GC loses Mesa?

[Jak0lantern01]

GC lost one of my guitars once that I had in for a setup. 45 mins of panicked searching fianally yielded results. There's nothing like tapping your fingers staring at the customer service guy the whole time. That being said, I only use small music shops these days for instrument service.

 

[ThunderMonkey]

It wasn't that I ddint trust their knowledge...I actually dont rely on any sales assoc for knowledge. Thats why im here
I am very protective of my gear and really didnt trust how they would handle it. Not to say that they would have messed with it.

Don't blame you a bit abecon ! Most guys (understandably...you gotta eat) were more interested in making the sale than looking out for your best interest.
I never liked to chase the sale the way GC wants you to and I guess that's why I had to leave. I remember when I was growing up, going to my fav guitar shop and there was one guy I would always go to, my guy. He had the info, love and desire to HELP you get what you were looking for, not just the sale. He would always get my biz, always.

 

[CoolRails]

That would suck if They lost Mesa.... I just don't know of a good Mesa Dealer close besides them.

CoolRails, the best place for Mesa in OC, or even Hollywood is Rockit Music in Brea


the ones in Hollywood, get much more of a work out
and forget GC, I have never seen a Road King or Roadster
there that wasn't broken...GC stuff gets trashed

Man I completely agree with the stuff getting trashed. Especially the guitars. They are just ugly. I was in the F Valley store today and went to play a PRS SE Custom... I plugged in before I noticed the Pickup toggle switch was missing. Awesome.

They had a F30 in there that I swear has been there for 8 months. It is so beat to hell. They do have a LOT of Double Rec, Triple Rec, and RK Heads there though.

I have to checkout Rockit Music in Brea...I'm in the market for a 2x12 Recto cab at some point here.

BTW I got a TS9 Tubescreamer to put in front of the LSS today. It sounds BEAUTIFUL with this amp. I don't know how I ever lived without it.

 

[sgtbaker]

The Guitar Center closest to me, which is about 10 minutes away, carries Mesa Boogie guitar and bass amps. They didn't have any about a year and now I think they're a certified dealer.

 

[GLiDE]

GC in my area does not carry Mesa because there is a local independent dealer already. I'm glad, though, because the independent guy sold me my 2008 Roak King II for $2500.00, and that included tax!

Gotta love it!

 

[phyrexia]

Mesa does not like to deal with GC. The reason a lot of GCs have Mesa now is because they took advantage of a loophole.

Have you noticed no GC nationwide has Mesa Bass gear anymore?

They are slowly pulling out of GC except in the largest of markets.

 

[phyrexia]

Mesa is NOT a small outfit as they are one of the best amp manufacturers on the planet. I seriously doubt GC will stop carrying Mesa as they have had a great relationship and sell tons of their gear. Where else will you be able to get a Mesa?
Although I love indie guitar/amp shops much more than corps (I use to work at GC) I can't see indie's being able to afford the distro license that they demand them to have.
It would make it more difficult for guitar players to get their hands on a great Mesa amp. I really doubt that's going to happen.

Actually, Mesa is a much smaller company than the "big boys", and they do not have a good relationship with GC. Whenever an item gets discontinued GC is always the first to blow the **** out of it pricewise and that makes it harder for smaller dealers to sell amps (why buy a Mark IV for $1700 when you could get a IV and a 2x12 for $1399 at GC-Mart or however much they were blowing them out for a couple years ago).

You are mistaken on most of your points. Mesa makes a point to look out for the little guys.

 

[njsurf]

The GC in my area (Atlantic City) doesn't carry Mesa, but the one near Philly and in north jersey do. Weird

 

[uberpwnage]

the one closest to me (10 minuts) only carries used ones which SUCKS. The only one closest to me is an 1hr 30m away.

 

[fishyfishfish]

I spoke with two of the managers at GC, and they both told me that they will no longer sell any new bass gear. Right now they have to sell off Bass stock at list price to keep the deal with the Guitar stuff.

 

[mikey383]

I don't even have a GC close that sells Mesa gear, so it wouldn't matter to me either way.

I'm right in the middle of two local Ma & Pa stores that sell Mesa gear and carry more of a selection than the one GC that I've been to that sold Mesa stuff.

 

[CGM]

I rent a teaching studio at a locally owned music store. I recently purchased an LSS at a local GC. They brought me one from the back and so far it works great. I don't expect to have any trouble.
The only other place close is another locally owned store, but when I called the other day to see about an LSC or another LSS they said every Mesa was a special order and kept very little in stock.
I did hear from another teacher just today that GC is in real financial trouble. I don't know...just thought I'd add that.....

 

[RJ2213]

I rent a teaching studio at a locally owned music store. I recently purchased an LSS at a local GC. They brought me one from the back and so far it works great. I don't expect to have any trouble.
The only other place close is another locally owned store, but when I called the other day to see about an LSC or another LSS they said every Mesa was a special order and kept very little in stock.
I did hear from another teacher just today that GC is in real financial trouble. I don't know...just thought I'd add that.....

only about 600million in debt.

 

[secretsoundz]

I personally think that Guitar Center shouldn't carry nice gear like Mesa Boogies. They should stick to the Crate and Line 6 amps. That's more their style. Every time I go to a GC I am appalled by the condition of the instruments and amps. Guitars and amps with scratches and dings? Unacceptable. Case in point, my Stiletto Ace. I went to GC and played one & fell in love with it. Only problem was the floor model (the only one in stock) looked as if it had been through a war. I went to a local guitar store and bought the amp for the same price as GC. Brand new in the box. That's what I'm talking about. I don't want 1,000 people wanking on my gear before I buy it. That's why they should stick to cheap gear. It fits their Wal Mart image.

 

[nomad100hd]

I went to GC wanting a 1x12 cab, and was told no one makes 1x12 cabs! Of course immediately my buddy and I spit out different company names that made them wihtout even thinking.


i bought a mesa nomad used from GC the tubes were shot they replaced after about a month. I then noticed the channel was jacked up. Most amps I can fix myself but the PCB to dense and i don't have a layout for it.

I find it hilarious GC having a hard time keeping there dealership. Idiots shouldn't be allowed to propagate there ignorance onto people trying to learn.

The last time i went to the closest GC an hr away the had max 8 mesa amps in a small room. When they used to be a big pile in the main room.

 

[vermillion]

From what I've just read, Guitar Center is no longer a publicly held company. They're now completely owned by Bain Capital Partners (a holding company).

They were bought for 2.1 billion and Bain would assume liability for the debt.

This could mean a variety of things (heres just a few)

1) Bain saw an opportunity - strong brand, good price, etc. They might think that GC could eventually become a cash cow providing decent profits every year.
2) Bain could acquire music manufacturers, thereby controlling some manufacturers and some major portions of music gear retail channels (musiciansfriend + guitar center)
3) Bain is hedging a bet that GC will be worth more than $2.1 bn in some period of time.

No doubt about it, 2.1 bn seems kind of high, but thats just my opinion.

I have noticed more GC advertising on the radio lately. In addition to the no payments for 12 months stuff I head partner related yapping, "buy GIBSON at GUITAR CENTER" and "buy a MARSHALL at GUITAR CENTER". Some say the economy is in the shitter, maybe the GC/Bain organization is nervous and is prolonging the inevitable.

We shall see. Remember the Mars Music chain? Gone without much of a whimper.

 

[siggy14]

Lets start this off by saying, i dont work for GC, have no common interest in there profits etc..

With that being said, everyone seems to bash guitar center, but what you dont realize is without them guitar prices would probaly be through the roof! I for one am glad there is a GC.

My biggest grip about them is they dont do good setups when instruments come in, however I can understand as they get mass amount of equiptment. With that being said I walk into a GC, if I am interested in a guitar I ask for wrenches and screw drivers and do my own little set up, I have done this on the last two gibson i have purchased from them.

You may think i shouldnt have to do this, but I have a good relationship with one of the employees which he gives me discounts, examples I will always save anywhere from 200 to 700 off a guitar, so taking 30 minutes of my time to set up a guitar to save myself 200 to 700 dollrs is not a big deal.

My advice to Brian to make GC worth more. First have one of your employee's go around and set up guitars in every store, wipe them down and make them look nice. They will sell alot more to most people that dnot know how to do setups.

Second, they do have to learn to be more picky on who touches guitars, I am sure most of the money they lose has to do with the amount of repairs they have to pay for. By keeping control they can seave themselves alot of money!

From what I've just read, Guitar Center is no longer a publicly held company. They're now completely owned by Bain Capital Partners (a holding company).

They were bought for 2.1 billion and Bain would assume liability for the debt.

This could mean a variety of things (heres just a few)

1) Bain saw an opportunity - strong brand, good price, etc. They might think that GC could eventually become a cash cow providing decent profits every year.
2) Bain could acquire music manufacturers, thereby controlling some manufacturers and some major portions of music gear retail channels (musiciansfriend + guitar center)
3) Bain is hedging a bet that GC will be worth more than $2.1 bn in some period of time.

No doubt about it, 2.1 bn seems kind of high, but thats just my opinion.

I have noticed more GC advertising on the radio lately. In addition to the no payments for 12 months stuff I head partner related yapping, "buy GIBSON at GUITAR CENTER" and "buy a MARSHALL at GUITAR CENTER". Some say the economy is in the sh!t, maybe the GC/Bain organization is nervous and is prolonging the inevitable.

We shall see. Remember the Mars Music chain? Gone without much of a whimper.

 

[rickc007]

That would suck if They lost Mesa.... I just don't know of a good Mesa Dealer close besides them. I guess I could truck it up to Mesa in Hollywood...

Hi CoolRails, Rockit Music in Brea
blows away any GC, and usually has more custom
stuff than Hollywood

They order a lot of custom color, and hardwood stuff

and it's not one of those stores that stuff gets beat on
Almost every Mesa I play at a GC is broken, or ripped, or beat

Rockit is a great Mesa dealer, I was there a few weeks ago, lots of stuff

 

[simonich]

From what I've just read, Guitar Center is no longer a publicly held company. They're now completely owned by Bain Capital Partners (a holding company).

They were bought for 2.1 billion and Bain would assume liability for the debt.

This could mean a variety of things (heres just a few)

1) Bain saw an opportunity - strong brand, good price, etc. They might think that GC could eventually become a cash cow providing decent profits every year.
2) Bain could acquire music manufacturers, thereby controlling some manufacturers and some major portions of music gear retail channels (musiciansfriend + guitar center)
3) Bain is hedging a bet that GC will be worth more than $2.1 bn in some period of time.

No doubt about it, 2.1 bn seems kind of high, but thats just my opinion.

Typically private equity firms purchase assets they believe are undervalued and can be turned around though (a) better management (meaning they will install their own mgmt team that is proven) or (b) pairing the assets with another company they hold in their fund(s).

I bet (a) is the approach with GC, but I don't know enough about the business to be sure.

 

[Nomad]

GC is the store for the Kiddies. The other places are the places I frequent that sell Mesa.

Want to see a brand new Mesa thats filthy? Go to GC.

Want to see a nes Mesa with a broken knob/pot? Go to GC

Want to find salespeople that know nothing about Mesa Products? Go to GC

Want to find a poor selection of Mesa Products? Go to GC

Should I keep going?

Want to find a guitar center that changes hands every 6 months? Walk in any.



I do believe Boogie only allows a Dealership within about 50 miles of another but occasionally you will see em closer together.