Love x 1,000,000,000
It’s not just a place to try things out… the good ones (not usually the chains, as they have such high turnover rate - staff doesn’t have time to become specialized) have staff that really KNOW about gear.
Going in with questions to real people in real time with real gear to try is the best. People on commission that try and push shit on you with heavy sales pitches? Not the best.
Hopefully there’s a shop near y’all that hits those marks.
I really like the ability to go in and talk to people, especially when you do d those (very) few that like what they do and want to help, not just sell. When I bought my first bass, I went into a local place to get it. The guy was amazingly helpful and actually suggested something cheaper than what I wanted, because he didn’t want me to spend a lot on a hobby I gave up in a week. Plus, I had him recommended to me by name from a musician I know and trust. So that is always a good way to start!
As many have said though, the problem with local stores is a combination of price and selection. I wish my small, locally owned place could match online prices…but they can’t. And as far as selection goes…I certainly don’t live in Tokyo… For example, I went in just a few hours ago to get a hard case or gig bag for the ESP I am getting (soooo excited!!!) and they didn’t have anything that could fit. They actually only had one that would fit my Ibanez. The store has exactly 8 basses on display for purchase and as far as I know, the display models ARE the sale models. They have about triple that number in electric guitars and about half again the number of accoustic (plus a host of other instruments and musical equipment).
I do try to buy something when I go in though, just as a way to show support and thanks for their help answering questions. Today I got a VOX headphone amp. It was about $5 more than on Amazon (plus sales tax) but, I hate walking in, playing with 4-5 instruments, asking a ton of questions, and then chucking deuces without a a second thought.
I live across the street from a Guitar Center and I go there regularly. They are not the most knowledgeable staff but I don’t think that’s what they’re being hired for either. They are mostly helpful and pleasant to deal with.
Also, Guitar Center will match any advertised price (even on the Internet) for new gear and has fair prices for used gear. Their 45 day return policy carries it’s own weight. When I do decide I’m going to buy something, I’m going to to give them my business. I like having a local guitar store around and maybe giving them my business will help keep them around.
If you don’t have G.A.S before you go, you will have it when you leave.
I have a friend in Tokyo that has an open invitation for me to come visit. If I can ever make it out there I’ll have to make a day of it.
I highly recommend visiting if you get the chance. I love this place. The biggest danger is you fall in love with the place, go all in, and wake up ten years later here wondering where all the time has gone 
I buy everything I can locally and limit Amazon to the strict minimum. 
So here is my local music store: Steve’s Music
I went there first to have some advice, and some days later came back with the money and told them “guys, I don’t care how you do it, but I don’t leave without a bass and an amp!” 
It seems to be an institution here in Montreal, and I’ll be happy to go back to them when I’ll upgrade!
I’ll give another vote to my local Guitar Center. I know they get a bad rap sometimes for being the “big faceless corporate giant” of the retail music world, at least in the US, but my experience has been really positive - they help you if you need it, leave you alone if you don’t, and the selection of trying stuff out is terrific. A new amp has been on my mind / budget lately, and it will be from GC.
When I didn’t know what I was doing (as in, pretty recently), I used Craigslist and Reverb, bought used stuff, took some gambles, which, for the most part, worked. But now that I actually know what I like and want, I’m fine paying retail for new gear. And I’d support a local mom/pop shop as well, even pay more, if it had nice and helpful people running it. But admittedly, Amazon has made it super easy sometimes, for accessories and things, so, not gonna stop using them either.
I bought my first bass from a small privately owned music store about 15 miles away from where I live. The owner plays bass himself, so there was/is a chance to get good advice and service on especially basses. Also, he is always up for a chat and some banter. And, he provides excellent setup and repair service. On the other hand, his in-store selection is (naturally) pretty limited, to put it nicely.
In between the small local stores and a juggernaut like Amazon (which is probably OK for some pieces of hardware, but likely not for the basses themselves!?) are stores that managed to establish a good internet presence (but perhaps still have a few physical stores as well). In Europe, this would be true for Andertons (in the UK) and Thomann (in Germany). Here, you can get in touch with “experts” via chat functions and get some help/advice without having to go to their stores, and their webpages typically also provide a wealth of information. These places have a huge selection and you typically get what you want fast and pretty much hassle-free. Of course, this is still not a substitute for getting your actual hands on an instrument, but their solution is probably the most long-term stable in our current economy/consumer behavior. Even decently sized family owned music stores are likely to go the way of the dinosaurs, I am afraid… (one of the bigger, all-around instrument stores in downtown Copenhagen just closed shop, I heard).
And, yet, there are also super-small, super specialized little shops/workshops with (only) higher-end basses (maybe run by a luthier) and they seem to get by somehow… go figure!
This is good news. There is actually a GC opening next week in my town. However I had almost already written them of as
I will give them a shot I suppose.
I was happy with the service at my local store.
So here’s a thought exercise. How much of a premium are you willing to pay for a bass you can personally see, play, and check out yourself in a local store, versus ordering the same bass online?
I ran in to this today, a local big chain store had a (~$1k) bass for around $40 more than online. I went back and forth a little. Mostly I was irritated they wouldn’t knock 4% off the price for me when I showed them the online price, so I left, but afterwards I was kind of weighing this.
It’s really nice to be able to handle and play a bass you might be buying. Thinking now it is worth the 4% there.
But how much would you pay for this? 5%? 10%? more?
For me it would probably be in the 5% range.
For me depends. I started playing in July 2020. I have a very nice local bass store, locally owned and amazing stock. Co-located with an equally amazing guitar store. It’s peak Covid in July 2020 so I did my extensive research, and walked in and paid full retail for my new MIM Vintera Mustang… I wanted of course to spend that money locally and enjoyed spending every dollar of it 10 blocks from home. It is a beautiful store, they have a ton of premium back stock including a lot of Basses from Mike Lull (local here).
Shopping a few months later for some powered speaker solutions at GC, I tested with a new Sterling Stingray34 natural/roasted neck, which became an unplanned impulse buy at full retail. I love it too.
Me, I have continued to shop at full retail during Covid. And now, I don’t think >any< Premium above online retail would be appropriate.
Great question, @howard
I would go along with @Mike_NL and pay 5% more . . .
The only local store I have is a Guitar Center over in Virginia Beach. They don’t have the bass(es) in stock that I’d be interested in, and I don’t feel like fighting my way through traffic to Richmond either (2-3 hour round trip). That’s why I deal primarily w/ Sweetwater.
Cheers
Joe
This depends for me too.
I think my track record on the forum is pretty clear on my feelings here (local store lover for lyffffff!!!).
It depends on the bass and the store.
I like supporting a store and the musicians that work there.
If the shop offers their support and service for the things you buy there, that is definitely worth the extra percents.
If it’s a high end bass / one of a kind / vintage thing / rare bird - it’s worth it again.
As a former music store employee, the small differences between every individual instrument become hugely important when you start honing in on what you, personally, like about basses. Having a place to go and play is… well, not invaluable… I don’t want to be ripped off any more than the next cash-strapped musician… but it is necessary, and I can only get that through my store.
I don’t count receiving / trying / returning / re-ordering as a substitute at all. The hassle, the random roll of the dice every time - it can’t compare with trying things out.
Yeah that’s my feeling too. Even though this is a chain, I like them, and I got great service buying another bass from one of their other stores. And having a tangible place to go if problems do crop up is also nice. And that’s happened to me before.
And yeah, even on top of that, with Amazon and the dubiously legal return games some people play, it’s iffy in the first place because they only support returns on items they fulfill and not Marketplace items. I have been kind of waiting to laugh if someone got burned by that 
And:
This case is definitely true. Being able to try used gear before buying is a real boon.
I’d happily pay a bit more to the local store, IF it’s a good one. I went to my local store to try some basses and it was so much hassle. I felt guilty for bothering them to try out a bass. So, I’m not going back there now. That was GAK in Brighton, UK.
Most people that watch YouTube bass gear videos know about Andertons. That is about an hour drive from me. So, I’m planning on going there when they reopen. Hopefully in about a month.
I get worried about stores closing and this opportunity to try out basses being a thing of the past. I’ve seen it happen with other hobby stores when everyone moves to online to save a bit of money.
Unfortunately, a lot of people don’t understand that a local shop charging more is not necessarily because they want to, it’s because they have to. They have much higher overheads (cost of running a business) to pay. They also sometimes are forced by manufacturers to not sell below a certain price. It’s certainly not black and white.
You might want to check out BassDirect as well - Mark has a huge selection of great basses and paraphernalia! Don’t know how far that is for you, though!
I regularly look at their stock online. They are about 2.5 hours drive from me though. Hoping Andertons will have the something I’ll fall in love with.
When I was growing up in Birmingham (UK) in the seventies It was actually a golden time for musicians although I never realised it at the time. We didn’t have a massive choice of shops like they had in London but there were several small independents who mainly stocked second-hand gear. Musical Exchanges was the one I remember and I was always in there annoying the owners. If you wanted new gear there was only really one place to go - Woodruffes but even that was still an independent. I can’t remember now but I think the owner had some connection to Black Sabbath, Tony Iommi’s brother maybe? Anyway if you spent any length of time in there you’d usually see a local rock god walking in. I bought my first Stratocaster there and paid extra for the maple neck!! I sold my extensive collection of early sixties Marvel comics to get it. I think they raised about £600 and I still had to chip in a bit more. The strat is long gone but I’d rather still have the comic collection, these days it would be worth a lot more. I can’t think of a single second-hand guitar shop in Brum now. I suppose eBay has killed off the need for them but its a great shame . Where do kids go to dream of rock stardom on a Saturday morning these days? On the flip side we are better served today for new guitar shops than we ever were in the Seventies. Off the top of my head I can think of GuitarGuitar, PMT and Fairdeal Music. None of them are as big as places you get in the states like Sweetwater but between them you can find most things. I’d still like to be able to rummage through a shop with a pile of old Marshall, Hiwatt and Sound City valve amps though! Those were definitely THE days.
