Buy Acoustic Guitar from Musicians Friend?

They have a fantastic return policy.

After spenidng 10 years looking for a Jazzmaster on my road trips and never finding one, I bought a Jazzmaster from them. I wasn't 100% fond of it, so I ordered a 2nd and played them both for a month. I kept the one I favored and they paid to have the 2nd one returned to them and they balanced out my account.

It wasn't the best way to buy a guitar but they certainly gave me much more opportunity to make a good selection than any other store.


Good luck.


best regards,
mike

Musicians Friend's primary distribution center and warehouse is in Kansas City. 


best regards,
mike

Dave King

It's a Gibson that I've had my eye on for a long time.  It just recently had a price-drop and along with a promo code I have, I can get a deal on it that's really hard to beat. 

Make sure the ridiculously vast exclusion list (which includes Gibson) doesn't apply to your promo code!

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/pages/special-offer-details

I bought a guitar from MF once. 

I kept it because I liked it, AND because I would have taken too much of a loss on the return - 25% IIFC, on $700 would have added up.
I'm quite happy with it, and although it is my go-to guitar, I still would suggest trying it out first if at all possible, although saving $600 IS pretty hard to beat.

Can you try the same one out at a store near you?

With 10s of thousands of guitars for sale, I feel that choosing a guitar is a very personal experience & it should be held & played for a while first, which I've always done with my 5 other guitars, except as noted above that one time from MF.

Linear Phase

mike_mccue


Musicians Friend's primary distribution center and warehouse is in Kansas City. 


best regards,
mike

That's guitarcenters mega-huge main hub.  It houses all the subsidiaries..   There's still a huge distribution center by me..    I guess..  I'll be on that highway tomorrow afternoon, so I will look to see if its still there...

I'm sure that you are correct that Guitar center has a big distro warehouse down in the metropolis. That makes perfect sense.


The primary Musicians Friend distribution center in Kansas has been there for just a little less long than I can remember. It used to be on the west coast but moved to Kansas a long time ago. They did it for the same reason that the original core of the USA music instrument distribution business centered in Chicago. You have all the trains and highways and it's about equidistant to everyone.


I have seen that in the past they make their stock available to some smaller vendors. 


For example; I bought a drum kit from a specialty drum shop in Arizona once. It shipped directly from the Musicians Friend warehouse. It didn't say Musicians Friend but I recognized the address.


I have UPS radar... I can actually see my stuff crossing the country in my head.


If Musicians' Friend is actually fulfilling orders from a Florida warehouse and sending you stuff to Ft. Liquordale, they are either charging you sales tax or they are creating a sales tax problem for them selves with our revenue department. I'm pretty sure they are still doing business without operating a warehouse in Florida. I'm guessing it is a Guitar Center warehouse.






I've never had to pay a restocking fee with the Friend and I always get a call tag for prepaid shippng return when I need to return something.



all the best,
mike

It just my opinion, but I think an acoustic instrument really needs to be played because no two are alike; same make, same model, made on the same day by the same people may play differently. I've played some expensive guitars that I didn't like and some inexpensive guitars that were really fun to play. Acoustics all seem to have their own personality. That said, if they'll let you exchange or try a few copies then go for it.
 
P.S. I don't think MF/GC does any final set-up, so you may want to have that done after purchasing the instrument.

Linear Phase


I'm just popping in to say, "I may be in error."  I've pulled up all my orders from musicians friend, and at the current moment it does not look like my last purchase of picks and strings was from them.

I must have ordered from somewhere else, but I can't remember where.

Although I am 90% sure I have seen a big huge, "musicians friend," complex off I95 down here, my eyes did not catch it today, and I can not seem to find what I am talking about via bing, or google search.

so what you're saying is that you've entered the Twilight Zone?
 
which team are you on? 

Hey Dave, 

I work for Musician's Friend and would be happy to help you with your decision! We do have a very simple return policy. If there are any problems with the guitar (shipping damage, defects) you have 45 days to return and we will cover shipping back to us. If you get this guitar and it's just not what you were hoping for, we will still set you up with the return, but you will be responsible for return shipping back to us. Please let me know if you have any troubles placing your order! Email me at forums@musiciansfriend.com for any additional questions. 

Thanks, 
Courtney S. 

I agree with the Sweetwater recommendation Fast shipping, setup, warranty, support ....  Cant beat them

I wonder how their return policy compares to MF?

Yes. I wonder how long it will be before a Sweetwater Rep joins the discussion. Hehe