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I was recently in the Sam Ash in North Tampa, FL. I was expecting the walls to be empty but to my surprise, they were full of guitars. This was the best selection of instruments I've seen in a few years in this store.
What’s wild is I went to Sam ash in Orlando back in December and it was a ghost town. The state of their acoustic room was depressing. Half inch of dust on everything, all corroded strings, nothing even remotely set up.
Just wanted to chime in and say the fax machine is somehow not obsolete. I work in IT in the medical field and their reasoning is fax machines always work because telephone infrastructure always worked when everything else failed and historically landlines do not go down with the power. The problem with that is the backend has been replaced with computers in many places so that's not totally true. Pretty sure at this point they're still around because there's a exemption in HIPAA for faxes where as long as you put a cover sheet on a fax saying "This is medical stuff, don't look at it if you receive it in error" while sending it to the wrong phone number, you're still golden and haven't violated HIPAA. Basically I think they exist because of a loop hole in the law from ~30 years ago.
You're 90% right - faxes can't be hacked or misdirected, and they're not stored anywhere on a server, they are sent 1:1, real time. In short, they're deemed secure _because_ the technology is so primitive.
I worked for a public authority, retired last year. They always had an office that was secured and had a fax machine, the purpose was exactly that, to fax sensitive documents for HR like medical or disciplinary or legal. PDF online is not as secure as a good old fashioned fax.There was only one person and a designee that were authorized look at the documents
No loss at this point, and from their smug attitude of national staff members..... it's about time maybe someone in this cracker jack joint is waking up to the degeneration of their business. You sound like you care about your job/company as a local, and probly deserve better.
If you’re saying Sam passed away last year, it sounds like the remaining family or stake holders were wanting to do something different after his passing.
I live near their corporate offices and worked at the store down the road (03), and my fiancee is still a Sales Manager there. This is definitely not a case of the family just wanting to do something differently. The issues that led to this are decades long at this point. I don't think many, especially those who are at the stores closing, are very surprised about the news.
I got an email notifying me their Huntington Long Island store is closing, which bums me out. Loved that store when I was living back there. Sam Ash stores are so much better than any GC. The email refers you to their other Long Island location near Westbury. They have a location here in Phoenix as well. I hope it stays!!
I'd heard that rumor months ago. And over the past year the guitar inventory in the Huntington store has really diminished. It looks like a store that's on its last legs. Sad.
I remember the store in Hempstead Long Island back in ‘73, I sent my $15 Harmony Rocket down to the basement on conveyor belt and it came back up in a beautiful $30 case. I still own both today. Don’t know if the store is still there now that I live in CA. Great memories.
The Huntington Sam Ash was my first guitar store back in the ‘80s that and the one that used to be just about next door (at the time, Murthy’s Music); where I got my first electric ( a cheap Cort)
Hey Peter...The Hempstead Store is long gone. I used to go there in the 60's. When I was 13, I took the bus to Hempstead. Not sure when they left, I recall being there in the late 80's. Last year I bought a new Roland Keyboard from them. The Carl Place Store gave up some footage, not a lot of traffic in the MIDI Controller Section so they reduced that area of the store. I used to buy a lot of gear online because of no tax. Since that benefit is no longer available, I buy local. They had some terrific guitar techs in the Huntington Location.
I really had no idea Sam Ash had become a chain. Mr.Ash and his family lived in my neighborhood, about a mile away.I knew Rich and Sammy. Their first (and at the time only)location in Hempstead,NY was where I bought my first amp- a Gibson Saturn.
Been a big chain in the USA for at least 35 years already! I'm from LI too, their main Admin. office HQ I think, is still right here about 15 min. from me in Westbury or Hicksville or the borderline thereof. Or one of them. I went to the Hempstead LI store a few times back in the 70s and early to mid 80s, before they shut it down. Lately I use Guitar Center more (for tech. work as much as anything), but I buy from Sam Ash too, still. This is very upsetting news. I even bought a new Blues Driver pedal two years ago at the Huntington LI store, which is closing. I think the Forest Hills store is closing, also.
I bought my first guitar from Sam Ash in White Plains, NY. in either '85 or '86. It was a candy apple red Ibanez Roadstar II (RS440). I beat the hell out of that tremolo (ala Brad Gillis) and it always stayed in tune.
Guitar Center came into our area in the late 90's. I was excited...at first. They killed off ALL the independent guitar shops and there were quite a few.
It's been crazy watching the musical instrument retail business change over the last three decades. I had a short stint working for a manufacturer from '97 to 2000 - and I was moved from an inside rep to help with the Sam Ash and Mars Music expansions that were happening at the time. The amount of gear and the pace that the stores were opening was kind of mind boggling. Later, I was also surprised not to see Ash go big in the online space. I have a lot of fond memories of that time, with truly interesting and nice people that were purchasers for Ash and Mars. I have zero idea what things will look like in another ten years. I guess as things change, and for retail in general, that people start longing for a personal experience again and a market that can support more local stores. My gut tells me if there is an upturn, it's still a ways off. I hope I am wrong.
My first job out of high-school was at the Sam Ash in Brooklyn on Flatbush. It's a shame to hear stores are closing, an end of an Era. That said, we were always told to push the in-house products, higher commissions but I never did. I wanted people to get the best they could afford. Might explain why I didn't last long there 😅
The Sam Ash near me (in Los Angeles) closed about a year ago. Super sad cause I would go back and forth between GC and Sam Ash in my younger years. I remember back in early 2000s, both stores were insanely busy. When you're inside the store, it gave off christmas + disneyland vibes (in a great way)... It's not the same anymore :( I really hope GC and any other music store stays afloat and thrive.
I've been taking my guitars to Sal at Sam Ash in Hollywood for years. Does fantastic work at a fair price. I'm sad they're closing. Much better prices and work than Guitar Center.
I just left guitar center after working there for 2 1/2 years. It’s the most dysfunctional company that I’ve ever worked for, by far. I’m honestly not sure if they are trying to destroy it.
I see a lot more manufacturers getting into the online direct sales game. People are getting used to the idea of, "Buying without trying." Real estate prices are ridiculous in the large cities. So, I can easily see why the large music box stores are going to online sales over brick and mortar. it's a natural evolution.
I’ve never been in a Sam Ash, I think I’ve seen one before. As I was thinking about it I realized that the only chain music gear stores I’ve been in are Guitar Center and a Mars Music one time a long time ago. My city had several local shops that were pretty cool, until GC came along, and now the remains are sparse and slim pickings. Once the dust settles after all the guitar insanity that we’re experiencing I hope that small local shops make a comeback. Way more fun to visit local shops than cookie cutter chain stores
Mom and Pops can rarely afford the dealer fees to stock all the Gibson nonsense people want these days to flip online. They might come back eventually but they might be full of $750 Yamahas and stuff all the guitlawyers never buy
Sam ashes used game is amazing. I bought a bass on reverb and they phoned me a few days after I left feedback to make sure I was still happy with the instrument. Can you imagine?
Nah, I shop at Sweetwater. The long distance sexual tension between myself and my rep Andy is honestly the most romantic and fulfilling relationship I have ever had in my life
To fill in some blank spaces left by this discursive and aimless conversation, Sam Ash had 44 stores nationwide as of Feb. 22, according to online information. According to published reports, they’re closing 18 stores. If both those counts are true, that would mean they’re closing 40 percent of their physical locations. Of course, this doesn’t mean it’s 40 percent of their business because it’s safe to presume that those 18 stores are underperforming and are generating less sales per square foot than the remaining stores. Example: Macy’s last week announced the closing of 150 stores representing 25 percent of overall Macy’s square footage, but those stores only account for 10 percent of Macy’s sales revenue. Odd but true: In brick-and-mortar chain retail you sometimes make more money from closing bad stores than you do from opening new ones. So it’s not possible to say from this information whether Sam Ash is preparing to go out of business. But we can certainly say they’re downsizing.
A fews years ago I left a GC store in Cherry Hill NJ because they ignored me. I walked over to the Sam Ash and bought a Les Paul Classic and Fender Blues tube amp. That was their loss
That GC is Cherry Hill is the perfect example of the “Guitar Center Experience” We always go there first, walk around for 5 minutes and then head over to Sam Ash to actually buy something. And of course hit up the Red Robin afterwards.
Guitar Center's customer service has been spotty in some stores for years because, they almost went under too, and they cut the in store staff to a skeleton crew half the time. It's not conducive to a good sales floor customer experience. I was in the LI Carle Place store picking up a guitar in for service about three months ago, and, the main store manager was running half the store by himself! It was ridiculous.
Got my first Gibson at Manhattan SAM ASH store. Never saw so many Gibsons in my live or since. They were all laid out on large picnic tables. This was 1969. I am talking like 50 Gibson SG. NOW none were new . We travel 3 hours by train to get to New York City. Then Subway to the store. Guitar was Gibson 1967 melody maker SG 200 special. The special meant it 24 frets ebony finger board. block pearl inlays. After about two hours of choosing. We offered 200.00 all the money we had. Not any for taxes. I was a kid with his father to get his first real professional guitar. I never knew who he was but I am now 66 . This thought still brings a tear to my eye. By the way. I had some father too.
As a Raleigh Native I feel like it went like this: Mars Music opened on Capital Blvd. And then a few years later Sam Ash opened up on the other side of the road. And then Mars Music got bought out by Guitar Center.
I worked for Mars through the entire run and it wasn’t bought out by GC it was sold to a liquidation company and they sold everything off to the walls and then it was over.
@brett entirely possible that the investment firm that bought it also owns Guitar Center. was probably sold because the owner wanted a huge wad of short term money. That's where all the textile mills went as well
Super bummed to see Sam Ash closing locations. I'm not sure if the other stores are like this but growing up the one I would go to had a stage and would host open mic night. I can't understate how important those open mics were for me as a musician and performer. I was able to suck and learn how to play on stage because of those open mics. After covid they stopped doing them and it really made me sad because I know the open mic was so important to so many people in my community and the younger guys coming up. I also got one of my first basses there which I played religiously. I hope they're able to turn things around!
And rest in peace Sam Ash. I used to spend extended lunch breaks in his store in Tampa area playing different guitars and amps... That's back when they actually stocked good stuff like Matchless amps and more high end guitars than you see in the big stores now...... when I go into a Guitar Center here there are rarely 5 guitars in the store that I would trade any of mine for.......and amps are overpriced cheap circuit board jobs mainly , claiming to be re-issues of old classics....... I wonder if Sam fell for the v@x...... starting to see quite a few
Sam Ash has 44 stores. Sammy was the COO. None of the other Ashs have either little knowledge or little interest (or both) in running the company. The place was on autopilot, and now it’s merely gliding without power.
I used to go to the Philly Sam Ash before I moved to the Northeast part of the state. Back then the store was well stocked and the online store was pretty amazing. Great pictures, specs and weights of the guitars plus a lot of variety. I was looking while I was listening to you guys and the pickings are really slim. That’s a bummer.
It’s a liquidation sale until closing at the end of the month. Everything has been valued with no negotiation as the value has been assigned by another company (or as the salesperson said “the bank”). They will keep dropping the percentages incrementally until closing. Silver lining is there is a lot of stuff in there you’ll be able to get cheap because it was used for displays (display cases, guitar stands, drum baffles, amp risers, slat hangers, etc.). It will also get priced dead last because there is a lot of inventory still and the discount is only 5%.
My local one is closing down and to be honest good riddance! Their selection of gear, prices, and overall service was truly lackluster. Tried to trade in some near mint gear and the sales guy was a total ass when assessing things trying to talk trash over insignificant things & generally talking down to me. Their discount and sales were laughable even on damaged gear and I’ve had way better experiences with Guitar Center & Sweetwater. Even now for their “closeout” sale they’re only reducing prices by 5%. I’ve gotten 15% discounts routinely from other dealers & the best Sam Ash can do is 5%. Can’t speak for all stores but the one I went to sort of had it coming.
I also like Sam Ash. We have one in the Atlanta area. I was able to find a Les Paul Jr through their online store a few years ago when no one else had any. They had a super nice customer service rep that helped me and followed up just like Sweetwater does. Very happy with my online experience there.
I would imagine skyrocketing rents have something to do with that decision? (annnnd 3 mins later I got to the part of the video where they mentioned rents!!)
The Sam Ash in Nashville Tennessee used to be my go to music store. For the past couple of years it has really sucked. Getting someone to help you takes an act of Congress and the employee don't seem to care if they help you. There's a GC across the street that has great customer service and the employee actually care about helping out the customers.
Yep, and guess what folks? If a company with 45 locations can't afford rent its probably not looking good for anybody. Sounds like some folks learned to game the real estate system. Happens when you elect it in like that ☕
@@neilpatrickhairlessHaving 45 locations has nothing to do with making a company profitable. If the company gets bloated and the market passes them by then having a lot of locations is a larger liability.
@@freighthauler7642 Because employees have no incentive to go above and beyond anymore. Pre-COVID, you could actually make commission there. Since then, it's been changed so that it's impossible to break your base, and just a minimum wage job. This drove out all the former old-timers that weren't at General Manager or Sales Manager levels.
The two Sam Ash stores nearest me in the Chicago area are closing. I attended some really cool clinics at the Buffalo Grove, IL store...got to meet Jack Casady (beforehand, he sat down next to me and introduced himself), Nate Watts (Stevie Wonder's bassist) and saw Victor Wooten there at least 3 times. Bought some nice gear there too! As of late, it's been slim pickin' there and they have silly stuff like a used Behringer OD800 pedal priced at $99 when new ones are $29 at Sweetwater.
I worked at the BG one a few years ago and could definitely see the writing on the wall. When they cut the budget and got rid of k cups, I knew they were going under.
In Vegas the store is a total ghost store. really sucks. They were a bit better then Guitar Center... Nicer dudes. (No offense but Guitar Center employees seem like they don't want to be there). Anyhow, Ghost town man. The poor sales dudes look like they're ready to sell guitars to themselves. Guitars just sitting there. I wanted a weekend job, manager just goes dude.. Look at how many sales guys I got wandering the floor right now... I looked.. I was like damn dude.. that sucks. Really a shame. Nice store man. Great vibe. What the hell is wrong with people!?!?! Support your Sam Ash and save these guys. Poor old Sam Ash. Don't die guys!
Guitar Center employees want to be smoking a bong playing their guitar. There's also like 2 guys that are used car salesmen that have the motivation to try get in on all of the legit sales, so they make a living and everyone else is hanging out for a few months trying to get a discount on gear. lol. What a gig. You're only 22 once, ya know.
One Sam Ash in my town, used to be 2 of them. Generally mid-level gear, rare higher end Martin or Taylor. I have done some business there, like the staff, but prices are pretty high and they do not do trades in my town. I like to trade. I buy high end gear, Martin, Gibson, Fender. Because they hold value and are just generally 'better'. I like used gear too. Often I will only do a deal if I can free up a hook on the wall for the new one to hang in and roll over some value. I know trades leave value on the table sometimes but I know the shop has to eat too. Because of that I have taken 7 guitars home from another shop in town on fair trades for both sides, sometimes with some cash input. One just full cash without even playing it. Shop guy walked around the corner with a Merlot Revstar Standard P90 it in his hand, I saw it and said "that one is mine..." and just paid for it.
Yeah, chain guitar stores don't cater to guitar flippers, dude. When you buy a guitar, 90% of its actual value is nonexistent as soon as it hits the parking lot. Sam Ash isn't a pawn shop
I went to the Franklin Mills and King of Prussia locations many times. But I must say I haven’t gone much since 2008 when I started buying online. When they opened in King of Prussia and GC in Plymouth Meeting, Medley Music went out of business. Medley carried a lot of hard to find stuff like Dr. Z and Zvex pedals at the time
I'm sorry to hear that Sam is gone. Never knew the man, but I'm grateful for his life. Sam Ash was my favorite too. Much of my studio equipment and instruments came from his store in Orlando. Carlo Robelli guitars, bass and electric violins were the bargain masterpieces of their day.
In case you are interested: Guitar Center was built on the ashes of two very good, competing, local shops. The Music Connection and The Music Loft. Two family run stores that always had a friendly rivalry. The Music Connection sold out to The Loft in the late 90’s and moved into what is now the current location of GC. Very shortly after that, Mars Music moved right across the street where Sam Ash is now. At the time THEY were the big player. It didn’t take long for The Music Loft to sell out to GC. They just couldn’t compete. When the economy took a dump and music sales tanked, Mars closed up shop and sold to Sam Ash. And that is where we are today. The entire time, Harry’s Guitar Shop hung on… scratching and clawing the stay afloat. Harry managed to survive by catering to the high-end acoustic marked by providing a warm and quiet place full of amazing experts about acoustic instruments and providing a ton of space for lessons. Harry retired last year and the shop was bought by two long-time employees. I hope they do well, however, I think they really need to pick up a few new, boutique, brands of guitars and amps to build their relevance. Still, hats off for hanging in like they did. 👍🏼
Only a matter of time for most or all of these shops, unfortunately. Manufacturers go direct now, buyers buy direct, no need for stores, the channel model is dying.
Sam Ash can’t compete with Reverb, Sweetwater, FB marketplace and Craigslist. Also music isn’t what it once was in the 80’s and 90’s. So many kids influenced by guitar legends. So many dreams of being a big time musician. And there was no online shopping or RU-vid comparisons making things easier. You had to physically go into stores and play the instruments until you found what you like. I think only part that truly will be missed is the repair area. Great set up technicians who also do repairs and upgrades can’t be replaced by the internet yet. I personally have two basses and two guitars that will need work soon. I’m so tempted to learn all that stuff on my own and open a shop.
The proverbial writings have been on the wall for a very long time. My favorite local shop in Colorado was a place called "ProSound", and where I bought my first decent electric. They consolidated and renamed, only to completely shut their doors not long after. Other mom and pop stores have come up but most have gone away. Guitar Center is always one step away from the news I've read, and suffer from decent inventory more and more that I go there (especially as an acoustic player). With major manufacturers like Taylor and even Martin moving to direct sales, it makes me wonder not if but when even Guitar Center makes such an announcement.
There is one edge stores like yours, Sam Ash, etc. have over Sweetwater, Amazon, Reverb and EBay, and that's the ability to take trades. Big problem everyone has is when your suppliers start competing with you, that's an issue. Fender undercutting their own clients is bad for business. Speaking of Mesa, ever talk to a tech that didn't hate them?
I was surprised to learn yesterday that the Sam Ash right around the corner from where I work (B&H Photo Video) in NYC is closing. They are selling off all their inventory. When everything is gone they are closing their doors. Sad to see them go 😢
It's about time. Sam Ash was decent years ago. However, after keeping phone representative "experts" on payroll who are there just to tout there inflated ego and "experience" with an elite attitude..... it's time for this joint to either wrap up or perform an overhaul all the way from new ownership down to their janitors.
Sam Ash in Dallas was a great store when they opened about 10-15 years ago. I went a couple years ago and saw the Line 6 Helix behind the counter. I asked the sales person if they set it up for demos. The guy said “not really”. I asked him how do people know if they like it. He said, “they watch RU-vid videos”. That was the last time I went there. The thing was only $1600 at the time and they acted like it’s gold.
Yeah, a lot of music stores got like that. A friend of mine that ran a Guitar Center said people were breaking more stuff than they could afford to replace and rotate out and stealing parts off the guitars and stuff. Said they were putting more in dumpsters and selling more as used online than they were selling new. Also they would only let certain people the employees knew as regulars test anything in store because they, and I quote, "got tired of hearing Master of Puppets played very badly" for 10+ hours a day
I was at the NYC location this past sunday for 1st time. Saw signs store is closing. They had like 20 ltd's/E-II. Never saw that many ESP's in one store.
That’s an odd one. They have been around almost 100 years. The store near me does a lot of band and orchestra work. It’s always busy. It is in an expensive spot, so I wonder if it’s going to close or move to a cheaper strip mall.
Shopping at Sam Ash in Forest Hills Queens since the 90's ! Found out yesterday when I picked up my guitar from being serviced, Store Closing signs everywhere & on everything- support your local guitar shops if you love em!
I walked into a GC yesterday in Chicago and the sales person only asked how I was doing. I was in there for about an hour noodling with a few guitars and was ready to buy, placed an order directly through Fender today. As I was walking out I stop in the glass room with the expensive guitars and there were 3 employees playing guitar and BS'ing about wanting to learn how to setup guitars, instead of interacting with customers. I know some customers don't want to be bothered and are just kicking tires but a simple interaction would likely turned into a sale.
I helped set up that Sam Ash store in Raleigh. Originally called Mars. Interested to know if they got cut.. I work at the Sam ash in Hollywood now. We got cut last week. It’s like the longest funeral ever.
I was wondering about the Sam Ash in Hollywood. You can barely still see it behind the massive Church of Scientology level architectural eyeball barrage located directly next door
Sorry to say, I live in Orange County California and I get better service and AFTER SALES SUPPORT from Sweetwater in Indiana more than ANY GC or Sam Ash. I bought nearly 30K of backline from GC in Brea California a while back and months later I walked into the store and nobody would help me, very sad. This unfortunately was a long time coming with the turn over in these stores tend to have. The amount of under trained and ill informed staff at these stores is shocking. Sorry but Sweetwater is the best outfit in the USA period. Hopefully the Company that bought Sweetwater a while back WILL leave them alone. Thanks guys!
I think a lot of the big box guitar stores are having issues because they don’t have the knowledge expertise as smaller boutique guitar shops have. The local guitar shops have a passion and are selective to buy the best product for their customer so they come back.
If richie ash is in charge its amazing it lasted this long I know him from the 70s on Long Island Quaaludes wasted pretty boy Arrogant Fast cars big shot Still bought my first gibson at the hempstead store Es 125 cherry burst $105
The Sam Ash move really stinks for us musicians! PA is losing both the King of Prussia and Philadelphia stores. Outside of indi stores we then only have 3 GC's that are in horrible, horrible, horrible condition. Guess instore retail is going the way of the dodo bird.
I remember buying my first electric guitar in a sam ash that was located in ontario mills mall, CA.i purchased an epiphone sg special standard. Rip to that guitar from me destroying it but what i miss more is the vibe of sam ash when i purchased that epiphone. Thousands of guitars all over the walls and stands placed with used expensive amps. And id be there nerding out to death about all the guitars i know
Sam Ash here in Indianapolis blew through all the product during covid and it took until 2023 to see shelves full of anything. But they rarely carry anything high end in the acoustic room anymore, when they do get something they have it under glass and the guitar tech who works out of that room isn't the most friendly about letting players try it out. They are pushing house brand pretty hard and lots of low end Fender and Squire out in the electric areas... Not much for anything exciting or interesting beyond standard issue amps, lots of modelling stuff and solid state Fender. Sad because it used to be the pro shop.
I just heard over the weekend that the Sam Ash in King Of Prussia Pa. is closing. Doesn't surprise me at all. That store used to have great gear, Fender,PRS, Gibson,Ibanez,Jackson,Charvel etc, but over the years id go in there and not see any of these brands any longer. I hope this isn't a snowball effect with other stores cause I love going to the guitar store ,seeing the gear and playing it before you buy. This does suck.
Sadly this has been a trend like you guys mentioned for a while now. My first trip to GC was back in around 2000 in Niagara Falls/ Buffalo NY and at that time they were amazing. Slowly they’ve been in the decline. Having lived in. Charlotte for the last 17 years, I’ve watched the music stores in the area slowly and sadly decline. Sam Ash was pretty good a few years ago but I haven’t shopped them in a couple years due mostly to the fact of the availability of product online. I hope they don’t go under, they are iconic as far as retailers in the music industry.
I never heard that Sam died, what a shame! Bought a LP a few yrs ago from them and it showed up with a broken headstock, they bent over backwards to make it right and keep me a happy camper!
I bought my Ibanez Jem 7777 at Sam Ash and my Rickenbacker cieloglo 4003s there. It’s kinda sad because Sam Ash is a family owned business. But other than my Rick over the last 15 years or so I buy most of my gear from places like Wildwood or smaller mom and pop stores.
Pretty sure they’ll sell the company or completely end it soon. Doesn’t seem like the rest of the Ash’s want to deal with the business since Sammy passed
While it’s sad to see Sam Ash go,,, I totally get it. After all, when you have online giants such as Sweetwater dominating the market and retail theft at an all time high, it just doesn’t make sense anymore.
The problem with the big box stores like Guitar Center and Sam Ash, is that they have forgotten about they have forgotten about the musician! I'm from Philly, the mom-and-pop stores did good business because they knew the musicians who came into their stores, They knew you by name and what instrument(s) that you played. That personal connect is what is missing with these two stores. I remember buying a $1300 amp from GC, and a few months later I wanted to trade it in , and I was surprised and disappointed with what they offered me which was less that 1/3 of the original price. Also, the online stores are killing them because they have more inventory and credit options .
As a kid, I did all my shopping at the Sam Ash on Kings Highway and Coney Island Avenue bklyn had an elevator to the second floor where all the good stuff was. My 68 ES335 was $315 black stereo. Boy have things changed
Their Charlotte NC store was my go to for years; in the past 5 years or so it has really fallen apart; half empty shelves; employees with no morale or effort to care; store is dark and dirty. It's really a shame. It looks to be on life support but no one has pulled the plug yet. It was a true superstore for a while, but the pandemic did a job on a lot of retailers.
IMHO the big box and online stores pushed the local over priced gouger type stores out of business. Sadly the big box stores just can't properly staff all those stores. This could be a good thing for local Joe music stores in the long run! But, we will likely have to visit these stores in smaller towns. Big city rents are just too high! But, that could make for a more relaxing trip to the music store!
The Sam Ash store in Indianapolis got rid of almost all of its guitars. Acoustics and electrics. They said they aren't closing, but it's obvious they are dumping stock. The drum room is almost empty. Indianapolis will definitely be an early one to close.
After Sam Ash closes in Manhattan there will be just ONE big guitar store on the entire island - Guitar Center on the 14th Str. Think about it - millions of people live in Manhattan and only one guitar shop. NYC went from having Music Row on entire block of 48th Street to a single guitar store. These millions of people in Manhattan probably have no interest in guitars or music instruments overall. Perhaps some will buy online, but majority will never buy a guitar in their lifetime. It's so sad...
The opening intro always cracks me up ! Like a show on the tele-This is whats coming up- Dude ! I clicked on the thumb, we KNOW whats coming up after the intro ! Rhats why we clicked it ! Smh Hilarious
I live a couple miles just on the other side of the Tampa Bay area on Clearwater side. I just heard the store near me on McMullen booth Rd is closing down. This is so upsetting! 😞 That is such an iconic location.
The attitudes and discrimination at Sam Ash 48th (later on Sam Ash 34th), Guitar Center Union Square, Manny's and others all over the NYC area got out of hand in the late 2000s into the early 2010s. I still say that's the major part of why so many Manhattan area guitar shops are going under. Everyone they treated like shit started buying online. All the 20-somethings they mistreated during the 2000s got good jobs in their 30s and took their new money to the internet. These stores can't survive paying Manhattan rent when 1) rock is dead for the most part 2)The internet took over and 3) their main prey from a sales floor perspective is middle-aged professionals looking to drop $5K in one shot to build a basement studio in their Long Island mansion. I've been to Guitar Centers in the Midwest and the rural south where you get any of this type of bullshit and everyone is welcome from the 12 year old looking to ask dumb questions about a squire to the millionaire dentist looking to buy a $10k console he'll use to literally only track a bunch of shitty songs into a laptop. In NYC they staffed too many of these stores with failed-musicians with chips on their shoulders and now they're paying for it. I knew a lot and I mean a LOT of the indie explosion artists of the late 2000s and early 2010s out of the NYC area. All of us in that crowd were spending big big HUGE dollars during that time, but then hearing of guitar stores were closing down everywhere. Why was that? We were all buying online while sharing horror stories of mistreatment in places like Manny's, SamAsh and Guitar Center. One of the major issues among many with Sam Ash and Guitar center in particular was they were total assholes to anyone young making small purchases. Sucking their teeth at you or rolling their eyes when you just wanted a $2 pack of picks, cheap D'Addario strings, a Metallica sticker etc..... I literally had an asshole at Guitar Center Union Square ask me "That's really all you can afford?" with a HORRENDOUS attitude when I walked in after work in a suit to buy a $79 M-Audio Keyboard. Well....I'm a guitarist, not a fucking keyboardist, I just want a keyboard for simple melodies. Also what the fuck is it any of his business?
I always visited the Sam Ash here in Cincinnati but never bought anything major, just strings and such. They never seemed to have what I was after. It was a big store with lots of things GC didn't offer. Part of the problem was location. On a map the location looked good but in reality it was horrible. RIP Sam Ash.
I have in the Margate, FL location for music gear almost exclusively until I left the state in 2014. I was there in 2021 and they seemed to be doing pretty well.
I literally saw a Sam Ash closing sign in Smyrna Georgia two days ago. I didn't stop by but i saw a guy spinning a closing sign on the corner when I drove by.
The Miami one is closing cause it’s right next to my house . I went in and things are at 10% off . One of the workers told me it will go down to 20% in a couple of days
I never got off on the Sam Ash here in Charlotte. OK guitar selection, but no layaway and im a classic starving artist. Love my local shop, small shoebox store with high quality selection and great staff. They had a Taylor wall but I'd rather have a greater variety. Taylor's are expensive and there are Dangelico, Guild, Epi, Breedlove and more making great acoustics.
In the 90s, I remember walking into my local Sam Ash and seeing walls of beautiful guitars ranging from beginner guitars to high end. Tons of different brands. I remember how crowded it would get at times. I walk in there now, and it’s mostly low end to mid. At best, the Gibsons are behind the desk on the wall, and look like display pieces more than for sale. Like Guitar Center, every guitar is out of tune and it’s not uncommon to see damage. You have to ask for a cable and a tuner just to check it out. The used gear is sold as is. They don’t seem to be inspected or tuned, or cleaned up when they come into the store. IMO, whether it’s Sam Ash or Guitar Center, the employees should be setting up guitars and bases and tuning them on their downtime.
I commented on another about a friend of mine that ran a Guitar Center years ago who said that they trashed more and sold more stuff online as used than they did new items because they would get something new in and in an hour it would have to be sent to a tech to be looked over for mechanical and structural damage, which was almost always present. They put everything worth more than $500 up where someone had to physically retrieve it for the customer and yanked all the cords because they got tired of listening to badly played Metallica at over 100db for ten plus hours a day. I think the employees just gave up when they realized they were doing more babysitting than anything else and not making anything close to babysitter wages. This was mid 2000's.... probably about 15 or so years ago. Store has been closed for about 12 now.
If you notice also, a lot of guitars, even pretty pricey ones started using polyurethane epoxy finishes on them and that is because of the guitar store. They had to start slathering a half inch of epoxy on the guitars so the finishes could withstand a week in a busy guitar store being handled and dropped and banged around from rack to floor and from tech to rack to floor again without being completely trashed. They also used to do the cleaning and tuning but you can only wipe so much and tune so much before you find yourself pissing up a rope
Also the epoxy was meant to add some measure of protection from shipping damage because as a former warehouse manager, people are honestly lucky that something like a guitar with as many parts even make it mostly intact TO the store after being transferred from container to container and ship to ship across thousands of miles of ocean and 100 different temperature changes and climates then handled by warehouse workers who honestly don't care if the box has someone's prizes musical instrument inside or not. It's just package number 4629364927264927264927264922655637262 from section 12 aisle H
