April, 2013 - Music & Sound Retailer

Step-above guitars were $349 and he showed me a Squier ClassicVibe. I asked him how the guitar in the pack compared to buyingan individual guitar. He said they were comparable. “Amongthose we looked at, the pickups were different. When you are firststarting, it’s not that important,” he said.He explained there is a debate as to whether you should startout on an acoustic or an electric. He said it is actually easier tolearn on electric, as the strings are easier to push down, whereas,on an acoustic, you have to strum harder to get the sound sincethe box is your amp. He had to answer the phone while I wasthere, so he excused himself, talked to his customer for a minuteand came right back.He added you couldn’t get the distorted sounds my grandsonwould want out of an acoustic. He pointed out that they offer lessonsat the store and there was a lot of info on the Internet for himto be able to start, but there was nothing like one-on-one interaction.Lessons were $20 a half-hour. He thanked me for stopping in.He was pleasant and very knowledgeable, gave me his card andsaid to let him know if I had any questions. The store was in anolder building, but was neat, clean and loaded with stuff.not have what I needed at that location.Pittsburgh Guitars and Hollowood Music & Sound are both longtimeestablished stores and both delivered when it came to knowledge,friendliness and being helpful as they assisted me in my quest to findthe perfect guitar for my grandson.As an experienced shopper, I would feel comfortable buying fromeither of those stores. At this point, I would probably base it on price. Ifeel either store could have given me a good price on good equipment;neither one was pushy. Nor did they try to up-sell me things I did notneed.So, The Chief might not like this, but I would call it a tie. I wouldcertainly feel comfortable talking with either salesperson and making apurchase in which I felt confident.Johnstonbaugh’s140 Sandune Dr., Suite APittsburgh, PA 15239The final store was Johnstonbaugh’s. I was quickly greetedby the gentleman at the desk with a “How’s it going?” I told himwhat I wanted and he said, “Oh, you know what? We do not actuallyhave any in the store anymore. But, we do a Yamaha Gig-Maker package that comes with the guitar, the bag, strings, amp,cord and all that stuff. I can get you a price on those,” he said.After typing a little on the computer, he began running some figureson his calculator and gave me a price of $297 for the wholekit. He explained it came with a Pacifica guitar and a Yamahaamp, strap, instructional DVD, cables, picks, strings and bag.I asked if they had individual guitars in the other locationsand, if so, what brand. He said the guitars were exclusivelyYamaha, except for the occasional used guitar that wouldcome into the store. I asked if it was better for my grandsonto start with a kit, or an individual guitar and amp. He said thekit certainly would make it a lot more affordable. At $300, youget everything. That was a good price because, otherwise, youwere talking $150 for the guitar and $100 to $150 for the amp,and then the bag and all those pieces would add up.“If you’re going electric, that is the way to go,” he said. Iasked if the quality of the guitar was the same as if I purchasedone separately and he said it was. He added that they had asimilar acoustic pack, as well, and said that it was not as importantto go with a kit for acoustic. The price on that kit would beabout $175. It came with strings, a DVD, a tuner, picks, etc. If Ihad any questions, he said I should call and, if I wanted to getany of those items, they could have them brought to the storefor me to pick up. The store was neat, but it was obvious theydid not have much stock. My only thought was that maybe itwould be helpful if it were listed on the Web site that limiteditems were physically at this location. I drove quite a ways to getthere, and someone else is liable to do the same thing.The SaleI can’t say that I would not have purchased something from anyof these stores. So, now, how do I decide the winner of this MI Spyadventure? That’s tough. Although Guitar Center was not horrible,I felt like the salesperson was not especially knowledgeable. However,admittedly, I didn’t get to talk to the guy in the hat who wasthe guitar expert. Johnstonbaugh’s was accommodating, but didMUSIC & SOUND RETAILER 35