RIP Sam Ash and Guitar Center…

Sam Ash, Guitar Center...we've got some problems to address.
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[@LucasLeCompteMusic]

The problem is that these stories are mega dysfunctional way up the chain. They are all mostly owned by capital investment firms. You would think they would keep things in order but they don't. They pay people nothing and most of their stores don't have any of the stuff you need or cool stuff you wanna try. Best thing to do is look at their used guitar section and see if you can get a deal. It worked for me, but it does suck that small things that should be in stock aren't.

[@AdamSliger]

Yuppppp. The used section is the last thing to truly care about there unfortunately.

[@Spoon8lld]

As someone who works at a music store, I have NEVER had a customer come in asking for tubes. That’s why we don’t carry them, because everyone orders matching sets online

[@AdamSliger]

I’ve almost always bought them in person because it’s usually a last minute emergency 😂

[@Spoon8lld]

@@AdamSliger i hope more people start doing that!! That way I can easily buy them with my employee discount 😎

[@ethagr8162]

Hey I used to work at guitar center so I feel you on this. The sad part is that there isn’t enough demand for tubes anymore. Most players are playing digital practice amps that don’t have tubes in them so there’s less of a need to have them in stock. This way of thinking is applied to the whole store. The fact is that most of the customers that come into the store are beginner and or hobbyist level so things that pros/enthusiasts need aren’t the things that sell at a high enough rate. Hope this fills in some of the gaps

[@ChannelOfDiscord]

It's just that everyone I know plays tube heads. Guitar Center sells digital to "everyone" and that's all you guys end up knowing about after a while. Like you said, pros aren't coming in hobbyists are. But isn't that because they're not stocked? There's still a lot of money left on the table by not stocking your stores. Also, every GC I've ever been to had hobbyists working there.

[@AdamSliger]

I feel that, it’s just tough cause I wish they’d put more effort into turning hobbyists into gear heads instead of trying to sell them 100 different $500 guitars/amps.

[@justinfleming7603]

right on man , good explanation

[@audvidgeek]

it's sort of a chicken VS egg thing however. I don't play guitar, but used to frequent music and guitar shops to buy tubes to repair HiFi stereo gear, as they use similar tubes. WELLLL, it started to get harder and harder to find tubes at music shops, SOOO, I just stopped even trying and began buying them online from a place like Antique Electronic supply or something

[@stanbarrett677]

I don't have a Sam Ash in my area where I live, nor do I remember ever shopping at one, but there is a Guitar Center in my town. But I haven't had a lot of good experiences shopping at Guitar Center over all. So I find the two less known music stores in my area to be a more pleasant experience. They seem to care and be more helpful and appreciated, and interested in what I need, and are more willing to work with me. So when I am looking for a particular music gear or accessories, I will go to them first. I sometimes find myself going to GC only when they are still open, while the other two stores have closed for the night.

[@AdamSliger]

Sounds about right. GC hasn’t been the same in a while

[@matt_nyc_audioengineer]

Ya, I gave up on stores years ago! I earn my living with music. I'm a professional mixing/mastering/live sound engineer. I can't afford all the time to try to track down the gear I need and I will pay double to do it lol. I'd rather wait the few extra days and have it delivered. Something has to give.

[@AdamSliger]

Yeah for sure.

[@TheMixWithABD]

Tubes are becoming more rare as all of them stopped production years ago. It's one of the reasons tube amps will eventually die. Guitar Center and Sam Ash also don't make as much money as they used to. I'm just happy they're still around.

[@AdamSliger]

Guess I better stock up!

[@adamziehm-friesen7480]

Wanted some strings for a 7 string I have. Checked my localish (50 minutes away) guitar center’s inventory to see if they had what I wanted in stock. It said online they did. Went in to grab what I thought would be easy but they actually only had one type of 7 string set and wasn’t at all what I wanted.

[@AdamSliger]

That’s so frustrating

[@johnsingleton8570]

Dude! Orlando local here and I've been to those same stores a million times so it's kinda funny hearing you describe how ridiculously close they are. It sounds EXACTLY like the same thing that has happened to me a million times. I can one up you in that last week I bought the SAME BRAND NEW AMP from both Sam Ash AND Guitar Center and BOTH were broken. I ended up having to order it off of Sweetwater because when Guitar Center says they will "ship you one from the factory" you are 100% getting another busted floor model from some random Guitar Center location. Too bad because I'd rather be able to buy it locally!

[@lifewithintergrity]

Guitar center tells me every time that they are sending a new one and not a floor model and every single time it looks like it’s been thrown down a flight of stairs. Sweetwater is all I will order through. They deserve to be on top.

[@AdamSliger]

Which do you start with? I usually go GC Winter Park first but lately I’ve had more luck at Colonial Sam Ash.

[@AdamSliger]

Yupppp

[@johnsingleton8570]

@@AdamSliger I rotate :) OBT has the most stuff, so I'll if I'm feeling ambitious I'll hit that up as well. Colonial Sam Ash is such a weird store because it is HUGE but there's like nothing in it.

[@AdamSliger]

@@johnsingleton8570 OBT is the farthest from me (I'm in Oviedo) so it's my last resort. And yeah the Colonial Sam Ash gives me Sears vibes from right before they went under.

[@analogalien]

Bravo!!!

[@antonroughh]

Great vid! I live about an hour from you over in Brevard, and this problem is just as prevalent even in the actual locally owned music stores out here. Shoddy selection, subpar help (if they even try to talk to you at all). I’m like you in that I’d love to put more money into the community, but they dont make it easy sometimes!

[@AdamSliger]

They reallllly don’t lol. Appreciate ya!

[@larryzink8978]

The most common power tube in the world!

[@AdamSliger]

Yet oh so hard to find 🕵️‍♂️

[@legacyShredder1]

Hey man you should grab an Amprx Power Solutions BrownBox to stop your tubes from blowing, plus it allows you to adjust the transient attack of the amp by sagging the voltage.

[@AdamSliger]

I had one with my Bassman but I sold them as a set…should probably get another!

[@goodwill559]

I also use rubber gloves for better grip 🎉 and to keep fingerprints off glass

[@AdamSliger]

This is the way 🤘

[@wiley_koyoteee]

we have a GC near pittsburgh. I called to confirm they had a guitar in stock i wanted to purchase and they said "yes we have 1 here in stock" so i drive 45 mins to the store all excited just to spend 3 hours there while they were looking for this guitar just to ultimately figure out the guitar was not there and actually was. I ended up having to order it. Retail stores are pointless anymore. they don't offer very much high end products only mid range as if the only people buying are newbies. It's frustrating but the store manager told me that this has been an issue with steady inventory since covid. I couldnt imagine trying to find tubes in this area in a store. glad you had some luck!

[@AdamSliger]

That’s so annoying. And yeah I was going to talk about how they have a massive selection of cheap junk but nothing in the 1k+ range, just a big jump to the 2k range, but I sort of covered that in my Gibson video.

[@wiley_koyoteee]

right its either mid quality at best or every single pro model on the market. Whats even worse is trying to do trades through them. You should attempt a trade video and showcase how similar they are to gamestop lol @@AdamSliger

[@audvidgeek]

THIS is a common problem not just with music stores, but with any other retail establishment...books, sporting goods, tools,...you name the item!. THIS Is the *CORE PROBLEM* of why malls are dying, along with other retail. Everyone blames it on online shopping, but like you, I'd rather purchase something and have it in my hands the same moment I go looking for it. I think many others are like that too. But driving all over town, standing in long lines, dealing with inept staff...trying to find help in the first place! then dealing with inventory problems. All that frustration just leaves me, and many others just running back to their computers or phones to purchase what they need. The only thing holding these stores afloat are the purchase of "big ticket" items. They really don't care about you buying a few tubes for under $100...what keeps the lights on is the person going into there to buy a $2000 guitar or drum kit, but even then, they dont' have that in stock either!

[@jordangunit3078]

Just fyi. Sweetwater is still just one location Chuck surack started in Fort Wayne. It’s mostly still the same core management and sales team that has grown it. I work there so I’m a bit biased. We did recently have to take on a private equity investor bc Chuck couldn’t support our growth and we have one west coast DC to keep up with our California biz, but anyway, that man is still the largest single person majority owner, though not the total majority and it’s the company he built. I think we aim to provide service that’s like a small store, but we ain’t trying to have a bunch of half performing locations with no inventory. In today’s world, I just don’t know if any place can keep the variety of inventory required. It’s just hard to financially work that. I get it though. I kind of miss the way it was. But our access to product has improved. I’m just saying, I think we’re a good company to support bc we try to do business right for the customer.

[@lifewithintergrity]

It’s rare now a days to support any store really but sweetwater deserves all the success it gets. Truly one of the only decent music stores, or stores in general out there.

[@AdamSliger]

I love Sweetwater and have bought more and more stuff over the years from y’all! Just would love to have in person options too and sadly those are not doing so well lol.

[@PerJohansson-Xeizo]

As already said, Amazon or Amazon-like will take over everything. I live in Stockholm, Sweden, a 2 million+ people urban area and we used to have a lot of music stores. Not anymore, now it's just a couple and only one main store. Here in Europe we have the Amazon of music gear, Thomann, which I would guess sells the most gear. It understandable from a economic point of view but it's very unpractical and a low level of service of all types.

[@AdamSliger]

Sweetwater is our equivalent, I really like them but obviously would like to be able to pick stuff up in person when I need it.

[@BrewPackBuck12]

Are there any actual small guitar stores in Orlando? May have actually had better luck getting the tubes at somewhere like that.

[@AdamSliger]

Not really anymore. The ones I preferred have either closed or gone all online, otherwise I’m driving like an hour + to go to Jimmy’s Vintage Music.

[@supaflymicros]

I never really thought about the local guitar centers being the big guys that pushed the mom and pop places out and now they are the ones being pushed until you said it. I started playing guitar in the late 80s so i seen it happen but never really thought about amazon being the new big guys. In that case i dont feel bad for local big stores, its just karma. 😂

[@AdamSliger]

It’s the circle of life 🦁

[@curtisnewton895]

you re lucky having so many retail stores around....there is only one left where I live be cause of amazon. I agree their inventory system should decrease on every sales ...but I get the same issue no matter which kind of store

[@AdamSliger]

Since I made this, one of the Sam Ash stores has started closing down...

[@brinepacer]

My take is Amazon buys Sam Ash and essentially erases Guitar Center.

[@AdamSliger]

Would be a shakeup for sure

[@Nizodizo]

You must be in Mayfield Heights.

[@AdamSliger]

Orlando!

[@gregdolecki8530]

These big box music stores came in and wiped out the small mom & pop music stores. They are now getting what they deserve. Goodbye.

[@AdamSliger]

True

[@abelinolopez1957]

Sweetwater is going to buy samash they're gonna call sweetsamash

[@AdamSliger]

Then they’ll have enough tubes…for now

[@kozadofficial9662]

Sweetwater!

[@AdamSliger]

I do like sweetwater

[@kozadofficial9662]

@@AdamSliger just saying it for the heck of it! I work at Sweetwater :)

[@AdamSliger]

Nice let them know I’ll take a sponsorship 😂😂

[@rexduranzelandony]

Retail is in decline. Amazon will take over everything

[@AdamSliger]

Sad but true

[@IllusionSector]

2:20 _So this Guitar Center 2.8 miles from the Sam Ash - could not be closer._ Oh, don't be so sure! :)

[@AdamSliger]

😂😂😂

[@IllusionSector]

@@AdamSliger For context, Adam, the distance between the Guitar Center on Sunset Blvd in LA and Sam Ash across the street from it is 318.22 ft. :)

[@AdamSliger]

Oh, I’ve walked to and from both many times!! That GC has a wild vintage selection.

[@IllusionSector]

@@AdamSliger Yeah, I love the place. Every time someone visits me from abroad I give them a tour of the store. It's like a landmark.

[@anthonymacaluso1488]

I would say you were about the luckiest person alive to find 4 of those tubes in a city anywhere in the world 😂. Here is another note 🎵 😂 they don't care , I understand you want to help the businesses in town but the machine is there to grind you

[@peternigelproduction]

Obviously the tubes you purchased were not 'matched' tubes but simply the same type. Buying a set of 4 correctly tested and matched (Apex or similar) EL84's from Antique Electronic Supply or Amplified Parts would have been the smart move. I personally don't shop at Guitar Center, these major big box music retailers are in the business of pushing out as much FMI Inc. and Gibson Brands gear as they possibly can to uninformed newbie buyers who know no better.

[@AdamSliger]

It’s a self biasing amp, you don’t have to have a “matched set” but I wanted the same brand. And yeah I prefer to shop local but that’s not even an option anymore where I live.

[@ransom77]

Tubes aren’t as in-demand as you’re assuming. That’s you more high-end gear for pro and/or advanced players, and most of those guys just take their amp to a shop to be re-tubed and biased. With all love and respect, it’s totally unrealistic to expect any music store to be carrying specific power supplies for keyboards. You won’t find specific replacement power supplies for electronic items sold at Target, and I bet you wouldn’t say they don’t have any stock. Getting little replacement/consumable parts is not a big-box shopping item. I’ll concede the mixers issue, that sounds annoying and they don’t have demos in store like they used to because they were all getting stolen. They really didn’t have anything online that would make it to you in a week? That’s hard to believe.

[@AdamSliger]

The keyboard power supply was a generic 12-v one you could’ve easily grabbed at Radio Shack back in the day, not some hyper specific one. And my problem isn’t just with the lack of tubes, but also the fact that they’re just loose in a box and nobody can just tell you if they have them or not.

[@legacyShredder1]

Almost all big box music retailers carry tubes. We're in the middle of a tube shortage. Pre-Covid there were only 3 real tube manufacturing factories on the globe. One is currently closed due to the Russian war in Ukraine and most of the Western world refuses to import their goods. Another burned down. The last is in China, and they've got their own problems. TL;DR Almost all music stores carry tubes just not right now. Edit: (Even more reason to get that Little Brown Box, Adam. You can keep the tubes you have now alive for 100 years.)

[@gsbguitarsgsb679]

They are lazy, plain and simple. They don’t care either. I don’t have Sam Ashe in this area but we have three guitar centers and three music go rounds or maybe just two. We still have a couple other music stores. We keep loosing them though.

[@AdamSliger]

Lazy maybe, but either way they’re set up to fail from the top. Seems like they lack a lot of systems for stores that big and widespread.

[@gsbguitarsgsb679]

@@AdamSliger Agreed, being owned by capital investment firms doesn’t help at all either. They only focus on the bottom dollar. Employees are expendable and cost against their profit margin. No incentive for improving anything within that financial structure.

[@andyferno9274]

Pretty obvious internet sales is ruining local economy..

[@audvidgeek]

Keep in mind that some of the problems finding tubes is All over. The war in the Ukraine, and sanctions placed on Russia, both of which are countries where most tubes are manufactured, including the J&J tubes you purchased. supplies have been choked

[@JimmyBrungu]

Dude, your issues is that you don't use digital amps like a pro really would. But for real, I had a similar experience with both of these companies. Maybe its an Orlando issue

[@mikej6565]

Same issue in Tampa area. I can't find shit locally.

[@AdamSliger]

Yeah I should probably switch to just plugging my headphones right into the guitar lol

[@JimmyBrungu]

@@AdamSliger 🤣

[@godsinbox]

That is not how tubes are matched.

[@AdamSliger]

It’s a cathode biased amp, it’ll be fine. Plus their batch numbers were very similar, amp sounds as good as ever and has been working great. No problems here.

[@TheCyberMantis]

Your problem is: this is almost 2024... and you are running around trying to buy TUBES. Ditch the tube amps, and you won't ever have this problem again. You think you can just buy random tubes and stick them in your tube amp? 😆 The quartet has to be a MATCHED SET, and you will need to set the BIAS. I'm pretty sure you don't know how to do that yourself. Anytime you have a problem with a tube amp, you need to take it to a qualified tech to have it diagnosed. High currents inside, and you can electrocute yourself poking around inside there.

[@AdamSliger]

You may not know this but the AC30 is cathode based and is self-biasing. You can easily swap the tubes in a cathode based amp yourself with no trouble. Cheers!

[@TheCyberMantis]

@@AdamSliger I didn't know that. I never owned an AC30. Yes, some amps are self-biasing. But most have trim pots, and some are even a fixed bias. MESA stuff is fixed bias.

[@AdamSliger]

That’s fine lol just no need to come for me for retubing my amp properly lol

[@brinepacer]

@@TheCyberMantis coming in hot without knowing what you're even talking about! you need to self bias because the only thing matching about you is your lack of manners and your lack of knowledge.