THE GUITAR STORE IS DEAD…

Guitar of the Day! Taking a quick look at what's going on with the two largest physical guitar retail chains in the United States; Sam Ash and Guitar Center. No more brick and mortar Sam Ash stores is both crazy to think about, and also feels like it was inevitable with the way we consumer habits are going...

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- Mike Sanders
- Mark Massey
- The Guitarman
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- Kip Murray
- Tom McRann
- Reuben Sealey
- Gerald Yao
- ReggieDunlop
- Phil Crawford
- Dante Inouye
- Abowlofkimchi

[agufish]

As sad as it is for physical Sam Ash stores to disappear, I also cannot remember the last time I actually went in person 🤦‍♂️

[Dusty]

Online guitar shops suck! 🤦🏻‍♂️ I want to go in play a guitar and buy it for its mojo

[asmcint]

The big guitar store is dead*. Smaller shops are still hanging on fine. Got one I absolutely love, super friendly knowledgeable staff who just wanna share the hobby.

[Netriderceo]

Any level of enthusiasm from Guitar Center's customer service reps would be an improvement

[JonathanWood]

small shops are where it's at, unfortunately big shops are falling victim to their online retail sites. I also find I'd much rather speak to an expert in his own shop than to an employee who's counting down the hours till home. But nothing will quite beat the magic of seeing a two story tall wall of guitars for the first time...

[xx_cloud_xx]

This sucked to hear. Sam Ash was there at the start of my music journey 15 years ago. Shame to see them go. The workers were always helpful.

[kenarts]

Online I wanted an Ibanez or Fender. When I went to guitar centre, I came back with a Gretsch. You have to play the guitar in person to get the feel

[numbersabcdefg]

I think of guitars, like cars. Used car lots. New and used, Mercedes (PRS), etc. No one expects every car dealership to have Ferrari, and used Camry from 92 and Mazdas. But guitar stores, kind of are expected to have the full gambit of choices. The question is, how do you build a classy joint without Washburn expectations. Lamborghini dealerships are not expected to have Honda Civic

[aliilkerSancak]

Internet killing everything slowly. Guitar stores, video game stores, grocery stores, fast food stores...

[MichaelCx]

The market will speak for itself, and the consumers will decide ultimately.
Expensive guitars and expensive guitar shops won’t revive rock n roll.

[agjaime]

That sucks!! Back in high school we use to ditch to our local mall, all my buddies would just walk around the mall while I sat in the acoustic guitar section of Sam Ash and just jam for hours!!! 😢

[ChrisMiles]

As someone who recently bought a high-end acoustic and electric guitar, in-person guitar shopping is still very much relevant. I visited around five shops and played like 15 guitars before making my decision. If I'm dropping $2k on a guitar, I want to know exactly how it feels and sounds. I would not want to order these blindly online.

The biggest allure for me is 48-month 0% financing. I didn't know this was an option until recently or else I would've purchased these years ago. If the guitar industry leaned heavier into financing, I think sales would increase. It was not a hard sell to attain my dream guitar for $50 a month for four years.

[rdog]

In my neck of the woods, our local shops are thriving!
They have lessons, sell online thru reverb, and offer excellent repair and setup services!

[uxartmusicvideo-andphotogr]

Budget guitars are lotto. Some guitars better than others. We need to choose. Also we need place where we can get our newly bought guitar setuped and frets leveled. Luithers are few, hard to find and expensive. Also waiting replacment for lost pickups, broken strings or broken cabel to arrive is lost time. At guitar store I can buy new strings tomorrow or today.

[mr.badnade]

I just picked up my first guitar from Guitar Center. Definitely can see the personalizing between staff and customers. Had a good first experience.

[TheLadsBandLive]

My GC has pretty much had the exact same wall of guitars for the past 8 years.

[TolarianUniversity]

GC might as well be online. Everything is locked up and they have no employees to unlock anything. It’s like the metaverse basically

[travismiller]

What gc is doing makes sense in the internet age. Lower end guitars are machine made with fairly good consistency and the players who buy them generally aren't as picky as a more experienced player. When you pay 2k or more for a guitar though you generally want to be able to play it first.

[musicmanxii]

Guitar Center really banking on dentists and lawyers taking up music for any length of time lmao

[russrussellson]

I always loved visitimg Sam Ash and GC when i visited the US. Most of the guitar stores here are small independents, which is great in some aspects, but I love the choice of gear in those huge shops.
My family would go to the mall for the day and drop me off at one of these, I'd happily spend hours in there. Even smuggled a PRS home on one occasion, and a Fender Aerodyne on another.
Sad they'll be gone soon 😢