Gear shopping in NYC

[djanogil]

Hey,

My studio mate is going to NYC, I'll place an order with him(Pres and converters),
what are the best stores to visit?

Thx

[TonyBelmont]

There aren't a lot of highend gear stores actually in New York City... Most are a couple hours outside of the city, including mine!

[Fletcher]

Yeah... if the brother is planning on driving 3 hours from NY to go to Providence he might as well spend an extra 20 minutes and go to a real shop, with a real control room where you can actually hear the differences between an actual selection of the finest in high end hardware.

Otherwise call Blue at Guitar Center Pro in Manhattan and/or Tim Finnegan at Dale Pro Audio and land on something pedestrian but servicable.

What kind of stuff are you looking for? If it's way high end then you'll have to send him up our way... if it's just looking for a deal on run of the mill stuff then Dale and GC are pretty much going to be the best bet.

[djanogil]

Actually Fletcher,

I'm after Aurora converters, TAB V76 Preamps, and maybe one compressor like the distressor or a UA1176.
I've thought about getting it from you cause my mate won't be able to bring all this back to France,
however I was wondering how the customs stuff works when you take your US bought gear back to Europe?

[Jay Kahrs]

You might be able to find a Distressor or 1176 in-stock somewhere in NYC...

Sorry to say though, chances of walking into a place with cash & walking out with goods in hand is slim to none.

The "pro" in pro-audio was removed from NYC years ago. Anythng & everything that's beyond a "dbx" level is a special order at most places.

Besides Dale & Blue @ GC Pro...B&H Photo is worth a shot. Sometimes they have interesting used stuff & their selection & stock is deeper then Manny's or Scam Cash 'Pro.'

While he's there Rogue Music on 30th St is always worth a stop & if he's into cool guitars...tell him to AVOID 30th St. Guitars like the plague...

They're right across the street from each other...on 30th between what 8th & 9th or is it 9th & 10th??

[Lek]

Originally Posted by Jay Kahrs

You might be able to find a Distressor or 1176 in-stock somewhere in NYC...

Sorry to say though, chances of walking into a place with cash & walking out with goods in hand is slim to none.

The "pro" in pro-audio was removed from NYC years ago. Anythng & everything that's beyond a "dbx" level is a special order at most places.

Besides Dale & Blue @ GC Pro...B&H Photo is worth a shot. Sometimes they have interesting used stuff & their selection & stock is deeper then Manny's or Scam Cash 'Pro.'

While he's there Rogue Music on 30th St is always worth a stop & if he's into cool guitars...tell him to AVOID 30th St. Guitars like the plague...

They're right across the street from each other...on 30th between what 8th & 9th or is it 9th & 10th??

actually they're between 7th and 8th

[fross]

You may not believe this, but the Guitar Center on 14th st. between 5th ave. and 6th ave. has quite a collection of high-end shit. No, this is not an exageration. Their Pro Audio downstairs is quite impressive and it goes well beyond Manley and Avalon. The guys explained to me that they chose to outfit that one particular store with high-end for their demographic in Manhattan specifically. Makes sense to me. You won't find that selection in any of the other GCs. I recommed you at least stop by there and take a look.

Calistro Music is very close to NYC aswell.

[Kyle Ashley]

A trip to B&H may not yield any gear, but it can be quite an experience. Also, you can always pickup a new camera

[beats workin']

jay, what's been your bad experience with 30th st. guitars? i live across the street and have had many a good experience there. matt does exceptional repair/refret work. just curious.
Rougue is a place to watch out for. although i've gotten some great buys there (nice guys) i had some questionable experiences a long time ago....

on the gound floor of 251 is Armen's - an experience in itself. a sort of salvage bazaar shop of used gear.

guitar center has been, surprisingly, a good thing for nyc. gives 48th street some competition. i do buy bulk strings there and get a free pair of drumsticks EVERY TIME!
good for software purchases as well.
for high-end gear, i still prefer a reputable dealer.

B & H? hilarious. completely hilarious. not a good choice for an expensive purchase.

david lawrence

[Zwinter]

Originally Posted by djanogil

Actually Fletcher,

I'm after Aurora converters, TAB V76 Preamps, and maybe one compressor like the distressor or a UA1176.
I've thought about getting it from you cause my mate won't be able to bring all this back to France,
however I was wondering how the customs stuff works when you take your US bought gear back to Europe?

The TAB V76 is hard to come by these days (Mercenary would not have one), by the time you find one and rack it you are looking at a serious investment in time and money; but the V78M is something that you can probably get. From what I heard the UA 1176 is seriously back ordered so you could have a problem finding one. The Purple MC-77, however, should be available; which is a good thing because in my opinion is smokes the UA re-issue. The Distressor's and Aurora converters should not be a problem.

Just so you know ex-Mercenary staffer, Fletcher, will be in Paris. I believe he is leaving on Wednesday. So if you act quickly you could maybe get him to schlep something across the Atlantic for you.

[djanogil]

Hey Zach, I just emailed Fletcher, thanks.
Do you have the V78m ( sorry I didn't mean the V76) in stock?
Could you enlight me on the custom fees issue?

[Riad]

I tend to go to Dale Pro Audio... most of the time they have the stuff I'm looking for. When they didn't they had my Millenium HV-3D-8 dropped shipped to my studio the next morning.

[King Tubby]

Guitar Center on 14th Street is just a big 3D catalog. You can see what you want but it has to be ordered. Even then you are only viewing the "Popular" gear..."I just sold 2 of these to blah blah blah and he loves them"



T.

[Jay Kahrs]

Originally Posted by beats workin'

jay, what's been your bad experience with 30th st. guitars? i live across the street and have had many a good experience there. matt does exceptional repair/refret work. just curious.

Ummm...maybe the thing didn't get my point across...

Matt & the guys at 30th Street guitars rock pretty hard!

I've spent many a dollar there over the years myself!

[pramrod]

if you are looking for vintage goodies, i'd also suggest contacting either Andrew at Purple Audio or Matt M. at Coral Sound- these guys are the top of the pops and always have cool stuff for sale at their Long Island City shop (purple racked a pair of V76's in ammo-boxes for me with phantom, phase, output attenuator and they are smoking!!! though they often fight it out with the biz, purple's new preamp, for first call preamp duties). plus they actually tech things and make sure they work, so you can be very confident about buying vintage gear from totally reputable cats. tell em pramrod sent you... enjoy- prammy

[T.RayBullard]

Originally Posted by Kyle Ashley

A trip to B&H may not yield any gear, but it can be quite an experience. Also, you can always pickup a new camera

And see some real life Hasidic Jews. B+H photo is Hasidic Owned.

MASSIVE inventory, everything is loaded on conveyer belts and brought to the sales room.

[T.RayBullard]

NYC sucks., I like Vintage King.