musicmaker rip off

alphabeat

fender flatwound bass strings -http://www.thomann.de/ie/fender_9050l.htm

thomann = 19.40

6 sets including shipping = 116.40


same in musicmaker = 29.99

6 sets off the shelf = 179.94

63.54 in the difference.

seriously ?

JonathanAnon

Have you asked them for a bulk discount.. Three music stores have closed in my area, they cant compete with the online stores..

I'd like to see you get strings from Thomann for a gig the same night.

Bricks and Mortar are always going to be more expensive (They do have higher overheads), but without them, it would be difficult when emergencies happen.

Elysian

Deleted User wrote: »

Bricks and Mortar are always going to be more expensive (They do have higher overheads), but without them, it would be difficult when emergencies happen.

Not to mention economies of scale. I wouldn't be at all surprised that for every pack of flat-wounds that Music Maker buys Thomann buys 100. That being said though, Music Maker tend to be very good to repeat customers. I honestly can't remember the last time I payed anywhere near to full price for a set of string in there.

Yeah, I should disclose that I am quite of fan of musicmaker. Since John Paul took over, the place has changed for the better. The gigs they support, loaning out equipment (sometimes!) and generally really trying to reach out to their customers must be commended.

I have a feeling the OP would have a heart attack if he was to go to Waltons!

Rigsby

Deleted User wrote: »

I'd like to see you get strings from Thomann for a gig the same night.

Any guitarist or bassist worth his salt, would (should) have at least one spare set put by for emergencies.

Rigsby

Elysian wrote: »

That being said though, Music Maker tend to be very good to repeat customers. I honestly can't remember the last time I payed anywhere near to full price for a set of string in there.

Depends on the strings, I suppose. I remember going into MM to check out DR Sunbeam bass strings, as they (MM) was the only place that sold them at the time. They seem to have ceased doing so.

Anyway, MM's price per set...€34. EBay including shipping....€22.

I understand and to a certain degree, agree with supporting your local music store, but with price differences like these, the tempation to buy on line is too strong.

Rigsby

alphabeat wrote: »

fender flatwound bass strings -http://www.thomann.de/ie/fender_9050l.htm

thomann = 19.40

6 sets including shipping = 116.40


same in musicmaker = 29.99

6 sets off the shelf = 179.94

63.54 in the difference.

seriously ?

While I know it makes no difference to the point you are making about the price, I am curious as to why you'd need to buy six sets of flatwound strings at once, as a set can last for up to seven years.


One set on the bass, and one spare set is all I ever need.

alphabeat

its to indicate the price differnce mainly .

but it you play finger style rock ( in the steve harris vein ) ot looking for a specific tone
the strings die in about a month or two

im suprised at any bass player that would leave strings on a bass for more than 6 months max

in any case thats not the point - a ten euro price deffernece is just insane.

zafo

alphabeat wrote: »

fender flatwound bass strings -http://www.thomann.de/ie/fender_9050l.htm

thomann = 19.40

6 sets including shipping = 116.40


same in musicmaker = 29.99

6 sets off the shelf = 179.94

63.54 in the difference.

seriously ?

You'll also find on the Thomann page that the RRP is €34.99 so Music Maker are just giving a smaller discount than Thomann rather than ripping anyone off. Obviously economy of scale occurs here same as going to a corner/convenience shop rather than a supermarket. Maybe you should go find the boards shop forum and start a thread about the local newsagents ripping people off as it's dearer than a supermarket?

alphabeat

utter bollox ^^^^

Royale with Cheese

Musicmaker 12 or so years ago, now there was a rip off. I find their prices much better these days.

Rigsby

Rigsby wrote: »

Any guitarist or bassist worth his salt, would (should) have at least one spare set put by for emergencies.

Ah yeah, but accidents happen to the best of us!

alphabeat wrote: »

utter bollox ^^^^

Nice argument there. :rolleyes:

Rigsby

alphabeat wrote: »

but it you play finger style rock ( in the steve harris vein ) ot looking for a specific tone
the strings die in about a month or two

im suprised at any bass player that would leave strings on a bass for more than 6 months max

Again, this has nothing to do with your main point about price, but I just want to comment on the above.


You are obviously not familiar with flatwound strings. They are meant to last a long time, hence their slightly dearer price tag. Usually when people talk about strings "dying" they mean that the string loses it's bright zingy tone. This would usually happen with stainless steel or roundwound strings, but flatwounds by their name and nature are dull to start with.

Think of flats in the same way as you would think of a fine vintage wine...they get better with age. I have had mine on my bass for five years, still sounding as good as when I put them on. They should be good for another couple of years yet. Granted, their tone is not for everyone, but if you happen to like them, you'll save a fortune in the long run. I have a set of roundwounds on my other bass and I change them about every 4-5 months.

A certain "Mr Jamerson" had flats (La Bella deep talking flats) on his bass until they almost fell asunder...after about twenty years. :eek:

Squidgy Black

When you factor in high rent prices of spaces in Dublin, particularly when it's around the corner from a street which has the 5th most expensive place to rent shop spaces in the world. You also have to factor in a high minimum wage, 23% VAT on all purchases, and the fact that they'd be buying nowhere near as much as thomann would. Particularly for something like flatwound strings where they're only replaced once a year if not longer, so there'd be few sales and very few new sets purchased by the store.

rcaz

Flatwound strings are probably one of them most obscure products you could have chosen in the shop, right?

I'm just towards the end of a relatively spendy buying spree (for me, anyway), having bought 5 cables, an A/B switch pedal and a pair of studio monitors, and in the next few weeks I'll be buying a new audio interface. All of that bought in Music Maker, on separate occasions.

Didn't check about the cables, but they were reasonably priced, I'm sure I wouldn't have spent more on cables online. The A/B switch was the same price as Thomann, the monitors were cheaper than they would have been on Thomann, and the interface that I was looking at today is the same price online.

So stop complaining. If there's something really obscure like that, it's always going to cost a bit more in a shop like MM, that much is obvious. If you don't put any value in having such a good music shop in your city, then fine, but for such a good place, I wouldn't mind spending a little extra for something difficult to get. It keeps the place going, and Music Maker is definitely somewhere we don't want to lose.

zafo

alphabeat wrote: »

utter bollox ^^^^

How so?

Dord

Why would you buy 6 sets of flatwound strings? unless perhaps you had 6 basses that you liked to use flats on.

BSOM

Can I ask you where you bought your bass guitar in the first place ? Cause if you bought it online, well then there's your reason why shops have to make more money on smaller things because having to match or be close to the internet price is killing the bigger sales.

Also, lets add you carriage to the order... now they aren't 70 more expensive they are 55. Now, lets take into account that you have to wait for them to be delivered to the house, no one to sign for them? OK that's a half day off, 30 quid. So now they are 25 more expensive.... I know this is extreme but the next time you need you bass input fixed quickly, or need an action job done or just need some help getting the right sound then just click on Thomann.de and see if they'll sort you out.

Or just ask them do they do a bulk discount instore before going online to complain.... the lads are sound and have much respect for them as a fellow shop owner.

alphabeat

Rigsby wrote: »

Again, this has nothing to do with your main point about price, but I just want to comment on the above.


You are obviously not familiar with flatwound strings. They are meant to last a long time, hence their slightly dearer price tag. Usually when people talk about strings "dying" they mean that the string loses it's bright zingy tone. This would usually happen with stainless steel or roundwound strings, but flatwounds by their name and nature are dull to start with.

. :eek:

and you are obviously too far up there on your high horse , that you think you know it all about bass playing ?

i use the flats like players such as steve harris , FOR the ZING , smooth tone , low finger noise under compression and speed / feel .
particularly in the studio.
guys like him are lucky enough to change them each gig , as they lose the zing fast .

we dont all just play country and western / jazz there sugarbeet.

try and open your mind a bit .

and carriage is inluded with that price for 6 sets.

fair enough , if you like getting ripped off, - be my guest .

the one thing i will say in their defence , they arent as bad as the other shop next to dunnes which had flats for 42 euro a pack

Ravelleman

BSOM wrote: »

Also, lets add you carriage to the order... now they aren't 70 more expensive they are 55. Now, lets take into account that you have to wait for them to be delivered to the house, no one to sign for them? OK that's a half day off, 30 quid. So now they are 25 more expensive.... I know this is extreme but the next time you need you bass input fixed quickly, or need an action job done or just need some help getting the right sound then just click on Thomann.de and see if they'll sort you out.

People frequently justify paying higher prices in Ireland by thinking of these worst case scenarios. The fact is that they aren't that common. Regardless, even if I buy 6 packs of strings in Music Maker or the like, I seriously doubt that they'd fix a broken jack for me for free. They might do it for their pals or the real regulars in the shop but for the average player that kind of relationship just doesn't exist. I always buy bits and pieces in one particular shop in Dublin; it doesn't mean they know me or give me better treatment.

I appreciate the plight of the local business especially in a place like Ireland but I'm not a millionaire either. Money saved on gear is money that can be spent on other things that might also benefit the local and national economy.

Rigsby

alphabeat wrote: »

and you are obviously too far up there on your high horse , that you think you know it all about bass playing ?

i use the flats like players such as steve harris , FOR the ZING , smooth tone , low finger noise under compression and speed / feel .
particularly in the studio.
guys like him are lucky enough to change them each gig , as they lose the zing fast .

we dont all just play country and western / jazz there sugarbeet.

try and open your mind a bit .

and carriage is inluded with that price for 6 sets.

fair enough , if you like getting ripped off, - be my guest .

the one thing i will say in their defence , they arent as bad as the other shop next to dunnes which had flats for 42 euro a pack

No need to get personal. I'll be the first to admit that I am no Jaco Pastorious. However I do know that flats are generally not known for their "zing". In fact generally the reason why most people prefer them is because they dont like a bright zingy sound.

It is for this reason that I assumed you were unfamiliar with flats.

Also, thanks for your concern, but I dont get ripped off. As I said, I have the same set of flats on for the last five years, and only change my roundwounds every now and then.

zafo

Do the Steve Harris signature Rotosounds last any longer than the fender ones?

Keyzer

Deleted User wrote: »

I'd like to see you get strings from Thomann for a gig the same night.

Bricks and Mortar are always going to be more expensive (They do have higher overheads), but without them, it would be difficult when emergencies happen.

Ever hear of the expression "planning ahead" ???

I always have several spare packs of strings. Any gigging musician should do the same.

And yes OP - the prices are a rip off. But its the same in retail across the board.

Keyzer

Keyzer wrote: »

Ever hear of the expression "planning ahead" ???

Ever hear the expression "reading ahead" ??? :rolleyes:

Deleted User wrote: »

Ah yeah, but accidents happen to the best of us!

BSOM

Ravelleman wrote: »

People frequently justify paying higher prices in Ireland by thinking of these worst case scenarios. The fact is that they aren't that common. Regardless, even if I buy 6 packs of strings in Music Maker or the like, I seriously doubt that they'd fix a broken jack for me for free. They might do it for their pals or the real regulars in the shop but for the average player that kind of relationship just doesn't exist. I always buy bits and pieces in one particular shop in Dublin; it doesn't mean they know me or give me better treatment.

I appreciate the plight of the local business especially in a place like Ireland but I'm not a millionaire either. Money saved on gear is money that can be spent on other things that might also benefit the local and national economy.

I take your point, i suppose because i tend to have a community based clients I get to know them more because im the only one who works in the shop (most of the time). Im by no means a millionaire either but I know of loads of products which are stopping to deal with Bricks & Mortar stores because people will go online, which in fairness I have said it to clients to go on if I cant get them a better price.

Your right about saving money and it will go elsewhere in the economy and I too believe that. It just irks me that people go straight on here to complain before talking to the lads and seeing if they can sort them out on a deal (Im not sure the guy didnt do that but I assuming he didnt from whats being said).

Anyways, ill jump off my soap box but would encourage everyone to ask the shop assistant in any of the store you visit if they will do bulk deals ans we can keep more sales at home and make sure you all as players are looked after.

J

Rigsby

alphabeat wrote: »

im suprised at any bass player that would leave strings on a bass for more than 6 months max

http://www.talkbass.com/forum/f16/how-long-have-you-kept-your-flats-758524/

See post #24 especially.

reniwren

When it comes to talking to the shop attendants personally for some reason I have never felt welcome in Musicmaker might be just me,but one thing is certain that when it comes to bass if its not fender or a copy your 1 out of luck especially for the higher end purchases and 2 badly set up which can make the difference sometimes

hhhmmm will I buy the online with the factory setup or will I buy in a shop with a factory setup hhhhmmmm

Ravelleman

I've found setups to be a consistent problem across the board. Even places like Manny's in New York had guitars with terrible setups on the floor. It can be very difficult for shops to maintain all of their guitars in top playing condition due to natural changes in atmosphere and all the people that come in from the street to touch them.

I, for one, get anxious when other people play my guitars because I know they're not as careful as I am. Even just making sure your hands are clean before playing can make a big difference. People think I'm overly protective but, as I see it, that's the way it's got to be. I've let people use my guitars and found them to be filty - strings, tuners, body, fretboard - when they hand them back to me.

Grolschevik

Ravelleman wrote: »

II've let people use my guitars and found them to be filty - strings, tuners, body, fretboard - when they hand them back to me.

I hear you. My brother could play my guitar, and I'll pick it up after and it'll feel like it's been smeared with bacon fat and WD40...


On the other point, it's bizarre, but I always get sort of nervous in guitar shops when talking to the staff, even though I'm pretty sure I know more than them. So I overtalk:

Me: "I heard that the Dooby Buster Pro was supposed to be the closest thing you can get to the now discontinued Australopithecus 7, but I dunno, I'm happy enough with my Generica Fascist Basterd. But maybe not with my current amp..."

Sales guy: "Here's your pick; 30c please."


[Edit: Woo hoo! One post left till 1000, and only bang-on 6 years in the making! I'm going to try to make sure it's in Instruments, which is where I first posted. Better make it count; not just a "+1" or "^^^this" or an "lol". Eh, none of you care about this! ]

Rigsby

reniwren wrote: »

I have never felt welcome in Musicmaker might be just me

Nope, you are not alone, I feel ther same way about Musicmaker. When I cross the road to Guitar Centre however, the vibes I get are much warmer and welcoming.

They actually lift their heads away from what they are doing, and either nod, or say hello. :eek:

Ravelleman

Grolschevik wrote: »

On the other point, it's bizarre, but I always get sort of nervous in guitar shops when talking to the staff, even though I'm pretty sure I know more than them. So I overtalk: ...

I do exactly the same thing. Sometimes I even feign ignorance for no apparent reason.

alphabeat

no i didnt ask for a deal ,
everyone and his mother knows thomann is out there ,
they should be tracking prices and adjusting within reason .

if they were 3 or 4 quid dearer - i would probably go for it , but a tenner a set more ? GTFO musicmaker .



rigsby

yeah, i can see why flats would be left on , 39 years - wow
but they would not have the high end left in them for what im on about .

im sure theyd sound great in general though .

i cant keep rounds on my other bass longer than 3 months as they lose growl.
although these are ernie ball and may be in fact ****e.


also the daddarios flat strings do not seem to last as well in the top end as the fenders .

BSOM

alphabeat wrote: »

no i didnt ask for a deal ,
everyone and his mother knows thomann is out there ,
they should be tracking prices and adjusting within reason .

if they were 3 or 4 quid dearer - i would probably go for it , but a tenner a set more ? GTFO musicmaker .

Ok, ill match the Thomann price on one packet of strings. That will be
€25.00 for the strings and the €15 for carriage please.

Thomann ship 7000 packages a week, prices can change from month to month with supplier. I need to buy 150 packets to get the best price to give the best discount, so if I was to keep up with Thomann I would have to be selling as many packets as them per week ergo, if you shopped or asked the lads for a discount on a bulk deal, they would sell more packets, buy more packets and then be able to give a better price. Also, what happens when someone come in and gets them off the shelf for the same price as Thomann and now wants a discount for buying more than one set.

Great how economics work eh ? Anyways, sorry about the waffle but basically next time go in and ask them if they can sort you out and if they say no then come on and give out. 100% if you ask they will sort something for you.

BSOM

alphabeat wrote: »

also the daddarios flat strings do not seem to last as well in the top end as the fenders .

Also, sorry Fender strings are made by D'Addario....

Rigsby

alphabeat wrote: »

rigsby

yeah, i can see why flats would be left on , 39 years - wow
but they would not have the high end left in them for what im on about .

im sure theyd sound great in general though .

i cant keep rounds on my other bass longer than 3 months as they lose growl.
although these are ernie ball and may be in fact ****e.


also the daddarios flat strings do not seem to last as well in the top end as the fenders .

I use TI jazz flats. Perhaps you could do some research on them, if you are not already familiar with them. They are known for their high/mid range tone, and are fairly bright as flats go. They have very low tension though, which is not for everyone.

They are expensive, so regular changing would be very costly.

Anyway, see what you think.


The cheapest on line site I could find that sells them is :

http://www.lordofthestrings.com/lots/RAPRD/Thomastik-JF344-Jazz-Flat/11001621.html



AFAIK, shipping is free on orders over €20.



Looks like Thomann does them too. Not sure if their price includes shipping.


http://www.thomann.de/ie/thomastik_jf344.htm?sid=59536101e523d0d44cc186e91cc2ebee

alphabeat

BSOM wrote: »

Also, sorry Fender strings are made by D'Addario....

whatever
the fenders do not feel the same / and seem to last longer as the dadd chromes -

FACT

alphabeat

BSOM wrote: »

Ok, ill match the Thomann price on one packet of strings. That will be
€25.00 for the strings and the €15 for carriage please.

Great how economics work eh ? Anyways, sorry about the waffle but basically next time go in and ask them if they can sort you out and if they say no then come on and give out. 100% if you ask they will sort something for you.

no idea what you are on about .

and re asking them yeah, i doubt it , and if i want to moan on a forum about it - i will

Ravelleman

You can come on to the forum and moan but it doesn't mean that anyone wants to read your posts. From your general attitude here - quite confrontational, really - I can't say that I do anyway.

ElectricTaurus

Hi guys,

my 2 cents Music Maker has totally changed with the new owner, price are really good and if you asked most of the guys at the counter will knock off few quids for you in some occasion, if you are a good customer they will apply a Thomann price to what you want to buy.

I normally buy 4 sets a months depending on gigs and they always do a good deal.

Two weeks ago I bought a Marshall Echohead for 50€s, on Thomann was 99€, they had the same discount on all the Marshall range.

My best advise is to shop around , especially for string Strings.ie it's great site for bulk sets.

I like Thomann and I like Music Maker , I fully understand that its impossible to compare one of the biggest shop in Europe with Music Maker simply is not working that way, the price in Dublin are all the same Perfect Pitch,Goodwins,Guitar Centre, Some Neck Guitar, Sound Gear, Waltons and son on.

BSOM

alphabeat wrote: »

no idea what you are on about .

and re asking them yeah, i doubt it , and if i want to moan on a forum about it - i will

Your entitled to moan all you like but your information (having not asked the lads for a discount) is incorrect.

Also, the E15 comment is about spending under 199 on Thomann you will spend an extra 15 on shipping so anything under 199 add 15 euro to the price and then see if the shop is more or less... just saying.

Hope you do ask the lads the next time your in and they give you a discount.

up'Chuck

reniwren wrote: »

When it comes to talking to the shop attendants personally for some reason I have never felt welcome in Musicmaker might be just me

Rigsby wrote: »

Nope, you are not alone, I feel ther same way about Musicmaker. When I cross the road to Guitar Centre however, the vibes I get are much warmer and welcoming.

They actually lift their heads away from what they are doing, and either nod, or say hello. :eek:

I'm the exact same. when i go in they look at me like i cant hold a tune. I've no real complaints about the price to be honest. it's what you pay to be able to try out guitars and amps before purchasing, and their strings have never been problematic for me (guitarist though).

i love going into perfect pitch... the old lad in there is always sound to me and talks to me on even level about anything. he's also helped me get my guitar intanated by one of the lads that those them for the shops in the area, no profit for him in that. and i wouldn't exactly be a regular, more a frequenter between him and mcullagh pigots (no idea how to spell that). also the lads in musician were always willing to talk to you about things casually. was a real homely store.

the guy upstairs also gave me backwards information about preamps. got it all straightened up on here which is a godsend because my original problem was, i had bought the wrong thing from thomann, and if i had bought that i would have just doubled my error.

seachto7

I find the guys in Guitar Centre bang on. I was up looking at high end acoustics in Musicmaker a while back, and yer man immediately launched into a blurb about what I should be looking for. I knew what I was looking for but didn't get a chance to explain that I had been playing for 20+ years, so kind of had a clue what I wanted.

Anyways, by chance I went across to the Guitar Centre, and ended up buying there, not because I didn't want to buy in musicmaker (I have spent a few quid in musicmaker over the years, so have nothing against them at all).

Rigsby

I find the guys in Guitar Centre bang on.

Anyways, by chance I went across to the Guitar C buying there

I agree about GC. Always a warm friendly welcome when you enter. However, from a bass aspect, their stock is very low. Last time I was in, there were only about four or five basses (all Cort). AFAIK they are supposed to be agents for G&L. I have never seen one in there. I suppose it's hard to get the balance ( i.e. good attitude and choice) right. Granted, it is a small shop, but four basses.....!!

BTW, their stock of basses was more or less the same in the "boom" years too.

Ravelleman

They often have G&L guitars - both Tribute and USA - but I don't think I've seen a bass there before.

There's a used Legacy on the wall at the moment. Saw it yesterday but can't remember how much it was. Reasonable, I imagine.

Rigsby

Ravelleman wrote: »

They often have G&L guitars - both Tribute and USA - but I don't think I've seen a bass there before.

Yeah, I have seen some G&L guitars there alright.

wild turkey

Guitar Center across the road have a few G&L's as well !

zafo

wild turkey wrote: »

Guitar Center across the road have a few G&L's as well !

They are talking about Guitar Centre.

Seeing as this thread was started about strings. Anyone know where one might procure a single .120 bass string in Dublin? I'm happy to be ripped off and all.

BizzyC

Before calling them a ripoff, point out the price difference.

Not familiar with the Guitar guys, but the guys in the Drum Dept would usually try their best to match an online price.

Eircom_Sucks

i don't care about high rent vat etc

all i want when buying an instrument or strings is the best price plain and simple

thomann are savage , musicmaker i found to be full of alternative heads and rockers , i personally didn't feel comfy in there and their prices were sky high for what i was after

sorry

plus european superstores affect every type of business here not just musical stores etc

sure itunes has ****ed up the hmv's and golden disc's etc with online music downloads , me personally i prefer to have a hard copy of my music

Rigsby

zafo wrote: »

Seeing as this thread was started about strings. Anyone know where one might procure a single .120 bass string in Dublin? I'm happy to be ripped off and all.

Not sure about bricks and mortar shops, but you could check out www.strings.ie

He is a member of boards and posts here from time to time. Seems like a genuine guy who might be able to help you out.

Failing that you could try www.xmusic.ie