Reputable companies.

[Killjingle]

Reputable companies kick ass. I think its time someone calls out their praises so other folks can get on here and understand why they should spend a few xtra bucks.

Why to buy a Shure mic for example.

I had a Beta 52 breakdown on me after a few uses, and within 5 days of shipping to them I have a brand new one in my hands. The warranty for Shure products is 2 yrs. I cant say other than this incident, Ive ever even needed to contact Shure.

I will def buy more Shure products.

[bassist_25]

I have to give major props to BBE. I have one of their Bmax preamps and had a question about one of the outputs on it. I sent them an email and had a timely and friendly response. There was a run of their preamps that had excessive amounts of gain. I mean like mega amounts of gain. You could send your unit into BBE and they would mod it to have a reasonable gain level free of charge, plus pay to ship it back to you. I've talked to a couple of people who have dealt with BBE and all have had positive things to say. I usually hear at least one horror story about a company, but not BBE.

[HurricaneBob]

For computer parts its EVGA.

[lonewolf]

Tripplite power conditioning products.

They make all kinds of power conditioning equipment, including rack mount. I had a 4-outlet 3-stage power conditioner that I got really cheap, new old stock. I messed up the power switch and needed a new one, but couldn't find a match. I went to their web site to find how much a new switch would cost and filled out the support form.

A week later I received a brand new 8 outlet version.

[Bloodsong]

Gibson Guitar Company. i bought an Explorer from a store going out of business and took it to Rainbow Music to have the truss rod adjusted because they said they were an authorized Gibson repair store. long story short, they BROKE the truss rod and when i asked them to replace/fix it, i was told they weren't actually an authorized repair, they just worked on alot of Gibsons so it was pretty much the same thing. (they will never get a fucking cent of my money.) called Gibson and told them what happened and they were kinda "well, i don't know; that's not our fault- you should go after this store but send it back and we'll see what we can do..." one week later i recieved a BRAND NEW Explorer in the mail. always have good things to say about them after that.

btw- never had tro deal with Mesa but they are supposed to be outstanding and fast to deal with.

btw2- BC Rich (American divison) are total assholes as well. i dealt with Bernie Rico Jr personally, and he was a total dickhead.

[bassist_25]

took it to Rainbow Music to have the truss rod adjusted because they said they were an authorized Gibson repair store. long story short, they BROKE the truss rod and when i asked them to replace/fix it, i was told they weren't actually an authorized repair, they just worked on alot of Gibsons so it was pretty much the same thing. (they will never get a fucking cent of my money.)

I still don't understand how this store stays in business. Every single musician I talk to who's been there all agrees that it's run by some of the most arrogant assholes to ever work at a music store. Jarret in Altoona was a douche too, but at least his sales associates were cool people. I went into Rainbow one time when I was 17 to buy a set of strings, and was treated so poorly that I haven't even considered stepping in since. On top of that, some woman was there buying an amp for her son and thanked the sales associate like three times. He didn't say "You're welcome," or anything. old sKool's girlfriend was in State College one time and stopped in to pick up tubes for his power amp because apparently they're an authorized Mesa service shop. The guy just couldn't understand "why she'd ask for so many tubes." He was a real dickwad about it too. Finally she got Ken on the phone and had to explain that it was for a Mesa power amp, not a Rectifier or something. With Musicians Friend, Zzounds, and Ebay just a click away, a brick and mortar store's edge is its customer service. I can't fathom why a music store would continue to treat its customers like shit the way that Rainbow does.

[Sapo]

With Musicians Friend, Zzounds, and Ebay just a click away, a brick and mortar store's edge is its customer service. I can't fathom why a music store would continue to treat its customers like shit the way that Rainbow does.

Because there is a neverending supply of new college students coming in.

I have to second BBE. They will make things right for you.

[Killjingle]

btw2- BC Rich (American divison) are total assholes as well. i dealt with Bernie Rico Jr personally, and he was a total dickhead.

What Bloodsong didnt mention was that this was a custom built guitar with a custom built price tag. I always wanted an american custom BC Rich but after his experience with this it totally changed my mind.

[Bloodsong]

it wasn't that even a big of a deal or hard to fix. they (BC Rich) wired the bridge humbucker like a single coil so it was making all kinds of noise. i just felt like i just bought a $2000 guitar and it should be wired correctly. they (the plant manager) wouldn't allow me to take it local so i had to sent it back to the company in California and had to get hostile to get them to pay for the shipping even though i bought the guitar just 2 weeks earlier. i called and demanded to talk to Bernie Rico Jr, the owner, and he was and i quote- "if you paid that much for the guitar, you shouldn't bitch about shipping. its value probably has already increased since you bought it because my instruments are so sought after." to what i said "my buddy just bought a $200 piece of shit Ibanez, and guess what? it was wired correctly and is worth more right now because it actually works". then he offered to pay for shipping. douche bag.

[ToonaRockGuy]

Saluda Cymbals for me, along with Yamaha drums. I get great customer service from both, and with Yamaha, I get a direct line to Jim Haler, the product manager for Yamaha USA.

Also, serious effing mad props to Rick W and the staff at Music Emporium in Altoona and Dale Wise and everyone at Dales Drum Shop in Harrisburg. Awesome folks, all of them.