What the hell is wrong with music stores in this country?

[Alex]

Ok, first of all, I'm not implying other countries are better - keep that in mind.

Since I've been looking for a new amp a long time I visited many amp stores. Usually they don't have what I am looking for (STRIKE ONE), but ok, I cannot expect stores to stock every product. Instead of a decent quality tube amp I am usually offered a VOX Valvetronix or Line6 spider (STRIKE TWO).

Quite often nobody asks if I need something (there's always some member of staff (!) wailing mindlessly on one guitar however while a DVD plays some different songs - STRIKE THREE). Apparently it could mean work, talking to a potential customer.

They tell me they will get X in stock next week - then they don't. Twice. (STRIKE FOUR).

I asked for a decent reverb and say I don't want the Electro Harmonix or Boss - guess what after a while they offer (STRIKE FIVE).

If you are allowed to play a guitar, there is never a pick. (STRIKE SIX)

They don't have internet apparently in most places as they are usually way overpriced compared to some online retailers. That insults me. Do they believe I am stupid and don't compare prices? Or that I have money to spare as gift because of they are such incredible nice to me? (STRIKE SEVEN).

I am given a cr@p Marshall MG15 to try a pedal that costs way more than the amp. (STRIKE EIGHT).

I know more than the staff about a certain subject (which isn't necessarily much) but am still treated like I'm an idiot. (STRIKE NINE)

And - worst ever - I wasn't allowed to test an amp on the basis that they are only open for 10 minutes more. (STRIKE TEN)

Different stores, granted, but typical....  :(

Sometimes I think I should open a store... it can't be that hard than to do better.  :?

[Alex]

- -- --  :x

[Dmoney]

agreed...
I have a few people i know in shops who ive had really good service from, and i go back to them and say hello on a regular basis and even though i may not be buying really expensive stuff, i still try to go and get cables and strings from those places when i need to.

in London, i really like Wunjo on denmark street. stock can vary, sometimes they have loads of awesome stuff, sometimes im not that interested. but its all pre-used stuff. its a bit less arsy than vintage & rare too. Brian at wunjo hooked me up with my first BKP's as they use them in thier own guitars the make.

some other places stock lots of rubbish and over price it massively. like Rockers, on the same street. and LTD EC-1000 was £1000 ish last time i checked. or under £700 from GAK.

Centre of London is always going to be overpriced i guess. im suprised nobody stocks cool amps down there. one shop has Diamond Amps now, but thats it. its all marshall, peavey and orange. some krank rubbish, some mesa stuff.

i guess they just stock what they think they can sell. hence why those places are FULL of tokai's now. people know orange, mesa, peavey, fender, marshall. i guess its easy to sell.

unfortunetly, the best place for amps in the UK seems to be Sounds Great in manc. with Soldano, Splawn, Cornford etc... but i hear they don't have very good customer service or post sales support.

[Catalyst77]

Before i got my feline i was looking into getting a gibson les paul.

I had my eye on a black one some at some place in south london; its was only £999 which i though was a pretty good deal.

Obviously knowing the continuity issues that gibson guitars have i stupidly asked if i could try it.

The reponse:

"only if you are going to buy it as black guitars leave fingerprints"

WTF??

whats the point in trying it then?

needles to say i did not purchase said guitar.

I do think though that with the advent of the internet music stores in general have gone down hill (generally) in terms of what they stock and the competence of the straff in general. :(

Theres also a certian snobbery you get in some smaller shops where they take one at you and think... this guy cant afford it.

I do agree with the above though, a lot of the shops along Denmark street are more helpful and do carry better stock, and you can always barter them down

[noodleplugerine]

Whenever I'm asking to try a guitar, I'm allways asked if I intend to buy it. My response is always the same.

"$%&# knows, haven't played it yet!"

[Adam.M]

Whilst the shops are getting shafted by the internet, there's still no excuse for it.

I only go to Northern and Rockshack here in Leeds, occasionally Big Deal but that's a pawnshop more than anything else.

The other places... screw 'em.

[Ratrod]

You should read some of the stories about Guitar Center on US forums.

The only reason these stores exist is because people keep going there.

Why? Just stop going to bad stores.

[Andrew W]

I've had very mixed experiences down Denmark Street and generally they are way, way overpriced - £920 for a Fender Princeton Reverb I noticed today?  Ye gods and little fishes, that's nearly 30% more than it ought to be.  I also agree with the lazy, arrogant staff comments above.  It's a strange thing that they seem to do their best to make spending a lot of money on gear an incredibly intimidating experience.  I actually do not generally enjoy shopping for guitar related equipment much anymore. 

On the plus side I do like Wunjo and Music Ground on Denmark Street.  Vintage and Rare become much nicer when it looks like you're about to hand over some serious moolah ;) . 

One other place that behaved brilliantly was Anderton's in Guildford.  I bought my Strat and a Fulltone Deja Vibe from them and they were helpful, really polite and understood what service was all about. For example, they got me several Strats of the same model so I could try a few out and pick the one I liked best.  They also have proper demo rooms where you can make a racket without disturbing other punters.  Some seem to get it and some will not be in business for much longer I suspect.

[MDV]

You should read some of the stories about Guitar Center on US forums.

The only reason these stores exist is because people keep going there.

Why? Just stop going to bad stores.

Exactly.

Staff that help you get what you want and generally keep out of your way after that are the best. Go back there, dont go back to the shiteeee ones.

Best I've been too (quality deserves a plug) - Guitar guitar newcastle, merchant city music glasgow. Especially the former. Usefull advice on dialing in an uberschall (the precense nob doesnt do what presence normally does), changing cabs and heads all day for me, giving me a nod when the shop was clear enough for gigging volume, not being stingy with high volume time, made me a coffee and posted the manual for my PB after I forgot it. Sounds great are very helpfull on the phone, never visited though. After sound control closed the worst shop I've been in is dawsons manchester.

I hate being treated like a time waster when I'm in a shop. No, I dont know if I'm going to buy your $%&#ing gear yet, thats why I want to try it, dont assume that because I'm young and scruffy I cant afford your precious stock (you'd think they prefer it being on the shelves), asking me questions like that will NOT hasten a sale and shop assistants assume I dont know what I'm doing with perfectly normal gear at their peril.

Oh, fun game you can (nay, should) play - if you hear a salesman talking some shiteeee too a noob because the noob doesnt know any better and they're bullshiteeeeeeeeting for the sale, call them on it, there and then, and watch them squirm. My favourites so far:

"Only solid state can do metal, valves arent aggressive enough" (Dawsons)

"A marshall MG is all he'll [~13 year old kid, addressing parent] ever need" (Quick glance around and marshall MGs are over half the amp stock, which is dominated by marshall - dawsons)

"If you get that [squire] strat you'll have to bring it in to us to set it up and change the strings" (sound control)

"Anything thats not made in the USA is shiteeee. That japanese stuff is cr@p." (little shop on denmark street!)

[Dmoney]

my favourites...

"can i BOSS line selector switch between o/p A, o/p B, and o/p A+B like an AB-Y pedal?"
"why yes! absolutely it can!" NO! it cant. (Soundcontrol, Charing Cross Road London)

"Attenuators cause more stress on output transformers and make them fail" NO (sounds great, manc)

"Soldano do not recommend the use of attenuators with their products" LIE (sounds great, Manc)

"We do not recommend the use of attenuators with amplifier" however you do sell them for £249 a pop with no such information on your website! LIE (sounds great, Manc)

"marshall stopped making the powerbrake they were getting complaints of broken OP transformers, attenuators are dangerous......." "Marshall are making a new attenutor" both statements, (sounds great, Manc)

"this les paul standard is a lot of money" "yes" "its not that old is it" "well..." "this bigsby is an addition isnt it? not orignal i can see the tailpiece holes under it" "erm... yes its been added" (Music Ground, Denmark Street)

"where is X member of staff?" "he left when we became a sound control because we couldnt offer people good deals any more" (sound control, preston)

[Lord Blakers]

PMT in Birmingham refused to take the £33,000 PRS doubleneck out of it's display case for me to try, the bar-stewards!

[Dmoney]

33,000?! oh $*%&

OH! here is one i overheard in Rose Morris in london. the jist anyway!

"remember that guy that bought the limited addition Parker guitar through us?"
"yeah?"
"well, he was looking on ebay and he found someone had put the same guitar on their, and it had the same number that he had out of 50, 25 or something, only he didnt have the cirtificate, and the guy using ebay did!"
"so we sold him a guitar without a certificate of authenticity but the guitar came from Parker, to us, specifically for him?"
"yes. now their appears be a duplicate of his guitar with the same number. only they both came from Parker, and only 1 has a certificate and it cost £4000".
"oh dear"

[Twaddlefish]

Whilst the shops are getting shafted by the internet, there's still no excuse for it.

I only go to Northern and Rockshack here in Leeds, occasionally Big Deal but that's a pawnshop more than anything else.

The other places... screw 'em.

PMT in Leeds is pretty good. Electro Music in Doncaster is alright for guitars as well.

[Lord Blakers]

I didn't have the cheek to ask to try the PRS really - scroll down on this page to see it:

http://www.pmtonline.co.uk/news.asp

The guys in PMT Birmingham are pretty good. I usually go in looking like I'm going to rob the place, but they've always been happy to let me try out whatever I want. Hence I've bought my last two amps from there.

[Dmoney]

holy £$*%