Does anyone still buy guitars locally?

[Special-K]

I bought my 1st guitar(that was relly bought by me) in a guitar shop here around but, from now on I`m going to buy over the internet

[Strat God]

First, in that last pic.....is that Mike Keneally on the left with the baseball hat?

Second,
I TRY to buy locally if possible. Then you know what you're getting. I just did a few deals with fellow JCF'rs and a bunch before that with Jemsiters. Sometimes you get a good one, other times the condition or playability falls short of advertised. Roll of the dice and you're stuck with the result.

Each high-end guitar is unique and has it's own feel and voice - I like to play them before plunking down the cash if possible. Assembly-line guitars you can buy online and pretty much know what you're gonna get.

[danastas]

Yes, that is Keneally.

On his visit he was blown away by all the vintage guitars, the vintage amps, and vintage vinyl. That's a one stop shop for all things guitar and music, but they sure don't value the merchandise unless it's vintage.

[442w30]

Where is Ray Hennings and what do they stock? I like Music Makers - they have a few decent amps. The Austin GCs suck. The San Antonio one isn't that bad. We have Sam Ash too.

Ray Hennings Heart of Texas music
1002 S Lamar Blvd

It's just south of music makers about 2 miles down across the street.

They mainly stock Fender, gibson Martin, gretsch and kinda lean toward "austin music" - Folk/Country/jangly rock, Acoustics, Fender amps.

Its claim to fame is that stevie bought his #1 there.

[Rich#6]

I pretty much buy on ebay or closeouts online. The small shops don't have any nice guitars, and I can't stand dealing with guys that act like car salesmen.

[UFORocks]

One shop around me stocks 95% used equipment and they charge close to list prices for it. The only new equipment they carry is accessories. All of their pickups, guitars, amps, and effects are all used. I can understand that mom-and-pop shops don't get the same volume discounts that chain stores like GC get, but sometimes the prices are just fucking outrageous, which is exactly why I shop online more than locally. I've even begun buying strings in bulk online just because its cheaper.

[zeegler]

There's one really well known music store near me, House of Guitars, in Rochester. The owners tell me the head guy at Fender was from the area and used to haunt the store. Well, I've bought a Fender Strat from them, but the place scares the crap out of me since they basically stack guitars on top of one another in glass cases.

Would you buy from this store?

Yeah HOG is a dump. I haven't been there in a couple of years, but it looks the same as I remember it. Guitars were stacked like books in a library. Most of them had scratches front and back from the other guitars. It's a shame.

[CharvelRocker]

I always buy local. I wouldnt risk buying somethig online because I cant play it. Plus I dont trust the seller. Now while I would probably deal through the JCF, no where else. Besides, why deal onlien when the local Jackson store is five miles away

[Argos]

I always buy local, from DCGL. They're not the cheapest, but the dudes there have always been great to me, even when I'm a pain in the ass.

[straycat]

I'm a used gear whore rarely buy anything new.there are some great pawn shops and used gear stores close by, as well as high end dealers so if I feel the need for something new it can be had locally.

[Chasbo]

I do a bit of both. I really like one of my local stores. I get Fender and Gibson stuff from there. The owner is super nice and does a decent setup on new stuff. I always feel like if I try it there and really like it, I would feel like a tool buying it elsewhere. Having said that, I wouldn't buy a Jackson from the local place near me, they really aren't up to snuff. Ebay has great prices, but they can be a crap shoot without a return policy and all MF isn't bad, a good return policy makes it worthwile to buy from them.

chuck

[fett]

I finally went to my local GC. There were a few Jacksons but nothing special. I just didn't like the "vibe". I will stick to my local pawnshop where they welcome me with open arms. They know I'm a buyer and I can swing a deal every once and awhile.

[VitaminG]

I'm a used gear whore rarely buy anything new.there are some great pawn shops and used gear stores close by, as well as high end dealers so if I feel the need for something new it can be had locally.

+1
although I wouldn't say that any of my local pawnbrokers are particularly "great". And secondhand gear in guitar shops is usually marked up the wazoo. But I have on occasion found some great deals & have bought all my guitars locally.

[PowerTube]

We have a couple of ok local shops - Ray Hennngs, Music Makers, Strait music, but overall, the small mom and pop shops near me are ok.

Wow. You just took me down memory lane, dude! I was stationed in Austin for almost eight years and those stores were there back then. All three of them. I left there in 1990. In fact, I'm sitting here looking at a can cozy from Music Makers.

I bought a Crate G1500 head from Music Makers.

I bought a single-speaker cab with an EV-300 from Ray Hennig's.

I bought various stuff from Strait over the years.

Is Guitar Resurrection still around on Lamar Blvd.? I used to buy from them and have work done there.

Do you remember Lightning Music and Sound? They went out of business around 1989 or so, but they had a REALLY nice wall of Jacksons hanging in there.

[Cleveland Metal]

Seems I can't get ANTHING I want locally anyways... And I live in a pretty big town I like to think.

No one has equipment on the level I purchase really and I have to find it on Ebay almost entirely...

Never see ENGL, VHT, CAE, TC Electronics, or much high end stuff at all. They have import Jackson and the occassional USA model that they think is worth its weight in gold.

Online it is... Even for cables, picks and strings cuz no one carries what I use... I must be one picky mother...