musicians friend???

[aln413]

anybody ever order from them,thinkin about it but kinda sketchy due to the fact that you dont acually get to play your guitar til it arrives. thoughts???

[mark norwine]

thousands of folks have bought mail order guitars so i'm sure you'll get thousands of responses....

but for me, i'd never buy a guitar that i couldn't feel first. some guitars "speak to me", others don't. with the ever-escalating cost of decent guitars, i'm not willing to take the risk.

but that's just me.

as for MF in general, i've bought from them & never had a problem. all & all, however, i'd rather support a local mom&pop. you know that MF is owned by GC, right?

[Iceman]

They have a 45 day no questions asked return policy. I bought a mim tele from them and it had some issues, returned it on their nickel and loved the second one I got. Setup/intonation was good right out of the box. Also bought a blonde Blues Junior from them I am happy with.

[Joe M]

I had always been skeptical of buying anything without playing it first. But I bought a new Relic 63 Tele from them from their "blem" department (how do you tell if a relic is blemished :? ) and couldn't be happier. I saved more than $500 and it's one of the nicest teles I have ever owned. Even if I hadn't of liked it, their return policy is one of the best in the business. You can return anything, no questions asked, up to 45 days. I don't know how you can go wrong doing business with them......

[Doc]

When I live in Stow (Akron), OH it was very easy to try out what I was interested in before I bought. There were 4-5 music stors in Akron, a couple in Stow and many in Cleveland. There there were other communitites inthe area as well. All withing 60 minutes of me.

However, where I live now (South Dakota) there are very few options. There are maybe 5-6 stores dealing new within 60 minutes, and maybe 5 more dealing used (pawn shops). Most are the squire to entry level models. There is 1 Gibson dealer and it carries primarily Epiphone, with few Gibsons within 60 minutes. So trying things out without driving 2 1/2 hours (Omaha, NE) or 5 hours (Minneapolis, MN) is impossible. Those distances make it a "special" trip as it means a full day or more to do anything and that requires including family who have little interest in spending quality time in the music store. So in my case it has been the only way into getting things.

In my situation, I use mail order a lot these days. MF being one place, and Music123 another. I have also had very good experinces with Levine's Washington Music Center (Brian) when I have a specific item I am looking for when I call. I have used ZZounds as well in the past.

In all cases they have been good to deal with, and have given me no more difficulty than a local store has in the past. In fact, I have had more difficulty with 2 of the local operation when I lived in Ohio than I ever have the mail order places. All the mailorders have been willing to do returns when I need to, and have been reasonably responsive in customer service. Some process orders faster than others, but all have gotten it done within 3 days of the others. I have even been able to get had Music123 special order items like pickups for me, and they had been very helpful.

So I am saying, in my rambling manner, that I think they are fin to deal with and no more of a problem than any other dealership. In fact, I have had a better time with customer service in general with them than with several local shops.

Dale

[Dana]

I don't mind Musicians Friend at all. My only issue with them is when I order something from them and they tell me it's in stock, only to find out later that it's on backorder. This has happened to me a few times.

[Raymond]

I'm from the old school so I've bought from MF stuff like strings, pics, and even my Tascam CDGT1 with good service and results, but by principle I just wouldn't buy instruments on line without trying first whether is MF or any other on line retailer.

Since MF is owned by GC, you'd get the same prices. I don't know how far from a GC you are, but I think is better just going in person to test the instruments. The difference would be the sales tax, because I believe MF doesn't charge you for the shipping for orders over 250 bucks or something like that, but you wouldn't need to wait a few days and then see if you like it....

Just my opinion,....

[NashTele]

I ordered a Texas Special Strat from them, got it in 3 days and everything was good.

[Matt Plescher]

never had a problem with their service. Whether you want to order something you haven't played is a more general question, nothing to do with MF - I ordered my MIM from a mom and pop over the Internet.

MF can have some scary packing though...

Cheers
Matt

[11 Gauge]

i ordered an ESP from them a few years back. just a $300 axe, but the first one i've ever bought mail order.

for 300 bucks i was fairly pleasantly surprised, plus the hardware the guitar came with looked better than what the cat. photo showed (this could have easily been a problem, though).

the setup on mine wasn't that great - i had to tweak the truss rod, intonate the bridge, adjust the action, etc. but overall not a bad experience for buying a guitar from a catalog.

there wasn't a single nick or ding on the guitar anywhere either.

but the lucky part was that it actually sounds good. always a gamble with a warehouse purchase.

actually i may be forced to deal with someone like MF for my next Tele purchase. Mars went out of biz last year and my local mom&pop is run by an apathetic crowd selling overpriced stuff, with a not so great Tele selection.

there's a GC about 40 minutes away from me, but not too many Teles to choose from and my interactions with the workforce there has been a little less than positive.

i think the reality for me is to buy from a place like MF, and then swap pieces of the guitar out if it makes the grade. i always end up swapping pickups, saddles, etc. anyhow.

[Jerry J]

Thats news to me but no too surprizing! No wonder the local GC always matched the MF price! I thought I was getting a great price.

Agree with most posters. While I don't have the greatest ear, I definitely want to hold, feel, smell, play the guitar before buying it. The QC between the exact same guitar is too great not to! When I bought my 52 RI I looked at about 6 different Am. Stds, all similiar but each with its distinct personality. But the weight and feel of the 52 RI won out at last.

Jerry

[Raymond]

Originally Posted by Jerry J

Thats news to me but no too surprizing! No wonder the local GC always matched the MF price! I thought I was getting a great price.
Jerry

The same happened to me! That's how I found out!

I was in the market for a MIA Tele and when I was trying the guitar at a GC, one of the guys there told me "so you know, sir (yeah, I look old... ), we'd match any of the MF's prices"....I thought I was getting the deal of the year, but then a fellow here in the board posted that MF was owned by GC and everything made sense...I addition, I've gotten good results haggling at my local GC (yeah, hard to believe; it's a gift ); I ended up getting the MIA Tele for 50 bucks less than MF and I got to try three of them, so I picked the one that played better, according to my ears and hands...

So, I only use MF when for example they offer free shipping for orders over 100 bucks or something, which happens now and then. When I got my Tascam CDGT1, I got free shipping so I saved the 4.5% sales tax. other benefits: I didn't have to be on a GC watching kids playing ugly guitars and listening to bad music on the background and I didn't have to endure their "friendly and knowledgeable customer representatives"

[Jakedog]

I've used MF, scared me to death the first time, nothing bad happened, I just had a bit of anxiety over my first mailorder purchase. I bought my paisley from them, a set of Texas Spc. pups, some mics, and I am about to order a PA head. Never anything but a great experience with those folks, I would definitely recommend them. As far as the whole GC connection, it doesn't really matter to me, you get a smokin' price either way. As far as less than pleasant sales experiences at GC, I don't have them. I deal with the same two or three guys that I've dealt with for years, I just call ahead to make sure they are there before I come in. If you don't have a "guy" at your local big box store, ask for the guy who's been in that dept. the longest, they usually know the most about their product line, and how to treat people.


Jake

[dallendo]

Originally Posted by Matt Plescher

never had a problem with their service. Whether you want to order something you haven't played is a more general question, nothing to do with MF - I ordered my MIM from a mom and pop over the Internet.

MF can have some scary packing though...

Cheers
Matt

I have used them: my only complaint is the shipping/packing... actually got package that wasn't packed but made fine... as well, got one packed well, but out of the box looked like it flew 200 yards before hitting a 55mph car... BUT they never gave me a hassle on returns on their dime, no matter how many times I had to take a lunch hour to return it Fed Ex... but shipped UPS?

I got a Blonde Tele, out of the box perfect, BEGGED for appropriate packing... it was marginal at best... but the Tele is as good as I've played anywhere.

[tenstrings]

i had a terrible experience with MF. i usually dont post that kind of stuff but if you email me i will tell you. I tried them a second time and all was well. So its 50/50 for my vote.
brian

[James W]

I've had no problems with MF and I've ordered a lot of things from them -- pedals, CD recorders, pedal boards, books, parts, strings, picks, keyboards, and a guitar.

I've only had a problem once. I ordered a keyboard and when I received it the pitch wheel wasn't working. They emailed me a FedEx label an hour after I called them and I returned it on their dime. The day it arrived over there they sent me a new one that was perfect.

In general I agree that you should avoid buying a guitar you haven't played. I did order a CIJ tele custom with bigsby from MF and it was flawless. (Until I unintentionally relic'ed it by putting a ding in the headstock. D'oh!) But I did this mostly because I couldn't get that guitar anywhere else.

So MF has a bunch of virtues for me:
(1) Free shipping (for expensive orders)
(2) Competive prices
(3) No tax (I live in CA)
(4) Good return policy

I do spend a lot of money at my local guitar shop but because of the virtues above, I frequent MF as well.

Of course, caveat emptor, YMMV, this has been a paid announcement by Musician's Friend, this station is not responsible for claims made during the preceding program.

--James W

[jordanl]

I've bought a few items from them including 2 guitars. Everything went well. I did get a pedal that was clearly defective, they reimbursed me for return shipping and replaced the item quickly, same on a gig bag with bad zipper. The 2 guitars were Dano's I bought on close out, both arrived in fine shape.

[hippietim]

Originally Posted by Raymond

Since MF is owned by GC, you'd get the same prices. I don't know how far from a GC you are, but I think is better just going in person to test the instruments. The difference would be the sales tax, because I believe MF doesn't charge you for the shipping for orders over 250 bucks or something like that, but you wouldn't need to wait a few days and then see if you like it....

Just my opinion,....

Very often Musicians Friend and Guitar Center have different prices - in those cases, MF is usually cheaper.

The thing is, with Guitar Center and Musicians Friend you can always price match. I almost never go into Guitar Center without a couple printer listings. Zzounds.com, AmericanMusical.com, Music123.com all beat verifiable prices - I do this a lot.

BTW, those of us that live in Washington still have to pay sales tax with MF.

[esquire_player52]

well i never ordered a guitar from them but i never had a problem with accessories i order. i don't think i would order a guitar unless the local store wouldn't match the price. what can i say but i work hard for my money and what the best deal.

[Plastics71]

Originally Posted by Dana

I don't mind Musicians Friend at all. My only issue with them is when I order something from them and they tell me it's in stock, only to find out later that it's on backorder. This has happened to me a few times.

THANK YOU!!!! Thought I was the only one!

[threadbare]

I've only order small stuff from them like pedals and such. Never ordered a guitar from them, but often used there price to negotiate at the music store.