Best Showrooms

[spd1971]

I live in the Atlanta area and looking for a showroom with a large selection/variety. Definitely willing to travel anywhere on the East Coast! Thoughts? Have had a massively disappointing experience with the only store here.

 

[SinSir]

No where near you, but I've been to a ton of guitar stores across the country and my favorite is CME. Chicago Music Exchange in Chicago. If you or anyone else is ever in Chicago I highly recommend checking them out!

 

[Bogner]

I live in the Atlanta area and looking for a showroom with a large selection/variety. Definitely willing to travel anywhere on the East Coast! Thoughts? Have had a massively disappointing experience with the only store here.

Sounds Like Somebody Had A "Righteous" Experience.

 

[veinbuster]

Willcutts has always had a bunch. Lexington KY.
Washington Music outside of DC has too.

 

[spd1971]

Sounds Like Somebody Had A "Righteous" Experience.

Indeed. A real shame. Went in to drop 4-5k.

 

[Bogner]

Indeed. A real shame. Went in to drop 4-5k.

I Am Sorry You Crossed Their Path. At One Time They Had A Lot Of Inventory And Some Hype But Their Staff And Ownership Leave A Lot To Be Desired. Years Ago I Sold A Private Stock Guitar To The Owner Long Before The Store Was Ever Around. Years Later I Was In Town On Business And Wanted To Check Out The Store With "All The PRS Guitars." I Walked In And It Was A Sight To Behold. I Walked Over To The Wall Of "Private Stocks" And Saw My Old Guitar Hanging On The Wall Listed As New. I Was Baffled! I Sold It Years Earlier And It Was Dead Mint When I Sold It. I Dug Up The Pictures On My Phone And Compared Them Along With The Serial Number, Etc And Sure Enough It Was My Old Guitar. There Is Also A "New" GOTM DGT Floating Around Out There On A "Popular Gear Selling Site Named After An Effect" That Was Scratched Up From Being Played In Store And Was Refinished And Then Sold And That Owner Is Selling It As New Without Disclosing The Refinish. There Is Some Shady Stuff Happening With That Place And The People Associated With It. Even The Ones Who Have Recently "Moved On" To Work Elsewhere, I Wouldn't Trust As Far As I Could Throw The Moon. Anyway, It Is Unfortunate You Had A Bad Experience. I Know Of Some Others Who Have As Well And I Know Some Who Have Had Positive Experiences In Getting A Guitar There (Although None Of Those Purchases Were PRS.)

 

[spd1971]

I Am Sorry You Crossed Their Path. At One Time They Had A Lot Of Inventory And Some Hype But Their Staff And Ownership Leave A Lot To Be Desired. Years Ago I Sold A Private Stock Guitar To The Owner Long Before The Store Was Ever Around. Years Later I Was In Town On Business And Wanted To Check Out The Store With "All The PRS Guitars." I Walked In And It Was A Sight To Behold. I Walked Over To The Wall Of "Private Stocks" And Saw My Old Guitar Hanging On The Wall Listed As New. I Was Baffled! I Sold It Years Earlier And It Was Dead Mint When I Sold It. I Dug Up The Pictures On My Phone And Compared Them Along With The Serial Number, Etc And Sure Enough It Was My Old Guitar. There Is Also A "New" GOTM DGT Floating Around Out There On A "Popular Gear Selling Site Named After An Effect" That Was Scratched Up From Being Played In Store And Was Refinished And Then Sold And That Owner Is Selling It As New Without Disclosing The Refinish. There Is Some Shady Stuff Happening With That Place And The People Associated With It. Even The Ones Who Have Recently "Moved On" To Work Elsewhere, I Wouldn't Trust As Far As I Could Throw The Moon. Anyway, It Is Unfortunate You Had A Bad Experience. I Know Of Some Others Who Have As Well And I Know Some Who Have Had Positive Experiences In Getting A Guitar There (Although None Of Those Purchases Were PRS.)

Nothing quite that sinister for me but a poor experience nonetheless. I actually went in for the first time a while back and a guy named Tommy (I believe) was very helpful. He actually turned me on to a Suhr but when I decided to buy it several weeks later, it was already sold. So bought it elsewhere and I give him full credit for that. A few days ago, I guess they were setting up for an event but the store was open. I went in and told the guy specifically what I wanted (the Special semi-Hollow) and he did everything he could to explain to me how much I didn't need it. That I was fine with the CE24 Semi that I currently own. He then went on to explain to me for ten straight minutes that I don't need any other PRS guitar. That they are just aesthetically different, nothing about the tone changes. At this point I was getting annoyed. There was a basic $900 SE Custom24 that I could actually reach and I checked it out. You would have thought that I touched the Pope or something. He proceeded to take the guitar back and wipe it down. I'm 52 (40 years of that a musician,) fairly clean cut but dress casually. I do have a few extra zeros to my net worth at this point in life. I guess they were not down for a sale that day? Weirdest retail experience I've ever had. And my wife has dragged me into some pretty stuffy stores all over the world. Crazy.

 

[WA Paul]

Bummer to hear this about RG. I had a terrific experience several years ago with Ben Calhoun on a used PS TOL guitar via phone and email (I’m in WA state). Setup was done perfectly too. I understand he’s moved on now. Sadly, I traded this guitar in for my own PS build, wish I still had it!

While I’ve never been there in person, I had good dealings with Willcutt And Brian’s Guitars. Can’t say if they are good ‘showroom’ experiences, but the people are first rate.

 

[Slow Dog Noodle]

For my money, Chicago Music Exchange is the best. That $10,000 private stock on the wall over there? Yeah, no need to ask a sales team member. Just grab it off the wall and take it for a spin. The acoustic room is sweet too, but for some reason every time I go in there someone's trying to sell me on Atkin.

 

[ViperDoc]

I've never been there (other side of the country), but those prices are sinful.

 

[spd1971]

For my money, Chicago Music Exchange is the best. That $10,000 private stock on the wall over there? Yeah, no need to ask a sales team member. Just grab it off the wall and take it for a spin. The acoustic room is sweet too, but for some reason every time I go in there someone's trying to sell me on Atkin.

That's the key for me, I have to play the guitar. Feel it. I cannot buy sight unseen. Very cool that CME lets you do that! I will make the trip!

 

[bodia]

That's the key for me, I have to play the guitar. Feel it. I cannot buy sight unseen. Very cool that CME lets you do that! I will make the trip!

Well, if you're willing to make the trip to Chicago to check out CME, then you need to go a bit further and check out Dave's Guitars. They have a store in Milwaukee now. Not sure what it's like. The OG store in LaCrosse, WI is AMAZING!

 

[SinSir]

Well, if you're willing to make the trip to Chicago to check out CME, then you need to go a bit further and check out Dave's Guitars. They have a store in Milwaukee now. Not sure what it's like. The OG store in LaCrosse, WI is AMAZING!

The Milwaukee store is pretty good too. I check it out every so often.