The Acoustic Guitar Forum

Go Back   The Acoustic Guitar Forum > General Acoustic Guitar and Amplification Discussion > General Acoustic Guitar Discussion

View Poll Results: Would you be interested in a single brand guitar store?
I would be very interested in a brand specific guitar store 67 30.88%
I have no interest in a store that is limited to a single brand 127 58.53%
Oh no, not another stupid poll 23 10.60%
Voters: 217. You may not vote on this poll

Reply
 
Thread Tools
  #31  
Old 09-01-2014, 04:35 PM
Bern's Avatar
Bern Bern is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Jun 2005
Location: New York
Posts: 10,748
Default

Although, space wise it might be a problem, I would be interested in having stores that have clear separate sections of brands. GC, for example, has them all mixed.
__________________
There are still so many beautiful things to be said in C major...
Sergei Prokofiev
Reply With Quote
  #32  
Old 09-01-2014, 05:35 PM
Wasper Wasper is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Jun 2011
Location: CT., USA
Posts: 1,558
Default

I would like to see a brand specific store. Why not? There are a lot of guitars from brands that you hardly ever see in the wild, it would be nice to walk into the XXBrandXX store and be able to try their whole line-up.
__________________

"Those who wish to appear wise among fools, among the wise seem foolish."
Quintilian
Reply With Quote
  #33  
Old 09-01-2014, 05:43 PM
Oldguy64 Oldguy64 is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Feb 2014
Location: Kansas City metro
Posts: 4,667
Default

As I usually don't care about the name on the headstock.
There are a few I don't bother with.
But if I want to a/b a D28 against a J35 against a 614
I'd need them all in one place, or in stores next door to each other.

In the grand scheme, I'd prefer to have lotsa brands in one place.
__________________
A bunch of guitars I really enjoy. A head full of lyrics,
A house full of people that “get” me.

Alvarez 5013
Alvarez MD70CE
Alvarez PD85S
Alvarez AJ60SC
Alvarez ABT610e
Alvarez-Yairi GY1
Takamine P3DC
Takamine GJ72CE-12-NAT
Godin Multiac Steel.
Journey Instruments OF660
Gibson G45
Reply With Quote
  #34  
Old 09-01-2014, 06:03 PM
email4eric email4eric is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Apr 2013
Location: Cascadia
Posts: 1,560
Default

I think it would be wonderful. I'd fly there for a few days and spend as long as necessary getting familiar with different models. I'd love to play a bunch of guitars mentioned frequently on the forums but cannot be found by me without much travel to many places.
__________________
Martin CEO-7, Martin 000-15sm, Gibson J-35, Ibanez AC240, Yamaha FD01S, Journey RT660
Reply With Quote
  #35  
Old 09-01-2014, 06:06 PM
Mbroady's Avatar
Mbroady Mbroady is offline
Charter Member
 
Join Date: May 2008
Location: Asheville via NYC
Posts: 6,302
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by Scootch View Post
I'd think this would only work as a "showcase" store in one or two prime locations. I think most buyers want to try different guitars. However it would. be nice to have someplace to try obscure models.
The only brand I know that does this is Furch/Stonebridge Guitars. They only have one location in Europe (In Brno, Czech Republic). It is set up for both dealers and individuals. It was an amazing experience sampling every model they make. I walked away knowing what guitar is in my future

Stonebridge has a Showroom in the Chicago area at which I do believe you can purchase guitars (I might be wrong about this).

I do prefer to A-B different brands but showcase stores in major cites would be an exciting concept for consumers.

I do believe retailers would have some animosity towards showcase stores in the states
__________________
David Webber Round-Body
Furch D32-LM
MJ Franks Lagacy OM
Rainsong H-WS1000N2T
Stonebridge OM33-SR DB
Stonebridge D22-SRA
Tacoma Papoose
Voyage Air VAD-2
1980 Fender Strat
A few Partscaster Strats
MIC 60s Classic Vib Strat
Reply With Quote
  #36  
Old 09-01-2014, 06:08 PM
muscmp muscmp is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Jun 2008
Location: socal
Posts: 8,123
Default

if i'm shopping for a fender, i would definitely go to one of their stores to try their electric guitars. the same with gibson electrics.

if i'm shopping for an acoustic, i'd like to see martin, taylor and gibson splitting one large building 3 ways. that way i get to try all of their products. ha!

play music!
__________________

2014 Martin 00015M
2009 Martin 0015M
2008 Martin HD28
2007 Martin 000-18GE
2006 Taylor 712
2006 Fender Parlor GDP100
1978 Fender F65
1968 Gibson B25-12N
Various Electrics
Reply With Quote
  #37  
Old 09-01-2014, 06:17 PM
Guitar1083 Guitar1083 is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Jan 2014
Location: Brooklyn, New York
Posts: 2,925
Default

Like a concept store - something like Carvin, but two in every state. Apple, well not Apple because they are a computer store...

Im not sure how I would feel but then again if they have everything under one roof, maybe it would be good.
Reply With Quote
  #38  
Old 09-01-2014, 06:18 PM
6L6 6L6 is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: May 2011
Location: San Francisco, CA
Posts: 5,506
Default

At age 68 and into playing guitar for 50 years now, I know what I like and don't like.

Still, I enjoy going into a store where I can compare products. The largest stores will match whatever else is on the Internet, so I feel OK about buying something I've actually played vs buying online.

That said, we have a local store near me (Gryphon Stringed Instruments in Palo Alto, CA) where the service and selection are so superior that I often pay more for a given model buying from them than if I'd ordered online. Happily for me, I'm in a financial position to do this.

And, it makes me feel good about supporting a fantastic store that I don't want to see go away.

When it comes to acoustic guitars, if it has the name "Collings" on the peg heard, I KNOW I will love it:




For electrics from Fender, it's always going to be a used Strat Plus re-equipped with Lindy Fralin Vintage Hot pups. Best tremolo system out there and great build quality:




If I could only own one electric, however, it would absolutely be my 1960 Harmony Meteor w/Bigsby:



TONE TO THE BONE!

For electric guitar amps, it's always going to be my '72 Fender Deluxe Reverb:




For acoustic amps, it will have the "Fishman" label on it:



After 50 years of playing, that's how I see it. Hope that saves you guys some money.

Bill

Last edited by 6L6; 09-03-2014 at 01:13 PM.
Reply With Quote
  #39  
Old 09-01-2014, 06:22 PM
Mooh Mooh is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Dec 2001
Posts: 1,661
Default

There would never be one close to me, it would need a much bigger urban catch-basin than this presents, but it might be cool to visit just to see an entire line at once.
Reply With Quote
  #40  
Old 09-01-2014, 06:48 PM
battlegraduate battlegraduate is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Dec 2013
Posts: 176
Default

What a dilemma to face, I just wish we had more variety at all here.

Closest Gibson dealer is over 2 hours away, and if I want to play anything other than a d-28, as in OM,OOO models of Martin in particular, it's 3 hours away. I am lucky to have found an Eastman and Huss and dalton dealer within an hour drive but it is select few, maybe 5 max of each brand. Like an Eastman e10d, but no Eastman e10ss in a burst finish. It gets frustrating and more frustrating to order online and wonder if there is anothe model that sounds better
__________________
"Medicine heals the body, Music heals the soul"
Reply With Quote
  #41  
Old 09-01-2014, 06:50 PM
dkoloff dkoloff is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: Michigan
Posts: 1,258
Default

Interesting as a concept but not as a sacrifice of the traditional dealer market....follow the Apple model may well include the Apple pricing model.
__________________
David K.

Taylor 424ce SL
Emerald X20 purple weave
Emerald X20 gold weave
Taylor NS34ce
Taylor T5X
Composite Acoustic OX Raw (Peavey)
Rainsong OM
Breedlove Pro C25/CRH
Prestige Eclipse Spruce/Mahogany
Voyage Air VAOM-1C (2)
Baden D style Mahogany
Journey Instruments Spruce/Mahogany
Journey Instruments OF660
Recording King ROA-9 Bakersfield Limited
Mogabi 200
Reply With Quote
  #42  
Old 09-01-2014, 07:18 PM
Basalt Beach's Avatar
Basalt Beach Basalt Beach is offline
G625 mistral-k
 
Join Date: Feb 2012
Location: between here and there
Posts: 4,060
Default

At first I thought, "No"....then I thought, why not...

we have many different types single brand stores today such as

Apple,
Bose
Select Comfort Beds
Coach Leather
Thomasville Furniture
Johnston & Murphy shoes
BMW auto
Subaru
Ford,...etc....

just to name a few....Perhaps our paradigm for a music instrument store could use a shift, so sure, I will give it a try...
__________________
"the tragedy in life is not what we suffer, it is what we miss"
Guitar Experiences-> | Bourgeois | Collings | Cordoba | Larrivee |Martin | Northwood | PRS Electric| Rainsong | Taylor | Voyage Air |
Reply With Quote
  #43  
Old 09-01-2014, 07:20 PM
Steve DeRosa Steve DeRosa is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Mar 2013
Location: Staten Island, NY - for now
Posts: 14,985
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by Ted @ LA Guitar Sales View Post
...Wow, that would be something, a hundred stores all with a dozen of each model in stock. Lets see, 180 SKU's x 12 x100 = 216,000 guitars. Sounds good to me....
C'mon Ted, I think we both know that's not what I'm getting at here. First off there'd be a certain exclusivity - no more than a handful of stores in select markets nationwide, with enough geographic space between them to maintain that status - and I'm talking proportionately bigger numbers on the bigger sellers like the aforementioned D-28 or J-45, not the likes of the D-50/D-100 or Citation. Under those circumstances I don't think 60-70 instruments of a given style, divided among a half-dozen or so locations and selectively reordered on a needs basis, is too out of line - probably not too far off what the mega-chains keep around between their mail-order warehouses and branch locations...

Quote:
...I'm pretty sure any brand with their own stores would lose all the independent dealers but perhaps the big box stores would stick around. Still, even they wouldn't be satisfied with sloppy seconds. In your scenario they would have to handle all retail sales and open outlet stores for the run-of-the-mill stuff...
If you have a half-dozen factory stores spread out in major population centers across the continental US, that seems to leave plenty of room for independent dealers - we're not talking about opening a full-line Gibson/ Martin/Taylor store in Skunk's Butt, Iowa and putting the local mom-&-pop shop out of business...

Quote:
Originally Posted by 6L6 View Post
At age 68 and into playing guitar for 50 years now, I know what I like and don't like....we have a local store near me (Gryphon Stringed Instruments in Palo Alto, CA) where the service and selection are so superior that I often pay more for a given model buying from them than if I'd ordered online. Happily for me, I'm in a financial position to do this. And, it makes me feel good about supporting a fantastic store that I don't want to see go away...
As I said, room for everybody. In addition, based on many of the responses I think we're dealing with a heavily hands-on focus market, and by limiting transactions to face-to-face, on-premises sales exclusively there's a certain amount of franchisee protection offered to the smaller operations; there's more than a few of us here who have made extended trips to obtain our dream instrument(s), others for whom that's not a viable option - and both sets of players can be accommodated. As far as the big-box stores are concerned they'll sell what they sell, as-is-where-is, as they've been doing since they became big-box stores - other than the (very) occasional walk-in "score" many of us have made (myself included), the local mega-shops in my area (NYC Tri-State) don't really seem to cater to the pro/semi-pro acoustic trade, what with MandoBros, Rudy's, Umanov, Lark Street, et al.; as a whole the GC/Ash Saturday-afternoon crowd wouldn't know a good acoustic if it walked up and kicked them in the marbles, IME they've got no problem selling the "Big Three" on name alone - and when/if that pool ever dries up there's a whole bunch of Pac-Rim factories that'll be more than glad to step up and fill the void...

Last edited by Steve DeRosa; 09-01-2014 at 07:26 PM.
Reply With Quote
  #44  
Old 09-01-2014, 08:08 PM
Brucebubs Brucebubs is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Jan 2013
Location: Eden, Australia
Posts: 17,792
Default

Honda have a couple of 'super stores' here in Australia that feature everything made by Honda. (of course.) So you have cars, motorcycles, lawn-mowers, generators, etc, etc, all together.
If a big guitar maker decided to do the same I`d want to see one of everything they make under one roof. Every single model should be in stock and some examples of 'custom' models on display too along with a factory rep to answer all technical inquiries. Let people see the service department as well.
__________________
Brucebubs

1972 - Takamine D-70
2014 - Alvarez ABT60 Baritone
2015 - Kittis RBJ-195 Jumbo
2012 - Dan Dubowski#61
2018 - Rickenbacker 4003 Fireglo
2020 - Gibson Custom Shop Historic 1957 SJ-200
2021 - Epiphone 'IBG' Hummingbird
Reply With Quote
  #45  
Old 09-01-2014, 08:25 PM
Captain Jim Captain Jim is offline
Charter Member
 
Join Date: Nov 2012
Location: Arizona (from island boy to desert dweller)
Posts: 6,970
Default

Interesting premise. When I went to the Taylor factory, it was interesting to see many of the guitars available to play.

I am a Taylor fan, but I still like to try other brands when I am in the market for another guitar. I spent several decades avoiding guitar shops unless I was going to buy something. These days, I do like to "look around" a bit.

All that said, I think the best part of visiting a guitar shop is seeing some variety. Of course, I bought two guitars from you, Ted, in the past year, but haven't made it to your store. One of these days.

Sure hope you have more than one brand for me to check out.

Best wishes,
Jim
Reply With Quote
Reply

  The Acoustic Guitar Forum > General Acoustic Guitar and Amplification Discussion > General Acoustic Guitar Discussion

Thread Tools





All times are GMT -6. The time now is 07:19 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.11
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions Inc.
Copyright ©2000 - 2022, The Acoustic Guitar Forum
vB Ad Management by =RedTyger=