ROCKPAGE

High end gear doesn't really make sense to carry in this town because there aren't enough buyers to support the manufacturers' demands on dealers. Having said that do you have any ideas on what pro level gear the Music Emporium should carry? Let's start with the most absent from the store. Bass amplifrycation.

Thanks folks,

Rick

EMG pickups
Seymour Duncan pickups
D'Addario 8-38's
Left handed guitars
Celestion replacement speakers
TungSol tubes
Charvel guitars

That's all I got for now

Tama for drums

I've noticed Eden and Mesa bass gear (and guitar gear for Mesa) always seem to have a strong market. And Eden has a lower end line (Nemsis) that I've heard great things about. I'd throw Ampeg into that mix, but since they supposedly moved all US production overseas, I'm not sure how bassists will take to paying top dollar for a new Viet Nampeg (thanks Kent!).

Eden and Mesa are definitely considered high-end and are definitely main-stream. They aren't really looked at as 'boutique', at least not these days. I think that's what makes them solid sellers.

There's companies like Crate where no matter how professional and high quality of a bass amp they make, I think they'll always be looked at as a beginners' or low-end amp. On the flipside Peavey and SWR have managed to be big hitters in the entry level, mid-level, and even into the high-end amps.

I'm certainly no bass amp guru, so basically I'd just disregard the last three paragraphs as they are my opinion and observation only! Here's my votes on what upper-end bass amps I think would sell well at the Emporium (and I realize you may already carry some of the franchises):

- Mesa
- Eden
- Ampeg (used USA amps only!!) (jk)
- SWR
- Line 6
- Fender (sometimes you just can't go wrong with these guys!)

And if you want to go 'boutique', I have to put in a good word for Schroeder cabs. They are simply incredible little monsters and are worth every penny. (I actually bought a NEW Schroeder cab after upgrading from a smaller used one. That's the ONLY piece of New equipment I've ever purchased in 11 years of bassing!!!)

And +1 for EMG pickups and preamps. With all the basses that come with factory passive EMG-Hzs (Shecter, Dean, etc..), I think an upgrade to fully active EMGs and their preamps would be a common thing.

I think it's awesome you are asking the locals for opinions on what lines to carry. That's the best and cheapest marketing research you could do! Great idea.

i think you should only carry Fender stuff ... hahha just kidding. the music emporium is the only place i buy my stuff. great people and ya all always fix my stuff (after i screw it all up again). just a great store period.

- k a Y l a

The pricing structure for Mesa is set up to make local stores competitive with the big national and online stores. In that respect, you get a quality line that can also be profitable for the store.

They also have more stringent dealership requirements to go along with it.

I would look for quality brands that you don't normally find at the online stores. Another line for bass would be Acoustic Image (Clarus).

if you guys started carrying swr working pro 2x10 combo's, i know who you'd sell at least 1 to...

high end? ampeg. everyone wants ampeg. mark bass gets high reviews on talkbass.com. i played through a mark bass combo at a guitar center. real clean.

i could see swr signing the thing that music stores have to do (you know what i mean, you work there, haha) because fender owns swr.

gallien krueger stuff would probably sell really well too. lots of bass players love that stuff. not to mention g-k bass stuff sounds awsome. just plain awsome.

let us know if you guys do start carrying any of that stuff. i'm on the market for a nice affordable, powerful combo in a 2x10 format. preferably with a "speaker out" to add another cab to it. i've been to guitar center and whatnot, and i know you guys can't carry as much stuff as them. usually, when i'm at guitar center, it's to try what i can't find around here... and if i find something i like there, i come back and buy it at local stores anyway. i try to support local music stores as much as i can.

i do agree with moondoggy about the eden nemesis stuff. if it has the word "eden" on it, for bass, chances are you can't go wrong.

sorry for rambling on... but bass player's usually don't get asked their opinions

Can I put in a request for Markbass?

Knew I could count on you! Thanks.

I'll read these all again and contact the manufacturers to see what their "demands" are. This might be a good time to deal with them considering the pinch they must all be feeling these days.

Kim, Markbass I don't know but I'll look into it.

I would buy an Avatar 4X10 Neo the day you got one in.

Also would be nice to see Yamaha basses hanging in a local store

Tim Kelly plays Mark Bass amplification. He had a pretty sweet Eden rig before that, it must be pretty good if he's kept it for more than a month. He's kinda famous for trading in gear.--->JMS

rickw wrote: Bass amplifrycation.

I would like to see a local store carry at least one high-end bass amp product. The most likely (and probably most profitable) would be Eden, but don't discount Aguilar, Epifani, or SWR.

But actually, if you want a bass amp company that produces both high-end and mid-level stuff and hasn't been shoved down everyone's throats, check into Ashdown.

Of course, this is just me telling you what I'd think would be cool. I could sit here all day naming off boutique bass stuff that you could carry but may never move (or even be willing to pay into to carry). But if you do start carrying Glockenklang, let me know.

JackANSI wrote:
I would buy an Avatar 4X10 Neo the day you got one in.

I believe that Avatar only sells its cabs direct.

Another boutique bass company that might have a shot is EBS. Their stuff is overpriced, BUT.......On top of an incredible line of amps and cabs, they also have renowned bass effects (also not cheap).

However, the thing with their effects is that you have to play them and hear them in person to be sold on them (at least from what I've been reading, and I've been doing a lot of research on these guys!). They have bass-specific wah, overdrive, compression, chorus, octave, reverb, and DI pedals- all top-notch stuff. I'm fairly certain that I'd muster up some loot for the Valvedrive and a Stanley Clarke Sig Wah.

Hayf from the British Invasion/Hawks uses an Avatar cab and I played through it at a Sound Theatre gig. My strat never sounded so good.

I've made a list of all the products you've named and will let you know what each company expects from a retailer.

Again, thank you all so much!

Personally, I'd like to see a drum wing where drummers can actually try out the gear we're considering buying. I know it's not you, Rick, but it's really hypocritical of ownership to have a guitar room where some kid can hack out "Smoke On The Water" but if we even look at the drumsets or tap on a cymbal, certain owners are glaring at us like we're retards. Most cats won't buy a drum or cymbal unless they can play it first, and you guys don't allow that.

Gearwise, I'd like to see more mid-to-high end drum gear from Yamaha, Tama, and Pearl. Most of what you have is entry-level stuff. Drum accessories (sticks, heads, hardware) are surprisingly good, although having more Gibraltar hardware in stock would be nice, along with ensuring the most popular sizes of heads from Remo, Evans, Attack, and Aquarian (10", 12", 13", 14", 16", 22") are always in stock in various brands and styles would be nice.

ToonaRockGuy wrote:Personally, I'd like to see a drum wing where drummers can actually try out the gear we're considering buying. I know it's not you, Rick, but it's really hypocritical of ownership to have a guitar room where some kid can hack out "Smoke On The Water" but if we even look at the drumsets or tap on a cymbal, certain owners are glaring at us like we're retards. Most cats won't buy a drum or cymbal unless they can play it first, and you guys don't allow that.

Gearwise, I'd like to see more mid-to-high end drum gear from Yamaha, Tama, and Pearl. Most of what you have is entry-level stuff. Drum accessories (sticks, heads, hardware) are surprisingly good, although having more Gibraltar hardware in stock would be nice, along with ensuring the most popular sizes of heads from Remo, Evans, Attack, and Aquarian (10", 12", 13", 14", 16", 22") are always in stock in various brands and styles would be nice.

100%!!... years ago my first trip to Chuck Levin's in Wheaton Md. was with a drummer friend, he picks up a stick and wakes like 5 cymbals..NO ONE EVEN LOOKED!...I freaked thinking someone would tackle us but no. There was even a full caged electronic set complete with 2 sets of headphones. Jump in and wack away. My friend was like if your gonna spend hundreds you want to know how it sounds. The guitar area was same way. You'd say I want to try that guitar on this amp..no problem..Light room was fully operatable...That place is amazing if you ever get a chance to go. Might even meet someone famous if your there at the right time, just look at the autographed pics around. Heck I even asked for a T-shirt, they "GAVE" me a hoodie!! Love this place, but havent been thee in years. Anyone else ever go?

wouldn't it be awsome for emporium to just take the place where krispy kreme was, make a bigger building, fill it with absolutely awsome gear, and allow you to really try before you buy? i know piano's and stuff out in pittsburgh has sliding glass doors between each section of the store to isolate those that are trying before they buy...


like i've said in the past, i always prefer to shop at emporium to buy stuff first. rick, your the manager, how much of an increase in business would you need to build a new building?


it's a shame that the economy in this area is in a rut. i'd love to see emporium be a ginormous super duper music store, but still have the people that work there now, or ones that are as helpful. to be honest, i think out of any music store i've been in, emporium is the most helpful when it comes to the employees knowing their shit.

slackin@dabass wrote:wouldn't it be awsome for emporium to just take the place where krispy kreme was, make a bigger building, fill it with absolutely awsome gear, and allow you to really try before you buy? i know piano's and stuff out in pittsburgh has sliding glass doors between each section of the store to isolate those that are trying before they buy...


like i've said in the past, i always prefer to shop at emporium to buy stuff first. rick, your the manager, how much of an increase in business would you need to build a new building?


it's a shame that the economy in this area is in a rut. i'd love to see emporium be a ginormous super duper music store, but still have the people that work there now, or ones that are as helpful. to be honest, i think out of any music store i've been in, emporium is the most helpful when it comes to the employees knowing their shit.

i totally agree! that would be awesome for the music emporium to buy up that building and have a huge store. i absolutely love the store now, all the guys know their stuff and are always helpful. i will never forget when i first started playing guitar - i put new strings on and went in to the music emporium and was like ugh i cant get this thing tuned - and jamie is like ugh you have it strung backwards (turned the strings in instead of out)... hahaha needless to say they hooked me up and showed me how to string everything correctly. ha .. good times ...

Kevin I couldn't agree more about the drum situation. When I'm at the store and someone is looking at cymbals I walk over and hand him a stick and say try them. Now about the sets. Your idea of a drum wing is great and I've mentioned it many times. I'd like to see the cowboy side of the store disappear giving the music area more room. We would have to have an isolated area for drums cos there may be a guy trying to close a deal on a three thousand dollar pool table or a little church lady wanting to dish out 20 grand for a new church organ. I think some kid trying to bash out the latest Death Magnetic tune would pretty much kill those efforts.

Now, we can only take so much of someone that bashes about on the guitars for what seems like an eternity. You want to abuse the instruments? Go to GC.

If you are in the market for a new guitar, bass, drumset, you name it, it should take about ten minutes to know whether you like it or not. An amp or effects device will take longer and we know that. I would love to have the drums set up to play.

Apprentice and all, thanks for the kind words! I'm sure Tommy, Jamie, John, Todd, and Mike appreciate it too.

Well, I'm leaning towards Eden. A rep for Hartke was in the store today really pushing that line. Any thoughts?

One more post, sorry. The Krispy Kreme building is a great idea. Drummers, I'm thinking Dale's West. Oh, to dream.

Oh hell with that, take the walmart building!


haha


(WTB steel tip Dava's )

I've had a Hartke Kickback 112 combo for years as my practice amp, and it is a sweet punchy little amp. It has a tough time keeping up in a band situation, but that's to be expected with a lower level practice amp. In the past, I've heard many complaints about the reliability of Hartke gear, particularly their aluminum-coned speakers failing. However, I've never had trouble with my little amp, and I've pushed it fairly hard. I would hope that Hartke has overcome whatever problems they've had in the past.

Some people despise the brightness that Hartke is known for, but apparently they're on to something because other companies are catching on, like GK (assuming Hartke is the one that pioneered the aluminum cone thing).

I'd wager to say they would sell, but I don't know if anybody looking for an upper end bass amp will bounce on one.

I absolutely love hartke gear. I'm actually looking for another 4x10 TP bass cab. I got mine used for 100 bucks but the speaker was blown. it was under full warranty so I got a new one for cost of shipping. I fixed it and used it for about 10 years with no problems. They sound excellent too.

I think one of the most underrated, yet affordable, bass rigs is a G-K head through a Hartke cabinet. If I came across a 4.5XL for the right price, I'd snap it up. Also, Hartke has the HyDrive series out now, which looks killer. Some people turn their noses up at Hartke now, but keep in mind, their stuff was pretty cutting edge when it came out. I remember seeing this SRV performance on Austin City Limits, and Tommy Shannon was playing a Hartke rig. His tone was Godly. I love Shannon's playing, but his tone usually never does much for me. His tone destroyed on this recording, though. Granted, I don't know how much of the rig I was hearing vs. how much of a pre-EQ DI signal. Regardless, that Hartke rig was pretty sweet.