Musician's Friend: Reliable? Return Hassles?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Easto
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Musicians Friend

I've bought a lot of gear from MF and except for a couple of screw ups, I have no complaints. I have bought several acoustic guitars from them for my students but only one to keep. I like to set up my own guitars anyhow. I did have to return one of my student's guitar after a considerable amount of time had passed. No hassle. IMO they are a safe, reliable mail order company.
However, I agree with these other guys. None of us want to see the local shops go out of business. Being able to "feel" a guitar before purchasing it is important. Most of the time they'll try to compete on prices.
Good luck.
 
I bought a rogue amp from musiciansfriend (never buy rogue is what I learned from that) and it had some kind of rattle, they paid the shipping and refunded the money, all with no problems.
 
I would never buy a guitar that I couldn't plug in a play first....there is too much inconsistancy in expensive guitars like Gibson and Fender to just take a shot in the dark and hope you get a good one. I have bought electronics and supplies from musicians friend......I have had mostly good experiances with them, but one experiance put a bad taste in my mouth:
When Korg anounced the d1600 recorder, I wanted one. The local store told me "they are not available yet. I looked in musicians friend and they seemed to be available, and for about $150 less than the "local store". I really wanted to do business with the local store, but didn't want to wait 2 months for them to get the DF-1600's in. I called musicians friend, they said that they had them in stock...I said "you have them now...ready to ship"? They assured me that was the case. I went ahead and ordered one...they took my $1700, and guess what?....they didn't have them in stock....weren't available yet. PISSED ME OFF BIG TIME! I watched the local music store get the D-1600 recorders in 2 months later...still no recorder from musicians friend. Finally...4 MONTHS ...after taking my money...I got the recorder.

I wasn't as pissed off about waiting 4 months as I was at being lied to about the recorders being in stock and ready to ship.
(plus, I was worried about rumors that MF was going bankrupt...and was taking orders on things they didn't have in stock...because they didn't have the operating capital to "carry any stock"

The whole thing was a bummer and im done with them....I just thank God I actually got a recorder..it was a big "WHEEEEEEW!!!" when it FINALLY arrived.
 
I just bought myself a Les Paul Supreme from MF. They sent heritage cherry sunburst instead of the Root Beer finish I wanted. No problem, they emailed me an RMA they paid for shipping, 10 days later, I had the correct one.
 
I've never had a problem with them over the years and I go back to stopping by their original storefront in Medford, Or. Since you live in So. Cal. however, I'd reccomend buying a guitar in person rather than mail order. Just know your prices and ask for them to pull out state and local taxes in order to match the mail order price.
 
i completely agree with Bianchi Joe's post - for the small stuff i shop locally, and the rest i go to MF - price matching, 45 day return policy, free shipping on orders over $200 [usually] ... they're a great deal.

i'm a lefty, and none of the local shops carry anything for me - not that MF's selection is huge, but it's better. i always try and shop locally, but it's usually a few weeks to wait for the order, so i almost always go to MF. haven't had a problem in all the years i've been doing business with them.
 
I have had very good experiences with Musicians's Friend, Samash, American Musical Supply, BPM Music, and Sweetwater. I prefer Sweetwater because of the personal service they give to each order irregardless of the size of the order. In addition they have technicians available to answer questions in the event the salesman can't. The're not the cheapest of the lot but I find piece of mind is worth a few extra bucks. We've had local stores come and go primarily due to poor service and/or limited stock available. For me the internet provides the best solution for my purchasing needs. Just my $0.02 worth.
 
I've bought many guitars from them without a single Fuck up. All my guitars have come factory packaged and never played. Some have been set up by the factory, but not all. I have heard that they have great customer service when something needs to be returned. I will say that I bought a Jackson USA SL1 from my local store for $1100.00 brand new. The trans. flametop cherry burst color which is priced higer than the standard color. MF want's around $1800.00 for the same guitar. I have saved a ton though buying lower end guitars from them such as foriegn made LTD's etc. So I highly recommend ordering through them.
 
I have bought many guitars and basses from Musician's Friend without a single hitch. They even took one or two back that I did not care for. Nothing was wrong with them, they just did not do it for me. MF didn't wince or give me a hard time.

If you are going to use this type of equipment regularly, you need spares available to keep playing. If you have spares available, boxing it up and sending it to the manufacturer's authorized service center is easier than lugging it to a dealer that may or may not have qualified personnel available to repair it.

Products that typically have a trouble free life without requiring servicing, such as guitars, basses, etc., are perfectly okay to mail order/internet order.
 
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