Your Perfect Guitar store.

[mantis]

Hello all,
I was thinking about this actually for a few years now.
If you where to walk into the perfect Guitar shop for you , what would it be like? What would they carry?
How would asked store be laid out?
If someone told you that this store was gonna exist in a few years, would you stop buying things online and from other shops?
Do you already have the perfect Guitar shop for you in your area? If so what is it and what's it like?

Thanks in advance guys,

Dan

[AAEA]

people will hunt for the best deal on new and in used its all over the place as tastes care vary quite a bit.

Having a large catalog like the big brand stores is whats keeping them in business. having a super select catalog will attract the people into that but even then others may beat your price due to volume discounts.

making money at a music store is already difficult for the big brand names so if you want to break out you have to offer services they can't or services far better than offered in your area. getting a special relationship with brands helps so you can get custom models in your store but this takes time. don't expect to jump into the game and take over. guys like the muzic zoo and others on jacksons deaer list have been working with the brand for a long time.

I would focus on the local scene in your area if you're opening a store front, online sales go to the best item of lowest price period so unless you want to get into that game I say focus of service and lessons in your area.

[Number Of The Priest]

An enormous store full of used assorted gear. Like a physical version of online classifieds. Part of the fun is the "treasure hunt", sifting through the inventory to find hidden gems.

[j2379]

a store that specializes in the handmade hot rods of the 70s and 80s. Charvel/jacksons, BC rich, Hamer, Dean and PRS maybe the old set neck ibanezs too.

[Force]

It'd be nice just to have........
1. A store that stocked more than just Gibson & Fender,
2. Prices that aren't the equivalent of a mortgage.
3. Staff that know their shit & aren't up themselves.

[VitaminG]

It'd be nice just to have........
1. A store that stocked more than just Gibson & Fender,
2. Prices that aren't the equivalent of a mortgage.
3. Staff that know their shit & aren't up themselves.

that'll do

[xenophobe]

A store that has a nice selection of high end and custom guitars, not a whole lot but at least 4-5 from each of the various mfgs... ESP, Charvel, Jackson, Fender and other brands like Amfisound, Ormsby, Carvin... a small import section for each of the brands... and a good used selection.

A separate area for gear storage and band rehearsals and recording and monthly rental studios for bands who want their own spaces, and ultimately a club with stage for local and smaller touring acts to play.

lol

[mantis]

I was also considering carring many different amps.
I'm so sick and tired of walking into local shops only to find the same exact amps everyone else is carrying.
Most have small practice amps and combos. You don't see many heads and cab's anymore. When do you it's the cheaper stuff that you may not be interested in plugging into.

ENGL, Mesa Boogie , Bogner, Randall , Soldano , even EVH is hard to find , Peavey , higher end Marshall like the JVM are no where to plug into, Victory the list goes on and on.

[PowerTube]

They would carry the higher-end guitars from Jackson, Charvel, Fender, PRS, etc.... unlike Guitar Center which only has the JS series with an occasional Pro tossed in. I'm talking USA-made Soloists, Warriors, Rhoads. They would also be kept in decent condition, not hopelessly out of tune with the fine tuners on the Floyd maxed out and no wrench in sight. This also means no rusted or missing strings (*cough* Guitar Center *cough*).

Amps - same thing. Instead of the low to middle-of-the-road crap, they would carry the better Marshalls, Mesas, Bogners, etc....

Their staff would know the difference between an effects loop and a waterbed, and they would be older than 21.

[markD]

What I'd like in a music store is currently met between GC, Sam Ash and Sweetwater. I can get everything I want, at the prices I want, between those three outlets. If I am searching used gear, I hit GC first (mostly their online used) and then Music Go Round. I can usually find what I am after at one of those two places.

Now, switching gears...

If I were OPENING a music store, I would start with some serious market research. Every weekend I would start hitting the local venues and talking to the bands about what THEY want. I would ask them about THEIR shopping habits. I would look at the instruments THEY are playing. While this forum will tell you to carry Jackson, etc., your market may not support that line. IF you see dudes playing Jackson, notice what level instrument they ARE playing. Remember, USA Jackson guitars are near Gibson Les Paul prices now. Not many guys can afford them - according to my local GC manager the BIGGEST reason they stopped carrying a lot of USA Jackson guitars is that they don't sell. They are having the same problem with some of the higher end EBMM stuff - the JP Ball Family Reserve or the JP 7 strings. Not very market supports higher end gear.

As you are scoping the scene, be sure to watch gigs from EVERY genre, just not metal. Hang out at original gigs as well as cover gigs.

Once you get your store open, hit the venues again and offer sponsorships to bands that have a good draw - at cost strings, better than average discounts on upgrading their gear. Get with some f the venues and sponsor some gigs. The advertising would be priceless. Make a banner with your store's name. Any band that you hook up, make sure your logo is somewhere onstage when they play. It's just those little things that'll help you get people IN the store, because honestly, it'll be difficult. GC, Sam Ash, and the internet make it where you can get just about anything.

As an aside, one of our independent instrument shops that had been open since the mid-80s closed a couple of years back. His shop was ALWAYS a "boutique" shop. He carried high-end, cool gear...Valley Arts guitars, EBMM, PRS, Nova/Buscarino, ESP/48th Street, etc - this was back in the 80s. He carried Boogie in the 80s, and Rivera in the late 80s/early 90s. As the 2000s arrived he added Bogner. As the new millennium crept forward, you know what line he picked up so he could stay open???

BEHRINGER/Bugera!!!!!

It got to a point where he only had ONE example of the "boutique" brands for demo and could "order you what you want". Remember, THOSE words will chase people out f your store because we can ALL order something from the internet. I had to notify my GC morons that I can order for myself, too....

Anyway, just consider these things and I would focus on market research before taking the plunge......

[Shawn Lutz]

It would be a website. Physical stores are really just showrooms for people to try out stuff to make sure they like it before they shopping to buy in online, and it cheaper that the brick and mortar store can sell

[Tetsuo]

I was also considering carring many different amps.
I'm so sick and tired of walking into local shops only to find the same exact amps everyone else is carrying.
Most have small practice amps and combos. You don't see many heads and cab's anymore. When do you it's the cheaper stuff that you may not be interested in plugging into.

ENGL, Mesa Boogie , Bogner, Randall , Soldano , even EVH is hard to find , Peavey , higher end Marshall like the JVM are no where to plug into, Victory the list goes on and on.

Two problems... Not much turnover on the high end amps and the inventory requirements to open up with each of those vendors would likely be daunting. I know what you are thinking but you would need 3-5 million liquid to do what you want. Credit lines from the vendors would be 30 day terms. To buy in a price you can compete at I would say fender is likely a 50 piece mix order. While Friedman or Bogner might be willing to sell you two units, you likely are only going to sell one a year. You need the liquid cash to float with vendors for a few years while you establish yourself. If you can establish yourself you might be able to turn a profit but that still will be mainly from online business. Gibson would take the risk right now simply because they lost the guitar center account. If there is a Mesa dealer around they won't they protect distribution. Fender opens anyone who is willing to bring on an ungodly amount of inventory which includes a huge order of wearables. You might be able to mix Jackson and the other brands in with that though. The question then is how many USA selects can you move a year? 2?

The used market is really the fun part but that is tough because everyone is on reverb, eBay the gear page etc... It devalues what you can offer. You have a used soloist for instance. If you want it to sell you are pricing at 900-1000 realistically. They guy trading it in knows that is value and wants about that price. You settle on 750. Place it up on the wall for 1000. Where it sits for 90 days. 90 days of no ROI. So it is now sitting at a loss. Some dude dings it. A week later I come in and offer 750 you end up taking 800 because you have to order strings. You didn't make 50 dollars on the item because lost interest is there and so is paying for your overhead. Ideally in the music game you need to make 40% markup to keep the lights on on used you will make 20 in most cases. That used to be a money maker but everyone these days knows the value of their gear. You don't get to fleece the uneducated.