I almost never shop local music stores for several reasons.
mark up is insane
they rarely have what I want “in stock”
lack of proper “demo stations”
Im in the US (SoCal) and I stopped by Guitar Center today because Im planning on getting a VCI and wanted to see if they had one set up to demo. They didnt (not in stock). They did had a VCI 300 but it was set up for Itch naturally and for shit sake…on a MAC
Well ok, whatever ( I appreciate Traktor MUCH more now). The MAC had no ROM drive to slap my tracks in…or any port to upload.
They had no phones for monitoring and no other DJ software installed on it. I asked if they’d ever have a Traktor setup to demo or any other DJ software…they didnt know.
OK…whatever. I trotted over to the other station where the NS7 was set up and it was actually very interesting. Its like a double edged sword though since it leads you in the direction of the old 1200’s but its nowhere NEAR in a usable status IMO. The sensitivity is a joke and Im not sure if this is Itch or the device. An actual moving 1200 written to work with software that is exactly as sensitive and responsive to touch as the 1200 would be amazing.
However…it was still a MAC…still no monitor phones…still only Itch. Again…whatever. I’ll try to just mess around with some CDJs. Oh, that’s right…no headphones and one working speaker.
To me…this is just plain bad marketing. How the hell do you bait hungry DJs into buying your marked up product if they cant test it properly? Really…is it that hard to set up a solid MAC & PC with the major software apps and controllers with monitors, phones and the ability to load your music. This shit doesnt sell itself…especially for those who are on the fence about it.
However, I assume their “pro -audio” and DJ is not much of a percentage of their profit for them to care too much about.
I don’t know how these stores stay in business considering the prices to be had online, and especially on used gear. Though at the same time, they can be a good place to make connections with people who know people, i.e. reps, who can sponsor you hopefully.
I think a lot of it has to do with people who are still wary of buying online (myself included). Especially when buying something pricey (which most musical gear is), I’m hesitant to throw down such a large amount of cash on something I haven’t even touched (or seen in person, for that matter).
There are many securites in place to protect the consumer. As well, if you go with a reputable seller for example on eBay, there usually isn’t much risk involved. I’ve never been burned and I buy tons of stuff online, from DJ gear/records to clothes and even shoes. Just be a smart shopper and get with the times
I totally agree.
The service of so many music shops are below par. I moved to purchasing vinyl back in 95 and never looked back. The fact I was paying $20 for a piece of vinyl and it was almost impossible to listen to it before purchasing. I have walked into music stores recently and I usually walk out in 5mins empty handed.
I recently phoned 5 music stores for a external sound card and there were only 2 choices for brands. …back to the net…
I use online buying all the time. Never ever had a problem. Just bought my VCI-100 (thanks to this site) from ebay 2nd hand and it looks like new.
Just do a little research and be smart.
we have www.storedj.com.au in australia, they are opening a new store in my city soon so that should be cool. Ive ordered all my stuff from their melbourne store in the past and the guys are quite knowledgable on the phone. They do product nights there so im guessing they have some decent demo stations setup in store aswell.
Ive placed all my orders online with them though.
can’t wait till they open the brisbane store, should be a decent place to go in and check stuff out.
it seems like your local chain stores are more set up for the traditional musician producer sound guy. dj’s are last on the totem. therefore no variety of demo chances on equipment unless you know someone who works there and they know the equipment .
your best bet is to find other dj’s who are rocking different stuff and observing an maybe if your lucky tryin it out. chains still have good equipment and sometimes good sales better inventory online though. if you have a insider though you can sometimes get a sweet deal like i did on one of my 1200’s list sale prior knowledge heads up. ebay is good but do your research on the person your buying from and the stuff your buying got my ttm56 on ebay unopened box saved a good chunk of change. all in all theres no easy route to experiencing an exploring new equipment or software you have to do some work an be creative be adventurous(meeting new peeps) and most of all be knowledgable
it cracks me up when i know more about a product than the sales person.
That is very true. I think they can be a great place for networking.
I do about 90% of my shopping online ( http://www.zzounds.com/ ). Great prices btw and awesome inventory and I’ve never had a problem with them.
lmao…MAC1, yea it is great when you know more about the product than the sales rep. I usually never even go out to the store unless I’ve already done my research on it.
i do most of my shopping online, but there have been times when I want to experiment with it in stores. The problems I hate are missing knobs and buttons on equipment, and lack of demo setups. I mean one day I was lucky to purchase a flawless djm-400 in store.
the GC that I goto in the SGV only has a VCI-300 & NS7 on demo on a Dell (not flaming) and I really didnt mind that they didnt have headphones, cuz I usually mix by ear so its not big deal. They only have ITCH and Serato on CDJ’s to demo, so it looks like NI it not really pushing traktor. I do alot of research online before I goto GC cuz I have a friend that hooks me up and if the item is bad I can always take it back instead of shipping it back and playing the waiting game.
Do you research and see if its better to buy online/local store/craigslist/etc
TBH I would rather get my gear @ GC than in Downtown L.A., my cousin was telling me that the last time he went to downtown l.a. to buy some speakers. There was some guy was returning a TT57 that he got for 1k. It comes out that the mixer was stripped, the outer casing was of the Rane, but all the internals were out of a numark. Do know if the story is true or not but there are a bunch of shady shops in L.A. that want to make a quick buck off of newbie dj’s.
I actually bought my pair of Numark TTX’s from downtown L.A. several years ago along with Final Scratch 1 when it came out. When I got home I noticed the F.S. had been opened and didn’t have the serial number for the software. After some convincing and sending them a photocopy of the receipt and the disk, I was finally able to get a proper serial number from the manufacturer.
i’ve actually only had good experiences at my GC in atlanta. though the gear set up is worn from use, they people there were patient with me and my then-unknowledgeable self on any cables i needed to hook random gear up, they always knew what i was talking about. and when shopping for my first sound card, they helped a lot in the decision process with (later verified) accurate information. good people. and it’s one of the only “dj” shops in atl with a good selection. even had a maschine setup last time i went.
I frequent two different GC stores out here in the Bay; one in downtown S.F. and the other in San Jose.
The SJ store is exactly as you describe. The crazy thing is that it’s been at that location since Noah’s Ark floated by. I wouldn’t imagine that it’s a low volume store but maybe it is. They had plenty of DVS systems sitting up high though. Seems to me that they are most interested in stocking high ticket gear.
Now, the SF store, at least the last time I went, had everything (except for an Audio 4 DJ but they did have the Kontrol). I’m talking about NS7, Maschine, SCS.3d, VCI, RMX - everything. I showed off just a bit on the Maschine (hah) and picked up my SCS.3d when I was done. The clerk told me that the SF store is the third largest by volume in the entire chain.
Between the SF GC and Robotspeak just a few minutes away and also a new spot named Maxum Media in Milpitas (across from the Great Mall), you’re covered in the SF Bay Area.
