Hello all, you've seen my previous two posts. Now I am looking to buy
audio gear to help my LOUSY singing from a techy standpoint in
addition to finding a voice coach. I know the voice coach is the real
key and the tech solutions are secondary at best, but anyways...

I WOULD LIKE YOUR SUGGESTIONS as to AN honest, reliable and safe
sources to buy audio gear at a REAL discount off market posted prices.
Some places sell refurbed gear as new not letting the buyer know --
this is dishonest and I don't want to deal with them.

You can email me directly if you don't care to post. I would like
advice as to what companies to contact and who to speak to in order to
get a healthy discount if possible. For example, a Helicon VoiceLive
box and Shure SM58 all have the same supposedly discounted price at
these web sites. I understand that as nobody wants to start a price
discount war. I checked the 2004 Pro Audio Blue Book prices of this
gear used such as an Eventide Eclipse, etc. used and the value falls
off tremendously. I am interested in learning of decent used gear at
a fair price too. You can email me at

When I played professionally long ago, I used to see the manager of a
music shop and get a real 45% discount on American guitars. I
understand the cost structures of guitars and this audio gear are
different, but you get my drift. This also used to happen in NYC,
when I bought gear when there visiting. I understand every business
must make a healthy profit to stay viable, but I have limited
resources, so I'm trying just to be a good shopper and maximize my
budget.

I am leaning to at least buying a Shure SM58 and a Helicon VoiceLive
box. I am open to suggestions.

Again, thanks to all for reading this and to any advice you can
generously offer.

Mack

"Mack" wrote in message
om...
Hello all, you've seen my previous two posts. Now I am looking to buy
audio gear

buy from your local music store.
when you demonstrate you are a regular customer the discounts and price
breaks may follow. (if the owner/mgr/sales guy has the discretion to give
price breaks)
a lot of times the "deals" you get on mail order don't look so good after
you add in shipping costs.

"Tim Perry" wrote in
:


"Mack" wrote in message
om...
Hello all, you've seen my previous two posts. Now I am looking to buy
audio gear

buy from your local music store.
when you demonstrate you are a regular customer the discounts and price
breaks may follow. (if the owner/mgr/sales guy has the discretion to give
price breaks)
a lot of times the "deals" you get on mail order don't look so good after
you add in shipping costs.



Especially if you have to return a faulty item.

Try Calistro Music. Very nice guy with great prices and excellent
selection. I believe he is out of New Jersey.

www.calistromusic.com

Tim T

"Tim Perry" wrote in message
...

buy from your local music store.
when you demonstrate you are a regular customer the discounts and price
breaks may follow. (if the owner/mgr/sales guy has the discretion to give
price breaks)
a lot of times the "deals" you get on mail order don't look so good after
you add in shipping costs.

That's all well and good if you have a pro audio store in your city.
In Baltimore, the closest thing is Guitar Center. :-(

Hal Laurent
Baltimore

Mack wrote:

I WOULD LIKE YOUR SUGGESTIONS as to AN honest, reliable and safe
sources to buy audio gear at a REAL discount off market posted prices.

In the "discount" category, Grandma's Music in Albuquerque is great. The
prices may not be the very lowest, and shipping may be a little more to
where you live, but they're not going to gouge you on either. They know
their stuff and are very friendly folks who'll do everything they can to
help you out.

If you ever have the chance to visit ABQ, you'll be surprised that it is a
well-equipped medium-sized store, and their primary business IS the store
not mail order. They're just aware that their main competition is Full
Compass in the non-musical instrument market, and they try hard to do a
better job at competitive prices. They have a nice selection of mics,
project studio mixers, outboard gear, and guitars/amps/keys. Their monitor
line includes Mackie, Genelec, Alesis, and probably by now Behringer.
They're a Neumann, AKG, and Sennheiser Evolution series dealer (but will
order the old standbys if you ask). They are not so much into the software
thing.

Everybody who works there loves what they do, and all are either musicians,
engineers, or both. Very, very nice people.

Jeff Jasper
Enjoying the Cajun but missing the Nuevo Mexicano.

In article writes:

That's all well and good if you have a pro audio store in your city.
In Baltimore, the closest thing is Guitar Center. :-(

Count your blessings. You used to have a MARS store, too. g

Your closest pro audio store is Washington Music Center. You're very
lucky to have a knowledgable dealer with good stock and good prices
within 100 miles. If you had one in your neighborhood, you'd be
spending too much money there.


--
I'm really Mike Rivers )
However, until the spam goes away or Hell freezes over,
lots of IP addresses are blocked from this system. If
you e-mail me and it bounces, use your secret decoder ring
and reach me he double-m-eleven-double-zero at yahoo

In article , in rec.audio.pro,
says...
buy from your local music store.
when you demonstrate you are a regular customer the discounts and price
breaks may follow. (if the owner/mgr/sales guy has the discretion to give
price breaks)
a lot of times the "deals" you get on mail order don't look so good after
you add in shipping costs.

True for the first statement, if you have a local pro audio store. Mail
order/web order: American Musical Supply and Musician's Friend have free
shipping on orders over $199; Swee****er has free shipping except on
oversize/overweight items. And most pro audio will cost over $199. Nice
thing also with web order is no sales tax (for the most part).
--
de Jack N2MPU FN20
Modeling the NYC and NYNH&H in HO and CP Rail and D&H in N
Proud NRA member
addy:

"Mike Rivers" wrote in message
news:znr1094249634k@trad...

In article writes:

That's all well and good if you have a pro audio store in your city.
In Baltimore, the closest thing is Guitar Center. :-(

Count your blessings. You used to have a MARS store, too. g

Two of them, actually. g

Your closest pro audio store is Washington Music Center. You're very
lucky to have a knowledgable dealer with good stock and good prices
within 100 miles. If you had one in your neighborhood, you'd be
spending too much money there.

Believe me, the 3 hour round-trip drive in D.C. area traffic is very
effective at keeping me from spending money at Washington Music
Center. g

Hal Laurent
Baltimore

"Mike Rivers" wrote in message
news:znr1094249712k@trad...
...they had a pretty strong "no returns unless it's
broken" policy.

No service is always the case with the cheapest suppliers and indeed some
people know exactly what they want and don't want service.

Pros NEED service and generally stick to local suppliers who can fix them up
with a "loaner" when something breaks. Just once more than covers any extra
cost.

--
Bob Olhsson Audio Mastery, Nashville TN
Mastering, Audio for Picture, Mix Evaluation and Quality Control
Over 40 years making people sound better than they ever imagined!
615.385.8051 http://www.hyperback.com

In article writes:

Believe me, the 3 hour round-trip drive in D.C. area traffic is very
effective at keeping me from spending money at Washington Music
Center. g

But when you want to do some hands-on shopping, you shouldn't let it
deter you.

--
I'm really Mike Rivers )
However, until the spam goes away or Hell freezes over,
lots of IP addresses are blocked from this system. If
you e-mail me and it bounces, use your secret decoder ring
and reach me he double-m-eleven-double-zero at yahoo

In article writes:

...they [Grandma's Music] had a pretty strong "no returns unless it's
broken" policy.

No service is always the case with the cheapest suppliers and indeed some
people know exactly what they want and don't want service.

Well, there's service and then there's service. I wouldn't expect a
loaner, or even a free tryout from Guitar Center, but if I buy
something there, take it home, try it out and don't like it, I can
return it for not just store credit, but a full refund.

The difference is that if I'm interested in something and ask at
Washington Professional Systems, I can go over there, get bought
lunch, take home the unit without paying for it, try it, and if I want
it, call and tell them to put it on my account. And if something
(whether I bought it from them or not) fails I can ask to borrow a
replacement, or maybe even a substitute that I might like better, and
it'll be waiting for me when I get there.

That's service, and it doesn't really cost any more than buying from a
mail-order box store. Thing is that WPS doesn't carry everything that
Guitar Center does. If I need a cheap reverb or patchbay for an
installation project, I don't even bother them, I go to GC, and both
thank me for it.


--
I'm really Mike Rivers )
However, until the spam goes away or Hell freezes over,
lots of IP addresses are blocked from this system. If
you e-mail me and it bounces, use your secret decoder ring
and reach me he double-m-eleven-double-zero at yahoo

In article writes:

...they [Grandma's Music] had a pretty strong "no returns unless it's
broken" policy.

No service is always the case with the cheapest suppliers and indeed some
people know exactly what they want and don't want service.

Well, there's service and then there's service. I wouldn't expect a
loaner, or even a free tryout from Guitar Center, but if I buy
something there, take it home, try it out and don't like it, I can
return it for not just store credit, but a full refund.

The difference is that if I'm interested in something and ask at
Washington Professional Systems, I can go over there, get bought
lunch, take home the unit without paying for it, try it, and if I want
it, call and tell them to put it on my account. And if something
(whether I bought it from them or not) fails I can ask to borrow a
replacement, or maybe even a substitute that I might like better, and
it'll be waiting for me when I get there.

That's service, and it doesn't really cost any more than buying from a
mail-order box store. Thing is that WPS doesn't carry everything that
Guitar Center does. If I need a cheap reverb or patchbay for an
installation project, I don't even bother them, I go to GC, and both
thank me for it.


--
I'm really Mike Rivers )
However, until the spam goes away or Hell freezes over,
lots of IP addresses are blocked from this system. If
you e-mail me and it bounces, use your secret decoder ring
and reach me he double-m-eleven-double-zero at yahoo

This probably doesn't apply to the original poster but if a person is
not the type that needs a lot of advice to buy gear, I wouldn't
recommend buying from a local store.

On Thu, 2 Sep 2004 23:47:22 -0400, "Tim Perry"
wrote:


"Mack" wrote in message
. com...
Hello all, you've seen my previous two posts. Now I am looking to buy
audio gear

buy from your local music store.
when you demonstrate you are a regular customer the discounts and price
breaks may follow. (if the owner/mgr/sales guy has the discretion to give
price breaks)
a lot of times the "deals" you get on mail order don't look so good after
you add in shipping costs.

This probably doesn't apply to the original poster but if a person is
not the type that needs a lot of advice to buy gear, I wouldn't
recommend buying from a local store.

On Thu, 2 Sep 2004 23:47:22 -0400, "Tim Perry"
wrote:


"Mack" wrote in message
. com...
Hello all, you've seen my previous two posts. Now I am looking to buy
audio gear

buy from your local music store.
when you demonstrate you are a regular customer the discounts and price
breaks may follow. (if the owner/mgr/sales guy has the discretion to give
price breaks)
a lot of times the "deals" you get on mail order don't look so good after
you add in shipping costs.

Mike Rivers writes:

In the "discount" category, Grandma's Music in Albuquerque is great.
The
prices may not be the very lowest, and shipping may be a little more to
where you live, but they're not going to gouge you on either. They know
their stuff and are very friendly folks who'll do everything they can to
help you out.

when they were new, they had a pretty strong "no returns unless it's
broken" policy. Has that changed?


Ya got me there, I can't say for sure. But I can tell you that they have
had the occasional really good deal on demo and pristine used Neumanns. I
don't know if those were returns or not. Just ask for Baird and he'll tell
you their policy with certainty.

Jeff Jasper
Voiceover guy

Mike Rivers writes:

In the "discount" category, Grandma's Music in Albuquerque is great.
The
prices may not be the very lowest, and shipping may be a little more to
where you live, but they're not going to gouge you on either. They know
their stuff and are very friendly folks who'll do everything they can to
help you out.

when they were new, they had a pretty strong "no returns unless it's
broken" policy. Has that changed?


Ya got me there, I can't say for sure. But I can tell you that they have
had the occasional really good deal on demo and pristine used Neumanns. I
don't know if those were returns or not. Just ask for Baird and he'll tell
you their policy with certainty.

Jeff Jasper
Voiceover guy

In article writes:

This probably doesn't apply to the original poster but if a person is
not the type that needs a lot of advice to buy gear, I wouldn't
recommend buying from a local store.

Well, you've gotta buy it somewhere. g

There's nothing wrong with not bothering the sales clerk at your local
store and just asking for what you want and paying for it. But do that
a few time and when something dies, maybe you can call in a favor and
get a loaner. Or maybe he'll give you a call when the rep comes around
and show you something that you might be interested in. Or he'll give
you a better price than you can find on line and do it a lot quicker.



--
I'm really Mike Rivers )
However, until the spam goes away or Hell freezes over,
lots of IP addresses are blocked from this system. If
you e-mail me and it bounces, use your secret decoder ring
and reach me he double-m-eleven-double-zero at yahoo

In article writes:

This probably doesn't apply to the original poster but if a person is
not the type that needs a lot of advice to buy gear, I wouldn't
recommend buying from a local store.

Well, you've gotta buy it somewhere. g

There's nothing wrong with not bothering the sales clerk at your local
store and just asking for what you want and paying for it. But do that
a few time and when something dies, maybe you can call in a favor and
get a loaner. Or maybe he'll give you a call when the rep comes around
and show you something that you might be interested in. Or he'll give
you a better price than you can find on line and do it a lot quicker.



--
I'm really Mike Rivers )
However, until the spam goes away or Hell freezes over,
lots of IP addresses are blocked from this system. If
you e-mail me and it bounces, use your secret decoder ring
and reach me he double-m-eleven-double-zero at yahoo

Calistromusic.com. The Best! Ask for Craig, tell him Claude sent ya!

Calistromusic.com. The Best! Ask for Craig, tell him Claude sent ya!