schnarz25 Posted January 5, 2011 Posted January 5, 2011 hey everyone, where should I buy a gibson at if I dont have any local shops that sell them? I was going to go to guitar center but Ive been hearing alot of bad things about buying expensive stuff from them.I was told on here to go feel the guitar at guitar center and then order it from musicians friend. anybody have a good suggestion for me?
MrNylon Posted January 5, 2011 Posted January 5, 2011 Sam Ash is good. Sweetwater Music is another one.
schnarz25 Posted January 5, 2011 Author Posted January 5, 2011 is sweetwater only online? so sweetwater is my best bet? because if Im gonna spend $1700 then I want to spend it at the right place.
dem00n Posted January 5, 2011 Posted January 5, 2011 is sweetwater only online? so sweetwater is my best bet? because if Im gonna spend $1700 then I want to spend it at the right place. I think they have one store, but yes they are mostly online. But yeah if you know what gibson you want and had to choose from a big music store, id go for them.
schnarz25 Posted January 5, 2011 Author Posted January 5, 2011 Ok thanks. anyone else want to say anything good or bad about sweetwater?
Andy R Posted January 5, 2011 Posted January 5, 2011 Ok thanks. anyone else want to say anything good or bad about sweetwater? Sweetwater is awesome and is only about an hour and a half drive from where I live. They have the nicest store/facility you will ever see. I have had good luck with them and would recommend them for sure. If you're ever passing through Northern Indiana you definitely need to check it out. Andy
schnarz25 Posted January 5, 2011 Author Posted January 5, 2011 does sweetwater charge tax? because musicians friend doesnt and thats at least another $100
Tim Plains Posted January 5, 2011 Posted January 5, 2011 What guitar are you buying? In the US, you don't pay tax if you buy something from another state and have it shipped to your state. It's not that MF doesn't charge tax. It's just that they're located in a different state than you.
MrNylon Posted January 5, 2011 Posted January 5, 2011 Taxes also may be collected if there is a retail store in the state you're in too. I have to pay tax if I order from Sam Ash because there are stores in Florida. Don't have to if i order from Sweetwater Music in Indiana. Sweetwater Music is a very reputable location.
G McBride Posted January 5, 2011 Posted January 5, 2011 I pay tax at both Sweetwater and MF because I live in Indiana. I have used both and they do a great job. Buy from Sweetwater and you will feel like the appreciate your business.
Murph Posted January 5, 2011 Posted January 5, 2011 I've used both and never had a problem. You might think about a road trip. A good excuse, and you get to play some guitars.
badbluesplayer Posted January 5, 2011 Posted January 5, 2011 Wildwood Guitars is another good one. The good thing about Sweetwater and Wildwood is that they have pictures of the actual guitars that are for sale right there online so you can see the actual axe that you're buying. Cool. I have bought 2 guitars from Musician's Friend and they're fine, too. Good luck. I hope you find a good one.
Andy R Posted January 5, 2011 Posted January 5, 2011 I pay tax at both Sweetwater and MF because I live in Indiana. I have used both and they do a great job. Buy from Sweetwater and you will feel like the appreciate your business. Greetings my fellow Hoosier. What part of Indiana are you from? Have you been to Sweetwater? If not you should definitely check it out. It is an amazing facility. Andy
Silenced Fred Posted January 5, 2011 Posted January 5, 2011 Sweetwater is awesome, they are top notch there. Never bought a guitar from them, but I have bought stuff ranging from 15 dollars to 200 and each time, I was treated like I was buying a Custom Shop guitar from them.
chase1410 Posted January 5, 2011 Posted January 5, 2011 American Musical has been incredible for me and the payment plan's they offer really help...I've spent thousands at AMS...if not there I'd buy from Sweetwater or WildWood Guitars.
Tim Plains Posted January 5, 2011 Posted January 5, 2011 Taxes also may be collected if there is a retail store in the state you're in too. I have to pay tax if I order from Sam Ash because there are stores in Florida. Don't have to if i order from Sweetwater Music in Indiana. Sweetwater Music is a very reputable location. Not sure about that. I think it's because Sam Ash might ship out of Florida and you live in Florida. I bought a Gibson R8 on GC.com and had it shipped to the Guitar Center store in Buffalo. I did not pay any taxes when I picked it up. I also bought an Egnater cabinet and had it shipped to Michigan. I paid Michigan sales tax on that one because GC ships out of Michigan.
BigKahune Posted January 5, 2011 Posted January 5, 2011 Wildwood Guitars - actual pics of each guitar online - http://www.wildwoodguitars.com Fullers Guitar - no online pics, but they'll email them to you - http://www.fullersguitar.com/ <no affiliation>
MrNylon Posted January 5, 2011 Posted January 5, 2011 I think I know what the deal is with Sam Ash in FL. They have a Tampa on-line whse. Shipped within the state. TAX.
milod Posted January 5, 2011 Posted January 5, 2011 I personally wouldn't spend more than $1,000 on any guitar without playing it unless I were a Bill Gates and could give away something I didn't care for. Sweetwater is different from most of the mail order outfits in that they at least advertise that they check each guitar that goes out. That means, if they're telling the truth, that it ain't been sitting for a year in a warehouse in whatever conditions that may have caused heaven knows what. You may also perhaps talk them into putting on your favorite strings and ensuring its set up properly although they'd probably charge extra. That's just a guess, but they're smaller and probably more flexible on such. The one objection I'd heard to sweetwater is that one of the forum members said he had some sort of contretemps he believed had something to do with his credit card information. I can't recall if that were the exact case, but was a privacy/security issue. m
Mark Posted January 5, 2011 Posted January 5, 2011 I cant believe that a town that is big enough for a GC doesn't have a small store that carries Gibson Where do you live?
kaleb Posted January 5, 2011 Posted January 5, 2011 The Music Zoo in Little Neck, NY. Great place. Never set foot in the store ( as the only state I have set foot in east of Montana is Florida, and, if you view it as east of MT, Colorado ), but I have watched their videos of the 08 and 09 Fender Custom Shop Roadshow, and Gibson Day 07 and 08, as well as other brand showcases ( like Taylor and Charvel ), interviews with Mike Eldred ( head of the Fender Custom Shop, used to build custom guitars at Charvel ), Greg Koch ( an awesome player who can play rock,country, blues, and jazz equally well, most known has a clinician for Fender since around 1998, and a hillarious comedian to top it all off ), and George Lynch, who was there for an ESP event. On there website, they have a wide stabe of exclusives from the Fender Custom Shop, Gibson Custom Shop, and Charvel/Jackson Custom Shop, like the NoNeck Strat ( a relic strat with a thick, early 50's Nocaster style U shape neck ), the Ultamate Relic Strat ( a SUPER RELIC strat, think of Kenny Wayne Shepherd's 1961 strat, or SRV's Number One---THAT RELICd !), and the NotRod Strat ( a Strat with no truss rod, just like Leo originally wanted, avalible in relic and NOS ), all from Fender Custom Shop. From Gibson, they have the Ultra Aged series ( reissue Goldtop, Standard, Custom, and possibly Junior and Special Les Pauls aged heavily by Tom Murphy ), and the 1958 Single Pickup Les Pauls ( standard with one humbucker and wraptail bridge-they are considering trying p-90s and abr-1s too ), as well as the new SJ-200 Vintage Light Laquer. From Charvel they have the Natural Series, which is just regular Charvels with oil finishes on various woods, including ash, mahogany, koa, among others ( even some with tops ), and varying pickup/neck wood/hardware. The Nitro Aged series which is the same but with a reliced nitro finish with various colors. And they have the Grover Jackson Legacy Series which is a remake of the splatter paint Charvels from the late 70s-early 70s ( even right down to the same Gotoh tuners, the Phenolic nut, and the vintage style trem with block saddles, which is avalible on the other 2 series' ). Look at their website. They have a nice inventory of Gibsons. And a nice used guitar section too! Happy GASing!
Jeff-7 Posted January 6, 2011 Posted January 6, 2011 I cant believe that a town that is big enough for a GC doesn't have a small store that carries Gibson Where do you live? Unfortunately that is the case in some states, within a two and a half hour drive from me the only 2 stores that carry Gibsons are Guitar Center and Best Buy (still don't understand that one, make the carrier terms too much to handle for most ma and pa stores that specialize in musical equipment yet let an all in one like Best Buy carry them?).
Mark Posted January 6, 2011 Posted January 6, 2011 Yes I have shopped the two Best Buys in Chicago, the Gibsons are 60' in the air. I guess I would still rather drive a few hours then buy one online. Musicians in Chicago are pretty fortunate to have so many good stores around.
schnarz25 Posted January 6, 2011 Author Posted January 6, 2011 I guess ill just go look at it and play it at GC and then order it from sweetwater. sound good? by the way, its either the les paul studio deluxe or the 2010 Firebird V that Im looking for (havent decided yet,gotta go feel and see 'em).
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