SAM ASH IS CLOSING!!! What's REALLY happening?! An ex MANAGER's Experience. 

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End of an era but I can’t say I’ll miss it; I used to love going to music row on 48 street in NYC but my experience was that the people who worked the stores there were always rude. It was never a nice experience. So when I found that great customer experience with a smaller store (that is still around) I just started shopping there. Then the internet came along and Sam Ash just didn’t adapt.

Brick and mortar shops are always about having things in stock. If they say to me we can get it for you, I walk and say I can get it for myself. Their main value will always be in having it today.

Sad I got my first “real” guitar (Martin D18) in 1969 from Sam Ash in NYC on music row. Still have it and play it also have the hand written receipt $250 case included.

All the problems you experienced at Sam Ash are the same problems that Guitar Center has been going through for at least the last 15 years or longer. Their biggest problem was screwing their sales people and the customers. Which created a huge turn over in employees. Most people didn't stay more than a few months once they got tired of the managements excuses for the corporations crooked operations.

Companies end up creating their own demise by bloated, inefficient, out of touch policies. I went into Sam Ash my first time a couple months ago just to pick up a set of guitar strings. 2 sales guys hanging around talking never once acknowledged me or asked to help. Then the Sales Mgr came out and started a sales meeting 10 ft away and I didn't want to interrupt and waited patiently while he tried to motivate his staff to make sales. Meanwhile, I'm still standing there and no one approached me or offered to help. Finally, after the meeting finished i had to go up and ASK a sales person for help so I could check out. One of the worst customer service experiences I've ever had.

Dude that was well done. Thanks. You explained it very concisely..

I worked there many years in 86-90 2000-2003 lots going on back then too. Pro audio never worked, stores were mess. But The Ash family were very kind, nice family.

Thank you so much for clearing the air about some of sam ash stores closings.❤

I've been going to the Sam Ash on Sunset in Hollywood since 1986. I'm sad to hear it's closing. It was a happening store at the height of hair metal. I bought a lot of gear there and had my guitars worked on by some great techs.

I worked at Sam Ash store 02 in NY and you hit the nail on the head entirely. The “commission” structure was completely a sham. Most people in my store never made any commission. The people that did only ever saw it 1 or 2 months out of the year. They sold it to you during the job interview as “minimum wage plus commission”, but it was really minimum wage with extra steps. We also had mad issues with stock. A purchasing manager once told me “don’t order any PRS guitars, we owe them a lot of money. Try selling people on Epiphones and Gibsons” There’s so much more i could say. How the extended service plans screwed over technicians, how the “family owned” nature led to nepotism, management just simply not listening, etc.

Great insight Pat, thanks man. My parents purchased my first guitar in 1983 at the 48th St store in Manhattan. It was the Japanese made Aria Pro II ZZ Deluxe in white; I was 13yrs old. Imagine waking in to church with this insane guitar in the 80's when heavy metal was considered the devils' s music. It was hilarious. I still have it. Thanks again for this post.

I lived within walking distance of 48th Street and shopped all the music stores on “music row”. 48th Street was convenient to a lot of the subway lines which made stopping by on my way home from work easy. The new location on 32nd street all the way over on the west side was far less convenient, so I only went there occasionally. It is hard to overstate the scale of the disastrous destruction of “music row” by the powers that be be in NYC. The cultural heart of the entire NYC band scene was cut out in the pursuit of real estate profits. Bloody shame….

This was a really amazing discussion of business strategies and KPI. I would love for corporate to engage all of the managers who think like you, and get them in an advisory committe to prevent this kind of stuff from repeating and growing out of control. They seem to have too many people in the wrong places, and not enough people in the right places. Keep up the updates. And good luck with that rain! Was that a hurricane? It sounded like you were in a car wash.

I worked sales for Ash from 1987 through 2000. In that time I worked in the Queens, NY store and I have noticed the store closing sign which is there as of today 3/23/'24. We ultimately went to full commissioned sales and I have to say, it was like giving yourself a raise as the business flourished. Ash also bought out Manny's Music on W.48th. I also worked as a buyer and we were in the offices on W.48th Street (Music row). Ultimately we were moved to corporate in Hicksville, NY. I knew Jerry, Paul, David, Sammy, Richie and Bernice (Jerry's Wife and head of sheet music). Those were wonderful days and now three of them are gone. I can understand closing some stores and consolidating their holdings. I got plenty of gigs over the years through my association with Ash and it's a shame that the Manhattan store is scheduled for closing.

Excellent job! You have cleared up the situation for me. I have been a bit anxious since the announcement because I placed an order for a back-ordered amp right before the news came out.

Thanks for the info and quick cut editing to get to the point....very nice

What a great analysis. Really insightful. A reminder that businesses are often closed when the founder stays too long.

As an ex-employee of Guitar Center, everything you have mentioned is going on at GC as well! The smaller stores are hurting with employees that are only there to earn a paycheck but have zero knowledge of gear. They try to up-sale shit that you have no need for and also...employees that seem to have recently graduated from highschool.🤣🤣🤣

Great overview Pat....thank you...your in the loop and I appreciate the inside info. You answered many questions that I wondered about. For what it's worth I hope they see your channel ! and they will learn how easy it is to be disconnected from hands on to corporate level ! For the record most of my Big purchases have been from Sam Ash and their is a reason why. MD

Miami Lakes was my shopping store too 😢. Thank you for all your help when working there and also for all this information. I didn't know there was so much burocracy behind the scenes.

Fantastic observations and assessment of the Sam Ash business. Everything you reviewed is applicable to every retailer in the country, musical or not. Should be used as a case study. I think you have a future career in consulting. Great job.

All very good points. I hope this is actually a sign of their plans to move forward leaner and stronger

Thanks for the enlightening information.

Fun listen and insights. thank you

All corporations are working hard to disconnect the consumer from both their money and the ability to get accountability from the company. They want a computer screen between you and their business.

Thank you so much for your brilliant autopsy, and analysis of the situation. As an independent promotor, Sam Ash, as well as GC have always remained supportive of my equipment expos. Any company would be lucky to have you in their employ! Loni Specter AMP SHOW, LA GUITAR SHOW- PEACE OUT!

Great insight! Thank you!

My friend and I use to go to Sam Ash in Brooklyn in the 90s and when I got into rock music I wanted to learn how to play guitar..so Sam Ash was the place I went to get my first guitar. It was a cool place to be just to learn music and just watch other people jam. Fast forward I work right by the Manhattan location and I was shocked to see the store closing sign. I hate seeing that especially when these stores has been around for years…but yeah Manhattan rents are high as hell and I’m not sure if the high demand for instruments are the same as in the early days…still sad to see them go but I hope they still find away to keep the name around and continue to sell and be a resource to those coming into wanting to learn music and play instruments. Every now and then I love to go in and walk around play the piano or pick up a guitar…definitely sad to hear they closing stores…

Very interesting. Not surprising though. CEO's and such are often times isolated from reality and this is what happens.

Good stuff dude! Thanks for sharing your experience and insights

Excellent analysis. Thanks for giving us your side of the whole story.

It would have been cool if I met you while I was at Sam Ash, I'm 100% sure I'd get the help I need. So sad that you cared too much, but not the business you worked in.

Great explanation! Thanks!!

Great job man. This was very informative. I used to frequent the Garden City one quite often when I was in HS, but that was many moons ago, and I’m now in N. Florida. Sadly they are closing the one closest to so we’ll only be left with Guitar Center. The customer service was always top notch at Sam Ash so I’ll miss that, but as you pointed out in this video their website is God awful. Now that I won’t have a local shop to visit I’m hoping they address that issue so I can still support them.

Had an awful interaction at the Charlotte NC store. Was using the enclosed music room to play a half stack with cash in my pocket to potentially buy. A sales person on the floor trying to sell to two parents a starter guitar and amp told me to turn it down so much it might as well be turned off. The doors were closed to the room. I bought nothing and walked out and never returned again. They favored introduction lessons and cheap gear and the quality of gear declined as did their customer service for gigging pros. I can’t say I’ll miss Sam ash.

I really wanted to like Sam Ash as its closer, but the one by me gets destroyed in every way by Guitar Center. The Sam's here never has any good Rhoads, or good Vs or any guitar that they might think could get damaged. Its prob the customers fault but I have seen very few guitars above low-mid budget here for most brands except for Gibson that are very high on the wall. If you ask them for help they just tell you to grab it yourself. I almost fumbled one of the guitars but luckily no accident happened as it was too high for me. The one or two people there just don't care about helping anyone and they have such poor selection and not very competitive prices. I don't know this might be why its shutting stores. Reverb and and online buying is also always available.

Fascinating inside view--thanks for sharing. I bought both my guitars online from Sam Ash, but bought plenty of strings and accessories from the local brick-and-mortar store, which is now closing. The one bright spot for me is that I have my eye on a couple of guitars on the wall and am hoping prices drop as the store gets closer to closing.

(Lord, I had to watch this twice.) Wow. This explains sooooooo much. I'm close to the Miani Lakes store. I asked myself all those questions. Thanks for finally clearing it up. If the 4th gen doesn't understand that you can use the internet to your benefit, it's going to be tough. Resolve to make that happen.

Great summary and history, Pat. Fascinating to hear how much goes into running a big musical instrument store. Thanks for the very interesting details and how well you explained everything. I actually bought my first serious electric guitar at the 48th St. Manhattan location in 1973 - a Gibson L6-S. I think that was the only Sam Ash store at the time, maybe.

Thanks Rhett. Very informative video. I appreciate your efforts 👍

Very informative and insightful video. Skilled presentation, as well. Thanks for uploading.

Thanks for sharing this post I was a dept manager at store 4 Forest Hills NY 04-09. I bought a Godin Multiac for myself Christmas 2023 from store 7 Manhattan. Very light traffic in both stores for the last few years. I think Bklyn is still open for now. Sad to see my favorite music stores close.

Hey Pat...new subscriber here, after watching your Boss DS-1 video today. Greetings from Ohio...keep up the great work. Cheers.

Hi Pat. Great to see you.

Thanks for the history & explanation, I brought my LP conga’s, various guitars & amps there🎼🎸🪘🎶

Great explanation. Thanks!

great video thanks !!

thank you for the info ,,,

Good vid. Nice breakdown of what happened.

Wow!!! Thanks for the inside scoop! I use to practically live in the old Brooklyn Kings Highway store and then the Brooklyn Flatbush Avenue store. It was exciting to hang out in the 48th Street Manhattan Store, especially during the “48th Street Heyday!!! Manny’s, 48th Street Custom Guitars etc.). Those were the days!!! ❤️🎶❤️

This was a great analysis

Hi. Interesting video. Thanks for making it. If you were in the Miami Lakes store I probably met you. I used to go to that store.

Love music, play drums, never been to a Sam Ash store although I have heard about them. Your video is excellent for what was a down fall not for just Sam Ash but could almost be applied to so many family business trying to expand. Thank you for making this.

This video was randomly recommended to me and I cannot believe I found you Pat ! I used to be a regular back in my highschool days at the Sam Ash by the palmetto and you were always so informative and very cool. When you left I would always ask the employees " What happened to pat" . Cool to see you doing youtube now .

I had to subscribe. You brought me back through the time I worked at guitar center

WOW! GREAT STUFF:))

Thank you for informative info....I always used to browse and shop at the Sam ash stores in NY...Queens store and 48th ave I believe

Great Job bro!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Boy, what a mess. Like you said, no surprise this was going to happen. Thank you for the insights! Too bad they didn’t listen at the time.

Pat!! Great video! Good to see you doing what you do. Just found out that Sam Ash is completely going bankrupt. Very sad but we all new it was inevitable. All stores are closing. And just to put the nail in the coffin, GC just opened up a new store in Hialeah. What a kick in the ass! Take care brother!

Great piece! Knew some people back in the day, who loved working there….but some the info you presented makes my think they were just young and eager. It Wes also before the expansions. However, I have heard they have excellent health benefits. 🤷🏻‍♂️

Thank you for this very informative and beautiful video. Sadly my SamAsh store here in Paramus. New Jersey closed down also. I got my Gibson LesPaul Classic there back in 2012 and a lot of other stuff like amps, pedals, acoustic guitars and other accessories. 😢 we’re left with Guitar Center whose workers also seem not to care anymore. So now online is the best bet.

An interesting story of a company adopting business practices unsuited to its industry, and failing to keep up with the times. Thanks for posting this. I would not otherwise have understood it. I have ordered from the online competitors you showed, all with excellent results. Although I now live in the Northeast, Sam Ash territory, the name didn't cross my mind for online purchases, and I only recall one purchase in the Manhattan store.

I had years worth of memories hanging out at the Forest Hills Sam Ash, Queens NY...and over time would go into various stores and they looked shabby, dirty floors, lack of inventory, you could see the lack of motivation in the workers. Guitar Center stores were a breath of fresh air. Always clean with tons of gear to try out. And now with Sweetwater...how could a chain like Sam Ash survive? Great video, Pat!

Nice synopsis, thank you.

Very informative.

I was on the "genesis" crew that opened the Miami Lakes (Palmetto) Shop in 1994. We built the white walls and the basically the entire shop from the inside. It was a great shop back in the day and a destination retail experience for its time. Being family owned is always a problem as decision making is always centralized and takes forever for anything to get done. Sad to hear that it is closing. MI retail in general is shifting at great speed especially with Internet access to generate sales. If an MI establishment doesn't employ Omni channels to support sales - Money is being left on the table to your competitor. Hopefully, the new generation of Ash's can pivot in this atmosphere to turn the brand around.

Great video!

you did a good job explain everything .

Great job, Pat in explaining it all. Liked the history of SA too. Well done. I always enjoyed the warmer vibe at the SA stores in Manhattan, Miami and Sarasota . Sorry to see them go. Hopefully the online store will modernize and prosper. Again, very well done presentation.

A very nice, succinct, analysis.. Too bad about the SA chain, but very often over-expansion causes those types of problems. At least they (4th gen) are starting to recognize the e-business weaknesses and will hopefully address them wisely.

Incredible breakdown!

You vid is on pace with excellent delivery. I will miss Sam Ash out her in West Hollywood California 😦😭

Great video. I worked at the Brooklyn store in the 90's. The Ash family was always super cool back then. Sad to see.

Great video! I actually worked at one of the stores of Sam Ash bought out of the 90s. It was wild to see all the changes.

Great video, awesome crash course on the retail business!

Very informative. I think this can be applied to most other music equipment chains. I have had lots of criticism of GC over the years and most of what you say applies to them too.

I remember appying for a job at the 48th street location back in 1998. Everything was good until the manager told me about the pay, just as you mentioned, you have to go abouve the pay rate in order to collect on commissions. Also he wanted me to work 6 days a week including weekneds. He said to me "we are all musicians so every one is expected to work on weekends if needed". I actually never worked there once he told me that. I felt it could be difficult to pass that threshold weekly given the amount of salespeople they had.

Excellent Information and Presentation. The Local Sam Ash (Edison, NJ) is closing and that makes Guitar Center the best choice for my future Music Needs. You sound like you have a great understanding of the Sam Ash Business, I hope you are still in the Music Industry, as you appear to care as much about the Customer as the Business, which is a balance that few commit to and then it hurts both.

Great video! I worked for Guitar Center when it was privately owned and only a dozen or so stores in the early 90s. I worked in their advertising department. I always like Sam Ash more. The used gear part is the hardest blow. If you buy new gear, you don't necessarily need to play it first, but used gear its pretty critical.

What Pat's saying makes 100% sense. I have worked in similar situations throughout my career and know exactly what he's talking about. Family owned businesses can have there upsides, but a lot of them seem to suffer from the same issues. They dont listen to their employees and tend to micro manage everything. They are also out of touch with their own business and clientele, running it like they did 30 years ago. Hopefully the next generation does the right thing.

I got my '83 Gretsch kit from Sam Ash in Paramus, NJ. The service and price were better than great! My salesman, Tom Sontag was so helpful and made sure i was happy with the kit, going so far as to contact Gretsch directly about some of my concerns. I played that kit for over 30 years! I also picked up a lot of cymbals and hardware there that i'm still using. I used to travel to Sam Ash in Manhattan to buy stuff in the early days when it was the only store. It's good to hear they're not closing up.

I’m really sad about the Manhattan store closing. We made a point to go there, even buying things we could have bought closer to home just because we enjoyed visiting it so much. The musicians who work and study in NYC must be very sad to lose their music shop.

Last June, I almost took a long drive to Paramus, NJ, for a used vintage cymbal advertised on the website presently in that store. Lucky I called ahead. Call was forwarded to the corporate office who told me Paramus was closed and the cymbal was now in a Pennsylvania store. No big deal, but I later read online that the Paramus store had closed nearly a year earlier in July 2022. LOL

I bought my first guitar at their 48th st NYC store in the late 70s only a few doors from Mannys. Back in the day European friends would buy a Strat or a Les Paul there every time they were in NYC and flip it for twice the price when they got off the plane back home. They never quite got the hang of competing on the internet. Thank you Sam Ash for the old-school good deals though!

Good explanation of what's happening there. I worked at the Dolphin Mall store and had a lot of fun, even with the low pay rate.

I know not all stores are created equal but I love my local Sam Ash. They’ve been a staple in the music industry for years and it’s sad they’re closing so many locations.

Pat I truly believe the fourth gen family should hire you as a consultant to make it work better. Thanks for the explanation of what happens in large music store chains, really enjoyed the vid man !!!

I purchased an insturment and had a serious defect and my Salesman took care of it for me on the spot with a new but different insturment that I have owned over 3 years and enjoy. They even provided a free pro set up that was very very well done. Sorry to see them go. When you have issues its great to have a place to go that backs up their products.

Super interesting information. Thank you for making this - it explains a lot. Retail is a brutal place to be right now - it's hard to compete with the online world where you can almost always find exactly what you want and the prices will be low because they don't have the overhead of a physical location. I do think there will always be room for music stores, but they're going to have to be run brilliantly, with no room for error.

Excellent post and business synopsis

Thank You JB

Very well done & concise Lifetime Full Time Music Person Here This analysis should be required viewing for anyone in the music sales division of any & all companies Suerte por todas Good Luck to all!!

Great breakdown man! Having to sell any type of “used” or “pre-owned” gear in a corporate setting like that is always especially tricky. First, you need a staff that knows their given industry well, along with having working knowledge on various manufacturing trends. Second, people and higher-ups in the corporate office need to be able to facilitate any laws/regulations/policies. In a corporate setting; this is where companies often centralize this role. Unfortunately, this is the part where the company is usually understaffed and under resourced. I understand why they have to do this, but, it’s too bad when the profits start bottle necking outside the front door. I find this is a niche market where a family business can do extremely well though dealing in used gear or merchandise.

Hey there, Pat. This is an awesome video that you created and you gave a lot of great insights about Sam Ash and so on. Anyways, I would like to take a huge moment to tell you my stories about going to the Sam Ash store. Well, what can I say about Sam Ash? For a long time now, I have been going to the Sam Ash store with my parents since the 2010s or so and it was such a wonderful place to go. The one location that I always went to was located at West Cactus Road in Glendale, AZ inside the Cactus Village plaza. Since I live in Arizona, it was always my only go-to location and so on. During those good old times when the Sam Ash store where I went to was still very active, I would always go and do some guitar jam sessions with a group of guitar players that had occurred every Tuesdays nights as all of us would take turns going on the stage to play some music and what not. I also got a lot of great deals at Sam Ash when it came to either buying a new electric guitar or some accessories for them. They also gave me the best deal one time when I wanted to trade in my old Marshall MG100FX amp for a new Fender Blues Junior amp and so forth. So today on this fine day of May 3, 2024, my parents and I had finally decided to take a chance to go to the Sam Ash store here in Glendale, AZ for the very last time before they really close their doors. I had decided to buy some final items which were new sets of electric guitar strings and nothing else. A salesperson helped me get a great deal on my favorite Ernie Ball Regular Slinky which are 10 gauge strings for electric guitars and he sold me 12 sets altogether. I felt really good about it and it definitely seemed as if he sold me everything that he had in stock. Almost half of the store itself was already empty and all sales are currently final over there as they are liquidating everything at the moment. In my honest opinion, going to the Sam Ash store for the last time today feels very different now because I won't be able to go there anymore since they will close their doors soon and it definitely feels like the last rodeo for me. Otherwise, these are my stories about going to the Sam Ash store with my parents since the 2010s and I have made a lot of wonderful memories down there. Basically, Guitar Center and Sam Ash were always my two main go-to musical instrument stores whenever I wanted to play guitars down there and have some fun. I really can't believe that all of the Sam Ash stores are closing their doors after 100 years of service. I mean, 100 years and they all had a good run. RIP to the Sam Ash Music Stores (1924-2024).

Awesome Explanation on an Iconic Musical Instrument Retailer.

Great business insight!

Thats a shame, do you have a list of stores my store is a small one in philadelphia

Wow, that was a lot of very concentrated info. Very good video. Sadly, I never visited a Sam Ash..... now I'll never have the chance.