freemusiciansecrets.com

How to Get the Pro Deal at the Corporate Music Store

This little segment is by request from Juan Ruiz who is the founding member of the So. Cal. Band “Miel“. BTW “Miel” means sugar in Spanish. And I’m going to give them a plug too because I think they sound really good! www.myspace.com/miel Tell him Jeremy from free musician says hi. Lol! Now on to the real stuff.


So you walk into a Guitar Center or a Sam Ash….You want to buy something and you hear the guy next to you telling the sales guy he gets the “Pro Deal”. WTF! What the hell it the pro deal? How the hell is the guy next to you getting some kind of magic hookup? And most importantly who the hell is this guy? The answers are simple. There is no “Pro Deal“, anyone can get the hookup, and he is most likely nobody. Back in the good old days, the retail market had gigantic mark ups. Now a days, its not the same story. Thanks to the internet and company competition the prices have all come down vs. cost. However, like everything else things get more expensive. What does this all mean? It means you can still get a deal! You just have to recognize a good deal when you see it. First thing is to get a reference as to what things cost. Hop on the internet and look at the best deals including the “B stock” items. Froogle.com is a good place to look for pricing. After you have this list of normal to crazy pricing, its time to head down to the music store. Try to “grind” the first guy you see in the department that has the item you’re looking for. Never show him your prices! BTW at Guitar Center “grind” is what they call bargaining for a lower price. Ok, so when he does his salesman dance and tries to get you pay full price, tell him you were at the other company’s store. For example, you’re at Guitar Center, tell him you went to Sam Ash last week and they were going to hook you up. Tell him a price that is about 20% below the cheapest price you found. Now you have him thinking.


So now he’s got his back against the wall! Think about his perspective. You can go on the internet and just pick the lowest price and so be it, but when you can go down to the other company and give them your money…that is failure. Today there is nothing the retail brick and mortar stores can do about the internet except to compete on service and price. Whatever. At the same time they do well with customers who like to have their guy, or need information about all the products offered. This is where they go head to head with the other brick and mortar stores. They want to be your guy. They want to have the answers for you. This will keep you coming back instead of going on the internet or god forbid…the other company. Another important fact to pay attention to is most of the stores are on commission. Not all of them, but most of them are. If this guy lets you walk out the door after mentioning their competitor he knows that he likely isn’t going to get the sale. You’ll either go back to their competitor or talk to someone else in the store.


He’s going to do whatever he can do to get you to take it that day. Maybe what you told him his competitor would do is below cost. He’s not going to lose money for you, but he’ll get the price a lot lower than you would get otherwise. He’s going to usually go about 10% above what cost is. Try to “grind” him down a bit more, but the price he comes back is a good price if he won’t go down any more. Remember he is trying to impress you with a price that will make you buy it today.


Once you get the price…buy it. If you go in and “sport grind” just to see what you can get gear for, you’ll get a bad reputation in the store and they won’t do anything for you. They aren’t going to let you waste their time, and they aren’t going to bargain on price for you. In their mind, why would they bend over backwards for you when you aren’t going to buy anything anyways?


Ok, so you bought it! Sweet! You got a great deal and this guy knows you. Let him be your guy unless you think he is an idiot. But once you get someone who will deal on price and knows their gear, stick with them. They will appreciate the loyalty and if you are a nice guy they will want to hook you up just because you aren’t a pain in the ass. The nice part is the hard work is done. You have an established relationship with someone who knows you get the deal. Stick with them, but check prices before you shop so you can still have a good idea about what things go for. He’s always going to try to get dollars out of you, but he’ll always start out with a hookup price that’s pretty good! On a side note, if you like your sales guy, throw him a bone! Let him hook you up and make a buck off of you every once in a while.




Jeremy Gift




Free Musician

So you have a band! Great start. So now you have to get out and gig. Without getting out and playing, you will never get a fan base and you will never take it to the next level. Step one…Get a myspace page, or any other page on the internet where you can put your music up. This is very important to give the people booking you at their establishment some reference on what you sound like and where they should put you into the lineup. Its also good for you so you can see what you’re up against. You want to get in where you play with other bands that may have fans that like you as well. To get started, go down to your local music store and ask the guys that work there where a good place to play is. Usually these guys have a good info on what places pay or where would be a good crowd for your band. So contact the venue and find out how long the set is. Normally, you get a half hour to an hour to play. Still find out so you can make a set list that fits the time slot. Remember when you play live the tempo magically ends up faster than rehearsal. Plan a few extra songs so you can fill in if you end up with extra time. Too much is better than not enough.


Personally, I like to know what kind of space you have to set up as well. The rig may have to get smaller if you have to fit into some corner of a dive bar. BTW if you don’t have a big following, dive bars always have people and can be packed weather you have a ton of fans there or not. If you have a video camera and a friend who is willing to record you guys I highly recommend getting the video. Its amazing to see what you guys really look like on stage. It will really help on gig number two. A word of warning…at gig number one you may run into the guy in the band who wants to be a rock star, but when it comes down to it, they flake. With vets, you don’t have to worry so much, but if its your guys first show, get ready. It could be a real surprise. Talk with your band about what you guys want to do on stage. Your look and presentation should have an impact. Make it mean something when you play.


Ok, so you have the deal at this place you are playing and you guys have a set list and some extra songs. Time to do a trial run on set up and tear down. If you have a complicated rig, you might have to cut some of the gear out of the live rig if it takes too much time to set up and tear down. Typically, you get fifteen minutes to do set up and tear down. Big tip: Make sure your cables are not tangled. If you have to use cable ties or tape, get them user friendly. Worst thing is to have the crowd waiting for you to set up while you are cutting into your playing time. A lot of times, if you are fast, you can play a longer set! Its kind of obvious, but you have to have transportation that will fit your gear.


There are a few kinds of gigs you can get. Paid…killer! Pay to play where you have to sell tickets for your gigs. Showcases, which usually are after you have been playing for a while and you are trying to get label interest or a slot on a tour. Backyard gigs that can be very rewarding for getting a local following. Finally, you can just go and play for free at a local venue. What is better? I think I would rather test a new band at a local venue. Your friends can be a real driving force for your band and you should at least try to get a few gigs before you present to your friends. You want to give them a great show and really make them dig you so they will spread the word. If you have a CD, give as many as you can out. When you have a really good looking and sounding package for your CD, then yu can sell them. Nobody wants to buy a CD that has bee hand written and in a CD slip. The CD might just get them to come back to see you again though. Put your name and URL on the CD and if you can put a song list on them. You want them to sing along at the next show or at least know the songs. Tell them to make copies as well. Free advertising is always good!


If you have a budget, or not, check out my post “Stage Show vs Recording vs Both” It’ll give you the steps to build your band from ground up. First thing is first though, get your band tight! Get comfortable in front of a crowd, and make sure you are performing for them. Entertain them! If they have a good time, they will be back for another show. As part of the entertaining, try to hang out after the show and talk to the people there. If they like you and you are personable, they will be much more likely to come back to see you again.




As always, questions, comments, concerns, hit me up. And if you liked the post let me know. BTW, if you have any topics you want covered, we are here for you. Ask away and we’ll see what we can do.


Jeremy Gift


Free musician

If you play live, at some point you realize your stage show has a lot to do with your credibility. However, you need to record a CD and have it sound good. So what do you do? You can spend a small amount of money on a guitar that will be playable and then spend a small fortune making it sound good enough to record, but then you have a guitar that may not be taken seriously on stage. You could also spend it some cases a lot less and have both. It really depends on what the budget will allow. First step is to prioritize your needs. Say you are just getting started and you need a PA an an amp too. You may need to just get a guitar. The good news is most people can’t tell the difference between a Mexican made Fender strat and an American strat. In this case it might be good to go a little lower on the quality of guitar. If you are into the humbucker sound, go with a Ibanez, Jackson or Epiphone. They all have recognizable shapes and will cut it with the “good from far but far from good” idea.


Now say you have been playing for a while and have saved up a little money for a demo CD. With a pickup change you can get a lot better sound out of your guitar for less than $200.00. You’ll still be playing a lower end guitar, but you will have a much better sounding CD. Live, the audience for the most part won’t be able to hear good tone, but in the studio, it makes a big difference. Hopefully you can get hold of a good tube amp for the recording, and a lot of studios have good amps to plug into for the session. Check into your local studios to see what they have available.


After you get a good sounding demo CD get a good cover and packaging together. T-shirts are another good way to get some revenue going. Sell, sell, sell! Next its time for a good guitar. Pay attention to who you like and what they play on. Remember the guitar is only half the recipe. Your amp has a lot to do with your sound, so do your research. If you like Clapton’s tone with Cream, you are going to have to pick up a Gibson Les Paul or an SG. He also recorded on a Fender champ and the live gigs were on a Fender twin reverb. Goggle is a good place to get this kind of info. You can also head to your local guitar shop and plug in. Again think tubes on the amps. Combo or Stack? A combo is very portable, but if you are in a metal band, you get a lot more cred with a stack and more so with a full stack. Playing live you have to think about road worthy gear as well, so try not to get the cheapest gear you can find. Again, name brands really make it look like you know what you are doing. Like a lot of things, presentation is as important as playing well.


Another thing you have to pay attention to is your style. Your band look might have a very large part in your instrument selection. A more vintage looking and sounding band might do well to check out the many random vintage guitars on ebay as well as your used sections in music stores and pawn shops. Be careful that the gear sounds good before you spend money on it! On ebay, check the return policy of the seller. You can get burned sometimes, but if you are careful and know what you are looking for you can find diamonds in the rough for a much lower investment. Sometimes, you can pick up a vintage guitar and change a few components making it play better sound amazing and give you the cred you need to get yourself to the next level. Remember tat vintage gear is always worth more with original everything, so if you plan on reselling it eventually, it has to sound good stock. Worse case, at least keep the original parts of you can put it back on when you sell it.


Now you have the gear to play live, record, and look good while doing it! Whats next? Lighting gives your show a much more professional appearance. Get a portable light stand and a few key lights to make it look full. I recommend the LS7730 for a light stand. It runs about $170 and can fit enough lights to fill about any room. As far as lights, a couple LED par cans, a Scorpion storm FX, and a light that throws a lot of color down in the middle. These light can be set to change to the music automatically and will give your shows a lot of motion so if you guys don’t move a lot yourselves it can cover it up a bit. You won’t always need the lights, but at backyard shows and small gigs, it makes a huge difference.


If you have any questions, post a comment and I’ll try to get back to you! Good luck and good playing!


Jeremy Gift