American Music Supply?

synthwave100

New member
Everything at American Music Supply seems so fucking cheap! I've been looking at a number of items, and the price difference between this and the next best is amazing. Has anyone had any (good or bad) experiences purchasing from them? And if they're good, then how any other store still in business?

Thanks a lot ,

-Andrew
 
some items are more cheap... but for the most part i beleive Musician's Friend is all around cheaper. musicyo.com is extremely cheap but has an extremely small selection.
 
American Music Supply must be pretty expensive for musicians friend to be able to beat them. I mean, even All pro sound and capital communications can beat them!
 
Yeah... I haven't found Musicians' Friend to be good for much other than strings... they got those cheap.. but everything else, they're at or around retail.

WATYF
 
Finally someone see's the light! Come to think of it, the guitar store in town can beat most of their prices, but the sons of bitches dont quote over the phone, and I hate them anyway.
 
Call Brian Bookstaff @ Full Compass, which is the second biggest single house provider in the nation, (haven't found the biggest yet). 1-800-356-5844 ext. 1157 If they don't have it cheaper, tell em where, and they usually beat it by 20 bucks or so.
 
I buy from American Musical all of the time. They also have a low price guarantee, even if you've already paid for the stuff - contact 'em & they'll refund the difference.

They're also usually on the ball - but they recently botched an overnight shipment to me & it took 3 days to get it. They did refund the shipping cost though. :rolleyes:
 
tyler657recpro said:
Finally someone see's the light!
LOL.. Sorry ta break it to ya, but I saw that light back when you were still smearin' yer poop on the bathroom wall...

:D

WATYF
 
It's not that hard to get good deals anywhere if you go in knowing what you need and what it's worth. Especially if you just walk in and make an offer on something. A busy sales person will jump at an easy sale even if he doesnt make much on it. If you jerk the guy around he is going to want to nail you.

Just about any shop will sell stuff for at least 25% off retail. If you can get better than that your doing pretty good. Most big sales are bullshit and you can get those same prices year round. The only real blow outs are the ones at about 40-50% off of retail.

I picked up a Les Paul at Guitar Center for 10% less than everyones internet price and including the hard case nobody else was offering.
 
I'm gonna definitely agree with my man Tex here.

It's beyond calculating how valuable it is to establish a relationship with a local pro audio store. Sometimes even if it means paying a buck or two more. (Although often they'll price match). What you won't get from buying on the net are personal service, extensive technical advice, the ability to get loaners if something breaks, and the opportunity to borrow 3-4 similar pieces to compare and audition at home before making a buying decision.

Once you establish a relationship as a "serious" customer, it has been my experience that some places will even lend you thoudsands of dollars worth of gear for a week or two, even though they have no real expectation that you are going to buy it - but it is worth it for them to help you out to maintain a valuable relationship.

Sure I buy on the internet too - but that is either accesories like cables and stands, or used stuff on e-bay or elsewhere that are truly one-of-a-kind deals.
 
I wasn't including e-bay. Usually (but not always, I know) on e-bay you are buying used gear. So it kind of falls into the category of garage sales, and I certainly wouldn't discourage anyone from trolling for bargains in used gear on whatever venue they can find them.

I was responding more to American Music Supply, Musician's Friend, Sweetwater, etc. - mail order catalogues.
 
I always thought ebay was kinda on the high side. I mean as an example, you see mics going for $10 less than new...and you gotta pay shipping on a mic you've never seen...and it's friggin used. And..the stuff I've sold, I couldn't believe I got the prices I did... Seems you always are competing against the jerkwads that have no idea of the value of something, but are just buying it because it is a Mackie...or whatever piece of bullshit that is in vogue.

I always took it as a sellers market...not the buyers.
 
Wow... these are some pretty unique scenarios.

eBay has always been known as a buyer's market. Especially when it comes to computers... but it applies to a number of other areas. As for being "used"... that used to be the case (no pun intended :p ) a few years ago... you know.. it was just Joe Blow sellin' his old weed-eater online to Jim Sixpack in Arkansas... but now that people have seen how much money there is to be made, a good portion of the market is professional "eBayers" selling new items. I've been buying and selling there for years and I'm almost always able to find any item I want, in almost any category, in new and used condition.

Example.. I want the MK319... I can get one used right now for aboot $100 bucks... or I can buy a new one for $135 (from newmusicgirl) or I can get it new, with the shockmount included for $150. Even after shipping that's cheaper than I can get it at Guitar Center.. or anywhere else locally.

I do agree that the limitations of long-distance buying are discouraging. That's why I'm so sure the market is lower on eBay. I wouldn't bother buying there if it wasn't so much cheaper... it's not like I want to deal with all those hassles for nothing.

WATYF
 
One of the reasons I like American Musical is the payment plan & the "low price" guarantee. I've checked out full compass before, but being an @ home dad - I can't afford to drop most of a month's salary on a whim anymore. And trust me, I love to walk into a music store and flash a wad of cash. I like to see the local wannabes scramble to get me whatever I ask for. Sure beats the days of having to beg some schmuck behind the counter to ring me up for a fuckin' pack of strings. :D

Again, I've gotten good service from 'em for the most part, and I don't think the prices are so bad. But then again, I live in the middle of nowhere & don't have easy access to the gear I want. :rolleyes:

Ebay: Yeah - it's a seller's market. I rarely buy on ebay unless I'm buying something that's pretty obscure. I always set a "buy it now" price of maybe 10-15% less than street & if you ship from the US to Canada, well, you can usually get close to street. I've never failed to sell within 12 hours, & via Paypal - the money usually shows in another hour or two. That's always cool.

I used to have my ebay options set to e-mail me whenever a Neve component showed up. If I knew shit about electronics, I could've bought the pieces to rack up a really good pre by now... for way cheap.

:D
 
It's like buying a used car or anything else. If you don't know what you're doing, you're probably better off buying new and getting that factory warranty. But if you have knowledge and skills, you'll save a lot of money buying "pre-owned".
 
my guitarist got 3 mics and 3 mic cables and 3 boom stands and one low profile mic stand for around $80 on musicians friend...
Now you'll probably say the mics are shit and the stands are too, but its pretty hard to fuck up a stand. The mics... well, as long as we can scream into them with out them exploding theyre fine for a garage band.

... now thats cheap!

jake
 
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