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Joined: Dec 2003
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Notes, the last music store I taught in had similar experiences. Added was the fact that many manufactures demanded large purchases. The store owner was going to order me a 12 string guitar but couldn't because the manufactured a demanded $10K purchase. They would not sell small amounts to small dealers, only large amounts to big stores. That was another nail in the coffin for this local music store.
Forbidden fruit causes many jams!
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The last new guitar I bought was a Dean Boca 12 string electric that I bought from a store called Manny’s Music in NYC. I don’t think it was the famous Manny’s, but I can say that I got great customer service from them.
I bought it from finding it on EBay and just called up the store. They had already closed their doors and were happy to sell to me direct and ship it to me out in CO.
The reason I don’t think it was the big Manny’s is because the address didn’t match the big store.
When I google searched the address the street view did show a pretty small neighborhood storefront with Manny’s Music out front, not the big famous sign.
It was a sad thing that it was closed and they were selling their inventory only on eBay but I’m pretty sure I paid them a lot more than they would have gotten from a liquidator for a brand like Dean.
Correction: it was Maggio’s Music in Brooklyn. They had several of those guitars for sale and I just checked and they still have one up on eBay.
Last edited by rockstar_not; 09/12/20 10:53 AM.
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I live in a third world country called Homestead, Florida.<...snip...>
Billy Near the Everglades N.P. and "Robert Is Here". Homestead is not the same since the Air Force moved out and the land developers moved in. I'm with you. I've been to GC a couple of times since my local store closed. Only for something that I can't wait for delivery from Sweetwater (MIDI cable, broken mic stand). It's dark, there is someone who thinks he is a guitar god playing too loud, a couple of clerks looking busy and ignoring new walk-ins and the selection of cables and mic stands are lacking. More empty hooks than cables and only one regular sized mic stand that proved to be of inferior quality. And I remember when there were 3 mom-and-pop music stores in town. But time marches on. I no longer have a local store to support, but I get to save about 10 cents on a set of strings. Insights and incites by Notes
Bob "Notes" Norton  Norton Music
https://www.nortonmusic.com
100% MIDI Super-Styles recorded by live, pro, studio musicians for a live groove
& Fake Disks for MIDI and/or RealTracks
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Joined: Oct 2017
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Journeyman
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Gee, I thought it was just me being a girl and getting that treatment at GC. I am not kidding.
Thanks guys! Appreciate!!!
...Deb
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eddie1261
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eddie1261
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Nah. It's a bunch of minimum wage kids who are in college or playing 4 times a month in their band and still living either at home of with 3 roommates to make the rent. They will push whatever the brand of the day is that has an extra commission on it WHEN they bother to even acknowledge that you are in the store.
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The only mom pops I see surviving are the ones who do lessons, some instrument repairs but most of all have a good relationship with local schools and their bands. My personal favorite Lanier's in Mandeville, La. Randy as I kid him is as close to being an actual musician as possible, because he plays drums. Of course then he starts with the guitar player jokes. So besides being a great musician and all round good guy I would attribute his success to school programs and area gigging musicians. In fact as a fellow musician he will encourage you to take the instrument or equipment for a test drive or two on actual gigs before you purchase. I have lived and done business in many states and have never come across someone so easy and fun to deal with. https://www.facebook.com/laniermusic/PS: Randy never wears shoes, in fact his motto is "No Shoes All Service". Long live the neighborhood stores. Later,
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Joined: Oct 2017
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Journeyman
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Journeyman
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A local music store closed except for
repairs
lessons - they rent out their rooms to music instructors
No sales.
Seems to be working for them.
...Deb
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The "Neighborhood" store that I have the fondest memories of was in St. Albans, WV. It's called Fret 'n Fiddle.
I became friends with Joe Dobbs, the owner and founder and I frequently showed up there on Sat. afternoons for impromptu jam sessions for several years.
Joe was a local celebrity, fiddler, radio show host, musical historian and all around nice guy. I've bought, sold and traded more instruments with him than all of the other people I've dealt with combined. Joe passed away just a few years ago. I think about him fondly very often.
I remember riding my motorcycle there one Sat. and parked it beside Joe's Harley Electra Glide. I told him what a beautiful bike it was and commented that I'd never rode one and almost instantly the keys to it came sliding across the counter. "Then ride one now!" I thanked him profusely and handed his keys back to him and said "I can't afford to buy it, so I can't afford to ride it".
That's the kind of guy Joe was. He's still missed and mentioned frequently by tons of people in the area.
His store wasn't just a music store, ... it was a meeting point for a lot of local musicians.
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His store wasn't just a music store, ... it was a meeting point for a lot of local musicians. That's exactly what's largely missing nowadays. I wonder will that level of quality ever return?
BIAB & RB2026 Win.(Audiophile), Windows 10 Pro & Windows 11, Cakewalk Bandlab, Izotope Prod.Bundle, Roland RD-1000, Synthogy Ivory, Session Keys Grand S & Electric R, Kontakt, Focusrite 18i20, KetronSD2, NS40M, Pioneer Active Monitors.
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eddie1261
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eddie1261
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His store wasn't just a music store, ... it was a meeting point for a lot of local musicians. That made me smile because it reminded me of one specific guy in our area. He would hang around the music stores, talk all the music smack, test guitars with the 3 licks he knew, then go to the next store and do it again. Yet nobody ever actually saw the guy play. He was never in a band, nobody on the booking side of the music world had ever heard of him. He used to talk about how "Yeah. That's my style." stuff but he never played anywhere. And I bet every town has their handful of guys just like that.
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There used to be a store in Miami like that, Ace Music. It was a big mom and pop, started small and grew quite large.
It had instruments you can try before you buy. I tried out three top-of-the-line Selmer saxes (Mark VI) and picked the one with the best intonation. They carried Gibson, Fender, and other major brands too.
And it was a meeting place for musicians. Whenever you went there, a dozen or so musicians were hanging around, trading gig stories, sharing instrument experiences and just shooting the $@(%.
It was purchased by a chain called Mars, which was run by bean counters instead of musicians and Mars eventually went belly-up.
Broward Band Instruments in Ft Lauderdale was like that but with fewer instruments (no guitars, just wind instrument) and a bigger repair operation. They even had "Sound Proof" practice rooms where you could try things out before you bought them without disturbing the other customers.
The last two saxes and guitars I bought on the Internet, and didn't get to try them out first. I went on the recommendation of others, and they turned out fine, but I would have rather sampled before I bought.
But this is the present, and there is no going back. The Internet gave us a lot, but it took some things away too.
Insights and incites by Notes
Bob "Notes" Norton Norton Music
https://www.nortonmusic.com
100% MIDI Super-Styles recorded by live, pro, studio musicians for a live groove
& Fake Disks for MIDI and/or RealTracks
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The Internet gave us a lot, but it took some things away too. The internet took more than it gave, I figure.
I work here
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Local music stores..... Haven't seen one of those in decades.
Back in the day however, there was one just down the block and around the corner a bit. Since I was mostly an unemployed individual and a musician ( is that redundant? ) I used to go there a lot just to hang out. Other musicians would wander in and we would often have impromptu jams in the store. It was a great place to hang out back then.
You can find my music at: www.herbhartley.comAdd nothing that adds nothing to the music. You can make excuses or you can make progress but not both. The magic you are looking for is in the work you are avoiding.
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