commakozzi

I'm pretty disappointed in the quality of music stores around my home town and generally everywhere in my state. I have a store right down the road, that during my years in school offered a great selection of accessories and instruments for band and orchestra along with a great selection of sheet music and such. These days they have about 99+% guitar and drums and less than 1% band and orchestra! And their sheet music selection seems to cater mostly to what I consider (and maybe unfairly) non-musical types. When I was starting off playing in grade school we used some really great method books and literature, but now you walk in there and it's all this Disney sheet music "crap". (ok, I know it's not necessarily crap; I just get tired of not finding what I'm looking for) Anyway, when did this shift to rock star and american idol wannabes happen? Did it coincide with the Starbucks revolution? By the way, I had a stuck valve on one of my horns because I left it sitting in a case without oiling it for way too long (don't ever do that), and I called up this local "music store" and they recommended that I bring it in for them to sand the valves! He was serious. Went back the other day looking for Aebersolds and of course they didn't have a single volume. I asked the guy "Do you guys ever carry Aebersolds?" and he had no idea what I meant. Come on people...

MrWho3421

sorry it is like this, but, most local music stores are worthless unless you don't know anything about music or you are in 4th-8th grade. You have to order from the source with most musical products now.

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Andrew Kissling
Owner, AK Brass Press
www.AKBrassPress.com

misty.sj

The problem is that the mom&pops can't compete with the internet. People don't value face-to-face encounters and customer service like they should, and the internet stores don't have to keep a large physical inventory. The mom&pops have to stock what will sell. Also they have more overhead and it shows in their prices.

The same thing has happened with toys, and now we have lead-tainted toys from China because all we want (as a society) is the lowest price.

Special-order things from your local store and use them on a regular basis. It can only help! Also if you have influence with your local band directors and booster clubs, encourage them to buy local too.

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--Misty
Hit it hard, and wish it well. -- Claude Gordon

1925(?) Conn Cavalier Bb (s/n 14142)
2007 Barrington Bb student trumpet

Jude

What do you expect? With everybody buying online, how can local stores carry merchandise they'll probably never sell, certainly can't sell for the prices the big online stores charge?

I'm grateful every time I walk into my local store that it's still there - it's been in business since long before 1946, when the current owner graduated from the New England Conservatory (in trumpet) and took the place over from his father. I used to buy my valve oil and method books there, 40+ years ago. (Some of the stuff I didn't buy then is still in the bins. I just got a copy of A Tune a Day 2 published in 1953. A little yellow, but so what). Even the guitarists who ring up the sales know how to deal with a stuck mouthpiece and test for valves in the wrong order.

The owner was telling me last week about a trumpet he'd sold the day before, a Chinese knock-off of a Yamaha. A great horn, but how can he stay in business with the same percentage markup on a $350 horn that he'd get on a $2500 one? Maybe all those guitars and synthesizers taking up half the floor space are carrying the band instruments? You have to wonder what's going to change when the current owner is no longer running the place.

pipedope

Remember that money talks and talk talks but not as loud.

I look at things online check the price, add the shipping and handling and then add ~20%. If the local store is at (or close) to that price I just buy locally. This happens a lot with many items.

On bigger ticket items I expect to pay more but I also expect more service.
I can try before I buy and cash and carry.
Also if there is a problem the local tech will likely fix it fast and cheap, often even free.

I am in poor health and on limited income but I am always willing to pay real money for real service.

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No substitute for music through the horn.

tatakata

I think its amazing small town music stores are in business at all these days. no way are you going to find a good selection. they just can't afford to keep that kind of inventory

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oldlou

In my humble opinion, the root cause of our local 'music stores' going to 'git fiddles' and drums for their primary source of sales is that the general public has become alienated from true Jazz, classical, march music, etc.. they have found that country, funk, rock,and other guitar oriented noise is what the kids of today want. How to sell a fine quality cornet,trombone, oboe, clarinet, etc. to a group of youth that has no interest in the 'noises' that these instruments make? In addition to this, those that do have some interest in brass music are led by the 'big box stores' to think that they are getting a real musical instrument, when in actuallity it is only a TSO ( trumpet shaped object ), of virtually zero value. This hurts me, of course, but, should be expected, considering that the kids of today don't want to work at anything to gain proficiency. They are only interested in instant gratification. This was graphically shown on the '2 1/2 men' T.V. program last evening, when the adult uncle,( Charlie Sheen ) who plays the part of a music composer of advertising jingles tried to get his 12 year old nephew to learn some 'real' music, such as Charlie plays on the piano. His nephew was only interested in perfecting a very loud version of two chords.


OLDLOU>>

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Couturier trumpet
York Master Model trumpet
York Elite trumpet
York Airflow cornet
King super 20 Master Model cornet
King Liberty trumpet
Reynolds Professional cornet
Bohm & Meinl professional trumpet
Besson 10-10 trumpet with Holton M.F. bell
Olds Special cornet Los Angeles
B&H Sovereign cornet
G.R.Band Instr. cornet
Getzen Super Deluxe trumpet and cornet
Getzen Deluxe trumpet and cornet
Many others no room to list

bigtiny

Well it's not much better in the big city. I need to buy a new trumpet. I've always played Benges, but I've been hearing that the quality control is iffy, so I wanted to see if I could find something that would play for me like a Benge 3x+.
I called down to the big store in town (Rayburns) and the salesman suggested a couple of things, then informed me that they don't stock 'large bore horns'. I'd have to order one and wait, and hope it was the right thing!!!
After looking around I eventually just went to WWBW and ordered the Benge...at least I know it will play the way I expect.
You know, retail stores bitch because they're losing business to the internet, but they don't seem to understand that if they want customers to come to them instead of the internet, they need to offer what the internet cannot...that is, knowledgable sales people, and an inventory that allows people to try a broad cross section of instruments. Without this, they are just an understocked brick and mortar store that cannot compete on price with the internet. Everytime I have to deal with a music store I end up pissed off.....

bigtiny

Eeviac

Things are starting to re-localize. Shipping costs basically doubled recently. USPS and UPS, etc. It can cost $50 or more to ship a horn. The book I'm learning out of, the Visual Band Method, was 99 cents at a local used book store. I also got a Clarke and a Schlossburg from there for $5 for the two.

I spent 10 years in the Ebay trenches. Ebay is really going downhill. You can get books etc from Amazon, but with the shipping and the overspending (it's soooo tempting to "plump up" that order with a bunch more stuff) you're really paying through the nose.

I don't buy or sell online any more. I just do stuff locally. If there's something someplace local doesn't have, I'll order it. It may seem more expensive on the surface, but it's not.

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Conn Pan Am made in 1950 silver + Bach 7C
King American Standard cornet made in 1940 + Olds 3C
Striving for a Touchy Tone, rather than obnoquious

commakozzi

Very well said. That sums up my complaint very well.