Guitar Center CEO and Gear Snobbery

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bigbonzo said:
I agree with Gabe Dalporto.
Just because Joe Morello had one hit on a cheap guitar doesn't mean anything.
And, who cares? Let Guitar Center make their own decisions.
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Agreed.

I hope this is a revamp for Guitar Center as a whole...with people properly trained on the gear they are selling.

Keep in mind, this is coming purely from the point of a drummer. And I think most of us can agree that when it comes to Guitar Center, we are the red headed step-child. I've been in several GC's and the drum department is usually barely cared for. Snares are mostly cheap and/or amateur level. Cymbals range from what I have seen -- but I've never encountered anything there that blew me away. Their heads, sticks, accessories and hardware are generally a mess and the offerings are usually generic. Worst of all the gear they are selling is bot well taken care of and it shows.

Maybe this will improve the chain -- offering a wider variety of gear which we can get our hands on and try. It sucks having to order from SweetWater or DCP and hoping the drum sounds good, and just as importantly feels good. There are a lot of intangibles and variables with musical instruments. So you just don't know until you try it. I hope this begins to give us a place to try things.

Musicians are serious about their craft and their gear. How can anyone balk at a retailer giving you the ability to try out new gear? High, mid, low range...let me try them all.
 
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I see what Tom is doing, but a big piece of the downfall (for me) of any GC visits is that it's littered with low-mid tier gear for 85% of it's inventory.

My new-to-me GC in Cincinnati had at most 3 kits I'd be happy to have for a backline that I saw on the floor. I'm not going to be a regular in a shop that has 12 Sound Percussion kits, off brand drum sticks, and only a few cymbals.
 
bigbonzo said:
I agree with Gabe Dalporto.
Just because Joe Morello had one hit on a cheap guitar doesn't mean anything.
And, who cares? Let Guitar Center make their own decisions.
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And Rage recorded that on $100k worth of board, rack gear, and engineers at the helm I imagine…

Everyone starts on entry level gear, having higher end stuff at you shop is both a traffic driver and an aspirational purchase for a newer musician. If it attracts some “Harley” demographic money, it’s a good move.
 
My local GC doesn’t want you to play with anything.

They had a $100 ukulele locked up.

The drum room is a mess. The kits they have on display don’t have bass drum pedals, and most don’t have thrones.
 
The race to the bottom wasn't good for anyone. Everyone was trying to compete for the entry market, which helped GC take out all the mom and pop shops, but now GC is being taken out by the Internet. The brick and mortar retail stores that are still doing well focus on premium gear with premium service.
 
Tornado said:
The race to the bottom wasn't good for anyone. Everyone was trying to compete for the entry market, which helped GC take out all the mom and pop shops, but now GC is being taken out by the Internet. The brick and mortar retail stores that are still doing well focus on premium gear with premium service.
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Two of my favorite private owned drum stores, Stebal Drums and Columbus Percussion, are just that.
 
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They both have a point but I'm not sure they're having the same conversation. Tom is right that you don't need expensive gear to make music, but like Slowzuki1 said above it's not a fair comparison when you're recording that guitar or drum in a top flight studio setting. Also, I don't think the GC guy was criticizing or mocking entry-level gear, but rather pointing out that having more high end gear accessible in the stores would drive traffic from "serious" players who wanted to try before they buy as well as more budget-minded customers who want to compare both ends of the spectrum.
 
Once you've been to e real drum shop, like Dale's in Harrisburg, PA, the local GC is a joke. Mine has had a nice DW satin oil kit sitting on the floor for years. People play it and it shows, yet it's still priced like it just came off the truck from Oxnard. There are a few GC's that have good drum departments but in my experience, they are the exception.
 
Targalx said:
I would be VERY surprised that JOE Morello had a hit on a cheap guitar. He’s usually the drummer for Dave Brubeck.
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If I remember correctly Mr. Morello's first instrument was violin so maybe he had a cheap guitar after all. I think he even played as a violin soloist with the Boston Symphony as a child but I am an old fart and prone to scramble information so don't take my word on that.
 
If the Guitar Center CEO was saying "we're going to stop selling entry-level gear and only cater for the high-end", then I'd agree with Tom Morello.

AFAICT, he's NOT saying that though, he's just saying "we need to have more high end gear available (and playable)". Which is definitely something they should be doing if they want to stay relevant.

For low-end gear, ordering through the internet is obviously the way it's going to play out for most people. You don't need to play the instrument before hand -- quite frankly, a beginner generally doesn't have the ears / hands to be able to tell if an instrument is "good". Most of that shopping is going to be driven by price, and the internet will always win there. Again, not saying the GC stores shouldn't continue to sell low end stuff, but you don't need to dedicate 95% of your floor to it. Have a few Squier and a few Epiphone in common styles with a few disparate colorways. Done.

But for the high-end gear, a) people definitely want to play it before buying, and B) there's a lot more difference / subtlety involved in the decision making process. Heck, with guitars, they could have 3-4 different "identical" Les Paul gold tops and still find pros (or even blues lawyers) who prefer one in particular.
 
Pedal_Pusher said:
If I remember correctly Mr. Morello's first instrument was violin so maybe he had a cheap guitar after all. I think he even played as a violin soloist with the Boston Symphony as a child but I am an old fart and prone to scramble information so don't take my word on that.
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(It was a joke -- TOM Morello is the guitarist for RATM, and the focus of the article)
 
Former bandmate works at GC corporate now. Last year they launched a pilot program where they put designated drum managers in 25 stores. People with experience and expertise. Sales are way up in those stores apparently. Expertise still matters, and I think there are a lot of musicians who have grown out of the beginner stage who are realizing this. eCommerce isn't going anywhere, but there is a real place for professionals and GC is rediscovering that. Bodes well I think.
 
Tornado said:
The brick and mortar retail stores that are still doing well focus on premium gear with premium service.
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I'd say its less premium gear and more premium service. A solid, knowledgeable, and reliable staff makes a huge difference. Music-Go-Round seems to be doing great, and I’ve always had great service at the Maryland location. MGR is mainly used stuff, and I rarely (if ever) have encountered people just blasting away and shredding the gear. It’s always a great experience.
 
Would stocking high end drum stuff sell in quantities enough to justify their cost to the company?

I don’t know the answer, but it could get you into financial problems, i.e. if anyone remembers mars music

They filed bk with a ton of gear ended up costing. Major manufactures a lot of money as it was never paid for by Mars.
 
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