Soundcontrol Goes Into Receivership

[HairyChris]

They managed to get me Mesa parts in about 10 days after I'd been waiting months from an indie... That was just after they opened the London store. Never bought a guitar/amp from them but did get a digital recorder and various bits & pieces over the years.

From what I can see they had a lot of expensive floorspace, and a lot of expensive stuff hanging on the wall not really going anywhere. Their lower-end stuff always seemed to be getting shifted.

As for Turnkey. Hm, well for years I didn't know that the 2 were related. For the average shopper (eg me) they didn't advertise the fact. Turnkey were always expensive though.

I suppose we'll wait & see. The interesting thing is that in central London (Denmark St area) there are only a tiny number of true independents, the rest are chains of one description or another. I'd better have a nose round in the next week or so & see what's going on!

[dave_mc]

yeah, i'm definitely not annoyed that turnkey is closing, i wasn't too fussed on the staff in there, serves them right if you ask me. the soundcontrol dudes were always pretty nice to me whenever i was in, and being a chain store you didn't feel too bad trying stuff you weren't really thinking of buying.

[Simon D]

I've already heard that if debts aren't paid there's a fair chance Headline for one will go bust. Half of the new Gibson UK's forcasted goals were due to be taken by Soundcontrol in the next few weeks...

I thought Headline were the PRS distributors? Is it Rosetti who will go under if debts aren't paid, or is Headline in trouble too? I bloody hope they're not, I was looking to buy a PRS later this year.

I feel sorry for the staff concerned though, being out of work  through no fault of your own is a horrible situation to be in.

[HairyChris]

Headline definitely for PRS, Rosetti for Gibson. I think.  :oops:

I'd never buy a PRS new and I've had 2, FWIW. There are plenty of case queens around if you look as there's a certain anal streak to some PRS collectors! :D With the financial situation that's going on it's going to be a buyer's market for a while.

[Simon D]

Headline definitely for PRS, Rosetti for Gibson. I think.  :oops:

I'd never buy a PRS new and I've had 2, FWIW. There are plenty of case queens around if you look as there's a certain anal streak to some PRS collectors! :D With the financial situation that's going on it's going to be a buyer's market for a while.

Here's hoping that's going to be the case - I could do with a bargain! Sadly I doubt I'll find what I'm after second-hand - its a Tremonti trem (one of the new ones). Still, worth a look.

[HairyChris]

Here's hoping that's going to be the case - I could do with a bargain! Sadly I doubt I'll find what I'm after second-hand - its a Tremonti trem (one of the new ones). Still, worth a look.

Haha, well I'd just keep eyes open in the used market and places like the Birds & Moons forum. If you're not in a hurry something should come up sooner or later... and importing guitars has become something of a habit of mine so I wouldn't disregard that as an option. We don't get the greatest selection of PRS in the UK - USA and Japan get most of the killers! ;) Just so you know.

[Scotty477]

I've seen some killer deals on PRS - if you buy them from US ebay.

The trick is finding the right combination of;

a) A seller willing to ship to the UK

b) The right make/model of guitar in the condition you want/need

c) The shipping/insurance price not to be astronomical

If you can get that together it's sometimes great place for a bargain - even with the import duty, VAT etc

[nfe]

Yes Headline for PRS, who have been frantically calling round Soundcontrols trying to get serial numbers for all their guitars so as to hopefully get them all back pronto from the administrators.

Rosetti got the sack from Gibson a few months ago, it's now Gibson UK who opened as of April 1st. They could be in trouble too, ex-soundcontrol director Ray Miller is the head of Gibson UK and had engineered deals in advance to cover more than half his annual target with soundcontrol alone. Could have some pretty major impact on Gibsons into the UK. Fingers crossed other retailers manage to pick up enough of the slack to keep the distributors from having to up trade prices substantially.

Hopefully, it might end up lifting prices countrywide and actually letting independants get a decent crack of the whip instead of doing their best to help a customer out with a product only to be presented with an internet print out and "Match that" with dolphin and other internet idiots selling a tenner above trade because they have virtually no overheads and destroying the industry in the process.

[Simon D]

Nuts. I hope Soundcontrol don't end up taking Headline down with them. Last thing all the other PRS dealers in the country need is to lose the bloody distributor.

I'm not sure it's going to lift prices that much to be honest. In the current economic climate, I think spending on luxury items like guitars and amps is going to slow down, and those with money to spend are not going to pay over the odds. Whereas people might have used credit to buy an expensive piece of gear, now they are less likely to take credit, and so might go for a less pricey piece of gear, or worse for retailers, no gear at all.

Personally, I think it's going to be a bit of a buyer's market for a little while.

[HairyChris]

Rosetti got the sack from Gibson a few months ago, it's now Gibson UK who opened as of April 1st. They could be in trouble too, ex-soundcontrol director Ray Miller is the head of Gibson UK and had engineered deals in advance to cover more than half his annual target with soundcontrol alone. Could have some pretty major impact on Gibsons into the UK.

Owch. That's ugly...

[ToneMonkey]

I dodn't mind Sound Control really.  It was a bit pricey but I found the staff fairly nice.......

........ although they were a lot nicer to me when they saw me walking about in a posh suit rather than looking like a scruffy bugger like ususal.  I must have been asked if I needed any help about 5 times.

[mikeluke]

So, here's the question - how would you go about finding out about the bankrupt stock? Where does it go? Best way to get a bargain?

Thoughts welcome

Mike

[nfe]

So, here's the question - how would you go about finding out about the bankrupt stock? Where does it go? Best way to get a bargain?

Thoughts welcome

Mike

If the company is bought over by someone, then they'll keep it, if it doesn't, most of it will be reclaimed by suppliers to help cover unpaid accounts.

It's unlikely there will be a massive sell off at massive discount. If there is, the UK MI Industry if gubbed. However many tens of millions of pounds worth of stock flooding the market at once? Other dealers aren't going to make any money at all until that's gone...And if those dealers are losingmoney at a rate of noughts, then they're notgonna be buying anything new, so the distributors are humped...Big consequences.

So it'd be awesome for buyers in the short term, a disaster in the long term.

[Twinfan]

The vast majority will go back to the suppliers, certainly tthe high end stuff (Gibson, PRS, Fender etc).  It's the cheap stuff that's already paid for that will be discounted.

[Scotty477]

The vast majority will go back to the suppliers, certainly tthe high end stuff (Gibson, PRS, Fender etc).  It's the cheap stuff that's already paid for that will be discounted.

Yup. It's the Schecters etc that maybe on the market at a knock down price.

On a brighter note I went to my normal guitar store, which is Guitar Guitar in Glasgow. Staff were as helpful as usual and prices were still lower than Sound Controls ever were - again as usual.

Sound Control is no loss for me but again, I do feel for the decent staff who are now looking for employment.