Acoustic Amp Shopping at Barnyard Guitars

[schundog]

I had a 12:30 lunch appointment in the 20,000 people community of Macomb, IL, today, but arrived in town about an hour early, hoping to find a couple more clients open. Chiropractors LOVE to take Thursday off, so no one else was open. What could I do?! I went looking for a music store, of course.

 

I'd stopped by this little music store briefly before, tucked in on a side street off of the town square. Interesting stuff, just nothing I'd ever needed at the time. Today, the first thing I almost tripped over was a VERY used Peavey Ecoustic 112 amp. No price tag on it, so I asked the guy what he wanted. $150, he said. We plugged it in, and I was underwhelmed. Plenty loud, just not a great tone, either with an acoustic guitar or a microphone. He also had an RMS acoustic amp, brand new, for $225 that sounded better, and a used Fender Acoustisonic 30 with a $250 tag on it. The Fender won, hands down, in my opinion. The owner waited on me hand and foot, making comments and suggestions about settings on each. I told him it wasn't even close, the Fender was the winner, and he agreed wholeheartedly. I asked him if he could do any better, and he knocked $25 off. I have wanted to get a decent acoustic amp for some time, but never found the right deal. I'm glad I didn't settle for the cheaper Peavey; It was really beat to hell, and, maybe because it was an open backed amp, just didn't have the "in-your-face" tone that the Fender had. Here's some pics of the store from their website.

 

http://www.barnyardguitars.com/shop/page/3?shop_param=

 

Always neat stuff going on in these small stores; As I paid the man, there on the counter was an old Gibson EB-3? Bass, minus electronics. It looked like it had been buried in somebody's backyard for a few years, and had a rose painted between where the two mismatched pickups SHOULD have gone. I should have taken a pic, but coulda, shoulda, woulda, right?! Lots of nice new acoustics and mandos, not the greatest selection of electric stuff (Dillon, Indiana, Indy, etc.)

[DetroitBlues]

That's how a shop owner should be. Giving a customer all the attention in the world. I was in a local shop yesterday and the new owner barely looked up at me. Didn't ask if I needed anything, didn't get up from his chair, just sat there shooting the breeze with his buddy over Van Halen tickets. I asked for a case for the Dot, he said there might be one. Then he goes back to the computer. I asked can you check? Sure, thing. He finds one says its under consignment, not sure what the guy wants for it... Back to the computer, so I ask again, can you check with the guy? Sure, I'll get a hold of him. So I look around for a few more minutes, really looking hard at a tiny Silvertone tube amp with the smallest tubes I've ever seen. Thought he'd suggest something to me, make me an offer, tell me the price, tell me about the amp. Just something, anything! "Bueller, Bueller???" Then I ask him, did you contact the guy? No, he works nights, I'll send him an email. Ok, fine. Then nothing, didn't ask for my number or how to contact me. This kid isn't going to last very long if that is how he treats his customers. He has a bunch of bass amps and some cheap guitars. But the website shows dozens of high end guitars and amps which turned out to be the older owners personal gear he used for the pictures. I gave him my number and left. If he calls, I'll let him know what I think of how he's running the store.