That is the most disturbing looking condition of a microphone I have ever seen.

It should be pretty easy to put a dirty cymbal on a recording and see what it looks like on a sound spectrum analyzer. Clean it up and see what it looks like after. Of course unless you are using some kind of robotic device to strike the instrument but playing some individual strokes with as close to the same volume as possible should answer a lot of questions.

That's a crime unless it's declared somewhere on their website I would reread their official "Terms and Policies" because if it's not on there that's deceptive business practices and fraud which is a felony since the item is over 500 dollars!

so any update on this?

I prefer ProAudioStar

So...i had some shure in ear moniteres good quality and found that they made my electric ef note drums sound bad. Then i put in my cheap headphones and they actually sounded better...and different. Seriously made me do a double take. What is going on here is it something to do with the mixing possibly? This is a serious question im old school and struggling with in ear moniters

I once got a deal of the day cajon from guitar center. It ended up being a floor model. 😂

I had a similar scenario with them once. I bought a b-stock microphone from them, item showed up and it looked fine, but it didn't work. They said it was b-stock and final sale, so they wouldn't return it. I thought that was absolutely f'ing insane. Will never buy from them again.

I bought this exact same deal from M.F., in late Oct, 2024. New at $650. I also purchased a used WA-251 (at $425), and a used Shure SM94 (for $100) at the same time. The WA-8000 was brand new - at least looked like it came right from WA... So no concerns there... However - the used WA 251 was Toast!... Beat up and did not work!... The SM94 was fine... I contacted them right away, and they returned it and refunded my $$$ for the WA-251... No Issues - so - maybe - I got lucky!... This seems like it was a Musicians Friend situation.... and had nothing to do with Warm Audio...

I’ve just received one yesterday. I am into it 🤘🏿

Looks like this mic was a warranty return, and for some reason, they sent it back out to sell at a cheaper price, "hoping" the problem would go away.

Bought a $1200 Schecter over Christmas at MF. The box it arrived in looked like was taped by a 10 year old, looked used. The guitar though beautiful had fret sprout on every fret to the point I could not pick up the guitar without the frets digging into my hand. It was unplayable. I packed it up, sent it back the next day. Not going to purchase guitars any longer without holding them in my hand moving forward.

G1 on top is your preference?

They do not stick to there return policy. Payer Beware

Hahahaha😂 thank you...I never knew the Sony was worth that much...I got two (!!) (inhereted) from my dad, who owned them since mid 90s (I think)....I let my kids play with it😂😂😂 Not anymore... Luckily they are relatively serious kids when it comes to recording ..😅

Years ago I went to Guitar Center and seen a silverburst Les Paul Studio I liked. I told my wife if they will make sure I get a brand new in the box guitar I'll take that for Christmas. So my wife asked them if we can get a new one as it's my Christmas gift and expect a new item. The salesman had the audacity to tell us they have to sell the floor model first and no I can't get a boxed one from the storeroom , which they had several in stock. I pretty much told them to stuff it up their ass then. I never went into one of their stores since that experience.

I just ordered a keyboard and checked the Musician's Friend web site to track the order and it was canceled. I called them and they said that all they had was a floor model right now. I'm glad they didn't send that one. I reordered from Amazon.

Using your online store to peddle B stock, open boxes and floor models as if they were new items is straight up fraud. I’d be shocked if you end up with a new microphone at that price since this “stupid deal” was an oblivious ploy to get rid of this particularly gross floor model. My guess is that they might try to send you another B stock that looks less gross.

I ordered a Dean Dime guitar from MF several years ago. I did not know about their policy of sending you equipment from Guitar Center stores, which is what they sent me. Looked like they let everyone in the store play it before they sent it to me.

I get that it seems kinda misleading, but at the same time... You got a 60% discount on the mic, what did you expect? You're coming with some serious entitled boomer energy in this video lol the way you're talking about it.

They sent you one from a rapper’s home studio. I thought only GC did that. Oh wait 9:14 😂

Send it back and get from sweetwater

The last three guitars from MF did not have any tools. OK it;s just a hex key but why was it not included?

Snare side 300 or 500 head?

Found one fully assembled at my used store for $199. Good deal?

Excellent video! Thank you

If I see something that expensive on sale for 50% off, first off I’m not buying it, but if I do I’m assuming it’s either a return, floor model or damaged in some way. You get what you pay for.

There's nothing wrong with B-stock, demo models, or open-box gear, so long as that is disclosed at purchase. The problem is when you buy a NEW one and get one of the above without it being disclosed.

I hate sweetwater also. I have had good results w/ AMS.

It could have been USPS, FedEx, or UPS who opened the package and inspected it. I ship a ton of music gear through Reverb and eBay, and was shocked to find out that this is a normal practice that they do. I started using tamper proof shipping materials on more expensive shipments, and haven’t had any issues since then.

I prefer the "before" sound.

It's an ethics violation. It's called "fraud". You should file a business ethics complaint with your states Attorney General.

Wowww Amazing

I have received twice used gear and I am still battling to get a replacement for an Electric ice Microphone. Musician's Friend is just ripping people off.

That’s one of the many reasons I shop at Sweetwater, I’d rather get what I pay for.

Buddy you got the rapper return special. Some dude "rented" that mic for a week and returned it. When they fulfil orders it just gets pulled out of the warehouse and shipped out. It is technically new. Just has some kids greasy mitts all over it because he wanted to hold it like a SM58.

In 2007, I bought Blue Cactus mic for $2,500.00 from Sweetwater, in Fort Wayne, Indiana. At the time, it was the most expensive mic I’d ever purchased. I recorded a song with it and found that it worked just. I’d told a pro-friend about my investment and he said, “Bill! Why not spend a little more and get a mic that has versatility? Like the Blue, which allows you to create a different mic by merely changing one of ten different capsules you can buy in a kit and two of which come with the basic mic?” It sounded reasonable. I thought, to myself, I was sort of, “goin’ cheap,” by purchasing the Cactus when I knew, in my heart, I would rather pop for the Blue. I called the company and talked with my salesman who said, “Absolutely, Bill! Just return the Cactus and I’ll send you the Blue but there’s another possibility! I have a ‘refurb’ that’s available with an as-new warranty, for $2,900.00. This was $1,000.00 off the “new” price so I was going to save a good sum of cash in return for accepting am mic that’d been handled before. It seemed fair because I had a working relationship with the company. I agreed, and immediately set out to find the Capsule-kit! I quickly found someone selling the capsules and, not far away. We made a deal for $2,500.00 and now I needed the mic so I waited anxiously! The mic arrived of a Friday, in late afternoon. When I opened up the package, I was immediately deflated. The flight-case was half destroyed with yellow security tape someone had used to keep casual lookers from opening the case. “Oh! Well!” I thought. “Maybe a small thing.” but it made the situation appear as though someone had used the mic at a gig or session. I continued opening the case and was excited to see the mic and power supply and rest-of-the-kit. I turned on the DAW and plugged in the mic. It did NOT work; I tried everything but might have missed something since I was so pissed! I called Sweetwater and was practically astonished to realize that someone was there…who could help. The gentlemen tested me thoroughly to verify that I’d hooked everything up properly. He agreed that the power supply was dead. I asked him, “Don’t you folks look at the returns before shipping them out?” He said, “Bill, I’m very sorry to say that the mic was drop-shipped to you from Blue, in Agoura, California; we never set eyes on it. We will call you first-thing, tomorrow! OK?” I accepted the situation as it was late, there, on Friday night. The next morning, my sales associate called me, very apologetically and offered, authoritatively, “Send that mic to us and the moment it arrives, we’ll send you a brand-new unit at no-extra-charge!” I get emotional, thinking of how that felt, to doing business with such a company and agent!

Before Black Friday ‘24 I saw a facebook ad for the limited Saturday Night Special series of Fender guitars (tele, strat, and bass) that was exclusive to Guitar Center and Musician’s Friend. This series came a beautiful Daytona Blue paint with Seymour Duncan Saturday Night Special pickups. I’ve played Ibanez, BC Rich, Jackson, and ESP/ltd guitars my whole life and recently I’ve wanted my first Telecaster(single coil pickup style guitar). This guitar was price as premium over the regular Player AND PLAYER II series guitars. The color and SD pickups was the selling point because I’m not a fan of Fenders usual boring colors. I purchased the Telecaster online with free shipping to my local store. Days went by before getting an email saying hey the guitar you bought doesn’t have the original box or packaging but it’s BRAND NEW. I said I don’t need the box but I paid for a new guitar. Hours later I get a message if I wanted to cancel because the guitar was damaged. I responded I wanted a new guitar. Days went by without any contact from GC. At this point I went to MF because I discovered they had the same model for sale but $50 more. I contacted them if they had a new in box model. He explained they share inventory with GC and that there were only 44 of this guitar across the country left and all were demo models. He also said he saw my order being shipped to my local store. My guitar showed up a week later. My GC wanted to just shove me out the door. I thought of the old days where you got to inspect things and maybe got a setup. I got them to open the box and was surprised at the pathetic packaging. They just wrapped the guitar with bubble wrap from headstock to end of guitar over and over. I brought the guitar home and found 3 minor scuffs and dents on the neck and the strings were almost black around the 12 the fret. This was definitely a store demo that I just paid new pricing for. My choice was to return and get a refund or accept getting screwed over. I decided to keep the guitar because of the color. If this color was available elsewhere I would have returned it. I have bought strings and a cable in person from GC since then but I can’t imagine ever buying an instrument from GC online again.

Did you get the mic replaced?

Sorry to say but as the live and studio music profession continues to shrink, the remaining retailers are becoming desperate. Making a profit in instrument and gear sales is getting harder by the minute. I am expecting prices to eventually go through the roof eventually when playing and recording music for any significant income becomes just a hobby for all but the superstars and those work work for them, Hell, it is pretty much that way already

Without going into detail, I had a similar experience with an acoustic guitar. It was a "MItchell" brand which is a "Musicians Friend" exclusive brand. It was a two day ship that ended up over Two weeks. I cancelled even before it shipped {and before I was even charged for it} and was told it was too late because it was already in "process" lol. I've never dealt with them since even though I spent several thousand dollars before that. Fast forward a couple/few years later and I get calls from a new "representative" asking why. I refused to answer his repeated queries and eventually blocked them. They have become "Musicians Fiend" and no friend of musicians.

I do hear a difference in the sound quality. But that cymbal is a credit to the maker.Dirty cymbals sounds get dampened out as if you would’ve put tape or gel on it. Clean cymbals just ring out openly as intended by the maker. I don’t think that it’s a big deal for me personally but clean cymbals look nice. Awesome video, keep them coming.🥁🪖🤘

Thank you for putting this out there now i know where not order from.

Musician friend is selling used ,beat up equipment for new ,you can't trust them😮

A similar thing happened to me about 3 years ago. I ordered a new $1K bass guitar from MF and received a beat-up used one from GC (and was not allowed to return it to my local GC which was 10 minutes away). I got a refund and have not purchased from MF since.

Big hands and big feet = Big shoes and Big gloves

Musicians, friend, lack of honesty, is going to cost them business.

American Music Supply, Zzounds or Sweetwater are far superior with online shopping compared to musicians friends or garbage Guitar Center, which are one of the same.

I wanted to learn how to play a guitar, so I bought an Esteban guitar from a TV shopping show. I figured for $75.00 dollars, why not. After all, what if I lose interest after a couple of months, no need for a high dollar toy from a much more expensive source, to be collecting dust. I break one of the strings while trying to tune it (remember, Im as green as it gets), and go to a guitar center for replacement string, and decided to buy extra since I'm still learning. As the clerk is ringing me up, he asks what guitar I have. The look on his face, and his reaction was priceless when I told him I have a new Esteban Guitar. It was like putting a cross up to a vampire. My wife and I could barely hold in our laughter, as we left the store.