Huge amount of Quality Products to choose from...
Written: Apr 11 '04 (Updated Apr 11 '04)
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It was the Summer of 1998, and I was reading an issue of Guitar World, when I saw an ad for the new Washburn “Idol” series guitar. I had been debating on whether or not to buy a guitar.
Well, about a year or two later, I finally decided to order a guitar. Having just received the Summer issue of the Musicians Friend catalog, I immediately flipped through the pages of the catalog. I had been receiving the catalog for years now, and I was excited to get a new guitar. But I didn’t want the hassle of ripping the order form out from the catalog, fill out the information, and wait several weeks for the order to be placed and then finally shipped.
So I logged on to Musicians Friend online site....
FIRST IMPRESSIONS
When I logged on to www.musiciansfriend.com, I was immediately drawn to how professional the site looked. It was clear to find my way around. Nothing has changed much. It’s still looks about the same. A few site overhauls, but nothing much. The main page of the site is clearly marked. If you want guitar gear, you click on the icon at the top marked “Guitar”, etc. And the nice thing about the site, is that pop-ups were not bombarding the site. You go to the site to view their products, not somebody else’s. Once in awhile, there will be a pop-up for a contest or promotion that the site is sponsoring, but for the most part, they don’t use this feature.
The site carries all kinds of items. Guitars, Bass Guitars, Drums, Trumpets, Saxophones, Turntables, Keyboards, Recording Gear, Lighting Effects, Media, Books, etc. You can almost find everything music related on Musicians Friend Online.
Almost every brand name is carried on the site. Washburn, Fender, Roland, Yamaha, Pearl Drums, Hohner, Zildjin, Technics, Sony, Gibson, etc. The site carries a wide selection in each brand. I have noticed that some sites will offer limited models, carrying only the popular products. Well that’s fine, but I like variety. What one person likes, another person may not like.
Also, most products have the option to listen to a sample of the product. Not sure what a particular effects pedal sounds like? Just click on the icon to listen to the sample. Or view the demo. The only problem is, is you have to have the right media player. For sound samples, you have to have Real Audio Player installed to be able to hear. Video samples are in .MPG and .MPEG format, so at least you can view the demos with either QuickTime, or Windows Media Player.
Nice clear pictures are used on the site. No fuzzy images to sell their products. When you have been around as long as Musicians Friend has been (since 1983), you better not have a low quality site.
WHAT I PURCHASED...
I purchased two items on the site....
Washburn WI-64 “Idol Series” Electric Guitar (Blonde body color)
MSRP: $599.99
Axman Tubular Guitar Stand (Black)
MSRP: $29.99
I purchased the guitar for under the MSRP. It was about $399.99 or so before Tax and Shipping. Very good price. I even got a free guitar case with the item. The local guitar shop here in Spokane was selling the guitar for the manufactures price. The guitar stand I purchased for only $9.99.
PAYMENT OPTIONS
MAIL ORDER:
Check
Money Order
Visa
Mastercard
Discover Card
American Express
Musicians Friend Platinum Member Card
ONLINE/PHONE ORDERS:
Visa
Mastercard
Discover Card
American Express
Musicians Friend Platinum Member Card
SHIPPING RATES/OPTIONS
All orders are shipped UPS Ground, unless you are requesting the item to be shipped to a PO BOX, APO/FPO, or outside the United States. Then it is shipped USPS (United States Postal Service) Alaska, Hawaii, and Puerto Rico are shipped by Air Service (UPS AIR or FED EX AIR)
Shipping Rates are pretty standard. Some rates are varied depending on the price and weight of the item...
STANDARD (2 to 5 Days)
UPS GROUND
Subtotal of Purchase/Shipping Rate
$ .00 to $50.00 ($5.95)
$ 50.01 to $75.00 ($7.95)
$ 75.01 to $100.00 ($8.95)
$100.01 to $150.00 ($10.95)
$150.01 to $200.00 ($12.95)
$200.01 to $300.00 ($14.95)
$300.01 to $500.00 ($16.95)
$500.01 to $700.00 ($18.95)
$700.01 on UP (2.5% of subtotal)
These next options are all based on weight. Rates vary from year to year. So you have to keep track of the rates each time you order. You can’t assume.
UPS 2-3 Day
UPS Next Day Air
Fed Ex 2 day Air
Fed Ex Next Day Air
Fed Ex Saturday (weight + an additional $10.00)
Right now (April 11, 2004) all items over $299.99 qualify for FREE standard shipping. Musicians Friend is always having specials and sales events.
I was happy with the shipping. I got an e-mail confirmation the day I ordered, saying that it would be shipped out on the following Monday (I ordered on Friday) I was told it would probably arrive the next Monday (I choose the Standard ship option) So, I planned to take the next Monday off, so that I would be present when the guitar arrived. It actually arrived 4 days after they shipped it (3 to 4 days EARLY) So I wasn’t home. NO big deal, my dad was home to sign for it. At least they didn’t over promise anything. The guitar stand was shipped separate from the guitar itself. The stand was out of stock, so it arrived about a week later than the guitar. NO big deal again. I knew about the out of stock issue when I placed the order. At lease they sent me e-mail confirmations on the ship dates, etc. I never had a chance to track the order, because I wasn’t worried about it.
The end of the guitar case was damaged a bit, because it was dropped when UPS delivered it. I had a chance to file a claim, but the guitar wasn’t damaged, and the case wasn’t too bad. Just the rubber end of the case snapped off part of the way.
The guitar was already tuned when it was shipped. Just a minor amount of adjusting and tuning to my tastes. I prefer low-tuned strings...
TAX?...
There is no State Sales Tax charged, unless you live in Missouri, Utah, or Washington. I live in Washington, so I was charged 8.1% sales tax.
WARRANTY
As long as you keep the receipt, each manufacture has it’s own warranty. It varies depending the manufacture. Most the time the warranty just covers defects in the manufacturing and not shipping problems, abuse, normal wear/tear, etc.
But if you really want to protect your instruments and gear, you should buy the Musicians Friend Gold Coverage Warranty. It adds an extra one to two years on the manufactures warranty (the price varies depending on the product and the length of warranty...1 or 2 years)
The warranty covers Normal and Abnormal Wear/Tear, Abuse, Heavy Use, Lightning and Power Surge Damage. No questions asked. If the item breaks in the same place, the fourth time you send it in (for the same problem) you are given a whole new item. Plus, shipping and handling are Free when you send it in for repair. I didn’t buy the extended warranty, because I take extreme care of my gear. But if you are prone to throwing your turntable across the stage, or playing the guitar with a jack-hammer, or in the bath tub (I won’t ask why)...THIS WARRANTY IS FOR YOU!
Musicians Friend has a 45 Day Satisfaction and Best Price Guarantee. If you don’t like the product, or you found the price lower elsewhere, they will refund you (except for the shipping charge).
OVERALL IMPRESSIONS
I was happy with my purchase, and I will continue to shop at Musicians Friend. In Spokane, we finally have a Guitar Center (which is affiliated with Musicians Friend), so if I can’t find the item there, then I will go back on line.
I didn’t have any problems, so I didn’t have to contact customer service. But they did send me confirmations in a timely manner. So I would have to give them a top rating for service. Plus if you have a question, you can go to the FAQ section of the site, and you can e-mail your own question if it’s not already in that section. Also, you can Chat live with the tech support when you are ordering. If you have a question on shipping options, or just don’t understand anything at all, they are there for you!
Musicians Friend has other features, like the online newsletter (as well as receiving catalogs by regular mail), weekly contests to win gear and autographed items, and an E-mail account. You can have your own e-mail “YOURNAME@musician.net” I used to have one, but I let it expire. At least it’s FREE.
CONTACT INFO
MAIL CONTACT:
Musicians Friend
PO Box 4370
Medford, Oregon
97501
PHONE CONTACT:
1-800-391-8762 (Orders Only)
24 hours a day, 7 days a week
FAX CONTACT:
1-541-776-1370 (Tech Support Only)
8am to 5pm PST
ONLINE SITE:
http://www.musiciansfriend.com
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COPYRIGHT 2004
this review COPYRIGHT Chris_Billings 2004
Recommended:
Yes
What product did you purchase or try to purchase? Washburn WI-64 "Idol" Series Electric Guitar
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Chris_Billings
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Member: Chris Billings
Location: Spokane Valley, Washington, USA
Reviews written: 188
Trusted by: 271 members
About Me:
"You know what ol' Jack Burton always says at a time like this?"
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