October 13, 2007

jimtyrrell · Post by **jimtyrrell** » Sat Oct 13, 2007 8:42 am

Roll Call!

Tonight I've got a show at Shooter's in Belmont, NH. The thing is, I'm not likely to get a very enthusiastic crowd. The Red Sox are in the playoffs, you see, and the folks in the bar are likely to find my music an unwanted presence. We'll see how it goes, I guess.

Question Of The Day: What's your favorite place to get music gear?
This is a tough one for me, actually. Locally, there's the Vintage Fret Shop and Working Class Music. I like both of those. I order from Musician's Friend and American Musical Supply too.

Paco Del Stinko · Post by **Paco Del Stinko** » Sat Oct 13, 2007 8:44 am

Oh my, Jim! We posted QOTDs at the exact same time! I'll kill mine and transfer my little story over.

Paco Del Stinko · Post by **Paco Del Stinko** » Sat Oct 13, 2007 9:01 am

Well, I've really screwed this up. I won't ever start a QOTD again. Roymond has posted an answer to a question that is no longer there, but rest assured it is me that is the idiot and not him being a weirdo. I am an ass. Following is my post from the now mysteriously gone QOTD I started and removed.

Greetings. I'm back from a week in Albuquerque, NM, and admit that I missed the goings-on here. I just spent a couple of hours (!) catching up on the posts and got plenty of chuckles. You peoples can be funny! On the flight out, we had a layover in Minneapolis, and as we were circling to land I couldn't help but think: "There are Redmons down there." I wish I could've recognized the video tour of the night out on the town Phil posted a while back.

After a week in the sun and bone dry weather, getting off the plane in Manchester, NH was kind of a shock to the system. Cold, windy, damp. But a mile out of the airport, I saw the biggest rainbow I've ever seen. It was complete end to end, every color of the spectrum strongly visible. And no sooner did I say "has anyone ever seen a double rainbow?" than a complete, though less vibrant, second bow appeared. Both were visible for many miles and many minutes, and filled the sky. One of the coolest things in nature I've ever seen, and I took it as a positive welcome home message. Neat!

QOTD - I like the catalogs as well and locally my friends and I always grumble about how much Daddy's Junky Music stores suck, but you always end up there to get something or other.

Heather. Redmon. · Post by **Heather. Redmon.** » Sat Oct 13, 2007 9:06 am

Paco Del Stinko wrote: "There are Redmons down there."

Awwww! Funny thing is, Phil's in Maryland right now. I pick him up at the same airport tomorrow afternoon!

jack · Post by **jack** » Sat Oct 13, 2007 9:12 am

man, we got a good soaking yesterday but this morning is shaping up nicely.

favorite music shops in the bay area:

Black Market Music (San Francisco)
this might be my all time favorite, although they closed the original store they had on howard st. many years ago. they recently opened a new store on third street which i haven't been to yet. i bought my old fender champ here for $200 back in 1993 or so. this place was a huge warehouse of vintage gear at very fair prices. not much in the way of service but thats fine for me at music stores.

Panhandle Guitars (San Francisco)
this little shop in the upper haight backed up to my old flat on oak street. pretty small shop (it was in the converted garage of a flat), they have a good selection of vintage guitars and amps. nice staff too. great little shop to poke around in if you're in the haight.

Sylvan Music (Santa Cruz)
best music store in santa cruz. like a small shop feel but a big inventory of all string instruments.

Gelb Music (Redwood City)
awesome little shop packed to the gills with quality gear, and very nice, freindly, helpful staff. i bought my stratocaster here back around 1995 i think.

Sam Adatos (San Francisco)
a great place to get drum gear in san francisco. small. packed. vintage stuff. only drums.

HeuristicsInc · Post by **HeuristicsInc** » Sat Oct 13, 2007 10:10 am

I haven't been buying musical gear lately, but my places have been:

Ebay
http://audiomidi.com
Bill's Music (not mine) in Catonsville, MD (good local store, in fact two stores right next to each other)

-bill

fluffy · Post by **fluffy** » Sat Oct 13, 2007 10:31 am

I seem to have forgotten how to sleep.

I buy most of my crap from Musicians Friend. It's not exactly a favorite though. I really should start buying stuff at real music stores with real people who know what the fuck they're doing. But online ordering is so convenient! (and usually cheaper)

wages · Post by **wages** » Sat Oct 13, 2007 10:55 am

QoTD: I get mine at Musician's Friend 99% of the time. I get my strings and other misc essentials locally at Strings Attached.

I'm back from Amsterdam! Highlights:
Beer
Smoke
Beer
Italian food
Beer
Smoke
Chocolate
Beer
Sleep
bitterballen (a local appetizer)
beer
Frites (fries with a big o' gob o' mayo on 'em, yeah!)

I also smoked a Cuban cigar, tried absinthe, tripped on some tea, went to Belgium for a day, and went to the coast.

I just wish I could say that I never went to McDonald's, but one of our traveling partners did not like to try new things, so I ate there once. I'm happy to say that it was WORSE than McDonald's in the states. The BUN was stuck to the box like it had been under a heat lamp for days. Luckily there were a million Italian restaurants, so I was able to wash the nasty taste from my mouth with lasagna, damn good pizza, and even better beer!

More later!

bwell · Post by **bwell** » Sat Oct 13, 2007 12:18 pm

I'm still lurking around here on a daily basis, but have not had much success at getting back to the music since Nur Ein. At any rate, I am looking forward to finally doing a GOM and will try to get back into a regular fight sometime soon. For the QOTD...

jack wrote:Gelb Music (Redwood City)
awesome little shop packed to the gills with quality gear, and very nice, freindly, helpful staff. i bought my stratocaster here back around 1995 i think.

I keep forgetting about this place, but would have to second its awesomeness. And I work in Menlo Park, so it's not like it would be out of my way to stop by now and then.

Locally, my favorite place is Gryphon Stringed Instruments (Palo Alto). They are great for acoustic gear. It is smaller, but they have a nice selection of mid to high-end instruments and an excellent repair shop. Otherwise, I usually go to Guitar Showcase (San Jose) instead of the chain stores for my non-acoustic needs. They also have a consignment shop that can be good for picking up used and unexpected gear. Although, sometimes it is hard to resist the pull of Guitar Center.

More on the window shopping side, I love stopping by Lark in the Morning (San Francisco). They have a wide range of folk and ethnic instruments that won't be found in most music stores. I find the quality lacking a bit, but it is fun to look around. Then there is Subway Guitars (Berkeley). The place and selection borders on weird, but the experience was strangely fascinating. They tend to pick up a lot of old stock and make their own creations. If I was ever looking to spend tens of thousands of dollars on some vintage acoustics, I would certainly check out Gruhn Guitars (Nashville). I love stopping by for a visit when in the area.

For online shopping I have certainly done my share of Musicians Friend ordering. Elderly Instruments is another place I like. I have bought a couple of electric instruments from them, but they also have a great selection of acoustic and vintage gear (nice mandolin selection in particular). Stewart-MacDonald is an excellent source for tools and parts when it comes to instrument building and repair.

Then there is always the old sentimental favorite, Morey's Music (Lakewood, CA). That's the store I used to go to back in my school days and where I picked up my first mandolin and acoustic guitar after college. My parents still live down the street, so I make it back every now and then to pick up a cable or set of strings.

jack · Post by **jack** » Sat Oct 13, 2007 12:28 pm

gryphon is awesome. i used to work on page mill and porter in palo alto so it was really close by.

also, lark in the morning is another one i forgot, but love their huge selection of stuff from around the world. they have a great mail order too.

and guitar showcase is a great shop too (you mean the one on bascom in san jose right?). i forgot about them.

Ross · Post by **Ross** » Sat Oct 13, 2007 1:32 pm

here.

I don't really have a favorite place for gear - for me it tends ot be about convenience. But this year when I was shopping for a guitar I fell in love with Buffalo Bros. in Carlsbad, CA. Everyone I know in Southern California that asked about where I should shop for a guitar recommended the place. Teh stock and staff were awesome.

fluffy · Post by **fluffy** » Sat Oct 13, 2007 2:26 pm

update: i feel like shit

Billy's Little Trip · Post by **Billy's Little Trip** » Sat Oct 13, 2007 3:28 pm

QOTD:
Carvin for my pro audio stuff, amps, speakers, stands, PA, etc.
Guitar Center for everything else
Mission Music, for bare essentials, strings, picks, etc.

Billy's Little Trip · Post by **Billy's Little Trip** » Sat Oct 13, 2007 3:31 pm

By the way, nice to have you back Charlie, Phil and John.
Sounds like everyone had a good time.

Reist · Post by **Reist** » Sat Oct 13, 2007 5:02 pm

QOTD: I like going to AXE music. They have a lot of drum sets just set up, so that's a good way to kill some time. Usually I get my drumsticks and guitar picks from Long & Mcquade. I also like Mothers Music/The Drum Shop, since it has a whole upper tier dedicated to drum stuff, and has tons of guitars to covet.

sausage boy · Post by **sausage boy** » Sat Oct 13, 2007 9:56 pm

Went and saw Regurgitator (Gurge!) lat night. One of the best show i have been to in a while. They were supported by I Heart Hiroshima (from Caravan Ray's neck of the woods) and Happy Pants from China. I Heart Hiroshima is an awesome faux-punk band, while Happy Pants was this wierd New Order-cum-Sex Pistols band, that included homoerotic inter band member head massages, techno breaks and linked dancing.

QOTD: I don't have a favourite place. In fact, I don't have a lot of music gear full stop!

Steve Durand · Post by **Steve Durand** » Sat Oct 13, 2007 11:40 pm

QOTD: Sam Ash