Very true!
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Anytime I get a chance to visit a music store I just like to do what comes “Natural” to me… I play… “STUPID”… 
Always having a “Stupid” look on my face helps even more… Quite a bit of fun and makes for some good laughs at the end of the day…
One time at a GC I had the salesperson pull down a Fender American Ultra Precision for me to try out. He got the ladder out, pulled it off the wall, checked it out for tuning, tried impressing me with his bass skills, and then handed it to me… Once in my lap I began sniffing a bit like I was smelling something and then told the guy that I have a very sensitive sense of smell and that the neck of the bass had a very repulsive odor as if it were recently handled by someone who forgot to wash their hands after using the restroom… The look on that salespersons face was to die for!!
I love being old and retired… I can get away with so much more than I use to when I was younger…
Keep on Thumpin’!
Lanny
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Me too! LOL
It’s even more fun being a blond female and acting like I don’t know anything and letting them try to impress me. It’s especially fun at Home Depot in the tool section.
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I love this. Yes x 1,000,000.
Hear hear!
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I would agree, if you’re a 14 year old and your dad takes you shopping for your first bass, and you walk into a music store, find an employee and ask, “What do you recommend for my first bass?”, a smaller more personable store would be a better idea than Guitar Center. However, I think most people on this forum would have already done their research, and pretty much know what they want when they walk into the building. From that point the employee serves no role other than to fetch the instrument(s) you wish to try out.
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I would beg to differ here.
IF: the store has actual experts and helpful staff (as I am proud to say that my local shops do and - in my experience touring around the country, most local, small shops do)
THEN:
I think that it would be a shame and a missed opportunity not to ask opinions and advice from knowledgeable people, even if you’ve done all the research in the world. I don’t think there’s a replacement for actual experience, particularly the experience in the shops, where (again, if the staff is quality) the people know the specifics and particulars of their instruments.
Also - as an added bonus - if you are a customer walking into a shop with a heap of knowledge, you can go in and get in very very deep with gear/particulars/specifics with a corresponding expert on the other side of the counter. I have gleaned so much valuable information in these exchanges; I love talking to folks in shops that know their stuff.
I would urge one and all not to disregard experience and expertise in the face-to-face, community-oriented music shop… (or deli, or bookstore, or autoparts shop, or hardware store, etc.)
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Not to argue this point @Gio, but I suppose I would both agree and disagree with this… I would agree that there are probably “Many” (most to me is a stretch) small music stores that may still in business these days who more than likely have some very experienced and helpful staff. Today’s society however has sort of pushed those small mom and pop shops out of business, or pushed them to the extent of lowering their inventory of quality goods and hiring inexperienced staff, thus resulting in lost sales to big box and online resources. Here in the Macon/Atlanta area, the only reason I go into those small (almost extinct) stores is to possibly find an old well used relic that I might find useful… at (hopefully) a good price…
If however you are a professional musician, you know first hand through professional contacts where to go, and who to ask for and deal with when traveling or touring. Most of us here outside the industry don’t have that luxury… I know for a first hand fact that walking into any music store as a professional musician gains a bunch more respect and top shelf attention than someone non-professional like myself - but then again, I’m from the Macon/Atlanta area and have seen how a lot of this all pans out… Personally, I’ve had the “bullshit” stick pulled out on me too many times in music stores to trust anyone, even the so called store “luthiers” - thus @PamPurrs comment that most all of us go into music stores already armed with a bit of knowledge as to what we’re in the market for.
I guess that’s just the way things are… Years ago when I was working as a professional Caterpillar marine mechanic and walked into a Caterpillar dealership to purchase tools and equipment, I too was given top shelf attention along with a “No Bullshit” guarantee… Kinda sad?? Maybe… But, for many of us who are not professional musicians (or mechanics), our experiences with music (or heavy Caterpillar equipment) related purchases “could” somewhat differ from those of professional musicians (or mechanics)??? 
Sorry for the rant…
Keep on Thumpin’! (none the less)
Lanny
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I think this exists across most all industries, from woodworking gear to automobiles to motorcycles to music gear… it’s hard to find a boutique store staffed with highly knowledgeable and trained associates. They operate by numbers now, how many units can you get out the door. No time to waste on consulting with the customer, just get their plastic out of the wallet and get them out the door so you can grab the next customer that walks in.
No matter what the category, it pays to walk in armed with as much knowledge as possible. A helpful and equally knowledgeable associate at the store just makes it all the better.
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In my mid-fifties, and I think I am beginning to understand!
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Interesting discussion. I can just speak about my experience here in cologne with 2 shops and I guess those two are pretty good representations of “small local store” vs “center”.
First my experiences with the “center” - called “Music Store” in cologne.
It’s a huge shop with multiple floors and multiple areas. It has everything from mixing pults to drum sets. Each in a different area with sales people dedicated to that area. And within that sentence lies the problem I have with this shop: sales people
Those aren’t people who try to get you the best experience with music. Those are people who gauge what your budget is and how much they can squeeze out of you. Seen/experienced for myself and corroborated by multiple friends. It’s even unlikely that you meet the same salesperson your next visit.
Then the small local shop here is actually called Guitar Center or Beyers Music.
This is where I took my bass for a setup. I already told the story. I barely had it out of the bag and the bass guy already said: “oh, that needs a setup!”. And within that sentence is the reason I go shopping there: bass guy - As far as I can tell they have at least one expert on each topic who is passionate about his craft.
It’s also where I went with my father years ago to buy a new guitar amp as a birthday gift for me. I’ve barely been out of my teens and not at all confident in general so the experience of trying to play my awful beginner tunes was terrifying. The staff guy did everything he could to try make me comfortable and assure me that it doesn’t matter that I can’t play yet and also that I should like the sound of the amp. He offered to play a bit for me but also insisted on me playing so I know what kind of sound I produce.
Looking back I decided too hastily on an amp I didn’t much like afterwards but I can’t blame the staff of the store for that. He did everything he could and took time for me.
It may be that there are also sales people in local stores and the experience may differ but from my experience I also recommend at least taking a look at the smaller local store.
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@PamPurrs and @Lanny - I love the topic, and I’m clearly passionate about it! Thanks for engaging!
I agree with this part - as I was working at a musical instrument store in 2000 - 2002, when internet sales, Musician’s Friend-merging-with-Guitar-Center and Amazon were all coming to life in a very big way.
The low prices were nearly impossible to compete with.
It was demoralizing, however, how many people would come in with substandard instruments - or just instruments that didn’t play well - having made unwise and un-tried purchases - and bring them into us to look over, advise on and fix up.
The shop I worked at closed in 2008 with the market crash.
Happily, it reopened under new management a year later and is still going.
Before we got to any city, the tour manager would look up the venue and hotels, I would look up the local coffee shop, and the guitar-junkies would look up the local music shops. Always on our phones.
I can’t remember a time that it wasn’t worth while, and we didn’t encounter an interesting knowledgeable character, or interesting, character-ed instruments.
I agree that walking in as a professional musician has immediate benefits and brings a sense of comfort.
But I think the nature of this thread - the idea that the music store is a place of judgement, of eyes and ears watching moves - of feeling like a fish-out-of-water, or nervous or shy - is really important, and speaks to this . It can be really intimidating. I’ve certainly felt it.
But it’s true - I think - everywhere that building a relationship is what makes the experience worth while, and that’s why I’m so emphatic about the shop having decent staff.
Regardless of skill level, if you show up, patronize a shop regularly and engage with the (hopefully) friendly and experienced staff folks, that secret insider door can get opened, and the feeling of being an outsider/judged/intimidated goes away, and instead you feel like it’s ‘your shop’. Like Cheers.
It just takes time, and putting yourself out there.
As someone who teaches at a store (or did, back when stores were things) I’ve seen it happen with my beginning students, and with seasoned pros that come in.
I’ve seen this, sadly, but - in my experience - it has been the exception.
Turning to the internet for commerce and information is convenient, but I think it sacrifices the community elements (the place to go to talk shop/see other players, etc) and expertise of the music-gear-savvy folks in our community.
Anyway - it doesn’t take much to get me up on a local community/local economy/local business soap box!
Love y’all, and thanks for mixing it up in here.
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I just got this Sterling SubRay off Offer Up for $90.
The guy selling it posted that it needed a new input jack, and it was $20 at GC. So when I went to get it, I didn’t bother plugging into my zoom to test it, but talked to him about it.
Yes, he said he took it to GC when it would not play,and after careful diagnosis from a sales clerk at GC, it needed a new output Jack, and the guy told him it would be $20, and he could change it himself or check it in on a ticket and it would cost an additional $30 or $40 to fix.
I figured, for $90 I would get the bass, get the jack, and replace it myself and have a $110 SubRay.
Then I got it home, and started playing it, looking it over, and saw the 9v cover on back.
Could it be…?
Seriously…?
I open it up to do the ole tongue test. Not only was the battery dead, one of the ears on the battery was completely detached.
Popped a new 9v in, plugged in, and BAM. Perfect.
I love GC clerks. Got me a $90 SubRay lol…
Rely on one in the store? Not!!!
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Yes!
This is glorious.
I brought my 90lb amp+rack effects unit, + my 2 Eden cabs (90+lbs each) down to the amplifer tech.
I explained my problem: really fuzzy, distorted notes - underpowered.
He put new batteries in my bass and grinned the whole time I was loading all of it back up again.
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Ah man, we have all been there at some time in our life, Bass related or not.
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I have just peed my panties.
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In the late '70’s, I frequented a laaaaarge music store in The Hague, called Servaas Muziek. This wasn’t part of a chain; it was just a shop that was in the historical center, ws frequented by all the big names in the The Hague rock scene (Golden Earring, Supersister, just to name a few), and did really, really well.
There was one guy, Nico, who was a phenomenon. He could conduct several conversations in parallel without getting confused, and when you came in the store, he would know what instrument you played, what strings you used, which picks you preferred, and your musical preferences and playing style – off the top of his head. For all his customers.
I had bought all my basses there.
One day I came in, to tell him that my Peavey amp (which I hadn’t even bought from them!) had blown up, and we had a gig the next day. Without thinking, he arranged for a replacement amp to be delivered at the venue, and told me he was sure I’d like it, and if I did, he could give me a good quote on it.
When we arrived at the venue for the sound check, I was nervous. No need to – their van was already waiting for me. The amp was brilliant, and the quote I got when I called him the Monday after was silly low.
Long story short: find a shop you like, and stick to it. It’ll pay off.
My current problem is that the closest shop I’d like is a 40 minute drive away from here, and parking is hell on earth.
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Play some @JoshFossgreen jazz MOD 7 Lesson 1. If you play that everybody will think you are the Einstein of bass 
play what ever you feel like and look like you enjoy it, and everybody will feel it with you 
even the evil salesperson will respect you and only sell you what you need
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If you can actually get that down, as in, play it without looking at the score, you ARE the Einstein of bass.
Seriously: I love me some jazz, I can even appreciate some free improv jazz, but that’s just… horrible.
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I love this!
I worked under a guy like this - Sergio! - Serge for short. (people would come in and ask for a Surge proetector for their studio or pedal board and he would - without fail - yell: “Nothing can protect you from Serge!”)
I can’t remember anything, any faces, any names - anything.
He remembered everything about everyone - what they had bought, their families, work, interests. Incredible.
Great story! Thanks for sharing.
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