guitar shop crawl

Hi guys,

After 20+ years here in town and years of threatening to do so I'm going to do a guitar shop crawl. I'm going to take a day and starting in the west end hit every good guitar shop in the city through to the east end. I'm pretty lucky to live in a city of 1,000,000 where we have lots of shops, ranging from upscale mom-and-pops to chain stores. Going to try out everything that tickles my fancy. Should be a blast BUT I'll have to leave my credit cards in my wallet!

Anybody else do something so foolish?

[TBman]

That sounds like fun Doug. I used to do a mini crawl going from Guitar Center #1, then Sam Ash, then Guitar Center #2, but they consolidated the two Guitar Centers so that put an end to that.

[Goodallboy]

Originally Posted by J-Doug

Hi guys,

After 20+ years here in town and years of threatening to do so I'm going to do a guitar shop crawl. I'm going to take a day and starting in the west end hit every guitar shop in the city through to the east end. I'm pretty lucky to live in a city of 1,000,000 where we have lots of shops, ranging from upscale mom-and-pops to chain stores. Going to try out everything that tickles my fancy. Should be a blast BUT I'll have to leave my credit cards in my wallet!

Anybody else do something so foolish?

I do that in every city I visit. It's my version of sightseeing. I've done it in L.A., Nashville and NYC over multiple trips. I've done it in many smaller cities and I can't think of anything more enjoyable.

I have many memories that will never leave me. Memories of certain guitars and great store owners like Rudy Pensa who handed me Mark Knopler's red strat and asked me to play it.

It's not crazy, it's an experience that can't be matched for the guitar player.

[YamahaGuy]

Sounds like a blast. I usually hit a mom/pop music store, Sam Ash, GC, and a pawn shop on my mini crawl when I'm near Mayfield, Oh. Canton has several music stores. One day I went to most of them. A couple had some really nice guitars. Others weren't worth the fuel to get there. Regardless, it makes for a fun day. Bring picks and a clip on tuner and have at it!!!

[llew]

You're gonna wish you'd brought your wallet!

[Mbroady]

Originally Posted by llew

You're gonna wish you'd brought your wallet!

It’s only foolish if you bring the credit card......and don’t buy a guitar that moves you

[whvick]

Years ago I used to take a day and hit the shops in the closer cities 2 hours away. One shop even had a big country music jam session on Thursdays, and although I am only “a little bit country” it was really fun.
Now I am too busy and just can’t justify the time away from work and family duties.
I am only an intermediate in skill, but it is still so fun to hear the nuances of the different guitars.
I think I will attempt to schedule such a day this fall. And yes I have three nice guitars, so the plastic stays in the wallet.

[jpd]

Anybody else do something so foolish?

Doug, out my way I have access to Schoenberg, Tall Toad, Mighty Fine Guitars, all the big box shops.....my wife would commit me if I tried a full day of playing and dreaming, 'cause she knows the cc card would get used(that's a for sure)

Looks like my wife and son (who also plays guitar) want to come along too. We'll break for lunch and make a day of it!

[JGinNJ]

Great idea! I did a guitar safari in Manhattan a couple of years ago for my birthday. I keep a musical notebook, when I try different guitars I like to write down my impressions of them. On that trip I remember trying a 60's vintage D-18, light as a feather and amazing sound. I think it was about $4k though!

[Steve DeRosa]

Voice of (extensive) experience here: Find the mom-&-pop shops that are really off the beaten path and don't carry the boutique brands (FYI all the local hot pickers know about the big-buck-box dealers anyway); while most of them carry fair-to-middling stuff I've stumbled across some very interesting NOS over the years (unsold Westerly Guilds, Bruce Weber-era Flatiron carved A- and F-style mandos, Leo-era Music Man amps/cabs, even a rare-as-tyrannosaurus-turds Gibson Citation - not to mention one of the very last pre-Norlin L-4C acoustic archtops at the same dealer - just to name a few) and while some of these items are overpriced, IME many of them can be had for "get-this-fool-thing-out-of-my-shop-already" prices - and that's where the real fun begins...

Well we did the deed today. Went to all three Long and McQuade locations, Lauzon, Spaceman and Steve's. Had a great time and a nice lunch. I played about 15 acoustic guitars. Biggest letdown? Waterloo WL-14 X Mh. Guess I'm just not a mahogany top guy plus I couldn't stand the neck and I thought the finish looked terrible. Biggest surprise? NOS 2016 Gibson L-00 Vintage. Best sounding guitar of the day and my wife agreed. It really was something special and I wanted to bring it home!

[619TF]

Originally Posted by J-Doug

Hi guys,

After 20+ years here in town

WHICH town might that be?

[gfspencer]

When I'm in Palo Alto I go to Gryphon. The rest of the time I "crawl" on the Internet.

[Silly Moustache]

Used to do that stuff in London, but don't live there any more, and I'm not shopping any more.

Just as well, most of the shops I used to visit have gone now anyway.