# Not much of a blow-out sale...



## Robert1950 (Jan 21, 2006)

http://www.long-mcquade.com/imgs/blowout flyer onlineLR.pdf


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## hollowbody (Jan 15, 2008)

all of L&Ms recent "sales" have been of this sort where you just get 0% financing. I'm sure they'll have a couple things in the store itself, but likely nothing to knock your socks off.


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## keto (May 23, 2006)

I've wanted a wraptail P90 SG forever, but now I'm not playing much and, even at 329, my heart didn't go pitter patter when I saw the flyer


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## hollowbody (Jan 15, 2008)

nkjanssen said:


> L&M "Blowout" sales suck. They have for years. I haven't even looked at the flyer, but let me guess - 0% financing, $20 off Squire Strat Packs and 10% off generic-brand strings?
> 
> Woo hoo!!!!!


You forgot the cheapo patch cords.


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## Roryfan (Apr 19, 2010)

hollowbody said:


> nkjanssen said:
> 
> 
> > L&M "Blowout" sales suck. They have for years. I haven't even looked at the flyer, but let me guess - 0% financing, $20 off Squire Strat Packs and 10% off generic-brand strings?
> ...


This is the perfect opportunity to load up & then sell them on Kijiji for $500+

"That was sarcasm." - Dr. Sheldon Cooper


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## cheezyridr (Jun 8, 2009)

Roryfan said:


> This is the perfect opportunity to load up & then sell them on Kijiji for $500+
> 
> "That was sarcasm." - Dr. Sheldon Cooper


it may have been sarcasm to you, but somewhere out there is a guy planning on doing something like that right now i bet.

i will give credit where it's due though. last week i spotted 3 or 4 guitars that were reasonably priced, on the same day. 
pretty rare for c/l


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## Steadfastly (Nov 14, 2008)

L & M Blow out sale...........pfft.


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## buzzy (May 28, 2011)

$399 for an Epi Plain Top LP isn't bad if someone was in the market for a new one. (I'm not.)

I saw one in vintage sunburst recently that looked really nice. I wonder what the stock levels are for the Plain Tops since Epi has discontinued them. I guess L&M probably has a few lying around...


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## fudb (Dec 8, 2010)

L&M have pretty much lost the thread IMO. I don't shop there at all anymore, and a few years ago I was spending a few thousand a year...


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## Clean Channel (Apr 18, 2011)

I only really started buying gear in the mid 1990s, and I remember back then there was a lot of buzz around those L&M sales. Every year, for several years, I'd have a friend who'd score some good deal. 

I think however, first with the proliferation of the internet (online retailers, craigslist, forum emporiums, etc), then the ongoing recession, music retailers are really feeling the squeeze. I think we've all become accustomed to finding great deals year round, and places like L&M simply can't compete. 

I shop there a lot less, not because I think they don't do a good job, but only because I have easy direct access to rare and unique gear through other channels. 

When I do need to use L&M, I'm very glad that they're so close and so helpful.


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## TheRumRunner (Sep 29, 2011)

Personally I'm thankful we have a national retailer that has been able to stay in business as long as they have. In the motorcycle world, we have lost pretty much every dealer. 

L&M has store specific blow outs on a variety of gear, sometimes they are excellent deals. Go to the store location and click the "in store specials" link. You need to search each store individually.

http://www.long-mcquade.com/locations/Ontario/

DW


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## Clean Channel (Apr 18, 2011)

TheRumRunner said:


> L&M has store specific blow outs on a variety of gear, sometimes they are excellent deals. Go to the store location and click the "in store specials" link. You need to search each store individually.
> 
> http://www.long-mcquade.com/locations/Ontario/
> 
> DW


Good to know! I looked around and bookmarked this page:

http://www.long-mcquade.com/clearance/location/

It's a list of locations, and how many items each store has on special. Click the store to see the items.


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## LowWatt (Jun 27, 2007)

Clean Channel said:


> Good to know! I looked around and bookmarked this page:
> 
> http://www.long-mcquade.com/clearance/location/
> 
> It's a list of locations, and how many items each store has on special. Click the store to see the items.


Damn that's nice info! I'm not in the market, but a fawn Vox 2x12 cab with Alnico Blues for $650 is hard to ignore http://www.long-mcquade.com/clearance/British_Columbia_Surrey/ (scroll down close to the bottom)


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## hummingway (Aug 4, 2011)

It may not be a blowout but it is a decent sale. Hyperbole aside these days music stores don't have a lot of wiggle room so a 15% reduction in price is a decent sale price. The Fender Pawnshop 72 for instance is $849 at zzsound, on sale for $799 at Musician's Friend but $749 at L&M. 

Cheap imports and tight margins are the order of the day for this stuff.


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## Rugburn (Jan 14, 2009)

I wish there were more used guitar shops like we use to have. I always buy strings and things there, but I like the way a well-played guitar feels and sounds. Something out of a box and hung on a wall may well be pretty, but they often sound cold, feel stiff, and come with a hefty pricetag.


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## MarkCSmith (Apr 4, 2009)

Yeah, the flyer was pretty underwhelming but at my local location (Scarborough), the past couple years they've had some great store-specific deals. They tend to unload a lot of old and used stock, not just specifically what's advertised. I'll definitely be checking it out on Friday (selling a guitar I've been trying to unload for a while tomorrow...got to love when the planets align!) I was hoping there'd be another deal or two on acoustics as I'm in the market for a new one. The S&P is nice but not really a mindblowing deal, hoping there'll be something in-store.


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## Steadfastly (Nov 14, 2008)

I would never buy a guitar or anything over $100.00 there. You can simple get better pricing online. They're okay for strings, picks and small items like that because of the convenience (like a convenience store) but for anything more than that, as I said earlier.................pfft.


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## Robert1950 (Jan 21, 2006)

Every guitar I have owned I have played first. Unless it was hard to find, something I'd REALLY want, and a good price, I might consider online.


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## Steadfastly (Nov 14, 2008)

nkjanssen said:


> I recently bought a J45 from them. They gave me a pretty good price. I could have gotten cheaper online, but this was the best playing, best sounding J45 I've ever tried. And that's about 5 years of trying every vintage and new one I could get my hands on all over North America. So it was a no-brainer.


I respect what you are saying here, however, to be purely a scientific comparison, it would have to be in the same room under the same conditions, same (new) strings, same music, etc. Those conditions are pretty much impossible when testing guitars, close to home, let alone, all over the country,


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## torndownunit (May 14, 2006)

nkjanssen said:


> I like L&M generally. I think their pricing is fair overall, *the people at the locations I go to are helpful (though I understand that varies a bit by location*). I agree that they do often have good deals, especially on used stuff they've taken as a trade-in. Those in-store deals are always on, though. It just depends what they have in stock at the moment.
> 
> The joke is that they discount Squire Strat packs on top of that and that somehow elevates it to a "Blowout Sale". It used to be that if I was in the market for something and I knew a big sale was coming up, I'd wait for it. And I'd always go down and check out the deals on the weekend of the sale. Now, since I have no interest in Epiphone Les Pauls and Fender Bullet amps, it doesn't even register.


'Varies a bit' is the understatement of the year lol. 

The only reason I have any use for L&M is their financing. If it were for occasionally needing that I would have nothing to do with them.


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## Steadfastly (Nov 14, 2008)

nkjanssen said:


> LOL!!!
> 
> I wasn't conducting a scientific experiment. I was looking for a guitar I liked.
> 
> I'm not exactly sure what point you're trying to make. Are you saying there is no benefit to trying an instrument before buying because it's only possible to form a valid opinion about a guitar in a laboratory setting? Seriously?


No, you can form an opinion on any guitar in any setting. What I am saying is when you compare one guitar and do so in various places, with different acoustics, with different strings, perhaps even with not new strings, then it is impossible to be truly objective in saying one sounds better than the another. It may "sound" the best of the ones you've tried but would it sound best if everything were the same? Knowing as much about sound as you do, you know that it can only be a guess. Under the same conditions, others that you tried could sound every bit as good, worse or better. Regards, Steadfastly


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## Steadfastly (Nov 14, 2008)

nkjanssen said:


> No. I have enough experience to know when I'm playing a great instrument and when I'm playing a poor one even if other factors vary. If you can't tell the difference, then buying online probably _is_ your best option.


Glad to hear it.


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## sulphur (Jun 2, 2011)

I had always been of that mind, to try the guitar before I had bought it.
In the past, I've driven a thousand clicks, one way, on more than one occasion,
to seek and buy a guitar.

That all changed when I joined this forum.
I hadn't ever bought anything other than a pedal online.
First guitar that i got through here, aren't even available in town.
Off the same seller, I bought an older Hamer. These are like hens teeth around here.
Then I went on an MIJ guitar binge. Burney LP, MIJ Epi, Tokai Love Rocks and an Orville.
I had only heard of all of these before. 

I'm not sure if I just had good luck, but each were in terrific shape. Well taken care of.
Other than an odd neck tweak, or intonation adjustment, they were all ready to rock.
I believe that the membership here are for one, taking care of their stuff, and secondly, trustworthy.
That's just through here though. I wouldn't try a deal second hand online otherwise.

The only other guitar that I ordered online was a new Charvel from L&M.
That came to me spotless and set up very well.


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## sulphur (Jun 2, 2011)

I agree with you there.


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## zontar (Oct 25, 2007)

Well I do have $15 L&M giftcard...


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## sulphur (Jun 2, 2011)

...and a credit card?


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## zontar (Oct 25, 2007)

I'm going to try to just spend $15.
maybe some strings or a picks or something like that.


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## hummingway (Aug 4, 2011)

That should get you a pretty good bag of picks. Something to toss to the pretty girls in the audience.


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## Steadfastly (Nov 14, 2008)

nkjanssen said:


> Here's the trick - if you play an instrument and you love the sound of it and you love the feel of it and it inspires you to make music, then it's a great instrument. To me, a great guitar literally seems to play itself. I've played hundreds of guitars in my life and only maybe a half dozen have fit that description. This is one of them. I sit down with it, and songs start to come out of it. I write songs with it easier than any other guitar I've ever owned. I also seem to suddenly know how to play other people's songs that I've heard but never actually learned. It's because it sounds so good and plays so well that I don't have to _think_ about playing. It just happens. I imagine it and it comes out on the guitar. THAT is a great instrument!
> 
> You can run as many scientific experiments on as many guitars as you want, but ultimately you can't quantify inspiration. You need to experience it and feel it. And you can ONLY do that by actually playing the instrument. You can roll the dice, order online and hope you get a good one. But to actually play it and KNOW that it's a great one is worth every extra penny you might have to spend.
> 
> ...in my opinion, of course.


I'm still glad to hear it. Regards, Steadfastly


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## zontar (Oct 25, 2007)

hummingway said:


> That should get you a pretty good bag of picks. Something to toss to the pretty girls in the audience.


If only I was gigging...

But seriously, I know it won't get me much--but it could go towards something, of course--just won't be anything expensive.


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## sulphur (Jun 2, 2011)

The "sale" seems to be stuff that they couldn't move throughout the year.

I suppose that's true of most sales anyway.


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## Powdered Toast Man (Apr 6, 2006)

The margins really depend on two things: 1) The value of the Canadian Dollar at the time the stock was ordered by the store, and 2) The item in question. I'm subscribed to Hello Music (US retailer) which sells off overstock and clearance stock at just above cost. It's interesting to see what they're selling some of this brand new gear at. For example, a Fender American Standard guitar's cost value is somewhere in the area of $800 to $850. Normal retail tags are in the $1100 range. I purchased my Fender Custom Vibrolux Reverb locally and I paid $850 out the door - and I was told that it was $25 above cost. The retail tag is about $1300 for those. Now, that's not to say we should all expect to pay dealer cost on everything, but a sale of $50 off a $900 guitar isn't much of a reason to break the door down because most of us could probably haggle $50 off on any day of the week.

I thought the L&M flyer was pretty underwhelming too. Their sales these days are always 0% financing. Well, what about those of us with cash in hand?


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## sivs (Aug 5, 2009)

For the record, I was at both Calgary L&M's today and they had some pretty awesome deals going. I was mostly looking at recording stuff and stupidly passed up a shure SM7B, brand new, for $199 (normally $389). They had a bunch of other really high end stuff for close to 50% off, and then in the guitar section they had some good deals on used pedals and amps - a nice Dr Z combo for just over $1100, a couple keeley pedals on sale, and some other stuff I can't remember. Generally the slow moving stuff seems to be more the high end stuff that a lot of guys here are interested in, so there were probably some good deals at other L&M's across the country. I'm curious if anyone snagged anything really interesting!


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## TheRumRunner (Sep 29, 2011)

I dropped into the Scarborough store this morning and there was some amazing deals. I saw a $2200 Gibson Bluesmaster going for $799, there were dozens of happy faces at the cash register who hauled their take out of the store. I picked up a brand new Fender case for my Jazz bass for $25, inside was all the case candy (strap, cord, docs, truss rod key, shammy etc) for a Custom Shop Jazz Bass. I picked up a new 15" Eminence Legend for my Garnet Bass amp for $49 and two new Celestion G12T75's for my Traynor cab $49 each. 

DW


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## Guest (Feb 11, 2012)

I'm headed to the Ottawa store this afternoon. I need a 4U rack and a rack drawer...here's hoping.


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## Robert1950 (Jan 21, 2006)

If there are bargains, it looks like they aren't in the flyer, they're in the local store.


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## deadear (Nov 24, 2011)

Only deals you will find is usually on the used stuff. They can afford to sell it cheap because they gave the trader next to nothing for it. By the time you get the tax on it you will be up to Kijiji prices and you get a short warranty and you do not have to run around.


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## blam (Feb 18, 2011)

maybe I'll swing by my local L&M, i don't really need anything though....


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## TheRumRunner (Sep 29, 2011)

deadear said:


> Only deals you will find is usually on the used stuff. They can afford to sell it cheap because they gave the trader next to nothing for it. By the time you get the tax on it you will be up to Kijiji prices and you get a short warranty and you do not have to run around.


Man, why so negative? In the store I visited, there were GREAT DEALS, how about a mint Hwy1 Strat for $475? A mint MIM Fender Deluxe tele for $499, used speaker stands for $25, a Martin D-28 (with case and p/u) for $1199. A Seagull S6 for $199 on and on and on. The deal sheet they posted was 7 pages long when I printed it out. There was deals from every department in the store.

The store opened at 10, I got there at 9:45 and was handed #32 to get in. The #1 ticket waited there since 5:30am. Good on him. They let us in 10 at a time, and over the span of about 10 minutes everyone was inside. It was handled very well.



DW


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## Guest (Feb 11, 2012)

Ottawa was pretty picked over by the time I rolled by. Nothing I was looking for. If you've got a Mesa with a bum foot switch they had a huge box of them, dirt cheap. Even big ass Roadster switches.


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## deadear (Nov 24, 2011)

The RumRunner glad you stood in line like it was boxing day what a great marketing ploy. WEll must have been the tax bill I just got that got me in a sour mood


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## Guest (Feb 11, 2012)

deadear said:


> The RumRunner glad you stood in line like it was boxing day what a great marketing ploy. Just my experience dealing with them for the last 12 yaers or so. Please read user agreement before you chastize other members of the forum.


Chastise? He asked why you were so negative.

The internets are going to be scary if you think what he was doing was chastising you...


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## blam (Feb 18, 2011)

south edmonton location was pretty packed. 

there was a table with some stuff for fairly cheap but nothing for me. ha da peek at some of the les pauls whilst i was in and almost bought a trad. saw one of the new classics with the baked maple. interesting to say the least. that particular guitar was very loud acoustically.


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## bagpipe (Sep 19, 2006)

deadear;396188Now take all them deals that you bought and ask what kind of [B said:


> trade in value[/B] they will give you and you might develope a similar negativity towards them.


Didn't we already have this discussion on another thread? I remember it being a long and tedious experience.


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## zontar (Oct 25, 2007)

Well, I got some strings.
Couldn't find ones I normally use for more than one guitar--so for one of them, I'm going to try a different type.
For the others, I'll wait and get the new strings later and possibly somewhere else.


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## TheRumRunner (Sep 29, 2011)

I fell for L&M's sneaky marketing ploy of offering some great gear at really low prices.

I even had to wait outside in the cold Canadian air for 15 minutes talking to other musicians.

Boy, I sure hope that happens to me again. LOL










































PS: If anyone knows the owner of a Custom Shop 5 string Jazz bass who is missing his COA. PM me and I'll mail it to him/her.

DW


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## hollowbody (Jan 15, 2008)

bagpipe said:


> Didn't we already have this discussion on another thread? I remember it being a long and tedious experience.


hahaha, noooooO!!!!!! It lives!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I hope someone locks this thread soon


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## ronmac (Sep 22, 2006)

Nice score on the case!


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## deadear (Nov 24, 2011)

Some of you people must work there. Got to tip toe don't want no law suit. But then again you can't get blood out of a stone


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## keto (May 23, 2006)

deadear said:


> Some of you people must work there. Got to tip toe don't want no law suit. But then again you can't get blood out of a stone


LOL. Didn't find what you were looking for, I take it.


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## deadear (Nov 24, 2011)

never went. stoped in thurs. night and picked up the view magazine. Had a quick look at the used peddle table because that is where I have got reasonable deals in the past.
So it goes like this Boxing week sale, prices back to full pop for 5 weeks, mark down non moving stock slightly for a weekend.( feb 10,11,12) put prices back up for another five weeks and you will have another little sale ow about March break for more product that won't sell at full retail prices.
When American standard strats and deluxe reverbs are marked down 30% I will call it a sale. ( stuff people want)


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