# 1st Annual Ottawa Guitar Show and Musician's Market



## mhammer (Nov 30, 2007)

I was browsing the Ottawa Kijiji and noticed this announcement:

******************************************************

Sunday June 12th, 2011, 11am - 5pm at the Jim Robillard Union Center, 1505 Carling Ave.(see map)
Variety of musical gear from different exhibitors, selection of used, newer, and vintage guitars, vintage and boutique amps, pedals, cases and guitar parts. Musical instruments for the beginner to the professionals and collectors. Buy, Sell and Trade. 

Want to participate? Have your own boutique product? Downsizing? Or just have music room clutter? Limited tables available, starting from $50 a table.
Contact: [email protected]


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## rollingdam (May 11, 2006)

ad has been amended to indicate admission is $3.00 or $20.00 to get in an hour before the show starts-catering to the greedy?


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## ezcomes (Jul 28, 2008)

i wondered about that...i thought it was weird that it was free...but it made it even more worth going to!

3 bux is nothing...still gonna go


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## Guest (May 26, 2011)

If it's going to be dominated by ex-Retrotown inventory none that is worth paying to see I'm afraid. I'll wait until I see a list of vendors.


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## ezcomes (Jul 28, 2008)

is retrotown closing?


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## Guest (May 27, 2011)

ezcomes said:


> is retrotown closing?


Closed. A while ago. They have a web shop still but no physical store.


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## ezcomes (Jul 28, 2008)

behind on the times i am...i know the website has been horrible...last time i was on it, there was nothing as for inventory listed


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## rollingdam (May 11, 2006)

The store had to close as the building it was in was demolished to make room for condos-as if there aren't enough of them in Ottawa right now.


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## nonreverb (Sep 19, 2006)

All the tables are rented. Yes, it's gonna be a bit of a show and tell event although myself and others will be selling off lots of parts. There will be decent representation from a variety of people from what I've heard.


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## 65sgcustom (Aug 6, 2009)

It's only 3 dollars. What do you get for 3 dollars these days? Nice venue. i drove by it the other day. Should be fun. Congrats to the Retrotown Guys for spending the time to organize the event. Ottawa needed a well organized event for some time. Should be fun. Looking forward to hanging out with everyone. Well mostly everyone. LOL


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## rollingdam (May 11, 2006)

anyone on this forum rent a table?


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## nonreverb (Sep 19, 2006)

Yup...me and 65sgcustom have a table.



rollingdam said:


> anyone on this forum rent a table?


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## 65sgcustom (Aug 6, 2009)

nonreverb said:


> Yup...me and 65sgcustom have a table.


The old farts have a booth alright.... Just like the old days.


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## rollingdam (May 11, 2006)

I emailed the organizer for a list of exhibitors...got a generic answer without indicating who they were.

So I emailed again for a specific list-no answer.


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## 65sgcustom (Aug 6, 2009)

HI I spoke a few weeks ago with Dar from Retrotown. He was short on tables. The few dealers i heard about was Lutherie Brazeau, 4 or 5 local collector hobbyist tables, Retrotown for sure, Couple of collector dealers guys from Toronto and of course Non-Reverb and myself. I know Non-reverb and I will have a few nice guitars and lots of parts and stuff. Should be fun. Plus you never know what might walk in the door...These events are always fun. Don


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## 2N1305 (Nov 2, 2009)

Maybe Jimmy Page's stolen (lost?) black Les Paul will turn up... or some other instrument. EVH's old Marshalls... dreaming... a 1948 Broadcaster with a flatsawn neck...

A box of NOS Mullard 12AX7 and Sylvania 6550 tubes...

A 35mm reel of film of Jimi Hendrix's show at the capitol theatre...


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## nonreverb (Sep 19, 2006)

2N1305 said:


> Maybe Jimmy Page's stolen (lost?) black Les Paul will turn up... or some other instrument. EVH's old Marshalls... dreaming... a 1948 Broadcaster with a flatsawn neck...
> 
> A box of NOS Mullard 12AX7 and Sylvania 6550 tubes...
> 
> A 35mm reel of film of Jimi Hendrix's show at the capitol theatre...


Dunno about Jimi's Capitol theatre show but I might bring a bunch of Mullards with me...never know


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## 2manyGuitars (Jul 6, 2009)

I don't mind paying 3 bucks because it keeps out the riff-raff. It's like the Aubrey's Nostalgia shows where you get mom and pop with a minivan full of their progeny looking to kill some time for free.
Three dollars is worth it.


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## 2N1305 (Nov 2, 2009)

2manyGuitars said:


> I don't mind paying 3 bucks because it keeps out the riff-raff...
> Three dollars is worth it.
> Definitely.
> I don't have a box of mullards but I do have some Telefunken 12AU7s and a bunch pf germanium transistors... fer yer fuzz-face or tone bender!
> ...


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## nonreverb (Sep 19, 2006)

OK I'm bringin' a NOS in box Brimar 12AT7, as well as a Philips(Mullard) 12AX7A in box plus a pile of excellent pulls...Telefunken, Amperex, Mullards' All 12AX7A/ECC83. Plus a NOS 5751 in box. All were tested on my Hickok 539C. Thinkin' about bringin a couple of NOS Gelalex KT88's too 



2N1305 said:


> 2manyGuitars said:
> 
> 
> > I don't mind paying 3 bucks because it keeps out the riff-raff...
> ...


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## Guest (Jun 13, 2011)

Dropped in around noon and didn't stay long. Lots to see, nothing worth buying IMO.

Interested to hear if others fared better...


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## rollingdam (May 11, 2006)

Some expensive guitars courtesy Mike Anderson(Brazilian Martins) and Ed MacDonald(vintage Les Pauls)-wonder if they sold anything.

One guy had a recent Gibson J 45 for $900-wonder what was wrong with it.

If you peruse Kijiji and Used Ottawa-you have seen a lot of this stuff already.

Retrotown had some interesting small amps and they still had the old power cords etc.The little Magnatone sounded nice but I did not buy anything.


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## rollingdam (May 11, 2006)

double post


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## bscott (Mar 3, 2008)

For a first show I thought it was OK. I hope they, whoever "they" are or someone else, keeps it up. It can only get better as more retailers/sellers hear about it and participate and more and more players attend. There were some interesting pieces but certainly nothing worth the $20 early admission. A lot of it was at the high end of the price scale. There were, however, a couple of intriguing prices on guitars. Like the $200 left handed Epiphone SG. I think I will still save up for the Gibson 60's reiussue though. 
Best novelty was the Little Smoky amps. Amplifiers tucked into old cigarette boxes. Good for late night practice. For me definitely not wasted time. I enjoyed it.


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## 2N1305 (Nov 2, 2009)

I agree, it was very interesting, lots of nice guitars (especially the acoustics), There was an almost brand-spanking new seventies Traynor YGM-1 (three inputs, reverb, tremolo) in retrotown's booth (how many booths did they have?) that I really wanted next to my YGM-3, but I left it here for another person to discover. 600 was over my price range for that amp, as good as it is.

It was nice to see all the people that showed up (at least I found it was crowded at around 2:30), it's good because it shows interest in the population.
I spent half an hour finding the darn place, though... should have google mapped it... My paper map was no help.

Very well spent hour and 3$.

I still have nib 6189W tubes for sale if anyone wants a "military version 12AX7"...


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## nonreverb (Sep 19, 2006)

I saw people walking out the door with stuff. True, there was a lot of pricey stuff BUT this wasn't a yard/garage sale either. I don't think you can go to something like that and expect amazing stuff at amazing prices IMO.



iaresee said:


> Dropped in around noon and didn't stay long. Lots to see, nothing worth buying IMO.
> 
> Interested to hear if others fared better...


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## Guest (Jun 13, 2011)

nonreverb said:


> I saw people walking out the door with stuff. True, there was a lot of pricey stuff BUT this wasn't a yard/garage sale either. I don't think you can go to something like that and expect amazing stuff at amazing prices IMO.


Did I mention the prices? Nope.


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## superdoug69 (Jun 13, 2011)

2N1305 said:


> Very well spent hour and 3$.


I could see the event being worth $3, if only for the experience, but it certainly wasn't worth the time I had to put in. The bus service here is atrocious. It took more than three hours for me to get there and back and I could only find something to do in there for 20 minutes.

They quite rightly advertised it as a guitar show but I was counting on there being a heck of a lot more guitar-related items. There were very few parts, accessories, and so on. The most disappointing thing for me was the pedals. I hoped there would be guys coming in with unwanted pedals in decent condition that they just wanted to get rid of for a reasonable price. But all we got was a bunch of music store businessmen trying to squeeze $50 out of Boss pedals with the knobs broken clean off. I don't mind a fixer-upper but not for $50.

I remember one guy in particular was selling a couple of beat up pedals and I was going to ask him what he wanted. But the guy in front of me was talking to him about something else and the exchange went like this:

"I'll take $1.25."
"??"
"One hundred and twenty five dollars."
"Well, I could get it on eBay for a lot less than that, I think..."
"Go buy it on eBay then."

Yeah, good advice.


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## Brennan (Apr 9, 2008)

I was there for the last hour or so (the place was starting to clear out by then), and my thoughts are pretty much in line with everyone else's. There were some good deals to be had if you looked around, but mostly it was used gear at nearly new prices (lots of damaged and blemished guitars as well). There were some really nice vintage pieces, but I didn't spend much time looking as they were outside my budget at the moment. Still a good way to spend an afternoon though and I would definitely go again. 

I took home one of the smokey amps, by far the coolest little toy in the place.


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## nonreverb (Sep 19, 2006)

Overall, I think it was a fairly good start to something that could be an excellent event for Ottawa. Yes, there are areas where improvements could benefit the event and the event was rather small. I enjoyed it either way. I got to reconnect with some old friends and met some new ones and, most importantly, got to participate in something I truly love which is talking/playing/seeing gear :)


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## nonreverb (Sep 19, 2006)

The what kind of stuff were you looking for?



iaresee said:


> Did I mention the prices? Nope.


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## Davestp1 (Apr 25, 2006)

I agree with Rich, I enjoyed it for what it was. I went there really just to look and talk gear (and maybe pick up a brownface fender logo/handle..anyone?), I've got enough gear (blasphemy?) If anything, I would say it shows interest locally in this kind of show and perhaps next year or whenever there is another it could be moved to a larger location and hopefully even more tables. I thought it was an hour and a half well spent and I saw some very interesting stuff. I was not expecting the Dallas/Arlington Guitar show.


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## mhammer (Nov 30, 2007)

I didn't go (gardening duties), but the description doesn't surprise me. There have been several swap meets in town, but never a "guitar show", so I think expectations were perhaps a little miscalibrated for the first go-around. I would expect any subsequent one to be better aligned with expectations (and vice versa).

Those folks who want to be "knocked out" would be better served by attending the Montreal show, which is more a display of the current state of the art, and much much less a retrospective view, and sales show.

As for the e-bay comments, we forget what a pernicious effect e-bay has had on our collective sense of the value of things. Owners of items think in terms of ridiculously high prices they've seen things command on e-bay, while purchasers think in terms of the ridiculously low prices they've seen things go for. Those two perspectives don't get along well with each other.


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## Guest (Jun 13, 2011)

nonreverb said:


> The what kind of stuff were you looking for?


Nothing in particular. I'll always keep an eye out for pedals, strange stuff for making noise, or broken stuff for gutting, odd rack units. Nothing much in the way of those at the show.


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## Cdn_Cracker (Oct 7, 2006)

Definitely worth the $3 and fun for a first time show... but everything seemed pretty cramped, the drive sucked due to the construction and the parking blew goats. Mike Anderson had some really neat stuff... and had to humble us with that Koa Gibson.... 

Overall though, since it was predominantly retailers or businesses... it seemed as though they grabbed the Vintage Guitar 2011 Price Guide and max'ed out the prices. If you want to move stuff, you gotta make it a price where you will have enough to feed your kids and I can still feed mine. 

One thing I found really cool was a local amp builder...he had some nice examples of his work.

(On a side note... I totally wanted the Super Champ that the guy from Tundra brought....)


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## Paraphonique (Jun 13, 2011)

superdoug69 said:


> "I'll take $1.25."
> "??"
> "One hundred and twenty five dollars."
> "Well, I could get it on eBay for a lot less than that, I think..."
> "Go buy it on eBay then."


That guy was me. Actually, I was checking an old Boss drum machine that I felt was still usable. However, as noticed, the seller was less than flexible. Glad somebody else picked on that exchange !

My impressions of the show were mixed. There were a few nice item that were showed on the floor, for sure. However, the vast majority of the stuff was overpriced and in poor condition (i.e.: like most of the FXs, amps and rackmounted gear that I've seen). Personally, I would never invest any money on anything that I'd fear would fall apart during a gig UNLESS it is sold at a real bargain (especially if the item can't be properly tested on the premises). 

A few words about Ebay : as much as I prefer to trade eye-to-eye with other musicians, Ebay is a major player on the market and it has to be accounted somehow. Notice that I'm not suggesting that prices should be the same... 

So, while the visit was worth my $3, I'd suggest local musicians looking for a fair deal to keep checking Kijiji and Spaceman Music. 

Cheers,
-P


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## nonreverb (Sep 19, 2006)

It's interesting to hear the differing expectations from the visitors to the guitar show. I have gone to many guitar shows over the past 20 years or so and I was at first under the impression back then that crazy deals were going to happen. I was wrong. There are deals to be had however, I believe a big part of the event for me is networking, and finding something that you don't usually see on places like Kijiji and don't need to ship from places like ebay. 
I agree that the attitude of some dealers is a little terse and there's no excuse for it but hey, I could tell you horror stories of some of the clowns I've had to deal with on Kijiji et al not to mention the proliferation of outright scammers.


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## GuitarsCanada (Dec 30, 2005)

The whole secondary market has changed over the past 10 years or so. Everything is vintage and expensive. Those that are not in a desperate financial situation will just hold on to an item rather than sell for less than what "they" beleive it to be worth. The selling price usually lies somewhere in between that asking price and what you, the buyer is willing to pay. But like you say, some people are just not willing to negotiate. Thats one thing you have to say about auctions. The very nature of them produces the market price of any given item. It will sell for what the highest bidder is willing to pay. That price depends largely on the availability of it. I have passed on many "bidding wars" knowing full well the same or similar item was going to show up again any time.

The game changes when you are fighting over a real vintage or rare item in top condition.


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## alpine45 (Apr 9, 2009)

*Wanted to go ....*

I wanted to go, just not enough time these days. Mainly I wanted to see the regulars and bartering back and forth and possibly learn some new non-sense about gear and have few good laughs. I still like to collect vintage and not so vintage gear to try it out, so I can decide whether to keep or not. May not make sense, but when I was ready to buy my Mesa Roadster 2x12, I knew exactly what I wanted, so I am having a lot of fun with instead of buyers remorse. Used Ottawa, The Ottawa Musician, and Kijiji are like Gear School, if you really watch you try a lot of gear, and if you do not like sell or trade it .... with a little risk.

I agree that you need to be careful with the traffic on these sights, some of these people are ...... well just special. It is like a bootcamp to prepare you for selling and buying a used car in some cases. However, there are those awesome folks out there who sell at reasonable price, and their word is golden. 

Personally I have been burned a few times, but I have learned gleaned a few tips with the musicians out there regarding scams if the price is too cheap there is a problem, walk away, if the person says it has never been out of the case in 20 years it is a lie, walk away, whether you gigged it or not does not matter, did you take care of .... ever been to party where some spilled beer on the furniture, if the case for the 2000 dollar guitar is not there something is not right, walk away, if the deal is that you meet in public place and can not try the equipment walk away .... and really how many authentic 30 year old guitars are there that used to be in the hands of some guitar god, and how do they always end up in Quebec and Eastern Ontario. 

Just having a little fun and poking at the people who push the honesty envelope. Oh from the other side, how many times have you made arrangements for a certain price and the person shows up short because of a banking issue, or forgot part of the trade. It is funny more than anything else, as I for one usually laugh and say ok, you can have the amp, I'll hold to the speakers and the tubes though .... 

I love the local buy and sell boards, I have met some real honest and nice people, others well I learned a lesson from them. I guess if it is used, and for sale there is reason for them parting with the equipment other than getting the money.

Cheers,

Elwood


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## nonreverb (Sep 19, 2006)

Well said Elwood...



alpine45 said:


> I wanted to go, just not enough time these days. Mainly I wanted to see the regulars and bartering back and forth and possibly learn some new non-sense about gear and have few good laughs. I still like to collect vintage and not so vintage gear to try it out, so I can decide whether to keep or not. May not make sense, but when I was ready to buy my Mesa Roadster 2x12, I knew exactly what I wanted, so I am having a lot of fun with instead of buyers remorse. Used Ottawa, The Ottawa Musician, and Kijiji are like Gear School, if you really watch you try a lot of gear, and if you do not like sell or trade it .... with a little risk.
> 
> I agree that you need to be careful with the traffic on these sights, some of these people are ...... well just special. It is like a bootcamp to prepare you for selling and buying a used car in some cases. However, there are those awesome folks out there who sell at reasonable price, and their word is golden.
> 
> ...


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## marcos (Jan 13, 2009)

Knowing a few of the vendors at the show is a plus for me. Even if you did not buy anything,its a good way to meet some people and sometimes make a connection that may come in handy in the future. Networking is part of the music business and it does not hurt to talk to people face to face.


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## Chito (Feb 17, 2006)

Too bad, we had a house warming party to go to. As some have said, it's a great way to network with other musicians/guitar players in town. Next time.


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## wayne086 (Jan 22, 2010)

I really enjoyed the show,met new people and chatted with the people I knew,picked up a few stuff,mostly parts.But... there was vendor there that really irked me.He was very rude to my son,I've bought a few things from him over the years,but after this,never again.My son found one of his guitars he sold last year from one vendor and recognized a second,a vendor from Gatineau,all my son wanted to do was confirm he did own it once,asked nicely to see the guitar and the vendor was very rude asked him if he had money,and if he was going to buy it,and didn't bother showing him the guitar,I had to leave for a bit,or I was going to say something,he just lost any future sales from us.I pointed many people to his website,but now I will not even mention him to anybody I know,but to stear clear of him.Still fuming.


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## rollingdam (May 11, 2006)

wayne086 said:


> I really enjoyed the show,met new people and chatted with the people I knew,picked up a few stuff,mostly parts.But... there was vendor there that really irked me.He was very rude to my son,I've bought a few things from him over the years,but after this,never again.My son found one of his guitars he sold last year from one vendor and recognized a second,a vendor from Gatineau,all my son wanted to do was confirm he did own it once,asked nicely to see the guitar and the vendor was very rude asked him if he had money,and if he was going to buy it,and didn't bother showing him the guitar,I had to leave for a bit,or I was going to say something,he just lost any future sales from us.I pointed many people to his website,but now I will not even mention him to anybody I know,but to stear clear of him.Still fuming.


I know who you mean-I found it odd that one of Ottawa's most infamous lowballers was sitting in the front of his booth for a long time-must be kindered spirits


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## Guest (Jun 14, 2011)

rollingdam said:


> I know who you mean-I found it odd that one of Ottawa's most infamous lowballers was sitting in the front of his booth for a long time-must be kindered spirits


Man I want to know who both of these people are now!

As for the eBay thing people mentioned: I once had a forumite show up to buy a LP Jr. off me and he whipped out print outs of completed eBay auctions to argue price. I thought that was pretty funny. I would have met his asking price without those -- he made a reasonable offer. I don't much care if it figured out the offering price because he looked up prices on eBay or felt some divine intervention compelled him to speak those numbers. All that wasted paper and colour ink...


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## 2manyGuitars (Jul 6, 2009)

iaresee said:


> Man I want to know who both of these people are now!


Well, as soon as I heard Gatineau and bad experience in the same sentence, I knew exactly who he was talking about.
Go to the "Musical Instruments" section on kijiji and search for "Gibson Les Paul". Look for the photos with the slime green background...


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## Guest (Jun 14, 2011)

2manyGuitars said:


> Well, as soon as I heard Gatineau and bad experience in the same sentence, I knew exactly who he was talking about.
> Go to the "Musical Instruments" section on kijiji and search for "Gibson Les Paul". Look for the photos with the slime green background...


Ha! Got it. I always flag those ads down.  Now who is Ottawa's most notorious low-baller?

Also: you were the Les Paul Jr. buyer, no?


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## audiorep2 (Mar 28, 2009)

Ah,..the intrigue.
I recently have hosted a couple of shows in the Maritimes.
I love this stuff !!


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## nonreverb (Sep 19, 2006)

I think it's pretty obvious to all here that live in Ottawa who that is. I have mixed feelings about him. He hasn't done anything to me directly but I agree 100% that his behaviour at the show was uncalled for....if he's not careful he'll become the next...dare I say it...Intercontinental music!!



2manyGuitars said:


> Well, as soon as I heard Gatineau and bad experience in the same sentence, I knew exactly who he was talking about.
> Go to the "Musical Instruments" section on kijiji and search for "Gibson Les Paul". Look for the photos with the slime green background...


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## 2manyGuitars (Jul 6, 2009)

nonreverb said:


> He hasn't done anything to me directly...


He has to me.
I think I might be the only person in history to ever get a full refund from him.


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## Woof (Jan 13, 2010)

I didn't go... thought about it but...
You want me to pay just so I can look at your stuff to see if I want to buy anything?
Wow, wait until retail hears about this concept. How much do you suppose the L&M cover charge will be?


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## mhammer (Nov 30, 2007)

If the space and cleanup fee was zero dollars, you'd have a point. If they knew that there would be _exactl_y X number of people definitely coming, then maybe they could plan on a 58-cent admission to cover the costs of rental and cleanup. Or if they knew in advance that booths would sell exactly $xxxxx.00 of merchandise, then they could ask for a xx% cut of all sales to cover the costs. Or if they knew that folks with 8 kids and a dog were not gonna come in because the kids were bored with the trampoline at Play-valu nearby, then the admission wouldn't need to serve a deterrent function.

Fact is, it isn't free to put on, so there's a charge. Trust me, as "revenue-generatig machines" go, you'd be better off delivering Pennysavers than putting on such a show. I didn't go, myself, but I imagine that I've paid more for movies and/or music that delivered less.


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## nonreverb (Sep 19, 2006)

Nobody's sayin' you had to go dude...your loss/gain
Just for the record, there was stuff there that L&M et al doesn't sell and you don't have to pay a small fortune to UPS when you buy it on fleabay....just sayin'...



Woof said:


> I didn't go... thought about it but...
> You want me to pay just so I can look at your stuff to see if I want to buy anything?
> Wow, wait until retail hears about this concept. How much do you suppose the L&M cover charge will be?


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## 65sgcustom (Aug 6, 2009)

*Just think of it this way. For 3 dollars its a chance to get away from the wifey or the kids  It was an interesting event. Nice venue. It got really busy for a while and it was nice to see some old faces I hadn't seen in years. One person I hadn't seen in 18 years....Once again THX to Retrotown for organizing the event. Looking forward to the next one in the fall *


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## 2N1305 (Nov 2, 2009)

So am I... Next time I'll bring my tubes!


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## nonreverb (Sep 19, 2006)

Too bad you didn't go...I brought my tubes 




2N1305 said:


> So am I... Next time I'll bring my tubes!


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## audiorep2 (Mar 28, 2009)

Is there going to be one in spring 2012 ??


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