Bargain Center: discussion, gossip, etc.

[Rational]

Heard about this yet? https://www.digitalmusicnews.com/2018/0 ... ankruptcy/

[dzilizzi]

Heard about this yet? https://www.digitalmusicnews.com/2018/0 ... ankruptcy/

Yeah, this is why I go to Sweetwater. I get better service over the phone and by email than walking into my local store where they obviously know nothing about the products.

[MIDICH1]

Surprised Sam Ash is still around1

[Harry_HH]

Heard about this yet? https://www.digitalmusicnews.com/2018/0 ... ankruptcy/

Yeah, this is why I go to Sweetwater. I get better service over the phone and by email than walking into my local store where they obviously know nothing about the products.

First Gibson troubles, now this. The old phrase "if you will make money in the music business, don´t play music but start selling gear" is not valid anymore. Nowdays neither most of the musicians nor the instrument vendor get rich anymore.
I have supported all three big stores: my Martin D-28 is from Atlanta GC, my Gibson SG is from MF and my Shure SM-81 is from the SW.

[Rational]

I think the downfall of profitibility for the music business and American capitalism started with all the kids starting to download mp3s back in the Napster days. Warez was and is also a huge contributor. I see all those folks who believe they can get all that creative content by stealing as being shortsighted and ultimately contributing to the lessening of those who are productive from even bothering anymore.

Also, EDM has really started to kill guitar sales because the guitar takes effort and since 90's grunge and plaid hit with their killing of the guitar solo, there is really a lot fewer kids willing to put effort into high level mastery anymore. It's all steal it and cut & paste it into a song on their laptop via headphones nowadays.

Not a care for quality speakers or surround sound anymore. Not a care for a lot of gear. Not even a desire to pay for it. The beginning of the end because the culture taught that stealing music, movies and software had no victims. Wrong. First the producers are the victims then everyone is. Capitalism only works when people realize how it works and don't turn it into communism via theft of the producers. We've arrived at the consequence phase now it seems.

I'll continue to pay the producers even if I bitch about their poor marketing, prices and anti-customer hardliner thinking. Without them producing we'd have nothing. And without us paying we'll have even less.

[Gamma-UT]

Kids on lawn -> Economic collapse

[Tappistry]

Kids on lawn -> Economic collapse

If only they would ... remove themselves ... from the lawn ...

[Tappistry]

I think the downfall of profitibility for the music business and American capitalism started with all the kids starting to download mp3s back in the Napster days. Warez was and is also a huge contributor. I see all those folks who believe they can get all that creative content by stealing as being shortsighted and ultimately contributing to the lessening of those who are productive from even bothering anymore.

Also, EDM has really started to kill guitar sales because the guitar takes effort and since 90's grunge and plaid hit with their killing of the guitar solo, there is really a lot fewer kids willing to put effort into high level mastery anymore. It's all steal it and cut & paste it into a song on their laptop via headphones nowadays.

Not a care for quality speakers or surround sound anymore. Not a care for a lot of gear. Not even a desire to pay for it. The beginning of the end because the culture taught that stealing music, movies and software had no victims. Wrong. First the producers are the victims then everyone is. Capitalism only works when people realize how it works and don't turn it into communism via theft of the producers. We've arrived at the consequence phase now it seems.

I'll continue to pay the producers even if I bitch about their poor marketing, prices and anti-customer hardliner thinking. Without them producing we'd have nothing. And without us paying we'll have even less.

You've started with a very broad generalization regarding "american capitalism." And I think that analysis is wrong.

If anything, the Napster/YouTube/digitzation of music equalized the playing field, and pulled a lot of money away from record companies. It also gave relatively unknown people a chance to distribute their music and show off their talent to the world without going through record companies first. Look at Justin Bieber, for example. There are also platforms like Bandcamp where artists can have a chance to distribute their music, the website takes a small cut, and you can own the music outright in whatever file format you choose. I've supported numerous small artists this way because I like their music and I want to support them if they don't tour near me or if they're really obscure. This service didn't exist in the 90s when people were buying CDs.

While it's probably true that bands don't make as much money from album sales now overall, they will still make the most money when they go on tour. And it's always been that way. The Grateful Dead was one of the most bootlegged bands in history, and I'm pretty sure they still made a good living out of it. People will pay for music and live shows, the structure of where the money is going has changed. That's all.

[Fleer]

The essence of capitalism relates to the way people earn money for work they would not do for free. Most jobs, even those held by many a CEO, are necessarily remunerated, as otherwise no one would fill them. That’s why NYC garbage collectors are well off. Then there’s the problem of needing money for survival and the necessity to work in order to get the nice stuff we want. Still capitalism at its best/worst.
But music? Music should be exempt from this. Don’t do music for money. Music is its own remuneration.

[ghettosynth]

Well, all of that aside. Guitar sales are in a slump because guitar isn't the cool thing anymore. Why haven't GC made up in volume with DJ gear? You know, I asserted that guitar driven music was in decline quite a few years ago in some contentious thread on KVR and I was told that my analysis was faulty. Perhaps, but I don't think so.

http://blog.reverbnation.com/2018/02/06 ... opularity/

Articles that talk about blues heros etc. are missing the point. Guitar isn't going anywhere, but you aren't going to make the kind of money you need to keep GC afloat by selling guitars to aficionados. You also need plenty of Christmas sales to wanna-be musicians and/or their parents. Those parents can point and click on Amazon to get the starter DJ pack and their's much less concern about whether or not there's going to be something wrong with the specific item that they received because it's not made of wood.

I suspect though, that another part of this is that guitar sales are just being supplanted by laptop sales because that's really all a kid needs to make electronic music today. So it's not obvious where that money is going because it's being replaced by the purchase of something that has a more general purpose.

[Mushy Mushy]

All very interesting but can we get back to the bargains please.

[ghettosynth]

All very interesting but can we get back to the bargains please.

How about this awesome Keith Urban 40 piece guitar player package from the home shopping network for only $168. It's a nine hundred and something dollar value!!!

https://www.hsn.com/products/keith-urba ... il-reviews

On a more serious note, when does NI typically run their Maschine sales?

[Mushy Mushy]

On a more serious note, when does NI typically run their Maschine sales?

Ooohhhh very timely indeed.

I was about to pull the trigger on a Komplete Kontrol this week. I might hold off for the summer sale.

[Tappistry]

On a more serious note, when does NI typically run their Maschine sales?

Ooohhhh very timely indeed.

I was about to pull the trigger on a Komplete Kontrol this week. I might hold off for the summer sale.

Keep your eye out for used KK Mk2's. I've seen a couple on Reverb lately.

Buying lightly used hardware ftw.

[Tappistry]

Ok, help me with A/B decision please, between Audio Damage Filterstaion vs. Cytomic The Drop.

Let's say between sales and/or the FS forum here, I could acquire The Drop for a difference of about $30 over Filterstation. Worth it or not?