rct Posted May 12, 2015 Share Posted May 12, 2015 There's a store couple miles down the road from GC, it's been there a long time, the previous previous owner was around this area a very long time. I bought guitars from him more than 25 years ago, bought quite a few out of his shop down the street from GC, even as GC was open. I called him GibsonBoy, he had a great outlet for both companies, TONNES of guitars. He passed away a while ago. The store kept the name he gave it when he moved into there and they tried to keep it up. But the G & F franchises were gone, GC is just too big it seems. Then they got really bad, just crappy stuff, I don't want to say names it will offend somebody. It isn't that I'm a snob, it's that you just can only sell so much of the top end, but you can sell only so much of the bottom too. So I haven't been there in a couple years now maybe. I was driving back to the office yesterday and had to stop in that area and figured I'd look in the window, see how they were if they were even there. They were there, and it looked different. I went in and POOF! A wall of Fenders up there. Awesome! Some good amps sitting around, but in general, a store getting itself together. Turns out some guys that run a store some 50 miles from here where I am originally from got hold of this place and are trying to get it going. They believe the local GC is not long of this earth and they want to fill the vacuum, which is great! So I had some stuff to do today like mail things to forum peoples and I went back for a better look around and to jaw with them about a pair of pickups I can never seem to find together and BAM! there was both in their case. I went home with them and a pair of pots so I can restore my Telecaster to normal wiring like you other mooks use instead of the one volume no tone pots that my gigging guitars are set up to do, because that was how I rolled. Anyway, great to see local shop trying to get themselves together. Getting a decent deal was great fun and it was very reminiscent of the olden days. rct Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dub-T-123 Posted May 12, 2015 Share Posted May 12, 2015 Yeah it's nice to have a good GC alternative. Place by my work has a nice choice of pedals and guitars and even strings that I've never seen in a GC. They have a few cheaper guitars but I think those are mostly aimed towards the students taking lessons there. Other than that it's pretty sweet stuff like Ric, Gibson, etc It's kindof a loose ship over there but better than GC for sure Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fromnabulax Posted May 12, 2015 Share Posted May 12, 2015 After moving way out here into the middle of almost nowhere, I made sure I established at least a connection to the local (35 miles from here) independent store. A couple of kids (by my standards anyhow) just opened a new one across the state line (a bit closer at 20 miles away) and I have been offering them some long overdue repair work as well. If you want to see local independent music stores survive, then it's absolutely worth supporting them with your business. In this day, they are even more likely to bend over backwards to offer superior service as well as a great deal, which is a win- win for all. Enjoy your rewired Tele! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
'Scales Posted May 12, 2015 Share Posted May 12, 2015 good to hear guys Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the dog Posted May 12, 2015 Share Posted May 12, 2015 yeah...good story....it makes me want to go to a store I haven't bought anything from in years......I used to get great deals there....but I got used to ordering online and no sale tax and delivered to my door...its called Bankos in Ansonia CT....I will make it a point to go very soon and satisfy my need to purchase some items that I need.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sg50 Posted May 12, 2015 Share Posted May 12, 2015 Generally speaking, I go to GC to tune guitars and I go to one of two local stores to buy guitars. I want those guys around. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Markini Posted May 13, 2015 Share Posted May 13, 2015 RCT ... That was a good read, well done and I agree with you. Lived in San Diego for 25 years. At another forum today there was a discussion about GC and its financial problems. I was surprised at how many independent music stores chimed in and stated they didn't want GC to totally fail due the vast inventory that would be dumped on the market for pennies on the dollar, thus putting many of them out of business. The solution appears to be that GC will close non productive stores and move the inventory to stores that have good track records. So on a local level if this occurs small independent music stores will benefit. Most of all guitar players will benefit from the small music shops that provide personalized service and knowledge. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blueblooded Posted May 13, 2015 Share Posted May 13, 2015 In the Detroit area there are several really good independent Guitar/Drum/Live Sound shops that are having no problem competing with the 4 GC stores we have here. My local favorite is Motor City Guitar which is a huge place. The building used to be a 2 screen movie theatre and the place is jam packed with the largest variety of products and brands you're likely to see anywhere. Good prices, great service, the largest counter full of botique pedals from around the world, and all the top brands. Lots of used stuff too and it changes all the time. Sometimes there's so much stuff it's hard to check it all out. If you ever come to the Detroit area, you have to visit! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Silvercrow Posted May 13, 2015 Share Posted May 13, 2015 AMEN RCT! And cool lookin' shop there, Blueblodded! I'm pretty fortunate- within a 30 mile radius we have some FINE independent music stores. D-Town Guitars, owned by Rob Martyn, Doylestown Pa.; Colossimo's Northeast Philly; Tohickon Guitar Barn (used guitars and amps- like walking into a museum); Bucks County Folk Music (upper end and decent mid-grade acoustic guitars, mandolins, banjos and folk instruments), Clemmers Music (fantastic set ups, fret leveling, nut / saddle replacements etc.) and probably a dozen more, no lie. Most seem to be doing OK- but there were some heartache closures, for me at least, over the past ten years. Medley Music near Paoli folded several years ago, as well as a local Don Phillips (small franchise). Whenever I can, I do business with them. You can have all the Guitar Centers and Sam Ash's this 'big box' world will accommodate; the local guys need our support and to me, there's nothing better than dealing with a guy or gal you know personally and who stands behind their instruments / repairs! Gotta admit- I've done a bit of business lately off the 'net and big box stores. This thread brought reality back to me- reminding me how much I love the "small" business guy. Brian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4Hayden Posted May 13, 2015 Share Posted May 13, 2015 MY local store I call it Mom & Pops , he fixes stuff and calls you by your name when you walk in . Feels like home , those type places are hard to find. And he doesn't like low end stuff though he has gear for beginners. 4H Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kelly campbell Posted May 13, 2015 Share Posted May 13, 2015 I wish I had those kind of options my only real options are 50 miles away, there is a couple really small shops closer but they only carry low end stuff..sad but it is the way it is and there is probably 50 guitars in the place most of them Squire and things on that level, not one Gibson. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dbrian66 Posted May 13, 2015 Share Posted May 13, 2015 None of the small shops around me carry any Gibson's. Not even the place I bought my SG at back in the 90's have them anymore. I asked this lady who just opened a small shop near me why she didn't carry Gibson's and she told me that to be a Gibson dealer, they require her to buy a huge inventory. She said she just can't afford that kind of overhead. I don't know if its true, but if it is it makes sense why so many of the smaller shops don't have any Gibson's hanging on the walls. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveFord Posted May 13, 2015 Share Posted May 13, 2015 My local small shops have a used Gibson or three but I'm sure that to become a dealer the cost is immense. Plus you're also going to be competing with the large chains so it would be a losing battle. We have one small shop which I really like as the owner is a normal guy and then there's a couple of very strange ones: At the first one the high end guitars all belong to the owner and are placed solely to lure you in and 99% of the actual inventory is from China Another one has a really pronounced evangelical Christian feel to it and you expect to be handed a copy of The Watchtower as soon as you walk in the door and the third one, ach! You go in and they have two salespeople tag team you as you go throughout the store. It's like having vultures perch on your shoulder, eyeing your wallet. If anyone recalls the recent discussion on the $100K Les Paul for sale in Pennsylvania, well, that's where you can find it. You probably have to run a gauntlet like the intro scene to Get Smart before you can view it (after your credit application has been processed, of course). Guitar Center gets slammed a lot but they also have a lot of things going for them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pesh Posted May 13, 2015 Share Posted May 13, 2015 +1 to the statement by dbrian66; when I was first playing the local stores would hold Fenders and the occasional Gibson, then Gibson guitars disappearing, and now none of them hold Fenders, not even the lower-end ones. All Squier and Vintage copy types, now; nothing north of 3 or 4 hundred notes. I do have one good shop down the road from me which deals, seemingly exclusively, in second hand guitars. Very few north of the 1500 mark, as they send those up to a partner store in London (possibly Vintage & Rare?), but some good choices all the same. They've got a couple of '70s hardtail Strats that I like the look of but sadly cannot afford. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cougar Posted May 13, 2015 Share Posted May 13, 2015 ...because that was how I rolled. Man, I get the impression you rocked as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ksdaddy Posted May 13, 2015 Share Posted May 13, 2015 Somersaults. That's how I roll. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rct Posted May 13, 2015 Author Share Posted May 13, 2015 ...Medley Music near Paoli folded several years ago, Ah dang. In the 90's we would get a drum kit from them and take it out to the convention center for Philly Phall or Philly Summer, whatever we were doing. I was always the volunteer that returned the rental drum kit that was badly played by one of maybe 20 drunken guitar players in that one ballroom that nobody wanted to be near. I've only been in Medley with an awesome hangover. rct Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cougar Posted May 13, 2015 Share Posted May 13, 2015 Anyway, great to see local shop trying to get themselves together. I have got to get a photo of Tom's "Local Music" one-man shop that is so chock full of old guitars and other instruments, you can barely fit in the place. I don't buy anything there, but I take stuff there for setups and fixes. Tom will talk to you about guitars for hours. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rct Posted May 13, 2015 Author Share Posted May 13, 2015 I have got to get a photo of Tom's "Local Music" one-man shop that is so chock full of old guitars and other instruments, you can barely fit in the place. I don't buy anything there, but I take stuff there for setups and fixes. Tom will talk to you about guitars for hours. In the 70's our local shop was such that you literally stepped over strats and teles, and if you were buying one you just plunked 300 on the counter and went looking for the right color. It could take an hour! Still there, but a vastly different business. I don't think he's seen a Fender or Gibson in decades now. rct Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kidblast Posted May 13, 2015 Share Posted May 13, 2015 I am liking the fact that the local shop down the road from me has been rejuvenated once the ppl who were just trying to bleed the money from it are gone. The current owner was one of the store managers when the d*ck h*ads still owned it. I taught down there some 15 years ago. My bro inlaw was on the hunt for a tele, and they had a used 60th anniversary that they just took in on trade. it was MINT! Asked mark if he minded if I snapped a photo to send my my brother inlaw.. he was there the next day dropping 8 benjamins down on the table. 800 bucks was a good deal I think this guitar has NEVER been played (obvious when you know what to look for), and I think it's better than the 2015 for 12 bills.. (plus they added the body contour.. WHY!!!!) and yea, I'm glad you put ur tele back to the way she belonged rct. I love tele's just they way the good lord intended, maple fretboard, two SC's standard wiring.. yes sirree! try and get me to sell mine,, go ahead,, just try... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rct Posted May 13, 2015 Author Share Posted May 13, 2015 and yea, I'm glad you put ur tele back to the way she belonged rct. I love tele's just they way the good lord intended, maple fretboard, two SC's standard wiring.. yes sirree! try and get me to sell mine,, go ahead,, just try... ruh-roh Duncan Stacks For Tele. I had them in either this one or one of the others in the late 90's. I've had Joe Bardens, Lindys, and for years now Texas Specials in it. I've always wanted to get them stacks again and just never ran into a pair right in front of me, so I jumped. I'll get them in prolly this weekend and hope it is as I remember, great tele clank and twang, and really grunts great at stupid volumes, no noise at all. That guitar is going in the box with me at the end. rct Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kidblast Posted May 13, 2015 Share Posted May 13, 2015 OMG! saaaaaaay,, aint you da guy who told me "GOOD GOD MAN DON'T" when I went to Bigsby my les paul wot up wit dat? Serious,, the STACKS are good choices even tho in my tele, I'd stick with the SCs all the way Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rct Posted May 13, 2015 Author Share Posted May 13, 2015 I know man, I am ashamed of myself. A little. Well, not really. I could get a paira Lindys. His were the quietest singles I ever had. rct Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kidblast Posted May 13, 2015 Share Posted May 13, 2015 hmm fralin's are great pups.. if yo don't mind droppin the coins.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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