not exactly like A'gon in regards to classifieds with formalized selling, feedback, etc, but Harmony Central does have Classifieds, Extensive Reviews, and active forums.
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not exactly like A'gon in regards to classifieds with formalized selling, feedback, etc, but Harmony Central does have Classifieds, Extensive Reviews, and active forums. |
Awhile back I inquired to the managers of Audiogon asking about a possible sister/brother site that might be called Musigon. Apparently others have also asked. It would be great to have such a venue for audiophiles and musicians to commiserate, buy and sell gear. Right now all there is is Harmony Central but the design is nowhere as user friendly as the 'gon. Steve |
Speaking as a professional musician, one reason why is that no serious musician is going to buy an instrument online without trying it first. There might be a few exceptions, such as someone buying an older instrument with the idea of fixing it up and reselling it, but by and large professional musicians do not buy instruments online. |
Gdoodle: "Musicians are WORSE than audiophiles - since most of'em usually have no money they will gladly trade in daddy's old guitar just to buy the latest thing" I would respectfully suggest that while that may have been your own personal experience, you are very mistaken. Musicians, in particular, value the quality and soulfulness of quality, old instruments. They hang on to them, and when they sell them, they usually sell them to other musicians. |
Funny how opinion is divided here. I am NOT a professional (far from it), but I would note that: A LARGE percentage of super high end guitars are purchased sight unseen because they are custom ordered - via telephone and/or internet (even though this is conceptually different than what's been discussed here). Most of the boutique luthiers sell the great majority of their instruments to pros in this fashion. From conversations with more than one of the jazz-box crowd, I've gathered that 3/4 or more of their output commonly goes to pro players that they have never met. Also, note that Benedetto runs Bob's Boutique on their website- finished inventory at 20% off list. They've told me that a fair bit of this stuff goes to pro players, too, and that IS what we're discussing here. I guess that there is divided opinion in the pro community as to the wisdom of buying on-line. BTW, these marvelous instruments often turn up for re-sale on sites as pedestrian as e-bay. This economy has hit a lot of professional musicians hard and asset sales have become a life line for many. Just search for Monteleone, Benedetto, Buscarino, D'Aquisto, D'Angelico, etc. and you will find some of the greatest jazz instruments in the world listed for sale - at prices that run well into 5 figures, as expected. My only advice - if you do buy on e-bay, know exactly what you want and know who you're buying from. Also, make sure that you can return the item - generally SOP. Marty |
Frogman: I don't think we'll ever get an accurate answer for who is worse - musicians or audiophiles. They both run the gamut. I agree with your statement about "the value the quality and soulfulness of quality, old instruments." But the majority of instruments out there do not fit that description - just like the audio world - most homes have some cheap junk or mediocre passable gear - one out of a hundred homes has something really high quality. And as for electric guitar players like myself (probably the most common instrument there is - I have 8 or 9) I know amateurs who have 20-30, we are probably worse than any other breed - restless, always tweaking, upgrading tubes, pickups, speakers, distortion pedals, you name it. If I ever do get a soulful old quality instrument I promise to hold onto it! |