I had the same experiance yesterday Not just with stock on hand, but the help was not well informed or curtious.

Had to run and sign my tax forms today and the drive just happened to take me by the local Guitar Center. I stop in mainly to see what's in the Trade-In Corner (the usual dirty, beat-up junk today) but I usually wander the store to see what else is there.

As far as Fenders go, not much cooking. A couple of Player's Strats, a Blacktop Strat and Jag, a fair number of MIM Strats and Teles, but nothing exceptional enough to make me want to take it down and play it. There seems to be a huge assortment of CV Squiers on display there, right down to the $99 Bullets.

Yawn.

_________________
Dennis in CR
Rockin' since 1963

My local guitar store is crap. All they stock is the lower end Alvarez acoustics, and cheap-o Johnson brand instruments, and a "few" Axl Badwater guitars. Not to mention they are priced above retail !!!! I drive to the closest Guitar Center ( 2 hours away ) or just order online from Musicians Friend.

My current stores (2) are total crap... One of the pawn shops turns better instruments. \Now that Im moving to Memphis, Im looking forward to some better stores

BIll

_________________
Hey, Boy Blue is back!

Sounds like an opportunity for someone to set up another store provided they have the customers, or the store at least needs a shot of new blood behind the counter

I am very pleased to say that my local, very small guitar shop, has gone up in class.

No longer are they selling budget Dean and Encore stuff. They now stock some really nice G&L stuff.

_________________
No no and no

_________________
63supro
"The good thing is in a club situation, most of the patrons are trashed and really can't tell the difference."

there are 6 guitar store within a 20 minute drive from my house.
i can find just about anything i want, from cheap to custom to extreme vintage.

_________________
63supro
"The good thing is in a club situation, most of the patrons are trashed and really can't tell the difference."

All the stores in my immediate local are crap. GC is in Concord which is just right over the hill from Pittsburg, and all the small shops are either closing up or just barely scraping by.
The store closest to me keeps pretty much beginner's gear in stock and I think the only brands I've seen there are Cort, and Axl Junk to say the least. It's all good though because the owner is really more focused on lessons (they have some great teachers) and repairs. He just put the guitars up as a chance to make a couple extra bucks. The other shop in town has many severely overpriced ($700 for a Standard Strat last time I was there) guitars and they refuse to let anyone try anything out. I think they're pretty close to going out of business. Guitar Center does keep some nice stuff in stock over in Concord, but the staff is horribly lacking in the knowledge department; even worse than most GC.

_________________
Check out my new FB music page!

https://www.facebook.com/TheDevilandMe.Music

mine has cheap $@!&#* arse rip off guitars that they sell for 2k

_________________
riley

i want a mim esquire so bad. ive yet to see one in any store.
if i did i would buy it asap. there are a ton of mods you can do to those things.

_________________
63supro
"The good thing is in a club situation, most of the patrons are trashed and really can't tell the difference."

Living in Scotland, we get a big fat NOTHING when it comes to decent choice. A couple of decent stores in Glasgow and Edinburgh but with Customs and VAT we do get hammered with prices although the recent change in the dollar against the pound there might be a bit of a drop............(he hopes)

Where I am we have two stores within 5 miles.
They had an unwritten agreement for years that one would specialise in electric and one acoustic. The acoustic one did everything you could imagine apart from real high end independant stuff but it is now limited to the cheap end Breedlove and the usual Simon and Patrick/Seagull and such like as well as about four MIM Fender offerings. The other had everything electric. Gibsons of every shape, an actaul PAtrick Eggle dealership as well as the biggest choice of MIA Fenders in the country as well as a Custom SHop service. Now Gibson have pulled their stock because of their demands which are insane. I can't remember exactly but they have to have some ludicrous minimum order. All that is left is a very poor selection of the lower priced Fenders (and a really nasty looking bunch to be honest - I think the reps probably give the shop what is left.....)

To be honest, geography and the exchange rates have probably a lot to do with it as well as the fact there have been 3 maybe 4 new businesses that have tried in the pst 10 years, all of which failed but had some impact on what became available in the area.

These two stores are like the mafia though!!!!!

They both take on tech work but send it away to be done causing huge increases in the price of work. This is why there are a few of us over here started learning odd tech work. I started doing acoustic stuff and electric necks and hardware while a couple of others started figuring out pickups and that kind of stuff. We went to the local stores to let them know and to advertise but they do their damnedest to put people off of using local guys cause they take a huge cut in the price for tech work!!!!!

Off the back of this we have a couple of guys coming through now with spectacular whole new build stuff too.

North of Scotland just doesn't have the kind of musicc community that is needed....
I remember when Music shops were the hub of the music community.....sigh
Think I may have to move across the Atlantic to find more like-minded musicians and guitar enthusiasts who are into quality rather than low cost pap that can be sold for huge profit margins!!!!

sulk....

_________________
speak slowly I'm a drummer too!!

And I proudly lack a stick or a kazoo up my arse...........

I divide my time between Central London and the South West of England. No trouble finding almost anything you want at either end of that route.

Far as I've observed, I haven't seen stock take a dive in the recession either. Surprising but good.

Cheers - C

_________________

wookee

would it be good in your area to buy parts and build guitars and sell them in your area?
its good that your learning to do your own work. maybe you can get some local business after a while. sounds to me like your gonna have to get some advertisement by work of mouth bro. good luck to you on this. i hope it works out for you there.

_________________
63supro
"The good thing is in a club situation, most of the patrons are trashed and really can't tell the difference."

I have 5 music stores and a GC w/in 15 to 20 minuts and I can get pretty much anything I want at prices comparable to on-line places...with the exception of tubes...for that I have to go on line unless I want GT. But after some of the posts here I feel a whole lot luckier to live where I do.

When I lived in Florida I worked at a music store and learned a bunch about setting up Fenders and Gibsons and it sure payed off as my next assignment was to Germany (retired AF). Getting any setup type stuff there was very difficult to get done without driving a couple hours and that was on the autobahn, where we could drive at a whatever speed we wanted...so there was some fun things. I am glad I learned to do all the set up work, pick-up swaps, some minor fret work, etc., all guitarists should try to find someone to teach them at least set up type stuff.

T2

_________________
-----------------------------------------------------------
What time is it? It's Fender Time.