Sam Ash Closing 18 of 44 stores , including NYC and Hollywood, CA.

[JohnH]

https://guitar.com/news/industry-news/sam-ash-set-to-close-18-stores-across-us/

[Docbop]

I read an article about this about a week ago and sadly it is how today world is going.  Sam Ash is closing all the High Rent stores combined with people today are fine with buying on the interest and returning if they don't like something.   Sam Ash and even Guitar Center are keeping less stock in stores so most the time you have to order what you want.  So ditching the high rent locations makes business sense.  Also customer have brought this on with the advent of the internet they would go to brick and mortar stores to check out gear, then go home get on the internet and buy it online to save a few bucks.    Customer didn't appreciate brick and mortar stores paying rents,  going on a limb to stock gear, and pay employees and security so they could try gear out and get some personal service.    So the customer has driven stores to closing. 

[surfergirl]

I was at the Hollywood store last summer. I loved it, was more like a local music store than a chain. The employees were friendly and knowledgeable. We spent about hour there, ended up buying some strings because everyone was so nice felt like we had to buy something. We also visited another music store Neely Guitars, about a block from Sam Ash. 

[ProfD]

Sign of changing times.  Technology speeds up the process.

 

Musicians took for granted that gigs and music stores would always exist.  Seemingly oblivious to electronic music and the internet. 

 

A handful of brick and mortar music stores will remain just like Wal-Mart does for retail. 

 

Otherwise, for the handful of musicians still using hardware instruments, the Am*zon way of buying gear will become status quo in 5-7 years.😎

[Docbop]

12 minutes ago, ProfD said:

the Am*zon way of buying gear will become status quo in 5-7 years

 

What concerns me coming from most my life in guitar world is Fender and Gibson both have dabbled in online direct to customer sales, which I see as step to eventually moving away from dealers online or brick and mortar.   This would increase profit margins and help keep manufacturing close to sales numbers.    This is basically what Apple does selling direct for models that are above the base models and configurations.    Maybe this is where keyboard makers need to move to so you could order direct of full MSRP and have $$$ options for keybed, amount of storage, and other things that are just solder and ship for the manufacturer.   

[Lou_NC]

The Sam Ash in Raleigh NC hasn't had a decent keyboard department in the last decade. It's all guitars, cheap amps, and PA systems.  I don't remember ever seeing a single drawbar organ in stock, regardless of brand, ever.  I'm sure not all of the stores in the chain were this bad.  I remember the one I used to visit on Route 4 in Paramus NJ in the 70's and 80's was much better.  Sadly, the Guitar Center right across the street isn't much better, if they went out of business I wouldn't even notice.  

[Stokely]

One is closing here in Orlando.   I used to like to spend lunch hours there when I worked nearby.  That said, the keyboard dept was always a train wreck...it's that way in every single damn store no matter if it's Sam Ash or GC or whatever.   Half the gear doesn't have power, half doesn't have audio or it's hooked up mono to some crappy speaker (I bring my headphones in if serious about buying.)   Selection is all over the map but mostly it sucks.   Also--and it's hard to blame the stores for this--the gear gets beat up to hell in those stores.  Missing knobs and whatnot.  The guitars get banged up too, even worse, and that IS partly on the stores due to the way they hang them; you have to play tetris to get them down.

I still like buying from a local store if the prices are decent simply because if you have to return it's far less of an issue.   I think I'd have to pay shipping back to Sweetwater.   SW does have that nice 2-year warranty and I've used it twice on gear that has malfunctioned.

Solution:  go buy a place near Sweetwater's physical store.    I ask them for deals on gear and they tend to make it hard to resist, while neither Sam Ash nor GC around here seem interested in competing.

[CHarrell]

1 hour ago, Docbop said:

I read an article about this about a week ago and sadly it is how today world is going.  Sam Ash is closing all the High Rent stores combined with people today are fine with buying on the interest and returning if they don't like something.   Sam Ash and even Guitar Center are keeping less stock in stores so most the time you have to order what you want.  So ditching the high rent locations makes business sense.  Also customer have brought this on with the advent of the internet they would go to brick and mortar stores to check out gear, then go home get on the internet and buy it online to save a few bucks.    Customer didn't appreciate brick and mortar stores paying rents,  going on a limb to stock gear, and pay employees and security so they could try gear out and get some personal service.    So the customer has driven stores to closing. 

 

As a consumer, I'm definitely guilty of this. One major benefit that these online retailers such as Zzounds etc offer are very generous, interest-free payment plans that I've never seen a brick and mortar store be able to compete with. 

[Lou Gehrig Charles]

Both Chicago-area stores are closing; they must be handing over the market to the two or three GC stores in the area.

 

 

[ProfD]

14 minutes ago, CHarrell said:

One major benefit that these online retailers such as Zzounds etc offer are very generous, interest-free payment plans that I've never seen a brick and mortar store be able to compete with. 

The downside to online retailers and even interest-free payment plans is less room to negotiate price. 

 

For me, in addition to keeping my brick and mortar store in business (not really), there is something about  1) getting a fair price and 2) walking out of the store with a box underneath my arm that makes the purchase more rewarding.😁

 

Besides, waiting on the UPS delivery person to put a box on my porch just doesn't have the same magic.🤣😎

 

[Docbop]

21 minutes ago, CHarrell said:

 

As a consumer, I'm definitely guilty of this. One major benefit that these online retailers such as Zzounds etc offer are very generous, interest-free payment plans that I've never seen a brick and mortar store be able to compete with. 

 

Prior to my getting back into recording and the Hip Hop world I had only purchased once from Zzounds once,but it was a excellent experience. Now that I'm around the recording and Hip Hop/Beat maker scene I see people buy from Zzounds all the time.   Sweetwater seems to be changing some since being sold so going to have start checking out Zzounds again. 

[surfergirl]

I try to buy from my local music store, my family has been doing business with them for years. I've bought all of my amps from them and pedals unless I could get a really good price elsewhere. My Deluxe Player Stratocaster I did get from Zzounds. My grandfather and mother paid $500., blemished, $700 was the retail price. My mother spent about an hour looking for the blemish, it was a chip on the horn the size of a pin. Long story short sometimes you can get a better deal online. I also have two pedals I saved over $50. on each. It's hard for the local music store to compete. 

[CyberGene]

The world is moving on. I love the thrill of ordering instruments I haven’t tried. The fact I can test them at home for a few weeks rather than feeling pressured to try rather quickly in a store which is crowded and noisy, it’s just incomparable. Yeah, it may take time to order and return until you find what works best for you but it’s totally worth it. 

[My Keys And Me Are Vintage]

Music stores were magical places to me in the 80s and early 90s. New electronic gear, new capabilities month after month. Paralleled what was happening with computers in general. Exciting times. Now, all but one of the local shops are gone and the chains rarely have a good demo setup. Not expecting to see that change back anytime. 

 

I was at a tourist beach in Massachusetts last summer and they had an arcade game room to die for. Huge place, two floors, all the classics, many still working, plus the best pinballs. My heart was racing like it did in those music shops back in the day. Maybe I'll stumble on a hands-on synth museum someday and get that feeling. Although, I suspect many on these forums have their own collections that could give a similar thrill!  

[jazzpiano88]

Fascinating!  I hadn't heard of Sam Ash for decades (pre-internet) when I'd call on the phone asking for deals.

[CHarrell]

37 minutes ago, ProfD said:

The downside to online retailers and even interest-free payment plans is less room to negotiate price. 

 

For me, in addition to keeping my brick and mortar store in business (not really), there is something about  1) getting a fair price and 2) walking out of the store with a box underneath my arm that makes the purchase more rewarding.😁

 

Besides, waiting on the UPS delivery person to put a box on my porch just doesn't have the same magic.🤣😎

 

 

Oh for sure, I get so impatient with waiting for new gear, I try to satisfy myself by reading and watching everything I can about it--manuals, tips, etc. But on a purely economical level, I'm at a place where saving $200 or whatever in the long run is less appealing than having a lower month-to-month balance to pay. That said, I went into a local music store yesterday because I was thinking of finding a board/controller to gig with while my CP4 will be out of commission for almost a month...and shortly before the store closed, after playing all the high-end stuff, I saw there was an inconspicuously placed Roland I had never heard of before, called the the RD300SX. Just out of curiosity, I laid my fingers down on the keys....and absolutely loved it!! It was fast, crisp, the piano sounded surprisingly good...and then I found out it was under 35 lbs! And the price was so low! 

 

I talked to the employees and they said they'd be able to arrange free delivery, hold it for me, all of these accommodations I could never ask for in a big store like GC or online. I looked up the model online...I could see it for cheaper than what they were offering, but with all those benefits they offered me? I feel so happy being able to buy local.

[ElmerJFudd]

Sucks.  No reason for them to pay the rent if most of the business is online orders. I hate “buy to try” and ship back if you don’t like.  Eventually there won’t be a showroom anywhere to try stuff out.   I’d honestly pay an entrance fee (within reason) to a shop that kept up their showroom with the latest stuff in good working order.  

[Motif88]

Very sad commentary. We have destroyed retail across almost every segment.

 

I've been buying keyboards at Sam Ash since the late 1970's. I traded most of my gear via Sam Ash before the inter-webs and even did so recently to acquire my Montage M8x without having to ship a Roland RD-2000 for an astronomical amount. As much as I love Sweetwater and other internet retailers, the ability to walk into a store and play a piece of gear is dead unless you get on a plane to a few places that stock gear.

 

My very first Multivox piano came from Sam Ash in 1976/7?  followed by my Rhodes Stage 73, Korg MS-20, Crumar T2, Korg T3, Roland D-50, Yamaha KX-88, Oberheim OB-Xa, OB-8, Kronos 88. Roland RD-2000 and most recently my Montage M8x.

[Greg Mein]

I'm a bit concerned, our last two big equipment purchases have been at the Sam Ash in Las Vegas. I can't find a complete list of the stores they will shut down, anybody?

[David Emm]

You can blame softsynths a little. For a lot of us, the prices that are far below that of hardware and availability of legendary synths that barely exist anymore are seductive. I wrestled with synth repairs in my day, so casually clicking a few times, installing and playing the new "Zeus Thunderbold" is a dark magic.   

 

I feel the loss to some extent. Keyboards are an esoteric realm, so finding a knowledgeable guide was no small thing. I was the keys guy for a median mom-&-pop store that seemingly specialized in geetar strings and drum sets. It was a weird pleasure to sell a couple of RD-1000s and a few D-50s to churches, even as I dug into both enough to sell them. Those folks knew between little and squat about the technology, being just players, so it was fun to teach them the vital basics. Several really took to it and could outplay me easily. It was like handing them angel wings. Going from a console piano to "Fantasia" and that Full Swell-type pipe organ preset made their eyes pop. It added some interesting, useful modules to my musical journey.

[Thethirdapple]

a bit surprised that the brick and mortar stores remained open as long as they did...

 

Never have been a fan of BIG music department mega stores! Those days have come and gone for most any generalized consumer goods, music gear included. Manufactures no longer need the "middle man", brand recognition is strong for the big 3 and boutique solutions are thriving without the overhead or "gate keeper" reality of retail distribution.

 

I would certainly encourage anyone to use small local shops first, which isn't always an option. And even great local "mom and pop" store and repair shops can get bought out (Moog) or change ownership which drastically affects customer service. Torres Guitars comes to mind... awesome shop when HE ran it and did mods. Walking into his shop, as a kid always felt magical. Getting big is relatively easy, staying good is the challenge.

 

Otherwise currently, The Starving Musician is a local shop I always goto when in the Bay Area.

 

 

 

PEACE

_

_

_

[The Real MC]

8 hours ago, Stokely said:

One is closing here in Orlando.

 

Which one?  I've been to the one on Colonial Ave, that store is a joke.

[Mark Schmieder]

When I went to the one in Hollywood well over a decade ago, it had a better selection of keyboards and acoustic guitars than GC's flagship store across the street.

 

That remains the only Sam Ash store I have ever seen. I lived in Durham NC for half a year near the start of COVID and didn't know Raleigh had a Sam Ash store!

 

Otherwise, I have never lived anywhere that they served, so it is hard for me to know how sudden the closures may seem to staff, if they weren't selling anything?

[Mark Schmieder]

Isn't Zzounds owned by Sam Ash? I seem to recall looking into it a few years ago, but it might have been a different store for the connection. I just remember a lot of similarities in product write-ups and layout, but I may also be confusing with another on-line retailer (not one of the ones GC owns) whose name I now forget but who I used a lot in the early days alongside Zzounds.

[Mark Schmieder]

https://guitar.com/news/industry-news/sammy-ash-ceo-sam-ash-music-stores-passed-away/

 

Not sure if the timing of this move relates to the recent passing of the COO.

[Docbop]

56 minutes ago, Mark Schmieder said:

Isn't Zzounds owned by Sam Ash? I seem to recall looking into it a few years ago, but it might have been a different store for the connection. I just remember a lot of similarities in product write-ups and layout, but I may also be confusing with another on-line retailer (not one of the ones GC owns) whose name I now forget but who I used a lot in the early days alongside Zzounds.

 

What I've read is zZounds and American Musical Supply are tied together they share a distribution center, but can't find anything definitive.   

 

Guitar Center online have been outselling the physical stores for a long time.  I think the GC stores that are still open function more like regional warehouses for storing and shipping products.    Plus GC's move into lessons has started a new revenue stream and brings potential customers into the stores so a Marketing tool. 

[Old No7]

20 hours ago, Docbop said:

...ditching the high rent locations makes business sense.  Also customer have brought this on with the advent of the internet they would go to brick and mortar stores to check out gear, then go home get on the internet and buy it online to save a few bucks. 

 

Man, I had a blast for those hours I spent over 2 days at their NYC store last summer checking out their various keyboards; many that I've only heard or read about or seen pictures of online.  I had posted many images of their extensive keyboards department on this forum too, as it was awesome (but expensive to support, I'm sure).

 

It's a sad sign-of-the-times, yes, but understandable...

 

Old No7

[Joe Muscara]

18 hours ago, ProfD said:

Besides, waiting on the UPS delivery person to put a box on my porch just doesn't have the same magic.🤣

Dude, what is wrong with you? I live to buy stuff online and watch it arrive via tracking apps. I'm not sure anything fires up my dopamine like that. In fact, I have to work to not constantly buy stuff online just for the hit. 😂

 

I have a long standing bad taste from Sam Ash. Growing up on LI, Sam Ash was the big music store, practically the only music store except for those tiny guitar stores that didn't have keys anyway. I used to go to the Sam Ash in Huntington and… get ignored. I'd see the sales guys running around and they'd blow by me without saying a word. When I did finally get one, they weren't useful, really.

 

I'm not saying my later experiences in Guitar Center nor other stores were better, but the Sam Ash experiences were formative.

 

We have one Sam Ash store in Houston, it took over a Hermes Music that took over a local store called Parker Music, so strangely the building, out by itself along the interstate, has long been a music store. I wonder if it will survive. The rent is probably not bad but I have no idea how it's doing. I think there's a Sam Ash near San Antonio too.

[16251]

This topic makes me a little sad. As a late teen, I was playing in a band and we would dream about visiting 48th St in NYC (from Massachusetts.) We finally decided and took redeye train for a one day pilgrimage to NYC.  Walking around Broadway at 4 AM, hanging outside the Dakotas, hoping to see John Lennon, walking through Central Park, visiting 48th St and loving it, then going to observation deck of WTC, which just opened.

 

One of my favorite memories as a musician; all due to the music stores on 48th St. I visited them a few more times before mail-order and better local stores emerged.

[cphollis]

Personal musicianship appears to be on a steep decline in our society.    Video games and social apps are more engaging than sitting down and trying to learn an instrument.  No need to walk into a music store if you're creating on an iPad or computer. 

 

The guitar is what is keeping the remaining retail outlets alive -- interest in directly experiencing keys, drums, etc. is way down.  When I was buying my "lifetime" piano, I had to fly around to the remaining retail outlets to try them.  I guess the same is true for large sound systems, big drum setups, etc.

 

The flip side is that when personal musicianship becomes more scarce, it also become more valuable.  Although I don't think my local bar band is going to get $5k per gig anytime soon.