My local Sam Ash is closing :(

This is a video about a video game store. It's not a music store, but the owner's philosophy applies to basically any merchant who sells specialty products. The thumbnail makes the video look depressing but the quote is more of a half-joke, and the store owner is actually a fairly positive and pragmatic guy.

One key point he makes is that you shouldn't be a miserly asshole who refuses to move product unless it sells at your perfect pie-in-the-sky super high price. Instead, go for slightly less margin in exchange for being able to move more inventory faster. It makes the customer happier and you'll make more money in the long run that way.


 
I suspect my local on will be closing as well, unless they figure keeping one open in the bottom corner of the US is prudent. That store has been shit for well over a decade with some of the worst employees I’ve experienced in any music store. Remarkable how they seem to hire the same personality type over and over.

That said, I snagged a brand new G-Force from them in ‘05 for $500 because they thought it was a G-Major, so all is not lost.
 
Wayniac3 said:
Got many good deals in the Orange CT one, as well as Stamford
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I'm probably too young to know those places in their hey day. But I remember starting out guitar as a kid and the orange location being a pretty decent siz3. I do remember seeing an orange and black Lynch stripe model on the wall or something similar.
 
Bad.Seed said:
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.
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I still remember going up there with cash in my pocket to pick up a VHT head, only to hold the door open for you as you walked out with it. It was like $800 or something stupid like that, and I was like "Fuck, I gotta come back for that!"
 
BeZo said:
I still remember going up there with cash in my pocket to pick up a VHT head, only to hold the door open for you as you walked out with it. It was like $800 or something stupid like that, and I was like "Fuck, I gotta come back for that!"
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hahahah sssooorrryyyy. Yeah it was a Pittbull 100 CL w/ the EQ. Even for the time it was a steal. Considering prices right now, it was damn near a robbery.
 
shar-vell Dan said:


I got this from Hersch @ Daddys 23 years ago for $375. It needed work but its been a great guitar.
Was sad to hear they closed.
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I bought one of those in pearl white in 89' brand new for $495 after tax.. still got the handwritten recipe in the case (remember when new guitars came with cases lol). I pulled it out and played it last night for the first time in a long time and it is such a great guitar. I did recently replace the pot metal trem with a Gotoh since the string locking screws kept stripping out. Plays even better now.
 
jchrisf said:
I bought one of those in pearl white in 89' brand new for $495 after tax.. still got the handwritten recipe in the case (remember when new guitars came with cases lol). I pulled it out and played it last night for the first time in a long time and it is such a great guitar. I did recently replace the pot metal trem with a Gotoh since the string locking screws kept stripping out. Plays even better now.
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Mine had an old OFR had been doweled professionally many moons ago.
GOTOH on there now is da shit. I bought a 90's EMG-81 from the old Mars Music thats in there now.
Turns out the older EMG's had an op amp that the newer ones don't have. There is a difference.
It ripps in this Basswood body.
 
RaceU4her said:
Bummer. Spent a lot of money there. Was way better than the guitar center here
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AHAHA I am glad is it closing! It is the place you always said we were nerds for paying higher prices for! Now you will never get these prices again.

But in all reality I am sorry bro, it sucks having a killer place like that close.
 
Last thing I bought at a chain music store was my Kerry King head, and only because the amp was being discontinued and they were blowing them out for $1200. Once I joined rigtalk I had access to tons of great amps I'd never see in a music store for a decent used price. Most of the used amps I have now came from this forum. The new ones were custom ordered from builders. I only order picks, cables and strings online now.

In fact, I can't remember walking into a store and seeing anything I'd want in over a decade now.
 
shar-vell Dan said:


Mine had an old OFR had been doweled professionally many moons ago.
GOTOH on there now is da shit. I bought a 90's EMG-81 from the old Mars Music thats in there now.
Turns out the older EMG's had an op amp that the newer ones don't have. There is a difference.
It ripps in this Basswood body.
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I just realized they are not the same. Mine is a Model 2 with just the volume knob and had a JT6 pickup which is a great pickup but I replaced it with a Dimarizio Super 3. The Super 3 kills in this guitar.. The combination of the new bridge and pickup with no neck pickup and the quality of the wood and build makes a great playing and sounding guitar.

Which model is yours?
 
CarlF said:
In the 70's and 80's the Sam Ash in Hempstead, NY was an amazing place. We were like kids in a Candy Store. A few blocks away was Gracins, another awesome place.
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Hey, great memories. Focus II guitars in Bellmore was also a cool place. I wanted to ask: do you remember the name of the free newspaper you'd get at Sam Ash where you could place ads for musicians? I'm wracking my brain trying to remember. Thanks so much if you can help.
 
BassforYourFace said:
Hey, great memories. Focus II guitars in Bellmore was also a cool place. I wanted to ask: do you remember the name of the free newspaper you'd get at Sam Ash where you could place ads for musicians? I'm wracking my brain trying to remember. Thanks so much if you can help.
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Oh yeah! Focus II in Bellmore and Commack, I was there often.
The paper might be GOOD TIMES. This is when my friend Ronni made the cover.

1714319963372.jpeg
 
CarlF said:
Oh yeah! Focus II in Bellmore and Commack, I was there often.
The paper might be GOOD TIMES. This is when my friend Ronni made the cover.

View attachment 307116
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Thanks! Awesome cover! That's a trip down memory lane! Those were called Steinbergers or something, if I remember correctly.

I actually think it's Buylines Press I'm thinking of. Maybe. But I remember Good Times.
 
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 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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Ah, the Bandit!
 
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