Losing places to buy a G&L

[tbp0701]

I'm not sure if this is the right place to post this, but I wanted to say something, as it seems the industry is changing.

Yesterday, I saw a Facebook post that a very cool shop and G&L Tribute dealer was closing immediately. (Heights Guitars in Cleveland Heights, Ohio). I didn't get to go there as much as I would have liked, but every visit was great, and I'll miss that shop. Uptown Strings in Westerville, Ohio closed at the end of February and the other dealers G&L lists in my region seem to be gone.

Then today I received the e-mail that American Guitar Boutique is closing April 1st. I wish them the very best, but this is kind of disturbing. So, I needed to share.

[darwinohm]

Tim, I just received the e-mail from AGB today also and am saddened by this. Cory Lake, the owner is very talented and has other things planned. I responded by telling him that I would really miss them but wished them the best. This was the coolest guitar store that I have ever seen for the unique inventory, also a stellar G&L dealer. There has never been a G&L dealer in the Twin Cities that has stocked any G&L guitars to speak of. It wasn't unusual to see 25 G&Ls at AGB. They also hosted the G&L builder used on this forum. I will really miss them. I have bought 18 to 20 guitars from them in the last 4 years. Where else could you go and see 5 McPhersons on the wall. I visit other guitar stores and there isn't anything that catches my eye. Life goes on but I am bummed.-- Darwin

[Fumble fingers]

I sure hate to hear of the store closing's , especially AGB , I wore out the generator a few times..... my local G&L dealer just started stocking G&L's again since 07 , they had no new guitars when I ordered my Legacy (my first new G&L) , they now have 13 in stock so all is well in my neighborhood

[Salmon]

Double post.

[tbp0701]

AGB was one of those shops I would have liked to stop by should I ever happen to be in town. And I've used the generator a lot, as well. I figured at some point I'd go ahead and click to order one of my creations.

[Salmon]

Is there anyway to salvage the AGB G&L guitar builder?

It would be nice if somehow it could be uploaded to a website for general use, like THIS FORUM?

Apparently during 2013 Pro Guitar Shop one of the largest online G&L presences stopped carrying G&L.

When Guitar Center was acquired by Bain Capital it had already acquired Musician's Friend, (a G&L source) and several other music retailers. Bain also acquired Guitar Center's debt. Now The Wall Street Journal has reported that its creditor is making a move to claim their money (Read here and here and here and here). With Guitar Center's influence on the musical instrument retail business we will probably see significant changes in the entire music retailer paradigm as we currently know it.

[jdavies]

Sorry to hear about AGB. I bought my mahogany SC2 from there based on Darwin's glowing report. They shipped it all the way around the world to Perth in Western Australia and it felt like buying from a local dealer. You just don't get many unique guitars like that, locally.

Jeremy

[darwinohm]

Salmon, your links are interesting reads. What is sad is that AGB was exactly what the GC wasn't and they were competitive. Unfortunately the owner has different interests for the future. He has a new daughter and we all have life changes. He has had the most publicized music store in the twin cities for the last 20 years. I also believe that this was not a financial decision for him but a true life change. I really respect Cory for that.-- Darwin

[sam]

Agree with all others, sad days for guitar shops these days and sorry to hear about AGB.

Salmon raised a great question, "Is there anyway to salvage the AGB G&L guitar builder? ...like this FORUM?" I have built many ASAT's on that thing, this needs to be kept somehow.

Interesting articles about GC, and the follow up comments on the articles are equally informative. I have seen a reduction in some GC inventory on recent visits in my travels. For example, was in GC Hollywood Sunset yesterday and their stock is much lower than 10 months ago when I was in and bought a Broadcaster. The Platinum room was very sparce and their general Fender wall was half of previous visit. Was in Buffalo Brothers today and there inventory is down from the past. On the other hand, I found twice the Fenders across the street from GC Hollywood at Sam Ash, and they have G&L's on their walls as well!! (pssst SALE on some G&L ASAT Special Deluxe Tribute) One of my favorite small shops in Georgia, Music Authority, is a G&L dealer and they recently added more.

Remember, support your local guitar dealer

[Theguitarstore]

I guess I need to make a guitar builder. I will keep you guys posted. Btw if you are ever in Seattle stop on by.

[bloodied_fingers]

I guess I need to make a guitar builder. I will keep you guys posted. Btw if you are ever in Seattle stop on by.

I would guess at this point it would be easier to buy the IP from AGB than roll your own.

Although, it looks like it uses flash which is kinda meh...

[KenC]

Interesting articles about GC, and the follow up comments on the articles are equally informative. I have seen a reduction in some GC inventory on recent visits in my travels. For example, was in GC Hollywood Sunset yesterday and their stock is much lower than 10 months ago when I was in and bought a Broadcaster. The Platinum room was very sparce and their general Fender wall was half of previous visit. Was in Buffalo Brothers today and there inventory is down from the past.

I've noticed the same thing at my local GC lately. Still plenty of meh Gibsons and imported Fenders, but the wall of PRSs when you walk in the door is looking very sparse. Considering that it's also Mr. Smith's local GC, I wonder how he feels about it when he walks in the door. When I took a Starla off the wall a couple of weekends ago, the salesman skipped the usual pleasantries and went straight to telling me what they could discount it to if I bought it that same day. I appreciate it when the owner of my local used guitar store does that, but it doesn't send a good signal when a box store with supposedly fixed prices does it.

I've also noticed that the local GC's used inventory has been steadily shrinking. I know it depends day-to-day on how many people are trying to sell to them, but I'd say the wall space for used guitars and basses has shrunk by about 20% since the holidays. They're using the abandoned space to move accessories (like cases) out of the warehouse and onto the sales floor, so I get the feeling it's not just a temporary fluctuation.

Ken

[glvourot]

Very sad news about AGB. Time to head to the builder and save some configurations.

[tbp0701]

I've noticed that at my local GC as well, although I've only been in there two-three times over the last few years. The big change happened after the leveraged buyout which saddled GC with a lot of debt (there's a lot of information on how those work available, although most is very opinionated). Personally, I think GC will stick around--if not the company holding the debt would have likely pushed to liquidate--but it may be a dramatically different place, probably even a harder place in which to earn a reasonable income and even more focused on selling starter and inexpensive guitars mixed with a few middle-aged-high-net-worth-specials.

Personally, I have mixed feeling about GC and independent shops. When I was a young sax and clarinet player I frequented the local, small music stores, but these were mostly the worst kind. Everything was high priced and came with a helping of snobbery and attitude. It was bad enough that when my parents wanted to get me a music related gift I tended to steer them away, as I didn't want them to deal with those shops, thinking they would really get gouged when it was apparent they were buying a gift.

When I went to college and discovered a good independent music store, with reasonable prices and a helpful staff, I felt like I'd been ripped off for years. So, I think if the bad places weren't so common GC wouldn't have grown as much as it did. So I take GC as filling a needed void, but unfortunately it also hit a lot of excellent shops.

So, my conundrum. I don't buy a lot of stuff, but when I have it has often been through the Internet. I liked Heights Guitars quite a bit, but it was still a distance away, but I bought quite a few supplied and accessories there. Never a guitar, although I would have if I found the right one and could justify/afford it at the time. Still, I feel like I'm part of the problem.

But when I do buy something larger, like a guitar, I seek out the good, independent shops, even if they're far away. Like, say, The Guitar Store in Seattle, where I bought my Korina ASAT Jr. a year ago, my last guitar purchase. I suppose, then, I don't buy local that much, but do try to buy from places I feel have good business practices, treat people well (both customers and employees) and are honest.

Quite a ramble there, huh?

[Ken Baker]

More Guitar Center news

GC has been hemorrhaging money for years since BAIN bought them. Maybe the lights are finally coming on that bigbox and music retailing aren't a marriage made in heaven.

Linkage:

http://stream.wsj.com/story/latest-head ... -2-468850/
http://www.nasdaq.com/article/ares-mana ... 0301-00005
http://www.mi-pro.co.uk/index.php/news/ ... ent/018627

it's early in the process and there's no indication what Ares may do, but $1.6 billion is a pretty good sized pile of money.

Ken...

[darwinohm]

Just a quick note here. AGB is closing it's Plymouth store April 1. Apparently the AGB website will continue and nothing will change at this time with the builder. They will continue to be a G&L dealer as I understand. I do not know a lot of details and am sharing only what I have found out. -- Darwin

[Glconvert]

I'm not sure if this is the right place to post this, but I wanted to say something, as it seems the industry is changing.

Yesterday, I saw a Facebook post that a very cool shop and G&L Tribute dealer was closing immediately. (Heights Guitars in Cleveland Heights, Ohio). I didn't get to go there as much as I would have liked, but every visit was great, and I'll miss that shop. Uptown Strings in Westerville, Ohio closed at the end of February and the other dealers G&L lists in my region seem to be gone.

Then today I received the e-mail that American Guitar Boutique is closing April 1st. I wish them the very best, but this is kind of disturbing. So, I needed to share.

Not good news for sure...Although I have purchased all of my G&L and Heritage guitars from Wolfe Guitars in FL (over the phone). Great place to deal with...everything always comes perfectly set up an exactly as described!