Philly area bassist lounge

#41
I'll be playing Friday night at the Fainting Goat on MacDade Boulevard with a band called Rich Hill's Sideshow. Rich has a monthly slot at the Goat. On even numbered months, he plays with his regular band, and on odd numbered months he puts together a new band (the "Sideshow") to play a bunch of classic rock tunes we otherwise don't normally get a chance to play. We're doing some standard fare classic rock stuff (Beatles, Stones, Thin Lizzy, Squeeze, Warren Zevon, Pink Floyd, Van Morrison), but also a lot of somewhat deeper cuts from Billy Joel, Elton John, U2, etc. So I'm in the process of learning 35 or so tunes. Should be a fun show.
 
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#43
First, very much looking forward to mike watt and that ^ show posted above.
Second, I understand as band's we often don't like to share booking info, but here goes...
We are outta Delaware. Dance, pop, classic rock (when needed). We are a $500-600/gig band. Book 40ish shows yr.
We would like to try some Philly dates, but I have no idea what bars support live music, or have any contacts. Any leads would help.
If anyone wants to venture south, I'd be happy to provide contacts/avg nights pay, in some of the rooms we play.
Perhaps this should be another thread, but let's help each other book a little.
This is us

 
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#44
jimmyb said:
First, very much looking forward to mike watt and that ^ show posted above.
Second, I understand as band's we often don't like to share booking info, but here goes...
We are outta Delaware. Dance, pop, classic rock (when needed). We are a $500-600/gig band. Book 40ish shows yr.
We would like to try some Philly dates, but I have no idea what bars support live music, or have any contacts. Any leads would help.
If anyone wants to venture south, I'd be happy to provide contacts/avg nights pay, in some of the rooms we play.
Perhaps this should be another thread, but let's help each other book a little.
This is us

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Nice 4003 (4001?)
I sent you a PM with a few ideas.
 
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#46
Not really. The best shop in the area I’ve found is Sam Ash in King of Prussia (about an hour out). Guitar Center in Wilmington DE (40 minutes away) is half decent but you also get zero tax, so if you had your eye on anything from GC that’s the place to go.

Most cool shops in the city haven’t been there for years… at least from what I know. Maybe there’s some new shops I’m unaware of… someone else can chime in.
 
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#47
Core Creek said:
Not really. The best shop in the area I’ve found is Sam Ash in King of Prussia (about an hour out). Guitar Center in Wilmington DE (40 minutes away) is half decent but you also get zero tax, so if you had your eye on anything from GC that’s the place to go.
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Just out of curiosity, what makes the King of Prussia location stand out from the North Philly or Cherry Hill, NJ locations? (For the record, Cherry Hill is right across the river from Philly AND the same plaza also has a Guitar Center...go fig!) I've only been to the latter two. Is it simply that the King of Prussia "shopping-industrial complex" is so flippin' massive that it practically demands that it's stores be similarly huge?

And yeah, Creek is right....the no-sales-tax thing down here by me is pretty 'effin sweet. :greedy: :thumbsup:
 
#48
I went to Cherry Hill for the first time in years about 6 months ago and was really unimpressed with the Sam Ash. The store looked horribly maintained and all the used gear was sub $300 crap. The GC next door was a little better, and I actually found a good deal on a classic vibe strat - but it’s clear those stores are catering to a very specific clientele, mainly beginners and hobbyists.

Seems to me KOP is all about $. The mall there is now the biggest in the USA and attracts people with $ to burn. Makes sense that Sam Ash is trying to grab some of that cash. It’s not great, but I’ve found some really great deals on instruments - like my profile pic Kiesel. They must not have known what they had (or gave someone absolut crap on the trade in) because I got it at 1/3rd new and it’s probably my favorite bass of all time. I also found good drum deals there, and they have a few decent high end guitars.

But compared GC in LA (went there last year) it’s pretty sub par. I don’t buy much at stores these days because the selection around here sucks.
 
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#49
Try Bluebond guitars on 2nd st in center city. Sometimes they have some cool stuff including some used Bluebond basses. Also Chris DiPintos shop in Fishtown. Check out their websites. Guitar show also in Oaks OA July 15-26.
 
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#52
Dincrest said:
I've heard good things about Russo's on Spring Garden street, but I've never been there so I couldn't tell you firsthand.
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I didn’t realize they opened a shop in Philly. Back 23 years ago I bought a set of Fibes drums from them in NJ (Trenton??) but I think that shop closed. Last year I went to the one Asbury Park and while their selection was relatively decent, you couldn’t make any noise in the shop because a recording studio was above it. I hope the Philly one is better. I’ll have to check that place out too.
 
#54
Pacifus said:
Hey everyone, I'm heading to Philly in a couple of weeks and I'm hoping to see what Philly has to offer in terms of basses. Are there any must-see shops? TIA
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West Chester Music in West Chester Pa is also about or less outside of Phila. Al has a nice selection of basses that you wont find in the chain stores (Sadowsky, Lakland, Reverend, etc.) He also has a nice selection of various bass amps such as EBS, Mesa, Genzler, etc... I recently purchased a Sadowsky Metro Express there and the owner Al was great to work with. They also have an amazing collection of acoustic guitars and a few acoustic basses. Taylor Music, which is a short walk away, had some nice used basses the last time I was there (Alembic, Skjold, Valenti and Warwick).

I have no affiliation with either store.
 
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#56
glivanos said:
Try Bluebond guitars on 2nd st in center city. Sometimes they have some cool stuff including some used Bluebond basses. Also Chris DiPintos shop in Fishtown. Check out their websites. Guitar show also in Oaks OA July 15-26.
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Bluebond has moved, and is now on the 1500 block of Sansom St. in Center City. The owner (Rich) has gotten into buying up stuff from the 1980s, and he has some cool, quirky basses. The back of the shop is now a performance space, where the adult band camp bands rehearse and perform. I've been doing the camp for a year, and it's been a blast.

DiPinto Guitars is great, and I need to get over there. It's been way too long. Chris is really cool, and I miss the DiPinto Belvedere bass I used to have.

Dincrest said:
I've heard good things about Russo's on Spring Garden street, but I've never been there so I couldn't tell you firsthand.
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I've been there a few times, and it's a beautiful shop, with nice displays and instrument testing rooms. They're heavily into Fender, but carry other brands including Reverend, Gibson, and Spector. The selection is pretty good, and includes Fenders you won't typically see at GC and Sam Ash. They have some used instruments, but it's mostly new.

Since 8th Street Music bailed out of Chinatown over 10 years ago, we hadn't had a great shop for new instruments in downtown Philly, so it's been great to have Russo's open such a cool space.

There is also Bridgeset Sound on South St., which carries G&L and Yamaha, but it's much smaller. When they first opened (2014?) they were a G&L dealer, then they largely stopped selling new electric guitars and basses and dropped G&L, but they're back on and carry both USA and Tribute models. Bass selection is tiny though.
 
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