Chicago Shops ??
Iyengar Giridhar
could try some good, medium to high-end amps? I'm interested in
stuff like Rivera, Ampeg, Budda, Mesa, Dr.Z, and so on.
Thanks..
..Giri
Jeff Makos
It also has a great selection of everything--pretty pricey $$$ however.
CHECK IT OUT FIRST.
Flynn Bros. in Evanston sells Rivera & Groove Tubes amps.
The Guitar Center on Clark is no good unless you want cheap Fenders.
AVOID SNUNSK (sp.) LIKE THE PLAGUE!
Guitar Works in Evanston has some nice used stuff.
--
"Jeff's gone OUT THERE on that stuff... we GOTTA get him back
before ZAPPA finds out and steals it and makes him do it in the
movie. . . ." -- 200 Motels
Jason Javier Gabriel Shanfield
go there. But if you want to gawk at all the oddities they have there, its a
real fun time. I found a cool guitar strap that was made out of shiny silver
mylar-like material that had an Apollo 13 patch sewn onto it...wow!
I believei it is the only store in chicago that sells Leo Fender guitars and
Ric's...but I may be wrong. Though the people are really surley, the place
smells like a zoo due to the live animals hanging about, and it is overpriced
for most stuff, you may stumble upon a real find...like that guitar strap..wow!
Also, they carry a lot of off brands that only "look" like the original. by
this I mean, they have braided nylon cables with nice jacks, but..umm..they
arent what I thought they were...they really sucked and knotted all up. and
shorted and ust generally sucked (once again).
the place is like a museum, and should probably be treated as one. I say this
because My friend Geoff and I had a strange feeling that there was something
more than selling instruments and stuff going on there...like some sort of
illegal operation? anyway, thats the impression we came to after realizing that
they had hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of merchandise crammed into a
space about the size of my apartment (not that big)...
i stayed there for an hour and watched them sell about 40$ worth of stuff...
how do they stay open?
--
Jason Shanfield
email: jgsh...@midway.uchicago.edu
Jeff Makos
never seems to be any business there yet they have brand-new Gibson LP
Classics, etc. Lots of stuff is in pretty bad condition--I saw a new ES-335
with a really warped neck. Also, they always have the Rush Limbaugh radio
show playing in the background. But I found an old purple Ibanez Chorus
there, so it's worth a look, if just for entertainment value.
Todd L. McCagg
I rep for Modulus, EMG, Spector, SWR, VHT, Fernandes and others
and every time I travel with a factory person we always go by
Snukst. It is truly a museum and Joe's wit and humor are
always a departure from the hum-drum. I have known Joe and
Florence for 10 years as a rep and they have always been very
kind to me.
They actually have over 2,000 guitars in the store!! There is
also alot of stuff there that you can't see in the warehouse.
If you consider how long that store has been there you may
begin to figure out how they got to such an inventory level and
how the "stay in business". Joe is a gear geek! At least one of
anything new and radical that came out in the last 20 years has
been in the store and some of it still is. Snukst Music is so
unusual that I have talked to the folks at Wild Chicago about
doing a piece on them. If you call yourself a Chicago Musician
and have never been there, you have to!!
Joe can indeed be surly (not surely but surely he is surly) and
I have actually witnessed a rude customer being physically
removed from the premises by Joe (don't let his height fool
you). I have also seen him go over the edge in helping an
ESL (English as a Second Language) customer locate some
weird part for a drum that hasn't been made in 2 decades and
charge him a price that, by inflation alone, should have been
10 times higher. The attack to the olfactory senses do
indeed eminate from the pooches in question. It is my theory
that if you live there you don't notice it but, without a
doubt, it does offend!
As to how he stays in business, I guess you have to spend a few
days there to understand. I have been there for hours at a time
and seen him sell NOTHING. I also sent a customer to Joe from
MN who bought two Historic Series Gibsons for several thousand
dollars each. It is getting more and more difficult as the "big
stores" come and go but Joe and Florence do OK (I think).
Lastly, as far as attitude, they have seen a lot of good folks
and a lot of loser/posers come through that door. I have seen
it happen thousands of times:
Customer walks into a fairly empty music store:
Salesman: Can I help you find something today?
Customer: No, just looking.
Salesman: OK, help yourself and if you need any assistance,
just ask and I will be happy to help.
Now the phones are ringing off the wall and there are 20
customers in the store.
Customer: I can't get any help around here (and leaves in a
huff).
I am not saying you should leave your pants and wallet at the
door but I am saying that you should at least be as nice back
to the salesman as he was to you. Suggested scenario:
Customer walks into a fairly empty music store:
Salesman: Can I help you find something today?
Customer: Not right away, but I play guitar and heard you had a
cool selection and just had to check you guys out. I am looking
for a guitar in the next few months (weeks or whatever) and
want to get an idea of what is out there.
I could be wrong (I am sometimes) but I think you will be
surprised at the change of attitude. So next time you're on the
SW side be sure to stop in and visit. It is really worth the
trip. Tell 'em I sent you.
Snukst Music
6611 S. Pulaski
Chicago, IL 60629
312-585-7923
Jeff Makos
Customer: No, just looking.
Anupam Razdan
: It is actually Snukst. The owners are Joe and Florence Snukst.
: and every time I travel with a factory person we always go by
: Snukst. It is truly a museum and Joe's wit and humor are
: always a departure from the hum-drum. I have known Joe and
: Florence for 10 years as a rep and they have always been very
: kind to me.
And why not? You're a rep - you are *not* a customer. Don't
tell us "how it really is".
: They actually have over 2,000 guitars in the store!! There is
About 90% crap and the rest overpriced.
: Joe can indeed be surly (not surely but surely he is surly) and
: I have actually witnessed a rude customer being physically
: removed from the premises by Joe (don't let his height fool
: you). I have also seen him go over the edge in helping an
He's not surly - he's an ass****.
: Lastly, as far as attitude, they have seen a lot of good folks
: and a lot of loser/posers come through that door. I have seen
: it happen thousands of times:
Oh, *thousands* - really? NO HYPERBOLE in that statement, I'm sure.
: Customer walks into a fairly empty music store:
: Salesman: Can I help you find something today?
: Customer: No, just looking.
: Salesman: OK, help yourself and if you need any assistance,
: just ask and I will be happy to help.
*NO*!!!! He assaulted me with questions. Basically, he got
the attitude that I wasn't serious about buying an instrument.
Too bad I took my money elsewhere. I'm an Engineer, three years
out of college. I don't dress in rags, or have long hair, tattoos,
etc. So why don't music stores take me seriously? Because I
don't look like the doctor/lawyer who is going to buy an
overpriced ripoff like the Gibson Heritage series. Their loss -
when I buy, I buy professional quality. That means thousands
of dollars they won't be pocketing.
: I am not saying you should leave your pants and wallet at the
: door but I am saying that you should at least be as nice back
: to the salesman as he was to you. Suggested scenario:
: Customer walks into a fairly empty music store:
: Salesman: Can I help you find something today?
: Customer: Not right away, but I play guitar and heard you had a
: cool selection and just had to check you guys out. I am looking
: for a guitar in the next few months (weeks or whatever) and
: want to get an idea of what is out there.
Yeah, I said this exactly. And he wouldn't let me alone. All
I wanted to do was look for a used Gibson without historical
value for less than $500. Instead, he insulted my intelligence
with statements like "All old Gibsons are collectibles". This
is complete bull****! I can pickup 10-15 year-old Gibsons for
$300 any day of the week! In fact, my first good guitar,
a '79 Explorer 2, now has a book value of less than $200.
: I could be wrong (I am sometimes) but I think you will be
: surprised at the change of attitude. So next time you're on the
: SW side be sure to stop in and visit. It is really worth the
: trip. Tell 'em I sent you.
The only reason to go there is to lecture a class on how *not* to
treat customers. If you want to go to the best guitar store in
town, customer and gear wise, go to Make 'N Music. If you want
to buy overpriced Cort and Samick guitars, go to Snukst.
And I'm not a manufacturer rep - just someone who has spent his
*own* money at Make 'N Music.
--
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Anupam Razdan Ayrton Senna da Silva - Simply, The Best
r...@mcs.com Formula One World Champion - 1988, 1990, 1991
Anupam Razdan
: Make'n Music in the city on Erie St. is the only Mesa dealer in town.
: It also has a great selection of everything--pretty pricey $$$ however.
: CHECK IT OUT FIRST.
*Best* store in town. See below.
: AVOID SNUNSK (sp.) LIKE THE PLAGUE!
YES!!! I went in there *once* (never again), and was instantly assailed
by an extremely strong canine odor. The whole place smells like a
dog's breath. The store is relatively small, but has guitars hanging
everywhere. After looking around for a few minutes, this old man
with a beard asks me if he can help me. I was just looking and
told him as much. "What are you looking for?" he asked. I stated
that I was looking for a used Gibson guitar for ~$500.
"What??!! You won't find any Gibsons for under a grand!"
"What about 10-15 year old Explorers", I asked. (I had a '79 Explorer 2,
and I knew that the book value was only a few hundred)
"Those are "classic" instruments. They're collectibles!" he barked.
At this point I felt rather uncomfortable. He finally left me alone,
and I looked around. Most of the guitars are *shit*, old Corts, and
Samicks, etc. Some brands I've barely heard of. In between, they
have some old Hamers and the like, but for outrageous prices.
Rude customer service and crap equipment - they are not getting my money!
Make 'N Music, on the other hand, is the *best* guitar store I've ever
been to. They salesman let me try *anything* out, they don't
condescend when I only buy some strings, and remembered me after
a few times. They used to have a store in Homewood, which is near
where I live, but they closed it.
I recently traded in a Marshall 2x12 50watt JCM 800 amp for a new
Hamer Daytona ('57 strat reissue done right), and I can't say
enough about the service. The prices are *extremely* competitive.
Yes, they have expensive merchandise, but it is quality gear and
is *not* overpriced. It is possible to purchase an American made
Hamer for about $700 retail (Strat and Teles), and they typically sell
items 30% off list.
BTW, when they have old Gibsons, they don't just mark them up as
"collectible". It *is* possible to pick up an old SG or Les Paul
Junior for $500 there. Take *that* Snukst!