Guitar Stores Are Closing In The Current Market / The market is being killed by guitars built before

[@PhillipMcKnight]

This Podcast is sponsored by Patreon and Channel members www.patreon.com/phillipmcknightKYG?fan_landing=true Buy A shirt and send us a picture www.kyg.altacolor.com Send picture of you and your KYG shirt to be featured in a video here [e-mail] Subject Index <a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="0">00:00</a> The KYG Contest <a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="120">02:00</a> The new Spark 2 amp <a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="240">04:00</a> How companies are making it impossible to review their gear until they sell it first <a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="405">06:45</a> Are guitar influencers putting to much focus on gear and not playing? <a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="805">13:25</a> Why Guitar Stores Are Closing And What Is Happing In The Current Market? <a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="1660">27:40</a> The difference between guitar heroes and influences <a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="1910">31:50</a> This weeks winners of the KYG Contest <a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="2337">38:57</a> The Problem I see with Vola Guitars <a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="2710">45:10</a> This is the loop pedal all beginners should buy and here is why sweetwater.sjv.io/baAaYk <a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="3030">50:30</a> The market is being killed by all the guitars built before <a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="3539">58:59</a> We have to talk tremolos <a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="62">1:02</a>:00 Guitar Of The Week sweetwater.sjv.io/DKXKvn <a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="72">1:12</a>:00 How is binding done on cheap guitars? <a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="76">1:16</a>:18 Do I still own the Gibson Les Paul Lite? <a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="78">1:18</a>:00 My direct way to support the channel without patreon. Pay Pal [e-mail] <a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="79">1:19</a>:40 Iconic brands and why they are timeless <a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="87">1:27</a>:00 Gibson R9 will not make you happy. <a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="90">1:30</a>:00 I sold 11 guitars this year <a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="93">1:33</a>:00 Sounds like time to get a new arm block <a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="99">1:39</a>:00 Do not sand veneer tops <a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="100">1:40</a>:00 Shabat guitars and Friedman???? <a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="105">1:45</a>:40 Guitar Center asking for USA made guitars for trade <a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="107">1:47</a>:40 A not good update on my amazing dog <a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="112">1:52</a>:00 Reverend guitars talk <a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="114">1:54</a>:00 Tremolo (Vibrato) bridge feel talk <a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="117">1:57</a>:00 Thank you all so much!!!!!!! My Reverb Store reverb.com/shop/mcknightguitarco Need Stew Mac tools? You can get them and support what I do here stewmac.sjv.io/vnMQ3N Blackstock pickups blackstockpickups.com You can also get other cool merch here including new mugs www.bonfire.com/store/know-your-gear-shop Check Out Sweetwater stuff here and support the channel sweetwater.sjv.io/oejk7g

[@MotownGuitarJoe]

Phil, I don't know if your misses is TRYING to emulate the "NPR sound" at the intro, but she TOTALLY nails it. Love it!

[@JediCrackSmoke]

NPR is leftist, commie trash.

[@kennvillegas2014]

#facts 🎉 it’s like an audio prompt for ‘let’s get tasty’!

[@YouTubeHandlesAreMoronic]

NPR Sound? Huh, I didn't think she sounded snarky and condescending, at all...

[@7171jay]

@youtubehandlesmoron No, she didn't sound condescending and snarky... but you do.

[@YouTubeHandlesAreMoronic]

@@7171jay Sorry, I forgot how sensitive the fans of American Pravda can be.

[@carpathus]

Aw man, sorry to hear about your dog. You gave him a wonderful life and cared for him until the end. ✌

[@mikelarson7856]

😂❤

[@jameswhite1450]

I’m sorry about your dog man. They really are a part of the family.

[@danstringer7610]

So sorry to hear your dog has passed. My dog has seizures too. She is a “Bassador” Bassett /Lab mix. We have to monitor her liver like you stated. Thanks for your channel. I look forward to the podcast every week. Happy Birthday!

[@ldfox11]

Sorry for your loss Phill. Hold on to the memories.

[@joecoach7268]

Sorry about your dog Phil. My thoughts are with you and your family during what I am sure is a difficult time. Thank you for always sharing with us. You are a tremendous human being.

[@CeeGee60]

Aww man just got to the part about your dog. So sorry for you and your family Phil. What a painful thing to go through. Prayers for you and your family. 😢

[@luckyrocks1]

Respectfully disagree with your opinion on gas vs investment in becoming a better player. 67 years old and started playing guitar when I was 18. Bought and sold well over 100K worth of guitars and gear always consumed by the next greatest thing. Great fun and a privilege to be able to afford to buy all the great music gear I did but what I learned was, more expensive stuff doesn’t make you a better player. I have almost sold my entire 30 year collection and find that I’m keeping the Epiphone over Gibson. The PRS SE over the PRS Core and Wood Library. The Squire CV over the Fender USA and the Alverez acoustic over the Taylor 800 Series because even though it was fun to own and play those high end instruments. I never got better at playing them. I learned about diminishing returns and how good reasonably priced guitars are made today versus forty or fifty years ago. Now I’m looking forward to retiring and enjoying the time to just focus on becoming a better musician! I have enjoyed your channel for many years, keep up the good work.

[@jerrymcdaniel4539]

Tough year for you Phil. I am very sorry for your loss. I lost two of my buddies the last two years and my third and final dog is struggling. I know how tough it can be. Hopefully the rest of the year will go better.

[@liamphillips2339]

So, so, sorry to hear about your dogI We lost our Jack Russel, Floyd, back in December who we had for over half my life. I was 10 when we got him. Hope all the best for you and the family and I know they had a great life with awesome people like you! :)

[@shawn_ten_toes]

You should do what brings you joy. If it's theory, do theory, if it's gear, buy gear. There is no right or wrong way to guitar. It's art. It's a hobby. It's joy.

[@NoNameNo.5]

I tried that wit drugs, wasn’t so joyful after all

[@td7426]

So sorry to hear about your pooch. Pets are the greatest

[@t2dev]

🎸🎸 I own several guitars. My whole outlook changed when I watched Matteo Mancuso in concert this year. He walked on stage with ONE guitar (Yamaha Revstar), plugged in, played for 2 hours straight and melted everyone's face. BTW, to decompress next heat wave just keep driving west until you end up in La Jolla area where it was 70° when you guys were 110°. That's what we did.

[@pandemic7]

My sincerest condolences on your dog, Phil. I know exactly what you’re going through. Our cat was going through something similar, pancreatitis, etc. 4 weeks ago we had to put him down. Today would’ve been his fifteen birthday. We miss him so dearly it hurts. Hang in there and don’t worry about the content. As always, FAMILY FIRST.

[@johnfaassen6151]

Picked up a Danelectro 59X12 solid body version in blood red a few weeks back - same pickup combo - lovin' it

[@mikedr1549]

Happy Birthday Phil! Enjoy your 50's! Sorry to hear the news about your dog. It's so painful to say goodbye to them - hope your family is doing okay.

[@georgespencer3973]

Selling John’s photo joke was hilarious! Happy birthday, Philip! I enjoy your shows so much.

[@Yardbird68]

Hi Phil, thank you for answering my question and your suggestion, concerning buying my first looper pedal. "Simplicity" is what I am looking for 🙂 It is also a + that it is a Boss. As I really like Boss. I have used your link to Sweetwater and have already bought it. And it should arrive this Thursday, maybe sooner, as I live in northern California. As always, I enjoy watching your podcasts! I also hope you will have a GREAT Birthday tomorrow! Thanks again. Cheers.

[@thecolorhero1078]

Happy birthday dude 🎉

[@enlat2003]

Movie theaters are packed during summer. We used be able to go to the theater on a whim and be able to buy tickets to whatever show but now people are reserving them days/weeks in advance.

[@davidchaffin9617]

Happy birthday, Phil.

[@brianbullis6253]

Happy Birthday Phil!! I can't tell you how much I've learned from your YT channel and continue to learn. Cheers!

[@jerrymcdaniel4539]

All types of stores are closing it is just some commodities are leading the way.

[@solomonsanchez1897]

I know, you have talking heads saying the market is hitting historical highs, but everywhere I look I see nothing but going out business, help wanted, and space for rent signs. Every time I go to the grocery store I get less for the same amount of money from the previous trip That's a sign things are probably going to get much worse before they get better. The food prices won't ever change back afterwards though.

[@JacubWhite38]

​@solomonsanchez1897 The market is at historical highs. CEOs of big companies have never made more money in human history. The problem is that the money doesn't make its way down to the little guy anymore. It's all being hoarded by the top 0.1% of the population.

[@colinburroughs9871]

@@solomonsanchez1897 rich get richer, while promising they'll fix the weather or something. And people really don't seem to notice

[@NoNameNo.5]

Bidens America

[@scottdale4608]

HAPPY BIRTHDAY PHIL!! 🍻🍻🎂🎂. Hope you have a GREAT day, and enjoy it to the fullest. LOVE watching your channel...keep up the great work that you do. Cheers!

[@erichnunya]

Phil, after watching a video you did on your Les Paul Classic Lite several years ago... I bought one. And I love playing it. It's a great sounding Les Paul and I can play it as long as I want without getting sore back or shoulders. Mine is still stock, though I keep thinking I want to put locking tuners on it. Thanks for doing a review back then, I appreciate it.

[@behavioralsink7747]

Happy birthday Phil!

[@friendsofsandra]

Happy Birthday Phil 🥂

[@michaelgentlemaniac757olse5]

I love your playing Phil, and you have loosened up over the years on youtube

[@chriswoods1234]

Damn Phil sorry to hear about your dog. That's tough. Prayers for you and your family.

[@MasterKtulu77]

My only local shop closed after the owner retired and couldn't find a buyer. Now, I have to drive 4 hours for the nearest shop, so I buy online.

[@WTHREET1]

HAPPY BIRTHDAY PHILL.

[@joeb8383]

So sorry about your doggy friend, I'm sure he had a wonderful life in your family.

[@BCarpenter2314]

Great episode, Happy Birthday!

[@Youtubemademeaddahandle]

At 25 I looked so young that my wife (at 19) thought I was too young to date her. Several decades passed with my assuming others were silently thinking (and some even asked her) "Why did you marry a younger man?". Now, in my 70's we're both grey headed (after she stopped dying her hair). I've learned to stop hinting that I'll probably outlive her. She has started taking better care of her physical condition and I feel less aware of our difference in age. Time is truly relative.

[@srh361]

I swear the epiphone 335 I have has painted on binding, you can't feel it or feel a seem.

[@sG_Chimera]

I was really excited to sell my Knaggs in order to buy a Gibson Sg 61 custom shop (dream guitar). The used market tanking killed that. Would normally sell for $3200 and now I’m not even getting offers for $2800

[@thisdyingsoul76]

The mom and pop stores in my city were killed off in the 2000's by chain stores. First, the regional chain bought up the bigger mom and pop stores. Then the smaller stores tried to compete by offering alternate brands... then the national chain came along and bought the regional chains... and without having the same buying power, the mom and pop stores went under as soon as the national chain entered their markets. Where small stores still exist and no chains have come in, they are buying from the national chains because those companies are also the distributors for the major brands.

[@blackhatjester]

For a screw that lost its head, you can use a thin cutting disc on a dremel and cut a straight slot on the screw body so a flat head screwdriver can grab it. It's fairly easy to turn it since it's in wood. With such a small screw however you need a very thin disc. Also be careful not to damage the surrounding wood.

[@PerpetualGuitarist]

My passion is exactly like yours Phil. I’ve played guitar for years and I still can’t get enough! I play for hours every day. I’m not a great guitar player but, I love it! It’s who I am.

[@c1ph3rpunk]

A better business model (cough cough, Sweetwater) came along. Funny how universal that is. Ran a greenhouse for years, was asked “how do you compete with Home Depot”? Easy, I don’t. I carried products they didn’t, I made sure what I did carry was always healthy, pretty and priced to both make profit AND be in the customer’s budget.

[@olearywu]

A Callaham bridge/block for a Strat is fantastic, indeed!!! 😎

[@breft3416]

Lots of low end new stuff is pretty well made for non-pro use. Also, impulse-wise, you got me on the Alabs pedals review. I bought two a couple of weeks ago. Still in the boxes, though.

[@howardthrust]

VERY "DENSE" Show--Topically Speaking...NICE work, Phil! VOLA went more for the "High End" @ startup. I recently purchased a NOS Luna Natural w/ Gotoh Floyd (built then) for under $1K (big discount). It is ABSOLUTELY on the level of a Suhr or Caparison in terms of appointments and quality! Glad I snagged it, since it is no longer built; and it seems the company is NOW "building the brand" with less elaborate models @ a lower price point...

[@ValiRossi]

I own an FGN Flame that is the exact guitar pictured on the Fujigen website. I found it at a distributor in Chicago. I think it was here in the US for NAMM shows. It's gorgeous.

[@dexterj5615]

I really tried to give them my business but as a lefty I've already got a black squier strat and was looking for a George foreman es 335

[@howardthrust]

Yeah...I agree with you on the Danee' 12! Great machine for not a lot of money! I almost bought one--but the deal was intercepted by a near-mint '86 USA Peavey Milestone 12 for about the same price (Reverb strikes again!). That was a "needle-in-a-haystack" kinda find, though. Favorite Loop Pedal is STILL the "Boomerang +". Got 1st one from "Mars Music"(!) to use as a "Jam Partner". Learned proper "Rhythm AND Lead" playing AND how to record/perform with it!

[@jasondorsey7110]

That guitar center sale, 20% off on usa-made guitars...if you can pick up some old peaveys for cheap, you could get more money knocked off on the purchase of some new stuff than what the peavey would cost you

[@howardthrust]

@@jasondorsey7110True that! The problem is that those old USA Peaveys are fairly amazing (and highly underrated) builds. The Milestone 12s typically go for TRIPLE what the 6-string variants go for...when they can be found. I haven't come across a better (for my purposes) 12-string electric than that Peavey (and I've had a bunch!). Just absolutely sick on ALL fronts! Not gonna "trade 'er".

[@jasondorsey7110]

@@howardthrust Right on, a good peavey is worth holding on to these days...apparently usa-made gear is still in high demand, so they might not be getting any cheaper

[@michaelgentlemaniac757olse5]

Awesome kyg pic

[@wagzzzz]

Spark mini sits on my end table and is brilliant. I can play in my living room and my wife doesn’t get upset at the 100watt cab sitting there

[@johnnolan4312]

Love this channel, your the best !

[@cgdrum]

Happy Birthday Phil 🎶🎂🎉❗️

[@thisdyingsoul76]

I think we will see quality coming up through the entire product lines as we are seeing better quality "cheap" guitars that can compete with guitars priced 1 or 2 price tier higher.

[@ValiRossi]

I have a 96 Parker Fly Deluxe. Nice. Bought at Guitar and Keyboard city tin Mesa, or maybe Tempe. Remember Guitar trader? I use to buy from their store in San Diego.

[@sgtmac62]

Yep. The Law of Diminishing Returns. I own many upperended guitars, too many. Fender USA neck is the best part of my strat. I have more fun with my Squire CV! REALLY tear into it for SRV. Tuners were the only upgrade.

[@stevens1555]

Happy Birthday to you and me tomorrow Phil. Lol! I hope it will be you best one ever

[@-whiskey-4134]

Also, people over charging for instruments the last couple of years where some prices randomly jumped 200-300 bucks

[@p.s8950]

Its kinda funny similar to, i have many motorcycles but dont ride much. I like working on and modding bike more than riding them. My guitar gear collection is basically grabbing all the stuff I wanted and dreamed of as a young musician but couldnt get. Something satisfying about looking around my music room.

[@martiboucat]

Talking about vibrato systems, i'd love you to review a Jazzmaster with the classic offset vibrato. Maybe the new Player II jazzmaster? Sometimes those have some issues and need shims or 11s. Mike Adams -Puisheen- has a lot of videos about that -he's a bit niche- but i think your reach in the guitar techs community is far superior. Maybe a review of the Troy Van Leeuween Jazzmaster or a Squier 40 anniversary? Best from Barcelona, Phil!

[@ozarkpipertony8396]

I never watch movies hardly anymore and I maybe an exception to the rule but part of the adventure was hearing of an anticipated movie coming out and going and seeing it in IMAX with a friend or alone. Id rather spend down time reading, playing guitar or house projects.

[@blu4x5]

I was in guitar center the other day they had more guitars then I've seen. Like when they had the 1 Dallas store 20yrs ago. Now there are 6 or 7 in DFW.

[@tomh5133]

Phil, for a future Know Your Gear, would love to hear your advice for buying a guitar on line. I’ve bought two on line - regret one, love the other. At this time, I’m kind of in the “I won’t buy another without playing it first” but is that reality now? Thanks, TomH

[@thatsamazin-]

Music stores around me never stocked any Ernie Ball guitars. Sometimes we just have no choice. Personally, I don’t buy used and I will probably only stick to higher end guitars from reputable builders that aren’t produced on a massive scale like American and Mexi strats are. But, my guess is that the “try b4 you buy” is less important these days with machines doing most the work. I would think there’s less variance in the build quality vs the more hands on approach of the past. I purchased an Ernie ball Stingray guitar online without ever playing one and I love it! My advice to people would be to do your research. Scale length, weight, neck profiles, pickups, etc. These things are very important.

[@HRConsultant_Jeff]

My birthday was Thursday so, Happy birthday to us. At this age, I believe I am entering the don't buy another guitar (I have 14) so I miss the guitar stores mostly because it is just fun to step in and look around and touch things.

[@RandallHayter]

Local guitar store Melodee Music first closed their old store in Leesburg VA and then closed their (beautiful) Sterling VA store. Family owned for 52 years. I miss those guys

[@gaijin_lfc]

If you're looking at Japanese guitars (such as FGN that you mentioned), I'd highly recommend looking at Three Dots. I barely see any coverage about them in the English guitar world, but they provide really interesting guitars with high playability for a reasonable price. It's a relatively new maker, done by the guy who used to be in charge of Sadowsky Japan.

[@michaelthomas9991]

This is yet another great episode in your livestream. One observation - you obviously count your blessings, a lesson learned from your parents I suspect. You’re wise far beyond your physical age, and I am truly a fan of your videos. Thank you very much for posting your wealth of knowledge on KZbin. Happy Birthday to you, have a great weekend with your family.

[@tonepilot]

So very sorry to hear about your dog. It's harder to say goodbye to a beloved pet than a person sometimes.

[@YouTubeHandlesAreMoronic]

The Spark Mini is surprisingly good. The clarity and depth of the bass is what sets it apart. Kinda spendy, but worth it.

[@taulmusic7397]

Have a better year moving forward and Happiest of Birthdays! Emeralds are great guitars, have owned an X30 AND X10 slim.

[@brandonanderson2066]

Happy birthday 🎉

[@kennyg63]

Phil, what you describe is true of hardware stores, sporting goods stores. Etc. Talking with young people video games take away from time spent playing music.

[@jwguitar]

You can never practice enough. I try to do as much as I can all day everyday!

[@peterkatznelson12]

Glad you are here!🙏🏻

[@robeggers5560]

I'm a bass player and stores are used to only stocking a couple of basses and only one or two high end instruments.

[@willdolan9056]

Happy Birthday Phil.!!!

[@golfrick007]

Happy birthday Phil 🥳, I think my local guitar store is still going good. I think their prices are about the same as Sweetwater. It helps that the nearest G.C. is about 400 miles away.

[@Ike-VPN]

The gear can inspire one to want to practice or play. It can be an inspiration to pick it up.

[@Techo1329]

I could never buy a guitar without playing it.

[@Techo1329]

@JacobS-q7c Hope it feels good under your fingers.

[@gasaddict]

John is a man of culture! Well done!

[@billleith7110]

Happy Birhday, Cheers😅

[@Mtlatc]

Ha! Watched the first half hour live and didn’t notice the $50 guitar on the wall……

[@Taylort3b]

One of the finest jazz guitarist of all time was Toronto’s Ed Bickert. To my knowledge Ed owned one guitar. A 1965 blonde Telecaster. That guitar went through numerous pickup changes as well as frets I believe done by the Twelfth Fret guitar shop. It always impressed me how devoted he seemed to be to that guitar. Never saw him play anything else. In some way I wish I had been more dedicated to mastering one guitar than acquiring many while my skill set never improved. GAS was my impediment to playing better. With so many options hanging on the wall I just never mastered one.

[@raullodos4649]

That 12 string sounds so fucking amazing!!!!

[@CRiCRiCri694]

I want one of those thinner les Paul's.

[@57ebartley]

Comment on music store closing. In the last 2 years I check Sweetwaters price and then I go to Amazon. I just bought an Evolve 50m and got it for close to $400 cheaper off Amazon. It came from a store in California I never heard of. I probably could have asked Sweetwater to price match but I didn’t bother. My last big purchase before that came from Pro audio star.

[@selloutlabel]

I have one of the most basic loopers. It is in my roland cube 40. Simple record and overdub using the delay circuit. Limited time to record but great practice tool.

[@aureliusandthespiral]

Happy birthday

[@davidpeters8328]

Happy Birthday!

[@85herooftheday]

My local shop used to have a big sale every year on their anniversary. This last year they have been having that same sale on every single holiday. I am guessing that is a bad sign as far as how things are going there.

[@michaelgentlemaniac757olse5]

Phil has a Ginormous amount of pictures,if you have looked it's so impressive

[@AJNpa80]

Hopefully small guys selling on reverb and ebay and Amazon marketplace has helped balance it a little from when it was just big web retailers . The inventory of thousands of shops consolidated in one place, but with a cut. I'd imagine you have to target niche instruments, look for that one or two of a kind, or added value like claiming you reviewed and set it up in the post. Unless you have a relationship with a maker selling the main color of the Classic Vibe Squier isn't gonna keep the rent paid vs Sweetwater.

[@guitarsarecool100]

Guitar Stores Are Closing In The Current Market - Phil. There is a piece of this you kind of touched on at the end of this topic, but I feel like nobody sees how the current "Delivery System" is going to cause a bigger problem then everyone realizes. If you kill the Mom and Pop stores...and then the big box chain stores like Sam Ash and Guitar Center....you start to kill the industry. It would be interesting to know how many of those 600 Sweetwater reps deal with NEW BUYERS. Specifically new buyers UNDER THE AGE OF 50. The internet is a fun tool and guitars are fun to look at...but thats not what I think gets people to buy. Not people who are just discovering guitars anyway. You never heard Mark Knophler or Eric Clapton say "Well, I wanted a Strat...so I booted up my PC, logged onto Sweetwater and ordered up a new American Professional and......." They a)Had someone gift them a cheap guitar and b)Upgraded to their axes of choice by FINDING them at a "Guitar Shop". Meaning they went there, PLAYED THEM and connected with them. They didn't tell the shop "Oh just pick one and hand it to me and we'll hope for the best!" This new delivery system takes that whole part away. It removes that moment of connection. You were joking about how people would balk when you would be like "I can order it for you".. Thats because it kills the initial high. It gives the person time to rationalize away the purchase. The Online delivery system amps that up to 11. Unless Sweetwater is going to introduce instantaneous delivery in the near future. Do you have the extra cash for overnight delivery? Is it on back-order till 2027?!? There is no way self discovery can happen with this model. Sweetwater has to pray EVERYONE knows someone who plays guitar or bass or drums. If that doesn't happen, things will start phasing out. When that dip hits, Sweetwater is going to freak out like MAD. Sadly they only have themselves to blame. The shops are either closing because of them...or desperately trying to BE them. When I go to the guitar shop, I usually encounter "Parent/Child" day. Meaning the parent takes their kids to the guitar store and lets them play. The kids are good...REAL good. But if you take that piece out, I dont see Parent/Child "Delivery from Sweetwater day" having the same effect. The Parents now have to make sure that 1)They have the needed pieces to make it successful, like amps, cables...SPACE. Then they have to know what the child wants. Fender? Gibson? Gretsch? What if they dont know...what if they want to try one of each? That could get expensive. What happens when the parent is like "Just pick one!" Now the kid feels pressured and probably goes "Never mind...this is stupid anyway"....great job guys, there goes one more out the door. I have felt for a long time that the whole "I dont care! Gimme! Gimme! I will return it if I hate it" mentality was going to shoot us all in the foot at some point. Would you buy a CAR this way?!? Maybe if Toyota put candy in the glove compartment of the Prius?! Seriously, its robbing Peter to feed Paul. The Flippers and collectors get theirs while the people trying to find their "one" wind up having to learn about shipping costs and restocking fees and return policies...instead of just enjoying, playing and learning. Toys are just different. You couldn't go into a Toys R Us, rip the toy out of its package, play with it and then decide if you needed to own it or not. So they were destined for this kind of delivery system. But Guitars? Just today I watched my local guitar shop manager return a $7,000 Gibson acoustic because the black paint had weird swirls in it. This is a guitar shop! How many people are going to keep returning something like that to Sweetwater for the same QC issues before they go "You know what...cram your guitar! Its not worth this headache!"? The shops are gatekeepers for us. They help us with weird QC issues. They repair our gear for us(How many of you want to ship your pride and joy to Sweetwater for a set up, and pray it makes it there and back?!? Hands up! Not Me!!!). In short, mom and pop guitar shops kinda look out for us in ways that Sweetwater and their 600 reps NEVER WILL. If those go away(the local Shops), I can almost guarantee the "Us Vs Them" thing that Guitar Center felt like after awhile will look like HEAVEN compared to where Sweetwater will go. I made peace with the fact that if my local shop shuts down, I am done with buying guitar gear. 99% of the fun of this is the connection. That feeling you get when you walk in the shop, pick up some beauty, plug it into your favorite amp and feel like you found a long lost friend you never knew was missing. Not all of us are as lucky as Phil to have everything out and ready to go so when that box from Sweetwater comes you can recreate that experience. I mean look at his room. Its a mini guitar shop! Nor can all of us look at our gear and say "Whoops, time for a set up...better pull out my trusty Stew Mac toolkit!" I cannot see anyone under 30 even contemplating that! Ok..maybe under 20. So my advice is, enjoy it while it lasts. Snag those Fender limiteds and Sweetwater exclusives while you can. Because when they drive all the small shops out and conquer AMS and Zzounds and become the only game in town.....everyone(Sweetwater and the manufacturers) is going to freak when they see the numbers and go "WHY are the same 100 people the only ones ordering from us?!?!" Because again....to use the Car analogy "Nope, there are no more car lots...but if you go to this website there is a guy demoing that car and will tell you how cool it is and how it drives and has video of him driving it on the highway!!..." Lemme know who goes first and buys that car sight unseen! Thanks for listening!

[@neilpatrickhairless]

Last I saw the guitar Mark Knopfler plays is worth about a dozen thousand and I highly doubt he or Eric Clapton have been inside a guitar store since the 1970's sometime. Very honestly, celebrities at that level have gear curators, usually a recording engineer or producer they trust to get them the gear they want.

[@StupidGuitar]

Boomers gonna boomer

[@TN-D18]

@@StupidGuitar Insightful. 👍

[@StupidGuitar]

@@TN-D18 thanks. Saved you a bunch of time I hope

[@chrisbowie1994]

less guitar stores, less places to get setup/repairs done. how will that shake out?

[@garyjinks7482]

In reference to Fnder and market discussion - I met the guy that the launched smoke detectors for homes, he said in hindsight he should have made batteries.

[@brianrorex8337]

Man you gotta go up to Payson if you want to get out of that heat. The Mogollon Rim is like mini-Colorado.

[@anthonyalfredyorke1621]

Great show Phil, I've heard nothing but good things about Eastman Guitar's and Bricks and Mortar business are closing all over the place, some businesses are their worst enemy, I've been to three in the last week that insist on closing for lunch between 1&2 even though they have multiple staff and could stagger the lunch breaks . Really sorry to hear about your Dog they're such a part of the family anyway it's chewing a big bone in Doggy Heaven. Have a wonderful weekend. PEACE AND LOVE TO EVERYONE ❤❤.

[@robzagar4275]

Happy birthday Phil! Another great show. Please do Eastmans . I have a T-185 Solid wood w loollars hbs and a Varnish finish e20ss slope shoulder that is the best acoustic I’ve ever played. These are incredible guitars at any price! Thank you

[@StrumBelievable]

Any word on a release date for the Danelectro 59er 12 String? Do we even know if they will put this into production? Thanks!

[@shawn_ten_toes]

I've really found my happy sweet spot in guitars is in the $750 to $1500 range. As a hobbyist, if I spend any more than that, I tend not to play them, and they become more of a collector piece than anything. Recently, thanks to this channel and skills I've been learning, I've found joy in value brand guitars that just need a little work to become fun players. I fixed up some epiphones, built a kit, and did my first partscaster. Fun stuff!

[@theeardrafter]

You're right Phil, Guitar players are plentiful with a small fraction of Big Big talents...

[@alexdenton6586]

Prices in stores are just outrageous, which partly explains their disappearance. I spend hours in stores trying things out, and once I'm sure of my choice, I tell the salesperson that I need to think about it, and then I buy second-hand online or new on Thomann. I think I'm far from being the only one doing this. Online stores are the future.