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All my money has always seemed to go to one place. Music. Whether it be a new guitar, or a digital instrument that I never got to hold in my own hands. Through this process of years and years of trial and error, I've learned quite a bit about the best (and worst!) places to buy various instruments and/or musical equipment and what to look for when doing so. Looking back, I could have saved hundreds, if not thousands, on all my purchases had I just known what information to focus on.
As a background, I've always tried to dive head first into whatever subcategory of music that was available. This meant live sound, recording, guitar, drums, bass, piano, vocals... you name it and I paid for it. I've managed to accumulate an amount of hardware and software that I'm proud of. I've also sold countless numbers of the same type and lost a ton of money doing so. Below I'll recount certain experiences (far from all) that could serve as information to help you on all your future musical purchases!
(TLDR included at the bottom of sections)
Know Your Store!
The first guitar I've ever owned was bought as a gift straight from my local guitar store. This began a relationship with future gear, drum lessons, and my favorite music shop in town. Fast forward to years later when I was first introduced to Guitar Center. Here was a store that towered over my tiny mom and pop store I was used to. Guitars lined the walls. Subsections of branches for each type of instrument filled the store. Upon looking at the price tags I realized I had been vastly over spending on my instruments for years. This lead up to my not so advantageous relationship with the Wal-Mart of guitar stores.
Guitar Center seemed fantastic. You could sell all your instruments there, they had competitive pricing, and they had a vast style of products. At the surface, this was all i needed. I spent ALL my Christmas, birthday, part-time job, and even parent's money at this store for years. I trusted the salesmen there because after all, they seemed to love the products as much as I did.
My problem with Guitar Center began when I would try to trade something in. I had bought a really cheap (and crappy) PA system so I could start practicing my live performances. I originally met with a sales associate there and told him what I was trying to accomplish. He then proceeded to peddle this god-awful PA system. At this time, I was broke and in high school. I had no wiggle room for buying a trash product and losing money.
After a couple months of playing on it, I soon realized that it was NOT going to accomplish what I wanted it for. I thought, hey! Guitar Center accepts trade-ins! Now that it has been some time and I've made some more money, it's time to upgrade. When I brought back that same PA system... to the SAME associate who originally sold it to me with high praises, then proceeded to crap on the product. He told me that they wouldn't even give me a dime for the product because it was complete garbage. He also told me that I would have better luck throwing it out in the dumpster behind the store, rather than try to sell it.
I was so disheartened. Had the sales associate simply informed me in the beginning that if I managed to save a bit more at the time, I could have upgraded to a phenomenally better PA system. I would have avoided the whole dilemma and had an awesome product I was happy with.
Moving forward I kept experiencing the same cycle over and over again. I became weary of the salesmen there and I began researching the store online. I read that they gave discounts if you really haggled on products. I thought to myself... wow! With all the money I had spent at full price, I could have saved a ton. Maybe if i research my own products and I get a deal, this store won't be so bad.
After years and years of spending thousands of dollars, they refused to work with me on anything. I didn't feel like i was being valued as a customer at all. They would never negotiate prices, they would always low-ball me on trades, and if you bought a product in store, they never seemed to have a new product in the back stock room. You'd always have to grab the one that's been played a million times by people in the store. Always, it was products covered in dings and dents.
My first real fiasco was when I finally bought an acoustic guitar that was out of the entry level price range. I took the dive and ordered a Martin guitar from their online store. When it arrived I loved it! Fortunately for me I purchased a warranty as well. After a few months the electronics began to (or at least what seemed to) stop working. When I plugged it in to an amp, I would get nothing. I brought it back in, they deemed it a defective product and sent me a new one. Within months, the exact same thing happened.
Here's the kicker. It wasn't defective. The guitar simply had a 9 volt battery housed internally, as do most Martins, to power the pickups. I did not know that at the time because I was fresh into the acoustic game. A Guitar Center employee, who claim to be guitar experts, definitely should have known that it was just a dead battery and saved me a ton of wait time between shipments.
I ended up upgrading to the next high end Martin as I was horrified with my experience with the previous model. When the new model shipped to my house, I noticed a crack in the back finish near strap peg. I brought it in to Guitar Center and asked if it was a big issue and the employee said it's merely a cosmetic imperfection. Because I had my warranty, and I was burnt out in having to send and receive guitars back and forth, I decided to keep it for the time being.
Months later I brought it back in to find out that that crack that was a "cosmetic issue" was actually a crack in the foundation of the guitar and was affecting the over all structure of the body. I was extremely angry and just ended up getting store credit for the return.
My final straw with Guitar Center is when i bought a new recording unit. Of course they only had the display model, but i thought hey... I really want it. I came home to find the power cord was missing. I called them up and they told me to come back in and they would give me a new one. I drove all the way back and they handed me a cord. It looked fishy because it didn't seem to match the back of the unit I had at home. I told them which unit I had again and asked them to verify that this was in fact the right cord. The guy said he swore it was the correct one. I should have been more skeptical. Sure enough, right when I got home the cord did not fit. Angrily, I drove back. I confronted the employee and asked for the correct cord. I also asked if there was anything they could do for a future purchase (or on the one i just made) since I had made numerous trips back and forth. He apologized and said there's nothing he could do.
Now, Guitar Center isn't THAT far away... but after driving to and from there six times, each 30 minute trip really adds up (not mention the cost of gas).
I figured in order to get the gear I wanted, I had to deal with this necessary evil. Around this time, an ad from the heavens appeared on my YouTube page. Sweetwater.com.
Right around this time I acquired a new job and was looking to make some bigger purchases. I refused to give those sales to Guitar Center. I figured I'd give Sweetwater a try. Sweetwater is unique because they assign to a sales engineer. You can order straight from their website as you normally would, but you can also call in and discuss your purchase with an associate. I was assigned a man named Jason. My first purchase was my dream drum kit. I told him that the price was a little out of my budget and he worked with me to find a price I was happy with. Most importantly he told me all the information required about my purchase. He not only told me the positives, but he told me what I could want to upgrade in the future, and what might fall short depending on my direction. Might I add, it also COMES WITH a two year warranty... What?! Guitar Center would peddle those off for added cost.
My whole world changed. I was paying a very fair price and had a lot more information on the product so I knew I was happy with my purchase. Because I live in Chicago, it only took two days to ship. When it arrived, it was free of dents and bruises (thanks to their checking and validation system).
Finally. A Music store that regained my trust.
I decided one day it was time for an upgrade on my audio interface. I wanted to go with the apollo twin mkii as I've heard nothing but great things. I called in the order and was informed that they couldn't wiggle much on the price as it's a product in very high demand. I understood and continued with my purchase.
Guitar Center then of course emailed me a 20% off a purchase coupon. I then contacted back Sweetwater and stated that I possibly could have gotten the product at a lower price at Guitar Center, but I value Sweetwater a lot more and I'd still rather get it through them for the higher price than give any more business to Guitar Center. Sweetwater put on their heroic capes and REFUNDED me the difference between the prices. I was blown away.
TLDR: Buy your stuff from Sweetwater.com, GuitarCenter.com sucks.
Know Your Product!
A lot of the dilemmas I encountered could have been avoided had I done my research on products instead of trusting salesmen to do it for me. We have so much information at our disposal today that there's is no excuse to not be informed on products and if they're right for you. YouTube has countless product reviews and demonstrations from people like you and I.
Before you dish out any money, understand what you're buying.
In every section of music there is always starter series, mid-level, and professional high end gear. Each has their advantage and each has their disadvantage.
If you're not sure if you're actually going to be all that serious into an instrument, the starter series are your best friend. It's usually not all that expensive (in comparison to the higher end) to get started. You can start playing, decide you dislike, and you never ended up breaking your bank.
The biggest issue here... is that the starter series instruments are usually pretty much... bad. They are almost always mass produced with several minor flaws, with not much attention to detail. It gets significantly better towards the higher end of the starter series, but it's still considered a starter series for a reason.
With knowledge on how guitars work and how to perform maintenance, you can really make a starter instrument sing! This section, however, is under the assumption that you don't have access to someone who could help you get that guitar set up and you don't see yourself spending the time to do so.
Another issue with starter instruments is that there really is not much resale value (as shown with my PA system). You'll basically lose half your investment after swiping your credit card if you try to resell it.
Mid range instruments to me are the best bang for your buck. They are extremely playable and you're still getting decent quality. They may require light maintenance but usually you won't even need to worry about it.
The resale value also seems to be a lot better than that of starter gear. You won't make your whole investment back, but at least you'll be compensated for a good piece of gear.
The downfall of a mid range instrument is the scenario where you spend your money on a starter, but then you find out you don't really want to play anymore. In this instance it comes off as a waste of money
High end (Pro Series) are basically works of art. These are the instruments where you're really going to enjoy playing. These take a lot of effort to make and they really do their job perfectly.
The most obvious benefit to a pro series level instrument is the quality. You're really getting what you pay for in this bracket. The sound quality tends to be phenomenal depending on your tastes.
One huge advantage is the lack of your need to do anything to the thing. Pro level series instruments come right out of the box, ready to go. They're usually set up correctly and require little to no tinkering to get great tone.
The biggest flaw of the high end series is the price... which can go up significantly high. It costs a lot to get into the pro series and there isn't much wiggle room. There aren't many products that claim to be flagship that are considered very affordable.
Overall, figure out what best suites you and do your research accordingly!
TLDR:
1. Reserach
2. Starter series = not sure if you're gonna play
3. Mid range = Best bang for you buck
4. High Level = best quality
Thanks for getting to the bottom!