeks later asking me how they were working out. This store has it's act 
together folks. Check it out. 

Dan

    So......
    
    Would it be safe to assume that Wurlitzers has something to worry
    about? I got screwed at Wurlitzers once, but it won't happen again!
    
    Gotta check The Guitar Center out......
    
    Mike

    << I got screwed at Wurlitzers once, but it won't happen again!

Join the party.

I understand that Eastcoast Music Mall was beaten out this past year for
largest dollar volume of PRSs because they bought a PRS Dragon for each 
of their stores.  It sounds like these guys have some money.

Jim

    I guess I'm not up on what PRS has been doing lately, but what exactly
    is a PRS Dragon, and why would having one in your store cause another
    stores profit to drop?
    
    Mike

A PRS Dragon has a dragon inlaid in the fretboard (200+ pieces of abalone,
turquiois (sp?) and other stuff).  Last time I heard the list price was
$11,000.  This had nothing to do with profits, it just made Guitar Center
the store/chain that had bought the largest dollar amount of guitars from
PRS.  Personally, I don't like the PRS Dragon.

Jim

    Ouch!
    
    That's a price that takes the breath outta ya!
    
    Greg

    "Ouch" is right!!
    
    $11,000 list....... 
    
    $9,000 retail......
    
    Still adds up to lots of other goodies that can be bought with that 
    kind of $$$......
    
    Mike
    
    How much are '59 Gibson LP Flametops going for these days? Might as
    well go all the way!!

    I got the shaft at Daddy's once and I made sure that it didn't happen
    again by spending my $$$ elsewhere.

    re: -1
    
    Speaking of Daddy's.....
    
    I went into The Guitar Center this past Sunday with my Daddys Junky
    Music t-shirt on and walked out with a free Guitar Center T! One of
    the salesmen said that it was "blasphemy" to be "littering" his store
    with my shirt and he gave me the shirt on the condition that I put
    it on immediately! Small task for free goods.......
    
    BTW, I was VERY impressed with the selection of equipment that they
    have there and would recommend a visit to anyone! Prices are ok, but
    certainly no more than you'd pay at the other places in town. They'll
    let you try anything in the store and there's no pressure. An earlier
    note stated that there is a constant "wall of noise" in there and that
    was accurate! Check it out......
    
    Mike

    
    	Me too.  I picked up a Digitech Vocalist.  Best price I've seen was
    	$659 and I got it there for $599 and it included a Shure SM48 mic.
    	Now I feed the chords to it via the GR1, sing away and - instant
    	2 to 5 part harmony with me singing every part!
    
    	Tom Everly
    

    Dis anyone get a good look at their classical guitars?
    
    
    
    Kev --
    

    re: -1
    
    I did see a few classical guitars, but I wasn't really looking for one
    so I didn't pay much attention. They do have a separate room filled
    with only acoustic guitars, though. (A LARGE selection of them, also!)
    
    If they don't have it,(and I find it hard to believe that this place is
    lacking for any equipment!) they can order it for you. As previously
    mentioned, this place has their act together! If Wurlitzers and Daddys
    both "went under" because of this store, it would come as no surprise
    to me.
    
    Mike 

>    I went into The Guitar Center this past Sunday with my Daddys Junky
>    Music t-shirt on and walked out with a free Guitar Center T! One of
>    the salesmen said that it was "blasphemy" to be "littering" his store
>    with my shirt and he gave me the shirt on the condition that I put
>    it on immediately! Small task for free goods.......
    
    HAAHAHAHAA!  What a deal!
    
    Greg

    I'm very familiar with The Guitar Center chain as I have dealt with the
    one here in Chicago (Three Stores actually).  You have to find a good
    rep as usual and haggle as usual but the prices you can get can be
    great.
    
    My Les Paul Studio $499 Black with gold hardware 2 years ago.
    
    Ampeg VH-140C $549
    
    Fender Champ 25 SE $279
    
    A beautiful used 1983 American Strat for $350
    
    etc etc..
    
    When in the Arlington Heights store in Chicago which is a half a block
    from the ACI facility in Chicago ask for Chicago Joe, he is a great guy
    to work with.
    
    Regards,
    Pleased Most of the time Guitar Center shopper
    Pat
    
    

    I second Pat's .21 note...
    
    I've done just fine with my Twin, Marshall 1960, PA, and "many" other
    purchases here at the Chicago GC's.  You need to be an informed
    consumer, but when you know what you're doing, they do right by you.
    
    Chicago Joe has been a particularly good guy to work with, but I think
    their whole staff and attitudes are improving.  Two years ago the
    "great deal" they presented to me to purchase a Twin and Zoom 9002 was 
    $300+ over a price I already had from Guitar Plus.  It took them about
    5 nanoseconds to shift lower AFTER they found out I had priced the
    equipment.  Their approach is better, more consistent now.
    
    Hope you enjoy the same kind of transactions in Boston.   - Jim
    

re: the T-shirt story

	I got a free Saab hat by wearing my Nashua Volvo hat in the day I
went to pick up my new Saab. (Well, I guess "free" is relative - consider
it a small option on my 9000.)

	Maybe I should start looking for appropriate T-shirts...

						--Doug

Well ... I stoped by the Boston Guitar Center and was impressed with the 
selection and service.  This store had TWO PRS Dragons (@$8Kea), dozens
of Les Pauls and Strats including many vintage axes.  I played a '90
L5CES natural from the Gibson custom shop (nice).  They were asking $8500.
They seemed to have just about anything you might reasonably want.

Jim

>They seemed to have just about anything you might reasonably want.
    
    But did they have anything you might reasonably *afford*?

>>They seemed to have just about anything you might reasonably want.
>    
>    But did they have anything you might reasonably *afford*?


Reason has nothing to do with this.

    $8500 for a recent L-5 CES is very high. $6.5K is probably top dollar
    for a really nice one.
    
    Danny W.

    re -1
    
    Again, this is just like buying a new car; if you're willing to pay
    the $12,000 sticker price without any haggling, then the dealer is
    more than happy to take your money! Shop around and give them the 
    best price you can find, and I'm sure that they'll work it out with
    you.
    
    ($6500 is STILL alot of cash for a guitar! I thought I had trouble
    convincing my wife to let me spend the few hundred that I spent on
    mine! I haven't reached this level of GTS yet!!)
    
    Mike

I also stopped by the Guitar Center over the weekend. Yup, it's certainly
noisy in there! But there were definitely some things that impressed me:

	-  they had a very wide selection of guitars (alhtough mostly
	   new, not much used stuff yet)
	- there is a seperate, quiet room where the acoustic guitars are 
	  kept so you can really hear
	- there is a station with a dozen mikes ($50-$200 range) hooked up to 
	  a pair of AKG 240DF headphones, so you can hear the differences
	- there is also an isolation booth where you can A/B high end mikes
	  (this is something I've been looking for for a long time!)
	- there are also separate rooms for recording gear and live PA gear,
	  although I didn't go into the recording room (looked cool!)
	- the prices that were posted seemed competetive, but most items do not
	  have prices on them (although even just casually inquiring, I was
	  give a quote of 30% off list for Takamine acoustics; probably could
	  do even better with some bargaining)
	- I was greeted very warmly at the door, and at all three areas I
	  went into (PA, guitar, and acoustic guitar room), I had sales 
	  people immediately offering to help, but without being pushy in
	  the least. Very impressive!

alan

    I'd have to agree with the majority of responses with Guitar
    Center, BUT....
    After being around them in Dallas for 4 years (2 stores) here are my
    observations:
    - they have alot of "hands-on/try out" merchandise - and it looks it.
    Passed up buying my Strat Ultra and Martin HD28 there because
    they had scratched/wood putty in their in stock models on the wall AND
    asked prices 10-15% above mail-order.  Salesman said, "they were only
    guitars and would get broken in anyway from use"
    - "wall of noise" - last visit, to try out amps, the sales person told
    me the best time to come by is WHEN THE KIDS ARE IN SCHOOL.  He told me
    alot of their business is from teenagers.
    - They have a high overhead cost of sale.  I have priced strings,
    picks, rack effects, guitars and drum machines BEFORE buying and they
    have never beat their competition in price.   They also like to play
    the hidden price game...they always talk with a calculator on pricing.
    
    Bottom line...a great place to try before you buy.  I'll deal with
    catalogs..you know the prices upfront, the'll return your money if you
    aren't happy (guitar center just started this policy in the last year)
    and there is no game playing.
    
    Bill
    

         All this talk about toys makes me wish I hadn't
    spent my savings on car repair.  This place sounds
    like they got their act together, I'll have to check
    it out...
    
    Kev --
    

    
    
    Dude, it's just another store...  just remember they're there to
    separate you from your rent check.
    
    My name is John, and I'm a gear-aholic...
    
    

    After I went to the Boston Guitar Show yesterday, I decided to
stop by the "Guitar Center" and check out their selection of Taylors
and Martins. Wow!! This place has the largest selection of acoustics
I have ever seen. They had virtually every Taylor model in the catalog
including the 900 series and Signature models. Lots of Martins, Taks,
Guilds, and Gibsons as well. 

   I really like the separate (and quiet) rooms they have for playing
the acoustics in. Over the last couple of weeks, I've been to just
about every music store between Boston and southern NH that carries
Martins and Taylors. I was seriously considering getting a Taylor
510, but after playing the model 710 at the Guitar Center, I knew I
had found what I was looking for. I spent over four hours trying just
about every guitar on the wall... twice... three times... I found the
salesman very easy to deal with. No pressure to buy and I was even
there well past their 6PM closing time. Their prices were the same as
all of the other Taylor dealers in the area (25% seems to be about
the standard discount), but I got them to "eat" the Mass sales tax on
the 710 as well. 

  I had never seen a Taylor hardcase before yesterday. For those of
you that don't know it, Taylor makes their own cases at the factory.
The case is almost a work of art all by itself!! It is absolutely
beautiful and built like a tank. 

Needless to say, I spent most of today playing my new toy...

-Jeff 

    re .-1
    
    so how much did you pay for the 710?
    
    - Dave (drooling for a Taylor for a long time now)

    
        $1450... out the door. This was the discounted price, but they
    took off another 5%. They wrote up the sales slip as $13XX plus $XX
    sales tax.
    
         I forgot to say something important in my previous note...
    The "Guitar Center" told me that they are going to start tagging
    everything with the discounted asking price. Since they are a
    west-coast only based chain, they said they were unprepared for
    the way we do business out here (must be our Yankee "thriftyness").
    They said they had received many complaints. They have already
    started to fix the situation as all of the Taylors were marked.
    
    -Jeff              

	Anyone know if they take trade-ins?

	-kg

yes they take trade-ins.

Jim

    Guitar Center's new store in Natick MA is scheduled to open this month. 
    There's a grand opening sale on the 27th, not sure if the doors will be
    open anytime before that.  Of course, they're promising (and will
    probably deliver) fantastic introductory deals.
    
    The new store is located in the Cloverleaf Shopping Center, near the
    intersection of Speen St and Rt 9.
    

    If GC continues to expand in this area, I would think that Daddys and
    Wurlies have a lot to worry about. 
    
    GC's prices are nothing to write home about (they really aren't much
    lower than you can find at other smaller, local shops; and you can beat
    them easily via mailorder), but they do offer a dazzling array of products
    in a superstore type format, including brands that you have to hunt and
    peck to find elsewhere, such as Gretsch and Rickenbacker among others.
    
    If they are planning to continue their "attack" in this region, I would
    anticipate a store eventually going into tax-free southern NH, in the
    Nashua or Salem areas.
    
    One "eyeopener" that I found a bit disappointing, and not necessarily
    a criticism of GC, is that most of the guitars that I'd be interested
    in owning were in the $2K range...  I guess I've been out of the new
    guitar market long enough to be struck by "sticker shock" on current
    prices of new instruments.
    
    /Steve

that tells me that Steve didn't pickup up one of them Gretch
GEEters...

By the way,,  Daddy's and Wurli's are in huge trouble..

On the long haul, they're on they're way down, as would
all the other small mom and pops..  look for more and more liquidation
sales...

    
    I was in Daddy's in Shrewsbury on monday and they wanted rediculous
    money for some items.A Les Paul standard $2.1k....a deluxe $1.2k.
    
    
    I think Wurlies in Framingham will be in trouble but the one in
    Worcester will be ok.Mr C's may be in trouble...!
    
    
    						ian

I think Jim is both small enough, and has a big enough
list of faithfulls that he should be o.k..  I'd hate
to see Jim go out..  I get most of my new guitars 
from him...

    
    there's a couple of little music stores just off route 9 that will
    disappear and that's kinda sad!
    
    
    					ian

    re .52
    
    Yeah, I passed on the new Gretsch's at GC...but they did have a
    beautiful country gent (I think it's called the country classic
    these days) with gold trim,  They also had a silver jet (and a
    red sparlke jet)... all had a selling price > $2K, and I guess
    that doesn't include a case either...  they were hanging pretty
    high up on the wall... well out of reach... in more ways than one!
    
    /Steve

the curious note on this gretch string,, Gibson Chet Atkin's
collection has I think two maybe three Gibsons that
are Gretch namesakes,,  Country Gent, and the Teneseean..
come to mind...

Wonder how Gibson stay out of court with that...  they
look just like the originals..

    I'm curious why there are so many people here predictingthe demise of
    EUW and Daddy's. Daddy's I can understand since I've never been
    impressed with their selection or the knowledge/service of their staff.
    
    But I've bought most of our equipment at EUW, particulary in Nashua.
    Their prices have always been good.....same or better than mailorder.
    They have had a very liberal return policy and I've been pleased with 
    the set-up service on their quitars. Last time I visited the Comm. Ave
    store they had the EPI LP/Std regularly tagged at $449.....which is $50
    cheaper then Guitar Center.
    
    Why do people think EUW can't compete ....is it simply a matter of
    selection? It seems that EUW has pretty good coverage of the major
    names....particularly in electrics. Accoustics and classics seems to 
    be slim pickings.
    
    Jonathan  

    <I'm curious why there are so many people here predictingthe demise of
    <EUW and Daddy's. Daddy's I can understand...

I don't think they're going to go out of business, any time 
soon, but it's probably gonna get harder and harder for these
small chains, and small stores to maintain a good range
of products.  (as much as I'd love to see Daddy's fold, I've
done a lot of business at Wurli's and I'd hate to see them
go under..)

and you also have to understand that none of this is being
done with the 'good of thr consumer' in mind.  Large
companies like Gibson,  can save truckloads
of overhead expenses by just dealing with several distribution
points (Guitar Center, and the larger mail order houses)..
Other companies will eventually follow suit.  And I think the
grand scheme is to reduce the mom and pop shops, and just deal
with the large volume dealers.  

So this is why the smaller places are being forced out fo Gibson
Dealership.  They simply can't afford the orders that GMI is
setting as minimum...  Gibson then extended this minimum orders
requirement to Epiphone,, but that was easier for a lot of
stores to handle, cuz the cost is way less.

But, Gibson isn't the only game in town, and guitars are only
one item on the floor, and some other companies like Fender, are 
using Gibsons idiocy to expand their dealer base.

Every store that USED to sell Gibson USA is now a Fender USA dealer
after Gibson pulled out, when these guys refused to place $15k and
$20k orders...

It's all raw, naked in yer face capitalism, and none of it in this
go around is gonna be all too good for small business and consumers
like you and I...  Some stores will be forced out, but not all..

well I guess I've been to the three major locals now,,

Danvers, Boston, and now Framingham, (took a binge down to
the framingham store with Mr. Goodwin, and Mr. Vigneault
this week..)

All nice stores, but I think the best one yet is the Danvers
store, Big, and LOTS of product.  I think more than Boston and
Framingham. 

Although the Framingham store had this cool room called
the 'Guitar Technology Center',, this is where Larry bit
the hook on the Parker Fly he's gonna own someday.
As for me, I'm still having a hard time getting past
the 'look' although it was a great player..

Well, I had to go back to the Framingham store on Friday,
my Son had the idea that he was gonna get financed for a $3,000
tama star classic kit, here we go again...

anyway, as I'm hanging around on the sales floor, I see this kid
walk in, shaved head, except for the top which was dyed bright
green, and tied into a foot and half pony tail, clothes that
were at least 5 sizes too big, and he had that not washed in
a few weeks look... 

So I immediately think to myself, "Oh boy, this ought to be a hoot"

So my eyes follow this kid around the store,, he eventually pickups
up a black Jackson, plugs into the Crate Blue Voodoo stack, turns
the amp 3/4 of the way up, (Clearly THE loudest point of reference
in the city of Natick, and just starts thrashing on this
jackson, head bopping up and down, not one audible cord or note, 
just  this huge wall of mush.

And of course while he's just havin the time of his life, there's at least
40 people in the store thinking, "the exit is too far, we're all gonna die
here.."  immediately to the left of me, one of the drum sales guys
is standing there, laughing, with his arms folded over his chest, just 
watching (This is the guy that Shawn was working with, so he reconized me, 
and I must have looked amused as hell too.) so he looks at me and says 
"ya know, This is the best part about working here !"  I crack up,, and
turn back to finish  watching the show,,, just in time to see the store 
manager running over to this kid, he smiled, said something, and just 
turned the amp WAY down, show over, but ----  what a scream...

thought I'd relay the story..  really was funny..


/pelksta

    I stopped by after work last night, right around the dinner hour,
    probably the best time to go if you want to avoid crowds.  Almost
    nobody in the parking lot or the store, just a couple of pre-teens
    thrashing around on pointy-body guits, and yet... I still couldn't
    hear myself playing a relic Strat through a re-issue Deluxe!
    
    I'm starting to think they *designed* that place to maximize the
    loudness factor.  I've been in similar situations in Mr C's and had
    less trouble hearing myself.
    
    /rick
    

It's just big, where the main sales floor is, too big for
anything like really hearing an amp, or guitar that you're
interested in...

the best bet is to ask if you can haul it into the Guitar technology 
center, and close the doors. They will do this for you, no problem..

which brings another point to bear,..
In all the music stores I've been to, I found that the Guitar Center's 
sales people, were, to me anyway, the most freindly, cordial and 
helpfull.  Daddy's being the clear winner for the worst sales people
in the bizz..

I called the Natick GC  this a.m. to check and see if they're 
string sale was  still on, it was, but turns out there were only
2 cases of markley 9s left in the store,  the sales guy (Bill) 
offered to put them asside for me with my name on  them,  and I 
picked em up at lunch,, One went to a bud here at work, the other
comes home,, I got 24 freakin sets,, that ought to last a while.

/da pelksta.

I've never had anything but the best attitude,and service from DJM Nashua,this 
and I have no problem with getting anything I wanted through DJM. Of course I 
typically do my own research before I buy from anyone,so I don't count on
other intelligent life forms in music stores..... :^)  There salespeople
    are polite and more than adequate.

Actually I gave up on EUW in Nashua,there lack of knowledge,poor prices and
general lack of common courtesy has convinced me not to do buisness with
them. Matter of fact there attitude is no different than when I lived in 
Boston and they were on Newbury St. in the mid 70's. I guess you need to
be flashing cash in there face before they recognize you exist. 
I did have one good experiance with the Worcester store. 

I've went into the GC on Commonwealth Ave in Boston a couple of times to 
look at a couple of archtops and acoustics. They seem like the supermarket 
of hell for musical gear.  :^(  I must have played a 6 Martins which needed
setup work. With prices from 1k and up..... a brazillian rosewood D28 for
3 to 4k? this certainly re-enforced my lack of need for more wood :^)
I did play a 00028.... but for $2300 tagged price I'd rather find a dealer
who would take some care setting up an instrument. Nothing seemed setup.
The guy who was their guitar sales guy seemed to have a VERY limited knowledge 
of guitars. 
I guess he must know strats and les pauls.... :^)  When I called prior to
my first trip I identified a new Epiphone Emperor Regent I wanted to try. He
claimed that they had a couple in the store. I drove in and when I got there
they ended up being an Epi Joe Pass model. :^(     oop's sorry.... They claimed
it to be a special order instrument and if I was interested they could get
one for me to try. ....never mind....I found a dealer a couple of miles away
who had three of them. Their vintage prices will make you choke! 

If you want a vintage guitar call Gruhn Guitars the whole buying experiance 
is totally professional. 

To me the GC just lacks the "atmosphere" of Cambridge Music and really makes me
appreciate my buying relationship with DJM. But what has worked for me is 
setting up a buisness relationship with one salesperson.

I know DJM is not going out of buisness.....and EUW probably won't either. 

But,rest assured GC will become a thorn in any dealers side..... But not from
any of my money. :^)

My buying experiance with DJM has been been very positive from the start to
the present. 

Ray,Now if they were really bad or you have a legitimate complaint, I encourage
you to call the regional sales manager in Salem? I believe his name is Rich....
or maybe Rob Timmons?

Rick

well, I had a few experiences with them (DJM), and suffice to say,
until I got ahold of Rich, they we're just floating unresolved,
and while Rich did his best and did make it right, I felt the cat 
was out of the bag at that point..  If I gotta get the BOSS involved 
everytime I have a beef, I'd rather not do bizz there.
It's not my favorite chain...

I've not had a lot of bad luck at EUs but like you mentioned,
I sort of work through Jay in Worcestor when I go there.

I never had a bad time at Mr C's but by now, Jim knows me,
and I know him, and we never have problems,, I'll buy big and
small ticket items from Jim till he closes his doors..

Worse experience yet was Gordon's in Fitchburg partially the 
store manager, who's long gone now, and, partially Marshall defect..

I also like working with they guys at Action in Leominster
but sometimes they're special order facilities can piss
people off, although, oddly enough, I ask Dave for all the
stuff I need, and I always get, (Dave plays in the show band
with me..)

and while a lot fo stores don't stock the emporer, I'm not
so sure it's a special order..

Now you tried some of these, and you didn't like them did
ya ??  I still think I'll wind up getting one someday..

>If I gotta get the BOSS involved everytime I have a beef, I'd rather 
>not do bizz there.

Well I guess I'd prefer to do buisness with the boss if he's the only
one who knows the value of a customer and typical sales people can't cut
    the best deals.

>It's not my favorite chain...

I noticed  :^) 

>I've not had a lot of bad luck at EUs but like you mentioned,
>I sort of work through Jay in Worcestor when I go there.

My only positive experiance with EU was through Matt at Worcester.

>Now you tried some of these, and you didn't like them did
>ya ??  I still think I'll wind up getting one someday..

My last archtop I bought new and kept for over 20 years,Unfortunately
I had a quality problem with the instrument.
I could only see the Epi's as a temporary solution and really an unproven 
solution. Plus I wanted an ebony board not rosewood. As a student model
instrument or a beater it's more than adequate. In todays market it is one of
the better solutions,and playing in a  "dive" it might work. I'd prefer a high
    quality instrument that would cost me more. To me there are better
    investments.

Rick

    
    
    I've been treated very well at the Guitar Center in Boston. I had gone
    in with a friend to buy a Squire Strat for his daughter.  The sales guy
    was treating me like some kid's dad: set me up with a little Fender
    amp, tuned the guitar up for me, gave me a pick and stood there.  I
    started to try it out and the sales guy said "Oops, sorry, let's have a
    different conversation."  He then helped me sort through the stack of
    Squires to find one with a good neck and a decent fret job and cut
    right to the chase about price with case.
    
    I liked him immediately.
    
    Kevin
    

Yea, I see much of the same..

I did ask one of the sales reps if he thought that these new
guitar center openings would hurt the existing mom-n-pop
stores, and local chains..

his answer "Well, we all hope so!"

    Actually the guy in at GC just seemed to lack any knowledge for my
    purposes,but he was nice. I spoke to him a couple of times on the 
    phone and he was also nice,but seemed confused and acting differently
    when I started negotiating price and trade etc.....
    
    Rick 

    We have two GCs in metro Detroit.  I've been to both, and haven't been
    to impressed.  Too many nirvana-wannabees etc. wandering around and
    making too much noise.  A sales staff (that at least in acoustics)
    provided more misinformation than information.  For example, I was
    told that a D'Angelico II New Yorker was a "real" D'Angelico.  They had
    Takamine classicals, so I asked if they had any Hirades, and the sales
    guy had never heard of Hirade (gee, it be nice if he had at least read
    the Tak catalog...).  The one salesman that provided the greatest
    amount of misinformation was very nice, though.
    
    Jim

    
    I called the GC in Boston and asked for the lowest price on a MEX
    Fender P-bass. ($199 ...although I didn't ask, I'll assume that w/a gig
    bag).  Out of courtesy to the shop in Fitchburg my kids take lessons at
    (Music Box), I asked if they could beat/match the price and they did. 
    (They're gonna have to, or they pass up the busines.)  With a decent
    gig bag as well).. But now, at least it stays local and if a problem 
    arises, I know who I'm dealing with. Everybody's happy now...I think.
    
    Rick

gee, that's news.

Paul and Marty historically would never play price
wars.  I've known Paul (quite well) for some 25 years
and when I was looking for a tele, he wouldn't match
Mr. C's price ($550) he wanted $699 and that was that.

    maybe the deciding factor is its from Mexico.
    
    
    later, rj

    It was from Marty. He made the counteroffer but it was set up by my
    noticing 2 similiar Mex P-basses (1 white, 1 black). When I asked him
    over to explain the diff... I got the "hotter pickups" and "off-shore"
    speech. Apart from the color though, they were *exactly* alike and they
    were priced at 279 and 239 respectively.  He later concluded they were
    the same and that one was priced dfferently. (Pauls handwriting was, of
    course, on the higher priced on).  My impressions of Paul these days is
    that he's turning in Gerry Martel #2. (inside joke for the
    Montachusett residents.
     
    Marty was forced to conceed.  BTW, someone told me about a store in
    Danvers called "Mr. P's" that near Liberty Tree Mall that is currently
    going out of business and liquidating everything. #' 508-777-3221 FYI. 

    You know you're too old to be hanging around in guitar shops when:
    
    So there I am just causually standing near the counter at GC waiting
    to talk to my friend, and there's some draft-age grungster standing
    sorta next to me waiting to pick up his lefty Strat.  The clerk is holding
    the Strat, gestures towards me and says to the kid "so is dad paying
    for this one?".  I mean, the kid had a better goatee than mine!!!
    I immediately left and proceeded to the laxative aisle at a nearby CVS.
    
    /pappy
    

    RE:  .75
    
    I'm sorry Rick...
    
                  
    	Pappy Fred

    Well they've moved down south.  GC that is.  I just called Rthym City
    here in Atlanta Ga., they said they were closed for inventory, and they
    were merging with Guitar Center.  So I guess we will all be paying
    around the same prices now.
    
        later,
        rj
    

    RE: earlier notes about GC and the demise of independent music stores.
    
    As I mentioned earlier, we have two GCs in metro Detroit now.  Their
    presence has not seem to seriously impact any of the existing stores,
    though.  I only know of one store closing, and I really doubt it was
    due to GC competition (the owner has expanded into a folk club,
    restaraunt, and music academy-- I think he just decided the music
    store was more hassle than it was worth).
    
    On the other hand, the local stores here already had to deal with the 
    fact that Elderly Instruments (major mail order store) was located only
    an hour's drive away.  In general, most of the local stores already had
    prices as good (or in some cases, better) than GC.
    
    jim