April, 2013 - Music & Sound Retailer

I would also need a beginner ampthat would cost $100, a cable, a case,extra picks, atuner, etc. So,basically, itwould be morethan $400 if Ipurchased theitems separately. He said, if I went thisroute (buying individual items), therewould be a better chance my grandsonwould stay interested, because it wouldbe easier to play and deliver a bettersound. “You put a little more into it, butyou’ll get more out of it,” he said.“Some of the guitars in the pack arenice,” he said nevertheless. Then, heturned and said the $129 guitar was reallyquite similar to the one in the packand that you were splitting hairs whenit came to comparing them. He relatedthat a big difference between the packand the individual item routes was that,in purchasing the store’s warranty, onewarranty would cover the pack whereas,if you bought individually, you wouldhave to buy a warranty for the guitarand the amp separately. (It’s a two-yearwarranty, by the way.) When I asked himif the manufacturer’s warranty was for ayear, he said no, they are really becomingmore like lifetime now. However,they don’t cover anything other than adefective part or something that wastheir own fault. “We cover everythingexcept strings,Pittsburgh Guitars1305 E. Carson St.Pittsburgh, PA 15203theft andfire,” he said.I asked if herecommendedthe Squier, towhich he responded, “I like it.”I was leaving a little confused as towhat he really thought, but I had thegeneral idea. He was well versed on thestore warranty issue. As I passed thedesk at the door, the person said, “Havea good one.”At this point, I got in the car andHollowood Music & Sound601 Chartiers Ave.McKees Rocks, PA 15136headed for my next destination. I know Ijust said the GPS was great and, indeed,it was, but a road, tunnel or somethingwas closed and I went out of my way.It was worth it, though, as I got a greatview of the three rivers the city isknown for from the top of a hill, as wellas a view of the city itself.Coming down off the hill, the GPS directed me to Pittsburgh Guitars in the heartof a unique and quaint part of the city. Upon walking in, I was quickly greeted by twofriendly employees. The salesperson with whom I worked was upbeat and immediatelycollected the info she needed to qualify what I was looking to purchase and for a playerof what age. She took me to a Squier Bullet Strat with tremolo. She explained to mewhat the tremolo was, saying that kids liked it. It was $119 without a case. She showedme a couple of used instruments, as well, giving me a variety of prices from $95 on up.“We don’t sell the kits,” she said. “What we find with the kits is that the items areusually a little cheaper than we like to stand behind. They want to keep the pricedown, so they put in a cheaper guitar and a small amp.” She continued, “We just try tokeep our price down below everybody else.”She explained that my grandson would need an amplifier and a cable, and showedme a VOX amp for $119, a Pathfinder for $64.95 and a lifetime guaranteed cable for$8.95. There were other things I could get, but this was really what he needed to getstarted, she told me.It would run me about $200 for a good guitar, amp and cable. She said that he mightwant a case, if he would be going in and out of the house. A soft gig bag would beabout $30. When asked what her recommendation was for him to start out, she said,“I will tell you what to stay away from: anything that looks like this.” She pointed to aguitar that had a lot of hardware at the top, which was a locking tremolo. She said itwould be very hard to change a string on that. But just about anything other than thatwould work. The biggest difference in guitars, other than the shape and the finish, shesaid, was the kind of pickups that were in them. “You can see some have one row andsome have double. The Bullet Strat is an industry-standard guitar. You actually get alittle more bang for the buck on a used guitar,” she added.The Fender had a one-year warranty on it, and she added they do stand behind theirused guitars as they are brought into the shop, looked over and repaired. The store,which basically deals in guitars, basses, mandolins, etc., has been in business since1979. She gave me her card so I could call if I had any questions. The store was neatand well merchandised, with plenty of room to browse and walk around.Even though the person working in the store was with another customer, he immediatelygreeted me, saying “Hi” and that he would be right with me. I meanderedaround looking while waiting for him. Within just a few minutes, he came over andasked how I was and how he could help. After I explained what I was looking for, hewas ready to make suggestions.The salesman gave me a couple of options. He said used was never a bad option ifit was a decent guitar. He also showed me one he would not advise me to get becauseit had too much hardware for a beginner. He said the key things about a guitar werethe ease of playing and that it stays in tune.He showed me to look at a guitar sideways to see how close the strings were to theneck. On some inexpensive guitars, he said, the strings sit too high and it is difficultto push them down. Then, I was shown a used ESP LTD (two pickups) for $200.He let me know that they do check all guitars that come in, making the necessaryrepairs and making sure they stay in tune. He showed me a $399 guitar and askedif that was more than I wanted to spend, putting it back when I said yes. Then, heshowed me a Douglas model for $250 and asked if that was in the price zone. Clearly,he was conscious of my price point. He said it was a two pickup, was a good beginnerguitar and was worth a lot more when it was new. He said they had several in the$200 range and that my grandson could take a look.We moved on to a new kit that had everything, as the others had: a Squier Stratpack for $299. He told me it was the world famous Stratocaster that every rock ‘n’roll star had played. He added that, if I were buying individual items, a guitar, an ampand a cable were the three critical elements. Other items would be a bag if he weregoing to lessons, and a tuner. If I were looking at the $250 guitar, I asked, what wouldit cost to add the other things? His reply was $75 on an amp, $29 on the bag and $20on the tuner. I asked if he needed a strap yet. He jokingly replied, “Well, he can’t posein front of the mirror without a strap!” They were only $8. If I wanted to spend a littlemore, he said, one school of thought was to buy a better guitar and an inexpensiveamp, so the student would grow into the better guitar. “These days, inexpensive guitarsare so good, we really can’t make a case for that anymore,” he admitted.34 APRIL 2013