X Music Scaling Down?

GobBass

Was in X today for the monthly gander when to my surprise the massive guitar room appeared to be shut and all the guitars moved to the front concourse of the shop and all the PA stuff has been moved to the Bass room.

Just wondering for a guy who doesn't like change in the context of his local music superstore..:D

18AD

It says they're renovating on their facebook page. That was April 10th though. Be a shame to see it downsized!

Keyzer

Wouldn't surprise me tbh - I'm sure the amount of money available for musical hobbies has dropped dramatically.

The place is way to big anyway, its bigger than guitar center in San Francisco and that caters to 6 million people.

Rigsby

Keyzer wrote: »

The place is way to big anyway, its bigger than guitar center in San Francisco and that caters to 6 million people.

I agree. I always thought it was much too big, considering the minimal amount of items on display. Lots of wasted space there ( No !! NOT the staff !!! ).

slavetothegrind

looks good!

they should have built a couple of isolated booths perhaps for tryouts n such

glad they are still there anyway no jobs lost hopefully!

Ravelleman

I haven't been there in a couple of years but if the shop is as barren as the website, things aren't going as well as hoped.

gerarda

I always thought the place was physically just too big, and lacked atmosphere. Its a bit like going into a large hardware/diy chain store except they sell musical instruments.

Rigsby

gerarda wrote: »

I always thought the place was physically just too big, and lacked atmosphere. Its a bit like going into a large hardware/diy chain store except they sell musical instruments.

I agree. The only difference is that a large chain store or hardware is usually stocked to the roof. X Music never was.

Keyzer

Rigsby wrote: »

I agree. The only difference is that a large chain store or hardware is usually stocked to the roof. X Music never was.

Agreed.

I just don't think the demand is there anymore considering money is tight for a lot of people and the population of Dublin is just over a million (not saying it only caters for Dublin BTW). I was in San Fran with work a couple of weeks ago and went to guitar center, its half the size of x music and, I mentioned in my previous post, its catering for 4 or 5 million people.

The only thing I've bought from them is strings, a capo and slide. Rang a while ago about a fender amp and they didn't have it or know when it was coming in. Funny considering they advertise themselves as the Fender superstore.

Rigsby

Keyzer wrote: »

Rang a while ago about a fender amp and they didn't have it or know when it was coming in. Funny considering they advertise themselves as the Fender superstore.

This seems par for the course. Granted the recession is hitting them, but this sort of customer service is not helping either. Customer relations is not their strong suit.

Ravelleman

Rigsby wrote: »

Customer relations is not their strong suit.

They live in an ivory tower built inside a commercial unit in the Red Cow industrial estate.

Celly Smunt

I've always felt they overstock fender in lieu if other brands.

It would be nice to see some mid range gear in there as well as opposed to tonnes of €1000+ gear

feylya

Looks like the guitar section is back open:

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150945552196056.385454.90986716055&type=1

pinksoir

I was out there t'other day to buy strings. They have downsized. All the guitars and related stuff were in the unit to the left (with main tills and keyboard/tech area upstairs) and the unit to the right that once had them was closed up. I asked Steve (I think it was) and he said they had got rid of the old guitar area. Mentioned it felt more like a shop now, which it does. A definite better vibe off the place now.

quicklickpaddy

Not strictly relevant to the OP but they have started stocking Strymon for those who want to try em out!

Ravelleman

I was pleasantly surprised by this.

Demeyes

quicklickpaddy wrote: »

Not strictly relevant to the OP but they have started stocking Strymon for those who want to try em out!

Very interesting! I'm definitely trying to get out there again the next time I'm up in Dublin.
I thought it was better stocked than most places before, though the guitar area was much bigger than it needed to be. The same stock in a smaller area makes more sense.

i57dwun4yb1pt8

feylya wrote: »

Looks like the guitar section is back open:

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150945552196056.385454.90986716055&type=1

nope thats the entrance room still

BostonB

Have to say I never understood the move out of time. They get no passing traffic out there.

pinksoir

Much cheaper rent and rates I'd imagine.

Ravelleman

It´s a completely different business strategy. There´s no way they could open a shop of that size in town. I always thought Musician Inc. was very limitied in terms of space. Now they have to expect that people who want to buy something or just browse will be willing to travel in order to see the wider variety of stock they have now.

BostonB

Yet, Musician used to always have people in it, and buying things. Anytime I've been in X-music there's been almost no one in it, and I've never seen anyone buying anything. Its not somewhere you can drop in on impluse, which I do with shops in town. Maybe it was working for them before the down turn. Its just my observation, which isn't scientific obviously.

Rigsby

Ravelleman wrote: »

the wider variety of stock they have now.

I can only speak for basses, but their variety has not changed that much since they were based in the city centre. They merely have more of the same.

When X Music opened up first, I thought... "great !!, some choice of basses at last, besides Fender...." Alas, my hopes were ill founded. For example, I bought a G&L L2000 from them when they were in the city centre. Now they don't stock G&L.

While I acknowledge that they stock Fender because it sells, I can get a Fender bass in practically any music shop in Dublin, or in any other Irish city or big town.

To sum up (again only from a bass point of view), to me, X Music is/was an anti climax.

Rigsby

BostonB wrote: »

Yet, Musician used to always have people in it, and buying things. Anytime I've been in X-music there's been almost no one in it, and I've never seen anyone buying anything. Its not somewhere you can drop in on impluse, which I do with shops in town. Maybe it was working for them before the down turn. Its just my observation, which isn't scientific obviously.

Yes, these are all valid points. There is one more point worth mentioning, where they did not do themselves any favours, i.e. complacency towards their customers.

BostonB

I don't think any of the bods you used to see and chat to in Musician, moved to X-Music, or at least I've not seen any there on the few times I've called in. Last time I was there was about a month ago on a sat morn, and there seemed to be about 5 staff on, and only about 2 or 3 customers.

Grolschevik

BostonB wrote: »

Yet, Musician used to always have people in it, and buying things. Anytime I've been in X-music there's been almost no one in it, and I've never seen anyone buying anything. Its not somewhere you can drop in on impluse, which I do with shops in town. Maybe it was working for them before the down turn. Its just my observation, which isn't scientific obviously.

I've never been out to X-Music. I just couldn't be arsed. I used to drop into Musician Inc all the time, and actually bought most of my gear there. I still drop into all the shops around the "guitar quarter" to check out what's new, but drive out to Ballymount? I'm too lazy...

novarock

I just think its funny that at the time we were all reckoning musicmaker would be closing down, and they are the ones that have come out on top.

There was a rumour a couple of years ago that thomann were interested in buying out X-Music. As was pointed out above its like walking into a museum not a guitar shop, mainly down to the lack of stock (i know there is a lot of stock, but the place feels empty).

slavetothegrind

i think the only way for a music shop to be really good is to be owner operated, as in on the floor.

Like jimis and not musicmaker on exchequer street.

Having been down denmark street in london recently, almost every shop was welcoming and encouraging you to try out stuff.

Xmusic is maybe just guilty of having unmotivated staff who will only respond to direct customer queries rather than making the first approach themselves.

if the staff interacted with the customers more and got to know their needs they would surely have more of a chance of a sale, and repeat custom?

i get the feeling some days half the staff on the floor are offspring of the owners and just putting in time for pocketmoney......

Dr Gradus

Just confirming that they have got rid of th second unit entirely, where all the guitars where, and moved all of those instruments into the first unit. From what I heard from individuals I know out there, things aren't going well for them and they are trying to salvage some money back from the rent and so on. I suspect it's a fair bit saved given the size of the guitar hall alone.

Keyzer

slavetothegrind wrote: »

i think the only way for a music shop to be really good is to be owner operated, as in on the floor.

100% agreed - for an industry like this you need it running through your veins unless your servicing a huge population in the several millions and selling copious amounts of cheap crap.

I'd love to have my own place like Jimi's, it would truly be heaven for me on a daily basis. I'd enjoy everything from cleaning and stringing the merchandise to shooting the **** with customers...

X-Music, in my opinion, will be gone from Ballymount in the next two years. Wrong location and way too much floor space...

Keyzer

Dr Gradus wrote: »

Just confirming that they have got rid of th second unit entirely, where all the guitars where, and moved all of those instruments into the first unit. From what I heard from individuals I know out there, things aren't going well for them and they are trying to salvage some money back from the rent and so on. I suspect it's a fair bit saved given the size of the guitar hall alone.

Unless they had a short term lease otherwise they need to sub-let...

They should have started smaller and grown organically instead of starting with a big bang...

Dr Gradus

I completely agree with you, and so does the friend of mine who was just let go from there the other day along with 3 other individuals.

Ravelleman

In fairness, if location were a real issue Jimi's would also be suffering, which, by all reports, it is not.

But I suppose that worked against them since someone was able to steal most of their stock without being spotted. Such are the risks of operating out of an industrial unit in Ballymount, I suppose.

BostonB

Jimi's is a different market though, I assume.

Ravelleman

I suppose people see it as more of a "boutique" store, although it doesn't really sell boutique products, but in terms of customer service and philosophy it seems to be.

BostonB

Hes selling mainly much more expensive items though no? He's not really selling starter instruments for example.

studiorat

Where's Jimi's? Never heard of it...

Ravelleman

Here you go.

studiorat

Ravelleman wrote: »

Here you go.

That's fvck all use. Who is he? Is he any good?

Squidgy Black

studiorat wrote: »

Ravelleman wrote: »

Here you go.

That's fvck all use. Who is he? Is he any good?

Jimi's music store in Ballymount, never had any experience with him myself but the gear on the website looks great and anybody I've talked to raves about the service. Wide range of vintage and used gear, decent prices.

Ravelleman

studiorat wrote: »

That's fvck all use. Who is he? Is he any good?

That's not what you asked. I'm sorry you weren't more specific!

Rigsby

studiorat wrote: »

Where's Jimi's? Never heard of it...

The link showed you the location, as asked.