When I was in Long &McQuade this morning my ears got a beautiful reprieve,rather than the young Vai,Satriani,Malmsteen wannabe shredders there was a gentleman there obviously older than my 56 yrs and he picked up a big bodied Gretsch and started playing Broadway tunes from the 50s and quite well-what a welcome relief.

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'65 Strat,65 Mustang,65 Jaguar,4 more Strats,3 vintage Vox guitars,5 Vox amps,'69 Bassman with a '68 2-15 Bassman cab,36 guitars total-15asst'd amps total,2 vintage '60s Hammond organs & a myriad of effects-with a few rare vintage ones.

That's funny. I had just about the same experience at a Long & McQuade about 3 weeks ago. I walked in to check out some amps and there was a man in his 60's playing some great blues and country tunes with an Epi Casino on a Super Champ XD that I wanted to plug into. On the other side of the wall was a guy who was maybe 20 ripping through scales on an Ibanez who was also on a Super Champ. Both were great players but the older man had such a presence about him with his playing that it was really cool. He was so unassuming. The guy on the other side unplugged and sounded like he was ripping everything about every product in the store. Everything was this sucks, this is over rated blah blah blah yet he still bought the amp. The older man got off his stool, put the Casino back on the wall and thanked the salesman and said "this is good enough for the girls I go with." with a wink and walked off with the same amp.

I hear ya! Weekends are the worst.

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Being able to play and enjoy music is a gift that's often taken for granted.

Don't leave home without it!

i kind of dislike going to music stores because of the other customers...

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Guitars: American Standard Strat, American Vintage 52 Tele, Gretsch Power Jet

Amps: Frontman 212R, Hot Rod DeVille 212 w/ Vintage 30's, AC30 w/ Greenbacks

Pedals: Boss Tuner, XOTiC AC-Booster, MXR Phase 90, Line 6 DL4

The local Sam Ash is also like that...a bunch of shredders...you have to be careful where you walk so as to not get stabbed by all those pointy guitars

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Current Gear: Ron Kirn Barnbuster Tele,
Marshall: 1971 SuperLead 100>1997 1960-TV, bunch of pedals
and a 1987 Porsche 911 Carrera coupe named Veronica

after a few years of going to the big box stores, i went back to the family-owned store where i took my first lesson about 50 years ago.

when i walked in, not much had changed sice i last walked in about 30 years ago. the walls still looked the same. the room i took my 1st lesson in was still there. the only things missing were my old teachers, but they have passed on.

the new owner came up and shook my hand. he asked my name, and asked why i came in. i got strings, polish and a few accessories.

as i left, he said "stop back soon- feel free to try out some amps." i also noticed that the place was relatively quiet. nobody trying to out-volume you. guitarists talking to each other. just a great feeling.

i know where i'll be going from now on.

theres a shop like that here in town. theyre a fender/taylor/martin/collings dealer. theyre right down from an elementary school and a few blocks from the university of kansas campus, so they get busy in the afternoons. but its a nice, calm, quiet, down-home kinda place.

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Guitars: American Standard Strat, American Vintage 52 Tele, Gretsch Power Jet

Amps: Frontman 212R, Hot Rod DeVille 212 w/ Vintage 30's, AC30 w/ Greenbacks

Pedals: Boss Tuner, XOTiC AC-Booster, MXR Phase 90, Line 6 DL4